Part 1: The Problem

During development of Relicbourne's turn-based combat system, I ran into an issue involving the dynamic camera and combat UI when switching between active monsters. Each time the turn changed, the camera needed to follow the newly active monster, and the UI needed to update with that monster’s information.

The issue was that the UI and camera transitions were not synchronized. The camera would begin following the new active monster, but the UI would sometimes lag behind or momentarily display outdated information from the previous turn. This was especially problematic in a strategic, turn-based game where the player needs accurate, up-to-date context before taking actions. Fixing this was critical for gameplay clarity and smooth player experience.

Part 2: Problem Solution

To resolve the issue, I created a new camera interface method in C++ that handles both attachment and orientation during turn transitions. The function SetDynamicLocation, ensures that the camera is immediately reattached to the new target and reoriented correctly:

To maintain smooth movement after attachment, I added tick-based interpolation using FMATH::VInterpTo, which allows the camera to ease naturally toward the active unit’s position. This adds a cinematic polish to movement while keeping it frame-rate independent:

To eliminate any residual mismatch between camera and UI during the actual turn change, I implemented SetNewTarget, a dedicated method that snaps the camera directly to the new unit’s location before interpolation kicks in:

This approach guarantees that by the time a new turn begins, the camera is already visually aligned with the correct monster. The system now supports both instant context switching and smooth movement between updates. On top of that, the logic is modular, which allows other systems (like zoom, combat effects, or cinematic cut-ins) to hook into this architecture cleanly.

Result

With this implementation, the camera now instantly snaps to the correct monster as turns switch, while also interpolating smoothly during normal gameplay. The UI and camera are now fully synchronized, creating a more polished, responsive, and immersive combat experience.

Testers confirmed that transitions between turns felt significantly more intuitive, and there were no longer any UI or camera mismatches. This change not only resolved the technical problem but also enhanced the strategic clarity of each battle—ensuring that the core loop remains tight, immersive, and visually clean.