Our padlock is designed to be complementary to the current view system. It'll help new people get used to our view system and some old hands will like the fact that they won't have to do as much thumb wrestling with their joystick if they don't want to.
Here's the basics behind the system. First, you have to see a target to padlock it. If a target is not in your actual view, you can't padlock it. When you're in padlock mode, your regular view system is still live. It doesn't require you to be slaved to the padlocked target at all times. You can still look around to check your six for example. After you release the view key you were using to look elsewhere, your view will return to where the target was last seen. If the target is still there, padlock will continue to track it. If the target is not where you last saw it, you will be returned to your forward view and have to use your view keys to reacquire the target. Once the target becomes visible to you again, the padlock automatically tracks it again. If the target moves to an area where it is not visable, under your wing for example, the padlock view will stay looking at where the target was last seen. Tracking will continue once the target is visible again, whether that happens by it clearing the obstacle or by you having to manually look for it.
This is not a very clear description but it boils down to this. The padlock cannot track targets that aren't in view. The regular view system can still be used while you're in padlock.
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Doug "Pyro" Balmos
HiTech Creations
