Polyphony confirms GT5 head-tracking

By Richard Leadbetter Published 9 September, 2009

You can see which way they're heading.

Polyphony Digital mastermind Kazunori Yamauchi has confirmed that the forthcoming Gran Turismo 5 features support for head-tracking via the PlayStation Eye camera accessory.

According to Gran Turismo resource GT Planet, the feature was first mooted on Polyphony's website during gamescom and was recently confirmed by Yamauchi during an interview with Italian gaming site MultiPlayer.it.

The head-tracking feature is restricted to the in-cockpit view within GT5. Employing facial recognition, the PlayStation Eye scans the position of your head and adjusts the viewpoint in the cockpit accordingly, effectively replacing the use of the right analogue stick on the DualShock 3. Your display stops being a flat 2D representation of a 3D world and effectively becomes an interactive window into the game experience.

Want to see how close your opponents are to catching up? Turn your head and look at the wing mirror. Want to see which gear you're using? Look down at the transmission and see for yourself as you would in a real car. Want to check out the racing line beyond the next corner? Look beyond the turn just like real drivers do.

To get some idea of how the display's perspective adjusts when head-tracking is in play, there's no better example than Johnny Lee's original YouTube video based on reverse use of the Wii remote's infra-red sensor. Sony's technology - assuming it works well, of course - goes far beyond this in taking infra-red out of the equation completely. Head-tracking looks set to be integral component of Project Natal to the point where the self-same Johnny Lee is now working under NDA with Microsoft, but the inclusion of the feature in Gran Turismo 5 will be the first time we've seen it deployed properly in a current-generation console game.

Going forward, it also has big implications for the forthcoming PS3 motion controller, which also works in conjunction with the existing PlayStation Eye accessory, suggesting that Sony's plans in this area go beyond using feedback from the "wand" alone...

Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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Comments (87) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • spatss #1 2 years ago

    Sounds great. Hoping the feature won't be too laggy.

  • spatss #2 2 years ago

    It exaggerates your head movements. Look up trackIR on youtube.
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 14:10

  • oupe #3 2 years ago

    Yeah, that will work fine when the GF comes in and starts nagging at you.

  • wizlon #4 2 years ago

    Colour me excited, this has just bumped GT5 over Forza 3 for me.

  • M_of_the_sys #5 2 years ago

    Ooooh. Sounds very interesting. Not enough for me to buy an eyetoy but would be pretty cool for this if I had one.

  • StueyBoy16 #6 2 years ago

    I want this for Forza. There is no analogue stick on the Microsoft wheel so you can only look forwards or backwards.
    Great idea though and will hopefully become the norm.

  • Milk #7 2 years ago

    This sounds great. My GF will not be impressed when an eye-toy mysteriously appears above the TV . . .

    Anyone here used trackIR with R-factor? Dose it make you motion sick? It looks great from the you tube videos.

    [edit]

    Here is a good video of Track-IR used in pc racing games - http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=SBQhyqhuLxw
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 11:39

  • towser #8 2 years ago

    You should check out the Johny Lee video mentioned in the article - very interesting.

    His website

    [link url=http://johnnylee.net/
    ]http://johnnylee.net/
    [/link]

    Also has some really cool stuff on there.

    Anyway, as you were :-)

  • Widge #9 2 years ago

    Can you use a dinner plate as a steering wheel? This is the future.

  • BadDevotions #10 2 years ago

    that sounds kewl. the inside versions of car games, whilst nice to look at, are virtually unplayable IMO. Something like this should make a massive difference if implemented correctly.

    hopefully they'll have something like this for forza as i don't own a ps3 :(

  • Rodchenko #11 2 years ago

    Would be cool for Sturmovik, too

  • mcbi4kh2 #12 2 years ago

    I wish this feature was on Killzone 2, noobishly ducking as a rocket headed my way did very little to help poor Sev last night.

  • Gaol #13 2 years ago

    The future scares me.

