[1.9.x - 1.12.x] Camera Tools continued v1.35.0 [2024-09-07]

[Dash8466]

Hellow,

Im a big fan of the mod and have used it for quite some time now.

However, recently something has been bugging me. Ever since I've started to do more telelens shots and shots from a bystanders POV I've tried to replicade the feeling of a handheld camera.

this was always a great frustration since it was hard to do in game and you'd lose quality in post.

Would it perhaps be an idea to add in a random camera shake option for the next update?

Thanks in advance.

[DocNappers]

5 hours ago, Dash8466 said:

Hellow,

Im a big fan of the mod and have used it for quite some time now.

However, recently something has been bugging me. Ever since I've started to do more telelens shots and shots from a bystanders POV I've tried to replicade the feeling of a handheld camera.

this was always a great frustration since it was hard to do in game and you'd lose quality in post.

Would it perhaps be an idea to add in a random camera shake option for the next update?

Thanks in advance.

That should be possible, but I have some questions as how it ought to be implemented:

• How would such camera shake be simulated to give the feeling of a handheld camera? I'm thinking that Brownian motion with a Gaussian distribution and a bias back to the centre might give the desired effect, but I'm not sure if there isn't a better way.
• How would it scale with zoom level? Would it be fixed or scale linearly, polynomially or logarithmically with zoom?
• Would it apply to all camera modes or just some of them? For this, I'm thinking that it only really makes sense in Stationary and Pathing modes.

[Dash8466]

I sat down with Hatbat on this one and eventually came to the conclusion that a random shake was better implemented in post using a random handheld movement preset.

If you still want to make a feature for this I would suggest an amplitude/frequency controls with an option for realistic zoom based amplitude vs fixed magnitude.

Im not quite sure what brownian motion is but I recorded a basic patern that the preset provided, perhaps that might help visualize it a bit: 

 

 

The preset pack itself is available under this link: https://www.cinecom.net/designer-packs/handheld-camera-movement-presets-premiere-pro/

[DocNappers]

11 minutes ago, Dash8466 said:

I sat down with Hatbat on this one and eventually came to the conclusion that a random shake was better implemented in post using a random handheld movement preset.

 

OK, fair enough. I don't think I'll add it then.

[OrbitalManeuvers]

I'm not sure exactly which of the change notes affects this behavior, but I came to say a specific thank you to whoever/however this changed:  previously when using the StationaryCamera, right click would allow you to rotate the camera but would also weirdly integrate vertical mouse movement and you'd end up with roll in your rotate. Was that just me? It was difficult to use. Now, the camera remains level which is what I've wanted 100% of times I've used right-click to rotate the stationary camera. Thank you!

[DocNappers]

v1.19.2 of CameraTools is now released. Changelog:

Bugfixes:

• Check for the flight camera being null on startup (caused by other modules crashing KSP).
• Fix check for secondary camera target priorities in dogfight mode with BDArmory (incoming missiles are prioritised, then incoming fire, then current vessel's target).
• Ignore maxRelV when random mode is enabled (should fix badly placed stationary camera on vessel switches).

Improvements:

• Allow the stationary camera to be placed up to 5km higher to avoid potential terrain line-of-sight issues.

[The Destroyer]

Hi again. Just noticed one other issue I didn't have with the old camera tools: With the stationary camera, the camera zoom will reset to 1.0x each time I exit a shot, instead of staying at the previous zoom which is rather annoying

 

EDIT: negative relative velocity is also no longer possible (reverse flybys) it seems

Edited November 13, 2021 by The Destroyer

[DocNappers]

20 hours ago, The Destroyer said:

With the stationary camera, the camera zoom will reset to 1.0x each time I exit a shot, instead of staying at the previous zoom which is rather annoying

Restoring the original field of view of the camera (and zoom) is intentional as otherwise it messes with other modes (e.g., changing zoom in pathing mode, then switching to dogfighting mode would keep the modified zoom which just looks bad). Probably the easiest solution to this is to make a toggle for resetting the FoV or not when exiting/changing modes and leave it up to the user.

Edit: thinking about it a bit more, a better solution might be to remember the last used zoom in each mode and set that when entering that mode.

