Access across a network?

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Magic Man
Posts: 93
Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2003 5:00 am

Access across a network?

Post by Magic Man »

How about the facility to access across a network?

What I'm thinking is where multi PC setups are used (mainly) for Flight Simulator in a server/client setup.

Any chance of a small program that would allow control via the Track IR on a PC that is not directly connected to the unit but only networked to the PC that the unit is connected to?

E.g. Track IR in a multi PC setup, controlling the views on the main PC but being able to be switched to control a second PC that is running the instruments over a LAN
g3racer
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2005 5:00 am
Location: australia

Re: Access across a network?

Post by g3racer »

this is an absolutely brilliant idea and one i am sure many sim pilots would love.

so you have your main computer with the tracker plugged in and
some method of broadcasting the positional data across the lan

then on the client pc's, install some software to interpret this data as if the tracker was plugged directly into the client.

please consider, cheers g3racer.
rodom
Posts: 581
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2005 5:00 am
Location: Philomath, OR

Re: Access across a network?

Post by rodom »

I might not be understanding you correctly.

But how would someone control the TrackIR if they are not sitting in front of it to track the movements?
g3racer
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2005 5:00 am
Location: australia

Re: Access across a network?

Post by g3racer »

hello rick @ np, an immediate reply awesome.
that in itself is a good sign of support.

i will attempt to paint the picture so bare with me

to answer your question, one example that comes to mind is running a multi pc, multi monitor setup.
connected via a lan, each showing different views within the one sim/game.

lets say 3 pc's in a lan using the in game multiplayer. with the centre pc hosting the game, and the left and right pc's joining the game.

in a driving sim for instance, the left pc looks out the left side, centre is looking forward and right is looking out the right window. the view blending naturally between screens, that part is easy.

the view across all three monitors is from the perspective of the centre pc (as in the drivers head position)

on both side screens/pc's this is achieved by choosing the driver of the centre screen and changing the view angle to suit, a little involved but very rewarding all the same.

if there was some sort of additional option in the software to allow the trackir signal to be read by the side screens, all views would move together.
something along the lines of a small program to install on the pc's joining the lan that reads the centre pc's trackir.
np may be able to modify the software to include its own host/join option using ip addresses.
you could then configure the host/join addresses for the trackir prior to entering the multiplayer game.
the centre pc with the trackir automatically being the host ip that the others join.
fooling the sides to believing they too have a trackir connected and in turn creating a multi monitor moving view controlled by one trackir.
therefore providing a horizontal FOV or viewing angle of approx 100+ degrees depending on monitor size and position. imaging say 3x 19" lcd in an arc at say arms length.

i appreciate you reading my novel of a reply, G3racer.

thanks Rick and np team
i look forward to discussing this further.

[ December 15, 2005, 03:59 PM: Message edited by: g3racer ]
Magic Man
Posts: 93
Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2003 5:00 am

Re: Access across a network?

Post by Magic Man »

aha! my old thread...

Request still stands... I think g3racer has the exact same idea in mind that I did/have.

Basically, for me as a sim pilot and future multi-pc views setup, a server and client version of the TrackIR software to allow more than one PC to read the unit and respond accordingly.

In addition, there would be a requirement on each client to be able to set the 'centre' position as a different view as seen by the unit.

I.e. the central client (the forward view) would have its 'centre' position as the software currently allows. Left side and right side views (on different PC's) would have their 'centre' position set so that the view through them is the view as desired, e.g. 45 degrees left and 45 degrees right.

So, two requests (for the moment).

1. Network (server/client) functionality to the TrackIR software so that more than one networked PC can 'see' and react to the TrackIR unit

2. The ability to set the 'centre' default view to a user defined view, e.g. add an extra hotkey to the software so that when you look around to a desired view out of the cockpit and then press the "set centre" hotkey, that view becomes the centre view rather than the default straight out of the cockpit view so that when you press the "centre" key, the view returns to that view and all movement of the tracker is relative to that view. This would also be saved to the current profile - in the networked scenario, it would mean switching to each client in turn (via a KVM switch or multiple keyboards etc) and then setting the default centre for each.

EDIT:

Whilst I'm here how about another thing.

Integrate the mouse control software into the TrackIR software and add another hot key to toggle between mouse control and view control, this would be done purely in the software though so that the multiple clients can be set individually.

I.e. PCs 1,2 and 3 displaying front view, and left/right views in view control
PC4 displaying the panels with the TrackIR software operating in mouse control to control the guages.

[ January 01, 2006, 01:25 PM: Message edited by: Magic Man ]
g3racer
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2005 5:00 am
Location: australia

Re: Access across a network?

Post by g3racer »

howdy magic man, good to see you are an active member still keen on this suggestion.

your new ideas also have some merit.

intergrating such features as server/client communication into the software would be a true step in the right direction for anyone trying to link multiple pc's as in the above senarios.

lets continue to collaborate our ideas, for if the interest is there, the software will follow.... build it and they will come

here we are sitting on runway 34 sydney looking out the front of my bell jet ranger
this kind of thing is nothing new to flight sim users, this is 3 pc's networked together and not a parhelia card as i have previously seen.
using a network some folks go to extremes as i have seen up to 12 pc's linked in this way, in a 3/4 circle and a few extras for instruments etc.

the advantage of the seperate pc method is that each screen can be driven by a powerful system.

looking forward to getting this idea off the ground, G3racer.

[ January 11, 2006, 01:16 AM: Message edited by: g3racer ]
g3racer
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2005 5:00 am
Location: australia

Re: Access across a network?

Post by g3racer »

here's one of lockon's F-15



imagine alll 3 tracking together, fingers crossed.

[ January 28, 2006, 05:23 AM: Message edited by: g3racer ]
SytRep
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2004 5:00 am
Location: Lincoln

Re: Access across a network?

Post by SytRep »

Hey
Thought you might like to have a look at the triplehead2go from matrox. Looks like you can drive 3 monitors from one vga output. This means triple viewing that will work with Track IR. I've got to get me one of these.

Have a look at http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/th2go/home.cfm

Roll on April
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