Recent reviews by Nightmare_se

Bringing quality and affordable head tracking to everyday devices.

My head tracking experience:

I have used head and eye tracking products for a number of years now.
I have used a range of head tracking products such as TrackIR, the Tobii 3, Tobii 4c
and a range of other cheaper alternatives. It was back in 2012-2013 when
I got my first head tracking device. I have used these devices in various
racing, driving and flight simulators.

My Beam Eye Tracker experience:

At first I was a little skeptical about an app on a mobile device that
could offer precision head tracking like other products that were currently on
the market. I first started using Beam Eye Tracker on occasion when it was in it's
very early beta stages. Over time as the app developed and updated I
started using it more often up until where I am today and solely use the
Beam Eye Tracker software over other options. So in total I would say that I have
been using this product at least 3-4 years. I like how it brings quality head
tracking to an everyday device like a mobile phone and/or webcam.

Product comparison:

I will be honest here when comparing Beam Eye Tracker with the main competitors such
as TrackIR and Tobii. When it comes to tracking smoothness and precision I
got the best result from TrackIR (With Beam Eye Tracker I achieve a very close if not
almost unnoticeable smoothness and precision result as TrackIR. Only most noticeable
unless you have had actual experience with both products). It comes at the cost of
price (I will cover pricing later), having to wear a physical clip with reflective
points for the IR camera to track (No need to wear a physical clip for head tracking
with Beam Eye Tracker) and the community involvement/ customer support is almost non
existent (Beam Eye Tracker has shown much better customer support and community involvement).

With the Tobii products I have used such as the Tobii 3 and the Tobii 4c I was
unable to achieve precision and smoothness like the TrackIR and Beam Eye Tracker.
With the Tobii it also comes at a price (I will cover pricing later). It is also
less user friendly compared to Beam Eye Tracker to get setup as well as tracking
settings (Setting up Beam Eye Tracker and dialing in tracking settings was much easier
and quicker). They have also had some frequent product updates which means buying a
newer version of hardware, very costly (Since Beam Eye Tracker is software there is no need
to purchase newer versions of hardware!).

Key Beam Eye Tracker features ranked:

Head tracking precision:
1.TrackIR
2.Beam Eye Tracker (very subtle difference)
3.Tobii

Eye Tracking Support:
- Both Beam Eye Tracker and Tobii support eye tracking. TrackIR does not support eyetracking.

Setup and ease of use:
1. Beam Eye Tracker
2. TrackIR
3. Tobii

Availability:
1. Beam Eye Tracker
2. Tobii
3. TrackIR

Mobility:
1. Beam Eye Tracker
2. TrackIR
3. Tobii

Customer and Community support:
1. Beam Eye Tracker
2. Tobii
3. TrackIR

Game titles supported:
- All 3 products have about the same library of supported games.

Price:
1. Beam Eye Tracker
2. TrackIR 5
3. Tobii

Pricing:

Now this is where I want to get into probably the most important decisive features looked
at when someone is wanting to invest into a head and eye tracker. This is where Beam Eye Tracker
Beam stands out from the rest. Currently Beam Eye Tracker offers a one time purchase for 28.99€.
The current price for a TrackIR 5 is 200€ and the Tobii 5 coming in at a hefty 279€. A no brainer
if you ask me.

Summary:

Beam Eye Tracker may not be the perfect tracking product, which none of them are in reality, but it is
my opinion is the leading choice. It is very cost effective and mobile, allowing you to easily take head
and eye tracking with you. At the same time it offers top quality tracking precision and smoothness. It
easy to install and setup. The settings for the tracking itself are easily adjusted to find what suits
your preference and game title. So for these reasons compared to it's competitors I can with confidence
rate the app a 5 out of 5 stars.

I would not recommend it since most of my supposed play time is actually time spent trying to get the game itself to launch and work!

Well as human nature has predicted when a game starts off with a rough Early Access launch people have to jump the gun and be quick to complain. I do also believe that the developers also kinda shot theirselves in the foot by setting a date before making sure that it can be met. Again not everything in life moves along smoothly without any problems what so ever.

