Hardware & Technical Head Tracker?

FD (Michael I think) did say that, the tech for Occulus Rift and Track IR were new to them, but that they would be interested in investigating both technologies.
 
Very nice for immersion I'm sure, but as far as functionality goes, all of these are made obsolete by the simple invention of the "scanner".
You havnt used one have you?? LOTS of people say its not worth the money, I dont need one etc but after using one they change their mind and wont fly without it ;)
 
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Come off it! Track IR beats the crap out of the scanner when it comes to tracking exactly where your enemy is.

Even when he is directly behind or below you? Scanner isn't obstructed by cockpit geometry and you don't need to move your head to take in your entire surroundings. It's all there in one glance...
 

Slopey

Volunteer Moderator
Yes - the TrackIR movement is scaled so you don't have to move your head far to get full 180 in any direction.

If you've not used one, and are at all into flight sims - buy one.

DCS is a *totally* different (and massively improved) experience with one, as is Flight Sim, and even games such as Euro Truck Sim 2.

In a furball - you can track your target visually - no scanner needed. His position as a dot might be there on the scanner, but if you can see him, immediately get a situational awareness you can't glean from a stalk on a scanner.
 
DCS is a *totally* different (and massively improved) experience with one, as is Flight Sim, and even games such as Euro Truck Sim 2.

As someone who uses TrackIR 5 with the trackclip pro, I couldn't agree more. It's a killer bit of kit. Works a treat in Arma 3 as well. :cool:
 
Even when he is directly behind or below you? Scanner isn't obstructed by cockpit geometry and you don't need to move your head to take in your entire surroundings. It's all there in one glance...

OK, you keep your eyes on your scanner, I'll keep my eyes on you - we'll see who gets blown into spacedust. ;)
 
I have to agree that TrackIR with the track clip pro has become for me just as essential as a keyboard. Even for just looking around a 3d cockpit it is indispensable.
 
Does it give any extra sense other than controlling veiw..

By this I mean... does it give a 3d effect to the game? I have been looking at this and humming and posturing and thinking I'd like to try it before I'd buy it..

Equally I'd need to get some controller to make it worthwhile...

I dunnnoh
 
I'm all for headtracking, I have made a FreeTrack setup which I'm using for over 3 years now and it works really well.
I don't know Naturalpoints side of things but I know that ARMA 2 uses both headtracking API's (TrackIR and FreeTrack which also supports FacetrackNoIR), so maybe Frontier Developements can work something out.

Does it give any extra sense other than controlling veiw..

By this I mean... does it give a 3d effect to the game? I have been looking at this and humming and posturing and thinking I'd like to try it before I'd buy it..

Equally I'd need to get some controller to make it worthwhile...

I dunnnoh

Yes, it greatly enhanced the immersion of you being in a cockpit, especially when headtracking uses all 6 degrees of freedom.
Truth to say not all people like it, especially when you suffer from motion sickness, so maybe best to try with FacetrackNoIR which is free if you have a webcam, try it with Warthunder or Rise of Flight which can also be played for free.
Freetrack and FacetrackNoIR also require some knowlegde (experience) to get the best results though, I still discover ways to improve tracking after all these years.
 
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I picked up TrackIR it works well, I think multiple monitors could make it amazing, though I plan to hook it up to a wall bracket in order to use it with the projector I have... so will report back on that..
 
Just to add my 2p to the head tracker thing as I’ve grasped it now and got it working extremely well and it has cost me under a tenner.

I started with looking at Freetrack and with my existing webcam, and buying a headset. I was put off by firstly the cost/faff of putting together a headset, but mainly by the incompatibility with new games coming out.

Moved over to Facetrack NOIR and used my existing webcam. Works well on War Thunder and was pretty content with it, could manage 30 FPS which involved minor lag in looking around aircraft but certainly workable, and better than using a coolie hat – certainly in terms of immersion. The 30FPS dropped significantly in the evening when the sun wasn’t shining through the window, even with a light on and a (rather distracting) spot light on the side of my face it was diffcult to maintain a reasonable FPS (Frame rate seemed to be directly proportionate, understandably, with the amount of light on your face).

I read that the PS3 eye cam was particularly good and so bought a 2nd hand one from EBay (less than £10 including postage), downloaded the free drivers (google CL-Eye drivers) and off I went. On the settings I put it to 60 Fps and even in dim light I was managing 57FPS and no discernible lag. War Thunder worked particularly well and can’t wait to see what head tracking support there is next year. With ED. No need for leds on a hat, this does the job perfectly well just using your facial features as a tracking point. Tip top.
 
TrackIR

Hi,

The noir thing and free track is crap compaired to TrackIR..

