Tracknoir

[Adger 87]

Hi fellas,just picking up on a comment made by pol about tracknoir,has anybody used tracknoir with off?ive been looking at different sites which claim

that a ps3 eye camera will yield exceptional results,i really want to be able to play this incredible sim at full realism,but trackir is a bit out of my price range at the moment

so im just asking if anybody has used tracknoir with ps3 eye and if so is it recommended many many thanks guys

[+elephant 36]

I think he's talking about FaceTrackNoIR.

I have this programm but, I haven't make succesfull use of it yet...

I'm getting a .ddl missing error all the time... and the programm fails to launch!

[Lewie 7]

I think he's talking about FaceTrackNoIR.

I have this programm but, I haven't make succesfull use of it yet...

I'm getting a .ddl missing error all the time... and the programm fails to launch!

 

It might need a couple of .dll's from TrackIR's older version's free downloads. I believe these files are the TIRVeiws.dll and the KeyBDHook.dll. Freetrack also needs these files to work with CFS3-OFF.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Lewie

[Adger 87]

http://facetracknoir.sourceforge.net/ is the site for the product unc,might just grab a webcam an try it,nowt to lose reallyand i quick vid showing it using the ps3 eye camera

hope me posting this vid is ok :wink2:

Edited June 2, 2011 by Adger1971

[Lewie 7]

Correct and it would be interesting to find out the all abouts. Does anyone know if a website exists, if not . . Free-Track has been around since Phase 2. The idea is many don't have $150

 

The 'all abouts' are pretty easy. Download Freetrack or Tracknoir and install. Then get a copy of TrackIR version 3 or 4's free downloads from NaturalPoint's Downloads page and install it into a folder separate from Program Files pathway. I'd do it off the root of C:\.

 

Copy the .dll's, I've listed, from TrackIR's own directory into the root of either Freetrack or Tracknoir and run the program. You should see it in either program's set up page as a 'TIRViews' check box. Select it only. Delete the TrackIR folder or uninstall it. Make sure your webcam works natively under Windows without needing a separate program to run, before using the tracking programs. Set up as usual.

 

That's how I got Freetrack to work. I'm continually amazed that the makers of either FreeTrack or Tracknoir don't do an in-depth step by step of how to set up their programs, it' would save lots of bandwidth on their user forums. They are well aware of how to do it but you an find dozens of post about how some newbie can't get their setup to work because of these two missing .dll's. It's asinine.

[Adger 87]

Thanks very much Lewie,im goin pick up ps3 eye webcam an take it from there, many thanks

Edited June 2, 2011 by Adger1971

[vonOben 55]

More info about FaceTrackNoIR and OFF in this topic:

 

http://combatace.com/topic/60032-ot-facetracknoir/page__hl__facetracknoir

 

Cheers

 

vonOben

[+elephant 36]

Thanks Lewie and vonOben!

I'll try properly installing the missing ddl files and try it tommorow...

[Lewie 7]

Well take it all with a bit of enlightened sodium chloride.

 

I think the reason I got Freetrack to work well on my 'puter is that I've set mine up with the simple, 2 axis, single LED track device. And my camera is an ancient Aiptek webcam which has been in Windows legacy Cab files since the Win2K dinosaur days. It's a slow camera though at 25 FPS and it drops quite a few frames at times to jitter. The basic freetrack single LED setup uses hardly any CPU overhead and I lose maybe a couple of FPS's in gameplay, which I'd expect that NoirTrack would be more rescource hungry because it has more CPU clock cycles tied to face recognition shapes, instead of a keeping track of a few little bright spots moving around.

 

Making the LED device should be easy, I can find little LED keychain lights at our local dollar store, they run for hours on the little coin-cells. Converting them over to something more rechargeable shouldn't be a big deal, as the same bargain stores sometimes have little USB Li-Ion auxiliary batteries for MP3 players that should run white LEDs without the need for a resistor. I've also seen little USB port rechargeable LED micro flashlights for under $7. Being able to cobble together stuff and having a bit of an electronics background is a big help in this venture. Like I said, grain o' salt.

[33LIMA 972]

Have just tried Facetracknoir (v.1.50) and the program itself seems to work on its own, with the camera tracking my face ok. But When I launch OFF,sitting in the virtual cockpit, head movements get no response.

 

I used the FakeTrackIR option, and copied over the recommended TIRViews.dll from the latest TrackIR drivers. No joy. Then also tried the settings.ini recommended on these forums - all that did was give me a forward cockpit view that was completely upside-down, with no movement. All I was doing was starting up Facetracknoir, minimising it and leaving it running while I started OFF. I saw no ref anywhere to any setting you need to apply in OFF (or CFS3) for it to accept Facetracknoir input rather than hatswitch.

 

Would be keen to see a dummy's guide to getting this particular proggie working on OFF, from anyone who has managed it - it's free, and there's no need for fiddling with LEDs and a soldering iron. If it can be got to work reliably, it would be a big boon for those of us too poor, too henpecked or too mean to splash out on TrackIR.

[Lewie 7]

@ Lima33

 

According to TracknoIR you need version 1.4 and TIRviews .dll.

