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Adding a camera zone

Recipe for placing an ACameraZoneActor and tuning it. No code — pure designer/engineer task in the level. For internals, see Camera system.

Place the actor

  1. From the Place Actors panel, drag ACameraZoneActor (or a Blueprint subclass like BP_CameraZone_Default) into the level.
  2. The actor has two components you tune in the viewport:
  3. ZoneBounds (UBoxComponent) — the trigger volume. Scale to cover the area where this camera should be active.
  4. ZoneCamera (UCameraComponent) — the camera itself. Position, rotate, and set FOV to define the viewpoint.

Position the camera

The project's baseline:

  • 800 units above the zone center.
  • Pitched -50 degrees (steep top-down oblique).
  • FOV 30 (narrow).

Match this unless the zone has a deliberate reason to differ. Wildly different FOVs make zone transitions visible.

Set priority

Priority (int32) decides which zone wins when the player overlaps multiple. Higher number = higher priority.

Convention:

  • A "main room" zone covering the whole space → priority 0.
  • Smaller zones for specific puzzle stations or viewpoints → priority 1, 2, etc.

Two zones with the same priority will produce indeterminate ordering. Always vary priority on overlap.

Pick a blend mode

bUseTimeBasedBlend toggles between two strategies:

  • Position-based (default, false) — the camera blends as the player walks deeper into the zone. Reversible: stepping back reverses the blend. Configure TransitionDepth (default 250 units) and AlphaSmoothingSpeed (default 12). Best for organic feel where the camera shouldn't snap.
  • Time-based (true) — the camera blends over BlendTime seconds regardless of player movement. Non-reversible. Best for sharp narrative cuts ("you turned the corner, the camera changes now").

If unsure, start with position-based and the defaults.

Player tracking (optional)

Set bTrackPlayer = true if the camera should follow the player's X/Y movement while they're inside the zone. Two sub-modes:

  • Clamped (bClampTracking = true, default) — camera offset is bounded by TrackingClampExtent (default 100,100). Camera moves a little but stays roughly where you put it.
  • Unclamped — camera follows freely. Use when the zone covers a large traversal area and the camera should track the player like a leash.

Tune TrackingInterpSpeed (default 3.0) for follow responsiveness. Higher is snappier; lower is more cinematic but laggy.

Cinematic override compatibility

The zone is automatically suppressed when the rune showcase camera is active. You don't need to do anything — the cinematic stack takes priority.

Common configurations

A puzzle station inside a larger room - Big room zone at priority 0, time-based blend false, no tracking. - Small puzzle zone at priority 1, position-based blend, bTrackPlayer = false (the puzzle frame should be fixed).

A long traversal corridor - Single zone covering the corridor, position-based blend, bTrackPlayer = true, unclamped tracking. Camera leashes along.

A reveal moment ("walk through this archway") - One zone before the archway with the entry view. One zone after with the reveal view, bUseTimeBasedBlend = true, BlendTime = 1.5 for a deliberate transition.

Spawn-in-zone handling

If the player spawns already inside the zone, the overlap callback won't fire normally. The actor handles this with CheckInitialOverlaps on the next tick after BeginPlay — it queries for already-overlapping pawns and notifies the subsystem with BlendTimeOverride = 0 so the camera snaps without a visible blend from nowhere. No designer action needed; just be aware that level-start positioning is honored.

Common mistakes

  • Two zones with the same priority overlapping. Pick one to be higher.
  • Time-based blend on a zone the player can re-enter quickly. Time-based isn't reversible — the camera will run the full blend regardless. Use position-based for high-traffic zones.
  • bTrackPlayer on a zone with a tight TrackingClampExtent. The camera barely moves, no real tracking. Either widen the clamp or drop tracking entirely.
  • Z-axis blending: the system ignores Z in penetration depth (only X/Y matter). Don't expect the camera to ramp as the player goes up/down stairs unless the zone bounds wrap that geometry tightly in X/Y too.

Verifying your work

  1. Run the level.
  2. Walk through the zone boundary. Camera should blend smoothly to the new viewpoint.
  3. Walk back. Position-based zones reverse the blend; time-based zones do not (this is by design).
  4. If overlapping, verify the higher-priority zone wins.
  5. Toggle into a calculator's range to fire a rune effect — the cinematic showcase camera should take over and your zone should resume cleanly when it ends.

Source files

  • Source/Rephrased_Demo/CameraZoneActor.h
  • Source/Rephrased_Demo/RuneCameraSubsystem.h

See also Camera authoring for the original design doc.

Change history

  • 2026-05-08 — Gabriel Li — Added baseline change history section for weekly wiki maintenance.