Making navis more "fps" friendly

[Drunis]

Hello All,

While Im not new to navis, I have always been rather akward when trying to navigage through large complex structures.   Recentally, I got an idea to make the navigation more akin to the way a first person shooter video game would opperate E.G. half life Call of duty and the like.  typpically, when navigateing a videogame, the A,W,S,D keys would be utalised to move the player left right forwanrd, and backwards.  the mouse would be utalised in such a way that the player would look arround rather than to actually move.   I believe addapting navis to the same movement system as a video game would make navigation way more managable.  

The real question I have is :  How would one go about modifying  the HTML file to achieve the above mentioned example?  Better yet, Is there a file that already exists that I can simply copy and paste?

Thanks in advance for any guidance

[Patrick_Aps_9121]

With a worldwide view on software, your suggestion is only local: If you use another keyboard layout than qwerty, this is nonsence. Most users over here in Europe have other keyboard layouts and use the arrow keys to navigate. On an normal external keyboard, they are between the charaters and the numeric keys which most US users also never seem to use.

And, Navisworks, when activating the WALK mode, does support these keys, and the mouse scroll then is lifting your head up or down. I'm very pleased with this way of working.

[dgorsman]

The user base doesn't overlap with the FPS gaming crowd as much as some people think.  Something else to consider: not everybody can navigate easily with FPS-style controls, but everybody is used to using a mouse/trackball.

[trizzev]

Drunis: Navisworks has always been difficult to navigate. I have been teaching the software for years, and I witness that it's still the largest hurdle that students must get over. WASD + mouse has become a standard amongst first-person shooters because of its accuracy and ease of access. I'm with you and I typically don't use arrows as WASD because of their layout and placement. The scroll for look up/down is also just not accurate. I have some actual suggestions that have helped me over the years that may be helpful to you:

1. Get a 3D Connexion Space Navigator from Logitech. There is absolutely a learning curve, but it is accurate like an FPS. You can navigate 6-axes fluidly, so the payoff is greater than mastering NavisWalk.
2. Use a third-party application to re-map your keys. Xpadder or JoytoKey will allow you this function. You can even map to an Xbox 360 controller.

Bottom line is that I agree with your assessment that an FPS/Minecraft style control scheme would be suitable for Navisworks if not as a replacement to Naviswalk, but as an alternative.

[smbrennan]

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@trizzev wrote:
Get a 3D Connexion Space Navigator from Logitech. There is absolutely a learning curve, but it is accurate like an FPS. You can navigate 6-axes fluidly, so the payoff is greater than mastering NavisWalk.

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I second this. I have been forcing myself to use the 3D Connexion Mouse on my current, and it's DEFINITELY worth the learning curve. Oh, and I am also a former FPS gamer.

[mark.winnington]

I second this greatly,

It would be great if people would stop shutting down this great idea with a rather bizarre, "wasd keys don't suit other keyboard's key arrangements around the globe," argument.

The same positions of keys whatever they are will be used instead, that's like saying French people can't play FPS games because they don't use QWERTY keyboards. The solution is simple, they use ZQSD instead. 

The particular position of the WASD keys is preferable because of their location to the shift and space bar. Your very own Autodesk 360 uses WASD/shift/space bar navigation wonderfully, so it would be great to see the same applied to Navisworks. Solibri, one of Naviswork's competitors utilises WASD navigation, which is a massive selling point Solibri and I know many people agree.

Can Autodesk please provide this as an alternative to what is already there (NOT REPLACE to keep the wheelie guys happy) -  a large chunk of the Navisworks population would appreciate it greatly, especially the new generation coming through, not the older generation evidently.

Thanks

[andreas_kramer]

Still very urgent Topic. We have a broad user base under 30 years old. All of them know FPS controls, everyone struggles the odd walking mode.

Most of them went over to do everything in slomo, very annoying in Team Meetings or skype sessions.

[mmontana98MJW]

It is just crazy this has not been addressed yet!