Top-down 2D motion in 3D game

Questions & Answers
1

I’m creating a 3D top-down shooter for my course’s final project and am having trouble getting the player movement to work properly. I want the character to behave as it would in an 2D top-down shooter, where they can move in the cardinal directions relative to the camera (up, down, left, right) plus a combination of these (up-left, down-right, etc.). I have the movement operating normally, but the player should also instantly rotate into the direction they’re moving, somewhat like this video:

I’m able to get the rotation working, but it’s not instantaneous. I’ve been led to Transform.LookAt function, but I don’t think I understand how it works. When I use it, I get wacky behavior. Here’s the closest I’ve gotten.

 horizontalInput = Input.GetAxis("Horizontal");
 verticalInput = Input.GetAxis("Vertical");

 transform.LookAt(Vector3.forward * verticalInput);

 transform.Translate(Vector3.forward * Time.deltaTime * playerSpeed * verticalInput);
 transform.Translate(Vector3.right * Time.deltaTime * playerSpeed * horizontalInput);

Any help is appreciated, especially if it’s to a video that helps explain these concepts to dummies like me a bit better.

2

Hey @raginghobo32907
I just finished the Haunted Jaunt tutorial on Unity Learn. The movement you’re describing is explained on there. Here’s the relevant snippet for you:

using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;

public class SimpleMove : MonoBehaviour
{

    public float moveSpeed = 1f;
    public float turnSpeed = 20f;


    Rigidbody m_Rigidbody;
    Vector3 m_Movement;
    Quaternion m_Rotation = Quaternion.identity;


    void Start()
    {
        m_Rigidbody = GetComponent<Rigidbody>();
    }


    void FixedUpdate()
    {
        float horizontal = Input.GetAxis("Horizontal");
        float vertical = Input.GetAxis("Vertical");

        m_Movement.Set(horizontal, 0f, vertical);
        m_Movement.Normalize();

        bool hasHorizontalInput = !Mathf.Approximately(horizontal, 0f); // Sets the bool to true if 'horizontal' input is approx 0
        bool hasVerticalInput = !Mathf.Approximately(vertical, 0f);
        bool isWalking = hasHorizontalInput || hasVerticalInput;
        

        Vector3 desiredForward = Vector3.RotateTowards(transform.forward, m_Movement, turnSpeed * Time.deltaTime, 0f);
        m_Rotation = Quaternion.LookRotation(desiredForward);

        m_Rigidbody.MovePosition(m_Rigidbody.position + m_Movement * moveSpeed * Time.deltaTime);
        m_Rigidbody.MoveRotation(m_Rotation);
    }
}