  • s11mmy #14 2 years ago

    What I'd like to know is how far the tracking will go. Say, if you want to look left, You'll turn your head left but have your eyes looking right as only you will turn, the physical TV won't move.

    GT5 is already on my must buy list, this feature could turn out to be something special and I hope this type of support for the eye toy continues!!! (ps something like this should be implemented in EYEPET, eg hide and seek).

  • ZeroAX #15 2 years ago

    just one question. if I have to look down, from where I'm looking, how the hell am I supposed to see the tv screen?

  • Beano #16 2 years ago

    "What I'd like to know is how far the tracking will go. Say, if you want to look left, You'll turn your head left but have your eyes looking right as only you will turn, the physical TV won't move. "

    I assume it's not 1:1 tracking. Instead turning your head 10 degrees to look 25 degrees in the game for example.

  • Xerx3s #17 2 years ago

    Nice, I really hope that more games implement this, the 3D effect that you get from it is just amazing.
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 12:13

  • jim1975 #18 2 years ago

    most PS3 fans have their head up their arse... so how's that going to work

  • SeesThroughAll #19 2 years ago

    OR the way the movement is scaled is not linear, and is intended to react optimally to slight movements, enhancing the illusion of depth in the cockpit. ;)

  • Shadders #20 2 years ago

    If it's not 1:1 tracking will it still be able to trick your brain into seeing it as a 3D image? I was under the impression that 1:1 was a necessity for illusion to work.

    If this is the case it might not be quite as impressive as the youtube videos, still a natty feature, but not as good as I think some of you are hoping.

    I'm more than happy to be proved wrong on this, of course.

  • Retroid #21 2 years ago

    /Suddenly very interested

    I want this to be standard for all racers. I loved the fact you could look around in the cars in PGR3+4 (first examples which spring to mind) and doing this automatically with head tracking would add *IMMENSELY* to the experience for me.

  • dsmx #22 2 years ago

    It's about time someone did that, ever since the eye toy came out on the ps2 that has been possible.

  • psousa #23 2 years ago

    If it's not 1:1 tracking will it still be able to trick your brain into seeing it as a 3D image?

    In track-IR you can basically configure everything, but by default it's not 1:1 tracking, more probably something like 1:5. Also, the function that creates the mapping between the real movement and virtual one is not linear (but also, configurable) which makes movements near the default position to be much less reactive than the furthest ones.

    As a owner of TrackIR for some years, I can say without a doubt that it was one of my best acquisitions of all time, especially for Flight Simulator. For the sceptical ones, I assure you that this becomes second nature to use (at least TrackIR, I'll reserve further judgement for the PSEye solution).

  • baphomet_irl #24 2 years ago

    Im pretty sure Forza 3 is going to integrate Natal head tracking into it too, there was a very quick flash of that going on in the Natal launch video - TrackIR has done this on the PC for a good while now, mainly for flight sims (although you have to wear a Scotchguard reflective strip on a cap (or your forehead (!)). It is pretty cool, but if you're one of the unfortunate who can often suffer from motion sickness in first person (and sometimes 3rd person games even), it can be kinda disorientating and nauseating, but the feeling of flight is very good as you look around during takeoff. FIA GTR (or the next game they made) had trackIR support in it, although you can usually assign trackIR to use 'mouselook' in any game that has it.

  • kangarootoo #25 2 years ago

    "Eh.....So you have to look away from the screen for it to work?"

    Yes, thats it. The designers at polyphony built something that obviously doesn't work, but then went mental and decided to ship it.

    Either that, or it doesn't work the way you suggest.

    Christ. Every single head tracking thread ever seems to have a comment like this.

  • altitude2k #26 2 years ago

    This is exactly how motion sensing should be used in the hardcore gaming genre.

    But I am very interested to hear what the PS3 owners who slagged off the mere mention of Forza possibly using Natal as a pathetic gimmick have to say about this...

  • Bazfrag #27 2 years ago

    @altitude.

