Mouse Emulation Head-Tracking App for Vuzix 1200VR

Post by **cybereality** » Sat Oct 01, 2011 5:08 pm

This little app will allow for mouse emulation in Windows using the headtracker on the Vuzix Wrap 1200VR. It should also work with the Wrap 920VR and possibly the VR920. I tested a number of games in both Windows 7 64-bit and Vista 32-bit. The app will work with virtually ANY game under Windows. Please see the video below:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PaGFdAcpQ0[/youtube]

Download ioVR version 0.1:

ioVR_0.1.zip

Just copy the ioVR.exe file to your desktop (or make a shortcut) then double-click the icon. It should enable right away, and you will see the mouse cursor move with the headset. Then open the game of your choice and it should work fine. Hotkeys are as below:

SHIFT+F10: Decrease sensitivity
SHIFT+F11: Increase sensitivity
SHIFT+F12: Toggle tracking
SHIFT+ESC: Quit

Note, that this is an alpha release of a software that will be much more fully featured in the future. This means other tracking devices will be supported and eventually even cooler stuff like haptic force-feedback and stereo 3D. For now the app will remain free, but may be paid in the future (once more functionality is implemented).

If you have any questions or comments, please share. Thanks.

Post by **pierreye** » Sat Oct 01, 2011 5:44 pm

Any game that support independent head tracking and mouse aiming? How about comparing Head tracking vs gun tracking for aiming? I'm just curious which would be easier in gaming. I try out mouse/keyboard again just to compare and I would say it's easier to aim using a gun tracking devices and feel natural. Only thing is my hand is tired after 2 hours of gaming.

Post by **bobv5** » Sat Oct 01, 2011 5:49 pm

Awesome.

I wonder if it possible for your driver to seperate the view from the aiming? I'm no good at software, but I suspect it is possible. Isn't that how the 3d drivers work, by somehow altering the virtual camera?

Post by **cybereality** » Sat Oct 01, 2011 6:12 pm

Eventually I want to have independent gun and head tracking. That would be a much more involved project requiring hooking into DirectX. Currently I am supporting mouse emulation only. But that is the idea to get that stuff working at some point.

Post by **WiredEarp** » Sun Oct 02, 2011 12:28 am

@ bobv5: no, while you could rotate the view using the drivers (as the 3d ones do) you'd still have the gun etc in the middle of the screen, a driver cannot easily separate out game elements like that.

Nice work CyberReality.

Post by **Okta** » Sun Oct 02, 2011 2:19 am

Very nice Cyber. If i get some motivation i might test it on my VR920.

Post by **bb2020** » Sun Oct 02, 2011 6:38 am

Hiya Cyberreality, just registered here to post feedback.

So everything works really well on the Wrap 1200VR and i might even say the smoothing is better than some alternatives.
If anything the default sensitivity is way too fast for the game i tried (minecraft). I did 5 360's looking towards my right

Even though, its great to see someone else working on the tracking for this headset as there's not much support around.
Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Oct 02, 2011 8:41 am

@bb2020: Hey man, welcome to MTBS!!!

The sensitivity was mostly tweaked to work with HL2 and L4D, as those were the games I tested the most with (but it also depends on your mouse settings in Windows, in the game, etc.). But you can use SHIFT+F10 to adjust. Usually the best thing to do is hold SHIFT+F10 for a few seconds, until the tracking is barely moving at all. Then quickly press SHIFT+F11 once at a time to get nicer tracking.

I did also notice that, in some cases, the tracking on this app worked better than the one with the Vuzix VRManager. Especially with the cross-talk and confusion that would happen when looking straight up or down. Or the snapping that would happen sometimes when moving 360 degrees on the yaw. And you can also tailor the tracking to how you like it, which was difficult previously.

@WiredEarp: I think it is possible to move the gun separately, but will require significant effort to mod each game specifically. For example, Vuzix has a mutator for UT2004 which does just this. I know UT2004 is a little better in terms of modding potential, but I think it should still be possible via DirectX. For example, there are hacks for many online games where modders are able to do some pretty crazy stuff the developers did not design.

@Okta: Yes, pleae. I'd love to know if this will work on VR920.

