Facetrack NoIR for head tracking in EM

[Beta_ver]

Hello all !
I found this topic on the steam forum :
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/s ... ?t=2502188

I'm trying to get this to run on current version, Facetrack NoIR, 1.70.

For those like me that ignored the existence of this free SW, it is a gnu license, it makes face movement detection from a simple webcam, then emulates a track IR system to be used in game. EM is in the list of tested games, but that was with a previous version.

I've succeeded in setting up proper movement detection, activated 3D head tracking in the game, now trying to make this thing work and struggling a bit.

If anyone has any hints as of how to configure the game or the tracker sw, I'm a taker ...
should some axis be mapped or ?
Any special protocol configuration on freetrack 2.0 ?
What am I doing wrong ?

Anyways, I'll keep trying and document if I succeed, if not done already.
Thanks in advance for any help and see you in space.

[Ohsirus]

Personally nothing can compare to TrackIr with the LED pro clip.

[Rubber Chicken]

I do believe there is a thread about this already lurking in some corner of the forum.

I tried it a long time ago but had limited results due to the fact that my laptop was inadequate. I did have a few golden moments in-game when it work as advertised, and to this day I still lust for a suitable head tracking device/software. Maybe once I get a new pair of glasses and that guitar amp I've been eyeing up, I'll invest in a TrackIr. I think that I'd prefer that over the NoIr simply because it's a more developed piece of equipment. NoIr seemed to be a bit sketchy for reliable results as far as I could tell.

[Beta_ver]

OK got this to work pretty well.
number one issue with this system is the lighting.
For this to work properly, you have to have good FPS from the webcam, which means good lighting.
Once I put a light straight in my face, the face position tracking worked quite well ... Nice when you play in a dark area or at night ... No go on this for me.

On Facetrack, you have to select freetrack 2.0 in the game protocol, then edit settings from automatic to show track IR / hide free track.
Of course you have to enable 3D head tracking in the options in EM, and that's it.

In game it works pretty well, but I guess you got to get used to it.

On top of the fact that you have to have a light in your face when you play, the movement of the hud vs cockpit doesn't behave well on my system, it's quite ugly as hud get offset from cockpit elements, but I haven't tried with the default cockpit as I use my modded one. On top of this the compass/top menu bar disappears when you look too far away from the center, and I have to change views to get it back, even if I put my head back in line. Maybe related to the modding again though.

So in the event that one can get a low light webcam that have good fps in the dark or normal indoors lighting conditions, then this might be a good option to try, when good conditions were gathered, the system worked quite well, all directions were followed quite precisely, and the curves can be adjusted to match desired sensitivity across the range on all axis. Could not test the zoom when moving head forward. Worked better than I thought it would, provided I had a spotlight on my face.

For my part I won't be using this for now for the reasons aforementioned, and would rather go towards a dedicated track IR system, as Osirus and Rubber Chicken advised, would I decide to go forward with the head tracking solution ... which may happen not so far from now.

Cheers.

[SeeJay]

I've tried it as well, but it required to much FPS and that affected the game.
I also had to have very good light in the room. I want it dark when I fly in Space!;)

Not very useful for me!