I bought TrackIR a week or two ago and have found it great - when it works. Quite often and always mid-flight, TrackIr shuts down because it's done some kind of illegal operation. It shuts down, but when i start it up again its no longer recognised by FS9 so the rest of the flight continues without trackir. Restarting TrackIR doesn't make any difference, nor does unplugging it and plugging it back in again. The device says it's tracking, but FS9 doesn't respond to it. And sometimes the little green light is on but the TrackIr software says there's no device.
The only surefire way to get it to work once it's crashed whilst flying is to shut down FS9 and restart. Not optimal. All in all, very flaky. I'm going to reinstall it tonight. I've checked on the naturalpoint forums, but no one else seem to have this problem. Typical.
But likesay, when it does work, it fabulous. I've managed to pull muscles in my back and neck that I never knew i had whilst zooming around my VC cockpits. And best of all - no FPS impact at all.
Update: did a reinstall and it's working grand now. I've discovered it works best for me when i put the unit on the top right of the monitor. This allows me to scan the co-pilot side of the cockpit better!
TrackIR4 Pro
Moderators: Guru's, The Ministry
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DaveB
- The Ministry
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Totally depends what you like flying and how you fly U79. Overall, I was so impressed with mine it's now on permanent loan to a certain Mr Piper 
The major difference between warbirds and 'heavies' is that warbirds generally have reasonably shoddy views out when in 2D mode.. especially taildraggers which many tend to be. Heavies, or the majority of nosewheel a/c tend to have a good.. more complete view out in 2D. I wouldn't 'rubbish' this bit of kit. It just doesn't fit my profile and I hate wearing a hat indoors. Something too 'Chav' for me I'm afraid
ATB
DaveB :tab:
The major difference between warbirds and 'heavies' is that warbirds generally have reasonably shoddy views out when in 2D mode.. especially taildraggers which many tend to be. Heavies, or the majority of nosewheel a/c tend to have a good.. more complete view out in 2D. I wouldn't 'rubbish' this bit of kit. It just doesn't fit my profile and I hate wearing a hat indoors. Something too 'Chav' for me I'm afraid
ATB
DaveB :tab:
Old sailors never die.. they just smell that way!
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snave
IMNHO its not a question of heavies or skinnies, it's about how you fly. Track IR improves immersion by replicating effectively the kind of head movements utilised on take-off, landing and in the circuit by real pilots.
These days the heavies tend to be flown by System Managers not pilots. Windows are small, very small. Just large enough Mr Big up front can justify wearing sunglasses and allow ground staff to see hand gestures (it's the only form of communication recognised by grunt stuff, who descended a different branch of the evolutionary tree to the messianic-complex egotist at the sharp end). And airliners don't fly circuits or patterns, the Man in Charge is FAR too important to be hanging around with lesser mortals, so being stuck in an aluminium tube is barely tolerable when there are, (cough spit!), passengers in back, so ATC tend to expedite the Glorious Leaders return to Planet Earth by allowing straight-in approaches or vectors for minimum delay. All of this tends toward the system management option of flight-by-multi-function-screen, and there's not a lot of call for TrackIR freedom of movement when, in deference to the genius of the Guru-in-Charge, the screens come to him in the form of pop-ups...
Consequently there's less use for looking out the window, unless the Deity in Charge wants to see his/her own reflection (to make sure the sunglasses look good) prior to the Second Coming.
But away from the heavies, and in the oldies where time is measured in hours, not seconds, Mach number is the total raincoat compliment onboard, and a circuit is an aviating concept, not an engineering diagram, Track IR benefits almost every aspect of VC flying, especially in the turn from downwind to base, and base to final. If you fly a curved approach necessary for long-nosed single-engined fighters, or biplanes with a narrow field of view directly ahead, then Track IR is, quite literally, the difference between night and day. In day you can keep the runway in sight all through the approach and can concentrate on flying the plane. In the day you can even lean over the side to improve your visibility. In the day you can look around you and see where you are, and where others are in relation to you.
And if you are a VC flyer, then Track iR finally allows you to lean forward, sideways and around to reach switches, see partially-hidden panels, scan for traffic - and in the case of certain aircraft with fit female passengers - to look right down virtual cleavage.
Although I think maybe that last bit is just me...
These days the heavies tend to be flown by System Managers not pilots. Windows are small, very small. Just large enough Mr Big up front can justify wearing sunglasses and allow ground staff to see hand gestures (it's the only form of communication recognised by grunt stuff, who descended a different branch of the evolutionary tree to the messianic-complex egotist at the sharp end). And airliners don't fly circuits or patterns, the Man in Charge is FAR too important to be hanging around with lesser mortals, so being stuck in an aluminium tube is barely tolerable when there are, (cough spit!), passengers in back, so ATC tend to expedite the Glorious Leaders return to Planet Earth by allowing straight-in approaches or vectors for minimum delay. All of this tends toward the system management option of flight-by-multi-function-screen, and there's not a lot of call for TrackIR freedom of movement when, in deference to the genius of the Guru-in-Charge, the screens come to him in the form of pop-ups...
