i was wondering what kind of hardware you pilots out there use during CNTO operations. Any of you use mouse and keyboard? I assume joystick is a requirement? Any recommendations on good bang-for-buck joysticks?
I hope this is not covered anywhere on the forums! If so, please point me in the right direction!
Thanks!
[justify]The majority of pilots here use mouse and keyboard for flying, calibrating a joystick in Arma has always been a bit tricky to say the least. This is personal preference, but I feel that a joystick is not necessary unless you are flying with AFM in Arma 3 (we don’t use AFM in our events, it’s disabled server side). I’d put hardware in the following order for flying in Arma:
[/justify]
Good to know, thanks! I’ll get practising… Already use trackir! 
I do find that a Joystick is a joy to fly with, just as the 2 cents of someone who OCCASIONALLY flies with one. I use the Cyborg FLY 5 for this, and after reducing spring tension it’s been a beautiful thing to work with.
[quote user_id=“11341464” avatar=“https://assets-cloud.enjin.com/users/11341464/avatar/medium.1553522842.png” name=“Clarke”][justify]I’d put hardware in the following order for flying in Arma:
[/justify]
[list]
[] TrackIR 5
[] Mouse & Keyboard
[/list][/quote]
It might be just me, but I think you’ll need mouse and keyboard before TrackIR 5. :LOL:
Joking aside, what Clarke wrote is on the spot. I myself am using only mouse and keyboard. Quite recently I’ve set up flight controls so I can use my freelook (ALT key) and still have all the controls over aircraft. It’s working pretty good as an alternative for TrackIR, so I can bank and circle around an area while I’m looking down at ground and scanning for ground forces.
All you need is experience, i.e. practice.
I have decided to note down all my controls for Arma because I’m using a lot of custom binds. So I can show you how I have it set up. (I’m not using arrow keys to fly, they are there because I didn’t remove them)
P.S. Now I’ve just realised, since new Helicopter DLC, they’ve added "trim" settings, meaning if you know how to set it up properly, you could with a single click of a button engage "autopilot" where it would for example circle you around an area, or keep nose down to keep moving forward. Only difference between real autopilot and trim setting is, that with trim settings you still have full control of your aircraft it’s only your controls you’ve adjusted. Sounds complicated, but if anyone ever flew in MS Flight Simulator or Take on Helicopters, you’ll know what I’m trying to explain.
If you want to go for a trackIR but are too lazy to custom tweak your settings you can always just load up dslyecxi’s profile TrackIR5 – dslyecxi.com
About TrackIR you can setup your own version of it with some LEDs and a software program to work with Arma supports it all you need is a Webcam you can use (meaning break) a cheap one of 30 w/e currency and some LEDs and a soldering iron and this YouTube video and you go your own version of it granted a lot cheaper and easier to customise to suit your needs (meaning you can build it into a hat or something)
I’m so used to TIR, I tend to twist my head around when I play other games too! It’s so good, I wish more games supported it.
The issue with home-made TIR alternatives is that all webcams tend to have a 60-150ms latency and anything above 40ms is feel-able. I could never get around the delay, that’s why I cashed out and got TIR.
I know your pain, Bull! When I recently did a mod checkup for someone I decided not to bother with Track IR. The entire time through I sat there like a light blasted fool, twisting my head every other minute.
I will say this regarding using Webcams or Track IR. If you must buy the webcam, don’t. Go for the Track IR instead. If you have one… Well, might as well try it out. But still, buy Track IR.
Oh, btw, from many different sources; the differences between Track IR 4 and 5 are marginable. Small quality improvements. Nothing massive. I would not buy Track IR 5.
Agreed. TIR5 really doesn’t fix or improve anything, it just has better specifications on the paper but the performance is equally awesome. Sensor positioning is important - for example, my sensor is set on top of my monitor right next to my webcam - directly head-height.
The issue with this sometimes is that when I look up, the front reflectors are blocking the rear reflector and it stops tracking - so I find I have to angle it down slightly before centering.
Thanks for all the useful replies, guys!
I’ve been told that the FaceTrackNoIR/Freetrack works about as great as TrackIR and I don’t see the reason not to believe that with video’s like these
[youtube]m90pClrwjG0[/youtube]
Zero, did you pay attention to the latency? Because I did. I could SEE the delay between the head moving and the camera moving. That, in my honest opinion, is pretty bad. Might be fine for you, but I will always argue that the responsiveness of Track IR is worth the extra bucks.
If you don’t have 100$ (+shipping to Europe), then 30$ homebuilt or even FacetrackIR will suffice. Different people, different tastes and different budget priorities.
P.S. I didn’t notice unbearable delay, or any for that matter.
Ryujin, Track IR is sold by specific retailers in Europe. I bought mine in, and had them shipped from, France. The prices then are no different, adjusted for currencies. Look it up, the references are on the Track IR site.
The prices are no different yet still too expensive for certain people (~290$), (~230$) (~160$ TIRv4). Again, Kaleo, certain people don’t care to cash out ~200$ for something they can get for ~50$. Certain people have different budget limitations, and you saying that TrackIR is worth 150$ (~100$ for TIRv4) extra cash is snobbish. At least the way you phrased it and with the argumentation you provided.
I’d like you to consider the possibility that all these people are satisfied with their homebuilt devices.
I’m really interested in how low the latency of the PS3 camera can get. I’m tempted to buy that Delan thing for science.
I actually got myself the ps3eye and electrical kit for christmas and have soldered everything together now - I’ll post an update once I’m back home and ready to test it out ingame.
What I will say is that so far I’ve had a fair bit of fun building the thing, there’s nothing particularly difficult involved - my untrained hands just took a bit longer to do the soldering. Total price for me was probably a shade under €20.
[youtube]6Pts_sotjMA[/youtube]
Interesting. This might allow even more freedom thanks to phone’s gyro/accelerometer having full 3D sensory and doesn’t rely on an optical sensor. I tend to have issues looking up and to the sides because the reflective patches are blocking each other.
The latency is horrid though, I would not be able to use it comfortably unless they manage to minimize it.
