Head Tracking Confirmed for GT5!!!

  • Thread starter turbomp301
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Devedander
A deadzone in tracking response sounds good but I think in practice it doesn't work so well. When I used head tracking the distance you could really turn your head and still look at the screen was pretty small, giving up enough of that to gain back some freedom of head movement would eat up quite a bit of it leaving you not much fine control with the rest of your available movement.
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You do realise existing headtracking systems have adjustable deadzones, rotatation, translation, smoothing and sensitivity don't you? I must admit that it does take about an hour to really get used to, and I'd implore you to stick with it if you can.

I use Free Track, and I'd say there were too many parables that could be adjusted, and it took a very long time to settle on a comfortable profile. But once set, it's very intuitive and easy to use.

How that will translate to GT5 and PS3, however, I don't know. Even if there are sliders, I can't see it being that complicated, so it may well be hard to find an ideal setup for some. Being able to look towards the apex in some capacity will definitely be a plus though.
 
Spagetti69
Can't wait to track my head.
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smile.gif
 
Dijital Majik
You do realise existing headtracking systems have adjustable deadzones, rotatation, translation, smoothing and sensitivity don't you? I must admit that it does take about an hour to really get used to, and I'd implore you to stick with it if you can.
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I realize all that and I used a few headtracking programs and reached the same conclusion with all of them... they were uncomfortable to use for very long at a time and the functionality was difficult to get used to and never really intuitive.

I could never decide if it was actually worse having it... the ability to rotate the camera was useful sometimes but the only times it didn't directly hamper my ability to steer properly was on straights and in those situations simply having a button mapped to look to either side was actually better as it was at least alwasy the exact same angle so easier to quickly judge the scene from.

shadynader
Who said anything about a wheel?
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I did.

You say it seems obvious it will be button activated and I say it's pretty obvious GT has a lot of wheel users and it would be bad for them to say the least.

I am guessing you have never actually used head tracking in any games, am I right?
 
Devedander
am I right?
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Nope your wrong.

My dad owns/owned one for his flight simulators, he had his set to a hot key, when pressed it was engaged, press it again it was disengaged.

Have you used one? I ask because it sounds like your not familiar with the advanced options the software allows.

As for the steering wheel, i guess it just comes down to the skill level of the user then doesnt it?
 
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I have used head tracking extensively in flight sims (Falcon, mainly) and driving sims (LFS, mainly). It transformed the experience for me. Immersion was greatly improved, though there were a few issues, which cannot be over-come with programming.

The system I use is TrackIR4 Pro. Although the experience is generally positive, the main problem is actually in the required head movement! It feels unnatural to turn your head, yet keep your eyes facing forward. This takes some getting used to, and you must closely calibrate your head movement to the camera movement, with a ratio that allows more movement in the virtual camera.

Secondary are the requirements to have something to "track" (i.e. the 3 red lights on the head-set boom for TrackIR4 Pro), and the extra processing power to handle the exercise. Though I am sure PS3 has sufficient power to process head-tracking, I do wonder what the camera will be tracking. Presumably, the PS3-Eye will need be close, in front of the driver, with narrow angle selected. Top of the TV set would be sensible (where mine is). Even then, preview what the camera "sees", and I wonder how this can be effectively implemented.

I also wonder which axis will be supported. X only?

Despite all this, during my most recent drives in LFS, I have opted to use only the subtle yet very effective "look to apex", which works very well. I do hope GT5 will have this as a selectable feature.

Head-tracking not only allows a better view of what's ahead, but also what's behind. Where the mirrors are positioned in many of GT5:P's cars, you can only see part of them when using driver-cam (I only ever use driver-cam). This can be really frustrating. In LFS, the rear-view mirror is freely moveable, but with a fixed rear-view mirror, as in GT5, head-tracking will allow the driver to make better use of it, improving situational awareness, which improves the race, etc. etc.
 
alfredchiwai
Sorry, I haven't played LFS. What's "look to apex"?
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"Look to Apex" is a setting in many PC driving games (some console) that automatically turns the drivers head slightly when turning, so your point of view is effectively looking towards the apex of the turn.

It's a great way to get some of the positive effects of "head tracking" without the negatives.




;)
 
shadynader
Nope your wrong.

My dad owns/owned one for his flight simulators, he had his set to a hot key, when pressed it was engaged, press it again it was disengaged.

Have you used one? I ask because it sounds like your not familiar with the advanced options the software allows.

As for the steering wheel, i guess it just comes down to the skill level of the user then doesnt it?
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I said in that post I have used head tracking for driving games. I have used the LED light based ones (FreeTrack/TRACK IR) ones, I have used the facial recognition software (the name evades me and it was pretty poor) and I have used them specifically in racing games

Also I have noted before in flight sims it's a whole different thing and actually works quite well because you aren't handling split second steering decisions like in a racing game.

So let me rephrase that, I take it you haven't used head tracking in any racing games?

Because up until now, head tracking has been an exclusive PC feature, and since pretty much any racing on a PC is done via a wheel (BTW part of why I mentioned effecting wheel players) hot keying head tracking is not something I have ever seen done due to the clunkiness involved with using a wheel.

Despite being the same technology, the effectiveness of head tracking in my experience is vastly different between the genres of games (flight sim and racing) kind of how a flightstick works great for flying and poorly for racing. Having done one doesn't really equate to experience with the other.
 
