GT5 and Head Tracking: a small innovation that might prove big

Gran Turismo 5 will be the first core-oriented console game to introduce full fledged head tracking for the control of the point of view inside the cockpit.
Many won't probably realize immediately the importance of this innovation, but it has the potential to bring a sizable improvement to the immersivity of the game and to (at least partly) close the gap between driving a car in real life and the awkward "blinders" sensation that comes with doing the same in front of a flat screen.

[Cloudberry]

.
I think it's very good. :o

[Blacktric]

It's a nice addition for the gamers who own a PlayStation Eye. I'm gonna get mine with Move so I'll probably use this feature a lot.

[JohnnyAkiba]

Buy a DFGT first. If want a fantastic experience.

[Blacktric]

@JonhnnyAkiba

Is it seriously "that" good of a wheel? Can you compare it to the G25 if you ever used it? I know their prices are way too different but I just want a comparison that's all. Might buy it if our current dinner tables height is enough :D.

[RageAgainstTheMShine]

Autobots transform and roll out!

I hope next gen shooters also have this head tracking situational awareness stuff .....for realistic experience immersion.

[Abriael]

I saw it as well, even if the most beneficial effect isn't easily visible from that kind of video. While turning you instinctively "looking inside" the turn a bit, and that translates into a subtle movement of the camera (and in that video he mostly had the cockpit off, the noob :P), just a few degrees, that does a world of difference in making driving more natural and following a smooth racing line much easier.

[FragMnTagM]

and we all know damned well that if it was microsoft and Forza doing the exact same thing, somehow it would suck.

This site is so predictable. Mark my words, if and when this gets implemented on MS console it will be considered utter garbage.

You see Cloudberry up there^? If that were someone that supports XBOX and this article was about Forza doing this, he would have 6 disagrees not agrees and most of his bubbles would be taken.

[Pedobear Rocks]

massive as GT5 then MS will get its props. But implementing Kinect in Forza the way they have they've kind of left them selves open for ridicule don't you think?

People likeing this has nothing to do with Sony vs MS...they like it because it is a neat feature previously only seen on PC gaming.

Now stfu.

PBR.

[Obama]

What MS is doing with kinect and Forza3 is HORRIBLE because: You are playing a driving game with a invisible wheel, you are standing up, you cannot press the pedal.

On the other hand what sony is doing with EYE and GT5 is a gimmick, but at the same time it's an interesting addition to the game.

One ruins the game experience, one does not. Know the difference.

[benighted death]

funny because i dont remember turn10 saying that: first:it was forza4 2ND: that the game was only for Kinect and 3RD: they clearly said that what they showed was a small part of what they were experimenting for this game...they never said that it was going to be only Kinect compatible!
so stop being retards fanboys...you have no credibility

[RageAgainstTheMShine]

At least in GT5 with PS Move you dont teach the children how to drive a car standing inside your living room for hours upon hours with out the luxury of sitting on a comfy couch!

Unless you are Dr.Xavier of the X-Men, teach the kids that real driving is done by sitting and holding something in your hands.

Yeah Real Driving Simulators do head tracking too or else its not really as real.

[jazzking2001]

nice
i cant wait to play the game

[DontShoot-Me-Bro]

GOTY 2010

Has anyone seen the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG adverts on T.V

Everytime i see it, i know that means Gran Turismo 5 is coming!!!!!!!

[ThePlaystation3guy]

Sony had a Mercedes Benz SLS AMG parked out the Shiner Auditorim before their Press Conference. It. Was. Awesome!

I tried out the head tracking at Sony Europe's booth upstairs at E3. It was pretty cool! I found myself taking a look at the racer beside me and found it to be so cool that the camera looked that way too, lol!

I also quit the demo, started it back, and raced around as NASCARs, lol!

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

This game really does it all.

[Dellis]

This feature is stupid, why would you want head tracking???

is not like it will help you turn

[nikkisixx2]

To help you see on your sides so you dont bump into someone. If you bump into someone going >150mph you will spin out and crash, losing the race.

[thor]

How stupid. In GT5:Prologue you can configure the D-pad so that you can look left and right. Or even the L1/R1 buttons. A much better solution than head tracking with its many problems.

[nikkisixx2]

@thor
how is that stupid? its bringing realism to the game. Real racers look to their sides, they don't have a magical D-pad in their car.

[thor]

IT'S NOT REALISTIC!!

Get a grip - head tracking provides the ability to look left and right, but it is in NO WAY similar to actually looking left and right.