After watching the battleship video and the way you get the camera to look through the side windows of the cockpit, and the camera wave following the other ship's..

It would be a cool if the game would have the feature to do this with the Track IR system, it would give more game immersion and feel like you're actually in the cockpit..

just a suggestion, I use trackIR 5 with most of the games I play and it adds another dimension to the games that I play.....

The System is easy to use and to intergrate and does not take much time and has these benefits:

Bring a new level of realism and situational awareness to any simulation, and astonish your audience with:

* Hands free view control
* Separate weapon aim from view
* Increased realism
* Subtle immersion

TrackIR SDK: Here
 
Just to add my 2p to the head tracker thing as I’ve grasped it now and got it working extremely well and it has cost me under a tenner.

I started with looking at Freetrack and with my existing webcam, and buying a headset. I was put off by firstly the cost/faff of putting together a headset, but mainly by the incompatibility with new games coming out.

Moved over to Facetrack NOIR and used my existing webcam. Works well on War Thunder and was pretty content with it, could manage 30 FPS which involved minor lag in looking around aircraft but certainly workable, and better than using a coolie hat – certainly in terms of immersion. The 30FPS dropped significantly in the evening when the sun wasn’t shining through the window, even with a light on and a (rather distracting) spot light on the side of my face it was diffcult to maintain a reasonable FPS (Frame rate seemed to be directly proportionate, understandably, with the amount of light on your face).

I read that the PS3 eye cam was particularly good and so bought a 2nd hand one from EBay (less than £10 including postage), downloaded the free drivers (google CL-Eye drivers) and off I went. On the settings I put it to 60 Fps and even in dim light I was managing 57FPS and no discernible lag. War Thunder worked particularly well and can’t wait to see what head tracking support there is next year. With ED. No need for leds on a hat, this does the job perfectly well just using your facial features as a tracking point. Tip top.

Just tried it on Il2 with a PS3 eye I picked up at CEX for £6, apart from a minor issue with the pitch being inverted (easily solved) I was very impressed. Even works in low light, though that may be because I wear glasses (reflected screen light off glasses)
 
Well I took the plung and decided to try FaceTrackNoIR with MS FSX.

It is quite a strange experience. Sometimes I think I should fly by looking rather than using the flight controls. Had to turn off roll as that was very unsettling. It is impressive how well it integrates with FSX though. Seems like there are options to map the tracking to other controls so as long as E D has a control to allow looking around the cockpit it should work quite well.

At the moment I'm only using one monitor. I'm wondering if it will be better with three.
 
TrackIR as well as Oculus Rift?

Since Oculus Rift support has now been announced, I wonder if the (much cheaper) TrackIR will also be supported?

Advantages of TrackIR over Oculus Rift:
* It's available now, and is very mature (already up to v5).
* The Oculus Rift is likely to be much more expensive (perhaps twice the price).
* You are unlikely to suffer from motion sickness from prolonged use (which seems to be a big problem for many people with Oculus Rift).

One developer trying out the Oculus Rift says "that he can now use the device for 15 minutes without feeling any nausea". (He has been following the manufacturer's recommend that, at first, you use the headset for short periods to build up your "resistance" to motion sickness.)

I don't own a TrackIR myself (yet), but my brother does, and I have been quite impressed by it.
 
I have TrackIR and prefer it because you can see the keyboard/controls at any time without taking any goggles off.

Brian :)
 
I have TrackIR and prefer it because you can see the keyboard/controls at any time without taking any goggles off.

Brian :)

Yeah that is one of my peeves with the Rift, but I have heard that the consumer version will have front facing cameras so you could pass through an image of your controls... :rolleyes:
 
Yip,
Ditto.... your post and comments regarding including TrackIR integration in Elite Dangerous.

Its a very mature product, and well supported in numerous 'Flight Sims' as well as ARMA 2.
Its considerably cheaper than any Oculous Rift hardware (as it's a very different product), but certainly a must have for any serious 'Commanders' wishing to make the most of 'Situation Awareness' when piloting / dogfighting in Elite.

One thing the Oculous Rift users need to be aware of, is how do they intend accessing their PC keyboards... when wearing that 'hard-ware' ? I'm sure that ED, will have a suitably large 'key-board' binding menu?

Take a look at some of the TrackIR videos available on YouTube

I use it on DCS - (Digital Combat Simulator) A10 / Flaming Cliffs 3 / Blackshark 2 etc
Rise Of Flight
ARMA2
DayZ
IL-2 Sturmavick
Sturmavick Cliffs of Dover
Dirt 3
and many more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB-foLzWrBw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31-8eOk6r1A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyVyhfcbapU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TASEXUd4Oto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igQYDLXdFbo

Anyone else used it... feedback... comments?
 
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