Thinking about TrackIR

[Bad31st]

I'm thinking about buying TrackIR 4 Pro and was wondering if TIR would negativly impact the games performance on my current computer.

My current machine is kind of old but runs AH pretty well(frames in the 20-30 range fairly consistantly) considering the age of the machine

Basic system Specs are as follows...

AMD XP 1800
512 DDR (forget the clock speed)
ATI Radeon (forgot model) 256MB...

(I just realized what an antique I'm running and yes I will be building a new machine over the next few months)

[HomeBoy]

I'd be surprised if you didn't have performance problems.  Natural Point claims TIR doesn't require that much power but I have my doubts.  Mine did not run smooth until I went to the Conroe.  I had an AMD 2500+ before what I have now and had performance issues with TIR4.

Just my opinion of course.  You may have no problems at all.  But hey, look at it this way, you buy the TIR4 and if it doesn't perform well you can say:  "Honey, I can't help it;   I've got to upgrade my computer to get this darn track ir thing to work right!"  She might fall for that.

[Fulmar]

Originally posted by HomeBoy
Just my opinion of course.  You may have no problems at all.  But hey, look at it this way, you buy the TIR4 and if it doesn't perform well you can say:  "Honey, I can't help it;   I've got to upgrade my computer to get this darn track ir thing to work right!"  She might fall for that.

I have a hard enough time dodging the "you're such a dork/geek" comments.

[LuDdiTte]

I got one last X-mas and have used it about 4 X. I hardly ever play anymore. The Natural pPoint hat is sitting up on the cabinet above my rig gathering dust. Anyone wanna take it off my hands?
I played mostly in the 8 player uder the names Onyer6, and more recently, oilslick. Cheers and good hunting, Will. E-mail me if you can i don't get here much.

[Snubby]

if my TIR broke, I would quit this game till i bought a new one.

once you have it is without a doubt, one of those "how did I ever get along without this" gadgets.

[Chalenge]

I didnt even notice a performance hit. I cant even tell its there except that I get mad whenever I touch my coolie hat.

ASUS A8N-32 SLI Deluxe AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+

[Jappa52]

I have had mine for about a month now.  Havent had any problems except I cant fly a corsair now due to the fact  that I cant see anything from about 4:00 to 8:00  It kills my SA and me for that matter .  Is there a trick or setting I can change to see better??

[Snubby]

Originally posted by Jappa52
I have had mine for about a month now.  Havent had any problems except I cant fly a corsair now due to the fact  that I cant see anything from about 4:00 to 8:00  It kills my SA and me for that matter .  Is there a trick or setting I can change to see better??

his is my ONLY gripe as well,

in fact somebody made a thread addressing this EXACT issue,  asking if the developers could address this problem, but I cant find it due to the STUPID limitations of the search feature  (cant type "IR" or "TIR" can only search by typing "track" and searching.. 300 pages of threads)

the problem is that.. unlike in real life, in AH you have to make a retarded movement to look behind you, because just turning your head, spins your neck on axis instead of leaning you out and back like you would in real life..

I lean left, then turn my head right to check behind me..

its totally counterintuitive but it works..

[Lusche]

Originally posted by Snubby

the problem is that.. unlike in real life, in AH you have to make a retarded movement to look behind you, because just turning your head, spins your neck on axis instead of leaning you out and back like you would in real life..

I lean left, then turn my head right to check behind me..

its totally counterintuitive but it works..

Quick question: You have TrackIR object Relative Move checked in AH2 options?

[Lusche]

Originally posted by Jappa52
I have had mine for about a month now.  Havent had any problems except I cant fly a corsair now due to the fact  that I cant see anything from about 4:00 to 8:00  It kills my SA and me for that matter .  Is there a trick or setting I can change to see better??

I don't know your exact setup, but in case you are too close to the headrest after you turned you head:

I do always lean forward (and a bit down), then center gunsight. This has two benefits:

- first, I have the highest point of vision when flying in a "relaxed" sitting position, good for overall view. As I have some kind of natural reflex to lean closer to the screen when aiming for an enemy, my gunsight is perfectly in my view then

- second, when I turn my head to watch my six, my virtual head in game automatically moves away from the headrest, giving me a broader field of view.


EDIT:

I just hopped into a F4U-1a to see if there are any differences in rear view between TIR views and standard Hat views.
Amazingly, the maximum field of view is much wider in hatview - never noticed that:

With standard HAT view:


With TIR view

[Snubby]

Originally posted by Lusche
Quick question: You have TrackIR object Relative Move checked in AH2 options?

yea, initially I started with it off, because that seems to be what most people like, but looking behind and around the headset, for me at least, is much easier with it enabled.

[Lusche]

Originally posted by Snubby
yea, initially I started with it off, because that seems to be what most people like, but looking behind and around the headset, for me at least, is much easier with it enabled.

Hmm you may in fact be the odd exception, as I find it highly unnatural and absolutely non-intuitive when enabled.

But here one can see again that TIR setups are highly depending on personal preferences, more than with any other controller.

[Jappa52]

Thx Lusche! Those pictures have given me hope!  When my trackir arrived with no instructions I gave it the old, "Instructions?...... I don’t need no stinkin instructions!:D ".  After messing around with the standard AH profile I created my own and adjusted the pitch, yaw, roll etc. Everything’s been great and it adds so much more to the game (If they had this for xbox or ps3 they would make a mint!!) but like i said, only a few aircraft give me problems.  I don't know if I have 'relative mode' turned on or off in AH but will check it out this evening.

[Dichotomy]

Good info lusche.. thanks

Bad 31 it's a matter of preference IMHO but I fell in love with mine day one.  But it does take some getting used to and you might actually get some 'motion' sickness initially.

[Jappa52]

Thanks for the info Lusche.  I switched relative mode on and it is working great.  I do have one more question:  When flying bombers with the trackIR on everything is fine until I go to jump in the bomb sight.  It won’t pull up that view unless I go to windows and close trackIR.  I have checked my profiles and made sure the buttons are set correctly and have tried turning trackIR off by pressing Ctrl-F5 but so far no dice.  Any suggestions?