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  3. Set Up a Seated Camera for SteamVR

Set Up a Seated Camera for SteamVR

Setting up the Unreal Engine camera to work with a seated SteamVR experience.

Set Up a Seated Camera for SteamVR
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How to set up your UE project's VR camera for a seated SteamVR experience

One of the first things you will need to think about when starting to develop any UE-powered VR experience to be used with the SteamVR is deciding whether the experience will be a seated one or a standing one. In the following How - To we will take a look at how to set up your UE project's VR camera for a seated SteamVR experience.

Steps

Below you will find instructions for setting up a Pawn to work with a seated SteamVR experience.

  1. First, open up or create a new Pawn Blueprint and then go to the Component section of the Viewport tab. From there add the following two components with the following names, making sure that the VRCamera is a child of VRCameraRoot:

    Component Name Value
    Scene VRCameraRoot
    Camera VRCamera
    Component Name

    No matter what VR HMD you are using, this is the tutorial's recommended way to set up a VR camera as it allows you to offset the position of the camera without having to move the actual camera.

  2. Next, open up the Pawn Blueprint if not already open, and in the Event Graph drag off the Event Begin Play node to show the Executable Actions list. In the list search for the Set Tracking Origin node and click on it to add it to the Event Graph.

    Click for the full image.

  3. The Set Tracking Origin node has two options, Floor Level and Eye Level. For a seated experience you will need to set the Origin of the Set Tracking Origin node to Eye Level.

    Click for the full image.

  4. Next, in the Variables section of the My Blueprint tab, create a new Vector variable called ViveCameraHeight and set the Z value to 121.

    Create a new Vector variable called ViveCameraHeight and set the Z value to 121

    For a seated SteamVR experience, you will always want to set the height of the camera to match the real-world seated height of the user in Centimeters.

  5. Then, drag off the output of the Set Tracking Origin node and search for the Set Relative Location node, selecting the SetRelativeLocation(VRCameraRoot) option.

    Click for the full image.

  6. Connect the ViveCameraHeight variable to the New Location input on the Set Relative Location node and then press the Compile button, and when completed your Event Graph should look like the following image.

