Skater

NaturalPoint TrackIR 4 Pro Review Ed “Skater” Lynch skater@combatace.com The Natural Edge “The TrackIR 4 Pro provides instant, intuitive, situational awareness. It is a clear advantage than cannot be dismissed easily…” The TrackIR 4 Pro from NaturalPoint is figuratively and literally a revolution in gaming technology. It provides the user with seamless and effortless view progression. Use of it is quite intuitive, and much simpler than in-game button accessed views. Using it will quickly become a MUST and you will find yourself relying on its use in much the same way you rely on using a mouse or a joystick. It soon becomes an input device that you could play without if you had to, but you would not WANT to. If I forget to initialize my TrackIR, or find that for some reason it is not responding, I will stop what I am doing to correct the issue. I simply WILL NOT fly without the use of my TrackIR if I can help it. In practice, the TrackIR provide a distinct edge against players who are NOT using one. In an online furball, you can actually pick out the sucke… umm… players, who are not using one. Those players will quickly become cannon fodder unless they are in possession of extraordinary skills. Some players with sour grapes (and they all DO NOT have a TrackIR 4 Pro) may even accuse you of cheating because you use a TrackIR 4 Pro. I chuckle at those times. The TrackIR 4 Pro provides instant, intuitive, situational awareness. It is a clear advantage that simply cannot be dismissed easily. Installation “In less than 3 minutes, you will have your TrackIR 4 Pro up and running…” The TrackIR 4 Pro comes in one of those frustrating blister packs, however, I found this one to be the easiest blister pack I have ever opened. In fact, it popped right open with ease after breaking a couple of the “spot welds” that hold the package closed. This was comforting, as I REALLY hate opening blister packs. As in loathe, despise, and hold utter contempt for… The contents of the package are as minimal as can possibly be. Inside you will find only the TrackIR 4 Pro unit (with USB connection cable), a Track Clip for the 3D Vector Expansion, a quick installation guide (only useful if you are completely retarded), and a driver CD-ROM. My test unit also arrived with a cool-looking white Track Hat. I also had the older style black Track Hat from when I purchased a TrackIR 2 Pro some years back. That hat came with a build in reflector tab on the edge of the bill and another reflector tab on the back strap. However, the old style Track Hat is only useful when using the TrackIR 4 Pro with games or sims that do not support the 3D Vector Expansion. Falcon 4.0 Allied Force is one such sim. For games or sims that DO support the Vector Expansion, you will need to use the Track Clip provided in the box, or the newer Track Clip Pro. Installation of the unit is as simple as the package contents. The unit has an ingenious mounting base that is capable of being manipulated in several axis’ so as to make mounting to many different, and disparate, surfaces an easy task to accomplish. Simply mount the unit on the top of your monitor or flat panel, plug in the USB connector cable, and install the drivers from the included CD-ROM or download the latest driver package from the NaturalPoint website. That’s it! In less than 3 minutes, you will have your TrackIR 4 Pro up and running. Details “Installing and using the TrackIR 4 Pro is so simple a caveman could do it…” Specifications: Head Position Tracked: 6 Axis/6 Degrees Field of View: 46 Degrees Sample Rate: 120fps Response Time: 25% faster than other models Resolution: 716 x 290 Unit Size (w/o base): o 0.5" deep o 1.7" wide o 1.1" high Flat Panel Monitor Attachment Connection: USB USB Cable Thickness: 2.5mm The rear of the TrackIR 4 Pro is covered in clear plastic, offering unobstructed visibility to the inner workings, processor, and PCB. A very cool added feature, even if it does not do anything except look cool. The included Track Clip has three reflective strips for positional tracking. The clip has a low profile design and is very light, allowing for easy placement without encumbering you. Our test unit came with a cool white Track Hat. The track clip is installed/positioned on the Track Hat but can work on any hat with a bill or baseball cap, or even on a set of headphones (except for those that are behind the neck models). Both methods of installation work pretty well. The included driver CD-ROM and the Quick Installation Guide make installing and using the TrackIR 4 Pro so simple a caveman could do it™. Software “It just works so perfectly…” The TrackIR application allows TrackIR users to create and edit custom profiles as well as assign profiles that are specific to certain games. The TrackIR 4 Pro is most useful in simulations (flight, racing, space, etc.), but first person shooter titles like Armed Assault are beginning to catch the TrackIR wave as well. The TrackIR looks to become a revolution in that genre of gaming as well. The TrackIR 4 Pro software has a built-in calibration tools that allow the user to fine tune the TrackIR unit to his specific responsiveness likes and dislikes on a per game basis. The effect is one of having a head and motion tracking system perfectly adjusted to the user. When properly done, it provides a custom fit and feel that has to be experienced to be believed. Changing views in game, especially in flight and racing sims can be done almost at the speed of thought. It’s a very natural, almost organic feeling. You basically learn to just move your head slightly, without even