Low-cost head tracking for Star Citizen | FoIP with Web Cam

[wmk]

I've been always using freelook to look around the ship while seated in the cockpit, as well as in 3rd person view, to look for the landing spots, track other spacecraft, etc. It worked fine but it required me to temporarily release all controls bound to the device used to move freelook camera around. I didn't want to buy any dedicated head tracking solution like Tobii, so I gave FoIP a chance. I used an old full HD Logitech C920 camera.

Initially, head tracking wasn't working as expected -- FoIP was losing the track, head position was constantly being stuck to one side. I'm playing mostly in the dark room with dim lights, plus the screen being another source of light, so I thought I will help the software to capture my face (and head) -- I changed default web cam settings to the following:

• Zoom: 200%
• Priority: Framerate
• Brightness: 55%
• Contrast: 42%
• Saturation: 0%

Notice saturation value -- this is probably the most important setting for low light conditions.
Additionally, in order to smooth the head movement I tuned head tracking settings in game:

• Head tracking - faceware - sensivity - pitch: 8.0
• Head tracking - faceware - sensivity - yaw: 8.0
• Head tracking - faceware - sensivity - yaw: 1.5
• Head tracking - faceware - smoothing threshold (degrees): 3.00

Once the image was tuned, I saved all settings to the custom profile. Logitech software needs to be running before game starts, otherwise FoIP uses raw camera image (default 1x zoom dark & noisy colour image). It's just a matter of launching the camera software and minimizing it to tray before starting the game, or allowing it to start automatically in Windows startup.

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The results are better than I expected:

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

I was surprised now well it worked when I founded a few years ago. A lot of people are put off be not being able to use it in 100% darkness though - I personally have a desk lamp bouncing off a beige wall for some gloom so I can see the keyboard so have enough light. I am usually somewhere between a moonlit street and a lamp lit street and it's enough to get the tracker working with a £20 Microsoft HD3000 webcam from yesteryear.

 

[wmk]

(...) A lot of people are put off be not being able to use it in 100% darkness though - I personally have a desk lamp bouncing off a beige wall for some gloom so I can see the keyboard so have enough light. I am usually somewhere between a moonlit street and a lamp lit street and it's enough to get the tracker working with a £20 Microsoft HD3000 webcam from (...)

This is what I've done to help FoIP to capture my bearded face illuminated with dim light ; )

---- Clearly, this cheap motion capture solution prefers monochromatic image.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

This is what I've done to help FoIP to capture my bearded face illuminated with dim light ; )

View attachment 22709

---- Clearly, this cheap motion capture solution prefers monochromatic image.

Ah, very cool - does it still show in black and white in the in game calibration tool where it puts the orange balls all over your face?

 

[wmk]

Ah, very cool - does it still show in black and white in the in game calibration tool where it puts the orange balls all over your face?

Oh yeah, I forgot about it -- once the image is tuned, I have to keep the Logitech software running by minimizing it to tray -- otherwise FoIP uses raw camera image (default 1x zoom dark & noisy colour image).

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Oh yeah, I forgot about it -- once the image is tuned, I have to keep the Logitech software running by minimizing it to tray -- otherwise FoIP uses raw camera image (default 1x zoom dark & noisy colour image).

View attachment 22713

Nice one, I'll have to have a try with B&W on my craptastic cam.