Hi, this post really shows it the best, but I’ll tray.
Look at the keep in this picture*
I think it’s safe to say that it’s way too small, w.r.t. to the walls and towers for example. The scale is off.
So, let’s just make it, at least, taller. Why devs don’t do that? Look at the same keep here
It still gives the impression of being too small (cartoonish in a way, if you allow me the term, altered proportions) but, from this angle, it takes almost half the screen, so the decision to not make it bigger (in this case you can also see a slight elevation at play).
The choice of a strong perspective projection has determined the size of the model of the keeps; just so that it can fit the screen.
Can zoom alone solve this issue? No, it cannot.
Now let’s look at this other image
If I’m watching a movie, it’s all nice and well, there’s a nice feeling of distance, the camera is centered on the action. But if I’m playing, it’s a nightmare.
I want to manage my units, if we divide the image in quarters, from top to bottom, we have:
- an area so far away, where things are so small, that is useless, couldn’t click there with any reasonable precision
- the area above the palisade, I can see what happens, kind of, but I dare anyone to micro the fight like that, I need to pan up
- the area of the palisade and the six units below, that’s the area “on focus”, where I can comfortably play
- the last quarter is so close to the camera that is, again, useless
… and I still would like to zoom out more, because I’m watching at a very small portion of land horizontally … and yes, the units are already small, if I zoom out more, they will be ants … but the units are huge w.r.t. the buildings (except walls) … it’s a mess!
Once again, the choice of a strong perspective projection, and how it is implemented through the camera parameters (FOV, focal length, tilt, height above the ground), is at fault.
So much for playability.
Then there is performance: of course devs can’t zoom out more, they have wasted all resources on three useless quarters of the screen.
All the issues above could simply be resolved by modifying perspective and camera, even keeping a perspective projection, if we really must (see AoM).
But someone, I have no idea who or why, has decided that the next big RTS game must have a camera and a point of view like AC Odyssey or The Witcher or whatever … maybe, so that we can all admire the beauty of the units from up close?
*All captures from Age of Empires YouTube channel