A complete guide to set up Head-tracking (Opentrack)

[MoleUK]

Did anyone try using the "wrong" model of PS3 eye camera for this? I have one lying around, was wondering if buying the right model and taking it apart was really necessary or not.

Edited May 15, 2021 by MoleUK

[cardboard_killer]

2 hours ago, MoleUK said:

Did anyone try using the "wrong" model of PS3 eye camera for this? I have one lying around, was wondering if buying the right model and taking it apart was really necessary or not.

I use the wrong model, but I bought a visible light blocking filter that I hotglued over the outside lens. Works fine.

[MoleUK]

19 hours ago, cardboard_killer said:

I use the wrong model, but I bought a visible light blocking filter that I hotglued over the outside lens. Works fine.

Cheers, will be ordering the basic delan package in a few weeks to see how it pans out. 

[Cheburashko]

Just wanted to say thanks for this comprehensive guide! I dabble in Il2 every now and again, and now decided to try with the head tracking as previously was using POV hat. I've had a wiimote laying around and after some research realised that I can connect it for head tracking, luckily OpenTrack supports it which is awesome. I've made a DIY tracking clip, bought the 3D printed clip from ebay and soldered the IR Leds and resistors.

 

Worked out pretty cheap although wiimote needs to be removed and added as anew device everytime windows restarts otherwise Opentrack doesnt recognize it.

 

Additionally, the movements seem a bit jumpy sometimes and  i need to set default center everytime I start a new game, but other than that its awesome!

[Hand]

Thank you very much for posting this guide, it has wonderful information, and has me inspired to try some things.

 

I was just wondering:  I recently became aware of a micro controller made by Arduino that is used in head tracking applications by RC model plane enthusiasts.  One version of the micro controller is called the Arduino Nano 33 BLE (bluetooth low energy).  Those little guys just sip juice and I believe that they are capable of tracking 9 axes of rotation at a relatively low price.  Does anyone have any information about integrating one into Opentrack for IL-2?  I would love to work on a sketch for something like that.

 

Thank you!

[GO63]

Arduino Nano 33 BLE - too high price. And it has a lot of unnecessary things.
There is a Bluetooth solution at a much lower cost: Arduino Pro Micro + HC-06 + GY9250.
Here is the description (in Russian): razor-ahrs-5dof-20190111-hardware

[Hand]

Oh, thanks for the reply!  Yeah, that one is fun, saw that.

[APWVO_funkrami]

I have a problem with HeadTrackNoIR + led clip. IL-2 seems to limit the y-axis maximum angle to about 45 (when the output reads 90 degrees in HTnoIR) and if I turn more to 91 degrees, the view snaps to about 45 degrees backwards. Below is video of it happening, sorry for the time of day.

 

On other games with head tracking support the same 90 degrees up output is 90 degrees up view, and then at 91 degrees output the view snaps to pointing down instead of up.

 

 

[APWVO_funkrami]

On 6/25/2021 at 1:15 PM, APWVO_funkrami said:

I have a problem with HeadTrackNoIR + led clip. IL-2 seems to limit the y-axis maximum angle to about 45 (when the output reads 90 degrees in HTnoIR) and if I turn more to 91 degrees, the view snaps to about 45 degrees backwards. Below is video of it happening, sorry for the time of day.

 

On other games with head tracking support the same 90 degrees up output is 90 degrees up view, and then at 91 degrees output the view snaps to pointing down instead of up.

I configured OpenTrack as well to try with, no difference. I tried removing the content of the data/input/ folder and startup.cfg, no difference. Any ideas?

Edited June 26, 2021 by APWVO_funkrami

[APWVO_funkrami]

9 hours ago, APWVO_funkrami said:

I configured OpenTrack as well to try with, no difference. I tried removing the content of the data/input/ folder and startup.cfg, no difference. Any ideas?

This seems related, however I cannot view it https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/3215-facetracknoir-users-check-if-you-can-look-90deg/

 

And then there's this: https://riseofflight.com/forum/topic/47688-facetracknoir-90-degree-or-more-pitch-problem/?p=658479#entry658479 

I have tried this solution above with the .map files in data/input but obviously there is no default.map in there. I tried replacing the values in .map-files that included [BC_HEAD_PITCH] but it seemed to have no effect.

 

I have at this point also uninstalled and reinstalled the game via Steam.