thinking about it, to keep your Mk I eyeball on the bandit. Your view changes instantaneously and the combined effect is perfectly seamless. You can tell that a lot of R&D went into designing this thing. It just works so perfectly. Game Testing "If a flight sim is released without TrackIR support today, I won’t buy it…" I play tested the TrackIR 4 Pro with a number of flight and racing sims before deciding completely that NaturalPoint was never getting this thing back. Never! They will have to pull it from my cold, dead, fingers. I’m not even joking… Just try and get it back NP! When play tested with GTR and rFactor, I found that the TrackIR 4 Pro integration was completely seamless. As long as the TrackIR software is running, the unit is detected by the games and immediately available for use. Jumping into the cars after making sure that the TrackIR was selected for use in the garage menus, a quick look around confirmed that the TrackIR was working perfectly. In game, the unit is even more impressive. In GTR and rFactor, it was a simple, and slight movement of the head that produced perfect looks in all directions, virtually eliminating any blind spots, and giving a complete awareness of the drivers around me, and the closeness of their vehicles to mine. It was actually unnerving at first, but with practice, I don’t think that I could drive without the TrackIR now. It is just that good for racing. You will never want to race without it after a few hours using it. Saying that the TrackIR will make you a better driver may sound like an overstatement, but in reality, you WILL driver better while using it, because you will have a better feel for what is all around you vehicle while using it. No more guessing while racing! With flight sims, the TrackIR is a whole new ball game. This thing provides an instant and real advantage against any human-controlled adversary that is not using one. It provides complete and total visual range SA in an instant. Simply moving your head toward the bandit you see will keep him in view. It is seamless and perfectly intuitive. Spotting ground targets is a breeze. Keeping them in view while turning towards them is easy as pie. Keeping an inbound missile in view while maneuvering to defeat it is second nature. It also allows you to snap your view back and forth between cockpit/avionics and the bandit with complete ease. The TrackIR was MADE for flight sims. It is so perfect as to make one wonder how you could have flown without in the past. I simply cannot imagine doing so now. If I can’t use my TrackIR when I fly, then I won’t fly. It’s at the point that if a simulation is released without TrackIR support today, I won’t buy it, at least not until TrackIR support is added in a patch. I’ll settle for 2D support, like what Falcon 4.0 Allied Force features, but I would much rather prefer 3D Vector support. I tested the TrackIR 4 Pro with Falcon 4.0 Allied Force v1.09, Lock-On Flaming Cliffs v1.2a, Flight Simulator X, Starshatter The Gathering Storm, First Eagles the Great Air War 1918, Wings over Vietnam/Wings over Europe, and even the Armed Assault Demo (which I really need a lot of practice with before I can even comment). The TrackIR 4 Pro worked flawlessly with almost all of them. I had a few minor issues with First Eagles and Starshatter, but with a little tweaking of the TrackIR software, those issues were quickly resolved. Game Videos Lock On 1.2: Black Shark - 6DOF Demo by Matt Wagner 1:01 large rFactor - Demo using TrackIR 4 3:06 huge large GT Legends - Demo using TrackIR 4 3:00 huge large Aces High II - dslyecxi.com, Part 2 by Dslyecxi 7:59 large Armed Assault - dslyecxi.com by Dslyecxi 6:04 large Armed Assault using TrackClip PRO - dslyecxi.com by Dslyecxi 6:26 large FSX and TrackIR 4:PRO, Part 2 by Chris 'BeachAV8R' Frishmuth 3:41 large FSX and TrackIR 4:PRO, Part 1 by Chris 'BeachAV8R' Frishmuth 3:14 large Parting Shots "The TrackIR 4 Pro is simply a revolution for gaming…" I don’t even know what else I can say about the TrackIR 4 Pro. I can only reiterate what other reviewers and tens of thousands of users are saying about it… The TrackIR 4 Pro is simply a revolution for gaming. It is no less than a quantum leap in gaming technology. It renders those without one no more than lambs for the slaughter in online flight sims and racing sims. Soon, it will revolutionize and completely take over the hard core FPS world, if what it can do in Armed Assault is any indication. I just can’t say enough in support of this product. NaturalPoint has really hit a home run with this version of the TrackIR. It is so easy to setup and use and so intuitive in its use. For example, my 4 year old daughter mastered it in less than an hour. That’s faster than it took her daddy to do that, a veteran of over 20 years of PC gaming and simulations, and a previous owner of a TrackIR 2 Pro. If that does not scream easy and intuitive, I do not know what does. In short, get a TrackIR 4 Pro TODAY. For gaming, it is like a mouse, or a joystick. You simply cannot, and should not, be gaming without one. Pros: * High degree of usability - The perfect addition to any flight sim, race sim, and (soon) FPS junkie * Ease of use - Very intuitive and strikingly simple * Ease of installation - Could not be easier to install Cons: * Price - At roughly $180, the TrackIR 4 Pro is not a cheap peripheral by any stretch of the imagination Conclusions: The NaturalPoint TrackIR 4 Pro is a MUST GET/MUST HAVE peripheral for anyone who is serious about gaming. I’m giving it a 9.5 out of a possible 10 points. www.trackir.com www.naturalpoint.com

