Third Person

[Darth Futuza]

Why is /cg_thirdperson 1/0 cheat protected?  (As well as /cg_thirdpersonangle xxx)?

Obviously, "Well, cuz then u can use thirdperson wich is cheatin".

Yes, but why was thirdperson considered cheating?  I would imagine it could be useful, when dodging an alien, or when driving a dretch.  But surely if everyone had access to it, it wouldn't be cheating?  I don't think many would be opposed to having the option to switch between firstperson and thirdperson.  Other than it might make it difficult to backstab unsuspecting humans without helmets, if they had it on constantly, but they can't aim accurately like that so...  So...why?

[Knowitall66]

Allows you to see around corners and see behind you (Which takes away the atmosphere of trem).

[Kaleo]

Allows you to see around corners and see behind you (Which takes away the atmosphere of trem).

Assuming Trem has atmosphere.

There are a few mods that have a 3rd person feature. I think a couple of Risujin's mods do, specifically.

[Lakitu7]

The game has a large stealth element and thirdperson letting you conveniently look around corners hurts that rather strongly. Ambushes would no longer be a viable tactic.

However, I *am* implementing allowing thirdperson for spectators, with included mouse control of the camera, like you find while spectating in several other competitive FPS games. This is intended to make spectating while in the queue or while just generally watching matches more interesting by allowing you to take a more active role in your spectating. It is currently being tested on the mgdev server and is fully intended for committing to mainline when the kinks are worked out.

[Kaleo]

Ahh... That would be a nice feature.

[techhead]

Actually, with a fixed third person range and angle, its actually hard to look around corners. Not to mention, in an ambush, the alien will know the enemy is there from radar, as well as a human with a helmet. So someone would likely not take the time to check around every corner before progressing. The only exception would be corners on maps like Niveus where hiding around the corner puts you in a different vis_area.

[Kaleo]

Hmm... I wonder what Tremulous would be like as a cover shooter.

[mooseberry]

Yah, that sounds fun....

Long story short, it's not a good idea, you can see aliens hiding, so it's bad. On the other hand 3rd person speccing is very cool, I played it on MGdev, and it's a great addition.

[Seffylight]

3rd person speccing is very cool, I played it on MGdev, and it's a great addition.

+1. It's something I've personally wanted to see in Trem for a long time.

[temple]

People always cheat with 3rd person.  It isn't an issue of integrity, it is just tactic that if everyone can employ, you will be handicapped if you don't.  I played a pretty recent game with an unintended 3rd person perspective and everyone used it.  It almost wasn't a cheat because everyone had it.  But still, it takes away some of the edge of the game and pisses off beginners who don't know to exploit it. 

[Odin]

Over-the-Shoulder third-person is the only way to achieve thirdperson without giving the player any added benefits.