Custom Attitude Indicator

[MachNix]

It is amazing that adding a few marks – maybe two lines showing 45 degrees nose up and down and two dots indicating straight up and straight down – to a 32x64 bitmap is the only difference between “real” pilots and cartoon pilots.  I would have thought that a vague statement like, “The current instrument in the game is a compromise between what they had back then and a computer simulation” would have been enough.  Instead we got “real” pilots saying that sitting at a computer that is running Aces High is exactly like flying a real, honest to goodness, aeroplane.  Obviously, anyone who disagrees has never flown a plane or, at the very least, is not a “real” pilot and should be looked down upon.

I salute all you “real” pilots who have the ability to keep the dirty side down by just looking at their left wing tips.

MachNix

[Golfer]

How else do you do it when you don't have an attitude indicator installed?   

While I'm not the one tasked with coding, drawing, making or implementing a change like that it seems like wasted effort.  Effort that can be much better spent doing other things rather than putting something in that isn't intended to be used in accordance with conventional use or logic.  The current attitude indicator works to orient the wings up or down.  So does looking out the window in the AH world of good weather.  Flying an airplane is not rocket science and wanting an attitude indicator so you can orient yourselves in the middle of a fight isn't something I'd qualify as necessary/useful hence at least my asking for the reasoning.

[VonMessa]

How else do you do it when you don't have an attitude indicator installed?   

While I'm not the one tasked with coding, drawing, making or implementing a change like that it seems like wasted effort.  Effort that can be much better spent doing other things rather than putting something in that isn't intended to be used in accordance with conventional use or logic.  The current attitude indicator works to orient the wings up or down.  So does looking out the window in the AH world of good weather.  Flying an airplane is not rocket science and wanting an attitude indicator so you can orient yourselves in the middle of a fight isn't something I'd qualify as necessary/useful hence at least my asking for the reasoning.

I just throw my empty beer bottles out the window and see which way gravity takes them.       

The best advice given to me was .....   "go offline or to the TA and drop bombs and rockets over and over and over again until you have got the sight picture burned into your retina" 

Amazingly, it worked.  Same for a guns solution.  I hardly use the pipper anymore as I am usually looking behind me most of the time I am on a con.

[Vinkman]

You do realize I am a real pilot also like gulf er, and that I have many many hours of aerobatics? One of the first things you learn is to be able to fly your plane with out ever looking forward. Of course when you learn this, you have some one else doing collision avoidance with you.

HiTech

OK I'm not denying that the ability to fly without this gage is obvious, but if it so useless and not required as the naysayers keep stating, can anyone explain why they put them in planes?
I can drive my car without staring at the speedometer or even looking at it for long periods of time, but we all know it's value, because every once in a while it's nice to know exactly how fast I'm going. Not because of speed limit laws, but because I might be clocking time, distance, and other things. Isn't it possible that to learn more about my aircraft and it's flight modelling, run preplanned dive bombing attacks or practice dive bombing I might want a working gage? I fail to see why the explanation that some in game don't care if this gage functions, is an explanation for why the numbers were left off an otherwise functioning gage? The obvious fact that you took the time to include, design, and program the gage, but then left of the numbers that make it useful, and then explain that you don't need it is starting to sound like a 'Who's on first?' routine.


 

[rough_wood]

Again I'd like to say this isn't for aerobatics, I don't do multivariable calculus and decide on a number of radians per second to change the heading of my plane and follow the path of a gradient.

I want it for roping and divebombing. When I am divebombing, maybe I'm doing this wrong, I look forward. I divebomb in P38's (cause my aim is terrible otherwise, and don't say learn), so I need to be able to keep a close eye on my airspeed while judging angle etc.

I realise there are other ways to do things, like count trigger time instead of have ammo counters, and the same can be said for every single indicator we have in the aircraft your company has modeled. That goes for both historically accurate indicators and the ones you guys added yourselves to increase situational awareness.

No matter how many simple "solutions" you guys give me to this I can give you the same for every single indicator in the planes. You can count flap notches, you can judge airspeed, you can count the number of times you hit backspace to know what your secondary is, etc etc.

This seems like a very simple request, those of you who wont use it, it will effect your ability to fly in no way whatsoever. Especially since you aparently never look at the thing.

As it stands I can make a skull and crossbones gunsight, which damages nobody, is of whatever use you personally make it, and not historically accurate. I fail to see how a few simple lines on the indicator at certain angle increments is hardly any different. We don't even need sites we can guess where we're aiming right? We can just practice that till its second nature, just like I can judge angle.

This is getting old, I don't like the run around, all I ever wanted was a yes or a no, I never asked for "why invent a seatbelt when you can just not crash your car" responses.

[RTHolmes]

ok ...



















no.

[boomerlu]

I never asked for "why invent a seatbelt when you can just not crash your car" responses.

Yeah, this is why I've lost faith in the Wishlist forum, along with the people who will thumbs down you without reading the thread, understanding what you want, or giving any legitimate reasoning. It seems only the most obvious suggestions get argued coherently.

"Because you could do it another way" is not a legitimate refutation.