    Head tracking - good.

    Holding arms out like a steering wheel but with no feedback - bad.

    Thats how i see it. It depends on the extent they use Natal.
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 13:00

  • s11mmy #28 2 years ago

    "This is exactly how motion sensing should be used in the hardcore gaming genre.

    But I am very interested to hear what the PS3 owners who slagged off the mere mention of Forza possibly using Natal as a pathetic gimmick have to say about this... "

    not being a 360 owner myself Natal is still cutting edge technolgy and more advanced than the PSEYE. However people won't buy something because of its power but rather how its implemented (this is my personal belief). Having to sit in a position with my hands out and my right foot waggling for 30 minutes just doesn't seem to work for me, how would you pause the game if you needed to go to the loo, a special phrase me be but then this could be problamatic if the you GF kept shouting "pause!!" to get you attention and you shouting "unpause!!" back.

  • ps3owner #29 2 years ago

    so Anthony_Daniels. what you are saying is that my eyes pretty much stay on screen and my head just turns left, right, up and down... man.... that's like multitasking and stuff.... I feel tired already.

  • altitude2k #30 2 years ago

    @Bazfrag

    Go back and read the news post about this yesterday. Nowhere in that article did it say that Turn10 intended to use Natal to control the car, so the Natal implementation is as valid, if not moreso than GT (when you consider the possiblities for using Natal for the customisation).

  • makeamazing #31 2 years ago

    Head tracking - good.

    Holding arms out like a steering wheel but with no feedback - bad.

    Thats how i see it. It depends on the extent they use Natal.

    @altitude2k ^^ This...I'm talking generally about the use of Natal... I personally wont like to play non controller games. Of course if MS utilise the webcam to do tracking, face recognition and voice recognition... to me that is more value than natal non controller and weird milo software.
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 13:07

  • MeBrains #32 2 years ago

    kangarootoo: and they appeared mostly absent in comments to the Natal announcement. :rolleyes:

    must say: it does sound quite good - I can imagine it works quite well... if it does, it sounds like bad news to MS's Natal. Applications like this will take away some steam from MS's tech...

  • Bazfrag #33 2 years ago

    Alt. I missed the news, but i knew turn10 would have other plans rather than steering. It wouldn't make sense in a sim.
    Just a thought. It would be cool if you could reach around the dash for lights, wipers etc.
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 13:11

  • septimus #34 2 years ago

    At last! A useful feature for this stuff that I have been waiting years for.

  • Ryze #35 2 years ago

    We'll see. I'd like to try this out to check if it works well.

  • TheStatics #36 2 years ago

    When driving a real car, to look in my mirrors i just glance with my eyes. Unless they can track where my eyes are looking GT/Forza/whatever are including something that doesn't need to be there imo.

  • barchetta #37 2 years ago

    @ svd_grasshopper

    Surely eye tracking would necessitate looking away from the screen though? o_O

    When driving and looking at mirrors etc you are looking to focus on a totally different 3-dimensional area. The game display stays on the screen and just drags the world around in the 'window'. Head tracking makes more sense.

    Whilst I'm just getting my head around the mechanics (..... hmmm) I guess the head tracking is going to be a delicate balance between avoiding being too twitchy and relying on so much head movement that you start to look sideways to maintain eye contact.

    If the feature is announced and is an apparently maturing tech then I'm sure it is going to be functional. With plenty of personal calibration I hope!
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 13:18

  • Raziel #38 2 years ago

    Wonder if my Xbox Vision Cam will do the trick or that I'll have to buy a PS3 Eye...

  • Rubarack #39 2 years ago

    Don't you think moving your head is a bit closer to that than using an analogue stick? And even if not it's a heck of a lot easier to control. Personally I'm super excited about this.

  • Bigglesworth #40 2 years ago

    @TheStatics
    Pretend you're back taking your driving test.

  • GreyBeard #41 2 years ago

    Lots of rumours circulating that GT5 is out on the 4th December. No doubt a date will get announced at TGS, but if its true shouldn't be long before we know how well this system works.