 

20 hours ago, The Destroyer said:

EDIT: negative relative velocity is also no longer possible (reverse flybys) it seems

Were these even possible with the stationary camera before? I only recall seeing the options for the initial placement of the camera and whether the initial velocity should be maintained.

I can see about adding a constant velocity (respecting the reference frame) option to the "stationary" camera mode that would allow this. Until then, you could probably set this up without too much difficulty in pathing mode.

Edited November 13, 2021 by DocNappers

[The Destroyer]

15 hours ago, DocNappers said:

Were these even possible with the stationary camera before? I only recall seeing the options for the initial placement of the camera and whether the initial velocity should be maintained.

I can see about adding a constant velocity (respecting the reference frame) option to the "stationary" camera mode that would allow this. Until then, you could probably set this up without too much difficulty in pathing mode.

 

Yes. The "max relative velocity" input box allowed for negative inputs, while the current one only accepts positive inputs.

 

The pathing mode works well, but the stationary camera is much cleaner and faster to setup for a consistent flyby / reverse flyby shot.

[DocNappers]

17 hours ago, The Destroyer said:

The "max relative velocity" input box allowed for negative inputs, while the current one only accepts positive inputs.

Ah, OK, that should be a simple fix to make work again.

Edit: I removed the limitation on negative "max relative velocity", but it's giving weird effects with the camera panning back and forwards. I'm going to need to investigate this a bit more to fix it properly.

Edited November 14, 2021 by DocNappers

[gilflo]

Hello

here is what I get on my KSP log with Cameratools. I can't see the CameraTools icon on KSP 1.12.2

CameraTools

[LOG 20:27:27.101] Load(Audio): CameraTools/Sounds/sonicBoom

[LOG 20:27:27.134] Load(Audio): CameraTools/Sounds/windhowl

[LOG 20:27:27.170] Load(Audio): CameraTools/Sounds/windloop

[LOG 20:27:27.224] Load(Audio): CameraTools/Sounds/windtear

[LOG 20:28:35.172] Load(Texture): CameraTools/Textures/icon

[WRN 20:28:35.209] Texture resolution is not valid for compression: '/Applications/JEUX/KSP_1.12.2 RSS/GameData/CameraTools/Textures/icon.png' - consider changing the image's width and height to enable compression

[LOG 20:34:19.347] Config(ACTIVE_TEXTURE_MANAGER_CONFIG) CameraTools/ATM_CameraTools/ACTIVE_TEXTURE_MANAGER_CONFIG

  CameraTools

[LOG 20:27:56.143] :BEFORE[CAMERATOOLS] pass

[LOG 20:27:56.143] :FOR[CAMERATOOLS] pass

[LOG 20:27:56.143] :AFTER[CAMERATOOLS] pass

[DocNappers]

1 hour ago, gilflo said:

Hello

here is what I get on my KSP log with Cameratools. I can't see the CameraTools icon on KSP 1.12.2

CameraTools

[LOG 20:27:27.101] Load(Audio): CameraTools/Sounds/sonicBoom

[LOG 20:27:27.134] Load(Audio): CameraTools/Sounds/windhowl

[LOG 20:27:27.170] Load(Audio): CameraTools/Sounds/windloop

[LOG 20:27:27.224] Load(Audio): CameraTools/Sounds/windtear

[LOG 20:28:35.172] Load(Texture): CameraTools/Textures/icon

[WRN 20:28:35.209] Texture resolution is not valid for compression: '/Applications/JEUX/KSP_1.12.2 RSS/GameData/CameraTools/Textures/icon.png' - consider changing the image's width and height to enable compression

[LOG 20:34:19.347] Config(ACTIVE_TEXTURE_MANAGER_CONFIG) CameraTools/ATM_CameraTools/ACTIVE_TEXTURE_MANAGER_CONFIG

  CameraTools

[LOG 20:27:56.143] :BEFORE[CAMERATOOLS] pass

[LOG 20:27:56.143] :FOR[CAMERATOOLS] pass

[LOG 20:27:56.143] :AFTER[CAMERATOOLS] pass

Those are normal log entries for CameraTools. I'd need to see more of the KSP.log to diagnose the issue, but first check that you don't have multiple copies of the DLL installed as that can lead to such an issue.

[gilflo]

Hi

It's not that here was multiple copies of the DLL, there was just no DLL at all. Thank's for the check! I downloaded it again and I found a good DLL! So it's fine now!

it's just basic checking I forgot!

