FreeTrack

wrote:
> I've had to play around a lot with the response curves to find
> something comfortable. You can amplify the response, or make it close
> to reality. You can also apply dead zones and non-linear response.
> Control over the viewpoint movement is fairly complete.
>
> But you are right. The viewpoint changes on the monitor as you turn
> your head, but you still have to look toward the center of the
> screen. The only way past that problem is a head mounted display.
> (Side note: Can you believe it's going on 2010 now and there still
> aren't good and cheap HMD's?!? I wouldn't have believed it if you'd
> told me that 10 years ago).

I've seen some guys flying model planes using a camera mounted on a
gimbal, on the nose of the plane, and a head mounted VR helmet display,
which seemed to work brilliantly. You're right to suggest it isn't
cheap, though. For example:

http://www.rc-tech.ch/web/index.php

> All I can say is that your mind can apparently adapt to this sort of
> thing. For me it seemed pretty intuitive after just a few minutes.
> One thing about my setup is I'm also using TH2Go. It's kind of nice
> to be able to approach apexes that aren't lost in or have to jump
> across the gap between the screens. I think the hottest ticket might
> be a large format LCD plus head tracking.
>
> As far as head tracking being more real or not, I've been concerned
> for a while about how much I rely on the relatively static location of
> the simulated cockpit as a gauge to hit my marks. When I got in that
> kart last week it was very apparent. Without the fixed frame of
> reference of the monitor edges it just felt wierd, and was difficult
> to hit marks at first. Like adapting to thing in a simulation, it
> only took a few laps to start feeling more at home, but there is
> definitely a disconnect there between real race driving and sim racing
> with a fixed POV.

Unfortunately I can't afford the real world, but I know what you mean -
the first example that springs to mind being the braking point on top of
the hill at Watkins Glen, where you brake just after the advert board
disappears from the screen which doesn't work in real life, I guess.

--
Phil

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tmc1979/

On Apr 28, 8:41*am, wrote:
> On Apr 26, 5:10*am, Tony R >
> wrote:
>
> Yea, you are surely right. *There is no way that head tracking with a
> fixed monitor mirrors reality. *It's still cool, but probably needs to
> be consigned to flight sims.
>
> I'm still wishing for good HMD's.
>
> --
> Pat Dotson

I have TrackIR and it's difficult to get used to. I've only
experimented with the settings and haven't gone to full use in a
virtual race car.

The trouble is that it doesn't track your eye movement, but rather
your head movement. So your neck/head is determining where you look
on-screen. A friend of mine drives with a lot of body English, so his
view bounces all around unexpectedly.

I'm pretty sure that you should be able to adjust the sensitivity
(it's variable through the range of movement of the head) so that
looking to the apex takes a large change of head angle, and then
looking further to the side to see if a car is beside you takes a
smaller further angle change.

Bob Simpson

On Apr 29, 10:58*am, Bob Simpson > wrote:
>
> I'm pretty sure that you should be able to adjust the sensitivity
> (it's variable through the range of movement of the head) so that
> looking to the apex takes a large change of head angle, and then
> looking further to the side to see if a car is beside you takes a
> smaller further angle change.

Freetrack (and TrackIR I expect) provide a graphical representation of
the response curve for each axis of movement. So yes, you can do
exactly what you decribe. You can also apply a dead zone so that you
get no movement in POV while your head is near straight ahead.

You can also turn off any axis completely. I'm set up for six degrees
of freedom right now. For racing I turn off roll and longitudinal
response. I've tried it with and without lateral and vertical
response. For serious racing I'd probably only use yaw and pitch
response with a large "soft" zone as Freetrack calls it, which is a
non-linear response curve like Bob described.

For flight sims you can turn all six axes on without much concern.
It's cool to be able to lean over and look downward out of the side
window. You can also sit up straighter and look down on the nose of
the plane.

Pat Dotson