Third Person

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The Third Person View Type is the shared orbit, framing, collision, zoom, and spring baseline for Adventure, Combat, and RPG cameras. Use this family when the character should remain visible behind or beside the camera, then choose the concrete option that matches how camera yaw and character facing should interact.

Third Person is abstract and cannot be added directly to the Camera Controller. Add Adventure, Combat, or RPG; each option inherits the shared settings on this page.

Set up a third-person camera

Select the camera with the Camera Controller component and expand View Types.
Use the add control and select Third Person Adventure, Third Person Combat, or Third Person RPG. Do not look for the abstract Third Person baseline in the add list.
Select the new row to configure it, then select its radio button in the Active column. When both perspectives are installed, choose the same option in Third Person View Type.
On the character, expand Ultimate Character Locomotion > Movement Types, add a compatible third-person Movement Type, select it in the Active column, and choose it in Third Person Movement Type when both perspectives are available.
On Camera Controller, confirm Character, Anchor, Auto Anchor, Auto Anchor Bone, and Anchor Offset before tuning the selected View Type’s Look Offset.
Configure horizontal and vertical look controls through Input.
Enter Play Mode and establish orbit, character-facing, and aiming behavior before adding procedural springs, step zoom, or project-specific camera states.

See View Types for the complete Camera Controller workflow and Movement Types for the character side of each pairing.

Choose Adventure, Combat, or RPG

Scenario	Concrete View Type	Recommended Movement Type	What to observe
Exploration needs a camera that can orbit independently within a configured yaw range	Adventure	Third Person Adventure or Four Legged	Rotate around a standing and moving character; the camera should keep its permitted yaw without forcing Combat-style facing.
Aiming or action gameplay should keep character forward coordinated with camera yaw	Combat	Third Person Combat or Four Legged	Move, strafe, aim, and use an item; character facing and camera-local yaw should remain coordinated.
The camera should normally follow behind the character but allow temporary free movement or forced alignment	RPG	Third Person RPG or Four Legged	Move with free movement released, then test Camera Free Movement Input Name and Character Forced Rotation Input Name when Allow Free Movement is enabled.

Keep the scene, input, character, and test route unchanged while comparing these options. Choose the camera and Movement Type as a pair; changing only one side can make movement direction, character rotation, and aiming disagree.

Choose another third-person composition

The following supplied View Types are third person but do not inherit this Third Person orbit baseline, so their settings and verification differ:

Third Person Pseudo3D (2.5D) presents a side view and can follow the path used by the Pseudo3D Movement Type.
Third Person Top Down provides an overhead composition for Top Down, Point Click, or Four Legged movement.
Third Person Look At continuously frames a target, or the character when no target is assigned, for a special view such as a death camera.

Use those pages instead of applying the offset, pivot-freedom, or step-zoom guidance below to a camera with a different positioning model.

Frame the character around the anchor

Configure the Camera Controller’s anchor first, then use the concrete View Type’s shared framing fields:

Choice	Use it when	Play Mode check
Anchor, Auto Anchor, and Auto Anchor Bone	The orbit should originate from the character root, a child Transform, or a humanoid bone.	Animate the character and confirm the anchor does not add unwanted head or body motion.
Anchor Offset	The entire camera family needs a stable adjustment before View Type framing.	Change the character stance and verify the orbit center remains appropriate.
Look Offset	The camera needs a shoulder-side, vertical, or behind-character offset. The `x` value moves along camera right, `y` follows character up, and `z` moves along camera forward.	Compare both shoulders, slopes, crouching, and equipped items without moving the anchor.
Look Offset Smoothing	State-driven offset changes should ease instead of snap. Set it to `0` for no smoothing.	Change every state that modifies the offset and confirm the camera settles quickly enough.
Horizontal Pivot Freedom	The character may move a limited horizontal distance on screen before the camera follows.	Strafe in both directions and confirm the delayed follow is intentional, not input lag.

Forward Axis rotates the final camera orientation toward a chosen local forward vector. Keep the default unless the project intentionally uses another camera-forward convention. Look Direction Distance controls how far gameplay look raycasts search ahead; it does not change the visible camera distance.

Configure rotation and collision

Pitch Limit is the minimum and maximum vertical look range. A span narrower than 180 degrees constrains pitch; a full 180-degree span allows unrestricted pitch.
Rotation Speed controls how quickly the camera rotation follows its calculated target. Higher values follow more closely; lower values add lag.
Secondary Rotation Speed controls rotational overrides and alignment to the character’s gravity direction. Test it on moving platforms or custom gravity when the project uses either feature.
Collision Radius sets the camera obstruction sphere size.
Collision Anchor Offset moves the start of the obstruction check relative to the camera anchor. Use it to keep the cast clear of the character without hiding real wall collisions.

The shared Third Person camera sphere casts from the anchor area toward the desired offset position and moves inward when an obstacle blocks the character. Test this separately from Object Fader, which handles visibility rather than calculating the orbit position.

Configure field of view, step zoom, and springs

Field Of View and Field Of View Damping control the lens angle and how quickly a changed value settles. Camera Controller Can Zoom and Zoom State govern state-based zoom, which can change field of view or other preset values.

