HeadRotation

Look direction for entities. Separate from body rotation in TransformComponent.

Access

HeadRotation head = store.getComponent(ref, HeadRotation.getComponentType());

Basic Operations

// get rotation vector (pitch, yaw, roll in radians)
Vector3f rotation = head.getRotation();
float pitch = rotation.getPitch();  // vertical angle (look up/down)
float yaw = rotation.getYaw();      // horizontal angle (look left/right)
float roll = rotation.getRoll();    // tilt angle

// set rotation
head.getRotation().assign(pitch, yaw, roll);
head.setRotation(rotationVector);

// teleport rotation (skips NaN values)
head.teleportRotation(new Vector3f(pitch, yaw, roll));

Direction Vectors

// get normalized look direction (3D vector)
Vector3d direction = head.getDirection();

// get axis-snapped direction (-1, 0, or 1 per axis)
Vector3i axisDir = head.getAxisDirection();

// get horizontal axis direction (ignores pitch)
Vector3i horizontalDir = head.getHorizontalAxisDirection();

// get dominant axis
Axis axis = head.getAxis();  // X, Y, or Z

Axis Enum

The Axis enum represents X, Y, or Z:

Axis axis = head.getAxis();
Vector3i axisVector = axis.getDirection();  // (1,0,0), (0,1,0), or (0,0,1)

// rotate a vector around this axis
axis.rotate(vector, angle);

// flip a vector along this axis
axis.flip(vector);

Examples

Look at Position

HeadRotation head = store.getComponent(ref, HeadRotation.getComponentType());
TransformComponent transform = store.getComponent(ref, TransformComponent.getComponentType());

Vector3d entityPos = transform.getPosition();
Vector3d targetPos = new Vector3d(x, y, z);
Vector3d direction = targetPos.clone().subtract(entityPos).normalize();

// calculate pitch and yaw from direction
float pitch = (float) Math.asin(-direction.getY());
float yaw = (float) Math.atan2(direction.getX(), direction.getZ());

head.getRotation().assign(pitch, yaw, 0);

Get Look Transform (with Eye Height)

Use TargetUtil.getLook() to get the full look transform including eye height:

Transform lookTransform = TargetUtil.getLook(ref, store);
// includes position at eye level + head rotation

Cardinal Direction Check

HeadRotation head = store.getComponent(ref, HeadRotation.getComponentType());
Vector3i facing = head.getHorizontalAxisDirection();

if (facing.getZ() > 0) {
    // facing south (+Z)
} else if (facing.getZ() < 0) {
    // facing north (-Z)
} else if (facing.getX() > 0) {
    // facing east (+X)
} else {
    // facing west (-X)
}

Player Input

For players, head rotation is updated automatically from client input via PlayerInput.SetHead. The rotation syncs each tick based on where the player is looking.

Relationship to TransformComponent

• HeadRotation - where the entity is looking (head/eyes)
• TransformComponent.getRotation() - body orientation

For most gameplay purposes (raycasting, targeting), use HeadRotation. The body rotation is primarily for visual rendering.