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Zoom out from center of screen

Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 9:00 am
by leoch
The current zoom mechanic is quite clever: it keeps the mouse pointer on the same position in the world when zooming.

This is great for zooming in, but for zooming out, it counter-intuitively means you need to move the cursor in the opposite direction to where you want to move the map.

Instead, zoom in the same way, but fix the centre of the screen when zooming out. (This is exactly what Supreme Commander does, and old-but-great-game which pioneered the zoom-from-detail-to-whole-map mechanic, and it makes map navigation really really intuitive.)

Re: Zoom out from center of screen

Posted: Thu May 04, 2017 7:56 pm
by ssilk
I wondered all the time, what's wrong with zooming. You found it. :)

Re: Zoom out from center of screen

Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 12:09 am
by Vegemeister
That would make it less intuitive. The current mechanic preserves the viewport if you zoom in and back out again without moving the mouse.

Re: Zoom out from center of screen

Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 1:26 am
by BenSeidel
I agree, the current mechanic just feels strange. When I "zoom out" I don't expect to be moved. Maybe an option in the menu to allow people to select their preferred method?

Re: Zoom out from center of screen

Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 2:54 am
by AileTheAlien
I agree with Vegemeister - keep it as-is. 1) It preserves the view when you zoom out and back in. 2) It keeps the thing under your mouse under your mouse as your zoom in or out.