1. Epic GamesDeveloper
  3. Set Up a Seated Camera for the Oculus Rift

Set Up a Seated Camera for the Oculus Rift

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

Set Up a Seated Camera for the Oculus Rift
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Skill_family: Tutorial Level 1 Version:5.0 Parent: sharing-and-releasing-projects/xr-development/supported-xr-platforms/developing-for-oculus/OculusHowTo Order: 1 tags:Basics topic-image:HT_Rift_Camera_Setup_Topic_Image.png

One of the first things you will need to think about when starting to develop any Unreal Engine (UE) powered VR experience to be used with the Oculus Rift is deciding whether the experience will be a seated one or a standing one. In the following tutorial we will take a look at how to setup your UE projects VR camera for a seated Oculus Rift VR experience.

Steps

Below you will find instructions on setting up a Pawn to work with a seated Oculus Rift 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

    Click for full image.

    No matter what VR HMD you are using, this is the Epic 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. In the Pawn Blueprint go to the Event Graph and 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 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 full image.

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

    For a seated Rift 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 full image.

  6. Connect the RiftCameraHeight 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_0" EventReference=(MemberParent=Class'/Script/Engine.Actor',MemberName="ReceiveBeginPlay") bOverrideFunction=True NodePosX=-272 NodePosY=-16 bCommentBubblePinned=True NodeGuid=0A1ED21A4BC4FFF952C8B1BD85346A9C CustomProperties Pin (PinId=0862FFB34FDE75E7C2ED91B15CD1119E,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=CE164667454B3EB8FFA464B7925FD171,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_0 9B118DD74D13E1A2489FEFBC87651604,),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_0" FunctionReference=(MemberParent=Class'/Script/HeadMountedDisplay.HeadMountedDisplayFunctionLibrary',MemberName="SetTrackingOrigin") NodePosX=64 NodePosY=-16 NodeGuid=48B45C91438E818692990A8ACF803845 CustomProperties Pin (PinId=9B118DD74D13E1A2489FEFBC87651604,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_0 CE164667454B3EB8FFA464B7925FD171,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=DB86848D4CD2762032F965A34161FE78,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_9 DE9FB716426D0575C24DBD90B0B7F9B0,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=CF7045694A0AC748019DB7B16FD84A1F,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=6E59CEE64B1A4E275A73499235912077,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/UnrealEd.EdGraphNode_Comment Name="EdGraphNode_Comment_1" NodePosX=-54 NodePosY=-81 NodeWidth=544 NodeHeight=240 NodeComment="Tracking Orgin should be set to Eye Level" NodeGuid=9B24193F4ED6C3FBF64C68B01AAFA782 End Object Begin Object Class=/Script/BlueprintGraph.K2Node_VariableGet Name="K2Node_VariableGet_0" VariableReference=(MemberName="VRCameraRoot",bSelfContext=True) NodePosX=624 NodePosY=35 NodeGuid=70636A4A41C97ED0AB31D6B2E8E7AE84 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_9 560BA9474CC7FF8D01863CB899932E82,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=2C82232F4B776E78BDFA17A5BE5C88D7,PinName="self",PinFriendlyName=NSLOCTEXT("K2Node", "Target", "Target"),PinType.PinCategory="object",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=BlueprintGeneratedClass'/Game/Rift_Pawn_Sitting/Rift_Pawn_Sitting.Rift_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_9" FunctionReference=(MemberParent=Class'/Script/Engine.SceneComponent',MemberName="K2_SetRelativeLocation") NodePosX=800 NodePosY=-31 NodeGuid=4EF05AB24E0197A031C39A8A8B2B8B3A 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_0 DB86848D4CD2762032F965A34161FE78,),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="RiftCameraHeight",MemberGuid=DB0F658D4BD2CC99041C3ABB8058E5EF,bSelfContext=True) NodePosX=576 NodePosY=272 NodeGuid=3B3F090A44BA690E035446B6EEB8BE25 CustomProperties Pin (PinId=78E971AE41B9BC4AA335A6BCC9E5AE69,PinName="RiftCameraHeight",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_9 4751BC714842E8CEC1B7A294186125C2,),PersistentGuid=00000000000000000000000000000000,bHidden=False,bNotConnectable=False,bDefaultValueIsReadOnly=False,bDefaultValueIsIgnored=False,bAdvancedView=False,bOrphanedPin=False,) CustomProperties Pin (PinId=4C94FD9248478C9DD5EA5393075A2807,PinName="self",PinFriendlyName=NSLOCTEXT("K2Node", "Target", "Target"),PinType.PinCategory="object",PinType.PinSubCategory="",PinType.PinSubCategoryObject=BlueprintGeneratedClass'/Game/Rift_Pawn_Sitting/Rift_Pawn_Sitting.Rift_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=512 NodePosY=-80 NodeWidth=592 NodeHeight=448 NodeComment="Offset the VRCameraRoot to move the Rift Camera" NodeGuid=E3607E9749F360D6955336BC8E0E7F3A End Object Begin Object Class=/Script/UnrealEd.EdGraphNode_Comment Name="EdGraphNode_Comment_3" NodePosX=528 NodePosY=192 NodeWidth=512 NodeHeight=160 NodeComment="Set this to the standing height of the user." NodeGuid=FB8FE99D4F6E5E1DDE16B1BC685412F1 End Object 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 Browser to a level, making sure that it is placed at 0,0,0 in the level.

    Click for full image.

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

    Click for 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 Oculus Rift HMD on and view the level while sitting down, you should see something similar to the following video.

UE Project Downloads

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

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