Third person controller camera

Hi,

I’m very new to Unity, especially scripting and have run into a problem trying to make a basic pacman-inspired game in 3D.

I am using the StandardAssets>ThirdPersonController in v5.2.4. Currently, the camera follows the player just fine, but it rotates to face the direction the player is moving. Now if I hit the left key - the left movement is relative to the field, but doesn’t correspond to the camera view.

What I want to have is the camera to follow the player’s position, but always look at the player from a fixed axis e.g. always along the z-axis regardless of which direction the player is running in. Alternatively, how can I change the input so that left is always left of view and fixed relative to the field? Help with either solution would be fantastic!
Here is the ThirdPersonUserControl and ThirdPersonCharacter scripts I am using.

using System;
using UnityEngine;
using UnityStandardAssets.CrossPlatformInput;

namespace UnityStandardAssets.Characters.ThirdPerson
{
    [RequireComponent(typeof (ThirdPersonCharacter))]
    public class ThirdPersonUserControl : MonoBehaviour
    {
        private ThirdPersonCharacter m_Character;
        private Transform m_Cam;                  
        private Vector3 m_CamForward;             
	    private Vector3 m_Move;						
        private bool m_Jump;                      

        
        private void Start()
        {
            // get the transform of the main camera
            if (Camera.main != null)
            {
                m_Cam = Camera.main.transform;
            }
            else
            {
                Debug.LogWarning(
                    "Warning: no main camera found. Third person character needs a Camera tagged \"MainCamera\", for camera-relative controls.", gameObject);
                // we use self-relative controls in this case, which probably isn't what the user wants, but hey, we warned them!
            }

            // get the third person character ( this should never be null due to require component )
            m_Character = GetComponent<ThirdPersonCharacter>();
        }


        private void Update()
        {
            if (!m_Jump)
            {
                m_Jump = CrossPlatformInputManager.GetButtonDown("Jump");
            }
        }


        // Fixed update is called in sync with physics
        private void FixedUpdate()
        {
            // read inputs
            float h = CrossPlatformInputManager.GetAxis("Horizontal");
            float v = CrossPlatformInputManager.GetAxis("Vertical");
            bool crouch = Input.GetKey(KeyCode.C);

            // calculate move direction to pass to character
            if (m_Cam != null)
            {
                // calculate camera relative direction to move:
                m_CamForward = Vector3.Scale(m_Cam.forward, new Vector3(1, 0, 1)).normalized;
                m_Move = v*m_CamForward + h*m_Cam.right;
            }
            else
            {
                // we use world-relative directions in the case of no main camera
                m_Move = v*Vector3.forward + h*Vector3.right;
            }
#if !MOBILE_INPUT
			// walk speed multiplier
	        if (Input.GetKey(KeyCode.LeftShift)) m_Move *= 0.5f;
#endif

            // pass all parameters to the character control script
            m_Character.Move(m_Move, crouch, m_Jump);
            m_Jump = false;
        }
    }
}

using UnityEngine;

namespace UnityStandardAssets.Characters.ThirdPerson
{
	[RequireComponent(typeof(Rigidbody))]
	[RequireComponent(typeof(CapsuleCollider))]
	[RequireComponent(typeof(Animator))]
	public class ThirdPersonCharacter : MonoBehaviour
	{
		[SerializeField] float m_MovingTurnSpeed = 360;
		[SerializeField] float m_StationaryTurnSpeed = 180;
		[SerializeField] float m_JumpPower = 12f;
		[Range(1f, 4f)][SerializeField] float m_GravityMultiplier = 2f;
		[SerializeField] float m_RunCycleLegOffset = 0.2f; //specific to the character in sample assets, will need to be modified to work with others
		[SerializeField] float m_MoveSpeedMultiplier = 1f;
		[SerializeField] float m_AnimSpeedMultiplier = 1f;
		[SerializeField] float m_GroundCheckDistance = 0.1f;

