🎥 XAI Advanced Third Person Camera

Advanced Third Person Camera Plugin for GoldSrc and Counter-Strike 1.6

A modular AMX Mod X / AMXX third-person camera plugin with 3 dynamic camera modes, per-player camera state, real-time TraceLine wall collision handling, direct console/chat commands, runtime CVAR control, automatic camera lifecycle management and optional xai_main_menu integration.

Repository: https://github.com/xansuz/GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson
Developer: @xansuz
Current Plugin Version: 1.0

⭐ What Is XAI Advanced Third Person Camera?

XAI Advanced Third Person Camera is a standalone and modular AMX Mod X / AMXX third-person camera plugin for GoldSrc, designed primarily for Counter-Strike 1.6 (CS 1.6) and compatible GoldSrc server environments.

The plugin replaces the player's normal view attachment with a controlled camera entity when a third-person mode is active.

It provides:

🎥 3 distinct camera perspectives
👤 independent camera state for every player
🧱 real-time TraceLine camera collision handling
🔄 camera cleanup and recreation during player lifecycle events
🎮 console and chat controls
⚙️ dynamic CVAR configuration
🧩 optional XAI main-menu integration
🛡️ no forced client config.cfg modification
📦 no external camera model package required
🧱 standalone operation when xai_main_menu is unavailable

The goal is a clean, reusable and independently deployable third-person camera component rather than a feature that requires the entire XAI framework.

🚀 Highlights

Feature	Status
GoldSrc camera system	✅
Counter-Strike 1.6 focused	✅
AMX Mod X plugin	✅
Pawn source included	✅
Precompiled `.amxx` included	✅
3 camera perspectives	✅
First-person fallback	✅
Per-player camera state	✅
Real-time camera update	✅
TraceLine wall collision	✅
Runtime camera padding	✅
Camera cleanup on death	✅
Camera recreation after spawn	✅
Camera cleanup on disconnect	✅
Chat commands	✅
Console commands	✅
Direct mode selection	✅
Optional XAI menu integration	✅
Standalone mode	✅
Forced client config modification	❌
External camera asset requirement	❌

🎥 Camera Modes

The plugin internally supports four states:

MODE 0 = First Person / Camera OFF
MODE 1 = Close Shoulder
MODE 2 = Tactical
MODE 3 = Cinematic Front

The cycle command follows:

0 → 1 → 2 → 3 → 0

0️⃣ Mode 0 — First Person

Normal GoldSrc / player view.

Camera: OFF

When Mode 0 is selected, the plugin removes the custom camera entity and restores the player's normal view.

1️⃣ Mode 1 — Close Shoulder

A close third-person perspective designed for normal gameplay.

Default values:

Distance: 88.0
Height:   24.0

Conceptually:

        CAMERA
           \
            \
          PLAYER
            ↑
         LOOK DIR

This is the closest of the two rear-facing camera modes.

2️⃣ Mode 2 — Tactical

A wider third-person perspective that places the camera farther from the player.

Default values:

Distance: 176.0
Height:    36.0

This provides a wider field of view around the player and is useful when a broader gameplay perspective is desired.

3️⃣ Mode 3 — Cinematic Front

A front-facing cinematic camera configuration.

Default values:

Distance: 88.0
Height:   24.0

The camera direction is reversed by approximately:

180°

and the pitch is inverted so that the camera faces the character from the opposite side.

This mode is intended for a front-facing / cinematic third-person experience.

🧱 Real-Time Wall Collision Protection

One of the most important parts of the plugin is its camera geometry handling.

The camera does not simply move to a fixed location behind the player and ignore the map.

Instead, each active third-person update calculates:

Player Eye Position
        ↓
Desired Camera Position
        ↓
TraceLine
        ↓
Collision?
   ↙          ↘
 YES           NO
  ↓             ↓
Trace End      Desired
Position       Position
  ↓
Apply Padding
  ↓
Resolved Camera Position

The trace is performed between the player's eye position and the desired camera location.

When an obstacle is detected, the camera is moved toward the trace hit point and a configurable safety padding is applied.

🧩 TraceLine-Based Resolution

The implementation uses:

EngFunc_TraceLine

and resolves the final camera position using the trace fraction and trace end position.

The wall protection is therefore TraceLine based.

This should not be confused with a full volumetric swept-hull camera collision system. The current implementation performs a line-based geometry check.

