Over the years a lot of people asked me how to use the old pc version of the virtual
i-glasses with windows 95/98 with headtracking and stereoscopic 3D support for all DirectX
and OpenGL based games.
This info will make you able to play Quake3, MDK2, Forsaken and more in
stereoscopic 3d with headtracking!
This info is public domain but if you distribute it please add my name with it.
How to get the old i-glasses head tracker to work under windows 95/98?
(Haven't tried ME jet)
- Download the tracker.zip and mouse.zip archives,
which contain the tracker.exe and the mouse.com files you need.
- Turn off your pc and put your serial mouse on com2 (ive tried ps2
mouse but it diddn't work, I don't know why) and your head-tracker on com2 and turn on
your i-glasses.
- Now you need to restart your pc and start your pc in the "only
ms-dos modes" by hitting F8. (this mean you start your pc just as usual but don't
start windows9x).
- Run the tracker.exe program, and adjust sensetivity settings if you
want, make shure its set for mouse emulation then press "enter"
- Run mouse.com (it's just a mouse driver which don't understand a
dual mouse configuration.) I've had some problems with the mouse driver from logitech,
because it detects both the headtracker on com1 and the mouse on com2 which slows my pc
very much down. The mouse.com program does not detect the mouse on com2 but he only
installs the headrtacker as a mouse on com1.
(you don't have to do this every time you start your pc, You can make a dual boot
configuration in your autoexec.bat which runs the tracker.exe program and the mouse.com
driver. Make sure your i-glasses are on when using the tracker program)
If your mouse on com2 is activated by mouse.com instead of the headtracker on com1,
then disconnect the mouse, restart, go trough steps 2 and 3 and 4, run the mouse.com
program then connect the serial mouse again.
- Start Windows,your Windows should detect
the headtracker as a mouse and the mouse on com2 and asks if you want to install them.
Say yes!
- If you have to restart Windows then restart your pc and make sure
that before you run Windows you alreaddy have run the tracker.exe program and the
mouse.com driver.
Now you should be able to move the mouse cursor with the movementy of your head in
windows.
When this all works, you can turn off your i-glasses. Pick up your mouse and run a
game with mouselook (like all 3d shoot em up games. when you have started the game put the
mouse away. Now put on your i-glasses an turn them on. When the level starts you
should be able to play it with the head trackinfg of i-glasses! I't looks realy cool when
you see games in stereoscopic 3d!
When you're done playing with the game turn of your i-glasses and you can use your
mouse without having any interferance of your head movement.
When you need to recalibrate the helmet within the game you can do it by moving the mouse.
Looking up and down is reversed so sometimes you have to select "invert
mouse" in some games. in some games you can't (like x-wing alliance and yes you can
look around your x-wing cockpit while you fly after those damn Tie fighters. COOL!) . the
only easy/cheap way around this is to connect the headtracker upside-down to your forehead
instead of the back of your head.
If it does not or does work with your pc please tell me, maybe I can make a program
that would automaticly sets up your windows95 for use with the I-glasses!
How to get stereoscopic 3D in games with the i-glasses?
There are 2 options native games or non native games:
- Native games:
This are games that support the i-glasses right out the box like magic
carpet, commanche 3 (cool game btw), descent 1&2 and some more.
As far as i know there are no new games being developed for the i-glasses.
- Non native games:
This requires a stereoscopic 3d video driver that works with the same 3d stereo signal
as the i-glasses. (this is the page-flipping stereo format)
These drivers make it possible to run any DirectX and openGL game in stereoscopic 3D
these drivers come from the shutterglasses market and will work very well on the
i-glasses (you can kiss ghosting images goodbye) there are a couple of drivers avalible.
if you see double it means that the 3d switch on the i-glasses is still set to STD and
the light on the i-glasses is turned red when the 3d setting is on it should be green.
If the left and right eye images are reversed, just switch the 3d swiths from 3D1 to
3D2 or otherwise
The drivers:
for more info about stereoscopic 3d visit www.stereo3d.com
and www.stereovision.net
Good luck,
Maarten van Grinsven, maarten.van.grinsven@pandora.be