Dialogue cameras

Dialogue cameras. Supplied product gallery image; any captions/overlays are promotional, not interactive controls.

The optional built-in provider creates transient Camera Actors and blends the selected local Player Controller’s view target. It does not require Sequencer or create a Cine Camera pipeline.

Configure the provider

1. Add Advanced Dialogue Camera Component to the same Actor as your Dialogue Component (normally your Player Controller).
2. Leave Camera Mode = Built-in Camera (the default). The Dialogue Component finds the camera component automatically; no Set Camera Provider wiring is needed.
3. If the provider is not owned by the appropriate Player Controller/Pawn, assign Player Controller explicitly.

No camera change occurs until a line, sequence entry or Camera node requests a preset. If the built-in component is missing when a shot is requested, a warning explains what to add and dialogue continues. Disabled ignores new camera requests. Existing shots are still released normally. Configure the mode before starting dialogue. The built-in provider does not implicitly select player 0 and does not take over a remote controller.

Custom Provider uses a runtime object implementing Advanced Dialogue Camera Provider. Assign it using Set Camera Provider before Start Dialogue; use an object instance, not a class, preset or Camera Actor. The provider field is intentionally absent from Details. Existing setups that manually assigned a provider must select Custom Provider, or use Built-in Camera with the camera component on the same Actor.

Create a preset

In Content Browser use right-click → Advanced Dialogue Manager → Camera Preset. Create CP_AnnaCloseUp.

Setting	Meaning
Target: Current Speaker	Actor linked to the Speaker Asset using Set Speaker Actor
Target: Player	Configured controller’s Pawn
Target: Custom Target	Actor found under Target Tag in the provider’s Custom Targets map
Location Offset	Offset rotated by the target’s orientation
Rotation Offset	Additional rotation
Field Of View	Desired FOV; valid range 1–179 degrees
Blend In/Out Time	Nonnegative transition duration in seconds
Look At Target	Aim toward the Actor’s origin before rotation offset

The current built-in shot is positioned when requested; it is not a collision-aware, continuously tracking camera. Tune for your character’s origin. It does not provide bone/socket framing, obstruction avoidance or camera shake controls.

Target Tag is shown only for Custom Target. In the camera component’s Custom Targets map, associate the exact tag with an Actor instance from the level (for example, Dialogue.CameraTarget.FrontDoor with your door). Populate level references on an instance or at runtime, not on Player Controller Blueprint defaults.

Apply a shot

Camera shots are configured only through reusable Camera Preset assets. Inline node settings have been removed; recreate any previously inline shot as a preset and assign it to the node. Graph previews show the node preset, inherited Dialogue default, or “No shot configured”. Sequence entry tooltips show the effective preset for that entry. These describe authored settings, not confirmation that a runtime camera target is available.

For a whole conversation, select the Dialogue Asset’s general Details and assign Dialogue > Camera > Default Camera Preset. A Current Speaker preset can be shared by all lines: link each Speaker Asset to its Actor before playback.

Priority: individual Sequence entry preset > Line/Sequence node preset > Dialogue Asset default. None on a line/entry inherits rather than disabling the inherited shot. With no preset at any level, no line shot is requested. Each Sub-Dialogue uses its own asset default; the parent’s default is not inherited. Camera nodes retain their explicit hold/restore behavior.

For one line, assign Camera Preset on that line. It releases when the line ends. For a Sequence, set Default Camera Preset and optionally override individual entries.

To hold an establishing shot across several lines/choices, add a Camera node with a preset. A later Camera node with no preset restores that scope’s held shot. Sub-Dialogue held shots are scoped and released on return. Temporary line shots can return to the held shot.

A Camera node follows Next immediately: it does not wait for the blend to finish. When targeting Current Speaker, it uses the Speaker Asset assigned on that Camera node, not automatically the speaker from the previous dialogue line. With no preset, the node deliberately restores the held shot; it is not an incomplete configuration.

Call Set Speaker Actor for each required Speaker Asset before playback. If the provider cannot resolve a target, it cannot apply that shot; use Player or Custom Target when no physical speaker exists.

Restoration and custom systems

The provider tracks requests by ID and restores prior view targets as requests are released. If another system has taken over the view target, it does not forcibly overwrite that external camera. No runtime camera Actor reference is a portable save-game identity.

Implement Advanced Dialogue Camera Provider for your own camera system:

• Apply Dialogue Camera receives settings, request/node IDs, speaker tag and resolved Actor.
• Release Dialogue Camera receives the matching request ID and blend-out time.
• The component sends release to the provider that owned the request, even if Camera Provider changes later.

On Camera Requested/Released belong to the Dialogue Component. On Camera Started/Restored belong to the built-in provider. Started/Restored indicate submission to the camera manager, not completion of the blend.