Most recams involve the taking of a first-person demo and presenting it from a different perspective.  The first step in such a recam is, of course, the changing of the Player# in the Demo Information window.  If you've ever tried to return to the first person (by setting Camera Position and Angle to "Original"), you have probably noticed that the result is camera placement inside the visible body of the player.  The appearance is, essentially, that of the In-Eye cam, which is available for observers in Rocket Arena, CTF, and other mods.  While seeing the player's body is only a minor annoyance for the casual observer, it can be irritating for the recammer who seeks perfection in his/her work.

This problem also occurs whenever one attempts to use the Camera Position and Angle as:  "As Entity", as the monster's perspective was demonstrated in the sample recam we worked with in the early tutorials.

This can get in your way any time you want first-person perspective for just part of a demo, but not all of it.

The good news is:  this is a very easy problem to solve. 

Step One:  Select the Appropriate Blocks

This step is really a no-brainer.  Determine which blocks you are wanting to view from first-person perspective.  For example, let's say that in the middle of your recam, blocks 100-200 need to return to first-person.   Select these blocks (and only these blocks) on the filmstrip.  This is the range over which we will apply our changes.

Step Two:  Determine the Entity # of the Player

If you are working with one demo, then there is a high probability that the Entity of your player is 1 (Player 0 = Entity 1).  However, it is always best to double check.  To do this, check the Show Entity box on the Demo Server window, free up the camera, and bring focus around to the player in question.  The Entity number will appear on the Demo Server window (when no entity is selected, you will see -1... keep aiming near the head or chest of the player until another number appears).

Once you have determined the entity number of the player (we'll pretend it is 1 for now), make a note of it and you are ready for...

Step Three:  Making the Player Invisible

Perform the following:

• Edit - Find  (open the Find dialog)

• Find Type:  Replace

• Message Type:  packetentities

• Make sure "Search on Selected Range" is checked

• In Find Params, put your Entity # in the Entity box (1, for example)

• In Replace Params, fill in the following:

  • Modelindex:  0

  • Modelindex2:  0

Now click Find First, and then "Yes to All" to confirm.   When that is finished, you can Fix Position and Angle and watch that portion of the demo, you will notice the change.  If you still see a player's body surrounding your camera, then you chose the incorrect entity number.  In that case, re-load your original demo and try again.  (Always save a backup before making any major changes).

What did we do??

The Modelindex parameter of the packetentities message holds the player model of the entity in question (the index in the Model List).   Modelindex2 is related to the visible-weapon model for that same entity.  By clearing both of these parameters for the selected range, we tell Quake2 to display NO models for this entity for the range.  Click here to see the unofficial documentation where this can be found.

It's that simple.  There are various applications for this technique, only a few of which I have mentioned.  Use this method to add that extra touch of professionalism to your recam.