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! :)

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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/SaviorSyndrome]

Sorry I’m a few days away from being to try this out myself, but is it possible to toggle the headtracking on/off with a button press? I’ve never tried this type of thing before, but I feel like I’d only want this to be on as I approach corners

Also does it not feel weird to turn your head but also have to keep your eyes looking forward? Probably a stupid concern but i fear il develop some kind of weird muscle emory that affects my irl driving lol

[u/YogurtclosetCrafty31 → u/SaviorSyndrome]

Hey! Thanks so much for the feedback. This was an excellent idea - I just added the toggle hotkey feature in the v0.2.1 release! 😁 https://github.com/epalosh/openfov/releases/

[u/RacingGrimReaper → u/YogurtclosetCrafty31]

Hey, could I get some help? I just downloaded the latest release but tracking doesn’t work despite the app saying iRacing detected. Troubleshooting on GitHub says to enable TrackIR but that isn’t an option I’m seeing anywhere in the game to turn on or off.

[u/YogurtclosetCrafty31 → u/RacingGrimReaper]

Try the following boot sequence:

-Terminate OpenFOV and iRacing from task manager -Start OpenFOV and enable it -Start iRacing, and enter a test session

Otherwise, try restarting your computer and testing the other way around. (iRacing first, then OpenFOV)

As a last resort, uninstall OpenFOV and reinstall from scratch.

If it still doesn’t work, I’ll work with you to fix it on my end! Just send me a message 🫡

On the other hand, if you do manage to get it working, let me know how you did, so I can add to the troubleshooting notes!

[u/RacingGrimReaper → u/YogurtclosetCrafty31]

So I’ve had no luck. Even added the *EnableTrackIR* line in the App.ini and still nothing.