why when i pan zoomed out does it go 2d ? Help!

[Bicknell1999]

I've been trying to figure something out. When I'm at a normal focal length and try to pan, my asteroids appear to flatten into 2D. However, if I zoom in a lot and then pan left or right, they seem to maintain their 3D appearance.

I created an asteroid belt in the zoomed-out view, but when I try to pan toward different planets, it doesn’t have the same visual effect as when I’m zoomed in. I’ve tried everything—adjusting the Z-position of the background and the asteroids—but whenever I do, all the asteroids shift position in a way that breaks the scene.

Any help would be absolutely amazing. I can link a video if needed!

[slowtiger]

Without a video it's hard to say.

I've noticed that a multiplane scene can easily break when I combine a camera pan (sideways) with a zoom-in/track in, so I mostly avoid this. Tricks to cover this: have a very fast zoom-in, or a clean cut between scenes.

[Bicknell1999]

hi iv attached the video below, basically im trying to pan to a char then zoom out and fit both in to the scene.


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0e9ioy10 ... 2yw7u&dl=0

[slowtiger]

Ah, now I see what you're doing.

Your asteroids seem to be all on the same level. If you zoom in (use a long lens), the perspective distortion from panning (camera tool 7) is nearly invisible because you only see about half a dozen at any time. If you zoom out (use a shorter lens (wide angle), perspective distortion becomes more visible. So this is normal behaviour.

Try using camera tool 4 instead, this will do the "normal" pan and all asteroids will look the same no matter how much you zoom in.

[Bicknell1999]

yeah i wanted to do that but when i do that the asteroides move around, if you dont mind il send you a fill if you wouldnt mind checking it out id be very grateful!

[slowtiger]

I think there's a misunderstanding on your side about camera moves and their visual results.

In the file you sent me there are several levels of asteroids, each with a different Z value. The camera move there does not change focal length. It only moves the camera along the Z axis (tool 4).

A general note: please refrain from asking me stuff per message. I answer in the forum or not at all, so any answer could be helpful to others as well.

[zukote]

This sounds like a classic case of perspective distortion when using an orthographic-like view at a wide zoom level. When you're zoomed out far, the parallax effect diminishes, making everything appear flatter, almost like 2D. One thing you can try is adjusting the camera's focal length or field of view to maintain a stronger sense of depth, even when zoomed out. Also, instead of shifting Z-positions too aggressively, try smaller incremental changes or group the asteroids within a 3D layer to preserve their spatial relationship. If you can share a video, it might help pinpoint exactly what's happening!