Finally! I've gotten pretty good at using a thumbstick for view control, but nothing beats being able to stretch to see above the cowling, or lean out of the bipe to see the runway :).

I'm confused about how TrackIR works.

 

Hey Kerberos,

 

MVGibbage explained it really well.

Track IR works great on a single monitor, no need at all for multimonitors to use this device.

The amount you move your head is very small by comparison to how far your view moves in the sim.

Plus that movement can be tweaked in many ways by the user. I have mine setup for a very small amount of movement

with a non linear curve built in and a small amount of dead zone around neutral - much like one might adjust their joystick movements.

It has become so natural for me I do not even think about it when flying with Track IR.

 

You can better tell how it works by seeing it in action here:

http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/

Click on the Track IR5 product link, and take a look at the videos/demos.

:Applause:

 

I hope TIR support comes out at least by the end of this year. I'm still betting that they will also support Kinect; seems a perfect fit for their fledgling PC product. When TIR support arrives I'll inform my ground crew to wash off the accumulated salt spray off my long term parked Stearman...and, oh yes, I'll start the paperwork to get a Maul.

I don't even have the TrackIR device yet.

But I can predict how nice it will be flying Low and Slow in the Stearman looking "out the window" so to speak.

That will then help keep me on side. I won't fly without Trackir.

How does it work if you're using TrackIR and you need to move a swtich in the cockpit? I fly virtual cockpit in FSX and expect to be able to control the plane's systems from the 3D view.

 

How difficult will it be to hover the mouse pointer over a needle on a gauge to get the digital reading using TrackIR? It's bad enough now with a view that doesn't move.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Hook

How does it work if you're using TrackIR and you need to move a swtich in the cockpit? I fly virtual cockpit in FSX and expect to be able to control the plane's systems from the 3D view.

 

That can be a little tricky, I can tell you what I do to get around that issue.

I have the Track IR " pause" hotkey, assigned to a button on my joystick. So anytime I need to fix my view at a certain position for a moment, I hit the pause, do what I got to do, then hit it again to unpause it. This has worked very well for me - in fact I left my hat switch assigned as POV for my joystick, so when I do pause Track IR, I can also pan around with it should I desire. Then when I unpause it, the Track IR device takes back over. Alternatively, if you want to free up that pov hat for other things once you have Track IR, you can do that as well by not assigning it as POV.

 

Imho, there are two functions that I feel are best assigned to joystick buttons for Track IR, these would be the pause of course, and the recenter command. After a while moving head around sometimes the view can get a little off centered, and a quick press of that button while looking forward recenters it nicely.

 

The hotkeys for these Track IR commands, can also be re-assigned to any key commands you choose as well.

I'll be the "con" side of TrackIR. I have it and don't use it.

 

1: Windows. My setup has my back to windows and monitor facing windows. TrackIR does not work unless the window shades are closed. I guess the light messes it up.

 

2: Gotta wear a doohickey somewhere on or around your head. The doohickey I have is made to clip to the brim of a baseball hat. I hate hates.

 

3: Head movement + eye fixation is strange. It probably takes getting used to, but it's not "natural" movements to look around. It's rather awkward.

 

4: If you want your view "static", you have to sit very still, like a statue. Many times, I like to lean back or otherwise change comfortable positions and that really makes it haywire.

 

TrackIR does what it says it does and it's probably just a matter of getting used to it, but I found it to be more of a pain than the good ole hatswitch.

I'll be the "con" side of TrackIR. I have it and don't use it.

 

<snipped for brevity>

 

4: If you want your view "static", you have to sit very still, like a statue. Many times, I like to lean back or otherwise change comfortable positions and that really makes it haywire

 

I can only echo your remarks. I wanted TIR very much for a very long time. A friend from SOH kindly sent me his TIR4 after he received his new TIR5. After a few weeks of trying it out, I sadly set it aside and haven't touched it since...

 

...I just couldn't stand the pain from having to hold my head so still and stiff for hours on end...

I just couldn't stand the pain from having to hold my head so still and stiff for hours on end

 

Such a relief to see I'm not alone - I was preparing a flame-suit for my post :)

 

I think it's built into humans to be able to move your head around but keep a fixed view on whatever it is you are viewing. For example, you can move your head around and still read this easily. You can drive on a bumpy road (or fly in a bumpy cockpit) with your head bouncing around, but still keep a 'static' view. What I also found with TrackIR is that every little head movement caused on-screen movement which was very odd and actually, for me, annoying. The good 'ole hatswitch is pretty effective. . .

TrackIR is like the cigarette of FS. Some try it and think "Too much yuck for what you get out of it" so why bother (one of my flying buddies had this impression). But once you are hooked, quitting can be impossible. And considering there are no long term health risks, why quit anyways...

I move around way too much. If I had to keep my head still, I'd be totally unable to fly after a few minutes. Or probably much of anything else. We're not talking mild pain, either. Add that my neck is somewhat stiff with limited movement and you can understand why the TrackIR concept doesn't thrill me.

 

The good news is, there is both a reset view switch (I use one for the hat, why do some TrackIR users complain about needing to use one occasionally?) and a static view, which is where I'd be flying 90% of the time.

 

I'm not saying that Flight shouldn't have TrackIR. Just read the poll about how many Avsim users want TrackIR.

 

Hook

I'm not saying that Flight shouldn't have TrackIR. Just read the poll about how many Avsim users want TrackIR.

 

I lobbied MSGS hard and long for TIR support, despite the fact that I have it but cannot physically stand to use it myself... :Thinking:

If you want your view "static", you have to sit very still, like a statue. Many times, I like to lean back or otherwise change comfortable positions and that really makes it haywire.

 

I am firmly in this camp, I fidget and change positions in my chair constantly. Using head tracking on Forza/Kinect I quickly learned that I move around too much for head tracking to be anything more than an annoyance. And with Kinect I didn't have to wear any dorky headgear :)

 

I am glad that the people that use TrackIR are getting support, but to be frank TrackIR should use the normal HID APIs that all other controllers use instead of soaking up a developers time for special treatment.

Yea it can be annoying when you change positions, but like the one guy said he has a button on his joystick to pause, I have one on mine to reset to middle. So if I readjust in my chair and my view is messed up, I can just hit a button and that will be my new center position.