Gyro aiming in shooters and 3D games with 3D aim mode

Aiming with a thumbstick is slow for big turns and imprecise for small ones. Gyro aiming splits the job: you make fine adjustments by moving the phone slightly, and keep the thumbstick for broad movements. Players on handheld consoles have used this for years. GamepadOS offers it as 3D aim mode. This guide explains how it works, how to set it up and how to get comfortable with it.

What 3D aim does

In the app's gyro settings you can choose between two modes. Racing maps left and right tilt to the left stick, for steering. 3D aim maps tilt on both axes to the right stick, which is the stick most games use for looking around and aiming. Tilt the phone left and the view turns left. Tilt it up and the view looks up. A small on-screen scope shows that the motion is active.

Because the output is a normal right-stick signal, any game that looks around with the right stick can use it. That covers most first-person and third-person shooters, adventure games and many flight and space games.

Turn it on

1. Open the app's settings and switch on Tilt steering. This is the master switch for motion input.
2. Set the mode to 3D aim.
3. Hold the phone the way you will play and press CALIBRATE. This sets your neutral position. Without it, the view would creep slowly in one direction.

In 3D aim mode the racing-only options, such as tilt throttle, do not apply and are hidden.

Tune the feel

Sensitivity

The steering sensitivity slider sets how far you tilt for the full stick value, from 1 to 90 degrees. For aiming, smaller angles feel faster. Set it so a modest, comfortable movement turns the view where you want it. A larger angle gives finer control but needs bigger movements. Start near 30 degrees and adjust in small steps, one change at a time, so you can feel the effect of each.

Dead zone

The Ignore small tilts slider (0 to 30 degrees) ignores motion near the centre. For aiming, keep it low, around 0 to 3 degrees, so small corrections register. Raise it a little if the view drifts slowly when you are holding still.

Pause when laid flat

Pause when laid flat stops motion input when the phone rests on a table, so it does not spin the view when you put it down. If you play with the phone held low and nearly flat, switch this off so motion input is never paused.

Use the thumb and the gyro together

The most useful technique is not to replace the stick but to combine both.

• Use the thumbstick for the large turns, such as spinning to check behind you.
• Use tilt for fine adjustments, such as nudging the crosshair onto a target.

The two add together, so a tiny tilt on top of a stick turn gives precision at speed. To make this comfortable, place the stick and fire controls so your thumbs rest naturally, and hold the phone with a relaxed grip so small wrist movements steer the crosshair. The layout design guide covers thumb positions.

Good habits for gyro aiming

• Sit comfortably. Rest your elbows on your knees or a table. Gyro aiming uses small wrist movements, and fatigue comes from holding your arms in the air.
• Re-centre when you shift position. If you lean back or move the phone, press CALIBRATE again to set a new neutral.
• Keep the phone steady while tapping buttons. A stab at a button will move the phone slightly. Use larger buttons placed where your thumbs land without a big movement.
• Change one setting at a time. Gyro tuning is personal, and changing two things at once makes it hard to know which helped.

Which games work well

• First- and third-person shooters that offer full controller support.
• Action-adventure games with a free camera.
• Flight and space games that use the right stick for pitch and yaw.

It is less suited to games where the right stick does something else, such as scrolling a menu or choosing an item, and to games that rely on precise mouse input, such as high-level competitive shooters.

Troubleshooting

• The view drifts on its own. Press CALIBRATE with the phone held still, and raise the dead zone slightly.
• The view moves the wrong way. Check that the game's own look-inversion option is set the way you expect, because it applies on top of the app's output.
• The aim feels laggy. Try a cable. See connecting over USB and reducing input lag.
• The game ignores the right stick. Test the controller in Windows to confirm the stick moves. The game does not see the controller guide shows how.

Racing players should also read the guide to tilt steering, which shares most of the same settings.