why not historic cockpit layouts?

[WAKINYAN]

  There is an special reason because both WB before and now AH have not historic layouts for the cockpits of the models? regarding mainly the instrument distribution on the panel, i.e. the compass should be in the historic place; the altimeter, and so on...

[RAM]

Hola, colega  

In fact I find the cockpits quite good! I like them a lot...I understand your point, and yes would be good to have historical cockpits...but see I rather prefer HTC making Tanks, New aircraft, new maps....than changing the cockpits, which for now are more than acceptable IMHO  

BTW I suggest one thing that I think many people will agree with me. Throw the ammo counters out. WWII planes had no ammo counters (except Luftwaffe planes), so I find them just as I would find an external view...Greatly unrealistic...

------------------
Ram, out

JG2 "Richthofen"

 

[This message has been edited by RAM (edited 03-20-2000).]

[lasse]

I agree with you ram, throw away the ammocounters, or at least make something that simulates the counters they had in real life  

------------------
The Wild Vikings
Commanding Officer
lasse-

[Ripsnort]

Give me full virtual reality, complete  with 360 degrees of head  rotation, and peripherial vision, and I'll take historic cockpit lay-outs...until  then, I like the way it is, since  we  are limited  to a 2D monitor.

------------------
Ripsnort(-rip1-)
++JG2++ ~Richthofen~ XO
Aces High Training Corps
JG2 "Richthofen"
 
"Some people are only alive because it is illegal to shoot them."

[This message has been edited by Ripsnort (edited 03-20-2000).]

[Downtown]

I bought "How to Fly the P-38 Lightning" and "How to Fly the Curtiss P-40" while at the Air Force Museum.

I was thinking that perhaps HT could come up with an optional download for Hardcore Realism Fanatics and let us whirl the trim control nobs, adjust our mixture, open and close cooling cowling, flip ckt brkrs, Etc.

He could give us a High Realism Arena.

You would download the Cockpit/Instrument panels (Not all the controls were on the main firewall panel.  And let us go at it.

Just think you just got all dialed in for high alt cruising, and you see a con, you have to turn on your booster pumps, adjust your trim for high speed fighting, check your switches, Etc.. Etc.. before the other guy closes on you.

------------------
Lincoln "Downtown" Brown.
 lkbrown1@tir.com  
 http://www.tir.com/~lkbrown1
Wrecking Crews "Drag and Die Guy"
Hals und beinbruch!

[NineZ]

I could go for realistic cockpits, especially metric readout.

JagdNine

[miko2d]

 There were two things in real life that are mutually exclusive when it comes to modelling them in AH:
 1. All the planes had more or less different cockpits layouts for obvious reasons.
 2. All the pilots had no problem finding the dials/controls/gauges in the planes they flew because they trained and flew many months in the ***same*** plane.

 While scenarios are the strongest part of WB, I bet not many people only fly torpedo bomber in MA. We do not want pilots flying in historical arena or scenario screw up because he is flying unfamiliar plane. We do not want people refusing to participate in such arenas/events because they do not feel confident in using the cockpits.

 So I say - make metric system an option but make all cockpits instrument layouts the same . It would save programming/designing time and make flight more realistic.

 If some planes did not have some major instrument, just leave a blank space where it is in other planes. As for removing ammo counters - only do that after allowing pilots to somehow set the ammo to indicate the low condition, like more frequent tracers or, better, tracers of different color.

miko--

[Ivedog]

You've got my vote for authentic cockpits.  But I don't think we'll ever be able to get HTC to make the gauges completely realistic...

How about some canopy reflections instead?

Guaging Realism

Ivedog



------------------
The Volunteers!

[juzz]

I have found that the AH cockpits are harder to use than in other sims with the more correct layouts. I think I'm used to the real layouts after playing other sims and seeing photos, manuals, musuems, etc...

I can't see any reason why the instruments can't be placed in more correct locations. Eg: Look at the WW2 Fighters, or custom SDOE cockpits.

[MANDOBLE]

 

Originally posted by NineZ:
I could go for realistic cockpits, especially metric readout.
JagdNine

Agree completely. METRIC METRIC METRIC. And correct (historical) gun sights for each plane.

Talking about metric system, I know several people trying AH after flying german planes in warbirds for years. They have returned (never left) to warbirds because flying using non metric system is really hard (and absurd) for them.

[Superfly]

When it comes to instruments on the dash, we generally will put them in there historic postitions.  However, for game play and easy accessability purposes, we will sometimes move them so that you can spend less time looking at the dash and more time chasing cons.

------------------
John "SUPERFLY" Guytan - Art Director
HiTech Creations
"Ain't I clean bad machine/ Supercool, supermean/ Feelin good for the man/ Superfly-here I stand" - Curtis Mayfield
-=HELLFIRE=- SQUAD

[bigred]

the absolute realism of the cockpit layout does not bother me so much....

what does bother me is the seemingly WIDELY DISPARATE quality of the various planes cockpits...

NATEDOG/SUPERFLY: the quality of your cockpits has kept going up with every plane and you are getting some great results of late...

for example, i think the P-38/ Macchi / BF-109 series cockpits are GREAT, they feel suitably claustrophobic, enclosed and with the extra detail and nice interior textures, really make me feel like im hurtling through the the sky in a weak aluminum tincan... (just like when im actually flying)

unfortunately, some of the earlier cockpits, especially the P51, N1K2 and the Spits just look so rushed that they break any sense of immersion and i just CANT fly them, as im constantly distracted by the cockpits....

so i figure, that the problem is easily solvable, you 2 obviously are doing a GREAT job on all the new stuff and its only a matter of time (i hope) till you get a chance to go back and enhance the older planes...

it does seem like on a polygon count basis you have a lot of room to play with... im sure that the polys used in the Hellfire flask could esily be used in some of the earlier planes to model (instead of texture) some realistic footwells and interior structural ribbing...

-bigred (who only wants to see AH get better, so dont take this post personally)

[This message has been edited by bigred (edited 03-21-2000).]