311Gryphon

I know some people have gotten FaceTrackNoIR to work very, very well. It's worth a shot especially if you already have a decent webcam to use. I thought about trying FreeTrack but I've already invested $30 in FTNoIR and didn't want to buy the Track Clip Pro to try FreeTrack. So I broke down today and ordered TrackIR. I'm very happy for people that can get those things to work. Anytime you can be resourceful and get good results is an awesome time. I can't find stability in FTNoIR; however, and while it works a little it also gets very frustrating at least 50% of the time when it holds stable as I'm looking at a switch in the cockpit but as soon as I mouse to the switch the camera twitches, or when I'm ALMOST in the correct position to view an MFCD and then it loses me and suddenly I'm looking straight up out of the cockpit...those times stink.

Oznerol's answer should fix it. I had the same issue with an old Thrustmaster joystick I was using. The Right Control + Home / Right AL + Home shortcut keys were the only ways I could set the in game throttles to idle and I had to have the throttle slider on my joystick all the way back (minimum throttle) to do this. If that doesn't work, then Yellonet would be on the right track and you should check your key mapping to make sure it's default in regards to the throttle to idle functions. Good luck.

I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling with FaceTrackNoIR. I mean, I hate that I'm struggling with it and don't want others to as well. It works but it's much too fidgety and doesn't allow as much movement as I would like to have. Furthermore, if I have to set quite a large dead zone and it is still fidgety and if I set it any larger it becomes completely unstable. Then I only have so much room to get my range of camera movement so I wind up with a completely horizontal line followed by an almost vertical line in the curves. And it still doesn't work that well. It's nice, but not that nice. So I think I'm going to buy TrackIR. I will agree that the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS controls are awesome. A bit frivolous in my mind and now I'm trying to find other good simulators to play to try to make up for spending so much on USED flight controls. But they are awesome and I do not have buyers remorse for getting them. I did hit a road block before the HOTAS showed up in the mail. Now even with the fidgety face tracking it is fun to play. I'm still not very good at it either. I find this rather refreshing considering that so far all of the other flight simulators I've played with this particular setup have either been boring or next to impossible. At least with A-10C I'm rewarded for my patience and hard work. Every other game seems to be overly complex just to be overly complex with no payoff, or they are far too easy and don't classify as a simulator. Even P-51D in DCS is so frustrating that I hardly ever even attempt to fly it, which is a bummer for me because I really like WWII planes. So now, to stop rambling, I have to say "keep it up"! I think A-10C is probably the most worth while game to power through the frustration for.

I tried to post a table but couldn't make it work. So this will be less "fancy". From Natural Point's website: TrackIR 5 has 51.7° horizontal FOV compared to 46° for TrackIR 4. The resolution of TrackIR 5 is 640 X 480 compared to 355 X 288 for Track IR 4 (which can be "doubled" to 710 X 288???) 5 has sub-pixel resolution of 1/150th of a pixel while 4 has 1/20th. 5 is slightly bigger than 4 in terms of size. So it looks like the main difference is a slightly wider field of view, better resolution, and much better sub-pixel resolution (thus reporting resolution) though I have to admit I don't know what that means. I'm still not sure if the extra cost is worth it to me. I found a TrackIR 4 Pro for less than $90 with free shipping.

If my cheat sheets were ever in places like the ones you pictured I'd have still flunked all my tests!

Thanks...it's not really a cheat, that's just the word that popped into my head to describe it. It certainly doesn't feel like cheating when I get frustrated, put the plane into autopilot, and pull out various papers to try to figure out what I'm doing. My wife makes fun of me though.

Thanks, I'll try to put them up in the user files today.

I'll second that question. I passed up a used TrackIR once for a little over $50 if I remember correctly and I think I may regret that. I'm curious if it would be a noticeable difference.

I know there are a lot of "cheat sheets" or "quick look guides" that have been made to help learn the HOTAS switch functions, guide players through the various processes of delivering ordinance, and providing help during missions. I've used several and they are very, very, very much appreciated. I made a chart for myself to simplify the one offered here: http://en.wiki.eagle.ru/w/images/8/89/A-10C_HOTAS_CHART.pdf I've also found others based on this chart but I didn't really like the order and don't feel like I need things like the Mic Switch, Speed Brake Switch, and Pinky Switch listed. I wanted to have the switches necessary for manipulating the sensors and weapon systems to be easier to find. These files are PNG extensions. I can post as JPG if I need to. I would give the raw file but it does't appear I have that option. I could be wrong, but it's not that hard to make anyway. I hope this helps, and thanks again to all the people who have made files and posts that have helped me.:joystick:

I think TrackIR is much simpler and hassle free for sure. I think I'm going to buy it at some point. I have the money for it currently but I just don't want to give up on the FaceTrack just yet. It almost works. Mainly it just trips out when I have to do a lot of looking around the cockpit. And while I know TrackIR has some of the same issues if you have to deflect your head too much it isn't nearly as bad. My friend (who has been the "devil on my shoulder" and also a fellow ne'erdowell in our attempt at playing this simulation) has TrackIR and he clearly has less hassle than I do. So to any new players, if you want face tracking these guys are correct, TrackIR is the best. But you can get away with much cheaper if you must. And they do sometimes sell on ebay so keep an eye peeled.

I know this is an old post but I found it looking for some other stuff and thought I'd put my little bit of experience in here. KillaALF is correct, reading the manual can be a bit daunting but is well worth it. If you find points in it that don't make much sense, skip them and note the pages and sections to review later once you've gotten enough experience and knowledge to help them make sense. For me, the sections on the CDU were very difficult so I put them off. I'm not likely to need the CDU for much yet anyway. I'll learn it when I want to step up the interaction with the sim. But the manual gives a lot of good real world information and good in game basics. Second, for anyone that really wants to have fun with this sim, you might look into getting the Thrustmaster Warthog flight controls. I know it's a lot of money and I refused to buy them at first. Then I started looking at less expensive Saitek X52 controls but didn't really like the reviews and the idea of having to map everything to odd buttons. I managed to win an Ebay auction on the HOTAS and some Saitek Pro Combat Rudder pedals and saved a substantial amount of money. Those controls took me from not playing the game at all (I had an old Thrustmaster joystick that wasn't that fun to play with) to really enjoying the game. If you can use another setup that is awesome. You have my respect. Third, many people play with TrackIR. This is another fairly large expense but is probably well worth it. It is very enjoyable just to fly around with good controls and be able to look out either direction as you bank, look around the cockpit, look up or back to scan the area, etc. I'm currently using FaceTrackNoIR with a cheap webcam. This is free software. You can make it work. It isn't as good as TrackIR but my total investment was $30 (for the webcam and a light - FTNOIR requires good lighting) instead of $150. It is a bit quirky but part of that is because I wear glasses and it isn't built to detect faces with glasses. They are working on a version for glasses wearers but it's slow going and so far hasn't worked at all for me so I use the regular version. Finally, things like this HOTAS control chart: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=69610 and this HOTAS function list: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/38315/ are really quick and easy guides to help learn the different functions. I've used both and they really helped me start learning the commands. I still have to look at them but enough use will get it all in your brain and you won't have to look any longer. I'm fairly new to DCS and I still struggle to make everything work. I can take off without help but I still forget things sometimes. I only got my first MAV kills 2 nights ago. I've yet to get any bomb kills. That's how new I am. And I love the game. It's the kind of simulation I've always wanted. For people who are new and getting frustrated, I understand, but study a little and don't get discouraged. It's worth it. :pilotfly: