Camera - Element Labs

Purpose

configs/camera.jsonc controls where the camera can go and how it gets there: the altitude the map opens at, the limits it stays within, the area of the world it covers, and the timing of each movement.

Options

Altitude and view

Key	Default	Meaning
`fov`	`50.0`	The camera’s field of view, in degrees. Lower shows less ground and flattens perspective; higher shows more and exaggerates it.
`farClip`	`12000.0`	How far the camera renders. Below the altitude range the map uses, distant terrain is cut off.
`nearClip`	`0.1`	How close to the camera something must be before it stops being drawn.
`minHeight`	`15.0`	The lowest altitude above ground the camera can reach.
`maxHeight`	`9200.0`	The highest altitude the camera can reach.
`groundOffset`	`10.0`	The clearance kept above the terrain, so the camera does not clip into hills.
`openHeight`	`3000.0`	The altitude the map opens at.

The area the map covers

Key	Default	Meaning
`bounds.minX`	`-4000.0`	The western edge the camera can reach.
`bounds.minY`	`-4000.0`	The southern edge.
`bounds.maxX`	`4600.0`	The eastern edge.
`bounds.maxY`	`8000.0`	The northern edge.

The defaults cover the whole map. Narrow them to keep players inside the part of the world your server uses.

Opening and closing

Key	Default	Meaning
`open.duration`	`1.0`	Seconds the camera takes to rise from the player to the map view.
`open.ease`	`"inOutQuad"`	How that movement accelerates.
`close.duration`	`1.0`	Seconds the camera takes to return to the player.
`close.ease`	`"inOutQuad"`	How that movement accelerates.

Moving to a marker

Used when a player clicks a marker or a legend entry.

Key	Default	Meaning
`focus.panDuration`	`0.7`	Seconds spent moving across to the marker, at the current altitude.
`focus.zoomDuration`	`0.7`	Seconds spent descending afterwards.
`focus.zoomHeight`	`120.0`	The altitude above ground the camera ends at.
`focus.ease`	`"inOutQuad"`	How both movements accelerate.
`focus.prefetchRadius`	`150.0`	How wide an area around the destination is loaded in advance, so the ground is drawn on arrival.

Settling onto a marker

The magnet: when the camera stops with a marker near the centre of the screen, it slides so the marker sits exactly in the centre.

Key	Default	Meaning
`snap.magnet`	`true`	Whether the camera settles onto a marker at all. Set to `false` to disable it.
`snap.duration`	`0.35`	Seconds the settling movement takes.
`snap.ease`	`"inOutQuad"`	How it accelerates.
`snap.farDistance`	`800.0`	Beyond this distance the movement counts as long, and `zoomOutFirst` applies.
`snap.zoomOutFirst`	`true`	For a long movement, rise to `openHeight` first rather than travelling low across the ground.

Easing names

Every ease key accepts the same set of names. Each family below has three forms: in… accelerates at the start only, out… decelerates at the end only, and inOut… does both.

Family	Names	Character
None	`linear`	Constant speed, no acceleration.
Sine	`inSine`, `outSine`, `inOutSine`	The gentlest curve.
Quad, Cubic, Quart, Quint	`inQuad` … `inOutQuint`	Progressively sharper, in that order.
Expo	`inExpo`, `outExpo`, `inOutExpo`	Very slow start, very fast finish.
Circ	`inCirc`, `outCirc`, `inOutCirc`	Sharper than Quad, with a rounded finish.
Back	`inBack`, `outBack`, `inOutBack`	Overshoots slightly and comes back.
Elastic	`inElastic`, `outElastic`, `inOutElastic`	Oscillates around the target before settling.
Bounce	`inBounce`, `outBounce`, `inOutBounce`	Bounces at the end.

inOutQuad is used throughout the defaults. Back, Elastic and Bounce overshoot the target, so they suit opening and closing better than they suit settling onto a marker. A name that is not in the table falls back to inOutQuad without any message. Check the spelling if a movement does not change after an edit.

Example

A map limited to the city, opening lower and moving faster:

{
  "namespace": "camera",
  "configVersion": 1,
  "scope": "client",
  "values": {
    "openHeight": 1200.0,
    "open": { "duration": 0.6 },
    "close": { "duration": 0.6 },
    "bounds": {
      "minX": -2000.0,
      "minY": -3500.0,
      "maxX": 1500.0,
      "maxY": 1200.0
    }
  }
}

Groups are merged key by key, so "open": { "duration": 0.6 } keeps the shipped easing.

Applying changes

restart element_map

Safety

Key	Stay within	Why
`openHeight`	Between `minHeight` and `maxHeight`	Outside the range it is clamped, so the map opens somewhere other than where you set.
`minHeight`	Above `0`, and at least `groundOffset`	Lower lets the camera reach ground level, where terrain fills the screen.
`maxHeight`	At or below `farClip`	Above the render distance, the ground stops being drawn and the map shows empty space.
`farClip`	At or above `maxHeight`	Same reason, from the other side.
`fov`	Roughly `30` to `70`	Outside that, the view distorts noticeably at the edges.
`nearClip`	Roughly `0.05` to `1.0`	Larger values cut away anything directly under the camera, which is visible when zoomed in close.
`bounds`	`minX` below `maxX`, `minY` below `maxY`	Reversed or equal values leave no area to move in and the camera cannot be dragged.
`open.duration`, `close.duration`	Roughly `0.3` to `2.0`	Very short is jarring; very long delays the map every time it is opened.

Duration values are seconds, not milliseconds. 1.0 is one second; 1000 is roughly seventeen minutes of camera movement before the map becomes usable.

​Purpose

​Options

​Altitude and view

​The area the map covers

​Opening and closing

​Moving to a marker

​Settling onto a marker

​Easing names

​Example

​Applying changes

​Safety

​Related