Anyhow now that the tidal wave has hit and the waves are settling down I am ready to write my review after spending just over 10 hours in the game. I have not played ARK. Nor do I care if there is a hidden ARK menu in the game. It is afterall by the same developers. If you have assests readily available that are useable why not save yourself the time and money by using them rather than putting more hours into making something new that you already have. I started out on an official PVE server which did not go so well. I might as well have gone directly to PVP because it was basically spawn... get eaten by an alligator... respawn... get eaten by an alligator... respawn again... get eaten by an alligator... gah! respawn... oh look a sheep!... get ambushed from behing by a big snake! Yeah the world was harsh and I had a very hard time trying to learn the game while getting killed every 5 minutes. I think maybe I was just spawning in a very bad area. Once I got onto a private server things got a lot better. There was a small little village on the shoreline and the fauna was much more forgiving and not very hostile. There is a lot of very neat survival features in this game. A lot that is common in survival games and a few that are new to me. Though my survival game history is not very in depth mind you. I have dabbled with Dark and Light, DayZ and SCUM. Of those titles including this one, ATLAS has so far made the best first impression on me and has very good potential to consume many of my free time hours.

This is not a very in depth review with a lot of details. I just do not want to put in a lot of detail spoilers but simply leave a positive recommendation for a good game. Those of you that are survival veterans will pretty much know what to expect. For those that are looking into or new to the survival genre you will have a lot to learn and discover a lot of very neat features in a entertaining theme.

