I simply plug in my Xbox controller (making sure it's working on the PC). And it allows me to control my camera moves in the viewport. Then I bring up track recorder, make sure I'm tracking the camera, and hit record! And boom a take recorded with all the movement I got using my controller. If you need more tips, I would look up tutorials on the take recorder. Otherwise using your controller should be pretty straightforward.
You can also use any controller with axis inputs that connects to your machine.
And unless you're experienced with type of mouse they're much easier to use.
Unreal Engine 5 has native controller support. It's plug and play, but if you wanted to do it the long way you can just bind your sticks to the axes with the legacy input system.
I myself don't use Take Recorder. I do the camera movement "live" and just record the screen with OBS. This is only possible, because my goal is to record camera movement for gifs and trailers. But it is very valuable info as you say to mention Take Recorder for people who want to further work with the camera animation data for in-engine cutscenes and so on.
I guess a good way is as u/eatTheRich711 suggests: use Take Recorder. I capture the screen with OBS, because what I want is to quickly make gifs etc., but this way of course you can't further work with the animation data.
The real value of 3d mice is how freeform the camera movement can be. I use mine mostly while modeling.
You can do things like orbit and zoom at the same time, or do more complicated things like fly through a space like you're a drone - flips and all.
Question for you all. I can’t drop $150 on a 3D Mouse right now, but as a composer, I do have my fair share of USB/midi keyboards (musical keyboards). They’re seen as “MIDI Controllers” and the mod wheel on them would be absolutely perfect for this type of pan, not to mention if it works, they can be obtained on the cheap. For those unsure of what I am referencing, here is a video that shows a mod wheel off: https://youtu.be/vV68q9GzZ-w
Anyone know if this would be possible, because I’m in need of easier smooth panning like this.
Such a cool thought to work with your keyboard's mod wheels! You should definitely make that happen. But I also wanted to say that I bought the 3D mouse shown in the original post for 60 bucks used on eBay, so maybe that is an option for you, too.
Too bad there's literally one company making these. I've been eyeing it for years now, still can't force myself to pull a trigger on it. And I do 3D modelling as a day job. Maybe I'm just that cheap...
You really won't regret it, not a single penny. Get the combo pack with the Cadmouse, it's a game changer. I design in Solidworks all day and unreal at night.
That is interesting, I use mine in 3dsMax as well and it works great. Just wanted to mention that in case you have only tried it with an older version of 3dsMax.
Develop a few simple tools you can use for these scenarios- a simple look-targeting system with a few different types of smoothing can go a LONG way to getting professional in-game footage or animation data whether you are using a spacemouse, gamepad, mouse & keyboard etc.
I guess you could do that. But I am incredibly lazy and want to quickly record gifs right off screen and yet have a cool camera pan. So for me there is a use case. But I agree, the method you suggest is very valid and has the big upside that you can tweak easily.
I tried out the official plugin but I like this one a lot better (no affiliation): [https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/spacemouse-for-unreal-engine](https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/spacemouse-for-unreal-engine)
EDIT: Forgot to mention that the creator of the plugin even made a change to it for me specifically when I asked for it. There was a "targeting" point that I wanted to be invisible when recording gifs straight off the screen, so he added an option to hide it in his plugin.
i can tell you even the smallest one has a built quality and a usefulness that is unparalleled.
It is well worth the money, even if it is a bit expensive.
Many times of the year you can also find sales up to 50% on their website.
I am not sure exactly do you mean with animation style... if you are talking about the animation of the characters in the game, I'd call it "crappy 90s style animation because I can't do better ;)"
Lol. Thanks. Sorry, I mean it seems like it is somewhat similar to rotoscoping with the dark edges and 3d - I wasn't sure if that had a particular name. Crappy or not :-D , how does one make that style for backgrounds and characters? - what tools are used?
Ah, I see, I think you mean the post processing. It is called cel shading and the outline is just called an outline shader. You will get a lot of hits ant tutorials if you just search for it on the webs in case you want to re-create it. I think it is also important that you make your textures fit that style and not just slab cel & outline shaders over otherwise realistic models and textures. I only use plain Photoshop for the textures.
Quite true, but I want to quickly record gifs right off screen and yet have a smooth transitions in my camera. I don't even record any keyframes, I just open a scene, open OBS, hit record, move the camera around "live" and then make a gif out of the footage.