"Because you could do it another way with such minimal effort that it's a waste of time to code it" - that would be legitimate. I think that's the real reason you're getting a "no" here. Why nobody has taken the time to post the critical words "with such minimal effort that it's a waste of time to code it" is beyond me.

Edit: No it's not as simple as you think, rough_wood. Right now, the indicator overlays are part of the skin. Allowing custom overlays would mean custom skins. Giving you what you want means reworking the whole system.

To do it properly you need to separate the dashboard graphics from the skin. This makes sure that you can't "cheat" and make the dashboard transparent. Once you do that, you'll need to redo all the skins to work with the system. Only then can you churn out a custom indicator.

Edit edit: Why nobody has cut to the heart of the matter and mentioned this is beyond me as well.

[rough_wood]

in the middle of a fight isn't something I'd qualify as necessary/useful hence at least my asking for the reasoning.

I'm not going to look back to confirm this, but I'm pretty sure I said I want this for the opposite reason you mention at least 3 times.

In fact I've not only said what I meant, but I've directly said that what you mention is NOT what I meant.

This sounds like a Monty Python bit. "you stay here and don't let my son out" "right, we'll let your son out and not let you leave" "no, no, I mean I will leave, but you will stay, and not let my son out till I return" "right sir, we wont let your son out untill anybody comes to get him"

[rough_wood]

I just throw my empty beer bottles out the window and see which way gravity takes them.       

The best advice given to me was .....   "go offline or to the TA and drop bombs and rockets over and over and over again until you have got the sight picture burned into your retina" 

Amazingly, it worked.  Same for a guns solution.  I hardly use the pipper anymore as I am usually looking behind me most of the time I am on a con.

The same could be said for counting ammo, judging altitude, judging airspeed, judging distance to an enemy, etc etc. Which is my point. Features have been added to the game to improve SA, this is simply one thing that is lacking, but fits directly in that category with all the other indicators and features that were deemed necessary. It's a bitmap.

[rough_wood]

Yeah, this is why I've lost faith in the Wishlist forum, along with the people who will thumbs down you without reading the thread, understanding what you want, or giving any legitimate reasoning. It seems only the most obvious suggestions get argued coherently.

"Because you could do it another way" is not a legitimate refutation.

"Because you could do it another way with such minimal effort that it's a waste of time to code it" - that would be legitimate. I think that's the real reason you're getting a "no" here. Why nobody has taken the time to post the critical words "with such minimal effort that it's a waste of time to code it" is beyond me.

Edit: No it's not as simple as you think, rough_wood. Right now, the indicator overlays are part of the skin. Allowing custom overlays would mean custom skins. Giving you what you want means reworking the whole system.

To do it properly you need to separate the dashboard graphics from the skin. This makes sure that you can't "cheat" and make the dashboard transparent. Once you do that, you'll need to redo all the skins to work with the system. Only then can you churn out a custom indicator.

Edit edit: Why nobody has cut to the heart of the matter and mentioned this is beyond me as well.

Exactly.

I still hope they do it though. I changed mine to work in Offline in 10 minutes. They don't have to make it custom  I'd like to add. I just want the angle increments, even if it's standard and you can't pick or choose.

[Baumer]

Do you realize that HiTech is the owner don't you.

Given his response earlier in this thread I doubt he will be adding your request soon, but who knows, maybe you won him over with your persuasive argument.

[boomerlu]

Do you realize that HiTech is the owner don't you.

Given his response earlier in this thread I doubt he will be adding your request soon, but who knows, maybe you won him over with your persuasive argument.

True, but HiTech's responses did not give sufficient reason about why he would not be including a custom attitude indicator.

If HiTech had simply stated that it would take too much effort (because it'd require huge changes in the game system) instead of rerouting the conversation towards "Oh, real pilots didn't do it, neither should you", you would have seen the conclusion of this thread much sooner.

Edit: RW, your second suggestion would take quite a lot of work too. If standardized, it would entail changing ALL the skins in the game.

[Golfer]

Arlighty then.  My hypothesis:

"No."

"It would take too much effort due to the changes required in the game system for such a marginal and unnecessary change."

I don't think that attitude indicator is happening.

[rough_wood]

True, but HiTech's responses did not give sufficient reason about why he would not be including a custom attitude indicator.

If HiTech had simply stated that it would take too much effort (because it'd require huge changes in the game system) instead of rerouting the conversation towards "Oh, real pilots didn't do it, neither should you", you would have seen the conclusion of this thread much sooner.

Edit: RW, your second suggestion would take quite a lot of work too. If standardized, it would entail changing ALL the skins in the game.

What JG11 said.

Yes he's the owner, which tends to mean being accomadating to customers is a good idea. Generally when I can't do something for a customer I give them a reason rather than saying "Why not make the car out of clay instead" or "why not tell the union workers they have to lift more than 20 lbs instead of me changing this product for you"

This isn't rocket science, when a customer wants something they can't have, give them a reason so everyone can just move on.

[Saxman]

I would think the fact that hitech even SAID no is reason enough. But then, that's just me.