I have been into PC hunting games since the mid 90’s. Then in 1997 Deer Hunter brought it all to 3D. I have owned and played every game in that series from Deer Hunter in 1997 up to Deer Hunter Tournament in 2008 also Trophy Hunter 2003. Then I caught word of a new revolutionary hunting simulation that was in development called theHunter. They have taken PC hunting simulation into the next generation with its release back in 2009. Players have 7 large hunting reserves to choose from that range from open fields to deciduous and evergreen forest also from spring/summer environments to fall and winter. Free to play members can hunt mule deer and cottontail rabbit (2 of the 18 species available) on 2 different reserves. theHunter is new to Steam and a lot of people who seem to think that the gaming industry revolves around Steam also think that if it’s new on Steam then it is new everywhere. This is not the case. theHunter went live sometime back in 2009. Avalanche created a child company called Expansive Worlds solely to further develop theHunter. This shows that the company is passionate about this game and truly believes in its success.
First Impression: I admit before entering the game for the first time I had my doubts about it seriously being much better than the Deer Hunter series gameplay wise and graphically. WOW! Was I ever wrong? Once I wondered away from the starting lodge and into the woods I found myself inspecting all the elements of the environment and vegetation. Astounded at the amount of progress that was made graphically for a hunting simulation. Then I hear a mule deer buck call off in the distance breaking me from my trance. Once that bucked stepped into view the rest is history. Here I am now in 2014 still actively playing the game nearly every day since its release in 2009 currently with 1057 hours of gameplay time.
Free to play: theHunter is Free to Play. This is a very touchy subject for players. It does have 2 species on 2 reserves that are free to hunt. The mule deer and the Cottontail Rabbit can be hunted on 2 different reserves after completing missions for GM$ to buy the single shot 12 gauge shotgun. The downside is that you will also need to purchase the ammunition. My opinion is that if it can be purchased by EM$ or GM$ then ammunition should be unlimited. theHunter does offer very limited free content of the game. On the other side you have to take into account that the game is continuously in development with a team devoted to it. Which requires a steady flow of income.
Membership: theHunter offers 3 basic memberships for 3, 6 and 12 months. 3 package memberships for 3 (Wayfarer), 6 (Pathfinder) and 12 (Trailrunner) months, each with a selection of equipment. Many argue that the cost of the game is high. Here I strongly disagree. In reality even with the membership cost and further micro transactions the game does not cost any more than a normal gaming entertainment budget. Most subscription based online games cost anywhere from $10-19/m, a cost of $120-144/y. Even console games that are released regularly will cost $45-60 for each new game and are released about once a year. The cheapest basic membership at theHunter costs $9.99 for 3 months which is $3.33/m or $39.96/y. A nice difference versus paying $45-144/y. Now take the Trailrunner membership, theHunter’s most expensive option. It is 12 months of membership and starter items for $49.99 which is $4.17/m. At least $5 cheaper than most subscription games per month and at least $70/y. Once your 12 month Trailrunner membership runs out you can renew with a 12 month basic membership for $34.99 which is $2.92/m. That is atleast $10 cheaper than a new console game or atleast $85 cheaper than 1 year for most other sub based games. The amount difference you saved playing theHunter versus the newest console game or most other sub based games can be used to buy any extra items you may want to spice up your inventory with. You can either play theHunter cheaper than most other games, just about the same cost or even more. It is all up to you as a player to decide.
Weapons: There are 15 rifles, 5 handguns, 6 shotguns, 4 bows, a crossbow and a muzzleloader. All have scopes and sights that can be fitted to them. You really only need 1-2 weapons to ethically hunt every species. Buying more just adds variety to your arsenal. So do not be alarmed by these posts saying you need $300 to purchase all weapons. All of the weapons are not necessary to have but an option.
Clothing: Some clothing is purely cosmetic meaning that it offers no such advantage while other clothing such as the Basic Set variants, Boone & Crockett, Army Set, Trapper Set, Doc Monsignor Set and the Ghillie Suit offer different advantages over certain or all species for different types of vegetation. Those advantages are Scent reduction, Visual reduction and Sound reduction. Not every set is a must have. Hunting close range is where these specialized clothing sets have the biggest advantage. When purchasing clothing sets I can highly recommend the Bundles section in the store for a discounted price.
Equipment: Here you have a good variety of items at your disposal. Optics such as binoculars, range finders and a compact digital camera. Consumables such as wind indicator, scent eliminator, camping supplies (for fast travel to tents) and first aid kits. theHunter does have some dangerous game that will charge you. These are moose, feral hog, wild boar, black bear and brown bear. If attacked you will need a first aid kit to continue or you must travel to the nearest lodge or tent (if you have camping supplies).
Play modes: theHunter has Single player and Multiplayer. You can create a multiplayer game for you and up to 7 of your friends to hunt together. There are missions you can complete for GM$. These can be completed in both single player and multiplayer.
Competitions: theHunter offers competitions for every species in the game, except for Cottontail Rabbit. Competitions for new species are introduced a short time after the species release. Competitions are for both Single and Multiplayer. They all offer a small amount of EM$ and a trophy for finishing in 1st, 2nd or 3rd . Special events are run giving awards for the top 10 finishers. During certain holidays special run events or missions will be run. There are also private hosted competitions by members of theHunter, myself included. These generally are listed in the Competition forum at theHunter forums. These offer better pay-outs for the top finishers than the official competitions. Some useful places to find these private competitions are here: http://thehuntercomps.se/, Derpy Competitions[thehunter-derpycompetitions.webs.com] and White Out Hunting[www.whiteouthunting.enjin.com].
The Community: The player community is very friendly and helpful. Players have devoted a lot of personal time into the forums, theHunter Wiki and other fan pages. Theres alot helpful game information in the forums, the wiki, guides, videos and some even do live streaming of the game.
The Development Team: Last but definitely not least the development team. This group of men and women have done an outstanding job bringing us the best hunting simulation there is and will continue to do so. They keep us updated weekly as to what is happening behind the scenes. Each week there is also a game update. This can be bug fixes or larger updates such as new items, species or reserves. Proof that our support is being put to good use.
I hope this will help you to decide to stay and help support a great game despite many negative reviews it has received from the Steam community. Use what is given as free content to help you further decide if this game is worth it. Every one of the 1000+ hours and the money I have invested in the game has been well worth it.