> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.elementlabs.net/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Camera > Set the altitudes the map works between, the area it covers, and how every camera movement looks. ## 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: ```jsonc theme={null} { "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 ```text theme={null} 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. ## Related * [Configuration](/products/map/configuration/index) * [Controls](/products/map/configuration/controls) * [Visual treatment](/products/map/configuration/visual)