Free Alternative to TrackIR

[GAU-8 0]

to quote:

"To be clear, this means you are going to either have to constantly re-center it, or you're going to have to sit very, very still - to an uncomfortable extreme - to keep your view from going everywhere."

this is what makes cam2pan, others, (and the OLDER) tir2...so tiresome ..... EVERY head movement when (shifting) up,down,left right, forward backward....becomes an X-Y movement of the axis PIVOT point..they cant differentiate, what your trying to do. tir4 can tell in a 3D space..where your moving..so there is no "lost in translation" effects. (but he says it much better..im just re-iterating :P)

also TRACK-IR is actually encoded into the game by the programmers...its a SEPERATE program for movement, NOT a mouse movement...and its recognised by the game (i dont have it yet, so i dont know if it auto detects..or you must select "enable track-IR") but because the other programs, are essentially mouse EMULATION....the game may, or may not detect it . it could assume its a mouse program/funtion. rather than "track-IR ".

[Maddmatt 1]

also TRACK-IR is actually encoded into the game by the programmers...its a SEPERATE program for movement, NOT a mouse movement...and its recognised by the game (i dont have it yet, so i dont know if it auto detects..or you must select "enable track-IR") but because the other programs, are essentially mouse EMULATION....the game may, or may not detect it . it could assume its a mouse program/funtion. rather than "track-IR ".

NewView emulates TrackIR, so the game thinks it is TrackIR.

I know it's not as good, but it works.

TrackIR is alot of money, and besides ArmA I wont have much use for it. Maybe if I start playing more race and flight sims I will use it, but right now I don't. Although maybe I should get into more sims, since I don't make enough use of my Logitech MOMO wheel and my old Sidewinder 2 force feedback joystick

I'll probably get TrackIR someday, it just doesn't seem worth it at the moment.

@Universal and Lolsav: How well does it work? Are there any problems with it?

[Universel 0]

So far you can tweak EVERYTHING in NewView (accel, dead-zone, whatever...) I suspect, even though I dont have TrackIR, that NewView Config.exe just reproduces every single config option of TrackIR software.

The only thing that is yet missing is a good .ini file for Arma, contaning all the average parameters, which is supplied by TrackIR company. That means you ll have to tweak the settings by yourself, although you can find a ini to start with here : http://www.board.armedassault.pl/viewtopic.php?t=139

(polish site, but photos are self explanatory).

Then, 120fps for trackIR, ok if you trust the company, but why should I, (you know what is marketing?), second, I play Arma at 30fps...

About the extra functions, well I can live without a zoom in-out feature, I have my 2nd mouse button which is 1mm next to mouse btn1 for it, the same for lean left-right, I can use Q/E which are luckily next to W so it wont hurt my fingers nor my brain to press them.

Last about the price, if you know what "economy" is, you ll understand that since trackIR has no competitors, it's overpriced. Period. I dont know what do they put inside it, but it's cheaper than you may think.

Webcam market is very competitive, so super-cheap webcams are still enough for an overpriced-track-ir emulation.

Edit : Maddmatt : I use a white paper sticked in the middle of my forehead so tracking is far from perfect now but when cam2pan doesn't lose the track, head movement in Arma is excellent.

I'll make a cheap led as described in the polish site then we ll see.

[bravo 6 0]

will we be able to LEAN to sides?

[Universel 0]

will we be able to LEAN to sides?

By pressing Q and E you can already.

If you want to lean by trackIR you ll have to assign trackIR left/right rotation to lean left/righ instead of look left/right, so you'll probably lose the free-look ability.

[bravo 6 0]

will we be able to LEAN to sides?

By pressing Q and E you can already.

If you want to lean by trackIR you ll have to assign trackIR left/right rotation to lean left/righ instead of look left/right, so you'll probably lose the free-look ability.

ok, np.

good enough i can look arround without using alt + mouse

€ 9,99 will replace a TrackIR weeeeeeee

[Maddmatt 1]

Thanks Universal, that sounds good. Now I need to get myself a webcam .

As for the lack of leaning and zooming, buttons handle that fine so I don't care.

And in other news, ArmA has just been put up on Sprocket! Link

Only in Czech though . I know about the English translation patch, but an official English version would be better.

Edit: ArmA just disappeared from Sprocket, might be back soon though. Wonder what would have happened if I bought it fast enough

[GAU-8 0]

i wont argue about economics, and such. but i cant tell you that you ARE wrong on the FPS on the track-IR, issue , and going about "marketing"

there IS a BIG difference running track-IR at/around 30 frames, (compared at or close to 120 FPS) against arma with 30 FPS ... its IS noticable and its hard to live with! there was a big stink about this on IL-2 FB a year or so ago. (where it dropped only to HALF its framerate in game)you are very aware that something is wrong. head tracking at 30 FPS, is highly irritating!

allthough the HUMAN eye cannot detect a SINGLE frame of animation, past 25 frames a second, the human eye CAN detect animation as a whole with speeds well above 25 fps. the track-IR is very "slick" feeling and precise the way it handles onscreen with head movmements. when you drop to even 40 frames...its quite the "slideshow" for your head.

