Noticed on the Just Trains site they are selling beam eye tracker for use with TSW5. Has anyone tried this with TSW5 and does it work as intended? Whilst not cheap if it does work well then Im certainly tempted to purchase. But I don't recall it ever being discussed on the forums previously despite being out for a couple of years so a little hesitant. For anyone who hasnt heard of it here is the link to the JT page. https://www.justtrains.net/product/beam-eye-tracker
Tbf it’s a lot cheaper than TrackIR, which I find really useful for most of my sim games. I won’t play ATS/ETS or any flight sim without it. At that price it’s probably worth a shot for someone looking for a cheaper option. There’s also SmoothTrack, which is like 12 bucks in the Android and iPhone App Store… probably the cheapest tracking option out there but I’ve no experience with it
I am. Bought it from Steam where there’s a 3hr demo available. Ideally you want a webcam capable of 60fps, the resolution isn’t as important. If you get it mention it here & I can help with the setup if you need. For ~£60 (inc the webcam) it is every bit as good as the alternatives.
I have had beam tracker for about 6 months now. Previously I used TrackIR with the track Clip Pro, fitted to wireless headphones. Unfortunately the Track Clip Pro is so flimsy it broke into pieces. I have tried using the Beam tracker / Opentrack, together with just ear buds. which is way more convenient. With Beam Tracker, movement has never been smooth. My camera is a cheap HP 720 P at 30fps. Would you recommend I upgrade to a 60 fps camera ? Keith P.S. I also use the Beam Tracker whilst playing ETS, ATS, and Flight Sim. All with non fluid movement .
Only in that they recommend higher FPS cameras to get a smooth experience. If it’s working for you at 30 then I’d leave it. My laptop camera is 30 and it seems ok
Personally I have always experienced lag with the various camera-based trackers, but the TrackIR always works beautifully and without lag. Thankfully BeamEyeTracker has a demo as previously mentioned.
I have been trying the Beam Eye Tracker demo. (I can't get my Track IR to work.) My problem is that for me it seems far too sensitive and is moving all the time. Basically I would like to be looking straight ahead most of the time with an occasional look down to the instruments/controls or a side view out of the cab window. I would like the transition to change views to be slow and smooth but haven't been able to achieve that. I've tried playing with the settings but haven't got what I'm looking for. Has anyone got it working in the way I describe?
Yes but on my set up its not smooth just a bit laggy. I still have the TrackIR, but only the cap thingy. I was trying to do away with anything on my head, just wanting to use a pair of wireless ear buds for the sound.
If you’re talking about TrackIR, I had the same issue until I tweaked the settings. I think I used the smooth preset while turning speed all the way down to 1, or something. Will try to send you a screenshot when I get a chance… I was a PITA trying to figure out a solid setting, took a few days of tweaking.
This is me using it in FS24. This looks pretty spot on I think, but it does take a bit of setting up and an understanding of what you’re trying to achieve when doing so.
Thanks for the replies. Really appreciated. That video is exactly the type of movement I am looking for. Jetwash: Could you point me at the settings to achieve that?
Just downloaded the demo (which is quite generous. 3 hours!) I really like it. For $30 it’s a no-brainer. Will really help with hitting those stops on Metrolink (can see the sign out your window.
Good tutorial video, thanks JetWash. I've got a page and half of notes now and a much better understanding Of the Beam/Open Track software. Now to go and expriment with that...
It’s a good video but in my experience some of it is unnecessary. I would summarise it as follows; 1) In Beam eye track itself; - Run the calibration - Ensure Game Extensions are turned on - Select ‘Head Only’ for tracking. Leave everything else alone 2) In Open track; - Set Input to ‘Eyeware Beam’ - Set Output to ‘freetrack 2.0 Enhanced’ - Select profile then create a copy and call it TSW or something appropriate - Go to Options - Shortcuts and set a keybind for centre (I use Alt+X I think) - Go to Options - Output and disable roll This is the important bit Click Mapping then; - select yaw - check Asymmetric Mapping - Turn your head to the left but only as far as is comfortable. You will see the red circle on the graph which corresponds to your head position. Click it. You are saying this is far as I wish to move my head. Then grab the circle and lift it directly upwards until the image on the screen turns as far left as you want it to go - Once there drag it to the right a bit so the line is a bit less vertical - Repeat in the opposite direction Once you’ve done that repeat for pitch and the X, Y, Z axis. You should end up being able to move around without going outside the bounds of the cab model, and without having to turn your head so far you can’t see the monitor. Once you grasp what you’re attempting to achieve then you can play around with it and set it to your hearts content. TSW is a bit strange as it doesn’t have a set default view like flight sim does. So I would then click stop on open track and set your ‘default’ viewpoint using your mouse. Once set then click ‘start’ in open track, hit your centre keybind and that should be it. It sounds complicated and convoluted but once you figure it out it’s very easy. HTH.
