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'track your head with games'
Manufacturer: Naturalpoint
Official Site
Product Type: head tracking software
Connection Type: Add-On
System Requirements: PC with USB port
Extra: /
Retail Price: 179.95 $ (+ TrackHat Black 9.95 $)
Date posted: 18 January 2006
Written By: Fretbol
How it all started
About a month ago, I received an email from the CEO of Naturalpoint, asking me if I would like to test the latest version of Track IR (TIR), their famous head tracking technology. It's needless to say I didn't have to think about this very long ;)
A few days later, a small package was delivered to the PlayDevil.com office.
When I opened the package, I found the TIR Pro package (containing a software CD, the TIR4 unit, a metal hat clip and a start guide) and an additional TrackHat, so I had everything I needed to start testing.
First of all, let's take a look at what TIR is all about.
Over the last few years, the Naturalpoint team have developed a small device that transfers the movement of the players head into the movement of the players view on a monitor. While the first TIR version only had 2 axis motion, the newer models supported up to 6 axis, giving the player a very realistic experience.
TIR is very popular with flight sim and race game enthusiasts, and as soon as you've tried it you will know just why they like it so much.
When you use TIR with a flightsim, you're able to look around the cockpit of your aircraft, seeing the runway beneath you and the hangars and tower of the airport when you look out of the window. When you use it with a race game, you can drive around in your favourite race car, checking your mirrors by simply looking left or right, or lifting your head up to see the hood of the car.
This adds a whole new level of realism to gaming, and the increased field of view enables you to get a lot better in most games as well.
Install and TRACK IT
Setting up the TIR is very simple, and you should be up and running within a few minutes.
The installation guide clearly shows the right way to install the hardware. The TIR unit is placed on top of a normal monitor, but rotating the little arms at the bottom allows you to attach the unit to a flat screen monitor as well.
The unit itself is very small so anyone should have enough space for it.
The unit is connected to your pc through a standard USB cable, and as soon as you plug it in, the lights on the unit should be flickering.
When the TIR software is installed, it's time to set it up. The software is very easy to use, and allows the player to create profiles for all sorts of games and genres.
There are a lot of profiles already in there, so anyone should find a setting they like. There are a lot of options and settings you can alter, but if you don't want to be bothered wit all of this, the default profiles should work just fine.
The metal clip is designed to fit on any hat or cap. Since my package contained an additional TrackHat, I used this one. Once clipped onto the hat, the clip is firmly attached and is hardly noticeable at all.
Testing the TIR in games
Since I haven't been playing flightsims for years, I've tested the TIR with Simbin's "GT Legends" (in-depth review can be found here).
The last few months I've spent most of my spare time racing online with GTL, so I've decided to take a closer look at it while using the TIR.
When I started up GTL, I found myself in the cockpit of my good old Porsche 911 at Spa-Francorchamps.
I moved my head to the left and right side of the cockpit and could look around it as in real life! This was a really great experience, and I was looking around the car for a couple of minutes.
When I moved my head forward, the view would zoom in and I could see the needles and dials of the dashboard a lot closer, when I moved my head backward the view zoomed out again. When I turned my head to the left, I could see my left mirror and the inside of the pitbox … really great stuff!!!
When I took the car out for a little drive, my view was spinning like hell, and I was driving around like a drunk. It took me a while to figure it out, but apparently I was moving and shaking my head too much. After a couple of minutes, I was getting used to the TIR however, and as I learned to control the movement of my head, the whole driving experience was so much better than before.
Without the TIR, the only way to look left or right in your car was to push a button. With TIR you don't need any buttons, you just move your head. After a couple of laps, I noticed I was looking into the corners like I would do in real life, allowing me to see the race line a lot better.
I was driving around for about half an hour, and I'd already improved my laptimes.
If you're battling for position on track, or try to overtake another car, the TIR is a great help as well.
A quick look into the left or right mirror allows you to check your opponents' positions at all time, without having to press any buttons. During overtaking, a quick turn of your head is enough to see if you've passed the car or not.
Another thing I've noticed is that the TIR isn't using a lot of resources. I couldn't see any loss in performance playing the game with the TIR, so the quality of your game play isn't affected at all.
All in all, playing GTL with the TIR brought the game to a whole new level !
Conclusion
After I'd used the "Track IR 4 PRO", from Naturalpoint for a couple of weeks, I asked myself; "Is this thing really worth it?"
The only thing I could say was "You bet, it's the best thing ever!".
I'd been playing race games for years and didn't really know what I was missing, but once I've got used to driving using the TIR, I just can't go back to race games without TIR support. It will take a while to get used to it, but racing with the TIR is so much better and more realistic that it's really frustrating now to play a game without TIR.
Sure, it will cost you money but at the end of the day, you won't regret the little investment at all! The way I see it, products like the TIR take gaming a big step closer to the real thing, and isn't that what it's all about?
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