[theultimat 5]

@ Lima33

 

According to TracknoIR you need version 1.4 and TIRviews .dll.

 

I tried it with version 1.5 (and the TIRviews.dll), and it seemed to work, but my frame rate dropped to 5, so I guess I'll have to stick to the Num-Pad view controls.

[Lewie 7]

OK I tried to setup the first big download, if I'm doing something wrong, it's not quite evident. because it appears this software is buggy beyond belief.

 

It initializes fine but hangs at a requirement for a number of different .dlls included in a zipped .cab file. (There are no included instruction of how to set up the various included C++ runtimes and other required programs. Apparently you also need to have TrackIR running in the background..) But just for starters, it is unable to find the required .dll in the included cab files when directed to it, and even when you extract the .cab file(s) and they are put it into FaceTrack's root directory, it doesn't see it. This for me is a major problem, considering V4Friend came onto our forum touting this software as a useable program.

 

Maybe, if you have the patience of Job and a degree in programming you can make this work, but the average sim junkie is going to delete this file from their directory after messing with it for a couple hours. The admission by V4Friend that you might have to run this program on a separate computer set up as a client server continues to prove that Mr. V4 has no clue about average sim users. It says to me that this program is a huge resource drain and will probably not work well especially in the realworld of folks with lesser systems.

 

I'd like to hear form V4 about this.....

[33LIMA 972]

@ Lima33

 

According to TracknoIR you need version 1.4 and TIRviews .dll.

 

FacetrackNoir seems to have moved on to V1.50, all they have for d/l now is V.1.30 and a v.1.50 update. I did grab TIRViews.dll from the latest TrackIR s/w (tried an earlier version first but strangely it lacked that file). FacetrackNoir itself seems to run ok but it just doesn't work at all, in game.

 

I gather it's freetrack you used, which needs LEDs. I'll maybe give that a go. Can you recommend an online construction tutorial for someone who knows nowt about electronics, and always found he had one hand too few when it came to using soldering irons?

[Lewie 7]

FacetrackNoir seems to have moved on to V1.50, all they have for d/l now is V.1.30 and a v.1.50 update. I did grab TIRViews.dll from the latest TrackIR s/w (tried an earlier version first but strangely it lacked that file). FacetrackNoir itself seems to run ok but it just doesn't work at all, in game.

 

I gather it's freetrack you used, which needs LEDs. I'll maybe give that a go. Can you recommend an online construction tutorial for someone who knows nowt about electronics, and always found he had one hand too few when it came to using soldering irons?

 

Do you have or have access to a hot glue gun, and be able to find some cheap, white LED keychain fobs? A simple two axis experimenters set up would be to just to hot glue a single LED key fob to a cheap billed cap, right on the very front of the bill. I'd do it so you can change out the little batteries. I'd also use a darkened room for my first experiments. You'll have to play with FreeTrack's various camera contrast, light point size and other camera signal modifiers to get this to work.

 

A bright room initially doesn't help if you want to do this without the camera IR filter conversion. But it can be done. FreeTrack is very adaptable to lighting conditions.

[33LIMA 972]

Cheers that sounds good, will see what I can do1

[33LIMA 972]

Do you have or have access to a hot glue gun, and be able to find some cheap, white LED keychain fobs? A simple two axis experimenters set up would be to just to hot glue a single LED key fob to a cheap billed cap, right on the very front of the bill. I'd do it so you can change out the little batteries. I'd also use a darkened room for my first experiments. You'll have to play with FreeTrack's various camera contrast, light point size and other camera signal modifiers to get this to work.

 

A bright room initially doesn't help if you want to do this without the camera IR filter conversion. But it can be done. FreeTrack is very adaptable to lighting conditions.

 

Back again, have grabbed Freetrack and will get key a keychain LED in town tomorrow, have a peaked cap lined up...can you confirm if you needed TIRAttack (1.6?) to get Freetrack working in OFF? Their website says it's needed for CFS3, but the link to TIR_Attack on geocities is down (hopefully temporarily) and I can't locate TIRAttack anywhere else.

[Lewie 7]

Back again, have grabbed Freetrack and will get key a keychain LED in town tomorrow, have a peaked cap lined up...can you confirm if you needed TIRAttack (1.6?) to get Freetrack working in OFF? Their website says it's needed for CFS3, but the link to TIR_Attack on geocities is down (hopefully temporarily) and I can't locate TIRAttack anywhere else.

 

I found it's not necessary, the TIRViews.dll is though. Plus having the camera being recognized by Freetrack.

[33LIMA 972]

I found it's not necessary, the TIRViews.dll is though. Plus having the camera being recognized by Freetrack.

 

Roger, camera working ok in Freetrack, had got the .dll for Facretracknoir, all I need now is the LED keyring thingy and I'm set, as you suggest will start with the 1-point setup and see how that goes, if I can get 2DOF working that will do to begin with, anything more is icing on the big soft edible thing with icing on it.Thanks for the advice.

Edited June 14, 2011 by 33LIMA

[V4Friend 0]

Hello guys (and girls?),

 

vonOben just pointed me to this thread, which I was not 'watching', so I didn't know you had problems... Thanks vonOben!