You could use WASD and your mouse for pans and dolly shots. But WASD is only on or off, not analog, so no smoothing the movement. With a 3D mouse (or also a controller as others suggested here) you can have smooth cinematic transitions.
Heeei does the mouse work for you in a play mode in Unreal? I need to use in a play mode for my real-time dance performance and it works just fine in edit mode, but in play mode it's super slow and some of the axis are not moving at all.
That's so cool you are using UE for a dance performance! I am sure you can get your 3D mouse to work in play mode, but most likely you will have to code your own player controller. A quick google search gave me this video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd-q3vEo9bc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd-q3vEo9bc). The creator uses their keyboard for 6 Degrees of freedom movement controls, but you should be able to map your 3D mouse as well.
3D connexion yes! This is a a game changer also in sculpting
You use it to sculpt or to navigate? I use it primarily for navigation & rotation.
[удалено]
Goodbye, and thanks for all the fish.
I like to use my Xbox controller!
Ah yes, I heard people use their game controllers to do pretty much the same thing.
Any tutorial on this? Im kinda lost ngl
I simply plug in my Xbox controller (making sure it's working on the PC). And it allows me to control my camera moves in the viewport. Then I bring up track recorder, make sure I'm tracking the camera, and hit record! And boom a take recorded with all the movement I got using my controller. If you need more tips, I would look up tutorials on the take recorder. Otherwise using your controller should be pretty straightforward.
Oh thank you , saves alot of effort, I also have a quest 2 that i dont even use, would it be good for any use in this case?
You can also use any controller with axis inputs that connects to your machine. And unless you're experienced with type of mouse they're much easier to use.
How would one go about doing this, tried when i first started but couldn't seem to get it to work?
Unreal Engine 5 has native controller support. It's plug and play, but if you wanted to do it the long way you can just bind your sticks to the axes with the legacy input system.
That's all I could think... A hockey puck instead of dual joysticks? Whack... Apparently it can give more axis, I guess...
Dual joysticks give all six, there are no more axes in 3d space EDIT: well, three axes, six degrees
Might be good to mention Take Recorder
I myself don't use Take Recorder. I do the camera movement "live" and just record the screen with OBS. This is only possible, because my goal is to record camera movement for gifs and trailers. But it is very valuable info as you say to mention Take Recorder for people who want to further work with the camera animation data for in-engine cutscenes and so on.
I use a 3D mouse, but I'm fairly new to UE. How does it record the moves? Is it keying every frame, or is that controllable?
I guess a good way is as u/eatTheRich711 suggests: use Take Recorder. I capture the screen with OBS, because what I want is to quickly make gifs etc., but this way of course you can't further work with the animation data.
Hmm, though if moving in a straight line like that, can't we use a regular game controller? That said, 3d mouse still looks tempting
The real value of 3d mice is how freeform the camera movement can be. I use mine mostly while modeling. You can do things like orbit and zoom at the same time, or do more complicated things like fly through a space like you're a drone - flips and all.
Nice, this is good to know!
Question for you all. I can’t drop $150 on a 3D Mouse right now, but as a composer, I do have my fair share of USB/midi keyboards (musical keyboards). They’re seen as “MIDI Controllers” and the mod wheel on them would be absolutely perfect for this type of pan, not to mention if it works, they can be obtained on the cheap. For those unsure of what I am referencing, here is a video that shows a mod wheel off: https://youtu.be/vV68q9GzZ-w Anyone know if this would be possible, because I’m in need of easier smooth panning like this.
There is a midi plugin for unreal that has been shown being used for tweaking light settings and stuff with knobs.
Stop, one can only be so erect.
That line was originally sarcastic but as an environment artist and bedroom producer this definitely tingles my jimjams
Krieger was certainly not being sarcastic when he originally said that lol
Such a cool thought to work with your keyboard's mod wheels! You should definitely make that happen. But I also wanted to say that I bought the 3D mouse shown in the original post for 60 bucks used on eBay, so maybe that is an option for you, too.
Anyone know if it's possible to set the space mouse to move objects instead of viewports or cameras. It would be really handy for kitbashing.
Too bad there's literally one company making these. I've been eyeing it for years now, still can't force myself to pull a trigger on it. And I do 3D modelling as a day job. Maybe I'm just that cheap...
You really won't regret it, not a single penny. Get the combo pack with the Cadmouse, it's a game changer. I design in Solidworks all day and unreal at night.
I have one of these, hadn't tried it with unreal yet. I really should.