"Furthermore, the jets terrorize immigrants from war-torn countries who have experienced air bombardment, and they frighten children, seniors, pets and wildlife, according to Daly." Are you f'ing kidding me? I can't believe he actually put that into writing. Daly is a 'tard! -Skater

I think a Ford could transform into a giant robot, if you put the Ford on top of a giant transforming robot. -Skater

That would be me. :) Yeah, I playtested iF-22, and gave them the raw data they needed to code the cockpit. I traveled to the Marietta, GA plant (I worked on the F-22 project for Lockheed Martin at the time) and did some videos of the cockpit mockup in action. Flew the cockpit mockup, and got the sounds and stuff down for them. Also, got *almost* every avionics screen and the shootlist sequencing and link data down. I say *almost* because, some of the avionics screens were classified, and I was not allowed to film or take pictures, or talk about them. That visit was really instrumental in getting the cockpit down. The alpha and early beta cockpits were horrible un comparison. If they had more time to create better ground objects and a better ground terrain tile system, iF-22 would have been a knockout. It was released too early though, and sales suffered because of it. But a very detailed, and good attempt, to recreate the awesomeness that is the F-22 Raptor. Who could have even guessed that the iF-22 would have paled in comparison to the capabilities of the real F-22. I don't remember you from the iMagic boards... did you have a different name there? -Skater

Greece and Turkey? -Skater

I helped to create iF-22. It was a very ambitious attempt for the time and level of technology. -Skater

I didn't see a dedicated Armed Assault forum last time I checked Jim... Seems like an appropriate place to me, given the genre. Also... Fates is an Admin, they can generally do as they like. :) -Skater

Vista is out (for business users) and has been code complete for quite some time now. -Skater

Do you have the latest patch? I believe the SuperBugs are skinned in the latest patch. Maybe not the Growlers though. -Skater

Ghost, that is AWESOME! I actually bought two DX1's off the bat, only to realize that you could not have more than 1 connected at a time. I had to return the other one. (And I tried REAL hard to get the other one to work.) Are you saying that you can have multiple profiles active or multiple MFP units (the actual hardware)? Also, there was, and still is, no support for XP64 (or Vista 32 or 64) on the DX1. I may just have to get one of these. I wonder if there is some kind of trade up policy? The DX1 is a great piece of kit, but it becomes a great piece of junk once I permanently move to Vista if there is no new driver supporting Vista. -Skater

This is essentially a CH branded version of the Ergodex DX1. I have had a DX1 for over a year now, and frankly, it's one of the best purchases I have made for my flight sim hobby (addiction). It's just flat out awesome and I use it daily. Now, with the CH version of the DX1, I can only assume that the software and hardware support will be even better, making this a highly desireable unit indeed. Thanks USAFMTL! Great review. -Skater

I am digging it. Bought it 3 days ago and I like it alot. Really fun to shoot the wings off the bad guys and watch them death spiral. Funny thing happened recently, I was zooming up to kill a German Artillery Observation balloon and the guy in the cupola jumped out and parachuted to safety right before I started opening fire. Awesome! It's little details like that that make sims like this so cool. Can't wait for the mods that are sure to come out for this one! -Skater

Nesher, I have also removed and/or closed some topics of yours previously. It is nothing personal, and has nothing to do with my pro-Israel stand either. I was merely closing down what could become a potentially heated thread, because it is politically charged, or because the post was too WCE (World Current Events). These things usually end in flame wars, and I was merely doing the same as Erik, trying to avoid a flame war. I enjoy your posts, and especially love the pics of Israeli hardware that you post. But potentially flame-worthy posts will continue to get closed and/or deleted. Sorry man, that's just the way it is... We gotta keep it civil for all sides of a politcal argument in here. -Skater

He has spyware/malware, and tons of it. I would not be surprised if he has loads of trojans and a few virii/worms on his machine as well. It's time for the dreaded Windows refresh my man. If you can't access anything on the computer, not even with the Administrator account, then you are between a rock and a very hard place. You need to do a complete reinstall of Windows and Apps. -Skater

