Panning Camera

#1 Have you looked into the Advanced Camera resource?:
http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=5471

The OrbitMode sounds a lot like what you are descrbing -- just don't allow the zoom functionality.

#2 Well Brian as it turns out the Advanced Camera Resource is already a part of TGE 1.5. I am working on using it now. However, it was in conjunction with this resource:

www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=10668

I am having a problem with this resource. Frankly it kills the load up screens in its current state. I have tried moving the loadMission() function to the StartupGui.gui funtion that used to load the main menu, it causes a crash everythime I try to load a regular mission now.

The failure it gives me is:

Connection error: Invalid packet GameBase::unpackUpdate().

I ran it in debug and this is what I got:

Fatal: (c:\torque\sdk\engine\core\bitstream.h @ 257) Out of bounds value!

Apparently the placement of loadMission() is not a big deal either in initClient() because this is where I moved it:

if ($JoinGameAddress !$= "") {
      // If we are instantly connecting to an address, load the
      // main menu then attempt the connect.
      loadMainMenu();
      connect($JoinGameAddress, "", $Pref::Player::Name);
   }
   else {
      // Otherwise go to the splash screen.
      Canvas.setCursor("DefaultCursor");
      loadStartup();
   }
   // Start up the main menu... this is separated out into a 
   // method for easier mod override.
   loadMainMenu();

Thats right, directly after the if/else that loads the StartupGui.gui functions in the first place. If I comment out loadMainMenu(); and use it in:

function checkStartupDone()
{
   if (StartupGui.done)
   {
      loadMainMenu();
   }
   else
      schedule(100, 0, checkStartupDone();
}

It will crash with the errors I listed above. Any ideas anyone?

#3 OK I have even added gui deletes and texture cache flushes after each gui closes, still I have a problem.

Is there no one that has an idea why this is happening?

#4 Oh and if anyone knows how, is there someway to make the orbit mode spin on its own? I am guessing it is just a matter of making the mouse in put for the x-axis actually have a value?

#5 As for my bug, disregard it I found the solution. Ironically it was not my own error. Apparently the ODEScript Resource really doesn't like the mission in the menu resource now that Gary changed the script into a user mod. It had to do with the seperate mission loading functions, for some reason it just didn't like it.

So to continue using Gary's script I am just going to have to re-merge the script in to mine.

As for the rest I figured it out. It works really nice and blows using the 3d object viewer out of the water since you can have a whole scene as your backdrop for viewing your car.

#6 Here is a small video to show what I got done. I set it up as a package system with the ability to have unique "missions/gametypes" for each view. Each has its own terrain mission files and script. I also added a separate loading mission screen that differentiates between regular missions and the menu viewer missions. They work just like a real mission and can have all of the elements that go with that, grass, BOTS, weather, ect. So the possiblities are endless.