In a REAL CAR, I can move my EYES to look left or right.

With HEAD TRACKING, I use my HEAD as a CONTROL MECHANISM to control the in-game camera. I move my eyes, I'm no longer looking at the screen, and the camera view doesn't move anyway. It's unnatural and unrealistic.

So this solution is actually less realistic and clumsier than using buttons on a controller/racing wheel.

Edit:

You COMPLETELY missed the point. Yes I turn my head RIGHT ROUND to look in my blind spot. With head tracking it is a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MOTION, and any retard can see this. I move my head only a quarter of the distance, and I move my eyes in a completely different way. This is the OPPOSITE of immersion. It's tacking on a wacky control scheme which is NOTHING like real life.

What if the amount I puffed out my cheeks was the control scheme for where my head was turning in-game? It's JUST AS REALISTIC. Puff out my left cheek, look left. Total analogue control. It's just as close to the real thing as head tracking is.

Immersive would be headgear where you could rotate your head or move your eyes and be looking in a different direction. Immersive would be a holographic display where your TV becomes a "window" into the game world. Immersive is NOT head tracking.

[Nitrowolf2]

Thor i am sure that people can see there blind spots in a car just by moving there eyes /s

In a real car you need to turn you head when you are trying to make a turn just so no one is caught in your blind spot and you hit them
in a real car when you turn your head (or even eyes) your looking away from the front view, whats wrong with head tracking you are looking away anyway.

man i have never seen anyone drive and make turns without turning there head, and usually when i see them using just their mirrors they usually forget about the car in the blind spot.
i am sure the option to use the sticks will stay there as this will be an option for ps eye owners

Lets put a helmet on your head and get you driving fat 100-200MPH then will will see just how reliable just using your eyes can be. Good luck looking at the siding of your helmets.

[raztad]

@thor

If you are into racing sim a steering wheel is a must.

BTW, the head movement is amplified, so you always are looking at the TV. Read the article, and wait for the game before to jump into conclusions.

[nikkisixx2]

@thor
You're thinking like GT5 will be a game where you're driving down a neighborhood street and going 20mph.

Relate GT5 to NASCAR. You're wearing a helmet so you can't just move your eyes to see to the left and right. You have to move your whole head.

[jjohan35]

The problem with headtracking is that when you turn your head, you have to look back with your eyes in the opposite direction. The screen isn't moving. Turning your head one direction and turning your eyes opposite direction is a bit counter-intuitive in theory.

Regardless I'll be trying it out when I buy my Move bundle. I'm sure the geniuses at PD got it to work well.

[FragMnTagM]

this seemd to be a really emotional issue for you. First off take a couple of these (Prozac). Now try and breathe slowly, inhale, exhale. Alright now that we are calmed down, why don't you try it first before bashing something you have never used before.

You did say that in a car that you would use your eyes correct? So what is so different from moving your head a little bit to the right or left and keeping your eyes on the screen?

Take a chill pill and try shit before you bash it.

[Theonik]

So how would moving your head help you see if in order to turn you have to look away from the screen? In a real race you have to turn your head to turn your view with the helmet and all but there is a window to your left to see. Anyone knows how they solved that issue?

[Abriael]

It DOES help you turn. Situational awareness during a turn is crucial in following a smooth and natural racing line. That's why drivers in real life look towards the inside of the turn when approacing a corner. It helps the eye/hand coordination a lot.

Racing WITHOUT any kind of head tracking is like driving a real life car while wearing a medical collar that locks your neck and horse blinders.

You obviously didn't read the article at all...

@Thor: your eyes are not fixed looking in front of your head you know? You don't need to move your eyes AT all from the dead center of the screen in order to control the view point. You simply didn't read the article, didn't watch the movie and are talking with zero knowledge of how it works.

In real cars you move BOTH your neck and your eyes to look left or right, without even considering racing situations in which you wear a HELMET. You most definitely don't use your eyes alone. That's why you're not allowed to drive when wearing a medical neck traction collar, for instance. Neck movement is indispensible to drive. Honestly i wonder if you even have a license.

head tracking is doubtlessly the most natural and realistic way to control the viewpoint within the obvious limits of console gaming. It's that simple.

[jjohan35]

In real driving, when you want to look to the right, you turn both your head and eyes to the right. Head tracking with a non-moving TV screen requires you to turn your head to the right but your eyes to your left in order to keep the eyes fixated on the screen in front of you. The screen did not move.

