---
title: "A camera that keeps up with you (Devlog #11) | A Short Sail"
description: "A player said the camera needed constant adjusting. The camera now looks ahead on foot, turns behind you at a slant, and sits higher at sea."
url: https://ashortsail.com/devlog/a-camera-that-keeps-up/
published: 2026-10-13
updated: 2026-10-13
author: "Yos Riady"
image: https://ashortsail.com/og/devlog/a-camera-that-keeps-up.jpg
---

Devlog #11

# A camera that keeps up with you

A player said the camera needed constant adjusting. The camera now looks ahead on foot, turns behind you at a slant, and sits higher at sea.

By [Yos Riady](https://ashortsail.com/authors/yos-riady/) · 13 October 2026

![The sailboat sails in to the pier of Pebble Isle, seen from behind and above, with palm trees and a hut ahead.](https://ashortsail.com/_astro/22-arrive-pebble.HfL4vFDI_Z1fMtx4.jpg)

A player wrote to me this week: “The camera needs constant adjusting to be able to see where you are going. It is quite a bother.”

They are right. The camera already turned behind you a little when you walked. But it left out the cases where you most need to see ahead. Here is what I changed.

## On foot

The camera now does three small things:

-   **It looks a little ahead.** The view leans toward the way you walk, up to a short distance. The lean follows a slow average of your walk, so a small change of direction does not sway the view.
-   **It turns behind a walk at a slant.** If you keep walking at an angle toward the camera, it starts to turn after about a second. It is gentle, and it builds up slowly.
-   **It leaves a walk straight at the camera alone.** I tried turning for this too. It was confusing. You hold one key, and the path curves as the view swings. So I took it out.

A drag of the mouse or the right stick still pauses the auto turn for a moment. You can switch to Manual in the settings.

## At sea

The default view at sea is now a little lower and looks above the boat. The horizon sits about a quarter of the way down the screen. So you see more of the sky and the way ahead, and less of the water under the boat.

Other small changes at sea:

-   **The camera swings behind the boat a little faster** the faster you sail, from a smoothed heading. A quick wiggle of the helm does not swing the view.
-   **The camera stands back a little at speed**, up to about 8 per cent. It eases in and out.
-   **The boost opens the view more.** The view widens by 12 degrees at a full burst, up from 7.
-   **After a few seconds still, the tilt comes back.** If you tilted the camera and the boat has been still and free for about six seconds, the tilt eases back to the default.
-   **The look-ahead is shorter.** The boat was sliding toward the bottom edge at speed, so it looks less far ahead now.

## What I read

I looked at what other games do. The advice is the same in most places:

-   A camera that is mostly automatic, with the player able to override it, works best.
-   After the player stops turning it, it should return to its place.
-   A camera that follows the character too closely makes some players feel sick.
-   Players should be able to turn automatic camera movement off.

I kept all of that in mind. The game keeps the Auto and Manual setting, the pause after a drag, and the Reduce motion setting. With Reduce motion on, the look-ahead, the idle tilt, the stand-back and the wider boost view are all off.

## A table for the first sail

The tip you see the first time you board the boat is now a small table with the keys. The camera keys are on it, so a new player can find them.

| What | Keys |
| --- | --- |
| Speed up | W |
| Slow down | S |
| Steer | A or D |
| Look around | Drag the mouse |

The keys follow the ones you set in the settings. On a controller, it shows the sticks.

## One more thing: the compass

The compass strip at the top is thinner, and it has no shadow under it now. It takes less of the screen.

I am still tuning all of this. If the camera still bothers you, or if it makes you dizzy, please tell me. That is how I found the problem with the walk straight at the camera. Thank you for reading!

**Written by [Yos Riady](https://ashortsail.com/authors/yos-riady/)**

Yos Riady is the solo developer making A Short Sail, a cozy sailing game.

[All devlog entries](https://ashortsail.com/devlog/)

## A Short Sail

The cozy sailing game with a cat.

Coming soon to Steam and [itch.io](https://yosriady.itch.io/a-short-sail) [Play the free demo](https://play.ashortsail.com/) [Get updates](https://ashortsail.com/devlog/a-camera-that-keeps-up/#newsletter)