1C's stance on head-tracking devices for BoB?

[Untamo]

NaturalPoint's agressive marketing makes me, also a FreeTrack user, very nervous. I don't want to buy expensive stuff when I can make a working system myself from an old webcam and a few IR leds.

[Flanker35M]

S!

Business is tough Untamo, and NaturalPoint uses it's leading position to the full to keep it. But again..resourcefull players have always found a way around obstacles

[Blackdog_kt]

That's understandable and fine really. The difference is that as long as freetrack uses the naturalpoint API, there's not much ground to stand on in order to claim that NP is doing something wrong. Sure, most of us can make the IR LED clip and find a webcam lying around, but not all of us can code an API.

Personally, i have a TrackIR4 that i got almost a couple of years ago, but i don't think competition is a bad thing, to the contrary in fact. The reason i got it was precisely what you mention here. I was between a X52 Pro and TIR4 at that point, but i decided to get TIR4 because of the official support.

The distinction for me in the whole deal is that i wouldn't feel comfortable saying "i won't give you money because i can build it on my own" and then double-back and go "don't change your API that i don't fund in any capacity whatsoever, because my free stuff stops working with it". That's why freetrack NEEDS an API of its own, preferrably something open-source.

Then, if NP is making backroom deals with game developers to stop supporting the freetrack API, you don't only have enough to argue a case of unethical monopoly, you might even have enough to take them to court

Until there's an open-source API for user-made head trackers however, there's not much anyone can do about NP changing their software as often as they please.

[Letum]

Originally Posted by Blackdog_kt

That's understandable and fine really. The difference is that as long as freetrack uses the naturalpoint API, there's not much ground to stand on in order to claim that NP is doing something wrong.

Freetrack also uses it's own api totally independent from NP (freetrack.dll I believe).
The Freetrack API is free to use by anyone. Bohemia Studios are the latest to adopt the freetrack API.

[Blackdog_kt]

Ah, so it exists. That's very nice. Competition makes better products and lowers prices

[MikkOwl]

I would not at all be worried about freetrack and Storm of War. Such a major title needs no special treatment from (comparatively puny) NaturalPoint, rather the opposite.

NaturalPoint tried to make sure (and succeeded) that Freetrack software was made incompatible with the TrackIR hardware. For the consumer (me) that is 100% bad. What can I lose from having more options? Freetrack software has some good stuff (been trying it when helping a friend set up a 'free' tracker to match my TiR5 in IL-2, as we could not go head to head for as long as I had that enormous situational awareness advantage). NaturalPoint need to implement features that are in FreeTrack or let users use Freetrack software. But they have done neither.

Their motive for this (and other things mentioned) I can only speculate on. I think it is that they are trying to prevent people even knowing that any kind of option exists other than buying a TrackIR. Follow this reasoning:

1. Miss Simpilot buys a TrackIR 5 and loves it.

2. Her simmer friends think it's awesome and now want to be able to do the same thing. That 274 dollar cost for a TiR 5 with a CrapClip Pro (I have one and while it delivers great functionality, the durability is atrociously poor, it is disintegrating piece by piece) is expensive.

3. Miss Simpilot had tested an alternative piece of software to control her TrackIR 5 with called Freetrack, and from that she knew that it was actually possible to get head tracking without paying 274 dollars. In fact, a moderately handy person can use parts from around the house costing only a fraction. Yes, performance isn't as instant, smooth and precise as the TiR 5 but at a fraction of the cost it is an agreeable trade-off for many of the expense concerned friends.

_____

I think NaturalPoint want to erase the 3. I wrote above and replace it with this:

3. Miss Simpilot and her friends all think the TiR 5 is awesome but at 274 dollars it is very expensive, and if there was any way around spending this much money for for headset mounted dots and tracking unit hardware they would give it serious thought. However, it seems no other companies offer similar products in any of the online stores they checked. As a result, one third of the friends end up buying the TiR 5 + SnapClip Pro and the others decide that they can't justify that kind of money on gaming periphals.

___

Fortunately a lot of people do know about freetrack alternatives, but not everyone. Certainly not years ago either. Think about the people with less time to spend on googling forums about headtracking options and their friends/coworkers who might know even less.

The whole thing reminds me of how music record companies and gaming companies are trying to force people to give them money to supply a worse product than the freely distributed versions.