Camera feature

In vanilla Dark Forces, the camera ("EYE") is usually attached to the same object as the PLAYER, meaning that the level is viewed from the perspective of the player. It is possible for the camera to be placed on a non-player object, allowing for a third-person rather than first-person experience -- this is exploited in some mods (eg. Dark Tide, Enter the Kell Dragon).

TFE now allows the camera to be moved to a different object at any time during gameplay. This allows for various effects such as

• Being able to look through security cameras
• Better in-game "cutscenes" / cinematic sequences
• The ability to switch between first-person and third-person perspectives

See also: VUE Camera transforms

There are two ways to move the camera: via INF, or via ForceScript.

The camera (Eye) can be moved to any kind of object: a Spirit (invisible), an enemy, a scenery, a 3DO, etc. Be warned that if the object is destroyed while the camera is on it (eg. the enemy is killed) the game will crash.

Moving the camera with INF

The first step is to designate an object as a camera. This is done in the O file by using the new keyword CAMERA as follows.

CLASS: 3D      DATA:  0 X: 160.00 Y: -18.00 Z: 332.00 PCH: -25.00 YAW: 90.00 ROL: 0.00  DIFF: 1
 SEQ
  CAMERA
 SEQEND

A new CAMERA message has been added to INF. It can be sent the same way as other messages, either from a trigger or from an elevator stop. The following example shows it being sent from a trigger.

item: line   name: room1  num: 2
 seq
   class: trigger standard
     event_mask: 16
     client: camsec2
     message: CAMERA
 seqend

When the message is sent:

• If the camera is currently on the player, the game will search the target sector ("camsec2" in this example) for a camera object. When it finds one, it will move the camera to that object. If no camera object is found in the target sector, nothing will happen.
• If the camera is currently not on the player, the camera will be moved back to the player.