ArmA 3 & TrackIR

[mechE]

Hi all,

 

Thinking about gifting myself a TrackIR soon over the holidays, and was curious if anyone was running one consistently for ArmA 3. My main game is as an FTL/infantryman on Ahoy servers and elsewhere (unfortunately not yet on EU#3... tried for a few minutes over the weekend, but have a few bugs to iron out w/TFAR), but lately the rush of stealing a chopper on the Exile server I frequent has gotten me a bit more into flying. 

 

How do you like using it as a guy on the ground, or as a pilot? Do you play with a single monitor, or 3 in surround? Hoping to cut down on combat reaction time and checking flanks for other players in Exile, and help with the constant head-spinning it takes to lead a 6-man team successfully.

 

Also, I've heard there can be trouble with the pro-clippy guy that you need to attach it to a headset--if these tend to break, I would love to volunteer my modeling skilz and 3D printer time to make some up for people at cost sometime in the future. I've been looking for a way to help out here where I can since the community relies so much on volunteers.

 

Anyway, thanks for your input!

 

mech

[PERO]

I`ve heard a lot of people using it, both as pilots and infantry.

 

There a tons of other games where you can use it, so no isse there.

 

As of pro-clip, I`ll let that an actual user to give you proper feedback.

[StoneCold313]

I got the proclip and after 2 or so years it's still intact. I really haven't been rough with it tho. But after reading the stories of them breaking on people i reinforced it with some electrical tape.

 

I haven't played ARMA 3 in a while but when i did, i used it when piloting. Usually when running as infantry i didn't feel the need for it.

 

Also if you are looking to maybe save few bucks you can take a look at DelanClip -> http://www.delanengineering.com/news/

[MessedUpSmiley]

I've got the delanclip recently and it works quite well. It takes a long time to get used though.
I really suggest getting the clip before you get the real deal, might you still need it for some reason, because this seems to do the job perfectly.

[mechE]

Thanks for the response, guys, hadn't heard of the Delanclip until you mentioned it... love the stainless steel clip design! Good to know the pro-clip doesn't break as easily as some claim with a little care. The notes on the Delanclip call for low-light conditions for optimal performance--have you noticed any difference, Smiley?

 

And yeah, initially I decided it wasn't necessary for infantry, but I find myself wanting to not rely so much on the Alt key to check my rear in small PvP firefights.   Things happen so fast...

 

Dyslexci's videos using TrackIR look promising for what I am looking for, but I definitely see where it would take some getting used to. I already have all my bad habits ingrained!

[MessedUpSmiley]

I've got a 13 euro webcam (EW1089) which I got in some local store. Took out the IR filter & put the light filters you get in the package in front of the lens and cranked down the intensity etc. a bit in the settings of the webcam. The only thing I'm seeing now is blue dots where the IR lights are. The sunlight coming out of the window behind my monitor and the light coming out of a lamp on the ceiling don't matter a thing. So no, I've not noticed any diffrence whatsoever.

 

The only annoying part with tracking software is that your head has to be in the correct position when aiming down sights, else you'll be aiming whilst looking at the sights in a bit of an angle. Lining up the shot isn't that hard, but it just looks and feels a bit odd.
I wouldn't mind hopping on EU1 in the weekend to make a short screencapture about what it can and what it can't to with the badly tweaked settings I have now.

 

I used to fly a lot on EU1 back in the day and I've got to say that ever since I've got this thing, it feels much more realistic, with landing in first person becoming easier and such.

The only problem I've found so far is that if I turn my head further than about 60 degrees (whilst the IR lights can go up to 80 degrees) to the right side a part of my face will blot out one of the lights and the calibration is lost, thus the screen snapping back to as if you were playing without IR. Turning it back a bit resolves it into the angle you had before the light was blotted out.
I feel like it can be easily fixed though adjusting some sliders in the program, but since I only have had it for about 3 weeks now and it's not really a big annoyance I decided to leave the settings alone for now and play with it first 

[Karate Pyjamas]

I made myself a FreeTrack tracker using a PS3 Eye camera with the IR filter removed. The clip I made from Capri Sun straws and the central hub was made from a large plastic cap from an ice-tea bottle. It's held together with electrical tape, hotglue, shabby soldering and zipties. I usually throw my headset around when I take them off but I haven't had any damage to it yet. I built it about a year ago now.

 

I don't really use it anymore, but hey, for a <50€ build it's alright. As infantry I don't see any value in it, for piloting, perhaps a bit more useful as I use a joystick to fly. (Though I don't have enough USB ports to keep both the PS3 Eye and my Joystick running...)

 

The main issue I have with trackers is that you have to sit very still in front of your screen, I tend to change position on my seat a lot, sometimes sitting in really awkward positions, which immediately renders your calibration useless. My style of sitting simply doesn't work with trackers. I also don't like straining my eyes when I want to look around, moving my head left or right and still looking at the screen gives me a rapid headache.

I guess the bottom line is, you either love it or hate it, it's not for everyone.

