Absolute Cinema Camera

Follows a scene played out in text as well as in voice. This is the version three evenings of playtesting produced.

• The shot owns its angle. It used to be read off the subject's own view every frame, so whoever was on screen steered everybody's camera with their mouse.
• No walking sway, and no crosshair — the mark stayed on screen whenever the HUD was kept, pointing at nothing.
• Speaker focus keeps up with a conversation. A quarter of a second's pause hands the frame to whoever answers, while a room that has merely gone quiet holds the last speaker briefly. A turn also has a maximum length, so a held talk key cannot own the camera all evening.
• Dialogue covers a table, not a pair. Everyone is held in a master shot and the camera cuts in to whoever starts speaking, then back out. Two people or five makes no difference.
• Chat and roleplay emotes count as turns. The author is read out of the tagging the server already puts on its own messages, so no plugin is needed. A live voice always outranks writing.
• Everyone stays in frame, measured against the real field of view with the letterbox included. A few rays a second confirm the scene is actually visible and not behind a pillar.
• The lens is kept clear — signs, banners and frames right in front of the camera are not drawn.
• The camera belongs to you: walk away from everybody and it comes along, rather than staying to film a conversation you have left. It also keeps out of people, and can be raised or lowered by hand for emote mods the game cannot see.
• The scene has a height limit, so a tavern's upper floor is a different scene.
• Settings apply as you change them, and the scene radius is drawn around you in the world while you set it.

Thanks to Contik, Cmetanochkaa, Gizmons_ and Morda_ for testing the mod.