Post by **WiredEarp** » Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:28 pm

@ Cyber: @WiredEarp: I think it is possible to move the gun separately, but will require significant effort to mod each game specifically. For example, Vuzix has a mutator for UT2004 which does just this. I know UT2004 is a little better in terms of modding potential, but I think it should still be possible via DirectX. For example, there are hacks for many online games where modders are able to do some pretty crazy stuff the developers did not design.

A mutator is a add in basically, which means it has easier access to the game variables than your driver will. You can probably hack it in for the view using drivers like suggested in another thread however, but you might have problems with UI elements getting in the way. So I think it will be possible and quite possibly worthwhile, but I doubt it will be as good as a properly coded in solution.

I do agree there is a lot that can be done with hacks (like i'm interested in doing for Comanche 4), one great example would be Multi Theft Auto, a hack for GTA3 that added multiplayer!

Post by **Martba** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 3:38 am

cybereality wrote:This little app will allow for mouse emulation in Windows using the headtracker on the Vuzix Wrap 1200VR. It should also work with the Wrap 920VR and possibly the VR920. I tested a number of games in both Windows 7 64-bit and Vista 32-bit. The app will work with virtually ANY game under Windows. Please see the video below:
If you have any questions or comments, please share. Thanks.

---------
Dear Cyberiality,
I received my new Vuzix Wrap 1200VR just yesterday.. so I would avoid any "too bad" comment for now (I have noted and can confirm all the issues you wrote in your review and I'm not at all -for now

- "enthusiast" about them. The optical alignment is really bad in the assembled tilt angle, the lenses are too small for the LCD screens and cause a lot of artifacts near the screen corners either with deformations/blur and diffractions which impact on colours and screen shape; I applied all the advices you wrote but improvements are really small). Anyway I know that much more testing is required for me so I'm still "confident" about them. I tried Rfactor, 3D effect is activated with the OSD (on screen display) and it looks OK, but I don't know how to activate the head tracking in game (some special key-combination or what). Only the head tracking can make the difference with its real point of view, otherwise the driving in a "floating cockpit" is a pain and it causes me only headache

. The 6TC sensor is installed, well calibrated and centered on the desktop with VR Manager (yaw, pitch, roll respond finely), but nothing moves in game. So I don't know if I missed something. I will try your mouse emulation (I have Windows XP but I hope it should work) because I know that in Rfactor the free view with the mouse can be activated pressing a dedicated key, assigned in the game menu. At least I should look around the cockpit with mouse emulation.
Moreover you claim that Iz3d driver are more effective then the Vuzix drivers. I hope so. I have the IZ3d license (I use it for shutter glasses so the IZ3D driver is installed in my PC) but I would like to know how do you activate/set Iz3D properly with Vuzix 1200VR.
Thank you again!

Post by **cybereality** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 7:22 pm

The Vuzix headtracking (using VRManager) sometimes needs to be enabled by pressing "Control + F7" when you are in the game.

My headtracker should work in XP, but I have not tested it. The IZ3D driver should also work, and provided a little better quality in terms of the picture (less fuzzy in most games).

The problems you noted about the 1200VR are mostly true, the picture is not as high quality as you would like and the optics are too small. But the device has grown on me a bit, and I definitely like it more after using it for a few weeks. Still not the ultimate VR, but right now there is not much competition.

Post by **Martba** » Mon Oct 24, 2011 6:35 am

cybereality wrote:The Vuzix headtracking (using VRManager) sometimes needs to be enabled by pressing "Control + F7" when you are in the game.

My headtracker should work in XP, but I have not tested it. The IZ3D driver should also work, and provided a little better quality in terms of the picture (less fuzzy in most games).

-------------
Hi again,
in fact I missed to read the info files related to each game in the Vuzix VR Manager. "Control + F7" and "Control + F8" are used to activate head tracking and Stereo vision in game. Head tracking in Rfactor provides yaw, pitch and roll and this could be really amazing if not for the excessive smoothing and delay in the camera movement. This delay completely ruins the driving experience and -for sure- it does not depend on the 6TC sensor, which is quite fast, precise and "responsive", but probably on some kind of filters in the drivers/software that have to be modified or upgraded, but I don' t know how. The yaw movement seems limited to few degree and I can not look at 90° or more to my left or right sides. Your mouse emulation is more useful, the camera response can be adjusted and is not limited in angles (I can look all around the cockpit), it works in Windows XP, but it completely looses the centering after a few movements at big angles. So I can not drive in Rfactor even with your mouse emulation. Maybe the camera/head tracking movement in game is linked in some way with the cursor movement on the primary monitor (With your mouse emulation I can "move" the cursor on the desktop with head tracking very precisely and the cursor stops at the monitor edges, so maybe the centering in game is loosed everytime I try to move the cursor beyond the monitor edges). Could you correct this strange effect of shift in the centering?

