Exact Isometric Camera Angle?

Mighty BOB! · AA Infantry **Joined**: 05 Oct 2005 **Location**: USA

Hi I'm a newb to editing Tiberian Sun. I have only one question. Is there an exact angle people have figured out that I should set my camera to when rendering out a 3D structure to be an SHP (so it matches the ones in TS already), or am I just going to have to eyeball it?

I checked the search function but didn't come up with anything useful about the correct angle aside from that it is isometric and not perspective which I already know.

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Regulus · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:03 am Post subject:

I have wondered this same question for a long time. My intuition tells me 45 degrees on the x and z axis.

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DaFool · Defense Minister **Joined**: 07 Nov 2006

by definition, shouldn't it be that when you look at the corner of a cube, all three faces appear to have 120 degree angles?

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Regulus · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:20 am Post subject:

i guess. I have no idea about stuff like that.

here is some information on it.

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Mighty BOB! · AA Infantry **Joined**: 05 Oct 2005 **Location**: USA

Yeah see I wasn't sure because different 2D/2.5D games in different franchises render from different angles so I'm not sure what is correct for TS specifically.

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Lin Kuei Ominae · Seth **Joined**: 16 Aug 2006 **Location**: Germany

found via forum search using the keywords "isometric" and "camera" Wink

http://mirror.creativegaming.net/3D2SHP/

And on Tibweb you can find a tutorial where i also uploaded 3dsmax example files for different building foundations with already set camera and lights.
(***) how to create SHP units with 3dsmax

The exact angle for the camera is 30° downwards. In other words the angle between the groundplane and the camera view direction is 30°.
image from the first link

Then activate orthographic view (not perspective) for the camera and you have the exact same view as the original ingame buildings/units.

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Mighty BOB! · AA Infantry **Joined**: 05 Oct 2005 **Location**: USA

Ah thanks a lot. That definitely goes over the technical info I was interested in. Wink

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Team Black · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:33 pm Post subject:

Are we going to see some sexy shps soon, Bob?

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Mighty BOB! · AA Infantry **Joined**: 05 Oct 2005 **Location**: USA

Actually Team Black I'm afraid not. I must confess that my real motive for this post was so I can compare precision 3D replicas of TS structures I'm making with their 2D counterparts directly at their exact angles.

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Aro · Alcohol Fueled **Joined**: 10 Sep 2006

Shame. I was about to ask if you wanted to fill the position on TI as a modeler. #Tongue

Mortecha · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 9:56 pm Post subject:

Computer based isometry is not exacly 30 degrees but rather 26.6 degrees instead. This is due to correct pixel allignment.

http://www.kirupa.com/developer/isometric/30degrees.htm

Lin Kuei Ominae · Seth **Joined**: 16 Aug 2006 **Location**: Germany

i use 30° for all my buildings and get the same 2:1 pixel step

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5 GDI, 5 Nod, 1 Mutant, 1 Scrin unit, 1 GDI building

Tools
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Mortecha · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 11:51 pm Post subject:

Hmm.

http://www.kirupa.com/developer/actionscript/isometric_transforms.htm

About half way down the writer goes into detail about isometric calculations, he seems to have done everything using the 26.6 offset.

Weather this is a flash thing or not, the difference is miniscule.