Open-Source head-tracking software for iRacing!

[u/YogurtclosetCrafty31]

Hey all! Sharing an open-source software I built for my iRacing setup called OpenFOV. I've made it easy, free, and open source, so feel free to download and use it yourself.

I find sim-racing great for training racecraft, but I always develop "bad eye habits" from being boxed-in by my monitor's FOV. I find this to be a huge disparity between iRacing and real seat time. I could splurge for VR, but headsets are pricey and uncomfortable. They don't play well with glasses, either...

I saw a few demonstrations of hack-together tools and get a "head-tracking FOV" with a webcam to look around in-game. It was a bit annoying to set up and didn't offer much customization, but for what it was, it made a big improvement to my monitor setup.

So, (with the help of AI), I just went ahead and built an iRacing native software from scratch! I also cooked up a complete suite of customization options, so you can nerd out and really dial it in for your specific setup.

Hoping to gather some initial feedback from the community! So, if you have an old webcam lying around, dig it out, dust it off, and give this a try!

I'm physically limited to testing on my own setup, so please feel free to report any bugs or issues on the GitHub so I can get you up and running! :)

------------------

Edit: Thank you for all the feedback so far!! 😁 Today, I released v0.2.1, which addresses a lot of the feedback I received over the past 24 hours. Keep it up!

Some general tips + info:
- OpenFOV CPU-bound, so if you're struggling with lag, try to raise the program's priority on your computer! Task Manager > Right Click on OpenFOV > Go to Details > Right Click on OpenFOV > Set Priority > High (0.2.1 should have this by default!)
- If you still find lag with the fps listed on the UI (< 30fps while running), then try lowering your iRacing settings a bit to reduce the load!
- OpenFOV can only publish values to iRacing at the speed of your camera's FPS, so higher FPS webcams look smoother! (I tried interpolating more frames using velocity, but it doesn't look good!)

Feel free to message me with any issues. Happy racing!!

[u/theyyg]

I hate to break it to you, but this will just teach you different “bad eye habits”. I’m a huge fan of head tracking, but I use triple monitors and ignore any head rotation. I keep translation so I can look around the A pillars. If I need rotation in a game, I turn it down by at least half.

[u/nstrasner → u/theyyg]

Wait like you can tilt your head to the side and look around the a pillars but rotating your head doesn’t turn the camera like this one does? That sounds awesome

[u/HarringtonMAH11 → u/nstrasner]

I feel like this would be great for my ultrawide. Idk what "bad habits" can come from trying to see more in a sim.

[u/theyyg → u/HarringtonMAH11]

Yeah, it really only works when you have a wide field of view with your displays (ultra wide or triples). With a 16:9 single monitor, the field of view is small and it benefits from the yaw control.

Regarding the “bad eye habits”, I assume that OP meant that they’re moving their eyes in an unnatural way to keep looking into the monitor. Natural eye motion would move to the focus location while your head slowly tracks behind it. With tracked head movement, this moves the screen back as the head catches up. The eyes have to compensate. I don’t think that this will affect you in the real world unless you are young and you spend more time in the sim than you do looking at your environment.

tl;dr “bad eye habits” are really just unnatural and straining motions and not really habits.