This is very experimental and is made available as a very early alpha version. Also doesn't work in creative mode currently.

If you encounter a bug with the camera:

This will reset the camera on your player (do the freecam command twice) :

/cam freecam <your_name>
/cam freecam <your_name>

Recommended settings :

Horse on left: /cam mount --height=-2 --distance=5 --xoffset=1.5
Horse on right: /cam mount --height=-2 --distance=5 --xoffset=-1

Lait's Cinematic Camera

Custom camera controls for Hytale - mount cameras and freecam mode.

Note: This mod is in early development. Mount camera settings are experimental and may not work perfectly with all animals. Freecam mode works reliably for spectating and cinematic shots.

What's New in v1.1.1

Independent H/V freecam speeds - Separate horizontal and vertical movement speeds
Cascading speed config - Base speeds apply to both axes; per-axis overrides take priority
Per-activation speed - Pass --speed, --hspeed, --vspeed to override for one session
Speed modifier - --smod to experiment with the engine's global speed scaling

What's New in v1.1.0

New Freecam Settings - Position lerp, rotation lerp, default speed, minimum speed, maximum speed
Freecam Config - /cam fcconfig to view/edit speed and lerp settings
Permission System - Admin gating for config commands; view commands are public
Prerelease Support - Updated for Hytale prerelease packet API

Features

Mount camera settings - Customize the camera when riding horses, camels, and other mounts
Per-animal configuration - Set different camera distances for different animals
Freecam mode - Detach camera from player for spectating or screenshots
Adjustable speed - Control freecam movement speed
Global defaults - Set default values that apply to all animals
Live updates - Changes apply immediately to mounted players
Fully configurable - Customize via JSON config or in-game commands

Installation

Place the JAR file in your server's mods folder
Restart the server
(Optional) Configure via /cam commands or edit the JSON file
Mount an animal to see the camera settings in action!

How It Works

Mount Camera

When you mount an animal, the plugin applies custom camera settings:

Distance - How far behind the camera is positioned
Height - Vertical offset of the camera
X Offset - Horizontal offset (left/right)
FOV - Field of view
Pitch - Default vertical angle

Settings can be configured globally or per-animal type.

Freecam

Freecam detaches the camera from your player, allowing free movement:

Move with WASD
Look around with mouse
Adjustable speed
Your player remains in place while the camera flies

Commands

All commands use the unified /cam prefix.

Main Commands

/cam                    Show help
/cam help               Show help
/cam status             View current camera mode
/cam reload             Reload config from file
/cam save               Save current config to file

Freecam (admin)

/cam freecam <player>                       Toggle freecam for player
/cam freecam <player> --mode=on             Enable freecam
/cam freecam <player> --mode=off            Disable freecam

Per-activation speed (this session only):
/cam freecam <player> --speed=5             Both axes
/cam freecam <player> --hspeed=8 --vspeed=2 Independent axes

Inline config (persistent):
/cam freecam <player> --defaultspeed=5      Base default (both axes)
/cam freecam <player> --hdefault=8           Horizontal default override
/cam freecam <player> --vdefault=2           Vertical default override
/cam freecam <player> --minspeed=1 --maxspeed=20  Base range (both axes)
/cam freecam <player> --hmin=2 --hmax=15     Horizontal range
/cam freecam <player> --vmin=0.5 --vmax=10   Vertical range
/cam freecam <player> --plerp=0.5 --rlerp=0.5  Lerp speeds
/cam freecam <player> --smod=1.0            Speed modifier

Speed cascade: per-axis > --speed > config default. Config cascade: per-axis override > base > hardcoded default.

Freecam Config (admin)

/cam fcconfig                               View all freecam settings
/cam fcconfig --defaultspeed=5              Base default speed (both axes)
/cam fcconfig --minspeed=1 --maxspeed=20    Base speed range (both axes)
/cam fcconfig --hspeed=8                    Horizontal default override
/cam fcconfig --hmin=2 --hmax=15            Horizontal range override
/cam fcconfig --vspeed=2                    Vertical default override
/cam fcconfig --vmin=0.5 --vmax=10          Vertical range override
/cam fcconfig --plerp=0.5 --rlerp=0.5      Lerp speeds
/cam fcconfig --smod=1.0                    Speed modifier

Mount Camera (Global Settings)

/cam mount                      Show global mount settings
/cam mount --distance=X         Set third-person distance
/cam mount --height=X           Set camera height
/cam mount --xoffset=X          Set horizontal offset
/cam mount --fov=X              Set field of view
/cam mount --pitch=X            Set pitch offset
/cam mount --enabled=true/false Enable/disable mount camera

Mount Camera (Per-Animal Settings)

/cam mount --animal=Horse                   Show Horse settings
/cam mount --animal=Horse --distance=8      Set Horse distance
/cam mount --animal=Horse --height=3        Set Horse height
/cam mount --animal=Camel --distance=10     Set Camel distance
/cam mount --list                           List configured animals

Configuration

Config file: mods/laits-camera/config.json

{
  "globalDefaults": {
    "enabled": true,
    "thirdPersonDistance": 5.0,
    "cameraHeight": 2.0,
    "xOffset": 0.0,
    "fov": 70.0,
    "pitchOffset": -15.0,
    "positionLerpSpeed": 0.8,
    "rotationLerpSpeed": 0.8
  },
  "animals": {
    "Horse": {
      "enabled": true,
      "thirdPersonDistance": 6.0,
      "cameraHeight": 2.5,
      "xOffset": 0.0,
      "fov": 75.0,
      "pitchOffset": -10.0
    },
    "Camel": {
      "enabled": true,
      "thirdPersonDistance": 7.0,
      "cameraHeight": 3.0
    }
  },
  "freecam": {
    "defaultSpeed": 5,
    "maxSpeed": 20,
    "minSpeed": 1
  }
}

Settings Explained

Setting	Description	Default
`thirdPersonDistance`	Camera distance behind the mount	5.0
`cameraHeight`	Vertical offset above mount	2.0
`xOffset`	Horizontal offset (+ right, - left)	0.0
`fov`	Field of view	70.0
`pitchOffset`	Default vertical angle (negative = look down)	-15.0
`positionLerpSpeed`	Camera position smoothing (0-1)	0.8
`rotationLerpSpeed`	Camera rotation smoothing (0-1)	0.8

Supported Mounts

The mount camera works with any mountable animal including:

Horse - Standard riding horse
Ram - Desert mount
And more - Any entity with IsMountable: true

Each animal can have its own camera settings, or use the global defaults.

Roadmap

Done: Mount camera settings, freecam mode, per-animal config, commands

In Progress:

Camera orbiting around mount when it rotates

Known Issues

Weird camera orbit - Rotating the camera rotates it in a weird way

Contact

This mod is actively being developed. For issues or suggestions, add me on Discord: lait_kelomins