This distinction is documented intentionally so server administrators know exactly what the plugin does.

👤 Per-Player Camera State

Camera state is stored individually for every player.

Each player maintains:

Third Person Mode
Camera Entity

independently.

For example:

Player 1 → Mode 1
Player 2 → Mode 0
Player 3 → Mode 3
Player 4 → Mode 2

Changing one player's camera does not change another player's camera state.

🔄 Player Lifecycle Management

The plugin actively manages camera entities during player lifecycle events.

Player Connect

A new player starts with:

Mode = 0
Camera Entity = none

A short welcome/help message is then printed to the player's console/chat.

Player Spawn

If a player already has a third-person mode selected:

Mode > 0

the plugin schedules a camera recreation after spawn.

This prevents the camera state from being permanently lost when the player respawns.

Player Death

When the player dies:

Camera Entity → removed

The normal player view is restored.

Player Disconnect

When a player disconnects:

Camera Entity → removed
Camera State  → reset

This prevents stale camera entities from remaining associated with a disconnected player.

🎮 Commands

Main Camera Cycle Command

xai_thirdperson

Every execution advances the camera state:

0 → 1 → 2 → 3 → 0

XAI Command Aliases

The plugin also supports:

xai tp

and:

xai thirdperson

These execute the same camera cycle functionality.

Direct Mode Selection

Use:

xai_tp_mode <0-3>

Examples:

xai_tp_mode 0

xai_tp_mode 1

xai_tp_mode 2

xai_tp_mode 3

Invalid Values

Values outside the supported range are normalized to:

Therefore:

xai_tp_mode 4

does not create a fifth camera mode.

💬 Chat Commands

The plugin recognizes:

/tp

!tp

/thirdperson

Team chat also supports:

/tp

These commands cycle the camera mode.

⌨️ Recommended F1 Bind

The recommended client-side bind is:

bind F1 xai_thirdperson

This gives the player a convenient one-key camera switch.

Important

The plugin does not force this bind.

The player chooses whether to add the bind to the client.

No automatic:

config.cfg

modification is performed.

⚙️ CVAR Reference

The plugin exposes seven configurable CVARs.

CVAR	Default	Runtime Range	Purpose
`xai_tp_close_distance`	`88.0`	`40.0 - 320.0`	Mode 1 camera distance
`xai_tp_close_height`	`24.0`	`-24.0 - 96.0`	Mode 1 camera height
`xai_tp_far_distance`	`176.0`	`40.0 - 320.0`	Mode 2 camera distance
`xai_tp_far_height`	`36.0`	`-24.0 - 96.0`	Mode 2 camera height
`xai_tp_rear_distance`	`88.0`	`40.0 - 320.0`	Mode 3 camera distance
`xai_tp_rear_height`	`24.0`	`-24.0 - 96.0`	Mode 3 camera height
`xai_tp_padding`	`12.0`	`2.0 - 32.0`	Wall collision padding

📐 Runtime Value Protection

Camera values are clamped during runtime.

Distance

Minimum = 40.0
Maximum = 320.0

Therefore:

distance < 40.0

becomes:

40.0

and:

distance > 320.0

becomes:

320.0

Height

Minimum = -24.0
Maximum = 96.0

Wall Padding

Minimum = 2.0
Maximum = 32.0

This prevents unreasonable CVAR values from being used directly in the camera collision correction.

🛠️ Example Server Configuration

Create or edit:

addons/XAI-EKLENTISI/ozellikler/thirdperson.cfg

Example:

// XAI Advanced Third Person Camera
// Plugin Version: v1.0

xai_tp_close_distance "88.0"
xai_tp_close_height "24.0"

xai_tp_far_distance "176.0"
xai_tp_far_height "36.0"

xai_tp_rear_distance "88.0"
xai_tp_rear_height "24.0"

xai_tp_padding "12.0"

You can also configure the CVARs from:

server.cfg

📁 Automatic Configuration Loading

During plugin initialization the following configuration path is executed:

addons/XAI-EKLENTISI/ozellikler/thirdperson.cfg

This allows the camera configuration to remain separate from the main server configuration when desired.

🧩 XAI Main Menu Integration

The plugin can integrate with:

xai_main_menu

When that library/plugin is detected, the third-person feature registers itself with the main XAI menu.

