>there's actually little point in standing still when trying to look at something afar.

Yeah, except when I stop because I don't want to accidentally run into that lava lake/hole just in front of me. Or when I am waiting for my elevator I probably want to see what it is doing atm and when it has finished delivering that other player so it comes up to me again.

There are so many occasions I could imagine where I would not want the game to zoom in while standing still..
I am afraid that this feature will annoy the player more than help him (imagine Age of Empires or Anno or The Settlers or Cultures automatically zooming for you - bwah!)