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

[brando]

Just for the record, Naturalpoint have been around since way before TrackIR. Their original product was called SmartNav and was designed to help people with disabilities to use their computers. It still exists (now at version 4) and is a great product which aided me a lot when I lost my arm. At the time, their technical support and personal back-up was exemplary and I believe it remains so. For me, the development of a head-tracking system for use with flight sims was a great bonus and remains so.

If we are to talk about analogies lets try something a little closer to reality. I was a bricklayer, trained in this ancient art and gained my qualification through practise. Imagine yourself in this position, working away at your trade and earning the rate of pay determined by local usage. Then suppose that another bricklayer comes onto the building site and offers to work for free...how would you react? You both have the tools of the trade and the knowledge ... but you need to put food on the table and otherwise support your family, while the newcomer is miraculously free of these very normal requirements.
I think I can speak for the majority of bricklayers when I say that he'd be taken around the block and seriously dissuaded from his benevolent but deluded stance.

I can see no difference between the 'benevolent' bricklayer's stance and that of those who are promoting Freetrack. Perhaps they should go and play the game on a Linux-based computer where open source is seen as a good thing, and stop trying to wreck the jobs of people who design hardware and software that exist in the money-earning world of computers and computer-gaming. I don't blame Naturalpoint for protecting their interests in this genre - and their actions are infinitely less savage than being taken around the block by a bunch of angry brickies, be sure!

B

[MikkOwl]

One cannot dictate how others choose to spend their toil (FreeTrack software developers for example). If they want to distribute it freely, that is their choice. Did you consider how people with disabilities could potentially benefit from FreeTrack? What if NP was blocked from doing anything within that field back in the day by another company because of similar practices (perhaps because they made products for disabled that were not as competitive, at rip-off prices)?

No one can force the world to support whatever business model they currently have (record companies are a notable example now). So it was with the French artisans who tried to use violence to bring down a factory (with no concern to the livelyhood of the people who designed, those who built and those who would operate and those who would maintain that factory). They created the word "saboteur".

[julian265]

Originally Posted by brando

I don't blame Naturalpoint for protecting their interests in this genre - and their actions are infinitely less savage than being taken around the block by a bunch of angry brickies, be sure!

B

I posted this guide: http://www.jpfiles.com/hardware/uni_stick.pdf

In this thread (and others): http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/t...3231057376/p/1

18 months ago. It took a fair amount of time to make the stick and do the guide, which I enjoyed. Do you think Logitech/CH/Thrustmaster employees should try to stop me from spreading this information?

What about Leo Bodnar, who's software talks the GENERIC, PREDEFINED USB INTERFACE which enables DIY contraptions to talk to all games? Should they try to stop him from providing such a capable product for such a low price?

[Letum]

Of course, as long as 1C implement the Freetrack API, there is no controversy at all.

[sigur_ros]

Letum, in that case there is still controversy, NaturalPoint's greedy actions hurt 1C who now has to implement two interfaces that do the same thing. NaturalPoint is counting on 1C sticking to TrackIR and not bothering with any others, of course this could backfire if 1C abandons the TrackIR altogether. It makes sense that there should be one standard head tracking interface that anyone can use, TrackIR interface is already standard so it is prime candidate, NaturalPoint's efforts to stop others using it is wrong.

[Letum]

Originally Posted by sigur_ros

Letum, in that case there is still controversy, NaturalPoint's greedy actions hurt 1C who now has to implement two interfaces that do the same thing.

The freetrack interface is free for any program to use.
TrackIR included.

Only one interface needed if NP update their software to interface with the
freetrack interface.

Besides, adding an additional interface is a very quick job. It's just one line
of code pointing to the interface .DLL once you have already set up the
headtracking in game.

[Wolf_Rider]

Why should NP "update" their interface, when their interface is being "tapped into" by freetrack?

freetrack don't have the interface... hence their need to use NP's

[Letum]

Originally Posted by Wolf_Rider

Why should NP "update" their interface, when their interface is being "tapped into" by freetrack?

freetrack don't have the interface... hence their need to use NP's

Freetrack does have it's own interface totally independent of NP.
Recently Bohemia Interactive implemented the Freetrack interface into it's
games.

Freetrack uses it's own interface (freetrack.dll) when ever it is available.
Anyone can use this interface.

When it is not available, freetrack will use NP's old interface if it is there.
Freetrack never uses NP's new interface.

NP should update to use the freetrack interface so that the game Devs don't
need to implement several interfaces, one for each headtracking program.

[julian265]

Originally Posted by Wolf_Rider

no-one is preventing anyone from writing their own software... it is when that software interfaces with someone else's software or hardware without authorisation that there is a problem.

Indeed, however that's what I read Brando as saying. I also think that there is a problem with preventing more open protocols from developing as they have with sticks and mouses. Do you not have a problem with this?

Originally Posted by Wolf_Rider

TIR is quite cheap, considering the amount of R&D which had to be done to protect their property and considering the cost of games and other computer componetes... the cost is a furphy, a red herring.

My opinion differs on all points. If you want to pay more for the extra development time required to run things on a special microprocessor, rather than the computers CPU, that's your choice.

Originally Posted by Wolf_Rider

err no... freetrack should have done the correct thing in the first place and developed their own interface, instead of tapping into NaturalPoint's.

Originally Posted by Wolf_Rider

freetrack don't have the interface... hence their need to use NP's

They always had their own interface. Their "need" was due to games not accepting the usual inputs for use with head pose.