		Rigidbody m_Rigidbody;
		Animator m_Animator;
		bool m_IsGrounded;
		float m_OrigGroundCheckDistance;
		const float k_Half = 0.5f;
		float m_TurnAmount;
		float m_ForwardAmount;
		Vector3 m_GroundNormal;
		float m_CapsuleHeight;
		Vector3 m_CapsuleCenter;
		CapsuleCollider m_Capsule;
		bool m_Crouching;


		void Start()
		{
			m_Animator = GetComponent<Animator>();
			m_Rigidbody = GetComponent<Rigidbody>();
			m_Capsule = GetComponent<CapsuleCollider>();
			m_CapsuleHeight = m_Capsule.height;
			m_CapsuleCenter = m_Capsule.center;

			m_Rigidbody.constraints = RigidbodyConstraints.FreezeRotationX | RigidbodyConstraints.FreezeRotationY | RigidbodyConstraints.FreezeRotationZ;
			m_OrigGroundCheckDistance = m_GroundCheckDistance;
		}


		public void Move(Vector3 move, bool crouch, bool jump)
		{

			// convert the world relative moveInput vector into a local-relative
			// turn amount and forward amount required to head in the desired
			// direction.
			if (move.magnitude > 1f) move.Normalize();
			move = transform.InverseTransformDirection(move);
			CheckGroundStatus();
			move = Vector3.ProjectOnPlane(move, m_GroundNormal);
			m_TurnAmount = Mathf.Atan2(move.x, move.z);
			m_ForwardAmount = move.z;

			ApplyExtraTurnRotation();

			// control and velocity handling is different when grounded and airborne:
			if (m_IsGrounded)
			{
				HandleGroundedMovement(crouch, jump);
			}
			else
			{
				HandleAirborneMovement();
			}

			ScaleCapsuleForCrouching(crouch);
			PreventStandingInLowHeadroom();

			// send input and other state parameters to the animator
			UpdateAnimator(move);
		}


		void ScaleCapsuleForCrouching(bool crouch)
		{
			if (m_IsGrounded && crouch)
			{
				if (m_Crouching) return;
				m_Capsule.height = m_Capsule.height / 2f;
				m_Capsule.center = m_Capsule.center / 2f;
				m_Crouching = true;
			}
			else
			{
				Ray crouchRay = new Ray(m_Rigidbody.position + Vector3.up * m_Capsule.radius * k_Half, Vector3.up);
				float crouchRayLength = m_CapsuleHeight - m_Capsule.radius * k_Half;
				if (Physics.SphereCast(crouchRay, m_Capsule.radius * k_Half, crouchRayLength, Physics.AllLayers, QueryTriggerInteraction.Ignore))
				{
					m_Crouching = true;
					return;
				}
				m_Capsule.height = m_CapsuleHeight;
				m_Capsule.center = m_CapsuleCenter;
				m_Crouching = false;
			}
		}

		void PreventStandingInLowHeadroom()
		{
			// prevent standing up in crouch-only zones
			if (!m_Crouching)
			{
				Ray crouchRay = new Ray(m_Rigidbody.position + Vector3.up * m_Capsule.radius * k_Half, Vector3.up);
				float crouchRayLength = m_CapsuleHeight - m_Capsule.radius * k_Half;
				if (Physics.SphereCast(crouchRay, m_Capsule.radius * k_Half, crouchRayLength, Physics.AllLayers, QueryTriggerInteraction.Ignore))
				{
					m_Crouching = true;
				}
			}
		}


		void UpdateAnimator(Vector3 move)
		{
			// update the animator parameters
			m_Animator.SetFloat("Forward", m_ForwardAmount, 0.1f, Time.deltaTime);
			m_Animator.SetFloat("Turn", m_TurnAmount, 0.1f, Time.deltaTime);
			m_Animator.SetBool("Crouch", m_Crouching);
			m_Animator.SetBool("OnGround", m_IsGrounded);
			if (!m_IsGrounded)
			{
				m_Animator.SetFloat("Jump", m_Rigidbody.velocity.y);
			}