  • altitude2k #42 2 years ago

    I'd imagine this actually won't use your head turning as that seems a bit strange to me. Surely if you turn your head to look at a wing mirror you need the wing mirror to already be visible in order to look at it, hence you won't really need head-tracking to make it appear. If you did it with a multiscreen setup it's the same issue. Why move what's on the screen when you move your head - if you look to the left or right the wing mirrors should already be there! Bit of a catch 22.

    I think it's more likely to track head position, so if you lean your 3D view of the in-car view as well as the scenery to some extent will appear to move in a 3D manner to induce a psuedo-3D environment. That's probably a more suitable implementation of head-tracking.

  • Collymilad #43 2 years ago

    It's funny because this is exactly the kind of thing Natal could be used for - and exactly the kind of potential use for Natal PS3 fanboys failed to see. It's going to be funny watching them all backtrack with their pathetic reasons now that Sony have implimented it.

  • erp #44 2 years ago

    GAH! Stop saying "Going forwards"! There really is no need. And I can't explain it, but every time I hear or even read it I feel a piercing in my very soul.

    :S

  • Dillinger #45 2 years ago

    TrackIR/Freetrack = tracking reflective dots or LEDs = cheap in terms of processor cost.
    tracking a head direction via facial recognition = more expensive.

    im guessing the cpu is going to take a bit of a hit.

  • aphexstwin #46 2 years ago

    natal or eye, if they do headtracking well, then its surely a win for gamers. especially dual owners. these are exciting times, we're going to see tech pushed, quite literally, beyond our eyes.

    im getting both, gt5 at launch, forza when my 360 comes home from de-RRoDing and cant wait.

    @stueyboy, i only played tdu and forza2 with the wheel and cant use the dpad for looking about, but gt4 had that whilst in bumper cam, tho it is just 'look left' or 'look right'. gt5p has it with all views iirc. btw i use the dfgt, and im praying some patches come along to use it on the 360!

  • Stormflood #47 2 years ago

    Shame, I can't stand the cockpit view.

  • The_Inquisitor #48 2 years ago

    I hope it doesn't mean you have to stay rigid in your seat if you want to see ahead for the whole race. I mean some of the races can be long and what if you just move in order to get comfortable or stretch you neck to avoid it cramping up?

    Minor concerns only though, you can't be pessimistic about new technology, it's a bold move.
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 14:05

  • kangarootoo #49 2 years ago

    All the things people are saying about viewing angles and how much you turn your head all comes down to simple tweaking of numbers.

    If you have to turn all the way around, the system obviously needs to be a little more sensitive. Equally, if every unconcious movement of your head turns the view 90 degrees, the sensitivity needs reducing.

    I have NO DOUBT that a well built system can be tuned into a useable state. And a well designed well tuned system will take the user through a super simple setup process that tweaks the final values to suit their own living room. And this is Poliphony we are talking about - if anyone can create a well tuned system it is them.

    Add to this the shed load of YouTube clips showing similar systems, well tuned, and working very well indeed.... nobody should be making "but if I turn around I won't be able to see my TV anymore" type comments. Such comments exhibit the dangerous combination of a high level of cynisism plus a startling lack of problem solving imagination.

  • kangarootoo #50 2 years ago

    "I mean some of the races can be long and what if you just move in order to get comfortable or stretch you neck to avoid it cramping up?"

    Now THAT is a decent concern. Involuntary movements would have to be factored in. I guess the twisting motion of your head when you stretch your neck could be discounted, but that would only be half the deal. The same increased sensitivity that makes head tracking work with a flat screen would also exacerbate the problem of requiring a player to stay still during play. All these sorts of kinks can be solved be competant design and tech though.

  • kangarootoo #51 2 years ago

    @Stormflood

    I normall can't either. But is that perhaps because of the restricted view it provides? A solution like the one being discussed could maybe make the cockpit view the option of choice, exactly because it removes the last barrier to immersion and usability?

