Feature request : "Track surface"
Posted: 15.09.2003, 21:38
An idea... 
We have "track" already, but that locks the FOV the the center of the planet. What would be good would be something like a "track surface" feature.
What I imagine here is that you could press a key (maybe Shift + T , since it's another kind of track) and your field of view would be locked to the area of the surface of the object you currently have selected, (obviously on "your side" of the object too).
So say if I was following the ISS, and I was already locked to the earth (to keep both in my FOV), and I was over a particularly interesting part of the world (Ireland, for example
). I would select "track surface", and the camera would follow whichever part of ireland was at the center of my screen, as I pressed the key. However, since i'm locked ISS : Earth, both would stay in my FOV, and my selected "track surface" position would pan across as I flew over.
Another example would be during Galileo's Jupiter orbital entry in 1995. As galileo flies past Io, the giant volcano Pilan Patera is a large surface feature of that part of Io. Instead of just tracking Io's center, meaning that Pilan Patera would not be centered the whole time, if I could just track this particular feature, it would give me a better view!
Perhaps when you press *down* Shift + T or whatever the key is, a large crosshair would appear at the center of the screen, allowing you to line up the particular area you're interested in. Then as you *release* the key, it would begin tracking this location.
Good idea...?!!
We have "track" already, but that locks the FOV the the center of the planet. What would be good would be something like a "track surface" feature.
What I imagine here is that you could press a key (maybe Shift + T , since it's another kind of track) and your field of view would be locked to the area of the surface of the object you currently have selected, (obviously on "your side" of the object too).
So say if I was following the ISS, and I was already locked to the earth (to keep both in my FOV), and I was over a particularly interesting part of the world (Ireland, for example
). I would select "track surface", and the camera would follow whichever part of ireland was at the center of my screen, as I pressed the key. However, since i'm locked ISS : Earth, both would stay in my FOV, and my selected "track surface" position would pan across as I flew over.
Another example would be during Galileo's Jupiter orbital entry in 1995. As galileo flies past Io, the giant volcano Pilan Patera is a large surface feature of that part of Io. Instead of just tracking Io's center, meaning that Pilan Patera would not be centered the whole time, if I could just track this particular feature, it would give me a better view!
Perhaps when you press *down* Shift + T or whatever the key is, a large crosshair would appear at the center of the screen, allowing you to line up the particular area you're interested in. Then as you *release* the key, it would begin tracking this location.
Good idea...?!!
