LavaCam

INI File Options

LavaCam uses the file LavaCam.ini to allow configuration of the camera. Just edit the file using Notepad or similar text editor. Here are the details of this file and the options available.

• All parameters must exist after the [Parms] section.
• Format for each parm is <parm_name>=<value> no spaces or quotes
  • min_camera_time is the minimum time the camera will stay on a particular view
  • min_death_time if the minimum time that the camera will stay on a view after the target player gets fragged - useful to watch gibbage
  • camera_cycle_time is the time that the camera waits before choosing a new view when there is no activity to track
  • enable_pause [1 or 0] enables the use of the pausegame & unpausegame console commands to activate and deactivate the pause command.
  • pause_netname is an optional parameter which allows you to restrict who can use the pause commands. The netname of the player specified will be the only player who can pause the game - useful for server operators when the pizza delivery arrives :-)
    (Note: don't put the name in quotes, the netname is taken as the value from the equals to the end of the line)
  • autopause_time is the time that pause will automatically be turned on for at the start of a new level. This time starts from when the first client joins the server. This should be used to allow clients with slower machines a fair chance to join the game at exactly the same time as everyone else.
    Set to a value of 0.0 to turn off this feature. enable_pause must be set to 1 for this feature to work.
  • hud_track [1 or 0] enables the HUD tracking info panel in the top right of the screen. The default setting is on.
  • hud_score [1 or 0] enables the HUD score card along the bottom of the screen. The default setting is on.
  • hud_timer [1 or 0] enables the HUD timer in the bottom right of the screen. The default setting is on.
  • hud_max_scores is the maximum number of scores to display on the score card if it is enabled. The max value for this parameter is 12 scores. The default setting is 6 which will fit onto a 320x240 screen and is a good compromise between the number of scores and network traffic.

Default Settings

• min_camera_time=3.0
• min_death_time=1.0
• camera_cycle_time=8.0
• enable_pause=1
• *pause_netname=LavaCam (Note: disabled by default)
• autopause_time=20.0
• hud_track=1
• hud_score=1
• hud_timer=1
• hud_max_scores=6

Level Designers, how to make your DM maps LavaCam friendly!

Not so important now, with our latest feature DCA, but...

• Choose info_player_intermission points so that the camera has the best view of where the action will take place (near to a railgun for example).
• Don't put too many points in, it's not always necessary to cover all the dark corners.
• Name your cameras so that the camera point cam be identified. In WorldCraft, for example, use the 'Name' field or fill in the 'targetname' value.

You can check how all the camera points look by starting a DeathMatch server on your own - the camera will automatically cycle through all the camera points since there is no action, allowing you to check the view angle of all the camera points.

How it works...

When a map loads the DCA directory is checked to see if a .DCA file exists for the current map. If found this is loaded and the cameras defined in the file are used.

If no DCA file is found for the map then, the camera chooses intermission points as its favourite viewing points first, if there are fewer than 4 intermissions, then the Deathmatch start points will be used as well as the intermissions to ensure sufficient coverage within the level.

The targetting AI evaluates the number of players visible in each of the available views and will chose the view with the most active players in it (active currently means the player must be moving).

If there is more than one view with the same number of players in it, then the view where the players are closest, on average, to the camera will be chosen. Within the chosen view, the player nearest the camera will be targetted and his/her status will be shown on screen. The view will remain for a minimum time (see INI file details for how the timings work) before chosing another.