Do I need TrackIR to enjoy/play this game?

[Phantom453]

I wouldn't fly without it. I had to a few weeks ago though, at a mate's place, and it was like flying with your head glued to the side of the canopy.

Worth every penny IMHO.

Fish has a pretty good video on Youtube about how to set up & tweak Track IR.

 

[jdkirk904]

Okay guys, with what you guys are saying and other recommendations I have seen, not just here but in other forums, I just ordered TRACKIR 5. I went with the reflector clip instead of the pro clip. Thanks for all your input.

[Sceptre]

Good, I'm glad you bought it:) It's like the difference between flying a UAV from a stuffy terminal at an airfield, or hurtling through the stratosphere at Mach 1 in your fighter.

[Hamblue]

Okay guys, with what you guys are saying and other recommendations I have seen, not just here but in other forums, I just ordered TRACKIR 5. I went with the reflector clip instead of the pro clip. Thanks for all your input.

 

Go ahead and order the trackclip pro. It's nice not having to wear a hat when using trackir.

[sthalik]

Note that FaceTrackNOIR might be a cheap alternative if you have a webcam. The developers (it's open source/free software) were supplied with an API by ED and were able to implement native support. Hopefully this implementation should work either right out of the box for World, or will work later.

 

True, true. We, the people developing FTNOIR in some kind of way, are working on getting issues present in 1.6 resolved. So far, fixing jitter present in tracker output, as well as upgrading support for output curves are in the process of being integrated into mainline and for the 1.7 release.

 

While I barely play DCS A-10C due to the complexity of it, it fully works, giving 6DOF and stable output using the SeeingMachines FaceAPI tracker 3.2.6.

[BlueRidgeDx]

I think that TrackIR is nice, but it's certainly not essential. I've used the trusty hat switch for POV control forever, and seldom have I wanted anything more.

 

I use TrackIR on every flight, so I'm not saying it's bad or anything. But to be perfectly honest, I frequently have to "pause" it becuase the view tends to drift even with your head perfectly still which makes operating a particular switch difficult.

 

What probably bothers me the most is that, if you've ever flown a real airplane (or even driven a real car), TrackIR does not simulate what you naturally do with your head and eyes in the cockpit. Whereas in real life, you can glance down at your instuments with just your eyes, TrackIR requires you to move your whole head. Plus, moving your head 5 degrees will cause about a 20 degree shift in your virtual view (this is adjustable, to a point). The end result is that you have to put far more effort into holding your head in the "correct" position to avoid accidentally panning your view.

 

I know many people swear by it and think its the best thing since sliced bread. Certainly it helps mitigate the problems of viewing the outside world on a 23" monitor, but its not magic. It takes real effort to get used to.

[Loggert]

I think that TrackIR is nice, but it's certainly not essential. I've used the trusty hat switch for POV control forever, and seldom have I wanted anything more.

 

I use TrackIR on every flight, so I'm not saying it's bad or anything. But to be perfectly honest, I frequently have to "pause" it becuase the view tends to drift even with your head perfectly still which makes operating a particular switch difficult.

 

What probably bothers me the most is that, if you've ever flown a real airplane (or even driven a real car), TrackIR does not simulate what you naturally do with your head and eyes in the cockpit. Whereas in real life, you can glance down at your instuments with just your eyes, TrackIR requires you to move your whole head. Plus, moving your head 5 degrees will cause about a 20 degree shift in your virtual view (this is adjustable, to a point). The end result is that you have to put far more effort into holding your head in the "correct" position to avoid accidentally panning your view.

 

I know many people swear by it and think its the best thing since sliced bread. Certainly it helps mitigate the problems of viewing the outside world on a 23" monitor, but its not magic. It takes real effort to get used to.

 

I've mapped the center button to my stick and center often. Good thing to do while flying is to close your eyes, relax your neck for a second and center. Then you should be in a relaxed state as center and it's easier to find that spot again. :)

[BlueRidgeDx]

Yep, good advice. I have my center button on my TM Warthog MIC switch. I've also tweaked the response curves and added a small deadzone. It's setup as good as its going to get; it just doesn't simulate reality, so its hard to get used to.