 

The main reason there is no detailed description of 'how to use FaceTrackNoIR with OFF' is simple: it's easy . Well, there are some 'known issues', but they are not typically OFF-related. The only things that are specifically OFF: you must use the 'fake TrackIR' protocol and use Tirviews.dll.

 

So what you do is:

1. Install FaceTrackNoIR;
2. Download Tirviews.dll and copy it into the installation folder of FaceTrackNoIR;
3. Start FaceTrackNoIR;
4. Select 'fake TrackIR at the 'game Protocol' listbox;
5. Click the appearing 'Settings' button and tick 'use Tirviews' (the checkbox is only enabled if the file is found in the right place);
6. Start FaceTrackNoIR and minimize (after checking it tracks your face);
7. Start OFF;

There are no settings you need to make in OFF (or CFS3 if you use that).

 

I'm now watching this thread too, so if you still have questions: just ask

[33LIMA 972]

Thanks for the feedback V4. Just tried again using the sequence of steps you describe. Didn't work the first time but this time I noticed the Facetrack 'eye' oblongs were tracking not my eyes, but the upper rim of my reading glasses. Stopped Facetrack, took off my glasess, restarted. 'Eye' oblongs now tracking my eyes. Started OFF and Facetrack is now partly working, even if I put my glasses back on or keep them off. I can pan from side to side approx 90 degrees left and 90 degrees right but that is all. Not up or down at all. The metrics that appear when Facetrack starts (with my head centred) look a bit strange. X=0, rotX=3, Y=5, rotY=30, Z=34, rotZ=1, or thereabouts. I am using the 'default' game .ini. Seem to lose some fPS but looks playable, if only I could get more movement to the rear either side, and some panning movement up and down.

[V4Friend 0]

Thanks for the feedback V4. Just tried again using the sequence of steps you describe. Didn't work the first time but this time I noticed the Facetrack 'eye' oblongs were tracking not my eyes, but the upper rim of my reading glasses. Stopped Facetrack, took off my glasess, restarted. 'Eye' oblongs now tracking my eyes. Started OFF and Facetrack is now partly working, even if I put my glasses back on or keep them off. I can pan from side to side approx 90 degrees left and 90 degrees right but that is all. Not up or down at all. The metrics that appear when Facetrack starts (with my head centred) look a bit strange. X=0, rotX=3, Y=5, rotY=30, Z=34, rotZ=1, or thereabouts. I am using the 'default' game .ini. Seem to lose some fPS but looks playable, if only I could get more movement to the rear either side, and some panning movement up and down.

Hi 33LIMA,

 

OK! That's a good start .

 

Did you load the 'Over Flanders Fields.ini' file? That contains the settings I have tested OFF with. I'm attaching it here (you should rename it to .INI though...) Over Flanders Fields.txt

It is possible that the faceAPI has trouble with features like glasses or beards: I understand they are continuously working on that. Did you install the fix for update 1.5?

Did you also assign short-keys to 'center' and 'start/stop'? It sometimes helps to press them, to initialize the view.

[33LIMA 972]

No, I saw the ref to that .ini but could not find it. I have 1.30 and the 1.50 update but had not applied the 'Fix tor EWMA-filter', grabbing that now. Will also try assigning stop and start hotkeys - thanks!!!

[33LIMA 972]

No, I saw the ref to that .ini but could not find it. I have 1.30 and the 1.50 update but had not applied the 'Fix tor EWMA-filter', grabbing that now. Will also try assigning stop and start hotkeys - thanks!!!

 

Well, applying the EWMA fix to version 1.50, and/or using the off .ini file you recommended seems to have done the trick!

 

Have only tried once so far but FacetrackNoir worked very well. Only real issue is that looking up tracked down and vice-versa so I have reversed that axis in the program's settings and I hope all will be well on my next 'flight'.

 

Lesser problem is that looking fully (180 degrees) to the rear sometimes works (usually when turning head right) and sometimes does not (turning head left often seems to hit a 'stop' at about 120 degrees left). Otherwise FacetrackNoir is working rather well now, without having to use start/stop/centre hotkeys. Will fiddle with settings and gain some more experience to see if it's working consistently and whether I can improve the 'check my six o'clock' performance. even as it is, it is already good enough for use in gameplay. No FPS loss that I can see (I have an early quad core CPU, don't know if that makes any difference, with Windows Vista 64) Will report back on how I get on. Thanks for the support!

 

Have to say it's early days yet, but from what I have seen so far, I would highly recommend that OFF fliers not already using TrackIR try out FacetrackNoir, following the instructions above. I have now got Freetrack working too, entirely thanks to Lewie's advice, but have not yet managed to obtain 'curve' settings which give me a good field of view and are not too sensitive, plus it needs 1 or more LEDs, a cap, & batteries which FacetrackNoir does not, all you need to add is the TIRviews.dll that's part of the current TrackIR software and the OverFlandersFields.ini file. Hope this keeps on working at least as well as it does so far.

Edited June 15, 2011 by 33LIMA

[V4Friend 0]

OK! I'm glad you have got it working now .