Looking around the cockpit

[baltic_dragon]

Hey guys,

 

After a few hours of intensive training I am able to start my Hog from the cold, take off and navigate to any airport I choose and successfuly land using TACAN or ILS :) I must say that even this part is pretty rewarding, and I even didn't touch the combat part of the game!

 

My question is the following - in many training videos on the web I've seen you guys looking around the cockpit in a very natural way. How do you do that? Using a mouse? It is not possible with keyboard or POV (is that the name of a small stick on a joystick?). Would appreciate some help, as more flexible access to all the systems would be welcome!

[Kaiza]

Its special head tracking hardware. Most people use trackir: http://www.naturalpoint.com/

 

You can also use freetrack which is free software if you want a cheaper option and are not afraid of making the hardware yourself.

 

Or there is also software called facetracknoir that people have had varying degrees of success with. http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=56837&highlight=facetracknoir

 

If you are serious about simming this is a very important bit of kit to have, it really changes the whole experience. Once you have it you will refuse to fly without it, I would rather fly without a hotas than without trackir!

Edited January 22, 2012 by Kaiza

[KLR Rico]

I use freetrack and love it, I made my setup for less than $30.

 

Like Kaiza said, headtracking really changes everything. To me, flying without it is like flying using the keyboard and mouse instead of a joystick.

[baltic_dragon]

Setting up my camera now, first I will try the Facetracknoir.. then I might give Freetrack a try, although I am not very good at technical things (i.e. mounting diods on my headset). But it is worth trying?

 

But other than that, is there any way to look around using your mouse? It seems to be quite convenient..

[PeterP]

But it is worth trying?

 

The answer for your question is the same like for this one:

"But it is worth going outside at nice summer day?"

 

:music_whistling:Decide yourself.

[baltic_dragon]

The answer for your question is the same like for this one:

"But it is worth going outside at nice summer day?"

 

:music_whistling:Decide yourself.

 

Sorry, that was a typo - I wanted to put an exclamation mark there :)

[spikenet]

give facetracknoir a go, its not the best, but you will get an idea how great it is to actually "look" around in the virtual world!

 

I also use freetrack with a homemade cap. It works as good as trackIR for a fraction of the cost, but not the easiest thing setup from a hardware POV.

[Frostiken]

I have annoying problems with TrackIR I've never been able to sort out. There's like a "drifting" I experience, where if I look around the cockpit, when I look back to 'center', it's always a bit off and I have to hit the recenter button. Sometimes it's like there's a groove in the tracking that it falls in to, where it ignores (or suppresses) other axis inputs while sliding around in this groove. It's really much more annoying than it sounds, and I've never found a profile setup that mitigates it. Also, when I look left and right, the camera moves in a noticable arc, rather than just straight left and right.

 

I think it might be related to the fact that my TrackIR sensor has to sit on top of my monitor which is extremely huge, so it looks down at me rather than straight at me. Unfortunately there's not a lot I can do about this short of sitting on a giant stool.

[SmokeyTheLung]

I have annoying problems with TrackIR

I've had some of the same issues as you and I also keep my trackIR atop a 47" TV

Do you use the tracking clip that has LEDs?

 

I don't, and was having a really hard time getting my head tracking smooth. I went to a hardware store and bought a cheap highway workers safty vest, cut out the reflective parts and glued on some over sized spots to my goofy headgear.

 

...tracking has never worked better!

[joey45]

How far away are you from the sensor?

[Praetorx]

I want to get some sort of head tracking but don't really want to drop $150 in TrackIR 5. Is freetrack any good? I would try it but I currently don't have a webcam

[LostOblivion]

Setting up my camera now, first I will try the Facetracknoir.. then I might give Freetrack a try, although I am not very good at technical things (i.e. mounting diods on my headset). But it is worth trying?

 

But other than that, is there any way to look around using your mouse? It seems to be quite convenient..

 

You can toggle looking around in the cockpit using Alt+C. I'd deffo get TrackIR5, though. ;)

[Harzach]

I have annoying problems with TrackIR I've never been able to sort out. There's like a "drifting" I experience, where if I look around the cockpit, when I look back to 'center', it's always a bit off and I have to hit the recenter button. Sometimes it's like there's a groove in the tracking that it falls in to, where it ignores (or suppresses) other axis inputs while sliding around in this groove. It's really much more annoying than it sounds, and I've never found a profile setup that mitigates it. Also, when I look left and right, the camera moves in a noticable arc, rather than just straight left and right.

 

I think it might be related to the fact that my TrackIR sensor has to sit on top of my monitor which is extremely huge, so it looks down at me rather than straight at me. Unfortunately there's not a lot I can do about this short of sitting on a giant stool.

 

My TIR sensor sits rather high as well. I found that adjusting the clip to face the sensor more directly helped a lot. When I had the passive clip, this was simply a matter of pushing my cap back on my head a bit. With the LED clip, I just rotate the clip upward a bit when I attach it to the headphones. Pushing the headphone band back a bit on my head also helps by rotating the whole assembly upward.

 

As for the centering/"groove" issue - I find that one:one works well. Also, do you use precision mode?

[baltic_dragon]

I would like to give it a try, but I can't obtain the Face API protocol. How long usually you have to wait to get it? I first want to check FaceTrackNoIR, but can't get the API for it to work...I registered on the website, but no answer for two days!

[baltic_dragon]

OK, I made it work - in Windows, at least, because there is no effect in-game. I installed the version 1.6, downloaded and installed the ED 64-bit workaround. It even added something new in the options in "absolute camera view" lines - but when I launch the game, nothing happens. Any ideas?

[MRSEAT]

Hey guys,

 

After a few hours of intensive training I am able to start my Hog from the cold, take off and navigate to any airport I choose and successfuly land using TACAN or ILS :) I must say that even this part is pretty rewarding, and I even didn't touch the combat part of the game!

 

My question is the following - in many training videos on the web I've seen you guys looking around the cockpit in a very natural way. How do you do that? Using a mouse? It is not possible with keyboard or POV (is that the name of a small stick on a joystick?). Would appreciate some help, as more flexible access to all the systems would be welcome!

If you press left Alt + C, you can use the mouse to look around the cockpit, and with the middle mouse button held, move your "head" from side to side and up and down (mousewheel to zoom in and out) Brilliant. Only downside is you can't click on any instrumentation (that I know of, anyway). Hope this helps.

[3instein]

If you press left alt and c then c again you can click buttons in the cockpit while looking around with the mouse. :music_whistling:

[Revelation]

I haven't tried the FacetracknoIR or Freetrack so I can't speak for them. I have used TrackIR since TrackIR3 PRO days with the vector expansion. Using the TrackIR5 is like night and day versus the 3. I also recommend getting the TrackClip Pro regardless of the one you go with as it improves the performance greatly.

 

I cannot recommend TrackIR enough, they have a great product. If you don't find the performance of the open source methods adequate, you cannot go wrong with Natural Point's TrackIR5.

[KLR Rico]

My current freetrack setup uses a $30 playstation eye (+120FPS@320x240 or 75FPS@640x480) and about $10 worth of LED's and a battery holder. There is a little bit of setup work, but nothing too crazy. The end results are excellent, I'm very happy with it.