Post by **cybereality** » Mon Oct 24, 2011 6:15 pm

Yeah, there is a way to have the yaw magnetically corrected, I just turned it off because it makes the tracking a little more jittery. Vuzix calls this "drift compensation". So its smoother without it, but then you have drift. I could update the program to use the corrected values. Eventually this is going to be an option you can enable or disable, but I will need to make a proper GUI at some point.

Post by **Martba** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:11 am

At last I have found the right plugin for head tracking in RFactor in the Vuzix Forum here

http://forums.vr920.com/Topic1356-10-1.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I think that with some tweaking this should be the best solution. The cfg file can be opened with notepad and easily modified. I would suggest Vuzix to change their RFactor plugin in VRManager (which is useless for sim-driving) with this one.

Post by **cybereality** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:42 pm

Awesome! I will check that out.

Post by **Martba** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:09 am

My first "not enthusiastic" impressions about wrap Vuzix 1200VR depended on some defect in the optic on my received HMD. Thanks to Vuzix I received within a week a new wrap 1200VR in exchange for my faulty one. So I feel right to apologize for my first unfair comments. Finally I have been able to adjust both head tracking and 3D stereo vision (using iZ3D drivers) in RFactor and they are impressive

. Some tweaking is necessary (native Vuzix drivers are almost useless for me because the head tracking must not have any delay/smoothing at all when "racing") but what does matter finally is that an accurate tuning makes the driving experience with 3D and head tracking awesome. I should call it an almost "real" virtual reality experience.
Some improvements are desirable -in the optics and in the drivers- but just now the VR experience is worth trying

.

Post by **3dvison** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 8:47 pm

Martba wrote:Thanks to Vuzix I received within a week a new wrap 1200VR in exchange for my faulty one. Finally I have been able to adjust both head tracking and 3D stereo vision (using iZ3D drivers) in RFactor and they are impressive .... but what does matter finally is that an accurate tuning makes the driving experience with 3D and head tracking awesome. I should call it an almost "real" virtual reality experience. .

Hi Martba,
Hearing good things about the Wrap1200VR is why I am still thinking about getting one.
It is cheaper than the Sony and comes with a head tracker.
Have you used the Sony yet and if so, do you feel the picture is so much better than the Wrap1200vr to be worth the extra money to buy it and a headtracker ?

Post by **cybereality** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:58 pm

@3dvison: I have used both. Sad to say, but the picture quality of the Sony is a lot better. Especially when you consider that the side-by-side mode cuts the resolution additionally in half (when it was already questionable to begin with). So on picture quality alone I don't feel the Vuzix can compete. What is good about the 1200VR is that it has a nice headtracker built-in, and the whole unit is light and portable. So you could potentially use the 1200VR on a bus or plane, laying in bed, with a backtop VR setup, etc. There are also more adjustments possible on the 1200VR, IPD and diopter, although they only help so much. The Sony is more limited, but the default state is already pretty good to begin with. So I wouldn't say the 1200VR is without merit, I am still glad I got mine even just to experiment with. But the HMZ-T1 is, no question, a higher quality product.

Post by **3dvison** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:45 pm

Thanks cybereality,
I put a high value on input from a person that has used both.
In the end, I think picture quality will be the biggest factor in which one I buy....

Post by **jdavid2000** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 7:05 pm

Thank you so much for this! I probably didn't research the VR1200 before getting it, and was hugely disappointed that there was no native way to translate head movement into mouse movement--I wasn't asking for native game support, but something so obvious seems like a ridiculous oversight to leave out of the product--NO software should be without headtracking if you have the HW and can map that to mouse movement. You may have just saved Vuzix from having to re-sell my headset as refurbished...thanks again!

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:25 pm

No problem man. Glad someone found it useful.

Post by **batasfana** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:19 am

hello cybereality,

i've just received my vuzix wrap vr920 this week and having problem with headtracking implementation in my PC. i want to sync the headtrack sensor with mouse and your app really did it nice

for anyone who would like to know whether this ioVR app works with vr920 or not, it definitely works. i have just tested it.

thank you cybereality

Post by **cybereality** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:46 pm

Awesome! Glad the app was helpful.

