As mentioned, here's an updated version for everyone's downloading pleasure:

Download Magicam Alpha 2 for Construct 2 (Includes example)

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<font color="green">(ADD)</font> Transitions. Specifically, movement and zoom transitions. Cameras can be set to transition from one position/zoom level over a specified period of time. There are conditions to check when a transition ends or is in progress and expressions to get the progress of specific transitions.

<font color="green">(ADD)</font> Actions to set basic properties of cameras such as position, X, Y, and zoom level.

<font color="green">(ADD)</font> Action to switch between cameras - I'm not sure why this wasn't there already.

<font color="red">(BREAKING CHANGE)</font> Object following is no longer enabled by default -- there is now an action to explicitly enable it. The reason for this is the camera transitions - movement transitions disable object following and "zoom to contain" upon starting -- zoom transitions only disable "zoom to contain". These must be re-enabled manually upon the transition finishing.

<font color="blue">(CHANGE)</font> All cameras are updated every frame now, regardless of their status as the currently active camera.

<font color="blue">(CHANGE)</font> "Set scroll smoothing" action has been hidden. This feature is not yet completely, so I have made it inaccessible - if it's in your project for some reason, it will remain there.

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There may have been other small changes that I can't remember off the top of my head, so go ahead and poke around, try to break it, and let me know what you find.

Once again, thanks for all the replies, guys - I'm glad everybody's enjoying this so far.

newt, that's an interesting idea, but I think I'd rather keep input out of the plugin - I'll consider it, though.

Just thought I'd let everyone know that I should be releasing a fairly substantial update this afternoon (GMT-500), so be sure to stay on the lookout for that.

Thanks again for the comments, guys - hopefully I'll have an update for everyone pretty soon.

retrodude - If you look at the example, the HUD elements are on a separate layer with the scale rate set to 0, locking that layer's scale factor.

I'm guessing you're talking about interface elements that move with the screen? To do that, create a layer above all of your other layers and set the parallax values to 0. This will keep the layer in place while scrolling and you can put your interface elements on it.

Alternatively - and this is probably the best method if you're targeting multiple resolutions - you can add the anchor behavior to your interface objects. This will position them relative to the canvas based on where they were originally placed in the layout. This works better than the layer method because if you change the canvas size in game, all interface objects will adjust accordingly based on the edges of the screen they're bound to.

Thanks for the comments guys, I really appreciate it. :)

Also i got a javascript error when i added "Set scroll smoothing" i left blank in field and it appears "Use{1} smoothing" in event list.h, yes, I forgot to take that out - that's part of a feature I'm still working on and as such it doesn't actually do anything yet. The smooth movement when following objects is achieved by using the "Set follow lag" action.

NOTE: This plugin is no longer updated

Download Magicam Alpha 6.5 for Construct 2 (Includes example)

Magicam is a plugin that allows for some more advanced camera options than C2's builtin functionality. Some features are smooth scrolling, camera transitions, multiple camera support, the ability to follow multiple objects, etc.

I love you.

Alright, so this method seemed like exactly what I needed in terms of having my plugin check if the layout has changed, although it's either not working or not working as I would assume. When the game first starts the value is equal to true, but afterwards if you change layouts, restart the current layout, etc. it remains false. Am I missing something here? I'm assuming it should equal true for the first tick of each layout.

For the record, I'm checking the value in my plugin's "tick" method.

I haven't found anything in the SDK manual about it, but I may just be missing it - is there any way to check the 'global' property of an object type through the SDK? If so, do references to instances of global object types remain the same across layouts?

EDIT: I have found the answers to both questions. 'global' is a property of the plugin type and instances do persist across layouts.

Loop through the objects you want to sort using For Each(ordered) in descending order with the Y position of the sprite as the expression to evaluate, then send the object to the back of the layer. The objects will be iterated through from bottom to top and sent to the bottom in that order, so object's with a lower Y value - and higher on the screen - will end up in back.

CAPX example

If you make money off your game - through ad revenue, direct sales, what have you - then you need to purchase the personal edition. If you make over $5000 in revenue, then you will need the business edition. The free edition cannot be used for commercial use in any capacity, as far as I'm aware. I'm sure Tom can provide a full clarification on the matter.

Thanks for the comments, guys - sorry I didn't reply to any of them sooner.

Unfortunately, I don't have any plans to fix remaining bugs in this plugin - my familiarity with the code has dwindled over time, reducing my ability to identify problems. This, combined with my full-time work and school schedules - which leave me little time for my current projects - means I'll be dropping support indefinitely.

However, I would like to say that I've just finished tinkering around with the C2 plugin SDK a little bit and I'm starting to get a grasp of what's going on in that regard. With any luck, you'll see something on that front in a few weeks time, although I make no promises.

In the event that I do release a C2 version of this plugin, updates will likely be sporadic and I might start accepting donations as a way to offset the time invested. Life is a demanding mistress and I am submissive to its will.

Be sure to keep an eye out for any updates - I'll let you guys know as soon as I have more to report.

Once again, thanks for all of the downloads and comments for this plugin - I see it as my crowning achievement in this community and the support is much appreciated. <img src="smileys/smiley1.gif" border="0" align="middle" />