[RossMarBow]

Hey,

So I have open track working well.
When I first started using it I quickly removed all mouse camera/head control.
But this made using tanks and turrets impossible.
Defaulted my inputs 
This is the issue
As pilot head tracking works, but mouse still moves head when moved but it returns to opentrack position
as a plane gunner mouse moves turret and head open track moves head but with inertia and delay

As driver in gaz truck head tracking works and mouse moves head but its dosnt return to open track position
As gunner in gaz truck it works perfectly mouse moves turret tracking controls free look

How can I fix the first 3 situations without breaking anything?
Can I fix this without having to adjust my settings depending on what I'm doing?
 

[easterling77]

Hey Guys

 

Im relatively new to headtracking (it's day 3 ?) but so far, it's really impressive and gives me so much more fun flying around.

 

A big THANK YOU SIR!!! BlackHellHound1 for making this tutorial, which helped me a lot in konfigurating my system.

 

I have only one issue and would be very pleased, if someone here could give me an advice.

 

Hardware : DELANCLIP with Opentrack 2.3.12

Problem: Y-Axis (hight of Head) / Neck displacement

 

I had to deactivate the Y-Axis input of my headtracker cause of to raw translation into the game and wanted to adjust my head position by keyboard bindings.

In the tutorial, I read, that if Neck displacement is activated and you use the short cut Zero, you can stil move your head but wihtout rotation.

But this is my problem.

 

If I use shortcut Zero, all centers fine but I can't raise my head up or shift to the side (what is really needed for fine adjustments at aiming or simply seeing my fuel gauge on the wings - flying Yaks).

Neither can I adjust my head position by keyboard commands when headtracking is running.

 

I found a work around by:

-command Shortcut Zero

-press and hold numblock 5

-then I could adjust my headposition by keyboard commands.

 

This works but isn't really ergonomic and takes some precious seconds in combat situations.

 

If somone knows or can guess, what I messed up in the configuration or did missunderstood in the tutorial, pleas give me an advice.

 

 

Thanks and allways good flying

 

 

 

 

[No_85_Gramps]

New version available at: https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/releases/tag/opentrack-2021.1.0

Haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

[LLv34_Flanker]

S! 

 

This thread improved my DelanClip setup considerably. Thank you for the effort to so well explaining all the settings etc. Very much appreciated! 

[Startrek66]

Hi guys, why does the lsht + joy0_pov0_0 head forward command when I use Edtracker get disabled?

[Martinsyde]

Hi there,

 

I've been experimenting with head tracking and Opentrack (on Linux, but should be portable) and thought I'd relate my experiences here in case it helps someone. What I've tried:

• FreePie on phone (Opentrack UDP)
• SmoothTrack with phone camera
• AITrack with webcam
• Aruco tracker with webcam
• Arduino nano + MPU6050 6dof chip
• Arduino nano + BNO055 9dof chip

(I've got some infrared LEDs but haven't played around with this option yet.)

 

Overall, the Arduino+BNO055 chip gives the best experience. It's stable, low lag, and weighs next to nothing strapped to headphones. This is what I'm using at the moment. I'm not using it for translation (e.g. forward/back), just for pitch/yaw/roll. I'm working on that.

 

FreePIE was surprisingly good in terms of tracking, but wearing a phone is just too awkward and heavy. That's out.

 

SmoothTrack was a bit better than AITrack. Both worked ok, they are usable. The z-axis (forward/back) was decent. However, at certain angles or in some light it would fail, this got annoying.

 

Aruco was a bit too unreliable and wearing the marker was also awkward.

 

The MPU6050 had a problem with yaw drift that was annoying and hard to compensate for exactly. Perhaps this could be fixed. I went with a more expensive 9DOF chip and this went away.

 

I'll edit this post when I get an IR solution working so can compare the full gamut of DIY head tracking. I may combine several methods, e.g. gyro + IR, to get the best of both worlds.

 

 

 

[JG27_Mainz]

Does using head tracking software limit your framerate? I heard that Track IR glitches out if your framerate is over 60; is this common among all tracking software?

[BlackHellHound1]

4 hours ago, IV./JG51-P_Mainz said:

Does using head tracking software limit your framerate? I heard that Track IR glitches out if your framerate is over 60; is this common among all tracking software?

 

Heard something similar a long time ago but I can't say I've heard that recently.
Been using Opentrack myself for many years and never had any issues like what you describe. Even TrackIR users I fly with never mentioned such issues to me so I think it's save to say that is no-longer a consern.

 

BlackHellHound1

[JG27_Mainz]

The issue was that Track IR's camera refreshes at a fixed 120 Hz, so if your monitor's refresh is not an integer divisor (such as 60 Hz) there will be stuttering issues. In theory if you have a 144 Hz monitor locked at 120 Hz, it should be fine.

