Personally speaking, the bigger picture for me is not spending 150$ right now but when i feel like it, maybe a couple of months post release. What FT does with NP is between them and the longer we focus our energy on it, the longer a generic headtracking method will take to implement.

I'm not hating on naturalpoint, i'm one of their customers in fact. However, i'm not going to take up their legal defence pro bono when
a) i'm not sufficiently qualified and
b) they are a big company making good money and they can afford the lawyers, seeing as how they didn't do anything up till now makes me think they don't have a reasonable chance of winning such a case

If we want the developer to have freedom in providing us with alternatives, then the developer must have a way of washing their hands clean. My solution was very simple and effective.

They give us the aforementioned interface and we decide what to do with it. They are not responsible for the way we use it.

Saying that they are is like saying western digital should make sure their customers are not using their hard disks to store illegally dowloaded content: it's out of the scope of the business and totally non-enforceable.

If a developer provided a specific, custom tailored interface for one particular head tracking method that was dubious then yes, they could face problems. If they provide a generic instruction set that lets the end user take it from there, then they have no responsibility whatsoever...the user has it.

I think it's the best solution either way we look at it. I don't want to have to wait for FT to settle their disputes with NP, when i can get my buddy to code me an alternative in 2 evenings worth of time that will make use of a generic interface, plus in favor of community spirit i would gladly distribute it to the rest of the community as well.

Nah, decent hardware creators don't bother so much about "hacks", they goes opposite way:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...ne/9210071.stm

I bought a PS3Eye without even have a PS3... Just because someone "hack" the driver to PC use... you think Sony is upset about that? LOL!

NP is a joke. Isn't a serious hardware company, someday they will vanish if still trying just to keep this market of simmers nerds with IR lights in head!

With M$ Kinetic and future hardware we maybe someday can use our hands to rotate some dials inside the cockpit of WWII warbirds virtualy... :cool:

Intersting point, but using FreeTrackCilent.dll no game-dev can "face problems", because they don't will even provide FreeTrackClient.dll, they will just get the data from FreeTrackClient.dll... That's why BIS can use Freetrack Interface without any legal or moral issues.

This point is vital here to specific Freetrack Interface suport in IL-2:CoD: If 1C didn't have an exclusivity contract with NP, 1C can use Freetrack Interface.

Simple as that.

I was thinking that MS would put motion tracking support into windows, like mouse and joystick. Do you think that NP will like or fight it?

It near future M$ WILL do that, for sure.

Kinect is years away form IR dots tracking, is much more flexible, with much more possibilities. And the hardware price is the same as some TIR actual solution...

NP will bankrupt when this technology became available for PC users, and I'll never use Freetrack again, or have stupid IR leds in my head.

But next month I'll like to have Freetrack suport in IL-2:CoD! LOL! :-)

I don't know how this Kinect stuff works, but it sounds promising for sure. :cool:


Lobi, f.i.
You are aware NP makes the big money with the professional tracking systems not with a downgraded eco gamer solution, right?

M$'s Kinect was already reverse-engineered and connected and used on PC. So, that moment won't be too far away.

I also find the price NP asks for a device like that to be outrageous. And I own town of their devices: a TrackIR2 and a TrackIR 4 Pro.

I did the same lobi, i also have a PS3eye e no PS3 :D, did you removed the IR filter? i'm using white leds, not the IR, and works very good

Microsoft already announced the Kinect will be available for pc as well, SDK to be released this spring and everything. And Asus wants to make a move with a similar product, Wavi Xtion. Already demo-ed at CES this year: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/11/a...demoed-at-ces/

So yeah, dark times for NP coming, i guess that explains their desperation... I'd like to see them trying to push Microsoft out of their way like they're trying to do with the evil open-source FreeTrack rofl.

I almost bought one too(no PS3 here either) - I was checking all the local auctions sites and discounters.
The "hack" to make it work looked somewhat difficult though, that scared me a bit. By fluke I ran into the cheap T5 for 80(the eye was $40) so I went for the former. Not having cables hanging from my head is a nice side effect I only realized later.

While typing this thread I just checked on the prices for the eye again -down to $29.
I might give it a another try, just to see how a 120fps cam performs compared to T5.