Revvin

If this technology is incorporated into DirectX then they won't have a monopoly. They didn't freeze out other joystick manufacturers for instance when they were making their own joysticks and peripherals and their voice communications API became incorporated into DirectX also for anyone to use despite selling their own voice communication/control software and hardware solution for gamers. ASUS are also going to be showing off their WAVI Xmotion motion controller using technology from Primesense who were behind the Kinect's motion sensor. It may be early days for this kind of technology to find a standard as happened with DirectX but its surely a good thing for that to happen. This isn't just about head tracking for Microsoft or ASUS though, head tracking is just one feature available, the big selling point to your average consumer will be based around the idea of navigating through your computer like Tom Cruis in Minority Report. Nice try to deflect but 3DFx were in trouble long before any patent suits. They tried to monopolise the market by switching from being a large OEM provider to alienating their customers by buying an established graphics card manufacturer to do it all themselves. On top of that they were running out of time as a new standard was set that was open to anyone and they had to try and compete on a level playing field. This may be true for NaturalPoint should Microsoft really push motion control and therefore head tracking as a feature of that motion control so the likes of Logitech, Saitek, ASUS or any other of a number of manufacturers can release their own hardware to work on a common API. This was why I suggested that NaturalPoint could become a software only provider as they are ahead of the game right now and have the know-how and expertise that other manufacturers are perhaps still trying to gather.

E3 is looming and Microsoft will want to push their SDK for Kinect on PC. Microsoft can push their standard through DirectX so it could be just a matter of time before NaturalPoint dance to another's tune and instead of controlling the standard they have to compete alongside others on a level playing field and then whats to become of them? People never thought 3DFx would be toppled, they seemed to have the market sewn up with developers using their GLIDE API over Microsoft's Direct3D and we all know how that one turned out.

Signed, I'm a TrackIR user since the very first version but I think sim developers should allow their users the choice of head tracking solutions as they do joysticks or any other peripherals.

The Playstation Eye camera for the PS3 already supports head tracking for games like Gran Turismo 5. It may not be as polished as the TrackIR is now but I was an early adopter of the TrackIR and that had it's own issues when it first came out so there is no reason things like the Playstation Eye or Microsoft Kinect can't be improved. I'd like to think Naturalpoint have something up their sleeve as the technology has moved on so it's time to unshackle gamers from their reflective frames and LED arrays.

Hopefully the animation will be better this time around, nothing quite breaks the immersion after you've given your squad orders to then see them run off like they have crapped themselves or moving like Thunderbirds puppets. Just give me some good missions, I don't care much for the storyline as they never put much effort into it anyway and the voice acting is awful, just play the first mission and cringe your way through the helicopter ride to the beach.

I'm holding off replacing my TrackIR 3 until at least after E3 when we may get to see some announcements on this. Microsoft has said they will release an SDK for the Kinect on PC and ASUS have also produced a similar device for the PC, who knows the next evolution of TrackIR might even do away with the need for reflective strips or LED's which would be far less cumbersome.

Yes we're back online now after a server move that didn't all quite go as smoothly as it could have done.

According to this article you'd save yourself money and get better performance in a number of games by buying a second 6970 and running it in Crossfire mode than you would buying the 6990.

I'm also using the Razer Mamba and very happy with it, its ultra precise, battery life is pretty good between charges and if you do forget to charge it you can pull the usb cord out of the docking station and plug it into the mouse. One gripe would be actually taking the USB cord back out of the mouse is a little fiddly. Another thing that doesn't really relate to the performance but the packaging is really top class for this mouse and the docking station is very stylish. Its like mounting your mouse on a display plinth to charge.

Hmm thought I'd made my mind up on the keyboard then found this video: Seems a few people are having issues with the keys stickign together like that, looking at the Steelseries 6G and 7G now as an alternative

Really? well its a little late for that I moved on, the keyboard was just over a year old so figured I was stuck with it so didn't bother contacting them. I kept using it for a little while longer until more keys began to wear off. Good to hear they fixed that problem, though maybe my fingers are toxic as the 'A' has worn off this standard Logitech wireless keyboard and half the 'S' is gone too along with part of the 'C' and corner off the 'D' :) This keyboard is about 2 - 3 years old though but I've had keyboards last longer.

Yeah the old G15 keyboard I had was pretty much useless for conencting USB devices to it because they lacked power. The other thing that annoyed me was the way the top of some of the keys wore away leaving me with nicely lit smudges on the key caps instead of letters. I'm torn between the standard Black Widow and the Ultimate version which is backlit because of this poor track record with keyboards as I do play FPS games.

