When I originally reviewed the Abtos Covert photo mode, the novel features shone definitely through, but I couldn't help thinking that it felt a little...unfinished. It seems that the team at Iphigames may have agreed because the photo mode has had something of an overhaul as part of a major update to the game that also includes an endless survival mode.
The no-clip camera with infinite range gets improved inputs with a new vertical craning option, better controller support, and the now fully functional Precision and Rapid movement modes. Those modifiers also work on the various settings like Focal Length, Exposure, and Focus Distance for coarse or fine adjustment, while the UI has been revamped to include slider bars for each one.
That's a welcome change as the sliders make it easier to understand the range on each setting as well as offering a good alternative to the scattered keyboard button mappings. All settings do all still rely on keyboard & mouse-only though, and that's despite the controller D-pad being totally unused.
The changes don't end there, and the photo mode UI actually includes a number of brand-new features. A camera flash adds a little illumination for starters, while the F11 key toggles a flicker effect on the outpost's interior lighting, and F10 activates a cool CCTV-style overlay.
Complete with videotape distortions, colour aberration, and an IR-green night vision filter, this new style does exactly what you might expect and is great to capture shots with a ready-made security camera look.
Just as before, the best feature in the Abtos Covert photo mode is the ability to spawn characters to use in your shots, and this has been expanded too. New enemies and animals mean that the original Soldier and Katerina characters are now joined by a creepy crawling child, a werewolf-like Lycaon, a fox, boar, and a deer to use as willing subjects.
Each one is animated by default and can be frozen to preserve a particular pose. This pose is then kept as you respawn the character elsewhere, letting you fine tune their positioning in the scene. Oh yeah, and you can actually exit the photo mode now once you're done. Just hold down the Esc key or options on the controller to return to the main menu.
An impressive update then, for a photo mode that already has some real innovation that goes way beyond purely capturing in-game actions. There is still plenty of room for refinement, but it is great to see the developers valuing feedback and implementing things that are really useful for virtual photographers.
Don't believe me? Just take a look at the patch notes...😉
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Full Feature Set:
Access & Control
Photo Mode Access: Start menu
Camera Movement: Unlimited noclip free camera Horizontal Pan: 360° Vertical Tilt: 180° Roll: ± 180°
Menu UI
Other Settings
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