Offset on camera following object that accelerates

Question

I have camera a that is actively following an object (a plane) from behind. This object can accelerate or decelerate.

I would like to have a camera offset when I move the plane, so it doesn't look so static.

I have done this with the following code:

float cameraOffset = 0.05 * elapsed_time * 100;

Vector3 previousEye = camera->eye;  
Vector3 newEye = ship->model * Vector3(0, 10, -5);
Vector3 eye = previousEye * (1 - cameraOffset) + newEye * cameraOffset;

Vector3 previousCenter = camera->center;
Vector3 newCenter = ship->model * Vector3(0, 0, 10);
Vector3 center = previousCenter * (1 - cameraOffset) + newCenter * cameraOffset;

Vector3 up = ship->model.rotateVector(Vector3(0, 1, 0));

camera->lookAt(eye, center, up);
previousModel = ship->model;

It works fine, except that when I increase the object's speed, the camera barely follows it. This is of course logical; my code is supposed to make it difficult for the camera to follow the plane.

However, I would like to have a lateral camera offset and also to keep following the plane from a relatively short distance.

Any hint on how to achieve this is appreciated.

Answer 1

I have something similar in a 2D game I'm making in Unity, but instead I am changing the transform using the Mathf.Lerp function. This interpolates between two numbers. I record my current position, and interpolate to the position I want the camera to be. Mathf.SmoothStep does the same thing but has some more smoothing added in.

I hope this helps. I am very new to this ;D