[joshheartcher]

Getting the Delan clip this christmas, gonna use it for Arma 3, warthunder and DCS which ive been getting into recently

Oh and we never know, maybe squad will support it someday   and then in the future get an actual track ir to use with the good looking stainless steel clip.

[Amentes]

Eye strain can be a very real issue, indeed. If you're gonna use a head tracker, you should start by getting used to a fairly eccentric movement translation. If you wanna look out to the left, obviously you can't be needing to turn your physical head 60 degrees to achieve that. I'd start by getting used to a 5:1 ratio, at least.

[Karate Pyjamas]

Eye strain can be a very real issue, indeed. If you're gonna use a head tracker, you should start by getting used to a fairly eccentric movement translation. If you wanna look out to the left, obviously you can't be needing to turn your physical head 60 degrees to achieve that. I'd start by getting used to a 5:1 ratio, at least.

Small movements make it feel really awkward for me, which is why trackers aren't for me. Everyone you see them using have some experience, but it definitely takes sometime to get used to.

[mechE]

Man, great to see there are good DIY options out there... with webcams being so cheap these days (PS3 Eye cameras for 8USD... wow) and with working freeware, it would be worth a shot to test it out for close to nothing before spending a ton of money. Even if I end up not liking the homebrew solution, I'm sure I could come up with something cool to use it for with a little Arduino. Would be a serious upgrade to my (now dismantled) bluetooth controlled, airsoft-armed RC car.  Imagine attack helicopter helmet aiming from a PC... so awesome.

 

Eye strain could be an issue, however--I find myself getting nauseated by games more than I used to, but that could honestly be due to bad FOV we keep seeing in some PC ports. Smiley, I wonder if offsetting the camera to the right and re-calibrating would prevent your face from blocking it as a quick fix? Don't want to throw out dumb suggestions w/o any experience, but a thought.

 

Excited to get going on this, though... watching this guy lean out of his Hummingbird and look down at the ground in the ArmA 3 video, absolute win.

http://www.delanengineering.com/head-tracking/

 

Wish I had this stuff as a kid playing Jane's WWII Fighters!

[Karate Pyjamas]

If you are going for the PS3 eye, make sure to get a 1st generation camera! The later versions have the IR filter between the lensen and there's no way to get to them! Also, be very carefull when taking them apart, the IR lens is a bitch to remove. Luckily there are plenty of tutorials online. Also, I believe you do need 1 piece of software (CL PS3 Eye https://codelaboratories.com/downloads/) before the PS3 eye works, which is not freeware, but it only costs a few dollars.

 

Furthermore, I'm running it without an ambient light filter, so if I use it I have to make sure my room is pretty darn dark.

[StoneCold313]

I've got a 13 euro webcam (EW1089) which I got in some local store. Took out the IR filter & put the light filters you get in the package in front of the lens and cranked down the intensity etc. a bit in the settings of the webcam. The only thing I'm seeing now is blue dots where the IR lights are. The sunlight coming out of the window behind my monitor and the light coming out of a lamp on the ceiling don't matter a thing. So no, I've not noticed any diffrence whatsoever.

 

The only annoying part with tracking software is that your head has to be in the correct position when aiming down sights, else you'll be aiming whilst looking at the sights in a bit of an angle. Lining up the shot isn't that hard, but it just looks and feels a bit odd.

I wouldn't mind hopping on EU1 in the weekend to make a short screencapture about what it can and what it can't to with the badly tweaked settings I have now.

 

I used to fly a lot on EU1 back in the day and I've got to say that ever since I've got this thing, it feels much more realistic, with landing in first person becoming easier and such.

The only problem I've found so far is that if I turn my head further than about 60 degrees (whilst the IR lights can go up to 80 degrees) to the right side a part of my face will blot out one of the lights and the calibration is lost, thus the screen snapping back to as if you were playing without IR. Turning it back a bit resolves it into the angle you had before the light was blotted out.

I feel like it can be easily fixed though adjusting some sliders in the program, but since I only have had it for about 3 weeks now and it's not really a big annoyance I decided to leave the settings alone for now and play with it first 

 

Ah yes, the weirdly zoomed view when you turn your head when aiming down a scope. A huge pain in the ass tbh.

 

As for the profile, you should defineately spend some time tweaking it. I used to have bit of an funky profile on my TrackIR and it was far from reliable. Then i spent like 10 mins fiddling with it and now i can basically look behind me if i turn my head like 30 degrees while flying the A-10 in DCS.

 

For anyone needing some help configuring their TrackIR, this video helped me.

[mechE]

If you are going for the PS3 eye, make sure to get a 1st generation camera! The later versions have the IR filter between the lensen and there's no way to get to them! Also, be very carefull when taking them apart, the IR lens is a bitch to remove. Luckily there are plenty of tutorials online. Also, I believe you do need 1 piece of software (CL PS3 Eye https://codelaboratories.com/downloads/) before the PS3 eye works, which is not freeware, but it only costs a few dollars.