Edited November 15, 2021 by gilflo

[The Destroyer]

On 11/14/2021 at 3:57 AM, DocNappers said:

Ah, OK, that should be a simple fix to make work again.

Edit: I removed the limitation on negative "max relative velocity", but it's giving weird effects with the camera panning back and forwards. I'm going to need to investigate this a bit more to fix it properly.

Ah alright.

Something I was wondering: Is it possible to run both the old camera tools and this version simultaneously? - that way I could still use reverse flybys & working "maintain velocity" camera through old CT and use the pathing of the new one.

[DocNappers]

7 hours ago, The Destroyer said:

Something I was wondering: Is it possible to run both the old camera tools and this version simultaneously?

I don't think so. That'd cause lots of issues with the namespace of the second loaded version of the DLL colliding with that of the first. Even if the namespaces were different, if both versions were active simultaneously, they'd be trying to steal the camera parent transform from each other the whole time.

I've been working on this and have fixed the reverse fly-by effect, but also found that some of the weirdness was related to the corrections for the floating origin shifts and the krakensbane velocity reference frame corrections, which is also what's behind the broken "Maintain Velocity" setting within certain altitude ranges. Once I've got that working properly, I'll release a new version.

[Adam-Kerman]

Is there a way/keybind to "Roll" the Pathing Camera?

 

i remember there’s up and down, left and right, forward and back,

but is there a keybind to Roll the camera?

 

[DocNappers]

8 hours ago, Adam-Kerman said:

Is there a way/keybind to "Roll" the Pathing Camera?

 

i remember there’s up and down, left and right, forward and back,

but is there a keybind to Roll the camera?

 

There is with the mouse, but not on the keyboard (there's just not enough keys on the keypad).

• Hold the middle and right mouse buttons to roll the camera with left-right movements of the mouse.
• Hold just the right mouse button to pan/tilt the camera with left-right/forward-back movements of the mouse.
• Hold the middle and left mouse buttons to raise/lower the camera with forward-back movements of the mouse.
• Hold just the middle mouse button to translate the camera with left-right/forward-back movements of the mouse.

[The Destroyer]

Hey there, how's it going?

Really enjoying the mod. I went back to old CameraTools for a bit (for the working maintain velocity camera, and remembering zoom), but missed the new features of this one.

I was wondering if you might be able to do a release that remembers the zoom last entered? Typically I'll set up a stationary camera shot with a specific zoom, test it out, then film it after - bit annoying to constantly reset the zoom to what I had.

Thanks for the continued development.

[DocNappers]

2 hours ago, The Destroyer said:

Hey there, how's it going?

Really enjoying the mod. I went back to old CameraTools for a bit (for the working maintain velocity camera, and remembering zoom), but missed the new features of this one.

I was wondering if you might be able to do a release that remembers the zoom last entered? Typically I'll set up a stationary camera shot with a specific zoom, test it out, then film it after - bit annoying to constantly reset the zoom to what I had.

Thanks for the continued development.

Hi!

Yeah, sorry it's taking so long to get this fixed, I've been really busy with BDArmory lately and the corrections for Krakensbane and Floating Origin shifts at different altitudes and warp rates turned out to be more complicated than I first thought (and I still haven't properly nailed it down for the stationary camera).

For remembering the last entered zoom, what would be more practical: simply remembering the last value set by the user and having just a "recall" button, or having separate "set" and "recall" buttons? The latter option would require an extra click to set it, but wouldn't be affected by further manual adjustments to the zoom.

[The Destroyer]

12 hours ago, DocNappers said:

Hi!

Yeah, sorry it's taking so long to get this fixed, I've been really busy with BDArmory lately and the corrections for Krakensbane and Floating Origin shifts at different altitudes and warp rates turned out to be more complicated than I first thought (and I still haven't properly nailed it down for the stationary camera).

For remembering the last entered zoom, what would be more practical: simply remembering the last value set by the user and having just a "recall" button, or having separate "set" and "recall" buttons? The latter option would require an extra click to set it, but wouldn't be affected by further manual adjustments to the zoom.

Ahh. Sounds tricky - I hope that goes well for you in the future though!

