Track IR problems

[Urchin]

This is a repost of the General Discussion post.  Having the same problem as Octavius with the POV feeling as if my guy is back up into the cockpit glass when I look sideways, and into the seat when I look up.

Got a couple issues with trackIR still. Had it about a month, I'm starting to get used to it finally.

One huge issue is my POV seems to move "away" from where ever I am looking. Backwards. So if I look straight up (which with a hat is a clear view in almost every plane, or can be made to be), it is almost like my guy lays down in his seat and then looks up. If I look out the left side, it is like my guy backs up against the right side of the cockpit, then looks left. Is there any way to stop this from happening? I've tried my own profile and Mace's (I did look around on the forums before I asked this) - both profiles do the moving backwards thing.. it is really irritating.

Another problem I have is that the thing seems to lose tracking when I look to the left sometimes. Is there anything I can do to increase the sensitivity of it so this does not happen?

Any help is appreciated, tons. Thanks in advance.

[Urchin]

This is a quote of Oct's post.

"Ah crap, Urchin you have the same problem as me. To be honest I never pinpointed a source, but I following may variables may be the culprit:

1) orientation of the tracking camera - mine used to slide around due to lack of USB cord length... until I taped it down.

2) inconsistent location of head - my chair is on wheels and can't seem to 'find the sweet spot' in relation to the camera every time.

3) position of hat and clip - the clip would fly off at times and it would not be centered on the brim of my hat. Also the centering of my hat would also change, so the clip position would again become incorrect and off center.

So basically the setup would have very minor alterations each time I got settled in to fly. These alterations would cause huge annoyances. I discovered the comfortable position of a hat on my head never really had the center of the brim in line between my eyes and on the center of forehead, so that was a starting point. It drove me nuts for a while until I realized there was also a big difference in the camera position as well as my seat position in addition to the hat/clip orientation.

I had to get used to the software update a few years ago (2004?), and after that it never felt like my yaw and pitch were moving with respect to pivot point, rather it felt as if this point turned into a point along a radius in front of the point, causing annoyance. And more recently it became asymmetrical and inconsistent -- I would look right and it felt very good, very natural -- then I would look left and it would do the 'back up into cockpit glass' deal. If any of the aforementioned variables were not right, I discovered, the 'pivot around a radius' would be exaggerated along one half of an axis.

I never did find a method to finding my sweet spot. Every so often I'd sit down in a particular spot, adjust my hat, adjust my clip, and if need be, adjust the camera position on top of my massive CRT (I now have an LCD and it no longer moves), and everything would work out. I can only suggest messing around with every variable until you find something that works good for you. Once you find it - take a sharpie or tape and mark every position -- your hat, clip position on hat, camera position, chair position, position relevant to moon, position relevant to sun, position relevant to pluto, etc. Then simply duplicate the process each time you fly.


Sorry for the wall-o-text, but it really seems like it's hit or miss with this stuff.

[edit: Sit down for big adjustment sessions with AH closed. Use the 'view head' to compare all six axes, you'll be amazed at how off it is between physical adjustments in front of the camera.]

"

[Speed55]

The  way i did it was to set up the profile to my liking, save it, and then test it offline. It's basically trial and error until your satisfied.
 
Use the "head" for a basic visual reference on how you'll see things in game,  and the gauges to make your adjustments on the scaling, and deadband.  Sometimes it's better to raise the entire scale up or down.    

If its twitchy, it could be that the device isn't centered on your monitor, or you have too much light in the room throwing it off.   Also make sure you check the appropriate box for headphones, or hat.

[Mace2004]

The feeling that your head moves backwards is probably due to the way you center TIR.  First thing (and I'm surprised no one mentioned it) is to make sure you have TIR center mapped to an easy to use button assigned as center (F12) prefereably on the stick or throttle.  This way, you can adjust for different seating positions or changes as you play.  

Next, if you lean forward while centering, TIR thinks that your normal head position is at the leaned forward spot so when you relax back into your real seating position it sees this as pulling back so your in-game head is toward the back.  As someone described, this is like having the pivot point in front and your head describing an arc behind that point.  Personnally, this is the way I like it.  (Interestingly enough, this is exactly what you do in a real cockpit during ACM, you push back away from the direction you're looking for a better view.)  I always lean a little forward and down for centering.  This moves your in-game head toward the back of the cockpit and up giving better visibility around the canopy bows.  When checking six, my in-game head is toward the front of the cockpit giving much better views around the headrest (although the F-4U and 109F are somewhat problematic).

If you're having problems with TIR acting differently when looking left than when looking right, assuming you're wearing the reflectors correctly, the problem is most likely that you're straying outside of the camera's field of view.  Call up the "Tracking" view in TIR and make sure the camera can clearly see all three reflectors as you move your head around as you do in the game.  If this is the problem then try to move your camera back a bit if you can although this may also mean moving the monitor away from you a bit.

[Urchin]

Mace -

Thanks for responding.  I do have a button mapped to center trackIR, on my throttle.  I did find some older threads about trackIR, so I also have a button mapped that forces me to look along the centerline.  

I also read the advice about scooting forward and down a bit when centering to get a better view "over the nose" when you are just sitting there.  It works, so I do that too.

I had problems with the clip ends straying out of view of the camera, actually moving the monitor closer to me fixed that (I tend to sit back into my chair, which was putting the ends out of view when I moved my head left).

I have a LOT of trouble in 109s, specifically with looking up and looking back, although looking to the side tends to suck as well, since I catch the seat in the view which blanks out about the back 1/4 of it.  I'll have to make a film to show you all what is going on, it is incredibly frustrating.  

I don't really have the same problem in the 190s, in spite of the massive cockpit bars in the front, the rest of the cockpit is nice and open, not cluttered up with bars like the 109.

[Urchin]

I think it might be tough for me to make a film of it... doesn't look like AH film viewer keeps track of trackIR views.

[Lusche]

Use fraps. The free version captures up to 30seconds. Go offline, look around & film it.

[Urchin]

What is a decent place to put a short video for free?