Alright. There might be some of you who just by looking at the title to this post go: Duh!
And for those of you, who like me, wouldn'tve figured out what the problem is here's the low down.
I keep saying that my camera controls aren't quite what I want and there's a reason for that. I'm working in a 3D space, but I'm using a 2D input device (the mouse).
Now, my original code to rotate the cube around the screen was by adjusting the x and y rotations by the value that the mouse has moved. Seemed simple enough. Create a degree of rotation, transfer that into a Matrix and poof! Instant rotation of the cube... and this does work... mostly. The problem is, I'm only using 2 out of 3 dimensions for rotation... can anyone see the problem?
I did some research and found out the term... it's called Gimbal Lock. This happens with 3D maths that use regular vectors and matrices... 1 axis of rotation lines up with a 2nd axis and suddenly they're locked together, unable to seperate. Leaving you only 2 degrees of rotation. Well my code has this without even bothering to lock an axis. Since I was only using the x- and y-axis, this locked the z-axis from any rotation. In theory I deliberately coded in a Gimbal Lock.
Now, I've read about how I can prevent this completely by using Quaternions... what's a Quaternion? Good question, I never studied these in University, so everything I'm learning is from the wonderful internet. With that said, I think I have a rough enough understanding on how they work and how to use them. Unfortunately, the XNA libraries don't have prebuilt Quaternion maths, so it looks like I'll be creating a new Component to my GameLibrary that'll handle all of my Quaternions.
(As a quick heads up for people who've never heard of Quaternions... they work in 4D space, wrap your head around that!)
