Use face tracking ability for adding more depth to the game

[Leen]

Today I receive a PS eye cam from Delan engineering and the differents between the Logitech c290 with max 30fps and the PS eye cam 100fps is huge.
Razor sharp view without any jaggie lines what the problem was of the logitech cam, no more stuttering or lags, I was surprised about the differents.
The turning are smooth and realistic without stuttering, now I don't use facetracknoir anymore but opentrack which is even a free track ir software.

[seekil]

Hey there community!

Four years have gone by since the original post.

During these four years I've gone through from using FaceTrackNoIR's face tracking capability ("faceAPI") to FTNoIR's PointTracker for which I prepared myself a few not-so-great infared-led systems (one was a baseball cap version, another 3D printed "headband") but both left me with a sort of unfinished feeling. There were some small quirks that always took a portion out of the immersion and fun having to constantly adjust either of the system so I could continue playing. And after I had spent quite some time to get to finally test these two "production" versions and realizing that they just weren't good enough, I didn't have the interest in me to spend the extra time nor money to fiddle with those home-made facetracking systems.

As I happen to be an avid player of other simulator games I finally adopted the TrackIR 5 system and have been most pleased ever since. I have to tell you that had I not gone the way of using the time and money (around 40-50 €) for the two home-made versions I could've gone with the TrackIR 5 much sooner. TIR 5 might seem costly but it quickly becomes rather cheap at least if you now take note and don't follow the same path that I took where I actually spent 220-230 € to get me a decent face tracking system when I could've gotten one with 180 € in the first place.

For some time it was fun to fiddle with those home-made versions but having to realize that it just isn't worth the time and money I had to think of something else.


So there's an awkward transition to the notification that I probably won't be updating the original post ever again. Luckily I have updated it last year, so hopefully it will be relevant for some time still.

Good luck to you all and remember to look around you when you're delivering those cargos around the world!

[Reinhard]

I bought my first TrackIR 5 sometimes in 2009. Five years it served me well, then it slowly degraded. Finally it went dead, the little window in the back revealed that the chip got toasted. I ordered a new one the same day.

The "Track clip pro" works very good, especially if the lighting conditions in your room aren't perfect. If they are, the gadget without LED lights may be enough. But I do need the powered clip for sure.

That clip is also a second buy. Attached to a headphone, I had the headphone/clip combo sent to the floor one time to often. I patched-up and glued that flimsy construction again and again, before, but finally it was really in a sad condition.

I couldn't even think to play the game without TrackIR. But the clip is really a bad joke. It should be made out of aluminium or similar. And it is in very need of a battery instead of that stupid power-cord. I attached it to a wireless headphone which now is tied to a cable!

The whole stuff is way overpriced. But there seems to be no real alternative, so I would buy it again. A good competitor could work wonder, I guess.

[Leen]

I made my ir cap for about 14 euro and use it for years now, the PS eye is so much better than a normal webcam and together. With the newest facetracknoir v200 + plugin pack (include the newest pointracker) there is no any issue with it.

[Reinhard]

No clue how it is with the facetracknoir project today. I decided against to use it in the days of ETS 1 when I learned that it would kill some FPS while the TrackIR solution was far less costly in terms of performance. That may have changed, no idea. In those days it was really face-tracking only, and no IR, I suppose.

[Mohegan13]

facetracknoir is now a paid product which is unfortunate.

I find it to be no better or worse than it used to be. Although in my case I could really use an IR clip set-up as my room is not the best for lighting. It's okay during the day, but once the twilight hours come it's pretty much useless.

Leen I would be very interested to know how you made the IR cap, battery type and longevity. I can pick up a PS Eye for £7.

[Leen]

On the freetrack website you can find a tutorial with part numbers, on the website of delanengineering you can find which PS eye you need because there are two types and how you can mod it.

http://www.delanengineering.com/how-it-works/

http://www.free-track.net/english/freetrack/manuel.php

The paid facetracknoir is much more stabile than the v170 version in my opinion, it cost a few euros to get it.

[Komat]

But the clip is really a bad joke. It should be made out of aluminium or similar.

Delan engineering is selling a steel clip compatible with Track IR.

[Reinhard]

Thank you. Yes, I'm aware of it. But it looks like some skilled hobbyist's work. Not like a mass-product. But certainly better than when I would try.

If it had support for batteries instead of USB, I would be tempted. Now I would have to reconsider the situation if my clip would cease. Not sure.

In Germany, I could have the original for € 44,99 with no additional shipping costs. The Delan would be € 25.50 plus 12.35 shipping, a total of 34,85. Ten Euros saved, for me, as of today.

Seems to be very different when it comes to shipping costs, depending where you sit and from where it is sent. And how the British Pound is doing in comparison to the Euro.

[Mohegan13]

That's exactly what it is. A hobbyists work, that's why they are made to order and not mass produced.