    BEGIN OBJECT Begin Object Class=/Script/BlueprintGraph.K2Node_Event Name="K2Node_Event_3" EventReference=(MemberParent=Class'/Script/Engine.Actor',MemberName="ReceiveBeginPlay") bOverrideFunction=True bCommentBubblePinned=True NodeGuid=71F8712B42D30302CBA9CE84C38862B7 CustomProperties Pin (PinId=63E599D74E38B8776D6E88A4AAB2C2B3,PinName="OutputDelegate",Direction="EGPD_Output",PinType.PinCategory="delegate",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=None,PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(MemberParent=Class'/Script/Engine.Actor',MemberName="ReceiveBeginPlay"),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=96D13FDB4718AC06F0F132AEEBA98395,PinName="then",Direction="EGPD_Output",PinType.PinCategory="exec",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=None,PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,LinkedTo=(K2Node_CallFunction_1 0AF4F2C243DAA259B82A0AB55A91B640,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) End Object Begin Object Class=/Script/BlueprintGraph.K2Node_CallFunction Name="K2Node_CallFunction_1" FunctionReference=(MemberParent=Class'/Script/HeadMountedDisplay.HeadMountedDisplayFunctionLibrary',MemberName="SetTrackingOrigin") NodePosX=224 NodeGuid=401DF7CA48C88D2786ECB8B5C2AC8F46 CustomProperties Pin (PinId=0AF4F2C243DAA259B82A0AB55A91B640,PinName="execute",PinToolTip="\nExec",PinType.PinCategory="exec",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=None,PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,LinkedTo=(K2Node_Event_3 96D13FDB4718AC06F0F132AEEBA98395,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=E9F9736F435EF94B7A4B16A0C9347FFB,PinName="then",PinToolTip="\nExec",Direction="EGPD_Output",PinType.PinCategory="exec",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=None,PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,LinkedTo=(K2Node_CallFunction_5 DE9FB716426D0575C24DBD90B0B7F9B0,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=E21CFDB440B456D7A54A2B991677B221,PinName="self",PinFriendlyName=NSLOCTEXT("K2Node", "Target", "Target"),PinToolTip="Target\nHead Mounted Display Function Library Object Reference",PinType.PinCategory="object",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=Class'/Script/HeadMountedDisplay.HeadMountedDisplayFunctionLibrary',PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,DefaultObject="/Script/HeadMountedDisplay.Default__HeadMountedDisplayFunctionLibrary",PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=True,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=D3A2C5724D17455C5C1DCBAA7E724282,PinName="Origin",PinToolTip="Origin\nEHMDTrackingOrigin Enum",PinType.PinCategory="byte",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=Enum'/Script/HeadMountedDisplay.EHMDTrackingOrigin',PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,DefaultValue="Eye",PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) End Object Begin Object Class=/Script/BlueprintGraph.K2Node_VariableGet Name="K2Node_VariableGet_0" VariableReference=(MemberName="VRCameraRoot",bSelfContext=True) NodePosX=720 NodePosY=48 NodeGuid=DE98398C46FA741DD0ECCFA88342B5DC CustomProperties Pin (PinId=D3E17C4549E0A126BF8A2D97653C64D5,PinName="VRCameraRoot",Direction="EGPD_Output",PinType.PinCategory="object",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=Class'/Script/Engine.SceneComponent',PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,LinkedTo=(K2Node_CallFunction_5 560BA9474CC7FF8D01863CB899932E82,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=8B50EC6646D9AB54EDFBCAAA7B690B9B,PinName="self",PinFriendlyName=NSLOCTEXT("K2Node", "Target", "Target"),PinType.PinCategory="object",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=BlueprintGeneratedClass'/Game/SteamVR_Pawn_Sitting.SteamVR_Pawn_Sitting_C',PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=True,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) End Object Begin Object Class=/Script/BlueprintGraph.K2Node_CallFunction Name="K2Node_CallFunction_5" FunctionReference=(MemberParent=Class'/Script/Engine.SceneComponent',MemberName="K2_SetRelativeLocation") NodePosX=896 NodePosY=-16 NodeGuid=9C212BB84E9A16ED4D937A898C2B6367 CustomProperties Pin (PinId=DE9FB716426D0575C24DBD90B0B7F9B0,PinName="execute",PinToolTip="\nExec",PinType.PinCategory="exec",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=None,PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,LinkedTo=(K2Node_CallFunction_1 E9F9736F435EF94B7A4B16A0C9347FFB,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=E5FB25D74A81ACC9C7E06593A4BC6E98,PinName="then",PinToolTip="\nExec",Direction="EGPD_Output",PinType.PinCategory="exec",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=None,PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=560BA9474CC7FF8D01863CB899932E82,PinName="self",PinFriendlyName=NSLOCTEXT("K2Node", "Target", "Target"),PinToolTip="Target\nScene Component Object Reference",PinType.PinCategory="object",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=Class'/Script/Engine.SceneComponent',PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,LinkedTo=(K2Node_VariableGet_0 