[julesUK]

Hi,

 

I found this guide online and its brilliant for setting up my Delanclip goes into alot more detail and has been really helpful, I dont play IL2 myself, i use it for Falcon 4 BMS, and about 6 months ago i had to revert back to this and go through it all again, all good, now here I am, everything all good in opentrack, when my windows pc decides to `see` the camera when i turn it on?

In game, in the `pit` its all `stuttering` and really dont know why, any body else had this experience please?

 

John.

[julesUK]

i`ve added a video of what i get in 3D, everything seems ok in opentrack, dont why it does this, 2nd time, (first time updated opentrack and re-installed)

 

 

again hope some one can give me some pointers

 

John.

[Japsai]

I have updated Opentrack to latest version 2021.1.3 so that I can try the Hamilton filter and the PS3 Eye Driver (rather than the original CL Eye driver), as instructions found at https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/releases

 

I followed the instructions on installing the PS3 Eye driver i.e.

 

Use the zadig program <https://zadig.akeo.ie/> to install the libusb-win32 driver onto interface 0 of the camera. Don't use the WinUSB driver!

 

But I am obviously doing something wrong, as the camera isnt tracking in Opentrack (see screenshot). 

 

Any suggestions what I am doing wrong and how fixed?

[No_85_Gramps]

Make sure in the PointTracker settings you select the open driver.

 

[Addict]

What value to put on "Diagonal Fiew Of View" with a clip ?

[No_85_Gramps]

55 minutes ago, Addict said:

What value to put on "Diagonal Fiew Of View" with a clip ?

Well, the PS3 eye cam has two settings, 56 and 75. I use 56 as tracking seems more stable at that setting.

[Max_37_]

Hey all. 

I am using OpenTrack with Facedetection via neuralnet tracker and ps3 cam. It works pretty good, but there is one problem: 

I cannot change my seating-position, even if i stop the opentrack software i have to restart the game. 

Anyone knows how i can fix that?

[impulse200]

Hi everybody! ?

 

Is it possible to make camera rotate in place when pilot’s head is shifted along x/y/z acid and simultaneously keep relative translation?

What I mean is when pilot’s head moved forward rotation is happening along wide arc. So I end up staring at the back of the seat instead of checking my 6 when turning head backwards. 
But if I use "disable effect by pitch” toggle then I loose X axis inversion when I look backwards. 

Edited February 26, 2022 by impulse200

[Fvvca]

Hey there, it has been a long time ago since this is posted, so i hope somebody will see this post.

When i look up, it looks down, when i lean back it leans forward. When i look to my left and right it just works fine, only those two.

Anyone?

[Beebop]

Invert the axis?

 

[BlackHellHound1]

10 hours ago, Fvvca said:

Hey there, it has been a long time ago since this is posted, so i hope somebody will see this post.

When i look up, it looks down, when i lean back it leans forward. When i look to my left and right it just works fine, only those two.

Anyone?

 

Try inverting your axis by going to Options --> output.

[1Sascha]

Been so long since I've flown, plus I just got my Delanclip/PS3 Eye bundle in the mail and have used nothing but TrackIR5 before. So,... opentrack-n00bie here..

 

Setup of the camera and clip worked just fine... getting 6DOF in the opentrack SW, but when I try to use the tracker in IL-2, nothing really works as expected. Don't recall TrackIR being so difficult to set up, but I could be wrong..

 

I'm guessing that IL-2 still uses my old keymappings on this new system - it's the steam-version of the game and I guess the config stuff gets saved into the cloud or something.

What  happens in the cockpit with opentrack active is that some head movement gets recognized, but the in-game head doesn't move according to what my real head is doing. Looking around/head swivel left to right will slide the pilot's head from the front right corner of the cockpit to the rear left corner. All other movements I make aren't recognized at all.

 

My hope is that it's just a question of correctly assigning real world movements to in-game ones, so my question is:

 

Which functions in IL-2's settings/head movement category do I need to clear/remap?

 

Plus: I've tried to re-map some of the functions that sounded relevant myself (like "bow pilot head vertically/horizontally"), but when I get to the mapping dialogue  all it'll accept are keystrokes... moving my head does nothing and neither does moving my mouse around to try and map a function to a mouse axis. I tried switching the "old trackIR" setting from 0 to 1 in the config file but that didn't help, either.

 

EDIT: Guess I was freaking out a bit too early. Reset all my keymappings to default ... didn't help. Exited game and reset "old trackir"-value back to zero. On the next restart, headtracking (sort of) worked. Some functions just weren't ... err... functioning.