The Step Zoom foldout provides a separate distance adjustment:

Step Zoom Input Name selects the axis mapping.
Step Zoom Sensitivity controls how quickly input changes the offset. A value greater than 0 registers the step-zoom input event when the View Type activates; see the switching restriction below.
Step Zoom Limit clamps the minimum and maximum amount added to the Look Offset’s z distance.

Test the mapping direction and both limits with each concrete View Type. Step zoom and state-based zoom solve different problems, so verify them independently.

In Version 3, switching away from this View Type does not correctly unregister its Step Zoom input event. Returning can register another copy, causing one scroll input to change distance multiple times or leaving an old mapping active. For a camera that switches View Types, set Step Zoom Sensitivity to 0 on these views before Play Mode and use state-based zoom, or correct the source input cleanup before enabling Step Zoom.

Use Primary Spring for ongoing position and rotation response. Use Secondary Spring for forces that return toward equilibrium, such as recoil or a brief camera shake. Follow Springs for stiffness, damping, and force behavior; establish stable framing first, then introduce one spring source at a time.

Verify in Play Mode

Confirm that the intended concrete row and matching Movement Type are active before moving the character.
Stand still, orbit through the full pitch and yaw behavior, then walk, strafe, turn, aim, and use an item. Verify the Adventure, Combat, or RPG relationship selected above.
Move through doorways, close walls, corners, low ceilings, and foreground objects. The camera should move inward without clipping, losing the character, or remaining stuck after the path clears.
Compare shoulder and vertical framing while standing, crouching, jumping, and changing items. Anchor Offset, Look Offset, and Horizontal Pivot Freedom should produce deliberate screen placement.
Test ordinary and custom gravity, slopes, and moving platforms if the game uses them. Camera up alignment and rotation smoothing should remain controlled.
Exercise state-based zoom and step zoom separately. Confirm field of view, distance, input direction, and limits all return to their expected defaults.
Apply recoil or another camera force only after the base view is stable. Primary and Secondary Springs should settle without a permanent offset or repeated oscillation.
If both perspectives are installed, switch away and back. The selected Third Person View Type and Third Person Movement Type should return with working input and framing. Keep Step Zoom disabled for this switching test unless its source cleanup has been corrected.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check	Fix
Third Person is absent from the add menu.	The baseline is abstract.	Add Adventure, Combat, or RPG, or choose another concrete option from the third-person composition list.
Character facing does not match the camera design.	The View Type and Movement Type may not be a recommended pair.	Select the pairing in the comparison table, then retest movement, aiming, and item use.
The character appears on the wrong shoulder or too high or low.	Anchor Offset and Look Offset may both be shifting the frame.	Establish the anchor first, then tune the View Type offset one axis at a time.
Strafing feels like delayed input.	Horizontal Pivot Freedom may allow the character to move across the frame before the camera follows.	Reduce the freedom, then compare left and right movement at gameplay speed.
The camera clips, moves inward too early, or catches on corners.	Collision Radius, Collision Anchor Offset, or Look Offset may not fit the environment.	Tune them in the exact problem space and verify that the cast still keeps the character visible.
Rotation feels delayed or unstable.	Rotation Speed, Secondary Rotation Speed, springs, or an animated anchor may be contributing motion.	Test with a stable anchor and neutral springs, then restore one motion source at a time.
Pitch stops too early or flips farther than intended.	Pitch Limit may have an unsuitable range.	Set the intended minimum and maximum and test both ends with rapid input.
Step zoom does not respond.	Step Zoom Sensitivity may be `0`, the input mapping may be missing, or the limits may allow no useful range.	Set a positive sensitivity, verify Input, and test distinct minimum and maximum limits.
Zoom changes field of view but not distance, or changes distance but not field of view.	State-based zoom and Step Zoom are separate systems.	Configure and test Can Zoom and Zoom State separately from the Step Zoom foldout.
A foreground object hides the character even though collision works.	Camera positioning and object fading solve different obstruction cases.	Configure Object Fader for the remaining visibility problem.
Step zoom accelerates after switching away and back, or an old axis still responds.	The previous View Type’s Step Zoom registration was retained.	Disable Step Zoom before startup for switching cameras, or correct the registration cleanup; lowering sensitivity only masks duplicate input.

Developer details

ThirdPerson is a serializable abstract ViewType. Adventure, Combat, and RPG inherit it and add their yaw behavior; their current recommended Movement Type attributes also accept Four Legged. Pseudo3D, Top Down, and Look At derive directly from ViewType and do not share this field set.

Rotate applies moving-platform rotation, optional alignment to the character’s up direction, Pitch Limit, Forward Axis, and primary and secondary rotation springs. Move calculates the Camera Controller anchor, smooths Look Offset, applies step zoom and position springs, honors Horizontal Pivot Freedom, and sphere casts from the collision anchor toward the desired camera position.

Gameplay look direction can account for crosshairs, recoil, moving-platform rotation, and a raycast up to Look Direction Distance. Step zoom registers an axis input event only when Step Zoom Sensitivity is greater than 0, then clamps the accumulated amount to Step Zoom Limit.