Free Camera in Replays* (Kind of)

How to move and rotate the camera freely* in the Replay mode of Automobilista 2 (as of v1.6.3.4.2775 December 2024)

Intro

This guide was originally posted in July 2024 for V1.5.6.3.2586 and subsequently updated in December 2024 for v1.6.3.4.2775.

This guide is based on using the Chase Camera in the Replay mode but it should work on all cameras except Trackside ones (although some controls might be inverted depending on the camera used).

Update for December 2024/V1.6:

• Right Mouse Button will exit out of Replay mode.
  
• Pressing "U" will fast backward 3X while pressing "I" will fast forward 3X
  
• The 1-8 number keys (not NUMPAD) will switch between camera POVs
  

Modes and how they work

Modifying the Camera in Replays has 3 modes.
Pressing CTRL+K once switches between modes:

Mode 1

Default mode.
Can't really do much, except use NUMPAD 2 4 6 8 to rotate the camera around the car but as soon as you stop pressing it, the camera will come back to its base position.

Update for December2024/V1.6: the camera doesn't come back to its base position anymore while paused but still does so when pressing play.

Mode 2

MOVE CAMERA (RELATIVE TO POV)
Forward - A
Left - Q
Backward - D
Right - E

(INDEPENDENT OF POV)
Up - W
Down - S

ROTATE CAMERA (RELATIVE TO POV)
Left - NUMPAD 4
Right - NUMPAD 6
Up - NUMPAD 8
Down - NUMPAD 2
Update for December 2024/V1.6: camera movements made with NUMPAD when paused basically don't persist when pressing play. You can still position the camera with NUMPAD in this mode but do it while in play/x0.25.

Zoom In - NUMPAD 9 or Hold Right Mouse Button
Zoom Out - NUMPAD 7

Roll Left - NUMPAD 1
Roll Right - NUMPAD 3

Reset camera to default position - NUMPAD 5

Mode 3

MOVE CAMERA (RELATIVE TO POV)
Forward - W
Left - A
Backward - S
Right - D

(INDEPENDENT OF POV)
Up - Y or Page Up
Down - H or Page Down

ROTATE CAMERA (RELATIVE TO POV)
Left - Hold Left Mouse Button + Move Mouse Left
Right - Hold Left Mouse Button + Move Mouse Right
Up - Hold Left Mouse Button + Move Mouse Up
Down - Hold Left Mouse Button + Move Mouse Down

Zoom In - NUMPAD 9
Zoom Out - NUMPAD 7

Roll Left - C
Roll Right - Z

Reset camera to default position - NUMPAD 5

Decrease FOV - NUMPAD -
Increase FOV - NUMPAD +

How to get freecam static shots

Even using this method the camera will still be attached to a car that is picked to be focused on. However it is possible to get static scenic shots despite this limitation.

To do that follow these steps:

• Setup a race
  
• Park your car in a spot it won't move from
  
• Wait for the race to finish
  
• Save the Replay
  
• Go into the replay
  
• Pick your car
  
• Use method described earlier in this guide to move camera.

This way you can get static shots in and outside any of the tracks.

Remember you can set the time of day the race starts at and the rate at which time of day goes by in a race to get timelapses too.

More Camera POVs and animations

Make sure you have the "PREV REPLAY CAMERA" and "NEXT REPLAY CAMERA" binded to buttons. This is located in OPTIONS > CONTROLS > EDIT ASSIGNMENTS > CAMERA & VIEW


Once in a Replay, pick the Trackside camera option and press either assigned buttons to cycle through cameras.
PREV REPLAY CAMERA button will cycle through camera animations going around the picked car (around 35 animations).
NEXT REPLAY CAMERA button will cycle through Trackside cameras on demand, most will still be following the picked car.

Outro

If you liked this guide feel free to like / favorite / share it.

[SparksV]

@TrigMan59 it does still work. A few small things were updated and that's reflected in the guide now

[TrigMan59]

Do these methods for accessing the free camera mode still work in Version 1.6? Did they add any new functionality in this update?

[SparksV]

FYI the -devcameras command adds around 25 additional cameras that are (so far) only available during normal gameplay only.

[SparksV]

Yeah I tested going through the PREV and NEXT replay cams with and without -devcameras. No difference. Maybe there's a different way of accessing them (if it works, the command was for Project Cars 2 IIRC)

[PaidoGato]

Maybe it doesn't add more than 35 animations, I did not count how many there was before.
I'll test without the command and report here if I find more than 35.

[SparksV]

@Italo Cassini, thanks, added NUMPAD+ & -.
However I couldn't find a way to access additional cameras with -devcameras so I won't include it.

[PaidoGato]

Another info to add to the guide:
NumPad - and NumPad +
Change camera lens

[PaidoGato]

You may enable more camera animation presets by using the -devcameras comand in the "Set Launch Options" properties from the game.