  • JahB #52 2 years ago

    awesome, i wasn't quite sure if i was gonna get GT5, but this sounds fantastic.
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 14:16

  • davisorle #53 2 years ago

    Funny how body recognition for most those tards that only own a PS3 and kept bitching how Natal will be useless will cream their pants for headtilting and only since its for their console now.. lol so hilarious. Havent and wont check the comments cause i know its a pathetic fest when it comes to the most of those kids. Even though I considered already to see who will stick with "I cant bother" and "we arent to replace the controller" etc etc which made no sence before, now it all so suddenly sounds awesome doesnt it? :) ffs

  • Kenshin001 #54 2 years ago

    The difference I guess is this is motion tracking done right.

    The only Natal implementation shown so far is a demo of BP where the guy stands in the centre of the room with his hands in front of him holding an imaginary wheel, moving his foot back and forth to simulate acceleration. It sucked. It looked stupid and uncomfortable. I doubt anyone in their right mind wants to play GT5 (or Forza 3) like that.

  • asphaltcowboy #55 2 years ago

    Someone get this in Forza as well please!

  • davisorle #56 2 years ago

    @Kenshin001
    I think you are capable enough to consider that Natal though was not only a new piece of hardware with limited software of each type to demo the possibilities. The driving one was a simple and sloppy implimentation from Criterion to simply show you that it can be ADDED to older games even. On that one even the accel and brake was not working any better than on/off way with the foot movement. So you are telling me that since they showed on the official video 2 girls trying out dressed on XBL is what you will be able to do and only with Natal online..? lol No... The arguement is on the capabilities and by how much you can use a tech of the kind to your advantage. You can throw a grenade on natal accurately while the rest of the things you do with your controller for example. Simply will happen cause it can continiously scan full body while you use your controller. With the eyetoy you cant and wont be able to do so.The Only reason is that cause on a GOOD title that will use ofc a significant ammount of resources from the PS3 wont allow such software to be running at the same time from EyEToy even if they tried to copy Natal to that extend. PS3 will be too busy running the game to also scan your body without freezing on you. All im saying is that they didnt wanna accept the every single and simple thing to every kind of extend that Natal could be used and now everyone loves the idea of simple headtracking. nothing that cant be understandable I hope. Im at no point against of this kind of tech neither I find the feature for the game that GT funs will get from this. Never indicated that in my post at least.

  • Bander #57 2 years ago

    *starts driving game*
    *get shunted off the road into a barrier*
    *looks behind to reverse*
    Where's the road gone? Oh, it's now out of sight because the TV hasn't moved.

    Being able to see to the sides while playing a vehicle-based game is good, but isn't this still as abstract as using a joystick if your eyes and head have to turn in opposing directions?

    Head displacement is far less problematic than rotation though. Like the Johnny Lee demo, you could peer around the edges of your screen as though it were a window frame to see the wing mirrors, and all would move as you would expect it to. I'm not sure if that would be more immersive though, as the frame itself would be a reminder that you're playing a game.

    We'll have to wait and see how Polyphony choose to deal with it. Hopefully there'll be several options so we can play about with them.
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 15:40

  • altitude2k #58 2 years ago

    @evilfoxhound

    Point me to where it says that, please? I think you'll find that Turn10 never stated that would be the case at all, and referred to other additional side-features.

    FYI the original news story http://ww w.computerandvideogames.com/art...
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 16:03

  • kangarootoo #59 2 years ago

    "*starts driving game*
    *get shunted off the road into a barrier*
    *looks behind to reverse*
    Where's the road gone? Oh, it's now out of sight because the TV hasn't moved."

    Really? You would literally look behind you when you reverse. Really?


    "Head displacement is far less problematic than rotation though"

    The decent head tracking solutions out there do both. I wouldn't expect this to be any different.


