AI Camera Rework

[Erev]

Or sent from security to mining with a single button press or misclick.

[franfoer]

You can track crew members by clicking their names in chat, or choosing from the dropdown menu in AI commands (although I don't think that works for Syndies/Wizards). So I'm not sure why the 'ghost' system would improve that?

Tracking people, for the most part isn't a problem. It's when you need to do something like navigate a few spaces ahead of them to bolt a door, or operate a console in QM or something. I also can't tell you how many times I've tried to navigate to the cameras in the chapel and wound. up in QM with no way to go back.

Yeah that's fair, especially as doors/airlocks seem to mostly be on the edge of the camera views.

[BaneOfGiygas]

The above problems are EASILY the single most infuriating thing about the AI cameras. The path you take to switch from camera to camera using the arrow keys is completely unintuitive at points, and it tends to be really finicky about not going to specific cameras or getting stuck on other ones, as mentioned before.

[Lantern]

The above problems are EASILY the single most infuriating thing about the AI cameras. The path you take to switch from camera to camera using the arrow keys is completely unintuitive at points, and it tends to be really finicky about not going to specific cameras or getting stuck on other ones, as mentioned before.

Yeah its pretty awful. This shit needs and overhaul akin to the changes that most of the other systems have under gone.

[Telegnats]

I can confirm that AI comeras are pretty irritating to deal with even on the best of days. Also, from watching the 'ghost' method in action, I like it quite a bit more than the hopping method. Feels smoother and less like a complete mess trying to navigate.

[Zamujasa]

I tried playing AI last night and it's like the camera system has gotten even worse since a few months ago. The thing will just randomly jump way the fuck out to the mining magnet for no obvious reasons sometimes.

You can kind of get around the bullshittery if you're willing to use the mouse. Clicking on the screen will (as much as I can tell) try to focus on that area with a nearby camera. It works a lot better than the directional keys, but not by much.

All I can say is that it's very frustrating to try to be an effective AI, because the camera movement isn't really predictable. I'm pretty sure there's a few places where pushing down then up (or any other similar combo) won't take you back to where you came from.

[shadowdimentio]

I can verify the shitiness of the camera system on AI.

Almost nothing is worse than hearing the SCCHHHH glass door opening sound and knowing that you won't be able to get to your core in time to stop Traitor McMurderbone from uploading a suicide law.

Extra bonus points if it takes you so long to wrestly the camera to your core that you can't even see who it is that uploaded it before they run off.

[BaneOfGiygas]

Almost nothing is worse than hearing the SCCHHHH glass door opening sound and knowing that you won't be able to get to your core in time to stop Traitor McMurderbone from uploading a suicide law.

Extra bonus points if it takes you so long to wrestly the camera to your core that you can't even see who it is that uploaded it before they run off.

Use the "Cancel Camera View" button, it automatically zaps your view to wherever your core is.

[Carlarc]

This is fixed now I think? I haven't played AI with it yet, so I don't know.

[Spy_Guy]

I tried playing AI last night and it's like the camera system has gotten even worse since a few months ago. The thing will just randomly jump way the fuck out to the mining magnet for no obvious reasons sometimes.

You can kind of get around the bullshittery if you're willing to use the mouse. Clicking on the screen will (as much as I can tell) try to focus on that area with a nearby camera. It works a lot better than the directional keys, but not by much.

All I can say is that it's very frustrating to try to be an effective AI, because the camera movement isn't really predictable. I'm pretty sure there's a few places where pushing down then up (or any other similar combo) won't take you back to where you came from.

I've been working on camera optimizations recently so that switching cameras will be a lot faster than before, which should reduce some AI pains. I also did some other tweaking to the camera switching behaviour, so let's talk about this for a bit.

Arrow key camera movement
This works by selecting the nearest camera to your current one in the direction you want to go.
A large part of why it was being really weird in the past was because it was actually weighted to prefer cameras in the same area as your current location. Hence it'd select a camera that's not quite in the right direction and also further away because it was in the same general area.

I removed this weighting, so camera movement should now behave more like you would expect. Going left will pick a camera to your left, rooms be damned.

