Guide to AITrack and OpenTracker for Star Citizen!
A Head Tracker allows you to look freely around your cockpit and exterior views of your spacecraft. This is especially useful in dogfights in order to quickly see if there are enemies to your left / right / above you, or to simply track your target. There are some commercial solutions such as TrackIR, which is recognized as the best head tracker that money can buy, however its price to entry can be expensive.
If you already have a Webcam you can instead use the free OpenTrack software. This software may not be as smooth as TrackIR but I have got good results using it. This guide will help you with the installation of OpenTrack and getting it setup for Star Citizen.
OpenTrack is able to get tracking data from many inputs. There is phone applications that use your phone and wifi to stream the data to OpenTrack but in this guide we are going to focus on AITrack which uses your Webcam.
Download and install OpenTrack
Download the latest OpenTrack release here.
*Note: It is recommended to install OpenTrack on the same harddisk where Star Citizen is installed as there has been some issues reported where Star Citizen failed to recognize OpenTrack when installed on different disks.*
Upon visiting the OpenTrack github page download the version of OpenTrack you prefer. In this tutorial we will be using the portable version.
Extract this folder to somewhere where you will easily be able to access it. I recommend extracting it to your desktop.
Open the folder and run opentrack.exe.
Under the input option select UDP over network. Then select the settings icon next to it and write down the port number. You will need this for later. (Default: 4242)
Download and install AITrack
Download the latest AITrack release here.
Extract this folder to somewhere where you will easily be able to access it. I recommend extracting it to your desktop.
Open the folder and run aitrack.exe.
Select the Configuration option. From here enter the IP address 127.0.0.1 and the port number (Default: 4242) that you have configured in OpenTrack. Click Apply and close the Configuration Window.
Before continuing any further make sure your Webcam is connected. In the main AITrack window click Start Tracking – You should now see yourself with some tracking points around your facial features.
Configure OpenTrack
Move back over to OpenTrack.
PROFILES
If you are using this setup to play other games with head tracking, I highly recommend creating a profile for each game. Different games will benefit from different curves of the controls as well as different options. You can create a new profile or make a copy using your current profile – both options are located on the Profile button. Here you can also open the Profile folder which is very useful if you wish to make a backup of your profile or make a copy for a friend.
INPUT
We have already selected UDP over network as our input.
OUTPUT
Select the freetrack 2.0 Enhanced as your Output protocol. *If you have problems with Star Citizen not recognizing OpenTrack you can click the tool button and change the freetrack output to Use TrackIR, disable freetrack setting.*
FILTER
I use the Accela Filter – If the head tracking is not smooth you can try increasing the Smoothing Value – Click the tool button to open the Filter Settings.
OPTIONS
Under the Shortcuts tab (in the options menu) you can set keybinds. I recommend setting a keybind for enabling and disabling the tracker (I use `), and setting a keybind for recentering the tracker (I use CTRL+A). Sometimes Star Citizen loses track of the tracking and this allows for you to get it back on track (pun intended).
The Output tab is what allows you to Invert the source of the tracking. I personally have to have Pitch and the Z Axis inverted, however this may very from setup to setup. If your having issues with your setup, this is where you will change the inversion settings.
MAPPING
Back on OpenTrack if you select the Mapping Button you will be brought into the Mapping Options. Mapping is the most important part of configuring OpenTrack for Star Citizen use and will require some trial and error until you are satisfied with the results. The default mappings are hardly useable and I will share my mapping settings as a starting point down below.
Mapping options will change from game to game, so if you use this setup for additional games be sure to save new mapping options to a new profile.
NOTE: These settings are bound to change. This is just a general starting point. To get the best results please enter into Star Citizen and experiment with these settings.
TEST OPENTRACK
All done with settings! Press start on AITrack and verify you can see your face with the tracking dots. Next move back to OpenTrack and click on the Start Button, you should now see the Pink Octopus Face moving around and matching your movements.
NOTE: you may need to click on the mirror button if the Octopus is not mirror’ing your motions.
Star Citizen Settings
It is now time to launch into Star Citizen.
In the Options Menu select “COMMS, FOIP & HEAD TRACKING.”
I use the following settings, Please note that some of them you may wish to be different.
Congratulations!
That’s It! You have successfully installed a face tracking system for free! To use it in the future you simply just need to have AITrack, and OpenTrack running on your pc before you launch Star Citizen.