simvx.core.nodes_3d.chase_camera

ChaseCamera – lag-and-spring 3rd-person follow camera.

Wraps a Camera3D in a smoothed follow rig that tracks a target node’s world position with critically-damped spring dynamics. Surfaced by the HexGL port (~50 LOC of hand-rolled smoothing) and the Q1K3 port (a near-identical pattern). Promoted to engine-level because every 3D port ends up reinventing it.

Usage::

self.player = self.add_child(MeshInstance3D(...))
cam = ChaseCamera(target=self.player, offset=Vec3(0, 3, 6), half_life=0.15)
self.add_child(cam)

The camera positions itself at target.world_position + offset rotated by the target’s heading (so the camera trails behind the target along its local -Z), and looks at target.world_position + look_offset.

Module Contents

Classes

ChaseCamera

3rd-person follow camera with lag-and-spring smoothing.

Data

__all__

API

simvx.core.nodes_3d.chase_camera.__all__

[‘ChaseCamera’]

class simvx.core.nodes_3d.chase_camera.ChaseCamera(target: simvx.core.nodes_3d.node3d.Node3D | None = None, **kwargs)

Bases: simvx.core.nodes_3d.camera.Camera3D

3rd-person follow camera with lag-and-spring smoothing.

Properties: target: The :class:Node3D to follow. None makes the camera stationary (useful while assets load). offset: Camera position relative to the target, in the target’s local frame (X = right, Y = up, Z = behind). look_offset: Optional offset added to target.world_position when computing the look-at point (useful for aiming above / below the target’s pivot). half_life: Smoothing half-life (seconds). 0 = instant snap. Position and look point share the same half-life so the rig stays critically damped. rotate_with_target: When True (default), the camera’s offset rotates with the target’s yaw so the camera stays behind a moving target. When False, offset is treated as a world-space vector: useful for fixed isometric or god-view rigs.

Initialization

offset

‘Property(…)’

look_offset

‘Property(…)’

half_life

‘Property(…)’

rotate_with_target

‘Property(…)’

property target: simvx.core.nodes_3d.node3d.Node3D | None

snap() → None

Teleport the camera to the target’s current rest pose.

Use after a scene transition or warp to avoid the smoother interpolating through walls.

on_enter_tree() → None

on_process(dt: float) → None

fov

‘Property(…)’

near

‘Property(…)’

far

‘Property(…)’

exposure

‘Property(…)’

cull_mask

‘Bitmask(…)’

gizmo_colour

‘Colour(…)’

set_cull_mask_layer(index: int, enabled: bool = True) → None

is_cull_mask_layer_enabled(index: int) → bool

get_gizmo_lines() → list[tuple[simvx.core.math.types.Vec3, simvx.core.math.types.Vec3]]

property view_matrix: numpy.ndarray

projection_matrix(aspect: float = 16 / 9) → numpy.ndarray

position

‘_SpatialVecProperty(…)’

rotation

‘Property(…)’

scale

‘_SpatialVecProperty(…)’

render_layer

‘Property(…)’

property rotation_degrees: simvx.core.math.types.Vec3

property world_position: simvx.core.math.types.Vec3

property world_rotation: simvx.core.math.types.Quat

property world_scale: simvx.core.math.types.Vec3

property forward: simvx.core.math.types.Vec3

property right: simvx.core.math.types.Vec3

property up: simvx.core.math.types.Vec3

translate(offset: tuple[float, float, float] | numpy.ndarray)

translate_global(offset: tuple[float, float, float] | numpy.ndarray)

rotate(axis: tuple[float, float, float] | numpy.ndarray, angle: float)

rotate_x(angle: float)

rotate_y(angle: float)

rotate_z(angle: float)

look_at(target: tuple[float, float, float] | numpy.ndarray, up=None)

face_along(forward: tuple[float, float, float] | numpy.ndarray, up: tuple[float, float, float] | numpy.ndarray | None = None) → None

set_render_layer(index: int, enabled: bool = True) → None

is_on_render_layer(index: int) → bool

wrap_bounds(bounds: tuple[float, float, float] | numpy.ndarray, margin: float = 1.0)

strict_errors: ClassVar[bool]

True

script_error_raised

‘Signal(…)’

classmethod __init_subclass__(**kwargs)

property name: str

property process_mode: simvx.core.descriptors.ProcessMode

property visible: bool

reset_error() → None

add_child(node: simvx.core.node.Node) → simvx.core.node.Node

remove_child(node: simvx.core.node.Node)

reparent(new_parent: simvx.core.node.Node)

get_node(path: str) → simvx.core.node.Node

find_child(name: str, recursive: bool = False) → simvx.core.node.Node | None

find(target: type | str, recursive: bool = True) → simvx.core.node.Node | None

find_all(node_type: type, recursive: bool = True) → list

walk(*, include_self: bool = True) → collections.abc.Iterator[simvx.core.node.Node]

property path: str

add_to_group(group: str)

remove_from_group(group: str)

is_in_group(group: str) → bool

on_ready() → None

on_exit_tree() → None

on_physics_process(dt: float) → None

on_draw(renderer) → None

on_picked(event: simvx.core.events.InputEvent) → None

on_unhandled_input(event: simvx.core.events.TreeInputEvent) → None

start_coroutine(gen: simvx.core.descriptors.Coroutine) → simvx.core.descriptors.CoroutineHandle

stop_coroutine(gen_or_handle)

clear_children()

destroy()

property app

property tree: simvx.core.scene_tree.SceneTree

__getitem__(key: str)

classmethod get_properties() → dict[str, simvx.core.descriptors.Property]

__repr__()