The registered menu item is:

Third Person Kamera [F1 / 3 Mod]

and uses:

xai_thirdperson

as its command.

🔌 Optional Dependency

The main menu integration is optional.

With `xai_main_menu`

XAI Main Menu
      ↓
Third Person Kamera
      ↓
xai_thirdperson
      ↓
Camera Cycle

Without `xai_main_menu`

Player
  ↓
xai_thirdperson
  ↓
Camera Cycle

The third-person camera plugin continues to work independently.

🏗️ Camera Entity Architecture

For every active third-person player, the plugin creates an info_target entity.

The runtime entity uses:

classname = xai_tp_cam

and is configured as:

MOVETYPE_NONE
SOLID_NOT
owner = player

The camera entity is hidden using:

EF_NODRAW

and the player's view is attached to the entity with:

attach_view(player, camera)

🎞️ Real-Time Camera Update

When third-person mode is active, the plugin updates the camera during:

client_PreThink

The camera calculation uses:

Player Origin
View Offset
View Angle
Forward Vector
Camera Distance
Camera Height
Collision Trace
Padding

The resulting position and angles are then applied to the camera entity.

🧭 Camera Calculation Flow

The simplified runtime flow is:

client_PreThink
       ↓
Check player alive
       ↓
Check active camera mode
       ↓
Read player origin
       ↓
Read player view offset
       ↓
Calculate eye position
       ↓
Calculate direction vectors
       ↓
Select camera mode
       ↓
Read CVAR distance/height
       ↓
Clamp runtime values
       ↓
Calculate desired camera position
       ↓
TraceLine
       ↓
Resolve collision
       ↓
Move camera entity
       ↓
Update camera angles
       ↓
attach_view()

🛡️ Client-Side Policy

This plugin is designed to avoid forced client configuration changes.

It does not automatically write a player bind such as:

bind F1 xai_thirdperson

to the player's:

config.cfg

The F1 bind is only provided as a recommended manual configuration.

📦 External Assets

The camera system itself does not require:

custom camera model
custom camera sprite
custom camera sound

The camera is created dynamically using a GoldSrc entity at runtime.

The camera entity can inherit the player's current model internally, but the entity is rendered hidden using:

EF_NODRAW

so a separate camera asset package is not required.

✅ Installation — Precompiled AMXX

The repository contains a precompiled:

XAI-GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson-Plugin.amxx

Step 1

Copy:

XAI-GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson-Plugin.amxx

to:

addons/amxmodx/plugins/

Step 2

Open:

addons/amxmodx/configs/plugins.ini

Add:

XAI-GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson-Plugin.amxx

Step 3

Optional configuration:

addons/XAI-EKLENTISI/ozellikler/thirdperson.cfg

Step 4

Restart the server or change the map.

Step 5

Test:

xai_thirdperson

or:

/tp

🧰 Installation — Source Compilation

The repository also contains the Pawn source:

XAI-GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson-Plugin.sma

The source currently includes:

#include <amxmodx>
#include <amxmisc>
#include <engine>
#include <fakemeta>
#include <xs>

The plugin therefore expects the corresponding AMX Mod X development environment and include files.

🔧 Runtime Dependencies

Required

AMX Mod X
engine
fakemeta

Optional

xai_main_menu

xai_main_menu is required only for automatic main-menu registration.

The camera itself can operate standalone.

📂 Repository Structure

Current repository structure:

GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson/
│
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
│
├── XAI-GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson-Plugin.amxx
└── XAI-GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson-Plugin.sma

🧪 Basic Test Checklist

After installation, test the following:

Camera cycle

xai_thirdperson

Expected sequence:

0 → 1 → 2 → 3 → 0

Direct modes

xai_tp_mode 0
xai_tp_mode 1
xai_tp_mode 2
xai_tp_mode 3

Chat

/tp
!tp
/thirdperson

XAI aliases

xai tp
xai thirdperson

F1

bind F1 xai_thirdperson

Wall testing

Test the camera near:

walls
corners
narrow corridors
small rooms
map obstacles

Lifecycle testing

Test:

connect
spawn
third-person activation
death
respawn
disconnect

🐛 Troubleshooting

`xai_thirdperson` does nothing

Check:

addons/amxmodx/configs/plugins.ini

and verify:

XAI-GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson-Plugin.amxx

is present.

Then restart/change the map.