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Look, you said head tracking could cause problems to the neck for some people. I presented the sensible solution, the solution which is already available for PC users and the solution that i think will be in the game. From that original post i assumed you did not know of this option, in fact i still think you were none the wiser up until i mentioned this.

In regards to your problem with using this technique with a steering wheel, as i said it comes down to the skill of the driver, not whether you or I have the skill, or if you think its feasible or not. Also, don't try to over complicate things with poor examples. 👍
 
shadynader
Look, you said head tracking could cause problems to the neck for some people. I presented the sensible solution, the solution which is already available for PC users and the solution that i think will be in the game. From that original post i assumed you did not know of this option, in fact i still think you were none the wiser up until i mentioned this.

In regards to your problem with using this technique with a steering wheel, as i said it comes down to the skill of the driver, not whether you or I have the skill, or if you think its feasible or not. Also, don't try to over complicate things with poor examples. 👍
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We need eyeball tracking!!! :lol: 👍

Edit: Oh and -1 for the rude vibe
 
shadynader
Look, you said head tracking could cause problems to the neck for some people. I presented the sensible solution, the solution which is already available for PC users and the solution that i think will be in the game. From that original post i assumed you did not know of this option, in fact i still think you were none the wiser up until i mentioned this.

In regards to your problem with using this technique with a steering wheel, as i said it comes down to the skill of the driver, not whether you or I have the skill, or if you think its feasible or not. Also, don't try to over complicate things with poor examples. 👍
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All I can say is I did test head tracking fairly extensively with driving games a couple of years ago.

What I get is that your dad had a flight sim setup with head tracking that you witnessed and maybe even used.

I can tell you (having used head tracking for flightsims allbeit very shortly) that the two do not relate well in user experience at all. In a flightsim the useability is much higher.

Please actually try it with a driving game (when I tested it there were solutions that didn't involve LEDs that really did face tracking, however required very good lighting to be effective) and then come back and respond.

Your ideas and comments are all fine and dandy in a theoretical way, but as is the case with so many things, it's not until you actually experience it in action that you realize what the ins and outs truly are.
 
Very neat. I honestly don't see the value of this in actual gameplay/racing, but very neat nonetheless. Would be an awesome feature to have on GT's photo mode, don't you think?

Imagine walking around the car in GT's beautiful scenarios.
 
Yea, a lot of it is just not going to work. But, the head-tracking is something to be admired.

Please let this be confirmed. I will buy a pseye immediately.
 
irnbrutwinturbo
Interesting take on head tracking by everyones favourite

For discussion, not flaming, please.
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That does look nice and the head-tracking feature looks to be implemented effectively and subtle at the same time.
The walking around the car bit looks to be a great feature, although to be honest a bit much ( although that might just me being extremely lazy ).
But if only to show off to friends what's possible it certainly is impressive.
Can't wait to see what GT5 has in store now, hope they can raise the pressure and not drop the ball....:)
 
irnbrutwinturbo
Interesting take on head tracking by everyones favourite


For discussion, not flaming, please.
Click to expand...

Does anyone else have a problem using a controller to navigate their way around a game? I mean, do I have to get out of my seat and pretend to walk around a virtual car? But to do that wouldn't I need a TV I can walk behind? Kind off like a Spherical TV? Rubbish idea. This Kinect thingy just seems very cumbersome to me, maybe if I had no fingers or hands, then yes I can maybe see the advantage of this.

The thing that totally rubbished the whole concept for me was the little girl and the tiger, she was acting like the tiger was licking her face, I mean seriously, how stupid do MS think we are?

I'll stick with my G25 and DS3 thank you very much, I honestly never thought Turn10 would get involved with this gimmick, then again, it speaks volumes about the Forza series.

Lets face it guy's, there is only, and has only ever been, one serious racing game/simulator and we all know it's name.
 
I know it sounds a tad fanboy'ish but I agree with you TheDoctor :P
 
alba
I know it sounds a tad fanboy'ish but I agree with you TheDoctor :P
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It honestly wasn't meant in a fanboyish way, but to me, this would work fine if you had a Virtual Reality headset (circa 1980's) strapped to your bonce.

But have you guy's tried lifting a plasma or lcd TV recently, you'd need the neck of an F1 driver to get this Kinect thing to feel right, I mean, the guy in the demo isn't walking around anything, he's leaning closer to it, someone somewhere behind the scenes is using a controller to move around the car, pretty lame.
 
To navigate around the car you can use the controller, besides whenever the guy press the button in mid air to view the dashboard or headlight, it play a video.. It was lame..

All I liked is head tracking which GT5 will have with EYE toy, LESS expensive over 180 USD Kinect

No46_TheDoctor
I'll stick with my G25 and DS3 thank you very much, I honestly never thought Turn10 would get involved with this gimmick, then again, it speaks volumes about the Forza series.

Lets face it guy's, there is only, and has only ever been, one serious racing game/simulator and we all know it's name.
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This is why they rush Forza games, they allow Microsoft to baby sit them for too long.

Look at PD, sure GT5 takes so much time, but the game will be 100X more polished then Forza will ever be!
 
That was some pretty sick little graphics. I wonder how many discs the game would be if all the cars had to be modeled like that :)

" To view next car please insert next disc."

Nonetheless that was cool.
 
In my theoretical world, head tracking will be more of a nuisance than a benefit. I, for one, like jumping all over the room as I play, and I just don't see any H/T system being able to compensate for that to any real degree.

-G

edit: MS are a bunch of gimmick jockeys.
 

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