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Spline

Timed Mode

Tethered Mode

The Spline system allows you to create fully controlled and cinematic camera movement directly in the level.

It is designed for situations where the camera must follow a predefined path, enabling precise framing, smooth transitions, and predictable behavior that cannot be achieved with a free gameplay camera.

The system is built around a custom Actor: ThirdPersonCameraSplineActor, which uses Unreal Engine’s standard Spline Component.

The camera moves along this spline path, inheriting its position and rotation to produce consistent and directed camera motion.

When a spline is active, it temporarily overrides the gameplay camera and takes full control over camera positioning.

Depending on the selected mode, the camera can either:

  • move along the spline over time
  • follow the player while remaining constrained to the spline
  • use a manually controlled position along the spline

Using a Spline

The spline camera is based on a dedicated Actor: ThirdPersonCameraSplineActor.

This section shows the basic workflow of creating a spline and using it at runtime.

Step 1 - Create a Spline Actor Blueprint

Create a new Blueprint in the Content Browser:

  1. Right-click in the Content Browser
  2. Select Blueprint Class
  3. Find and select ThirdPersonCameraSplineActor
  4. Save the Blueprint

Step 2 - Place and Shape the Spline

ThirdPersonCameraSplineActor uses Unreal Engine's standard Spline Component, so spline editing works the same way as a regular UE spline.

First, drag the created Blueprint into the level.

To edit the spline in the viewport:

  1. Click the spline Actor once to select it
  2. Click the spline again to enter spline editing mode

Once spline editing mode is active, you can select individual spline points by clicking on them.

Spline points can then be edited directly in the viewport:

  • move them using the normal Move tool
  • rotate them using the normal Rotate tool
  • shape the path by adjusting the spline point positions and directions

To create a new spline point:

  1. Select an existing spline point
  2. Switch to the Move tool
  3. Hold Alt
  4. Drag the selected point

This creates a new spline point and extends the path.

The spline path defines the full camera trajectory and how the camera moves through the scene.

For more detailed information about spline editing, refer to the official Unreal Engine documentation.

Step 3 - Configure Spline Behavior

Spline behavior can be configured at different levels depending on your needs:

  • Blueprint settings - define default behavior for all instances
  • Placed Actor settings - override behavior for a specific spline in the level

This allows you to reuse the same Blueprint while customizing individual spline instances.

All spline-related settings provided by the plugin are located in the Third Person Camera category in the Details panel.

In addition to that, the underlying spline component also has its own built-in settings from Unreal Engine.

The most important one is:

  • Duration (in the Spline section)

This value defines how long it takes to traverse the spline in Timed mode.

In addition to Blueprint and Actor settings, spline behavior can also be overridden at runtime when the spline is played.

When calling Play Camera Spline, you can:

  • enable bUseOverrideSettings
  • provide OverrideSettings

Runtime overrides allow you to modify spline behavior dynamically without changing the Blueprint or the placed Actor.

This is useful when the same spline needs to behave differently depending on gameplay context.

Step 4 - Reference and Play the Spline

Before the spline can be used, you need a reference to the placed spline Actor.

This can be done in Blueprint by:

  • assigning it to a variable
  • exposing it as a property
  • referencing it from another Actor

Once you have a reference, call Play Camera Spline on ThirdPersonCameraComponent.

This activates the spline camera and overrides the gameplay camera.

Step 5 - Stop the Spline

If you need to stop the spline manually, call Stop Camera Spline.

The camera will exit the spline and return to normal gameplay behavior.

Spline Behavior

The sections below describe how the spline camera behaves in detail.

After setting up and playing a spline, these options allow you to control how the camera moves, follows targets, and blends with gameplay.

You can configure these settings:

  • directly in the Blueprint
  • on the placed spline Actor
  • or override them at runtime

Timed Mode

Timed Mode plays the spline like an animation.

The camera moves along the spline independently of the player.

This is typically used for:

  • cinematic sequences
  • scripted camera paths
  • environmental fly-throughs

Settings

  • Mode - set to Timed
  • Play Rate - controls playback speed
  • Loop - repeats the spline continuously

Tethered Mode

Tethered Mode links the camera position to the player.

Instead of moving independently, the camera follows the player while staying constrained to the spline.

The player’s position is projected onto the spline, and the camera moves accordingly.

This is typically used for:

  • corridors and tunnels
  • side-scrolling sections
  • controlled cinematic gameplay

Settings

  • Mode - set to Tethered
  • Tether Type - defines how distance is maintained
  • Min Distance From Owner - minimum distance constraint

Manual Mode

Manual Mode gives you direct control over the camera position along the spline.

Instead of moving automatically or following the player, the camera position is controlled through Current Spline Position.

The value is normalized:

  • 0.0 - start of the spline
  • 0.5 - middle of the spline
  • 1.0 - end of the spline

Changing this value updates the camera position immediately.

