In a minor patch HTC slipped us one of the most revolutionary features - usable panning views!
I don't know about you, but I was waiting for that since the virtual cockpit appeared in Strike Commander followed by the 1942PAW.
The analog view works and it is wonderfull - you just look where you want to! No intermediate operations - scrolling, panning, etc. You just point your virtual head whereve you want. The 3-D cockpit finally comes to life. You really feel like you are sitting inside of an arcraft looking around.
Still, as it stands now it is not really usefull in a fight though it might be with a few changes. There are few suggestions I would want to offer for HTC and player's consideration, that can inprove the usability of the analog views.
I tried it with:
1. Mouse
2. MS FreestylePro (a gamepad with a motion sensor) - controlling it with my hand or attaching it to my hat.
3. Using an extra throttle or toebrake from my CH Pedals to control the view pitch and unused "twist" of the MS SWPPro to control the view yaw.
A problem/bug I encountered.
After installing the patch on my office PC c not pressing any buttons. Clicking the right mouse button re-centered the view and holding it allowed me to use the mouse for it's original purpose.
After installing the patch on my home PC and mapping the view control to the mouse I could look around with my mouse while holding the right button. Releasing the button re-centered the view and allowed to use teh mouse for it's original purpose.
I could not find what was different to warrant such difference in behavior. I like the first version - so that I could just leave the mouse alone and still look where it was pointing me to. Or at least I would like it the same on all my PCs.
Anybody have a solution?
Observations and suggestions.
It would be nice if AH could recignize a second mouse plugged into USB or serial port.
The whole range of a human head motion (approximately 270 degrees yaw and 180 degrees pitch) is compressed into a small arc of the controller movement.
That causes a smallest vibration of the controller to translate into considerable jerking of the screen image. The overal impression is fine for sightseing, but you cannot really concentrate on the details and eye fatigue and headache are soon to follow.
Controlling it with a hand or a head caused the same result. Setting a large deadzone allows for a stable picture while looking forward and setting a large damper smoothed the vibrations noticeably but introduced a delay.
Apparently not only our hands but the head is normally slightly moving and the eyes and the brain compensate for that motion. So even if we make a device that would control the view with the full corresponding motion (270 and 180 degrees - no controllers allow that), we would still get the jerking screen.
While flying level it is possible to concentrate on holding the control perfectly still or even leaving the mouse alone. Not while doing any kind of combat maneuvres.
I suggest that instead of smooth range of motion, the (configurable?) number of the discreet positions were specified with the dead zones between them.
It will be pretty much like the fixed view setup we have in our default mode, except that instead of 8 fixed yaw and 5 fixed pitch positions every 45 degrees controlled by a digital hat/keypad we would have, say 36 yaw/18 pitch positions every 10 degrees controlled by the analog stick/mouse. It would be almost as fluid as analog for all practical purposes but without jerkinness.
miko