    Head tracking is not new, and yet people keep acting like its some crazy new idea that just won't work. It does work, right now. There are several examples out there. All this article is really about is taking a technology concept that exists and works right now, and applying it to GT5.

  • wez_316 #60 2 years ago

    Why do you have to be twisting your head to look away from the screen to be tilting your head to the left? Don't any of the people who are saying you won't be looking at the screen understand that a head can be tilted without twisting it?

    I imagine that it will work in such a way that a minor viewing angle change will occur with a slight twist of the head, giving an accurate and almost natural feel to a minor change in view. Then for major viewing angles changes I would imagine that you just tilt your head without twisting it and the camera will swing in the direction you tilt. That's how I'd imagine it works. It's pure speculation on my part but it should make the doubters in this system at least consider that it could actually end up working well without disrupting gameplay too much.

    This all being said... when I'm playing GT5 while relaxing in bed... I probably won't want to be tilting my head about the place. So for me personally I think it will just be a feature that I'll try to see it in action and then never use it again.

    Good of Polyphony to put this in though. I'm not going to be complaining at the addition of extra features, even if they likely won't get used by me.

  • HandOfBeadle #61 2 years ago

    I can't look at any of the examples posted here but head tracking is also used to the same effect in Arma2. The aiming reticule is controlled with the mouse and the head is moved with.. the head! Looks very good and most ultra hardcorers swear by it, but it seems like crossing a nerd line to me..

    Head displacement a la the Johnny Lee vids and the PSEye version made by the creepy geek are nice, if gimmicky, effects but I don't see why people seem to think that would work but head rotation wouldn't. You'd have to be fairly mentally handicapped to think Polyphony want you to turn your head so you can't see the screen..

  • altitude2k #62 2 years ago

    @HandOfBeadle (great name btw):

    I don't think that people find it hard to believe that it's possible. I think the problem is more to do with the fact that what you're doing (turning your head but keeping your eyes looking at the screen) is unnatural and moving away from realism - realism being what the feature is meant to promote.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #63 2 years ago

    The overall point bander was trying to make is correct. You can use headtracking to give that great psuedo 3D effect or you can use it to give more extreme views of the gaming world using small head movements. It can't do both at the same time. As soon as you twist your head 10 degrees to get a 90 degree view of the car door the 3D illusion is lost.

    Both have their advantages.

    Its not clear which they are going to be using in GT5 but I prefer the 3D effect personally.



  • El-Dev #64 2 years ago

    @donnie, good question. If you want I'll help you get your head to turn 360.

  • Alkeno #65 2 years ago

    One of the first and most commented possible uses of Natal from day one has been this. Polyphony Digital seem to have noticed that it was a good idea and run to have it implemented first using PS Eye... if they get it correctly good for them, if not they will end up looking pretty bad.

    The funniest part being, as always, seeing the reaction of so many people that yesterday were adamant that Natal was rubbish now regard this as an killer-implementation that will revolutionize the driving genre... so much for objectivity.

  • Rodchenko #66 2 years ago

    One of the first and most commented possible uses of Natal from day one has been this.

    Not officially, though. So far MS exclusively promotes and demoes Natal as a technology which makes any controller obsolete, and relies entirely on your body as an input device. That's a totally different approach to the one followed here, where a motion tracking feature *extends* the controls of a traditional game pad.

    Of course, there is no reason why Natal couldn't work as a partial extension of existing control devices. But there wouldn't be any reason to declare it the next coming either (or have MS fanboys shit their pants over it), because such technology has been around for years and wouldn't be marketable as quite as 'revolutionary'.

  • HandOfBeadle #67 2 years ago

    @altitude2k:

    It's a lot more natural than twiddling a stick to look left and right. I can't judge based on actual use but I think that in terms of intuitive control I think it'll probably be a lot easier to quickly associate a head turn with turning your head in the game, even if the eyes are still looking at the screen, than people realise. Personally I found using the right stick to do this in Prologue quite fiddly and ended up just not doing it; this seems like it'd become second nature quite quickly.