`/tp` does nothing

Verify the plugin is loaded.

Then test the direct console command:

xai_thirdperson

If the console command works while chat does not, check the exact chat command syntax:

/tp
!tp
/thirdperson

Camera disappears after death

This is expected behavior.

The plugin removes the camera entity when the player dies.

After respawn, the selected third-person mode is reapplied when appropriate.

Camera is too close to a wall

Increase:

xai_tp_padding

Example:

xai_tp_padding "16.0"

The runtime-supported padding range is:

2.0 - 32.0

Camera is too far away

Reduce:

xai_tp_close_distance

or:

xai_tp_far_distance

depending on the active mode.

Remember that runtime distance is bounded to:

40.0 - 320.0

`xai_main_menu` is not showing the camera option

The third-person plugin is designed to work without the main menu.

Check that:

xai_main_menu

is actually loaded.

If it is unavailable, use:

xai_thirdperson

directly.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Does this plugin work without the XAI main menu?

Yes.

The main menu integration is optional.

Does this plugin automatically bind F1?

No.

Use:

bind F1 xai_thirdperson

manually if desired.

Does the plugin modify the player's config.cfg?

No forced client configuration modification is part of the implementation.

Are custom camera models required?

No.

The camera is created dynamically.

Can every player use a different mode?

Yes.

The plugin stores camera state per player.

Is Mode 0 a real camera mode?

Mode 0 represents the normal first-person state / custom camera disabled state.

Can I set a camera mode directly?

Yes:

xai_tp_mode 0
xai_tp_mode 1
xai_tp_mode 2
xai_tp_mode 3

Can distance and height be changed while the server is running?

Yes.

The plugin reads its camera CVAR values during runtime.

Does the wall system use TraceLine?

Yes.

The current implementation uses a GoldSrc TraceLine call between the player eye position and the desired camera position.

🔍 Search & Discoverability

This project is intentionally documented around the terminology commonly used when searching for GoldSrc and Counter-Strike 1.6 plugins.

Relevant project terms include:

GoldSrc
GoldSrc plugin
Counter-Strike 1.6
CS 1.6
CS16
Counter Strike 1.6 plugin
AMX Mod X
AMXX
AMXX plugin
AMX plugin
Pawn plugin
Pawn scripting
third person
thirdperson
third person camera
thirdperson camera
camera plugin
camera system
GoldSrc camera
CS 1.6 third person
CS16 third person
CS 1.6 camera plugin
AMXX third person
AMX Mod X third person
multiplayer third person camera
GoldSrc third person camera

These terms are used as descriptive project terminology rather than as unrelated keyword stuffing.

🧠 Technical Philosophy

XAI Advanced Third Person Camera is intentionally kept as a focused plugin.

The plugin owns:

Camera State
Camera Entity
Camera Modes
Camera CVARs
Camera Commands
Camera Collision Resolution
Camera Lifecycle
Main Menu Registration

It does not require the entire XAI framework to function.

This makes it suitable for:

Standalone GoldSrc servers
CS 1.6 servers
XAI-based servers
Modular AMX Mod X installations
Custom gameplay frameworks

🔌 Modular Design

The plugin is designed so that the camera feature can be deployed independently.

Architecture:

                    ┌──────────────────┐
                    │   XAI Main Menu  │
                    │    (Optional)    │
                    └────────┬─────────┘
                             │
                             │ register
                             ▼
                  ┌──────────────────────┐
                  │ XAI Third Person     │
                  │ Camera Plugin        │
                  └──────────┬───────────┘
                             │
             ┌───────────────┼────────────────┐
             │               │                │
             ▼               ▼                ▼
       Camera Modes      CVAR System      Commands
             │               │                │
             └───────────────┼────────────────┘
                             ▼
                    Runtime Camera Entity
                             │
                             ▼
                       GoldSrc View

📝 Source Code

Source:

XAI-GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson-Plugin.sma

Compiled plugin:

XAI-GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson-Plugin.amxx

📌 Plugin Metadata

Plugin Name : XAI Advanced 3-Mode Third Person
Version     : v1.0
Author      : @xansuz
Engine      : GoldSrc
Language    : Pawn
Framework   : AMX Mod X / AMXX
Camera Modes: 0, 1, 2, 3
License     : MIT

📜 License

This project is released under the:

MIT License

Copyright:

Copyright (c) 2026 xansuz

See the complete license:

