Free Guard Camera - Combat Soft-Lock Fix

In the vanilla game, the guard camera can behave like a two-target lock-on camera while an enemy is soft-locked. This causes incessant zooming in and out whenever guard is used, and it can pull the camera very far away from the action when the enemy is at a distance.
With this fix, the affected combat guard camera states use the same player-centered TPS behavior as the normal vanilla guard camera instead. You can freely turn the camera during guard, the zoom remains stable, and enemy distance no longer forces the camera far away from the action.
[heading]What this mod does[/heading]
[list]
[]Allows free camera rotation while guarding during combat soft lock.[/]
[]Replaces the affected two-target combat guard camera states with the normal player-centered TPS guard camera behavior.[/]
[]Stops the incessant zooming in and out triggered by using guard.[/]
[]Prevents distant enemies from forcing the camera far away from the action.[/]
[]Keeps the vanilla 1.18 FOV, offsets, zoom distances, damping and indoor camera values.[/]
[]Does not disable guarding or soft lock.[/]
[/list][heading]Scope[/heading]
This is a focused camera fix, not a general camera overhaul.
It was built directly from the vanilla Crimson Desert 1.18
[code]playercamerapreset.xml[/code]and modifies only three camera presets involved in the combat guard behavior:
[list]
[][code]Player_Weapon_LockOn_System[/code][/]
[][code]Player_Weapon_LockOn_System_SemiAuto[/code][/]
[][code]Player_Weapon_LockOn_System_FullAuto[/code][/]
[/list]All other camera presets remain unchanged.
[heading]Game file replaced by this mod[/heading]
[code]0010/actionchart/xml/description/playercamerapreset.xml[/code]Mods that also replace or modify this XML may conflict with this mod. Merge behavior depends on the mod manager being used, so users combining multiple camera mods may need to merge the relevant presets manually.
[heading]Exact changes for manual merging[/heading]
Use this section if you already have a custom
[code]playercamerapreset.xml[/code]and want to add only this fix.
Find these three presets:
[code]Player_Weapon_LockOn_System[/code][code]Player_Weapon_LockOn_System_SemiAuto[/code][code]Player_Weapon_LockOn_System_FullAuto[/code]For each one, replace the entire preset with the vanilla
[code]Player_Weapon_Guard[/code]configuration while keeping its original preset name.
The resulting presets should be:
[code]<Player_Weapon_LockOn_System Type="TPS" Fov="45" InputDampingRate="0.75" UseZoomInByPitch="True">
<ApplyCameraSetting UpOffset="True" RightOffset="True" Fov="True" ZoomDistance="True"/>
<CameraDamping PivotDamping="30" PivotDampingMaxDistance="0.5"/>
<CameraBlendParameter BlendInTime="0.5" BlendOutTime="0.5" BlendInEaseType="OutQuad" BlendOutEaseType="OutQuad"/>
<ZoomLevelInfo>
<ZoomLevel Level="2" RightOffset="0.6" UpOffset="0.2" ZoomDistance="2.75" InDoorZoomRatio="0.7" InDoorUpOffset="0.3" InDoorRightOffset="0.45" InDoorFov="55"/>
<ZoomLevel Level="3" RightOffset="0.75" UpOffset="0.5" ZoomDistance="4.5" InDoorZoomRatio="0.55" InDoorUpOffset="0.35" InDoorFov="55"/>
<ZoomLevel Level="4" RightOffset="1.1378" UpOffset="0.8" ZoomDistance="6.5" InDoorZoomRatio="0.5" InDoorUpOffset="0.4" InDoorFov="55"/>
</>
</>