  • Yaz #68 2 years ago

    evilfoxhound says "They are NOT the same thing! One replaces the controller (Bad idea), the other does not."

    Likewise I think you're overstating the driving model demonstrated for Burnout using Natal. The whole purpose of that demo was not to act as a model for 360 driving games using Natal, but to prove that Natal can offer lag free control for games which require quick responses.

    As I think many gamers would agree, Natal on it's own is going to be better for party games, for hardcore genres, Natal combined with the 360 controller is the ideal solution. Hence head tracking with Natal is something some gamers have been talking about long before the GT5 announcement, since products like TrackIR5 have offered that facility on the PC for quite some time.

  • smelly #69 2 years ago

    HANG ON A MINUTE..

    if i look down to see the gear stick.. then i'm no longer looking at the tv....

  • flanker22 #70 2 years ago

    there is just one detail which i feel like they failed to address. if you look to your left then how would you see the screen?

  • Yaz #71 2 years ago

    ^^^ Come on you two!

    If you move your head up, down, left or right, you simply keep your eyes on the screen as you do so. It's not rocket science guys. ;-)

    As mentioned already, TrackIR is one such device which has made head tracking possible on the PC for years, hence search for it on youtube.

    For example;

    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=9wXx3vMy_AQ
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/09 @ 07:55

  • altitude2k #72 2 years ago

    OK I think I get how this should work. Don't imagine the TV as a portion of your view on the in-game world - in doing so you end up with the problem where you are moving your head away from the screen with your eyes still focussed on it. That's just stupid. Instead, imagine the TV as a window into that world. Now, instead of just a head turn to move the view move your head to the left and turn it to the right as if you are trying to see around the right hand limit of the window to see more. That's probably how it'll work.

    Moving your head and keeping your eyes on the screen just doesn't look comfortable or natural to me. What I've suggest above would be a far better implementation that would feel real. A portion of Johnny Lee's video where you look around an American Football stadium is a good example of this. Combined with the psuedo-3D effect, this could potentially be very good.
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/09 @ 08:32

  • des #73 2 years ago

    zzzz...head=right analog stick

  • Edwin #74 2 years ago

    Can I turn my head to see the really shit AI go around the corner on predetermined racing lines..... GT games are booooooooring.

  • Calgon #75 2 years ago

    So far MS exclusively promotes and demoes Natal as a technology which makes any controller obsolete

    No they haven't, infact thats a strawman by PS3 fanboys who have been promoting it as the end of the controller for ALL games.

    MS have been promoting it to the casual market, as a way of not needing a controller but only for games that are specifically built for Natal(which will mostly be for the casual market). For traditional video games they've said where a controller makes more sense, Natal could be used to supplement/enhance the experience.

    Anyway there's no reason why Sony devs can't copy the idea, besides even though it was obvious MS were heading there, it's already being done on the PC, so the head tracking part isn't exactly a new idea. I think Natal will do a better job of it(with the I.R portion of it and no need to worry about the extra processing cost) but support in Forza3 will have to be added via a patch later down the line, since the hardware isn't final yet and not due till next year. If MS have any sense, they will have the patch ready for download on the day Natal ships.
    Edited by 4 at 10/09/09 @ 12:50

  • Alkeno #76 2 years ago

    evilfoxhound, I can't understand how you dare to insult anyone without even bothering to check if your assumptions were correct.

    Rodchenko, I agree. The official Microsoft advertising is that Natal replaces the controller (god knows what they are thinking...) but that was not my point. Many of us have already discussed that for gamers like us Natal could have incredible uses as enhancements of standard control pads... Using facial expressions in Mass Effect, free looking in games. My favorite would be using a Lancer replica in Gears of War (Natal recognizes the gun for aiming and the hand movement for tossing grenades!).

  • makeamazing #77 2 years ago

    The problem with Natal is that all of the core MS studios have already said they wont be using Natal in their games. I think there has been alittle backtracking since then...

