McDisplay-webGL: Zooming is very slow when close to the centre

[ebknudsen]

when close to the OrbitControls target zoomign and panning gets to be very slow. Probably because the movement is in % of the distance to the target.

Possible ways out:

• have a threshold value below which the move does not go.
• scale axes independently
• be able to move the target by panning along the instrument z-axis from component to component.

[willend]

Worth doing, but we may not have time before the next release(s)

[climbcat]

This is indeed very annoying, but it is not straigt-forward to fix. We need to devise a new zoom strategy, and worst case scenario, implement it. It is much faster to (dynamically?) configure the existing zoom behavior, or to install an alternative one.

[climbcat]

One option is to stick closely to a 2d top-view of the instrument which is oriented left-right on the screen (configurable to back- and side-views by some buttons near the top of the screen).

Clicking on the scene would reset the zoom target to that point in the instrument plane, but with a negative vertical coordinate (y if top-view). Rotating around the zoom target more than a certain degree (70?) would not be allowed. Also, the initial view would be reset @ zoom-out, to avoid the awkward and confusing instrument re-orientation mouse dragging activity.

[climbcat]

Peter's suggestions: Simplified: A few buttons (6?) that redefine the zoom target. Very simplified: A single button that pushes the zoom target forward (by some factor (with a ui field?) of the instrument size)

[willend]

@climbcat lowest priority