			// calculate which leg is behind, so as to leave that leg trailing in the jump animation
			// (This code is reliant on the specific run cycle offset in our animations,
			// and assumes one leg passes the other at the normalized clip times of 0.0 and 0.5)
			float runCycle =
				Mathf.Repeat(
					m_Animator.GetCurrentAnimatorStateInfo(0).normalizedTime + m_RunCycleLegOffset, 1);
			float jumpLeg = (runCycle < k_Half ? 1 : -1) * m_ForwardAmount;
			if (m_IsGrounded)
			{
				m_Animator.SetFloat("JumpLeg", jumpLeg);
			}

			// the anim speed multiplier allows the overall speed of walking/running to be tweaked in the inspector,
			// which affects the movement speed because of the root motion.
			if (m_IsGrounded && move.magnitude > 0)
			{
				m_Animator.speed = m_AnimSpeedMultiplier;
			}
			else
			{
				// don't use that while airborne
				m_Animator.speed = 1;
			}
		}


		void HandleAirborneMovement()
		{
			// apply extra gravity from multiplier:
			Vector3 extraGravityForce = (Physics.gravity * m_GravityMultiplier) - Physics.gravity;
			m_Rigidbody.AddForce(extraGravityForce);

			m_GroundCheckDistance = m_Rigidbody.velocity.y < 0 ? m_OrigGroundCheckDistance : 0.01f;
		}


		void HandleGroundedMovement(bool crouch, bool jump)
		{
			// check whether conditions are right to allow a jump:
			if (jump && !crouch && m_Animator.GetCurrentAnimatorStateInfo(0).IsName("Grounded"))
			{
				// jump!
				m_Rigidbody.velocity = new Vector3(m_Rigidbody.velocity.x, m_JumpPower, m_Rigidbody.velocity.z);
				m_IsGrounded = false;
				m_Animator.applyRootMotion = false;
				m_GroundCheckDistance = 0.1f;
			}
		}

		void ApplyExtraTurnRotation()
		{
			// help the character turn faster (this is in addition to root rotation in the animation)
			float turnSpeed = Mathf.Lerp(m_StationaryTurnSpeed, m_MovingTurnSpeed, m_ForwardAmount);
			transform.Rotate(0, m_TurnAmount * turnSpeed * Time.deltaTime, 0);
		}


		public void OnAnimatorMove()
		{
			// we implement this function to override the default root motion.
			// this allows us to modify the positional speed before it's applied.
			if (m_IsGrounded && Time.deltaTime > 0)
			{
				Vector3 v = (m_Animator.deltaPosition * m_MoveSpeedMultiplier) / Time.deltaTime;

				// we preserve the existing y part of the current velocity.
				v.y = m_Rigidbody.velocity.y;
				m_Rigidbody.velocity = v;
			}
		}


		void CheckGroundStatus()
		{
			RaycastHit hitInfo;
#if UNITY_EDITOR
			// helper to visualise the ground check ray in the scene view
			Debug.DrawLine(transform.position + (Vector3.up * 0.1f), transform.position + (Vector3.up * 0.1f) + (Vector3.down * m_GroundCheckDistance));
#endif
			// 0.1f is a small offset to start the ray from inside the character
			// it is also good to note that the transform position in the sample assets is at the base of the character
			if (Physics.Raycast(transform.position + (Vector3.up * 0.1f), Vector3.down, out hitInfo, m_GroundCheckDistance))
			{
				m_GroundNormal = hitInfo.normal;
				m_IsGrounded = true;
				m_Animator.applyRootMotion = true;
			}
			else
			{
				m_IsGrounded = false;
				m_GroundNormal = Vector3.up;
				m_Animator.applyRootMotion = false;
			}
		}
	}
}

To answer my own question - I removed the cameras that were setup in the Character Controller (I realised too that this was in fact not the original Unity Standard Asset but an edited one). I now create a new camera in my main script and set it to Camera.main and use the following code to follow the player without rotating

GameObject playerCurrent = GameObject.FindGameObjectWithTag ("Player");
			Vector3 currentPlayerPosition = playerCurrent.transform.position;
			myCamera.transform.position = new Vector3 (currentPlayerPosition.x, 6, currentPlayerPosition.z - 5.0f);
			myCamera.transform.LookAt (currentPlayerPosition);