Third Person Top Down

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Use Third Person Top Down when the character should remain visible beneath an overhead or high-angle camera, with movement driven directly, by twin-stick input, or by point-and-click navigation. The View Type follows the Camera Controller anchor, supports cursor and controller aiming, and can raise its pitch to avoid an obstruction between the anchor and camera.

Before you begin

Choose the character behavior before tuning the camera. Top Down currently recommends three Movement Types:

Third Person Top Down for direct movement relative to the camera, with either movement-facing or independent aim.
Third Person Point & Click for click-to-move navigation. It also requires a Pathfinding Movement ability and Move Towards.
Third Person Four Legged for a non-strafing animal or creature viewed from above.

Set up the Top Down view

Select the camera with the Camera Controller component and expand View Types.
Use the add control and select Third Person Top Down. Select its row, then select its radio button in the Active column. When both perspectives are installed, also select it as Third Person View Type.
Select the character and expand Ultimate Character Locomotion > Movement Types. Add and activate the Movement Type chosen above, then select it as Third Person Movement Type when both perspectives are installed.
For Point & Click, add a Pathfinding Movement ability such as NavMeshAgent Movement above Move Towards, and keep the mouse cursor available for selecting destinations.
Configure the Camera Controller Anchor and Anchor Offset before the View Type. Place the anchor above the character’s head when Vertical Look Direction must cover targets at different heights.
On Third Person Top Down, set Forward Axis, Up Axis, Pitch Limit, and View Distance for the intended level framing.
Set a positive Collision Radius and View Step when the camera should increase its pitch around non-fadeable obstructions. Add Object Fader when supported foreground materials should fade instead.
Configure look direction for the selected input scheme, then enter Play Mode and verify framing, movement, aiming, and obstruction handling before adding dynamic state transitions or springs.

Choose a movement and input scenario

Scenario	Character setup	Look behavior	What to verify
Mouse-aimed action game	Top Down with Relative Camera Movement enabled and Look In Move Direction disabled	Cursor position controls character aim; optionally enable Vertical Look Direction	The character moves relative to the screen while aiming independently at valid targets.
Twin-stick action game	Top Down with Relative Camera Movement enabled and Look In Move Direction disabled	A connected controller uses horizontal and vertical look axes relative to the camera	Movement and aim remain independent in every camera orientation.
Movement-facing game	Top Down with Look In Move Direction enabled	The character’s forward direction replaces cursor or stick aim	Turning follows movement without aim jitter near the character.
Point-and-click game	Point Click plus Pathfinding Movement and Move Towards	The click ray selects a destination; the Point Click Movement Type does not use direct movement input	Clicking valid ground starts navigation while clicks over UI or too close to the character do not.
Four-legged overhead game	Four Legged	Character turning follows the selected Four Legged rotation behavior	Forward, reverse, and turning remain readable without expecting strafing.

Keep the camera settings unchanged while comparing Movement Types. A camera problem can appear to be an input problem when the active View Type and Movement Type are not the intended pair.

Configure framing and obstruction handling

Forward Axis chooses the horizontal direction used to compose the view. Up Axis supplies the camera’s reference up direction when the character is not aligning the camera to its own up direction.
Pitch Limit is a minimum-and-maximum range. The minimum is the normal camera pitch. When an obstruction is found, the camera increases the pitch by View Step until the route is clear or the maximum is reached.
View Distance places the camera away from the anchor along the calculated view ray.
Rotation Speed controls how quickly the camera faces back toward the anchor. A value of 0 prevents normal rotation from advancing; higher values follow more quickly.
Move Smoothing controls the time used to settle toward the calculated camera position. A value of 0 applies positional changes immediately.
Collision Radius sets the obstruction sphere radius. A value of 0 disables the obstruction check. Keep View Step greater than 0 whenever collision is enabled so the camera can advance through its pitch search.

If Object Fader is present and every material on the hit object can fade, Top Down leaves the selected pitch unchanged and lets the object fade. Otherwise it tries progressively steeper angles. The camera does not shorten View Distance, and reaching the maximum pitch does not guarantee that a crowded camera corridor is clear, so test the complete level route.

Configure look direction

When Look In Move Direction is enabled on an installed Top Down Movement Type, character aim follows character forward. Disable it when the cursor or right stick should aim independently.

For mouse input, Top Down normally projects the cursor onto a horizontal plane through the requested look position. At lower camera angles, a second plane supplies a fallback when the cursor ray is above the horizon. Enable Vertical Look Direction when a physics hit should provide height as well as horizontal direction. Look Direction Distance limits that ray, and the target must have a collider on a permitted layer.

For a connected controller with the cursor hidden, the horizontal and vertical look axes produce an aim direction relative to the camera. Configure those mappings through Input. Vertical Look Direction does not change this controller path.

Change the composition with states

The dynamic controls animate Top Down settings when the State System changes:

Allow Dynamic Camera Rotation transitions the horizontal Forward Axis toward Desired Angle using Change Angle Speed and Rotation Transition Curve.
Allow Dynamic Pitch Adjustment transitions the minimum value of Pitch Limit toward Desired Pitch using Change Pitch Speed. Enable Use Independent Pitch Transition to use Pitch Transition Curve; otherwise it reuses the rotation curve.
Allow Dynamic Distance Adjustment transitions View Distance toward Desired Distance using Change Distance Speed. Set this speed above 0. Enable Use Independent Distance Transition to use Distance Transition Curve; otherwise it reuses the rotation curve.

