Preventing motion sickness in X-Plane

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Jack Aubrey
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:30 pm

Preventing motion sickness in X-Plane

Post by Jack Aubrey »

Hey all,

I love TrackIR, but as I get older, I start to find I get a bit of vertigo when playing X-Plane. Actually, it may be *better* with TrackIR than without, but it's still an issue. I don't ever get nauseous; instead I get a touch of vertigo or dizziness, plus maybe a very mild feeling of "blah" in my tummy. Some questions:

1. Using TrackIR 5, is there an optimal field of view for avoiding motion sickness? The default in X-Plane is 70. Should I increase it? Decrease it?

2. Is higher "smooth" better for preventing vertigo? Or is lower smooth better? I've been playing with smooth quite low, in the range of 5-10. Should it be 20? Higher?

3. Sometimes when I lose tracking, the view goes upside-down or topsy-turvy or worse. Is there a way I can set TrackIR just to freeze or face straight ahead or something instead when it loses tracking? The upside-down in particular makes me feel blah.

4. I use the hat-clip; the remote thing broke for me soon after I received it, and I had trouble with it even when it was unbroken. The hat-clip does very well in the evening, but on a sunny day, I have more trouble with tracking. Anything I can do about this?

5. Would the remote clip thing be more reliable in the day? I could be talked into ordering another, especially as I now wear a headset more often, and might find it convenient. But are the remotes any less fragile now?

Thanks in advance.
MikeWitham
Posts: 1477
Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2013 10:19 am

Re: Preventing motion sickness in X-Plane

Post by MikeWitham »

Hello,

I have never gotten Vertigo from playing so I can't be as helpful as I would like but I will do what I can.

1. I'm not sure if there is an optimal FOV, but I would suggest increasing it. A smaller FOV may lead to more extreme changes in view which might contribute to your sense of vertigo.

2. The higher the smooth, the less responsive it will be. I would suggest trying it out around 15 or 20. That would give you a good sense on whether or not it is helping you fairly quickly. It wouldn't allow you to look around as rapidly, but that might be helpful in this case.

3. There isn't we have that would pause it automatically. The camera is translating what it sees, and that is what gets piped into the sim. If this happens often, I would have pause and center hotkeys on somethings easy to get to.

4. You can go into the advanced settings menu and select the camera tab. Then you can turn up the light filter threshold. That should stop some of the light from entering the camera. The TrackClip PRO would be better for this.

5. The TrackClip PRO emits light instead of relying on a passive reflection. It also allows the light filter threshold to be turned all the way up. I am not sure if it would help with your vertigo, but I do believe it would give you a better tracking experience during the day.

Regards,
Mike Witham
TrackIR Product Manager
Jack Aubrey
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:30 pm

Re: Preventing motion sickness in X-Plane

Post by Jack Aubrey »

Thanks for your replies, Mike. I didn't know about that light setting in the cameras tab, so I'll certainly try that.

Alas, my TrackClip PRO broke after a day or so of use. Either the plastic snapped or the wiring got pulled apart; I don't remember which. I get up and sit down a lot, and I'm frequently removing my headwear; the passive clip seems better-suited for me, even if it doesn't track quite as well in daylight. (It tracks fine in the evening.)

Yes, I've experimented with a wider FOV. I'm not sure it's helping. I will play more with smooth.

Also, I just bought a pair of wristbands that supposedly help with vertigo. Worth a try!

Thanks again for your response.
MikeWitham
Posts: 1477
Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2013 10:19 am

Re: Preventing motion sickness in X-Plane

Post by MikeWitham »

Jack,

Thank you for the update. Please let me know how it goes. I'm interested in what you find that helps.

Regards,
Mike Witham
TrackIR Product Manager
Jack Aubrey
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:30 pm

Re: Preventing motion sickness in X-Plane

Post by Jack Aubrey »

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the tip on turning up the light filter threshold. That helped a fair bit. It wasn't perfect, but it was a big improvement, even with my hat-clip. I'll keep experimenting. Thanks again.

Jack.
Captrig
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2015 7:34 am

Re: Preventing motion sickness in X-Plane

Post by Captrig »

Hi... I am new to your device, TrackIR5. I am having difficulty adjusting it for proper function. I am a retired airline captain, 'been flying since 1962 & have never had even a twinge of airsickness. But I get it with TrackIR5.

I fly airplanes, I am not much of a computer programer. I admit ignorance in that area. I don't speak "Geek." Yet, I am not using this device to become a more proficient "Geek" but seeking to recreate the flying conditions I have experienced during my flying career.

I find the manual to be very difficult to comprehend & translate into action. All I am trying to do is look slightly up, down, left and right. When in cruise flight I am moving forward until the unit loses contact with the head set, then removing it until ready for use again. Pressing F9 is a fine idea except that it also pauses the toggle switches for the various DC 6B systems in FS9. I find that while using TrackIR5 that the field of vision will drift on it's own, making the activation of toggle switches difficult. This is not desirable when shooting an approach to minimums or below.

I have the slider moved to maximum smooth and -5 on the speed. Still fast and the visual is jerky. I do center the device with F 12 prior to flight, select "smooth" as my previously saved what 'cha callit. I can see that if this device is properly adjusted that it could be terrific. Simulators only get so realistic and then no more. Microsoft FS9 & TrackIR5 come pretty close - far better simulation than some airline simulators I have flown, and not necessary to invest $30 million.

Yes, I know there is a learning curve with all new systems & I am prepared to deal with it. What's a BB code? A flash?

Oh... I have a 52" monitor. It's fairly large & I think possibly a little high for the reflector unless I sit on some cushions. Is there a fix/cure for this??

Thank's in advance.

Trig
Rio Nuevo, Arizona :)
MikeWitham
Posts: 1477
Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2013 10:19 am

Re: Preventing motion sickness in X-Plane

Post by MikeWitham »

Captrig,

I would love to go into more detail with you about your setup and offer some solutions. Would you please create a ticket with me at help.naturalpoint.com? I would like to see what we can figure out for you.

Regards,
Mike Witham
TrackIR Product Manager
Captrig
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2015 7:34 am

Re: Preventing motion sickness in X-Plane

Post by Captrig »

Hi Mike...

Yes, I will be delighted to do that. I'll see if I can figure out how to create a ticket... also very unfortunately I have to run out for a couple of hours. Boo.

Very much looking forward to "speaking" with you!

Trig
Captrig
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2015 7:34 am

Re: Preventing motion sickness in X-Plane

Post by Captrig »

Hi Mike...

I have ordered the "Pro" clip - not sure of the name. Should be here tomorrow. Meanwhile I'll continue looking into this & will open a ticket (?) as soon as I can. Lots of stuff going on in addition to the simulator upgrading that unfortunately must be taken care of first.

I am aware that most if not all of the problems here are operator induced by my inability - so far - to set the parameters / settings correctly.

Thank's again

Trig
kneighbour
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 4:43 pm

Re: Preventing motion sickness in X-Plane

Post by kneighbour »

I have to agree with the OP. My problems are exactly the same.

One problem I have is TrackIR dops out every so often. So the view (I think) flips around 180 degrees and looks behind me, plus inverted. Very hard to follow, especially when on finals!

When it works, it is fairly good - except I also get the vertigo effect mentioned here. It is simply too jerky most of the time.
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