D3E17C4549E0A126BF8A2D97653C64D5,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=4751BC714842E8CEC1B7A294186125C2,PinName="NewLocation",PinToolTip="New Location\nVector \n\nNew location of the component relative to its parent.",PinType.PinCategory="struct",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=ScriptStruct'/Script/CoreUObject.Vector',PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,DefaultValue="0, 0, 0",AutogeneratedDefaultValue="0, 0, 0",LinkedTo=(K2Node_VariableGet_47 78E971AE41B9BC4AA335A6BCC9E5AE69,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=42E17DA8407F1D6AE61E5AB8CE56D509,PinName="bSweep",PinToolTip="Sweep\nBoolean\n\nWhether we sweep to the destination location, triggering overlaps along the way and stopping short of the target if blocked by something. Only the root component is swept and checked for blocking collision, child components move without sweeping. If collision is off, this has no effect.",PinType.PinCategory="bool",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=None,PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,DefaultValue="false",AutogeneratedDefaultValue="false",PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=C758BE724ED2C35AF55937B09A2B53F4,PinName="SweepHitResult",PinToolTip="Sweep Hit Result\nHit Result Structure\n\nHit result from any impact if sweep is true.",Direction="EGPD_Output",PinType.PinCategory="struct",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=ScriptStruct'/Script/Engine.HitResult',PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=C8D4DFF74546FCDE47077A8F575C2D36,PinName="bTeleport",PinToolTip="Teleport\nBoolean\n\nWhether we teleport the physics state (if physics collision is enabled for this object). If true, physics velocity for this object is unchanged (so ragdoll parts are not affected by change in location). If false, physics velocity is updated based on the change in position (affecting ragdoll parts). If CCD is on and not teleporting, this will affect objects along the entire sweep volume.",PinType.PinCategory="bool",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=None,PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,DefaultValue="false",AutogeneratedDefaultValue="false",PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) End Object Begin Object Class=/Script/BlueprintGraph.K2Node_VariableGet Name="K2Node_VariableGet_47" VariableReference=(MemberName="ViveCameraHeight",MemberGuid=534B2E2F41DF6BFC3DD3ABA221017A9B,bSelfContext=True) NodePosX=672 NodePosY=272 NodeGuid=EECF89E94031777604797C9F4E162A93 CustomProperties Pin (PinId=78E971AE41B9BC4AA335A6BCC9E5AE69,PinName="ViveCameraHeight",Direction="EGPD_Output",PinType.PinCategory="struct",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=ScriptStruct'/Script/CoreUObject.Vector',PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,DefaultValue="0, 0, 0",AutogeneratedDefaultValue="0, 0, 0",LinkedTo=(K2Node_CallFunction_5 4751BC714842E8CEC1B7A294186125C2,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=9489DF2447B3B0AFE5ED5086A7A47CB8,PinName="self",PinFriendlyName=NSLOCTEXT("K2Node", "Target", "Target"),PinType.PinCategory="object",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=BlueprintGeneratedClass'/Game/SteamVR_Pawn_Sitting.SteamVR_Pawn_Sitting_C',PinType.PinSubCategoryMemberReference=(),PinType.PinValueType=(),PinType.ContainerType=None,PinType.bIsMap=False,PinType.bIsSet=False,PinType.bIsArray=False,PinType.bIsReference=False,PinType.bIsConst=False,PinType.bIsWeakPointer=False,PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=True,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) End Object Begin Object Class=/Script/UnrealEd.EdGraphNode_Comment Name="EdGraphNode_Comment_2" CommentDepth=-2 NodePosX=608 NodePosY=-80 NodeWidth=592 NodeHeight=448 NodeComment="Offset the VRCameraRoot to move the Vive Camera" NodeGuid=3C39203E41D17487AD060C9123DA366B End Object Begin Object Class=/Script/UnrealEd.EdGraphNode_Comment Name="EdGraphNode_Comment_3" NodePosX=624 NodePosY=192 NodeWidth=512 NodeHeight=160 NodeComment="Set this to the standing height of the user." NodeGuid=C4F04D894FB9E577FF5AF7A8DB3E8FC3 End Object

    You can copy the completed Blueprint by clicking on the upper left-hand corner of above and pressing CRTL + C to copy the graph. Once copied, go to your Blueprints event and press CTRL + V to paste it in.

  7. Drag the Pawn Blueprint from the Content Drawer to a level, making sure that it is placed at 0,0,0 in the level.

    Click for the full image.

  8. Select the Pawn Blueprint that was placed in the level and in the Details panel under the Pawn setting, set the Auto Possess Player from Disabled to Player 0.

    Click for the full image.

End Result

Finally, go to the Main Toolbar and change the Play Mode to VR Preview and then press the Play button. When you put your HTC Vive HMD on and view the level while sitting down, you should see something similar to the following video.

Project Downloads

Below you will find a link to where you can download the Unreal Engine project that was used to create this example.

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