Went back to opentrack and found that, for some reason, some of the axes were disabled. Not sure why that happened, since I hadn't changed anything in the settings besides copying over the two DelanClip default config files. Went back into the game and everything worked more or less like it should.

 

Although... when I turn my virtual head all the way around towards the headrest of the plane, lean left and right are sort of swapped. Meaning: Looking back towards the 5 o'clock or 5:30 position, then trying to lean left to look around the headrest will move my virtual head to the right, not to the left. Been a long while since I've flown with any headtracking to I'm not sure if this is normal behaviour...

 

 

S.

Edited March 17, 2022 by 1Sascha

[1Sascha]

Thought I'd let you guys know about this, but wasn't sure it was worth opening a new thread:

 

Yesterday I had some pretty weird behavior from OT. Put the PC into sleep mode with OT still up and tracking (I'd forgotten to shut it down), then I woke the system back up again like 30 mins later and went to surf the web and to text-chat over discord with a buddy. Mid chat, my case and AIO fans suddenly went nuts and got really loud. I checked HW Monitor for temps and sure enough, my CPU was at around 61° C for no reason (should've been 41, 42 at this load and ambient temp). Checked task-manager for CPU workload and OT was listed in there as sucking 12% of CPU resources (on an i5-12600K), plus the power consumption label for OT in task manager showed "very high". I shut down Opentrack, overall CPU usage instantly dropped to 2 percent (basically idle), fans went quiet and CPU temps dropped back down to ~40° C.

 

Fan behavior and CPU-temp almost felt like I was encoding a 1440p video or something...

 

 

Not sure if this was an OT-specific thing or related to Windows sleep mode, but I thought I'd mention it. Never seen this sort of behavior from the app, even in long sessions.

 

S.

Edited May 21, 2022 by 1Sascha

[Sheriff88]

I have tried several ways to use Opentrack /AItrack combination with web cam.

I can see that AI track is working in preview screen. I made sure I opened Opentrack and AI track and game the same way. (With game and the apps opened as administrator nad also with game and apps launched normally). With and without the "Use Remote Client" option in the AItrack configuration window. None of them seem to work.

Any ideas?

[Sheriff88]

An update to my question:

How are the entries in the opentrack ini folder generated as shown in example?  I suspect you have to make a new entry in the game detection option screen as shown in second image. I tried that but I'm not sure how to identify the IL-2 / BOX .exe application. Any help would be appreciated. 

Thanks.

[No_85_Gramps]

The ini files are generated from the main open track screen. For game detection:

1. Click + sign.

2. Double click here and navigate to the game .exe.

3. Click down arrow and select profile you wish to use.

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by No_85_Gramps

[Sheriff88]

4 hours ago, No_85_Gramps said:

The ini files are generated from the main open track screen. For game detection:

1. Click + sign.

2. Double click here and navigate to the game .exe.

3. Click down arrow and select profile you wish to use.

 

 

When I double click on 2 location indicated.  I see empty opentrack folder as shown here:

[Dusty_Steppes]

7 hours ago, Sheriff88 said:

An update to my question:

How are the entries in the opentrack ini folder generated as shown in example?  I suspect you have to make a new entry in the game detection option screen as shown in second image. I tried that but I'm not sure how to identify the IL-2 / BOX .exe application. Any help would be appreciated. 

Thanks.

Left click on [Profile] and it will give a dropdown menu. I always create a copy of an ini if I want to tweak the settings. That way if it doesn't perform as planned I can always go back to the unmodified file.

Edited June 23, 2022 by Dusty_Steppes

[No_85_Gramps]

2 hours ago, Sheriff88 said:

When I double click on 2 location indicated.  I see empty opentrack folder as shown here:

Right, once there you have to navigate to the game's exe folder. Locate the game file using the navigation pane on the left side.

Navigate to E:\IL-2 Sturmovik Great Battles\bin\game then double click the "IL2.exe" file. Replace E: with whatever drive you game is installed on.

[Sheriff88]

Gramps, 

OK I got the IL-2 exe showing up in game detection screen.?

I turn on AITrack then Opentrack. Press "Start " in Opentrack. I see head movements being tracked.?

Open game and views not controlled by head movement.?

Edited June 23, 2022 by Sheriff88

[No_85_Gramps]

Make sure you run Opentrack and IL2 with Admin privileges. Also, are you using the launcher, or the IL2.exe to start the game? Game only tracks movement when you are in an aircraft.

Edited June 23, 2022 by No_85_Gramps