    Yes if they do headtracking in major games that would be great, but at the moment its apparent that major AAA games do not look like they will support Natal as it seems the only place MS want to go with this is a Wii copier... that could change in the future. Sony have at least suggested that they will be using tech to make AAA games more interesting, but dont have a direct vision like MS do. So its going to be interesting to see if any of these ideas actually make it into any/many AAA games, along with the issues people have already mentioned.

  • Calgon #78 2 years ago

    The problem with Natal is that all of the core MS studios have already said they wont be using Natal in their games.

    Can you tell me where they've said that?

    I think you've simply misinterpreted them, they were simply clarifying they've no intention of "replacing" the controller in their games(i.e. traditional/hardcore style games)... yet there are *still* people running around with the idea that they are spelling the end of the controller.

    I'm pretty sure there have been comments suggesting all their teams have been looking for ways where it might make sense to "support it", if it can add something to a game. I think you are just trying to make out that Sony were on this enhancement prospect before MS which is just not true(especially regarding the head tracking), they haven't revealed all their plans for Natal but they have already hinted that Natal could be put to good use for traditional AAA games. The "it could change in the future" comment means nothing at all because you simply dont know what their plans were to begin with, Sony's direction is no less of a "wii-copier", I'd say much more so as its just a more accurate version of it(i.e. a smaller step away from what Wii has done).

    Personally I look forward to seeing what ideas Rare have come up with, with Peter Molyneux's new role he might give them even more freedom and ideas to play with.
    Edited by 3 at 10/09/09 @ 14:14

  • farlander #79 2 years ago

    I'm a bit confused: wouldn't head tracking require a wearable display? Because if you turn your head to the right - you won't see your television anymore (at least not in front of you), so it'd be rather weird to have to turn your head, but keep your eyes on the television - it kind of defies the purpose. Is it not?

  • altitude2k #80 2 years ago

    @farlander

    As above in my previous post, think of your TV as more of a window into the game world rather than just a static portion of it. That's how it's likely to work.

  • regmund #81 2 years ago

    If this (sony vision) library is being used by Polyphony Digital then maybe it won't be necessary to have to wear headgear or glasses with led markers on...


    ref:..
    [link url=http ://www.engadget.com/2009/09/10/video-sonys-vision-library-fo r-playstation-eye-recognizes-face/#continued
    ]http://ww w.engadget.com/2009/09/10/video...[/link]

  • Yaz #82 2 years ago

    @farlander

    Watch the TrackIR5 video in my last post to see it in action.

    Like all new control methods, it takes a little getting used to at first, but almost all who've tried it says it soon becomes second nature.

  • Yaz #83 2 years ago

    @regmund

    Yes, no headgear required because it tracks the features of your head/face to determine the direction you're looking in.

  • intpleeus #84 2 years ago

    The article states, "turn your head and look at the wing mirror," "look down at the transmission and see for yourself," and "look beyond the turn just like real drivers do," but that isn't true. The 3D effect is like looking through a window; turning your head wouldn't work, because you'd just be looking away from the screen! You actually need to move the position of your head, but that would be really annoying while driving a vehicle. It'd be nothing like driving a real car.
    Edited by 2 at 10/09/09 @ 21:56

  • zztopp #85 2 years ago

    This is why GT5 has been delayed for the umpteenth time, incorporating such needless 'features'.

  • Oceans1999 #86 2 years ago

    Only having a projector sucks sometimes :(

    Yaz. I admire your attempts to educate the 'don't get it's' but sometimes, you just have to put them in front of it and say 'like this' :)
    Edited by 1 at 11/09/09 @ 10:17

  • funkateer #87 2 years ago

    For the people curious how rotation is going to work, it's probably safe to say that it's not an issue. I'm fairly sure it wil not change viewport according to head rotation, only head displacement.

    You'd only need head rotation tracking if the screen would be moving with you (for example if you were wairing 3D glasses with screens in them).