I'd be interested if anyone has a Razer Blackwidow keyboard as thats what takes my fancy at the moment because it has mechanical keys instead of a membrane.

It makes you wonder if the Falcon development team were still around would we be up to Falcon 5.0 by now and what influence the Falcon line may have had on other developers, not just ED but 1C etc with features like a dynamic campaign etc

I'm also waiting for the boxed version as I have every other game ED has released on CD and DVD but its tempting as hell to buy the download version. I bought Flaming Cliffs as a download then boxed version later then gave the download version to a friend to get him into serious sims. Is the activation for DCS A10 tied to an account or could I do the same again when the boxed version is released?

RoF is a great sim, for WWI its RoF, for WWII IL-2 and for everything else its DCS

I love the Battlefield series, played it since the first one on PC years ago. Since doing a small upgrade I finally had a PC capable of playing BFBC2 on the PC having only played it on consoles previously and really enjoy it, it runs nicely in 1080p on my new rig. I lost my old BF2 discs so I bought it when it was on sale dirt cheap on Steam over Christmas. To say its not how I remember it would be an understatement, geez we've moved on soo far since then :) I have a Battlefield Bad Company 2, 32 player ranked server up called 'A Box Of Fail' if anyone is interested, its not seeing much action at the moment.

I still need to finish the single player story in Crysis but have Crysis 2 pre-ordered as the demo seems quite good fun. Homefront looks good but I wonder how long people will play it online when Black Ops and Battlefield Bad Company 2 are still popular and their sequels will be out later this year. I got a bit fed up with L0ll of D00dy: M0dding Glitchwar@z, the game itself is a lot of fun but with popularity it brings out the bottom feeders with their hacks and cracks. I play more Battlefield Bad Company 2 now, there are some cheats there but in my experience far less than Black Ops.

It can work the other way around. By being separate not only can you buy the devices a piece at a time as your budget allows but also shop around a buy each device from whichever shop is cheapest. You might find somewhere with a deal on rudders but not sticks for example and find a cheap retailer who sells sticks but no rudders. In another forum just a few days ago this kind of subject came up and the cost of each option and Provantage.com had the CH Fighterstick and Pro throttle each costing just under $100 and the CH Pro Pedals were only around $68. For around $270 you have a very reliable, very programmable HOTAS with pedals.

I've given my Fighterstick and Pro Throttle a lot of use over the last almost 8 years and they still function as they did when I first took them out of the box with no signs of wear.

As far as I know there are no new pedals coming from CH, that price is just an absolute bargain

I am currently testing my patience by waiting for the boxed version of DCS:A10 as I have everything else ED have released on disc from the original Flanker onwards so I'm hoping that once the boxed version is released ED will also offer a printed manual to buy like the Black Shark and Lock On ones I have. I also have the awesome manual the late Nic Cole sold.

I'd be interested in the PC version for head tracking. I like my TrackIR but it would be nice not to have to wear a hat with a vector clip or clip an LED array onto the side of my headphones.

The spring tension is quite light on the Fighterstick and Combatstick though a small mod will make them a little stiffer. Personally I like the light tough as I have a hard enough time fighting the enemy aircraft around me let alone fighting spring tension. I've had my CH Fighterstick and Pro Throttle now for 8 approximately 8 years and they still feel as good as the day I took them out of the box. The software has been kept up to date so there are no issues running it on Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 for that matter 32 or 64 Bit and it is still in my opinion the best software available for programming joysticks. The good thing about the software is that as you buy more controllers you don't need to start from scratch with your programming for it you just simply add the new device to your existing profile. I did this with my IL-2 profile which started with a Fighterstick, Pro Throttle and Pro Pedals and I added a Throttle Quadrant, Yoke, Trackball and Multi Function Panel all in one profile. With a small script I was also able to switch the X and Y axis for pitch and roll between the Fighterstick and Yoke at the touch of a button so if I wanted to fly a bomber or P38 I didn't need to leave the sim to load a new profile I could switch back and fore by pressing a button on my joystick.

What about spreading the cost? You could buy say a CH Fighterstick and Pro Throttle, or maybe a Fighterstick and Pro Pedals or just one at a time. With a bit of patience and saving some money you could end up with a really good HOTAS that isn't prone to fall apart or suddenly die on you and is very programmable.