<Player_Weapon_LockOn_System_SemiAuto Type="TPS" Fov="45" InputDampingRate="0.75" UseZoomInByPitch="True">
<ApplyCameraSetting UpOffset="True" RightOffset="True" Fov="True" ZoomDistance="True"/>
<CameraDamping PivotDamping="30" PivotDampingMaxDistance="0.5"/>
<CameraBlendParameter BlendInTime="0.5" BlendOutTime="0.5" BlendInEaseType="OutQuad" BlendOutEaseType="OutQuad"/>
<ZoomLevelInfo>
<ZoomLevel Level="2" RightOffset="0.6" UpOffset="0.2" ZoomDistance="2.75" InDoorZoomRatio="0.7" InDoorUpOffset="0.3" InDoorRightOffset="0.45" InDoorFov="55"/>
<ZoomLevel Level="3" RightOffset="0.75" UpOffset="0.5" ZoomDistance="4.5" InDoorZoomRatio="0.55" InDoorUpOffset="0.35" InDoorFov="55"/>
<ZoomLevel Level="4" RightOffset="1.1378" UpOffset="0.8" ZoomDistance="6.5" InDoorZoomRatio="0.5" InDoorUpOffset="0.4" InDoorFov="55"/>
</>
</>

<Player_Weapon_LockOn_System_FullAuto Type="TPS" Fov="45" InputDampingRate="0.75" UseZoomInByPitch="True">
<ApplyCameraSetting UpOffset="True" RightOffset="True" Fov="True" ZoomDistance="True"/>
<CameraDamping PivotDamping="30" PivotDampingMaxDistance="0.5"/>
<CameraBlendParameter BlendInTime="0.5" BlendOutTime="0.5" BlendInEaseType="OutQuad" BlendOutEaseType="OutQuad"/>
<ZoomLevelInfo>
<ZoomLevel Level="2" RightOffset="0.6" UpOffset="0.2" ZoomDistance="2.75" InDoorZoomRatio="0.7" InDoorUpOffset="0.3" InDoorRightOffset="0.45" InDoorFov="55"/>
<ZoomLevel Level="3" RightOffset="0.75" UpOffset="0.5" ZoomDistance="4.5" InDoorZoomRatio="0.55" InDoorUpOffset="0.35" InDoorFov="55"/>
<ZoomLevel Level="4" RightOffset="1.1378" UpOffset="0.8" ZoomDistance="6.5" InDoorZoomRatio="0.5" InDoorUpOffset="0.4" InDoorFov="55"/>
</>
</>[/code][heading]Why this works[/heading]
The affected combat guard presets normally use a two-target lock-on camera behavior.
That type of camera considers both the player and the soft-locked enemy when determining the framing and camera distance. As the distance between them changes, the camera can continuously readjust itself, producing the unwanted zooming and excessively wide framing seen while guarding.
This mod changes those combat guard states to the same
[code]Type="TPS"[/code]configuration used by the vanilla
[code]Player_Weapon_Guard[/code]preset.
Instead of framing the player and enemy together, the camera behaves like the normal player-centered guard camera and uses the game's original guard FOV, offsets, damping and zoom levels.
No custom camera positioning values are introduced; the replacement settings are taken directly from the vanilla 1.18 guard preset.
[heading]Installation[/heading]
[list]
[]Download and import the archive into a Crimson Desert mod manager that supports folder/XML replacement mods.[/]
[]Enable the mod and deploy your active mods.[/]
[]Launch the game and test guard while an enemy is soft-locked.[/]
[/list][heading]Manual installation[/heading]
Advanced users can merge the three documented preset changes into their own extracted
[code]playercamerapreset.xml[/code]and rebuild the corresponding game archive.
Back up the original game files before making manual changes.
[heading]Compatibility[/heading]
[list]
[]Built from the vanilla Crimson Desert 1.18 files.[/]
[]May conflict with camera mods that replace or modify
[code]playercamerapreset.xml[/code].[/]
[]A future game update may add or change camera presets. Reapply the documented changes to the newest vanilla file instead of using an outdated full-file replacement.[/]
[/list][heading]Uninstallation[/heading]
Disable or remove the mod in your mod manager and redeploy.
If the file was installed manually, restore your backup or verify the game files through your storefront.
[heading]For other modders[/heading]
This fix is intentionally documented so it can be ported to future game versions and merged into other camera presets.
Modders are welcome to adapt, maintain and redistribute the fix for later updates. Credit is appreciated.
Special thanks to [b]wootwoots[/b] for finding the cleaner camera-only implementation and pointing me toward the correct combat guard presets.