Mouse camera movement
As Zamujasa found, sometimes a misclick would take you to the mining magnet. This is because the mouse camera movement works by selecting the nearest camera to where you clicked in the area that you clicked. Hence, everything is fine, so long as you click some room on the station. If you click space however...
"I'm gonna click this space tile up in security to bring focus back to the game screen."
:downs: "Aw, man, it's time to do some work! I see you're looking for a camera in space, lessee here! Oh, there's only one! I bet you wanted to go to the mining magnet, here ya go!"
"You utter fuck..." *initiate grumppost.exe*
:downs: "I'm help"

I changed this to ignore any instances where you click space. Camera movement using the mouse should now be a neat tool to use if you see a room you want to go to straight away, without camera-hopping.

Camera Networks
Removed the Prison network (lol)

Show Camera List
It will now display every instance of a camera-equipped bot instead of only the last one (lol)

What's next
As mentioned, sometimes cameras will map differently, so if you head SOUTH from one camera, then immediately NORTH you might not get the original camera. I'm looking into fixes for this as well, but the removal of area weighting should help tremendously here.

[Telegnats]

It's definitely an improvement to the current system, but I can't shake the feeling that having a ghost style camera is simply superior. But I am just a lowly peasant, so I can't really speak for everyone. I'm curious as to see how it will function however, it seems a lot more user-friendly than what we have now. Although it gives the impression that it will have the same problem when byond lags, you will hit the D key too many times and abruptly end up in hydroponics rather than disposals, for example. Or in genetics if you hit the S key one time too many. I'm not sure how you would intend to fix that, but I find it's still an irritation I have whenever I can be bothered to play AI.

[Grizzwold]

One problem I'm noticing with the new system is that there are a bunch of cameras where my vision gets "stuck" and I can only go back to the previous camera or maybe in one other direction.

[Frank_Stein]

It's definitely an improvement to the current system, but I can't shake the feeling that having a ghost style camera is simply superior. But I am just a lowly peasant, so I can't really speak for everyone. I'm curious as to see how it will function however, it seems a lot more user-friendly than what we have now. Although it gives the impression that it will have the same problem when byond lags, you will hit the D key too many times and abruptly end up in hydroponics rather than disposals, for example. Or in genetics if you hit the S key one time too many. I'm not sure how you would intend to fix that, but I find it's still an irritation I have whenever I can be bothered to play AI.

Yeah, I got my first chance to play as AI today and it was definitely better, but I do also think the ghost option might be a better one over all having used something similar once on another server in the past.

[Spy_Guy]

It's definitely an improvement to the current system, but I can't shake the feeling that having a ghost style camera is simply superior. But I am just a lowly peasant, so I can't really speak for everyone. I'm curious as to see how it will function however, it seems a lot more user-friendly than what we have now. Although it gives the impression that it will have the same problem when byond lags, you will hit the D key too many times and abruptly end up in hydroponics rather than disposals, for example. Or in genetics if you hit the S key one time too many. I'm not sure how you would intend to fix that, but I find it's still an irritation I have whenever I can be bothered to play AI.

Yeah, I got my first chance to play as AI today and it was definitely better, but I do also think the ghost option might be a better one over all having used something similar once on another server in the past.

Out of curiosity how does the ghost option handle spotty camera coverage and cut cameras?

[pizzatiger]

It's definitely an improvement to the current system, but I can't shake the feeling that having a ghost style camera is simply superior. But I am just a lowly peasant, so I can't really speak for everyone. I'm curious as to see how it will function however, it seems a lot more user-friendly than what we have now. Although it gives the impression that it will have the same problem when byond lags, you will hit the D key too many times and abruptly end up in hydroponics rather than disposals, for example. Or in genetics if you hit the S key one time too many. I'm not sure how you would intend to fix that, but I find it's still an irritation I have whenever I can be bothered to play AI.

Yeah, I got my first chance to play as AI today and it was definitely better, but I do also think the ghost option might be a better one over all having used something similar once on another server in the past.

Out of curiosity how does the ghost option handle spotty camera coverage and cut cameras?

Static in areas without cameras and Have a replica of the room without it showing humans/creatures when cut