mapbox / mapbox/mapbox-gl-js

Retain Globe Curvature at higher zoom levels and/or when camera tilted

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Dominant language
TypeScript
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Description

Motivation

With the 3D globe projection, the globe curvature is reduced based on zoom level. When the camera is tilted, this transition is jarring for a few reasons:

  • Users with camera tilted can see tile data far off (for the poles) which adds visual noise
  • The fog disappears when the zoom level is in the middle of the transition between globe <-> flat, calling attention to the transition and making it hard to cover up with atmosphere effects

Would it be possible to retain the globe curvature at higher zooms whenever the camera is tilted?

Screenshots of globe behavior
3D Globe at low zoom levels
Screenshot from 2024-07-27 10-16-08

Middle of globe <-> flat transition, fog is gone
Screenshot from 2024-07-27 10-18-43

Fog returns, but you can still see very far off on flat plane when camera is tilted
Screenshot from 2024-07-27 10-16-13

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the 3D globe behavior at higher zoom levels with the camera tilted, comparing the globe-to-flat transition and fog visibility shown in the screenshots. Trace the projection and camera-transition entry points in mapbox-gl-js; done means tilted views retain appropriate globe curvature at higher zooms without the reported visual noise or jarring fog transition.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
computer-graphics
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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