Got an E-mail on this and I’m very interested. I’ll make my decision on what i see posted on it here . My son is an Airline Captain on a 737 . He walked in me once when i was down wind and said to me "how the heck do you guys fly when you can’t see out the side window " this is like a head tracker but i want to know more about it , its only 30 bucks but need a web cam .Thanks Louis cyyc
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I use it, and you also need a bit of free software to actually get it to talk to MSFS (I will edit after I get the name of it!) …but is very good …and certainly a lot cheaper than other out of the box eye trackers.
Definitely worth considering.
The free tracking software you need is called OpenTrack. I already use OpenTrack with my IR head tracking device from Grass Monkey.
I downloaded the time-limited demo on Steam to try out. Seems to track my eyes and work pretty well with my bog-standard Logitech 1080p webcam. I haven’t conducted a real flight with it yet.
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VR is the answer.
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Unistalled after 10 minutes. Completely useless. Good only for headache.
You can’t look where you want, movements are completely unnatural.
VR is the only option
here I am: OpenTrack plus Beam Eye plus one old PlayStation webcam (PSEYE!);
even without beam eye it works like a charm; definitely worth a try.
3 monitors is better answer.
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AITrack with Opentrack here and a cheap ancient 720p webcam. Head tracking at $0 (assuming you have a random spare webcam).
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I broke my Track IR 5 some time ago, then tested every free cam-based tracking options.
Nothing compares to Beam Tracker. Worth every penny. Besides, you don’t have to wear anything on your head. Bigggg plus. Obviously you need good enough lighting.
I have exotropia, meaning my eyes point out instead of inward, like someone who’s crosseyed. Eye tracking doesn’t work at all for me under any circumstances.
Here’s the thing about Beam Eye though, it lets you track just one eye. That made a decent difference, and it could track me a bit, but not with the same accuracy as someone whose eyes aren’t all farkakte.
Head tracking with OpenTrack works pretty great though. I did a little tweaking to sensitivity and found my sweet spots in just a couple minutes.
There’s a free demo on Steam (with a hard timer) and OpenTrack is free. I say give it a shot!
Edit: I’ve found that Beam Eye is much better than AITrack for head tracking.
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You might try opentrack by itself (and just a webcam). This video is pretty good on how to set it up. If you like the head tracking you can stop there. If you want to add eye tracking, look at the advice in the other posts here.
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There you go, i knew I’d get the right answers here . I had bought a head tracker at a flight sim conference in San Diego yrs ago but eventually let go and I never go around to getting a new one .You have a point on 3 monitor Scold but 2 more 49in. Samsung’s is a little much that i really don’t want to spend on right now .Ok, I’ll buy a web cam and what your saying to get .
I haven’t been able to get MSFS in VR to run smoothly and also look good. I’m running a Valve Index off a 5800X3D and a 3080.
I guess I’m particularly sensitive to it. If it’s not running buttery smooth and it lags or reprojection is happening, I get nauseated. The only way to fix that is to lower graphics settings so low that it looks like FSX, and I don’t want that either.
Head tracking is a good compromise between pancake and VR.
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I use a 49" with GreenMonkey head tracking. Feels quite natural after some tweaking.
But I will have a look at Beam Eye as well.
@GIEI and @Marklar666
Yeah we know VR is great, no doubt about it.
But it’s not the right thing for everyone. It has disadvantages too and needs getting used to, just like head tracking and eye tracking.
Just imagine if someone wrote in a VR topic about ditching VR after 10 minutes: you probably would rightly tell them that 10 minutes is too short to appreciate what VR can do.
Most people in this topic probably have a valid reason NOT to chose VR. There’s no need to bring it up here, because this topic is NOT about VR. Thanks
Sorry but complete rubbish.Used Beam Eye tracker with Opentrack for ages.Much better than Tobii or TrackIR.
Recommend it. Use a basic webcam with it.
After spending many many years with the early version of TrackIR, I got last year the Tobii Eye Tracker 5 and despite this small lag that one can get used to + settings to compensate, I am very happy with it.
I am still curious to know what the Beam Eye Tracker has different or better if this is the case.
I never found VR a natural experience considering the interaction with the physical environment (controllers). However CAE (pro sim manufacturer) are investing now in the Apple VR device for their early training processes (develop muscle memory from a virtual cockpit etc). I am not sure they use it for actual flying training…
Multi monitors is a more natural setup if one can afford it.
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Just had a preliminary test with the demo version of Beam Eye.
Looks quite promising to me. Much better than any other eye tracking I have tried so far - including Tobi. But it needs some more fiddling with the settings to make it feel good and so far I haven’t found my settings yet.
Currently my Green Monkey still feels more natural but Beam Eye works better in the vertical axis - and of course the promise of using tracking software without wearing equipment on my head os very attractive.
I’ve been using one his trackers for 2+ years now (or is it 3?). My only complaint is I don’t usually wear headphones while simming so I use the 3D-printed headband. Mine broke a few months ago so I ordered a replacement. The new ones he’s making are both thinner in width front to back, and thinner in thickness (so less tension and more likely to break than the original). While I’m sure the new design is quicker to print and uses less filament, it certainly feels less durable in use and I’m certain it will break eventually as well unless I’m extremely careful.
So I’m going to experiment more this weekend with the Beam software and see how it goes over the course of a full flight.
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Try disabling SVT in BIOS (Virtualization). This made a huge difference for me with my 5800X3D. I also have SMT disabled but do test it out YMMV.
It’s a MSFS problem, which has made it so frustrating to diagnose that I gave up on it a long time ago. Every other VR game I have runs like an absolute dream.