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Guide to pan-cam/theater cam and level barriers
Posted By: pete_the_duck	Date: 5/25/08 1:09 p.m.
For those of us that aren’t quite clear on how to get the theater cam outside invisible level barriers, or are confused by conflicting reports, I wanted to make a one-stop guide. This also includes all the information I have on pan-cam, which is a pretty common question here. This is a compilation of my own discoveries as well as various things I have learned from the forums. A guide to getting the theater cam past invisible level barriers (including pan-cam). There are basically 3 things to know about getting the theater cam past invisible level barriers—both methods as well as the semi-complicated issue of eliminating your body for some real exploration**. Method 1 (pan-cam): By far, the easiest method is accelerating the theater cam at such a ridiculous velocity that the theater cam is glitched past the barrier. Please note that pan-cam can only be used in films that have been recorded after pan-cam was enabled. Method 2: An alternative is to use the fact that the theater cam can’t pass through invisible barriers, but it can be pushed through them by other objects. **To exit all barriers of a level, your body must not exist or be beyond the barriers. This is to avoid having the theater cam reset to your body’s location. This is only necessary if you are trying to exit all barriers of a level, as you can usually pass through at least one without encountering this problem. Method 1 (pan-cam): It is possible to enable a pan-cam mode which will allow you to adjust the speed of movement for the theater cam. Here is how to enable pan-cam: 1. In the custom game lobby, set network to LOCAL 2. Launch a custom game 3. In the custom game, hold Left Bumper, Right Bumper, A, Left Stick (push directly in), and UP on the d-pad for 3 seconds. When a series of numbers appear on the screen, pan-cam has been enabled. The first 3 numbers are the coordinates of the theater cam relative to its 3 axis. The 4th is the direction the theater cam is facing. The 5th is the speed of the theater cam, with 1 as the default speed. Finally there is a bracket noting whether you are in “pan-cam” or “normal” mode (the basic theater cam we all know and love). You can toggle between pan-cam mode and normal mode by holding Left Stick, Right Stick, and pressing LEFT on the d-pad. While in pan-cam mode you can increase the speed of the cam by holding UP on the d-pad and decrease it by holding DOWN on the d-pad. Please note that while adjustments to the speed of the theater cam apply to both pan-cam and normal mode, but speed can only be adjusted in pan-cam mode. Your controls change slightly when you are in pan-cam mode. You may notice you need to use the triggers instead of the bumpers to adjust elevation. Also you cannot fast-forward while in pan-cam mode. Fortunately, it is easy to switch back to normal mode in order to use the fast-forward function. By increasing the speed of the pan-cam significantly, you can move the camera so fast that a slight flick of the directional stick will move the camera well outside a level’s invisible barriers. Generally I increase it to about 1,000,000. In this range, the game will freeze for a moment every time you press the directional stick. However, this is a very inconsistent method. Many times you will find that the pan-cam is still inside the barriers, or is so far past the barriers that the screen is displaying strange colors, making you hopelessly disoriented such that you cannot hope to make your way back to the play area. However, a little patience will reward you with the pan-cam reaching a distance outside the barriers but close enough to avoid the “graphic void” that lies beyond. Be sure to reduce the theater cam’s speed once you are outside the invisible barriers. If you try to use the coordinates to return the pan-cam to the play area, please note that they stop counting at 50,000, but you can continue beyond this. So if you are really far out, you may be moving the directional sticks while the coordinates remain constant. If using the coordinates to find your bearings, make sure the theater cam is facing “forward” (as close to 0 with the 4th set of numbers as you can reach). Please note that pan-cam only seems to work in saved films which were filmed with pan-cam already enabled. Also note that the coordinates are displayed during cutscenes. These coordinates can be used to try to locate that cutscene area later. For example, the Shipmaster’s deck at the beginning of the singleplayer level The Ark can be revisited. But to do this successfully, you must avoid having the theater cam reset to your body’s location if it is inside the barriers. See the last section of this guide for information on how to do that. Method 2: Place the theater cam against an invisible barrier, in the path of some object that will pass through the barrier. Using the right trigger, advance the film in slow spurts, pausing briefly in between, as the object pushes the theater cam. Please note that if you move the theater cam before it is fully through the barrier, you will be forced back inside the barrier. Example: The dropship from which you exit at the beginning of the singleplayer level The Covenant passes through an invisible barrier and can be used to push the theater cam through as well. If successful, you will soon discover that there is more than one set of invisible barriers in both singleplayer and multiplayer levels. Often times, no object will pass through the furthest invisible barrier, making it impossible to fully escape a level’s barriers with this method. There are some exceptions, such as areas that have extremely long drops. Example: In the first area you encounter Wraiths in the singleplayer level The Storm, you can drive a vehicle off the cliff. It will pass through the first invisible barrier as it falls and come to rest on the final one at the base of the cliff. That vehicle can be used to push the cam through both barriers. It is also possible to do this with a Covenant crate at the beginning of Floodgate, or a hornet at the Scarab battle on The Covenant. But to do this successfully, you must avoid having the theater cam reset to your body’s location if it is inside the barriers. See the last section of this guide for information on how to do that. Keeping the theater cam from resetting to your body’s location: If you are trying to exit all of a level’s invisible barriers, you will need to address the issue of the theater cam resetting to your body’s location when you pass through the final barrier. Also, if you are playing with others, if your body cannot be located, the theater cam will reset to someone else’s body. There are two tested methods you can keep in mind: Method 1: Once again, areas that have extremely long drops may allow your body to fall through the outermost barrier. Sometimes your body may come to rest on the outermost barrier, which seems sufficient on some levels as well. Example: Jumping off the cliff beneath the Forward Unto Dawn in the singleplayer level The Ark. The abyss beneath the multiplayer level Construct also works. While watching the saved filmed of this, if you exit the map’s barriers while your body is in the abyss, the theater cam will not reset. Method 2: In Forge, the Monitors will not leave bodies when they die. Example: In any multiplayer map, make a pile of fusion coils in Forge. Turn into the player model and throw a grenade into the pile. Quickly turn back into the monitor model and allow the fusion coil explosion to kill you. While watching the saved filmed of this, if you exit the map’s barriers while your body is missing, the theater cam will not reset. These are the only two methods that I am aware of.

Message Index

Guide to pan-cam/theater cam and level barriers	pete_the_duck	5/25/08 1:09 p.m.
thanks pete! *NM*	mendicantbias00	5/26/08 11:45 a.m.
Thanks, also, a note:	elpolloguapo	5/27/08 6:13 p.m.
Re: Thanks, also, a note:	Don	5/27/08 6:45 p.m.
Re: Thanks, also, a note:	tombodemon	5/28/08 5:49 a.m.
Thx Heaps man!	tombodemon	5/28/08 5:46 a.m.
Re: Thx Heaps man!	pete_the_duck	5/28/08 7:37 a.m.
I want all your gamertags!	Mirel	5/28/08 9:29 a.m.
GT: petetheduck *NM*	pete_the_duck	5/28/08 9:40 a.m.
GT: OmegaInTexas	Omega	5/28/08 10:26 a.m.
gt = mendicantbias00	mendicantbias00	5/28/08 11:59 a.m.
Re: Guide to pan-cam/theater cam and level barrier	Jamie98s	5/28/08 10:46 a.m.
Removing the number display	pete_the_duck	5/28/08 10:51 a.m.
Re: Removing the number display	Jamie98s	5/28/08 11:42 a.m.