LICENSE

👤 Author

Developed by:

@xansuz

GitHub:

https://github.com/xansuz

Project:

https://github.com/xansuz/GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson

⭐ Support the Project

If this plugin is useful for your GoldSrc / CS 1.6 server:

⭐ Star the repository
🐛 Report reproducible bugs
💡 Suggest technically relevant improvements
🔧 Contribute improvements
📖 Improve documentation

🔗 Project Links

Resource	Link
GitHub Repository	https://github.com/xansuz/GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson
Source Code	`XAI-GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson-Plugin.sma`
Compiled Plugin	`XAI-GoldSrc-Advanced-Thirdperson-Plugin.amxx`
License	`LICENSE`
AMX Mod X	https://www.amxmodx.org/
Developer	https://github.com/xansuz

🚦 Current Release

XAI Advanced Third Person Camera
Version v1.0

Current implementation includes:

✓ 3 third-person perspectives
✓ First-person fallback
✓ Per-player mode state
✓ Runtime camera entity
✓ TraceLine collision resolution
✓ Configurable camera distance
✓ Configurable camera height
✓ Configurable wall padding
✓ Chat commands
✓ Console commands
✓ Direct mode selection
✓ XAI command aliases
✓ Optional xai_main_menu registration
✓ Spawn recovery
✓ Death cleanup
✓ Disconnect cleanup
✓ Client-friendly operation

🎯 Project Scope

This repository focuses specifically on the:

GoldSrc / Counter-Strike 1.6 / AMX Mod X Third Person Camera

It is not intended to replace:

server administration systems
bot AI systems
gameplay frameworks
economy systems
player management systems
complete XAI server cores

Instead, it provides a focused and reusable camera component that can be integrated into a larger XAI or AMXX server architecture.

GoldSrc • CS 1.6 • AMX Mod X • AMXX • Pawn • Third Person • Camera

Developed by @xansuz

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
xai_thirdperson.amxx		xai_thirdperson.amxx
xai_thirdperson.sma		xai_thirdperson.sma

Latest commit

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🎥 XAI Advanced Third Person Camera — GoldSrc / CS 1.6 / AMX Mod X

⭐ What Is XAI Advanced Third Person Camera?

🚀 Highlights

🎥 Camera Modes

0️⃣ Mode 0 — First Person

1️⃣ Mode 1 — Close Shoulder

2️⃣ Mode 2 — Tactical

3️⃣ Mode 3 — Cinematic Front

🧱 Real-Time Wall Collision Protection

🧩 TraceLine-Based Resolution

👤 Per-Player Camera State

🔄 Player Lifecycle Management

Player Connect

Player Spawn

Player Death

Player Disconnect

🎮 Commands

Main Camera Cycle Command

XAI Command Aliases

Direct Mode Selection

Invalid Values

💬 Chat Commands

⌨️ Recommended F1 Bind

Important

⚙️ CVAR Reference

📐 Runtime Value Protection

Distance

Height

Wall Padding

🛠️ Example Server Configuration

📁 Automatic Configuration Loading

🧩 XAI Main Menu Integration

🔌 Optional Dependency

With xai_main_menu

Without xai_main_menu

🏗️ Camera Entity Architecture

🎞️ Real-Time Camera Update

🧭 Camera Calculation Flow

🛡️ Client-Side Policy

📦 External Assets

✅ Installation — Precompiled AMXX

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

🧰 Installation — Source Compilation

🔧 Runtime Dependencies

Required

Optional

📂 Repository Structure

🧪 Basic Test Checklist

Camera cycle

Direct modes

Chat

XAI aliases

F1

Wall testing

Lifecycle testing

🐛 Troubleshooting

xai_thirdperson does nothing

/tp does nothing

Camera disappears after death

Camera is too close to a wall

Camera is too far away

xai_main_menu is not showing the camera option

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Does this plugin work without the XAI main menu?

Does this plugin automatically bind F1?

Does the plugin modify the player's config.cfg?

Are custom camera models required?

Can every player use a different mode?

Is Mode 0 a real camera mode?

Can I set a camera mode directly?

Can distance and height be changed while the server is running?

Does the wall system use TraceLine?

With `xai_main_menu`

Without `xai_main_menu`

`xai_thirdperson` does nothing

`/tp` does nothing

`xai_main_menu` is not showing the camera option