better zoom method?

  • UD8N
    16th Jan 2022 Member 0 Permalink

    Ok so i've been having a bit of a problem. I'm assuming everyone here knows you can zoom in by clicking Z and clicking yada yada yada, but the method of zooming just seems really... just bad... You think you'd be able to zoom in and that part of the screen would just get larger like any other program in existance, but instead you have to hold Z and click to zoom in on a certain section of the screen. I might be ok with this if it weren't for the fact that because your mouse sensitivity obviously doesn't change, meaning I can't place anything with precision which makes it a lot harder to make anything on a small scale. Is there anything I can do to change the method of zooming or am I just stuck placing things wrong and the deleting them only to delete the wrong thing forever?

    Edited once by UD8N. Last: 16th Jan 2022
  • jacob1
    16th Jan 2022 Developer 0 Permalink
    Which shortcut are you suggesting exactly? I did consider two-finger zooming for the Android port, but I never invested the time to figure out how to handle gestures. This idea would have worked as you want, basically like zooming in/out of a webpage.

    The current zoom is actually more powerful than you might think. If you scroll up/down while holding z but before clicking (or use the alternate shortcuts [ and ]), then you can adjust the size of the zoom scope. You can zoom in on as few as 4 pixels, and it will project it up to the size of the zoom window. This will let you get more accuracy by zooming in on a smaller area.

    The default zoom scope works well and provides the precision you probably want though.


    It also occurred to me while writing this some users might be using the Android port and have trouble with zoom. If so, you can still change the zoom scope size by using the volume keys while placing the zoom window. The volume keys replicate the scroll wheel on Android.
    Edited 2 times by jacob1. Last: 16th Jan 2022
  • UD8N
    16th Jan 2022 Member 0 Permalink

    @jacob1 (View Post)

     Thank you for your quick reply, the problem I'm having is it can be hard to make straigh lines or place pixels where I want as even the slightest mouse movements can move the cursor to the side making it difficult to make straight lines or pixel art. What I'm saying is I wish there was a way to have the mouse sensitivty be the same in the zoom window as it is in normal gameplay (if that makes sense.)

    (P.S. no hate towards the game, I've had a blast with it so far!)

  • jacob1
    16th Jan 2022 Developer 0 Permalink
    @UD8N (View Post)
    Hmm, the problem you describe doesn't make much sense to me, as mouse sensitivity is way better in the zoom window just by the nature of what it is.
    With the zoom window up, you can draw inside the zoom window. As each pixel is much bigger, this makes it easier to draw. So just to confirm, draw in the window that appears in the upper left or right corners.

    And you can draw perfectly straight lines by holding shift. While drawing lines, you can also snap it to the axis by also holding alt.

    And if that's still not enough, use the scrollwheel trick I mentioned.
  • UD8N
    16th Jan 2022 Member 0 Permalink

    @jacob1 (View Post)

     What exactly do you mean by the sensitivity is "better" in the zoom window?

  • LBPHacker
    16th Jan 2022 Developer 0 Permalink
    What he means is that if you define sensitivity as the distance you move your mouse divided by the number of cells the in-game cursor is displaced by that movement, sensitivity is higher in the zoom window than everywhere else, that is, you have to move your mouse more than outside it to get the same in-game cursor displacement. This "makes it easier to aim".

    I didn't quite understand what you meant by the sensitivity being the same in the zoom window as it is in normal gameplay. Can you elaborate on this?
    Edited 2 times by LBPHacker. Last: 16th Jan 2022
  • UD8N
    16th Jan 2022 Member 0 Permalink

    @LBPHacker (View Post)

     Well as you said yourself, "sensitivity is higher in the zoom window than everywhere else," which would make it harder to aim as you have to move your mouse less to get the same cursor distance, amplifying even tiny mouse movements. What I mean is you should have less sensitivity while zooming so that inside the zoom window the relative sensitivity is the same as it would be outside of the window. Does any of this make sense? It's hard to explain without just showing you.

  • LBPHacker
    16th Jan 2022 Developer 0 Permalink
    You ignored my definition of "sensitivity". I suggest we stop using this word for now.

    There are two cursors to speak of. One is what I call the "system cursor", managed by your operating system, controlled directly via the mouse. The other is what I call the "in-game cursor", which tells you where in the simulation clicking will have an effect. The system cursor is drawn over the window by the operating system, and the in-game cursor is drawn as the outline of the current brush.

    In "normal gameplay", these two cursors overlap perfectly. so if your brush is small enough, you can't even see the in-game cursor. When you have the zoom window open, you can sometimes see not two but three cursors: the system cursor, the in-game cursor in the main view, and the in-game cursor in the zoom window, as seen below. Note that I have to move my system cursor a lot more to get the same in-game cursor displacement when it's in the zoom window than when it's not.

    image
  • UD8N
    16th Jan 2022 Member 1 Permalink

    @LBPHacker (View Post)

     Oh my god I feel like an idiot, I had no idea you could move the mouse INTO the zoom window.
    I'm so sorry! Thank you for being patient with me as these things tend to happen.

  • LBPHacker
    16th Jan 2022 Developer 1 Permalink
    Don't sweat it, these things do happen. I'm glad to have been able to help.