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Hello,

I've been suffering from RSI in both hands for a couple of years now from working, playing PC games, and playing my guitar, but it's got to a point where I MUST rest and recover. I can't just watch TV for several months; my brain will rot and I've still got to use my hands to change the channel! So, I'm considering the SmartNav/TrackIR with foot switches to be completely hands free.

I like to play strategy (Command & Conquer 3, Total War, Civ 4), 1st/3rd person shooters (Bioshock, GTA, Rainbow 6, Half-Life), RPGs (Mass Effect, The Elder Scrolls), and racing games (Need for Speed, MotoGP, GRID). If I'm limited to just one genre, that's fine.

So far I'm leaning towards the TrackIR due to it being cheaper, plus I have a pair of Sennheiser HD555 headphones which looks like it would fit perfectly with the headset clip.


My questions:

1 - Even with no official support, does the TrackIR still support mouse movement in games as if you were really moving your mouse? (from what I've been reading, this is mouse emulation, yes?)

2 - The SmartNav page says it works with any game on the market, but from what I've read on the forums some/most would have to be in windowed mode. Is this true?

3 - The foot switches won't plug into the TrackIR, right?

4 - Is there any support for using the TrackIR like a standard joystick, so I could play racing games steering with my head?


Overall I'd really like to know how the products differ when using them to replace the mouse in games. I'm also not bothered about the 6DOF.

Thanks.

1 - The TrackIR does do mouse emulation, but the software would need to do mouse4 movement with direct input.

2 - Not every application requires being in Windowed mode, but if it isn't working in full screen, one option is trying windowed mode.

3 - Correct, they are not compatible with the TrackIR unit.

4 - Joystick emulation is something we are looking into.

More questions:

Ok, so would the SmartNAV work with all games as a mouse replacement, or does it require direct input as well?

Is joystick emulation something that is just around the corner, or is it on a long list of requests?

Is there any/much difference in responsivness of the two products (using the TrackIR as a mouse)?

Generally the SmartNAV will work with any application, as a mouse replacement, unless it is using its' own mouse driver interface.

It is on a list of items that we are looking to include in a future version of the software.

The TrackIR is not designed to be used as a mouse. The basic technology is the same, but how the software and hardware interact is different.

Say Rob,

I'm in a similar situation: Bad RSI (five years), gamer and guitarist.

I'm waiting the weeks while my SmartNav paddles across the Pacific to Oz, and while I was waiting I taught myself to play Half-Life 2 hands free (single player, easy difficulty) by using voice buddy, and manipulating a Logitech marble mouse with my feet! So you have another option, desperate as it is

Ah, glad to see I'm not the only one trying to achieve the same thing.

Using my voice is out of the question for me unfortunately as other people in the room might be a little bit irritated, heh.

I'd like to know how you've got on with the SmartNav, assuming you have recieved it.


EDIT: Scrap that, just saw your other posts :whistle:

Yep, things are going great. With the SmartNav (running TrackIR software and mouse emulation), gaming foot pedals handling WASD, and Voice Buddy doing the rest, I'm sweet. Got all the way through Half Life 2 and its two sequels, currently 2/3 of the way through Doom 3. I'm not as good as I was pre-injury, but I can enjoy gaming again no probs.