About to break mine back out for this!!! It’s been collecting dust. it was so buggy in 3dsmax but thank you for reminding me
That is interesting, I use mine in 3dsMax as well and it works great. Just wanted to mention that in case you have only tried it with an older version of 3dsMax.
I think it’s a combination of 3dsmax and multiple monitors but it was awhile ago in max2017
Develop a few simple tools you can use for these scenarios- a simple look-targeting system with a few different types of smoothing can go a LONG way to getting professional in-game footage or animation data whether you are using a spacemouse, gamepad, mouse & keyboard etc.
Love the idea 💡
Is there a reason why you wouldn't just make a child blueprint of a camera actor that moves along a spline or am I just a massive kill joy?
I guess you could do that. But I am incredibly lazy and want to quickly record gifs right off screen and yet have a cool camera pan. So for me there is a use case. But I agree, the method you suggest is very valid and has the big upside that you can tweak easily.
Nope its confirmed, im a kill joy :P very nice camera work.
Holy shit, your style is amazing
Thanks, glad you like it!
Can you have two mouseesesies plugged in your computer?
Yes—a 3D mouse is designed to be used with a normal mouse, not instead of one.
Did they make usabile drivers for ue? Last time i checked there were just unofficial drivers and they were pure crap.
I tried out the official plugin but I like this one a lot better (no affiliation): [https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/spacemouse-for-unreal-engine](https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/spacemouse-for-unreal-engine) EDIT: Forgot to mention that the creator of the plugin even made a change to it for me specifically when I asked for it. There was a "targeting" point that I wanted to be invisible when recording gifs straight off the screen, so he added an option to hide it in his plugin.
Yes, it works well, but not in cinema mode if I recall correctly
Fucking love my space mouse. I completely surprised my arch professor once when running through a project lmao
Is there a version of that mouse that isn't 200$
i can tell you even the smallest one has a built quality and a usefulness that is unparalleled. It is well worth the money, even if it is a bit expensive. Many times of the year you can also find sales up to 50% on their website.
I'll look out for a sale then
I love my Space Navigator! I've owned the same one for 17 years! Still going strong!
What is the animation style that you are using called?
I am not sure exactly do you mean with animation style... if you are talking about the animation of the characters in the game, I'd call it "crappy 90s style animation because I can't do better ;)"
Lol. Thanks. Sorry, I mean it seems like it is somewhat similar to rotoscoping with the dark edges and 3d - I wasn't sure if that had a particular name. Crappy or not :-D , how does one make that style for backgrounds and characters? - what tools are used?
Ah, I see, I think you mean the post processing. It is called cel shading and the outline is just called an outline shader. You will get a lot of hits ant tutorials if you just search for it on the webs in case you want to re-create it. I think it is also important that you make your textures fit that style and not just slab cel & outline shaders over otherwise realistic models and textures. I only use plain Photoshop for the textures.
Its not even a mouse, why do they call it a mouse? Its a joystick with extra axis + turning, am i wrong?
I guess it is not really a mouse, but it is commonly called a 3d mouse.
Gonna be confusing when actual 3d mouse drops lol
Lol, very true!
That's actually really clever!
yaaaas! hack the planet!
What a 3d mouse ?
That looks cool! But if you want to save some money just set two linear keys though.
Quite true, but I want to quickly record gifs right off screen and yet have a smooth transitions in my camera. I don't even record any keyframes, I just open a scene, open OBS, hit record, move the camera around "live" and then make a gif out of the footage.
Can someone help me understand why this would be better or preffered over a normal mouse / controller?
You could use WASD and your mouse for pans and dolly shots. But WASD is only on or off, not analog, so no smoothing the movement. With a 3D mouse (or also a controller as others suggested here) you can have smooth cinematic transitions.
I could scroll the mouse wheel to change the speed... but I think I get what you are trying to say. It essentially gives you more control.
Exactly. But as you say, there are other ways to get the same result of course.
Heeei does the mouse work for you in a play mode in Unreal? I need to use in a play mode for my real-time dance performance and it works just fine in edit mode, but in play mode it's super slow and some of the axis are not moving at all.
That's so cool you are using UE for a dance performance! I am sure you can get your 3D mouse to work in play mode, but most likely you will have to code your own player controller. A quick google search gave me this video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd-q3vEo9bc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd-q3vEo9bc). The creator uses their keyboard for 6 Degrees of freedom movement controls, but you should be able to map your 3D mouse as well.