Post by **Wilf** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 5:44 am

Hi Cybereality. Its fantastic that you've done this, as I wanted to use it for a demo.
The problem is that for me it crashes just after its drawn the command dialog window and a line of ==== etc. across the top. I fully expect that his is my fault but can't think what I've done wrong. Is there something else I should or shouldn't have installed as well? I've tried it on a Windows 7 Home edition desktop and a windows 7 Professional laptop.
Any help would be really appreciated!!

Post by **cybereality** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 9:06 am

Hmm.. not sure. Maybe try right-clicking and "run as administrator". Also, you should install the Vuzix VR Manager, as I believe it needs a driver from there.

Post by **Wilf** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 9:40 am

It's really good of you to reply so soon, and yes you are right.
I'd forgotten I'd uninstalled the VR Manager while chasing down a freezing problem some time back.
Fabulous work. Well done!

Post by **pyratej** » Wed May 09, 2012 11:48 pm

Hello, trying to gets things going with the 1200VR here. Having a nasty issue when i launch your app:

"The program can't start because MSVCP100.dll is missing from your computer. Try re installing the program to fix this problem."

I have:
- VRManager 4 installed
- DirectX (latest)
- Running app as admin from desktop

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance,
CapnJ

Post by **brantlew** » Thu May 10, 2012 7:31 am

@pyratej: You probably just need to install the Visual Studio 2010 runtime

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/de ... px?id=5555

Post by **Wilf** » Thu May 10, 2012 7:33 am

If not is msvcp100.dll in your windows/system32 folder?
I added it manually so don't know if it gets loaded with the VR Manager?

Post by **CyberVillain** » Thu May 10, 2012 7:39 am

@brantlew, does FreePIE support this revision of Vuzix?

Post by **brantlew** » Thu May 10, 2012 8:19 am

Yes, unless they upgraded something in the last few months that I am unaware of.

Post by **pyratej** » Thu May 10, 2012 8:23 am

@ brantlew..

Thanks mate! worked perfect!

Post by **cybereality** » Thu May 10, 2012 6:01 pm

Yeah, if it complains about a missing DLL, just search for the file on Google and put it in the same directory as the EXE.

Post by **cybereality** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:14 pm

Decided to release the version with Wiimote support. Honestly its really glitchy and may not work (which is why I didn't release sooner). If you have one of the new Wiimotes with Motion+ Inside (maybe only the black version) then it may work.

ioVR_0.1.1.zip

Controls:
Nunchuk = WASD
Wiimote B = Left-Click
Wiimote Z = E
Wiimote C (hold) = Disable tracking
Wiimote A = Space
Wiimote DPad Down = F
Wiimote DPad Left = Q
Wiimote DPad Right = R
Wiimote 1 = 1
Wiimote 2 = 2
Wiimote Home = 0

Post by **roccocaruso** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 11:39 am

hello...give me this error:" the application was unable to start sorrectly (0xx000007b). click OK to close application". Can help me please?

Post by **roccocaruso** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 11:40 am

i mean....correctly and ...xc000007b etc..thank you

Post by **cybereality** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 7:46 pm

To be honest, I'm not sure what that means. Maybe try right-clicking and "run as administrator"?

Also, I've only tested this code on Windows 7 64-bit. It may or may not work on other versions of Windows.

Post by **dajudas** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 1:35 pm

Thanks Cybereality! You inspired me to buy my first headset.

Post by **cybereality** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 1:44 pm

Awesome! And welcome to the forum.

Post by **dajudas** » Tue Jan 29, 2013 5:45 am

Shortly after reading this thread, I got a Vuzix VR920.
Completely exceeded my expectations. Just amazing.
Coupled with an old PlayStation clone joypad so I can turn around without dragging a keyboard with me of course.
I tried it for awhile on Fallout 3 to try it out on native support. Worked great.
Had to rig up a strap from a hard hat and the Velcro from a sun-visor for easy adjusting to stop the thing from sliding everywhere. But that was a quick problem to fix.
So I finally tried it with this ioVR application.
Seems to work better than the support on the native games! For me at least. Haha, crazy.
This stuff is ace.

Thanks again.