[jjohan35]

I love the disagrees. The next time you drive a car, assuming that you're old enough to drive, try to see if you can look to your side if your head is turned one direction but your eyes fixated to the front.

[Domer25]

Maybe get a drivers license first, then ask the question again.

[Handsome_Devil]

why would you need trigger buttons, its not like its gonna help you shoot. You can use the X/A button to do so.

It is not needed, but it is nice to have as an option my friend.

[Pedobear Rocks]

a vehicle....its called looking into your turn. Good luck driving if all your going to do is plant your head forward.

PBR

[thor]

No I don't like the inclusion of head tracking. It doesn't increase immersion; it's just a stupid way to rotate your in-game view. Once I've turned my head to the side, I have to look out of the corner of my eye to see the screen. The only way to make it realistic would be to have a massive screen which extends to the edges of the room, and do away with head tracking.

The head tracking in GT5 still makes it look as though you're watching a flat screen, with a ridiculous control system which is anything but realistic. Instead of using this system, why not use D-pad left and right to turn your head in-game? Pressing a button is much easier than turning your head and looking to the side.

[Abriael]

You obviously didn't read the article at all and never tried accessories like the Track IR.

All you need to do is subtle movements in order to control the view effectively. Leaving the center of the screen with your eyes is absolutely not needed.

You also obviously never raced online, otherwise you'd know that using the D-Pad to control the viewpoint effectively is impossible. In most situations you're plenty busy doing something else (steering/shifting), and even more, the D-Pad would turn your viewpoint 90 degrees to the side, which is completely useless in most situations and extremely detrimental since you completely lose track of what's in front of you.
There's absolutely no way to keep a decent racing line while looking all the way to the side.

PS: head tracking is optional. Don't like it? don't use it. It's that simple.

@ below: the PS Eye has a resolution of 640 X 480 at 60 frames per second, that's PLENTY to capture movement precisely of something rich of distinctive features as a human head.
Cameras with much lesser resolution than the PS Eye can do it pretty well, and the precision of the head/face tracking capabilities of the PS Eye has already been shown plenty.

It'll probably even have a calibration feature that will allow you to decide how much movement will be amplified.

Controlling it with something imprecise as an analogue stick doesn't even get close, without considering that when driving in an actual race you're plenty busy doing other stuff. It's simply innatural.

And honestly, if you use people walking in front as an excuse, you're really grasping at straw. If you have people regularly walking in front of you when you game, you better not do racing games at all. By the way. Sitting absolutely still isn't needed at all. The camera can distinguish between head turning and head tilting/shifting.

[thor]

Well I won't use it then.

The movements won't be as subtle as Track IR - and even if they were, since I play on a TV screen and sit some distance away, the problem would be magnified. The reason they won't be as subtle is because it's relying on the PSEye's low resolution camera at distance.

GT games have always had customizable controls. If there is an option to set the control for "head position" I would much rather set it to use the right analogue stick, the L1/R1 buttons, or the D-pad over using my FACE. I understand that the D-pad viewpoint control was not perfect, but it was still useful, and with a bit of tuning (perhaps to rotate slowly to your desired position, holding for a second, then snapping back, or using analogue control with the right stick) it would easily trump head tracking with its myriad problems (having to sit absolutely still, glitches, people walking in front, inaccuracy, the fact that it's not realistic).

[KillerPwned]

Cant wait for this game i would not doubt the collectors edition`s will go for a nice price on ebay.

[BrutallyBlunt]

I just hope it works well. Early previews suggest the head tracking feature was hit and miss. It took awhile for it to be calibrated and even then the gamer had to overemphasize their movements for it to respond. So if they get this to work well it could be a great feature indeed.

[facelike]

I hope Killzone 3 supports head tracking.

[BBAM]

Regardless, I can't wait to try it out. Though as great as it looks, you can't know how good/bad it is until you've tried it

[Jason143]

FragMnTagM is a moron. He made me laugh so hard. I think headtracking is unique and the subtle shift in view will be highly beneficial. Question is how well will it work at home when not being demonstrated in perfect conditions.

[level 360]

Head tracking is simply all about the natural instinct of spatial advantage, a better and positive field of view for us racer/gamer.

As in the article it does help greatly close the gap between the situational awareness you have driving in real life and in the simulated world of GT5.

Think PS Eye-cam is a smart and cheap investment for GT5.

And save your hard-earned money on a later date for that 3D LED/LCD/Plasma screen when the market gets flooded and in turn you have more options for better deals.