[andysim]

the track pro clip will help with a bright room or when the sun is out. as it emits its own lightsource (its powered from a usb port) and so is less reliant on reflections

[Huckle]

To the OP, TIR is great, particularly if you're flying a dogfight sim like Il-2 or RoF - my kill ratio jumped instantly the first time I used it. It's like going from keyboard to joystick in terms of the difference it makes to situational awareness.

But you certainly don't 'need' it to enjoy A-10.

 

Something I'd suggest to other posters - if you need to recentre frequently, or if you're finding that TIR involves unnatural head movements - fix your profiles. I can get up and make coffee, come back and still be centred, and the most my head moves from rest is to point my nose at the LCD frame.

[dburne]

Yep, good advice. I have my center button on my TM Warthog MIC switch. I've also tweaked the response curves and added a small deadzone.

 

May I ask how you did that?

I am new to both DCS A-10C and the TM Warthog.

Obviously I am not using Target for the sim, as it recognizes the stick and throttle and assigns their buttons appropriately.

How would I map a Track IR hotkey to a button on the Warthog? I am sure it is something simple, again I am pretty new to the setup.

[mr_mojo97]

Launch the TrackIR software and make a new profile. Where it says Hotkeys choose what you want - in this case Center. Then in the box beside where it says Key - press the button on your joystick you want that action assigned to and click save

[dburne]

Ah, easy enough, thanks much for that!

[Yurgon]

What probably bothers me the most is that, if you've ever flown a real airplane (or even driven a real car), TrackIR does not simulate what you naturally do with your head and eyes in the cockpit. Whereas in real life, you can glance down at your instuments with just your eyes, TrackIR requires you to move your whole head.

 

That is of course correct, and to a degree it bothers me as well. Then again, the real limit does not come from TrackIR but from the fact that we have a 2D projection of a 3D environment. And I think TrackIR (or any good head tracker, for that matter) does a brilliant job of overcoming some of these limits and giving us degrees of freedom a lot like those in reality ("a lot like" as opposed to "identical with").

 

I know many people swear by it and think its the best thing since sliced bread. Certainly it helps mitigate the problems of viewing the outside world on a 23" monitor, but its not magic. It takes real effort to get used to.

 

That seems to be a matter of personal taste, preference and perception. Getting used to TrackIR took virtually no time for me and whenever I tweak the profile to fit my taste it feels even better and more "natural". I guess it's a bit like the old "is the glass half full or half empty" thing, a matter of point of view. And my point of view is that TrackIR is near perfect because it works like advertised.

[kokoweems]

It isn't necessary to enjoy this game with trackir, however it makes life a little bit easier. There are a few quirks with trackir but it is still better without it.

 

Trackir is quite expensive, if I had known about freeheadtrack before I would have gone that route.

[GripenNG]

I had fun in this simulator without TrackIR. But with it - I had so much more fun.

 

So it is definitly worth the investment. It feels like you are more "in" the actual cockpit when everythings runs smooth. I remember that I did became a little bit nauseas when first using it. But that only adds to the reality doesn´t it? ;)

[Revelation]

One thing I would like to add....

 

With TrackIR5 w/Track Clip Pro I never have to hit the recenter button. I press it the first time I sit down and fire up the sim and after that I can get up, go downstairs for a refill and come back and it "re-centers" without my input.

 

I know when I used TrackIR3 Pro I had a lot of the issues many people mentioned in this thread, but I don't get them with TrackIR5. I HIGHLY recommend TrackIR as I will never fly with out it.

 

Heck I have problems now flying the SU25T since it doesn't support 6DOF. I haven't tried the mod yet to get it to work.

 

Your first time using TrackIR you, most likely, will get motion sickness. I remember my first flight and I had such headache and felt sick. That passed relatively quickly and it has been a blessing ever since.

 

You will want to adjust the speed at which TrackIR tracks as well as the deadzone to tailor it to your preferences.