vr920, UT2004, head-tracking problem

[mcsilvio]

I've seen a few threads here and on vuzix forums with people not being able to get head tracking to work.

ive been having the same troubles. feel like ive tried everything. long story short, i just did a fresh install of win7 32, vr manager 3.1 and ut2004. same issues.

in dxdiag I can see the vr920 under DirectInput. but the mutator is just not working. No head-tracking. Does anyone have any ideas or theories for the cause? anyone with savvy could help me: your advice wouldbe greatly appreciated.

thanks all,
marco.

[Johnny-Mnemonic]

Do you install full UT2004? or just demo?
Because this mutator works only for FULL version.

[cybereality]

The VRManager installation never works. You have to manually copy all the files over from the VRManager folder (there will be one of UT2004) over to the proper folders where UT2004 is. Usually this will also involve overwriting the .ini (or .cfg) files, so make sure you make a backup first. Then you may have to edit the files to match the right resolution (ie 800x600).

[mcsilvio]

do you think if i modify the resolution in the ini files that the head-tracking might be affected? I have no idea, but stereoscopy is working fine. i noticed steam has an unreal tournament 2004 "editors" edition. im tempted to just rebuy that to try it out. i just want to see good stereoscopy (check) and head-tracking working (not check).

[cybereality]

It took me a whole night to figure out why the mutator wouldn't show up. I honestly don't remember how I fixed it exactly, but you can get it to work. Buying another version of UT may or may not help, but its probably worth a shot. Did you do what I said and copy all the files over manually?

[mcsilvio]

yes i have been doing that all alone. the mutator shows up. ive enabled it. its a full game. im gonna try buying another copy. 14 bux. ill let you know. im running it on 1024 768

[cybereality]

You also have to press a button to enable the headtracking. It may be Control + F7, or maybe F8. I think it says in the instructions (if you click on the details for UT2004 in the VRManager)

[mcsilvio]

F7 is supposed to cycle through the head tracking modes with mode# 0 being OFF. This cycling works, head tracking doesnt. Do you think there is a separate button for actually enabling it? It doesn't say in the info. dude, thanks for posting and trying to help so much. Very nice of you. Thanks.

[cybereality]

I assumed you've already calibrated the tracker, right? Do those the tracker work when you are calibrating it? In the VRManager you should see the values changing and it will say its working. It its not, you may want to try switching the USB port, or just unplugging it and plugging it back in and see if it enables.

[mcsilvio]

yeah. calibration is fine. axysnake works wonderfully.

i mean, can YOU just install vr manager 3.1, copy the necessary files for the game your running, and everything works? or do you have to muck around with little things here and there as well.

btw, im writing this laying down in bed, using the vr920 and staring straight at the ceiling. haha.

my gf says i will turn into the people from wall e.

[cybereality]

i mean, can YOU just install vr manager 3.1, copy the necessary files for the game your running, and everything works?

Thats how its supposed to work. But the whole thing just feels like a giant hack. Its like the developers threw some crap code together as a proof of concept, and then they released it. I wish they would have come up with a more elegant solution, like any of the other driver makers (Nvidia, DDD, IZ3D).

[mcsilvio]

update:
so i ordered a different copy of unreal 2004. didnt work. why am i hitting my head against a brick wall? i dont know. unreal looks great with stereoscopy. has a cool map editor (always just wanted to create my own 3d worlds). and i wanna prove to myself that using vuzix products does not equal a nightmare. well that is not turning out to be true.

im looking for someone to show me the error in my process. heres what i did:

1) installed fresh copy of newly purchased Unreal Tournament 2004
2) Ran it. Looks normal.
3) It was detected properly in VR Manager 3.1 (the folder was the correct one). I tried to enable it. Same problem as before "Could not copy critical file". blah blah.
4) I copied these files manually. All to the <Unreal install>\System folder:
- UT2004.ini (from the System folder in VR) over wrote the installed one.
- User.ini. overwrote the installed one.
- The two mutator files (IWRView.u, IWRView.ucl)
- VR920Dx8Stereo.cfg
- Copied d3d8.dll and Dinput8.dll from Vuzix folder to <Unreal Install>\System
5) I ran UT2004. Stereoscopy works great.
6) I clicked instant action, deathmatch, mutators.
7) I got rid of all the mutators there, and added the "iWear Tracking Mutator". (exact name i cant remember.
8) I started the game. No tracking.
9) I cycled through the F7 options. No tracking.

Again, I am running Win7 32 (also tried 64 earlier) and head-tracking just wont work. I feel like I am lucky that stereoscopy works and that the software support for this vr920 is terrible, even after so many years.

cyber, can you spot a missing step in my process? Additionally, would you send me your UT2004.ini and User.ini files to mcsilvio@gmail.com. That's assuming youve got the game installed and tracking works, and you are willing and have the time to do this for me. plz plz plz plz.

[cybereality]

Well I already sold my VR920 and uninstalled all the Vuzix drivers. But I do notice files: "VR920DInput8.cfg" and "iWrRestore.ini" in the UT2004/System folder. Not sure what they are for, but seem to be VR920 related.

[mcsilvio]

thanks anyway cyber. youve been a great help anyway with many things. im working on the sdk at the moment as im sure i can sooner program my own ut2004 than get an email back from vuzix (:P)

[mcsilvio]

one more quick question,

does anyone suspect that a WinXP installation would be better for the vr920 than Win7 32-bit? Cuz I have a partition just for vr now and if it would help i dont mind.

[cybereality]

Well if you already have Windows 7 running, it wouldn't hurt to have XP available too. Not sure if that will help with the VR920, but its worth a shot, right?