[Maddmatt 1]

i wont argue about economics, and such. but i cant tell you that you ARE wrong on the FPS on the track-IR, issue , and going about "marketing"

there IS a BIG difference running track-IR at/around 30 frames, (compared at or close to 120 FPS) against arma with 30 FPS ... its IS noticable and its hard to live with! there was a big stink about this on IL-2 FB a year or so ago. (where it dropped only to HALF its framerate in game)you are very aware that something is wrong. head tracking at 30 FPS, is highly irritating!

allthough the HUMAN eye cannot detect a SINGLE frame of animation, past 25 frames a second, the human eye CAN detect animation as a whole with speeds well above 25 fps. the track-IR is very "slick" feeling and precise the way it handles onscreen with head movmements. when you drop to even 40 frames...its quite the "slideshow" for your head.

Well if the game isn't running at that high framerate then it's not going to help. While the camera movement probably wont be perfect, the TrackIR price is just plain ridiculous. Do you really think it costs that much to make?

I'm not saying I wouldn't like to have TrackIR - I would, but with the price so much higher than the webcam solution I don't think it's really worth it for me right now.

[Universel 0]

Btw if you understand how works TrackIR and how work cam2pan or freelook, you'll quickly understand thay what costs $180 is only an infrared webcam with a tracking software 'epsilon' better than cam2pan and freelook.

A "IR webcam" is simpler to make than a standard webcam (no color, no adjustments, just a few thousands of 2-state pixels), but let's say it costs the same as a basic camera because it can operate at twice the speed (120fps vs 60fps).

The only evolution is then the software which can track 3 points and therefore can easily calculate head position by comparing the positions of the 3 points between themselves - and not just one (basically if the distance between the 3 points increases, it's zoom in, if it decreases it's zoom-out for example)

If "one tracking point" software is freeware (freeview), then how much do you think should cost a "3 points tracking" software? Cuz trackIr sells it at ~$140.

My secret hope is that some smart guy releases quickly a 3 points tracking software for free or almost free

[RobNob (6th) 0]

If anyone has got this working, how about making a guide?

[bravo 6 0]

you have a guide.. look lolsav post.

[Maddmatt 1]

Yea maybe someone who got it working should write a guide to make it easier for others.

@RobNob: Download Cam2Pan and NewView, you will probably manage to figure it out yourself.

Is there and free software that can be used instead of Cam2Pan? I know 10$ isn't that much but free would be better.

@Universal: Any luck using Freelook instead of Cam2Pan?

Edit: Yea Loslav's post on Pg2 should make a decent guide, though I haven't looked at it myself.

[Universel 0]

I learned a lot from here (although I dont speak polish) :

http://www.board.armedassault.pl/viewtopic.php?t=139

Here is the quickest way to make things work:

Grab NewView v 37d here:

http://www.webfile.ru/1197138

and unzip it somewhere.

Grab arma.ini and place it in NewView folder:

http://groch.dyn.pl/~groch/TrackIR/ArmA_1.INI

Grab pan2cam and install it somewhere.

http://www.mousevision.com/game/html/download.htm

Run Config.exe from NewView folder, select English language and click on "Add DLL to registry", then "Open Profile" and select the ArmA.ini you DLed. Close NewView.

Run Cam2Pan, select "Tracking Engine" -> "High Precision".

"Cursor / Panning"->"FB / Lockon"

Hit "Press to Start" and move your head to make sure cam2pan detects it.

If so, run ArmA.

Next step, stick a 1-2cm diameter paper on your forehead (yea you'll look silly ), select Flashligh detection (works better but first make sure High precision works), and tune up pan2cam and Newview.

Edit : dont forget to dl lolsav's file too, he made an excellent video

Btw lolsav, if you read me, did you use any filter in front of your webcam? Could you also share your arma.ini?

Thx m8  

[Lolsav 0]

Btw Lolsav, if you read me, did you use any filter in front of your webcam? Could you also share your arma.ini?

Thx m8  

I just made sure i got at least 28-30 fps from webcam by lowering the resolution and changing the compression to I420 insted of RGB. Turning off the automatic ilumination helps a lot also.

Arma.ini is included in the video RAR file, inside the newview RAR.

If you require me to post it anyway, let me know pls.

[Universel 0]

Thx lolsav and sorry for misspeling your name

[kronzky 5]

It seems that NewView actually requires a joystick to work.

Is that right, and if so, does the joystick need any special features? I have steering wheel/pedals, but no regular joystick...

Also, if somebody needs more documentation about the NewView options, here are some pretty detailed pages in English and in German.

[Maddmatt 1]

It seems that NewView actually requires a joystick to work.

Is that right, and if so, does the joystick need any special features? I have steering wheel/pedals, but no regular joystick...