Consequently there's less use for looking out the window, unless the Deity in Charge wants to see his/her own reflection (to make sure the sunglasses look good) prior to the Second Coming.
But away from the heavies, and in the oldies where time is measured in hours, not seconds, Mach number is the total raincoat compliment onboard, and a circuit is an aviating concept, not an engineering diagram, Track IR benefits almost every aspect of VC flying, especially in the turn from downwind to base, and base to final. If you fly a curved approach necessary for long-nosed single-engined fighters, or biplanes with a narrow field of view directly ahead, then Track IR is, quite literally, the difference between night and day. In day you can keep the runway in sight all through the approach and can concentrate on flying the plane. In the day you can even lean over the side to improve your visibility. In the day you can look around you and see where you are, and where others are in relation to you.
And if you are a VC flyer, then Track iR finally allows you to lean forward, sideways and around to reach switches, see partially-hidden panels, scan for traffic - and in the case of certain aircraft with fit female passengers - to look right down virtual cleavage.
Although I think maybe that last bit is just me...
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DaveB
- The Ministry
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I think it's a case of each to their own mate. To say using TrackIR makes the sim more realistic has to be taken in context.. more realistic than what?? Given that when compared to a 'full motion' simulator, FSim is pretty poop even though what you see out of the windows is generally much better. 
Much of what a pilot see's of his instruments, he does so by moving his eyes so to a large extent, it could be argued that a good 2D panel is more 'realistic'. If you're a fan of VC's, you're either stuck with the cumbersome POV hat which sit's atop your joystick/yoke which will give you a limited view and is totally unrealistic or TrackIR which makes the totally unrealistic VC rather more realistic though still, IMHO not very realistic in the grand scale of things. Having to move your head rather than your eyes just doesn't work for me but for many it does and good luck to them.
While it's not the 'second coming', it does make VC's much more tolerable and is head and shoulders better than using a POV hat. Certain aircraft are much easier to fly when using one (warbirds being the obvious candidates and by warbirds I mean WWII taildraggers kitted out with a high quality VC) but for others, the story is not the same. It's a lot of money to fork out and find you don't like it and not everyone does
ATB
DaveB :tab:
Much of what a pilot see's of his instruments, he does so by moving his eyes so to a large extent, it could be argued that a good 2D panel is more 'realistic'. If you're a fan of VC's, you're either stuck with the cumbersome POV hat which sit's atop your joystick/yoke which will give you a limited view and is totally unrealistic or TrackIR which makes the totally unrealistic VC rather more realistic though still, IMHO not very realistic in the grand scale of things. Having to move your head rather than your eyes just doesn't work for me but for many it does and good luck to them.
While it's not the 'second coming', it does make VC's much more tolerable and is head and shoulders better than using a POV hat. Certain aircraft are much easier to fly when using one (warbirds being the obvious candidates and by warbirds I mean WWII taildraggers kitted out with a high quality VC) but for others, the story is not the same. It's a lot of money to fork out and find you don't like it and not everyone does
ATB
DaveB :tab:
Old sailors never die.. they just smell that way!
I have TrackIR 4 and find it most useful when flying the smaller stuff, like Rick's Chipmunk or Eddie's Spitfire. With those sorts of 'bubble' canopies, its great to be able to keep an eye on where you are relative to the airfield, simply by moving your head. Also, to be able to look round a tail-dragger's nose when taxying and to zoom in on a small gauge by bringing your face closer to the screen, is all incredibly immersive. For a combat flight sim like the IL2 series, its almost indispensable, and you're at a huge disadvantage if you go to online-playing without it.
When it comes to the bigger stuff, like airliners, I stick to 2D views with a hat switch. The view out is a bit more restricted ( less glass around you, if you see what I mean ), the view forward is better ( with a nose wheel anyway ) and checking your six just reveals a a load of people staring back at you.
I think it was definitely money well spent.
When it comes to the bigger stuff, like airliners, I stick to 2D views with a hat switch. The view out is a bit more restricted ( less glass around you, if you see what I mean ), the view forward is better ( with a nose wheel anyway ) and checking your six just reveals a a load of people staring back at you.
I think it was definitely money well spent.
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DaveB
- The Ministry
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I agree with that wholeheartedly Paul At the end of the day, I don't fly the small stuff enough.. Rick asked me if I wanted to sell it.. I didn't (just in case) but thought he might make more use of it than I was so I let him have it on loan
They're pretty fair for Helo's too if that's your bag. You can poke your head out of the window to check you're right on the 'H'
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DaveB :tab:
At the end of the day, I don't fly the small stuff enough.. Rick asked me if I wanted to sell it.. I didn't (just in case) but thought he might make more use of it than I was so I let him have it on loan They're pretty fair for Helo's too if that's your bag. You can poke your head out of the window to check you're right on the 'H'
ATB
DaveB :tab:
Old sailors never die.. they just smell that way!