Head Tracking lets you control the first-person camera with your head. Turn your head to look around, look up and down, and move your head to shift the camera, no mouse or gamepad needed.

To use Head Tracking, you'll need a webcam and head tracking software, such as OpenTrack. The game supports two connection protocols: FreeTrack and UDP.

This guide uses OpenTrack as an example.

1. Prepare Your Webcam

For a comfortable Head Tracking experience, we recommend a webcam with the following specs:

Parameter

Recommendation

Resolution

1280×720 (720p) or higher

Frame rate

30 FPS or higher, 60 FPS preferred

Placement

In front of you, roughly at face level

Lighting

Even, with no strong backlight

No special hardware is required. A regular webcam will do.

Note: Higher resolution and frame rate don't guarantee more accurate tracking. Results also depend on lighting, your PC's performance, and software settings.

2. Install OpenTrack

  1. Go to the official OpenTrack download page.

  2. Download the installer for the latest stable Windows release.

  3. Install and launch the app.

3. Set Up OpenTrack

To track your head with a webcam, use OpenTrack's built-in NeuralNet Tracker. It doesn't require any additional software.

  1. Connect your webcam to your PC.

  2. In the OpenTrack main window, select NeuralNet Tracker under Input.

  3. Click the hammer button to the right of Input and select your webcam under Camera name.

  4. If needed, set the camera's Resolution and Frames per second.

  5. Under Filter, select Accela to smooth out your movements.

You'll set up Output in the next section, depending on the protocol you choose.

4. Connect OpenTrack to the Game

Choose one protocol: FreeTrack or UDP. You don't need to set up both.

Important: When you click Start, OpenTrack saves your current head position as the center. At that moment, sit up straight and look directly at your monitor.

Option A. FreeTrack

  1. In OpenTrack, select freetrack 2.0 Enhanced under Output.

  2. Click Start.

  3. Launch the game and go to Settings → Camera → Driving — 1st Person View (Head Tracking).

  4. Set Head Tracking to On.

  5. Set Source to Auto or FreeTrack.

Done! The in-game camera should now follow your head movements.

Option B. UDP

  1. In OpenTrack, select UDP over network under Output.

  2. Click the hammer button to the right of Output.

  3. Enter the following values:

    • Remote IP address: 127.0.0.1 (one number per field: 127, 0, 0, 1)

    • Port: 4243

  4. Click Start.

  5. Launch the game and go to Settings → Camera → Driving — 1st Person View (Head Tracking).

  6. Set Head Tracking to On.

  7. Set Source to Auto or UDP.

  8. Make sure UDP Port is set to 4243.

Important: OpenTrack uses a different IP address and port by default, so make sure to change them. Use 127.0.0.1 when the game and OpenTrack are running on the same PC. The port in OpenTrack must match UDP Port in the game.

You can change the UDP port if needed. You don't need to restart the game after changing the port or switching protocols.

Done! The in-game camera should now follow your head movements.

Checking and Recentering

  • Turn your head. The octopus in the OpenTrack window and the values under Raw tracker data should move along with you.

  • To quickly recenter the camera during gameplay, assign a hotkey: in OpenTrack, go to Options → Shortcuts, click Bind next to Center, then press the key you want to use.

  • While tracking is running, Input, Output, and Filter are locked. To change them, click Stop, make your changes, then click Start again.

5. In-Game Head Tracking Settings

Go to Settings → Camera → Driving — 1st Person View (Head Tracking). Here you can adjust how the camera turns and moves to suit your preferences.

Note: The game supports five degrees of freedom (5DoF): Yaw and Pitch rotation, plus movement along the X, Y, and Z axes. Tilting your head sideways (Roll) isn't supported, so the Roll value in OpenTrack doesn't affect the camera.

We recommend starting with the default settings, then gradually adjusting sensitivity and deadzones until it feels right. To go back to the default values, use Restore Defaults.

6. Troubleshooting

The in-game camera doesn't respond to head movement

  • Make sure Head Tracking is set to On in the game.

  • Make sure you've clicked Start in OpenTrack and the octopus in the window follows your head.

  • Make sure Output in OpenTrack matches Source in the game, or set Source to Auto.

  • If you're using UDP, check Remote IP address (127.0.0.1) and Port in OpenTrack. The port must match UDP Port in the game.

  • Close any other apps that might be using your webcam, such as video call or streaming apps.

The camera is jittery or moves too abruptly

  • Check your lighting and webcam placement.

  • Make sure Accela is selected under Filter in OpenTrack.

  • Lower the rotation or lean sensitivity in the game.

  • If the camera reacts to small head movements, increase Rotation Deadzone or Lean Deadzone.

The camera turns too much or too little

  • Adjust Yaw Sensitivity or Pitch Sensitivity in the game.

  • If needed, adjust the response curves in OpenTrack's Mapping window.

The camera moves in the opposite direction

  • Toggle Invert Rotation or Invert Lean in the game.

The camera points off to the side even when you're looking straight ahead

  • Look directly at your monitor and press the hotkey you assigned to Center in OpenTrack.

  • If you haven't assigned one, click Stop, then click Start while looking directly at your monitor.


For more details on configuring OpenTrack, see the official OpenTrack documentation.

Was this helpful?