Also, if somebody needs more documentation about the NewView options, here are some pretty detailed pages in English and in German.

No, NewView can work with Cam2Pan to track your head movement. You need a webcam.

[stisoas 0]

Since I am not willing to spend the money on TrackIR, I did a search on Google for an alternative. Since I don't have ArmA I can't test if it works.

The program called Freelook can emulate mouse movement with a camera and when used with another program called NewView can emulate TrackIR.

Link to Freelook site: Freelook

Freelook forum: Here

Topic on NewView in Freelook forums: Here

Topic on using it in ArmA: Here

This is what I came up with on Google so can anyone with ArmA and a webcam try this and see if this works? If it does that will be great.

"Free alternative to track ir [...]"

ALT key ...

it's even more precise and fast when you are on your feet.

track ir in chopper could be usefull. but on ground it's not better than ALT key.

[kronzky 5]

Does *anybody* have it working without a joystick?

NewView seems to modify the joystick communication by re-assigning the POV signals to what it gets from Cam2Pan.

But without a joystick installed there is no communication to modify...

The German documentation also states pretty absolute that a joystick is required. But then again, there also seem to be options in NewView to substitute keyboard input for joystick input (but that may only work *in addition* to the joystick assignments.)

Im my case the Cam2Pan head tracking works fine, it's just the translation of that data into TrackIR commands that seems to be problematic...

[Maddmatt 1]

Does *anybody* have it working without a joystick?

NewView seems to modify the joystick communication by re-assigning the POV signals to what it gets from Cam2Pan.

But without a joystick installed there is no communication to modify...

The German documentation also states pretty absolute that a joystick is required. But then again, there also seem to be options in NewView to substitute keyboard input for joystick input (but that may only work *in addition* to the joystick assignments.)

Im my case the Cam2Pan head tracking works fine, it's just the translation of that data into TrackIR commands that seems to be problematic...

You need to set NewView to get camera info from Cam2Pan. Use the Config.exe, go to the "helmet" tab and set it to get data from "external interface".

[dmarkwick 261]

IMO if you can afford TIR then you should just get tIR and not bother trying to get TIR functionality on the cheap. It's not going to work to the same degree and might even put you off a perfectly good technology solution.

As has already been mentioned, TIR gives you not only up-down-left-right viewing but also leaning, moving forward and lifting up out of your chair. AA has not implemented all of the movements, as far as I know the lifting out of the chair movement hasn't been used. I think it would be useful to be able to "peep" over obstacles ingame, perhaps some modder will implement this. Even me if I get the time

[Maddmatt 1]

IMO if you can afford TIR then you should just get tIR and not bother trying to get TIR functionality on the cheap. It's not going to work to the same degree and might even put you off a perfectly good technology solution.

As has already been mentioned, TIR gives you not only up-down-left-right viewing but also leaning, moving forward and lifting up out of your chair. AA has not implemented all of the movements, as far as I know the lifting out of the chair movement hasn't been used. I think it would be useful to be able to "peep" over obstacles ingame, perhaps some modder will implement this. Even me if I get the time

Well it's for the cheap people . It's still a nice alternative for people who are not willing to spend the money on TrackIR.

Up/Down movement would be good to control your stance, ie prone/crouch/standing. Maybe you can set it up in the control options.

[HitSqdhaXor 0]

Ok I am cheap then I guess .... I will eventually get TrackIR when I can afford it, but for now this will have to do.

I am gonna try and get this working as soon as I get my reg, since I have a high end 3com webcam that I never use.

I will post my results when/if I get it working.

Edit:

Don't spend the time or the $10 on this if you can afford a TrackIR. Yes, It is cheap and moderately simple to configure.

But it doesn't stay locked on your nose, and drifts off center while in game. (This I am sure can be fine tuned again and again.) It also relys on lighting and your shiney nose or LED, but depending on where your PC is ... the lighting changes throughout the day and you will spend more time "tweaking" than actually using it. I also noticed a slight performance decrease due to the Cam2Pan streaming video to process facial movements in the background. (like I need any more "less" performace.)

So if you want to try it ... it will cost ya $10 and a ~$40 webcam. That would be $50 towards a TrackIR you won't have later when you realize that this solution really isn't as practical as you thaught it was.

Good Luck!

[Universel 0]

Cam2pan settings:

- Dont use "high precision tracking" but "Flashlight".

- Stick a 1cm white paper in your hair if you have dark hair, or on a black cap

- center your webcam on your hairs and not on your face

- for better tracking: Settings->Advanced Settings->set Region of Interest to be your hair.

- Make sure you have 30fps on your camera.

- Setting it to black&white may help too.

With these settings I never got a tracking loss and can't notice any performance hit. Even under poor lighting conditions (I have a 6mË› mirror right behind me, so it can't be worse).

Oh, and dont forget to configure the "Buttons/Assignment/Center/Center without return (instant)" button in Newview config.