Quick Start

By the end of this page your pawn has a CrimsonCamera that follows it in third-person, driven by a camera mode you create - no per-frame camera code.

Prerequisites
CrimsonCommon and CrimsonCamera are installed, and you have a Pawn / Character and a PlayerController you can edit (Blueprint or C++).

1. Enable the plugin

Open Edit -> Plugins, type Crimson in the search box, tick CrimsonCamera's checkbox (and CrimsonCommon, its dependency), and restart the editor when prompted. The editor also enables the Gameplay Targeting System dependency. For a Blueprint project that's the entire install - you never hand-edit the .uproject or any .Build.cs.

Edit -> Plugins -> search 'Crimson' -> tick CrimsonCamera's Enabled checkbox -> restart the editor.

C++ projects: after enabling the plugin, add its module to your build file so your code can use its types:

csharp
// YourGame.Build.cs
PublicDependencyModuleNames.Add("CrimsonCamera");
Verify
CrimsonCamera shows as enabled in the Plugins window and the editor restarts without errors.

2. Use the Crimson camera manager

ACrimsonPlayerCameraManager routes the view through the mode stack. Point your PlayerController at it by setting Player Camera Manager Class (a property on every PlayerController).

Open your PlayerController Blueprint -> Class Defaults -> set Player Camera Manager Class = CrimsonPlayerCameraManager.
Verify
Select your PlayerController and confirm Player Camera Manager Class reads CrimsonPlayerCameraManager (Blueprint) or your constructor sets it (C++).

3. Add the camera component to your pawn

UCrimsonCameraComponent lives on the Pawn / Character and owns the mode stack.

Pawn Blueprint -> Add Component -> Crimson Camera Component.
Verify
The pawn lists a Crimson Camera Component in its component tree.

4. Create a third-person camera mode

A camera mode is a class you configure once. Make a Blueprint subclass of UCrimsonCameraMode_ThirdPerson and set its pitch-driven offset curves (or start from the defaults).

Content Browser -> right-click -> Crimson Camera -> Camera Mode - Third Person. Open it and set the TargetOffset curves in Details.
Verify
Your mode opens in the editor and shows the Third Person, Collision, and View categories in Details.

5. Make the mode active

Push your mode onto the stack so it drives the view. Push Camera Mode is Blueprint- and C++-callable and needs an owner tag (any gameplay tag that identifies who pushed it). One push on BeginPlay is enough for a single base camera.

BeginPlay -> get the Crimson Camera Component -> Push Camera Mode (Camera Mode Class = your mode, Owner Tag = e.g. Camera.Mode.Default).
Verify
Press Play - the camera sits behind your pawn and follows it, blending in over the mode's Blend Time.
The camera follows control rotation
The third-person view is built from the pawn's control rotation, so your look input (mouse / right stick) orbits the camera. If the camera looks static, wire look input to the controller (e.g. Add Controller Yaw/Pitch Input) - that's a normal input step, not a camera setting.
What's next
Drive selection from game state (How-To: Switch Camera Modes), frame over the shoulder (How-To: Aim Over the Shoulder & Zoom), and add lock-on (How-To: Set Up Lock-On).