CrimsonCamera · Lesson 4 of 6

Framing & Feel

Intermediate5 minGameplayBlueprints

Before you start

  • Completed: Your First Camera
  • Your active mode is a UCrimsonCameraMode_ThirdPerson subclass
Video coming soon

Chapters

1. Get the active mode instance

Shoulder, zoom, and recenter are methods on the third-person mode, so first fetch the live instance with Get Camera Mode Instance, passing the exact mode class you pushed, and cast it to third-person.

cpp
UCrimsonCameraMode_ThirdPerson* TP = Cast<UCrimsonCameraMode_ThirdPerson>(
    Cam->GetCameraModeInstance(UMyThirdPersonMode::StaticClass()));

2. Shoulder & zoom

cpp
if (TP)
{
    TP->ToggleShoulder();                 // Center <-> Right/Left
    TP->AddZoomDistance(ZoomAxis * 25.f); // clamped to [MinZoomDistance, MaxZoomDistance]
}
Tune the limits on the mode
ShoulderOffset (default 50), MinZoomDistance (-150), MaxZoomDistance (400), and the interp speeds are properties on the third-person mode — set them in the mode's Details (Blueprint) or constructor (C++).

3. Lag & recenter

Lag and auto-recenter are toggled by properties on the mode — set them once. Lag smooths the view, never the control rotation, so aiming stays crisp. Recenter Camera snaps behind on demand whether or not auto-recenter is on.

cpp
UMyThirdPersonMode::UMyThirdPersonMode()
{
    bEnableCameraLag = true;  CameraLagSpeed = 10.f;
    bEnableRecenter  = true;  RecenterDelay  = 1.5f;  RecenterInterpSpeed = 3.f;
}


// On a button, snap behind once:
if (TP) { TP->RecenterCamera(); }

4. Camera shake

Play Camera Shake forwards to the owning player's camera manager. It's a no-op for non-player pawns or a null shake, so it's safe to call from shared gameplay code.

cpp
if (UCrimsonCameraComponent* Cam = UCrimsonCameraComponent::FindCameraComponent(MyPawn))
{
    Cam->PlayCameraShake(UMyHitShake::StaticClass(), 1.0f);
}
Verify
Shoulder input slides the camera to the side; zoom dollies in/out; moving makes the view trail and re-center; the local player's camera shakes (remote pawns' shakes are ignored).

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