• which end of the model is the bow/fore/face

    • When you set the model up, "fore" is farthest from the user etc. After that, from the programmer's point of view, they don't change. If you need to give the user a reference, use X, Y and Z because most basically numerate users will have met the X and Y axes on graphs.

  • meanings change depending on whether you are dealing with an upright (human) or supine (dog/horse) vertebrate

    • I find dealing with humans simplest for humans to understand. You don't need to represent every object as a human, just imagine a human standing on or in it or riding it or whatever.

  • And finally, the terminologies are often verbose

    • Agreed. Fore(ward), Aft(er), Top, Under, Left & Right are all short, familiar and all have different initial letters.

  • I always have to look up port & starboard

    • Although I've reverted to left & right above, it's easy to remember port as it's the side the passengers get in. This even applies to cars, except in countries affected by French revolutionary nonsense. Another commonly used nautical pair is "red" and "green". The mnemonic for this is "Port wine is red", hence "green" is starboard.

  • Quick: which way are you turning if you are experiencing negative yaw?

    • Anticlockwise as seen by someone looking forward. It's the old 360 degree compass, protractor or whatever - if you're reducing the number, you're turning anticlockwise.

  • And does it change...

    • Not from the model's point of view, or that of the navigating officer standing on the bridge. Again, I'm not sure whether you're trying to do this from the programmer's or user's point of view, but I think the two should be kept separate with location and conversion code if needed.

  • you imagine standing on the 'floor'

    • Agreed

  • facing the 'back'

    • Whatever fits your brain, but I think you're making problems for yourself here, as this is the opposite of how the user will see (and therefore think about) it.

  • I still have no handle on how to term them

    • This is where I need to know the purpose of the naming. If it's for the programmer, I'd stick to the original "fore", "port" or whatever. For the user, I'd suggest writing to as many potential users as you dare and asking them what they would use. Or even allow each user to name their own via a config file or whatever.

    As I've indicated, I think the answers may change depending on what the purpose is. I understand that commercial confidentiality may preclude giving more details in a public forum.

    Regards,

    John Davies

    In reply to Re^2: Naming ordinals in the presence of 3D rotation? (Still looking?) by davies
    in thread Naming ordinals (directions/sides/faces) in the presence of 3D rotation? by BrowserUk

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