 

Furthermore, I'm running it without an ambient light filter, so if I use it I have to make sure my room is pretty darn dark.

Good to know--I saw that removing that could be sketchy, but as cheap as they are I won't worry too much!

 

For anyone needing some help configuring their TrackIR, this video helped me.

Thanks for the link, Stone; this thread is going to be a great reference to get started!

[StoneCold313]

Good to know--I saw that removing that could be sketchy, but as cheap as they are I won't worry too much!

 

Thanks for the link, Stone; this thread is going to be a great reference to get started!

 

Soon everyone will have TrackIR/DelanClip/FreeTracker/etc if we keep this up!

[GamerbugUK]

Have a Track IR, had it for some time now, it's great for flying (not sure how I managed without it), though I don't find it quite as useful as infantry, unless you are after freeing up your 'look' key, basically I only use it for looking around (use rudder pedals for leaning and normal keys for zoom).

 

It's a great bit of kit, but I have the track clip pro version and dependent on your headset it can have some issues fitting on the bands (culprits being too thick or too thin bands); tried it on a Hyper X Cloud 2 and slipped about a bit but on my PC350s its fine.

 

Have used it on other games and it works nice on those, such as ETS.

If you are planning on flying a lot, get one, if not, it's less worthwhile (unless you play other games that utilise it).

[Miczils]

Ive had TrackIR5 for some time, its pretty hard to get used to at start. But if after lets say a month, you won't be able to play without it :>

[Someone]

I recently got me a TrackIR and I have to say that it is nothing but amazing.

I can't tell anything about the TrackClip Pro, since I don't have it, but I can tell you that the hatclip thing works great.

It works straight out of the box, but will work so much better after you've done so tweakings to the settings as showed in raflidudes video as showed earlier. I rekommend setting it up with a small deadzone in the beginning, at least I had to. I had issues sitting still and it made my crosshair/aim move every time I nudged my head a degree or two.

After a week I decreased the deadzone and increased the sensitivity of the pitch and yaw some, due to neck strains. It took about 20 minuits or so to readjust to the new settings, but after that everything worked perfect.

If you're concidering getting a TrackIR, I'd say go for it. In the beginning it may feel odd, awkward and you will most likely keep on moving your head even when you don't intend to, but after having used it for a few weeks I can't imagine playing Arma without it. I even find myself turning my head in other games, games which doesn't support TrackIR. It's gotten so natural that I have to remind myself that CSGO doesn't support it and I still keep of turning my head x)

[Drakhorn]

I've been using TrackClip Pro for about a year now. 

 

The manufacturer did realise at some point that the first editions of it were made from plastics that they thought didn't endure air shipment thus breaking frequently. After that they've promised the quality of the product has been improved and I can say mine hasn't broken yet

 

I don't see much use for it though in anything other than piloting. While going as infantry, lining up your head as well as your sights creates unnecessary delay before you can accurately shoot and although this isn't CoD, that little delay does matter in pvp.

 

Now if I would be looking for a product like this, I would go for something like Tobii eye tracker.

 

[mechE]

Yeah seems to be a pretty reasonable consensus on the ground for it being more trouble than it's worth. Can't wait to get it running in Elite: Dangerous as well!

 

Decided in the end to go the DIY route because of my stubbornness haha. I think I'm going to put a how-to post together soon once I get everything completed: what to buy from where, circuit design instructions, and how to make a good-quality clip with household tools and cheap raw material from the hardware store or online. Tried to set some rules on myself since I have access to manufacturing stuff the average guy wanting to do this may not have (3D printer and mill) so it doesn't turn people away from making their own. Pretty much everything you need to know can be found on other sites, but kind of spread out over lots of different forums/threads.

[Someone]

I added a small deadzone for Arma, and thus I rarely if ever have to line up my head and aim, it's simply not off center unless I intentionally want it to be. I began using it for piloting, I bought it for flying, but I'm using it for everything I possibly can at the moment. I even tend to use it while running around in third person, and often find myself turning my head in almost every game I play at the moment, even if it doesn't support freelook.

In the beginning I didn't do this, in the beginning I accually paused the TrackIR when I played as an infantry, but after a while I got so used to it that I'm honestly having issues playing without it.

A TrackIR is expensive, but luckily there are more budget oriented versions out there aswell. At first glance head tracking might seem like an annoyance to use, but you get used to it really fast and once you have, there's simply no going back.

The Tobii EyeX on the other hand, I havn't tried it, but I don't even feel like I need to. I might be wrong and it might be amazing, but it seem to be more of a gimmick to me. I want to be able to look around my screen, to view my HUD and monitoring chat and such without the screen moving at all. A sudden and unintentional movement in viewdirrection could be very disorienting. I was concidering getting the EyeX over the TrackIR, but after having watched videos of people having issues focusing on troops on the ground and similar, I decided to go for the TrackIR and I havn't had any regrets what so ever this far.

It did everything I could ever imagine, it surpassed my expectations and I'm still getting amazed by how well it works.