Set the desired values in the state preset, then test the transition into and out of that state. These transitions start during a state change; changing a desired value alone does not continuously trigger a new transition.

Use Secondary Position Spring and Secondary Rotation Spring for temporary forces such as recoil or camera shake. Establish stable movement, aiming, collision, and state transitions first, then add one force source at a time. See Springs for the shared spring controls.

Verify in Play Mode

Confirm that Third Person Top Down and the intended Movement Type are selected in their active lists and dual-perspective dropdowns.
Move through the full input range. Screen-relative directions, character facing, and independent aim should match the selected scenario.
Test the final aspect ratio at the level edges, in corners, and at the highest and lowest elevations. Forward Axis, Pitch Limit, and View Distance should keep the playable area readable.
Pass the camera beneath non-fadeable ceilings, arches, and foreground props. It should increase pitch in View Step increments without clipping or exceeding the maximum pitch unexpectedly.
Repeat with a fadeable foreground object and Object Fader enabled. The material should fade while the camera retains its selected pitch.
Test mouse aim near the character, at the screen edges, and above the horizon. With Vertical Look Direction enabled, test targets below, level with, and above the look position.
Test a connected controller with the cursor hidden. Both look axes should remain camera-relative and should not depend on Vertical Look Direction.
For Point & Click, click valid ground, invalid layers, UI, and positions inside the minimum click distance. Only a valid destination should start movement.
Activate every state that changes angle, pitch, or distance. Each value should reach its desired result, follow the chosen curve, and restore correctly when the state ends.
Apply every project-used secondary spring, then switch away from and back to Top Down. Framing, collision, movement, and aim should return without drift or a persistent force.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check	Fix
Movement direction does not match the screen.	The wrong Movement Type may be active, or Relative Camera Movement may be disabled.	Activate the intended pairing and enable camera-relative movement for screen-relative direct control.
The character faces movement instead of the cursor or right stick.	Look In Move Direction may be enabled on the installed Top Down Movement Type.	Disable it for independent aim and retest both mouse and controller input.
Point-and-click input does nothing.	Pathfinding Movement or Move Towards may be missing, the cursor may be over UI, or the click ray may miss Solid Object Layers.	Add the required abilities in the correct order and test a valid collider outside Min Point Click Distance.
The camera stays on the wrong side of the character.	Forward Axis may not match the intended screen orientation.	Set the axis for the desired level direction, then retest input and aiming together.
The camera does not turn toward the anchor.	Rotation Speed may be `0`.	Use a positive speed and compare immediate and gradual response during rapid movement.
The camera snaps or follows too slowly.	Move Smoothing may be `0` or too large.	Increase it slightly to soften snapping, or reduce it to follow faster.
Play Mode stalls when an obstruction is present.	Collision Radius may be positive while View Step is `0`.	Set a positive View Step so the obstruction search can advance toward the maximum pitch.
The camera still clips at its steepest angle.	The route may remain blocked at the maximum Pitch Limit, or View Distance may extend into geometry.	Clear the camera corridor, raise the maximum pitch carefully, reduce distance, or use a fadeable foreground material.
A fadeable object makes the camera change pitch anyway.	Object Fader may be absent or one of the hit object’s materials may not support fading.	Add and configure Object Fader, then verify every Renderer material on that object.
Mouse aim stays on one height.	Vertical Look Direction may be disabled, the target ray may miss, or the anchor/look position may be too low.	Enable it, place the anchor above head height, and verify target colliders, layers, and distance.
Controller aiming ignores Vertical Look Direction.	That option is only used by the cursor ray.	Configure the horizontal and vertical look axes for the controller path.
A dynamic distance state does not move the camera.	Allow Dynamic Distance Adjustment may be disabled, Change Distance Speed may be `0`, or no state change occurred.	Enable it in the relevant preset, set a positive speed and desired distance, then enter the state again.

Developer details

TopDown is a direct third-person ViewType whose recommended Movement Types are TopDown, FourLegged, and PointClick. It reports zero pitch and yaw, uses character rotation as its base rotation, and always reports a third-person perspective.

Move builds a ray from the Camera Controller anchor using Forward Axis, Up Axis, and the minimum Pitch Limit. With collision enabled, it disables the character collider layer and sphere casts along that ray. Non-fadeable hits increase pitch by View Step up to the maximum; the target position remains the ray origin plus direction multiplied by View Distance, then uses Vector3.SmoothDamp and the secondary position spring.

Rotate looks back along the view ray using character up when Align To Up Direction is enabled, otherwise Up Axis. It uses a time-scaled Quaternion.Slerp with Rotation Speed, then adds the secondary rotation spring.

The detailed LookDirection overload returns character forward when the cached Top Down Movement Type has Look In Move Direction enabled. Otherwise it uses cursor raycasts and planes, or camera-relative controller axes. State changes start the optional angle, minimum-pitch, and distance interpolations and preserve the prior field-of-view damping for the active camera update.