 

Just having a recall button sounds practical enough, but just to be clear what I'm seeking is the old Camera tools behavior: Set a zoom, do a flyby, leave the flyby, and it stays at the zoom level it was set until you change it - no having to manually recall the zoom level each time you re-enter the camera.

[DocNappers]

14 hours ago, The Destroyer said:

Just having a recall button sounds practical enough, but just to be clear what I'm seeking is the old Camera tools behavior: Set a zoom, do a flyby, leave the flyby, and it stays at the zoom level it was set until you change it - no having to manually recall the zoom level each time you re-enter the camera.

Hmm, OK. I think what I've already implemented will do that already without the need for a button. The current changelog is:

Bugfixes:
- Don't reset the zoom value when reverting the FoV.
- Fix the lower limit of the camera shake multiplier when using numeric fields.
- Make the config paths relative to the KSP app location (makes it more relocatable).
- Fix an NRE in the audio controller.
Improvements:
- Separate zoom and autozoom parameters for the different modes so that adjusting zoom levels in one mode doesn't affect other modes.
- Tweak the camera shake slider to use steps of 0.1.
- Move the floating origin corrections for the stationary camera to the BetterLateThanNever timing phase to avoid the occasional flicker.
- Remove the 0 minimum of the max relative velocity to allow reverse fly-bys again.

The part I need to finish before releasing the next version is the stationary camera part of:

- Corrections to the KrakensbaneWarpCorrection for dogfight and stationary camera modes so that they work correctly at all altitudes and warp levels.

 

[Entropian]

Hi,

I've been using Camera Tools for some time now to create cinematics, but I've recently run into an issue where CT's stationary camera mode toggles back to the stock camera mode when the game is running at less than 1x speed using mods such as BetterTimeWarp and TimeControl.  The most related thing I found in the changelogs was this change for version 1.17.0:

On 7/16/2021 at 5:11 AM, DocNappers said:

Automatically disable TimeControl's camera zoom fix as it breaks CameraTools when slow-mo is enabled (sorry @ntwest)

Is there anything I can do to correct this camera toggling?  Thanks for continuing to maintain such a great mod!

[DocNappers]

5 hours ago, Entropian said:

Hi,

I've been using Camera Tools for some time now to create cinematics, but I've recently run into an issue where CT's stationary camera mode toggles back to the stock camera mode when the game is running at less than 1x speed using mods such as BetterTimeWarp and TimeControl.  The most related thing I found in the changelogs was this change for version 1.17.0:

Is there anything I can do to correct this camera toggling?  Thanks for continuing to maintain such a great mod!

Unexpectedly reverting the camera is usually a symptom of base KSP or some other mod stealing the flight camera parent transform (such as when a Kerbal EVAs). When this happens, you should see

[LOG 19:37:15.440] [CameraTools]: Someone has stolen the camera parent! Abort!

in the KSP.log file. Have a look in the KSP.log file for such lines and the lines right before them to try to see what's happening.

When TimeControl's camera zoom fix gets disabled, you'll see

[WRN 19:57:50.236] [CameraTools]: Setting CameraZoomFix variable in TimeControl.GlobalSettings to false as it breaks CameraTools when running in slow-mo.

in the KSP.log file. This only happens once though, as TimeControl saves the setting to its TimeControl/PluginData/GlobalSettings.cfg file and it doesn't need to be changed again. I doubt this is the cause of your issues as I've never had any issues using CameraTools while using TimeControl to slow down time.

[Entropian]

Thanks for the feedback.  I looked in the KSP.log and didn't find any of those log lines (I also searched it for Time Control problems and didn't find anything).  I also made a short clip of the two camera effects, one with Time Control at 50% slo-mo (left) and one at normal speed (right):

I also checked my modlist for any other camera-affecting mods and didn't find anything.

[DocNappers]

I'm not seeing this issue on my machine. Here's a clip at 10% showing what I see (the two jumps are due to staging while targeting vessel CoM).

What version of CameraTools and TimeControl are you using? (These can be found in the KSP.log after the first "Mod DLLs found:" line. Also, make sure there's only 1 version of each DLL in that list otherwise that'll cause issues.)

You can set the flag "DEBUG = True" in the CameraTools/PluginData/settings.cfg file to get a bit more verbosity from CameraTools in the log and some on-screen messages.