This is typically used for:

  • Level Sequencer cinematics
  • scripted camera movement
  • gameplay-controlled rail movement
  • custom Blueprint movement logic

Settings

  • Mode - set to Manual
  • Current Spline Position - controls the current normalized position along the spline

Level Sequencer

Current Spline Position can be animated directly in Level Sequencer.

Add the placed ThirdPersonCameraSplineActor to the sequence, add Current Spline Position as a property track, and create keyframes between 0.0 and 1.0.

Sequencer controls the interpolation between keyframes, so the camera follows the exact timing and curve defined in the sequence.

The spline must still be activated through Play Camera Spline before the Manual position affects the camera.

Runtime Movement

For runtime control without Sequencer, the spline Actor provides dedicated Blueprint functions:

  • Set Current Spline Position - sets the position immediately
  • Move To Spline Position - moves smoothly to a target position over a specified duration
  • Stop Spline Position Transition - stops an active smooth movement at its current position
  • Is Spline Position Transition Active - returns whether a smooth position transition is currently active

Move To Spline Position accepts an optional Transition Curve. If no curve is provided, the movement uses a smooth start and end automatically.

For the complete function reference, see Spline Actor Control.

Tether Types

Default

The camera follows the player projection on the spline without additional constraints.

Keep Minimum Distance Behind

The camera stays at least a minimum distance behind the player along the spline.

Keep Minimum Distance Ahead

The camera stays at least a minimum distance ahead of the player along the spline.

Keep Minimum Distance Auto

The camera automatically chooses whether to stay ahead or behind the player based on its starting position on the spline, and then maintains at least the minimum distance on that side.

Settings

  • Tether Type - selects the behavior
  • Min Distance From Owner - defines the minimum distance

Focus

Focus Player Character

The camera rotates to follow the player while moving along the spline.

Focus Target

The camera rotates toward a specific Actor in the world.

Focus Priority

If Focus Target is set, it always overrides Focus Player Character.

Settings

  • Focus Player Character - enables player tracking
  • Focus Target - specific Actor to focus on
  • Focus Offset - offset applied to the focus point

Ease In / Ease Out

Spline transitions are smoothly blended with the gameplay camera.

  • entering a spline uses Ease In
  • exiting a spline uses Ease Out

This prevents abrupt camera jumps.

Settings

  • Ease In Duration - blend time into spline
  • Ease Out Duration - blend time back to gameplay camera

When Rotation Soft Lock is enabled, Allow Rotation During Ease In controls whether player rotation is available while entering the spline.

During Ease Out, existing rotational movement can continue briefly and fade smoothly according to Rotation Inertia Damping.

Rotation Soft Lock

Allows limited manual camera rotation while the spline camera is active.

Rotation Soft Lock is available in Timed, Tethered, and Manual modes.

The player can rotate the camera within defined yaw and pitch limits. When input stops, the camera can gradually return toward the spline's base rotation.

During Ease In, rotation can be enabled or disabled independently. During Ease Out, rotational momentum is preserved briefly and fades smoothly to avoid an abrupt stop.

Settings

  • Enable Rotation Soft Lock - enables limited player-controlled rotation
  • Allow Rotation During Ease In - allows manual rotation while entering the spline
  • Rotation Yaw Limit - maximum horizontal offset
  • Rotation Pitch Limit - maximum vertical offset
  • Rotation Return Speed - speed at which the manual offset returns toward the spline rotation
  • Rotation Follow Speed - responsiveness of the visible camera rotation
  • Rotation Inertia Damping - controls how quickly rotational momentum fades during Ease Out

Runtime Control

The spline system is controlled through runtime functions.

For a complete list of functions and parameters, refer to the API Reference.

Main Functions

  • Play Camera Spline - starts a spline camera and optionally applies override settings
  • Stop Camera Spline - stops the currently active spline
  • Is Spline Active - returns whether a spline camera is active or stopping

Manual Mode Functions

The following functions are called directly on ThirdPersonCameraSplineActor:

  • Set Current Spline Position - sets the Manual position immediately
  • Move To Spline Position - smoothly moves to a target Manual position over time
  • Stop Spline Position Transition - stops the active smooth Manual movement
  • Is Spline Position Transition Active - checks whether a smooth Manual movement is active

For the complete list of parameters, refer to Spline Actor Control.

Notes

  • Spline temporarily overrides the gameplay camera
  • Only one spline can be active at a time
  • Starting a new spline replaces the current one
  • Focus Target overrides Focus Player Character
  • Tethered Mode depends on player movement
  • Manual Mode uses Current Spline Position and can be controlled through Blueprint or Level Sequencer
  • Reaching 1.0 in Manual Mode does not stop the spline automatically
  • Rotation Soft Lock is available in Timed, Tethered, and Manual modes