Raptor for me. Cool test. -Skater

Damn Ghosty! And here I thought you looked like a young guy! :) Seriously... I was 8 when you took the Oath. You were doing the do when I was in Underroos and making woop woop sounds with my GI Joe chopper. God bless you, and those like you. -Skater

Damn Ghost! You must have 24+ years in! I have a few years in myself, almost 18 years now (21 days will make exactly 18 years TIS). About 75% of it in the reserves. 20 years just seems so long, even with only 2 years to make 20, I still can't believe it has been that long. :) Seen my share of in-country assignments during that time too, got activated three times in the 12 years I have been in the reserves. Some of it fun, most of it not, but all of it memorable. Keep that funny spinning thing up and the shiny side down... -Skater OMG! How much TIS do you have? 40+? -Skater

"I said put out that campfire bitch!" :) -Skater

Nesher, I feel for you my man. This kind of warfare is cowardly and unjust. All terrorists must die, and how they could elect a terrorist group into public leadership roles for a nation, I just do not understand. It's insane. That being said however, I feel that this topic is a little too politically charged and too WCE for a flight sim site. Sorry, but that's just my judgement call on that, even though I side with you on the underlying issue. I'm gonna close this one, but leave it in the Pub for viewing. I just do not want anything to get out of hand and get ugly in here. If another mod or admin wnts to re-open this, then I am fine with that, but for now we'll table this one. -Skater

Hey Fates, Happy Birthday my man! We have a bunch of good guys in this after Christmas Birthday bracket... You 12/28 My Dad 12/29 My good buddy Bill 1/8 Me 1/9 We should start a club... The "Never got no presents cuz our birthday is too close to Christmas" club. :D Well, happy 37 buddy. I am 36 this past Monday, so I can legally call you old! :) -Skater

Thanks guys! I have been pulling all-nighters lately, I have been hit with major e-mail server downage, so I have not been on the boards as much. I had to work until 3:30AM on my birthday. SUCKED! Anyway, thanks for the well wishes bros. -Skater

Mothman, my post was not directed at any one person in particular, but to all involved. Keep it on topic, and keep it civil. Alternate theories, as long as they are plausible, are fine, but we do not need to star a flame war or a name calling match. -Skater

Thank you for being so level-headed A4-AR. These types of topics, conspiracy theories, secret desert bases, George Bush building forward bases on the dark side of the moon, etc. are inflammatory topics at best, and out and out flamee wars and mud slinging contests at their worst. They can do nothing except incite to (verbally) riot, and more often than not, hurt people that are involved or know or are related to people who were. We can all get along without bringing that stuff about. In war, both sides of every conflict make claims on aircraft downed, ships sunk, and targets destroyed that, after the smoke clears and the war is over, becomes painfully evident that it was not so. It's war. It happens. I do not think that anyone can deny what the Argentines did in the war. They were underequipped, with aging aircraft, and only a handful of state-of-the-art Exocet missiles, and they very nearly brought the Amphibious Assaut by the more well-equipped British forces to a screeching halt. The Argentine pilots were skilled and courageous, and quite possibly suicidal if you ask me, I do not think I would have flown those mission profiles so naked if I was asked to. Still, in the face of insurmountable odds, the Argentine pilots flew their missions, and almost pulled off the upset of the century. The same can also be said of the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines and Paras. What they did, despite horrific conditions and murderous losses is a testement to their training, courage, and sheer will of arms. It is for these reasons that the actions on both sides of this short but decisive conflict continue to be studied at war colleges across the globe, and will be for some time to come. -Skater

I have had just about enough of these crackpot conspiracy theories. I have heard this one before, and it especially irks me. My family is British in origin. I am a first generation American and first generation US military. My brother is also first generation US military. My father served first in the Royal Marines, then as an Officer in the US Army (5th Special Forces Group). My Uncle, Sir Michael (Mickey) Lynch, served as an Officer in the Royal Navy until he retired in 1988. He served aboard HMS Invincible in 1982 during the Falkland Islands War. I can assure you, at no time was HMS Invincible hit or sunk. My uncle died in 1996 from lung cancer, but he had many stories from the Falklands War, and none of them were of being rescued after having his ship sunk from under him. As the Chief Engineering Officer aboard her, I think he would have been involved in some way. He loved the Navy, as did my Grandfather (Sir Maurice Lynch, Captain of the HMS Duke of York during the early part of WWII) and I think that is one of the main reasons I joined the Navy (USN). I hope this puts this stupid cross-thread to rest, because it is utterly rediculous. Any more bantering on this cross-threaded topic will lock down this thread. Back on topic please. BE WARNED. -Skater