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Bigbluss

Does anyone else not enjoy TrackIR?

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Hey all,

Just curious actually. I'm not slating the product at all, and for military sims it's essential if you're not in VR I've heard. That said, I have a decent setup (34" ultrawide, VKB stick and rudder pedals, TWCS throttle) so I've got no fear of peripherals! But TrackIR 5 is just something that after six months and trying many profiles, I can never come to enjoy. I'm not sure what it is, maybe the extra cables, the added feeling of needing to stay relatively still when it's not paused, or just something in my head. I tend to write things down a lot and refer to a lot of charts. That doesn't help.

Either way, whether flying a small GA aircraft, to a jetliner, I feel much more comfortable without TrackIR. I tend to use the mouse or well planned snap views, and I'm sure an ultrawide monitor helps but still - I'm just not a fan. I find myself doing almost all of my flying without it. 

I've noticed that many of the streamers outside of combat sims don't use it either. Is it simply that TiR is less of a 'big deal' for enjoying civilian sims?

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I have used TrackIR for well over a decade, would not want to be without it.


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As a 95% GA flyer I thought it would increase my enjoyment of my sim. It has not done so in my experience. I do not enjoy using it.

Edited by ndoug

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It's good, but it's a bit of a faff sometimes. Great for combat sims, choppers, and circuit bashing, less so for other stuff.


Alan Bradbury

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I'm primarily flying jet liners and gave up Trackir for Chase plane some time ago. It gave me headaches. I'm better served with preset views, hat switch, and mouse or combination of these. I find these to be much more comfortable. Chase plane changes views very smooth and realistically with many other options.


Vic green

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Used TrackIR, oh how the years fly past, some ten(?) years ago. Maybe even more. Don't know why I stopped using it. It's been in a box and I am not missing it. I've considered trying VR, though I kind of fear the same thing will happen (even though those that have tried VR seem to be unable to live without it). 


Richard

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I felt the same way at first but it takes some trial and error to get the profiles set up correctly for your situation. Downloading a profile someone else created might be the perfect solution for one but not someone else. The most annoying factor I find is sunlight in a room interfering with the display and occasionally I also get a headache while using it. I flew P3D exclusively using a hat switch but eventually transitioned full time to Track IR. It really is a must if you are into DCS style flying and trying to keep sight of a target. This past week I ventured briefly into VR only to find the resolution and performance is just not there yet if one used to a 2K monitor display with good frame performance, I returned a Rift S yesterday as my GTX1070 / I7 8700K combo was underwhelming visually. Although the illusion of flight and depth perception is great it requires a significant GPU upgrade to achieve acceptable performance. As we all know it is near impossible to acquire a new graphics card unless you are willing to pay a pirate three times MSRP.  I will continue using TrackIR for the near term until the hardware market returns to some semblance of normalcy. If I could acquire a 3080 series tomorrow I would most likely get a better resolution headset and switch over, moving the head around naturally while being aware of the aircraft attitude was the best part of the VR experience. Sometimes the TrackIR requires a recenter action at the worst possible moment in DCS.

The one thing about using a TrackIR for civilian flight is the ability to view another monitor or charts and the ready access to the keyboard while not knocking over the water bottle. VR makes me appreciate the ability of the blind to read by touch, it definitely requires a lot of practice to feel for the correct button, switch or key. Even if I upgrade the system and purchase another VR headset I will still most likely continue to use the TrackIR for the majority of P3D use.

Edited by CW46

Gary Stewart

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Used TrackIR for years, then it broke. Replaced it with this: https://www.trackhat.org/

Used with a Bluetooth headset it's completely wireless, and easy to setup.  Only minor hiccup is my sim office needs a set of blackout curtains when the sun is shining brightly, but other than that I would fly without it 🙂


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Smoothtrack app is a simple and cheap alternative. It cost just $9.99.

For me, so far, works great, easy to setup.

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I agree.  Could never get used to it.  Mine has sat unused for years.

Concept seems great though

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I don't enjoy using TrackIR either.   I just can't get into it.   I'd rather have some sort of retinal tracking, to avoid all the hat stuff or wires.


Rhett

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I agree with those who say it's essential for air combat---especially dog fighting. Otherwise, it's a pain in the neck. Literally a pain in the neck, with having to hold your head just so.

I put mine away about a year ago, since I never used it.


Richard Chafey

 

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On 3/3/2021 at 1:11 PM, RichieFly said:

I agree with those who say it's essential for air combat---especially dog fighting. Otherwise, it's a pain in the neck. Literally a pain in the neck, with having to hold your head just so.

I put mine away about a year ago, since I never used it.

That is easy to overcome.  You can slow the motion and increase the deadzone to make it quite "natural" so you don't have to "hold your head"  

 Then you define a button on your controller to center it and pause it.   Mine was in a box for years UNTIL I got two 49 inch ultrawide monitors.   Now I wouldn't race/fly without it.  

This is on the race sim.   It was so good I got one for my flightsim as well...  I typically use it for pre-flight, taxi, takeoff, then pause it, remove my hat and put my hat back on before approach, landing and taxi in.  

 

Edited by psolk
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Thanks for the advice. I'll have to try that out.

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Richard Chafey

 

i7-8700K @4.8GHz - 32Gb @3200  - ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero - EVGA RTX3090 - 3840x2160 Res - KBSim Gunfighter - Thrustmaster Warthog dual throttles - Crosswind V3 pedals

MSFS 2020, DCS

 

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I tried the advice from psolk. 

This technique helped. As suggested, I widened the dead zone and adjusted the response curves. I can see that with further adjustments, I could make this work for me.

Thanks again.

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Richard Chafey

 

i7-8700K @4.8GHz - 32Gb @3200  - ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero - EVGA RTX3090 - 3840x2160 Res - KBSim Gunfighter - Thrustmaster Warthog dual throttles - Crosswind V3 pedals

MSFS 2020, DCS

 

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