A proper kneeboard

[Stellaris]

It's not a disruption to my way of flying and fighting - it's a disruption to the sense of 3D immersion.  This isn't to say it isn't a clever interface, it is.  In a non-TIR environment it works just fine.  However with TIR it looks awkward, and it feels awkward, to me at least.  What you're suggesting is just that I work with it the way it is now.  I already do that! 

And again, I'm not suggesting that there be no map key.  I'm just suggesting that there be an option so that your map key can bring up the map to a user-definable, plane-relative, fixed point rather than the current user-defineable, view-relative, floating point.  This is a bit of an evolution of my original idea based on the discussion here, which of course is why there's a discussion.  We all want the game to be better, after all.

[caldera]

3 pages over clipboard immersion.      

[titanic3]

I would die of laughter and enjoy the game that much more if an animation plays where you have to fumble through a folded up map that covers the entire cockpit when you press Esc. Add a little personality to your game HTC.

[The Fugitive]

It's not a disruption to my way of flying and fighting - it's a disruption to the sense of 3D immersion.  This isn't to say it isn't a clever interface, it is.  In a non-TIR environment it works just fine.  However with TIR it looks awkward, and it feels awkward, to me at least.  What you're suggesting is just that I work with it the way it is now.  I already do that! 

And again, I'm not suggesting that there be no map key.  I'm just suggesting that there be an option so that your map key can bring up the map to a user-definable, plane-relative, fixed point rather than the current user-defineable, view-relative, floating point.  This is a bit of an evolution of my original idea based on the discussion here, which of course is why there's a discussion.  We all want the game to be better, after all.

Can't you set up a macro with all those buttons so that when you flick the button to look down it also opens the kneeboard. This way you can adjust it to the size you want and the placement you want and everytime you look down at your "knees" it opens there on one of your knees.

[Stellaris]

LOL!  OK, the point is that I don't HAVE a button set to look down.  I do all my looking with TrackIR, which tracks my head movements.  The button system works fine for fixed (ie, hat-switch controlled) views.  That's not what I have.

[guncrasher]

stellaris I think the point you missed is that your request will see very little use and it wont work as well as the clipboard we have now.  now spending the coading time v the benefit is not there.  you can argue for it as much as you want but the answer was already given to you.

midway

[Stellaris]

With all respect, midway, your assertion is based on ungrounded assumptions -

A) that what I'm suggesting won't work as well as what already exists and, therefore
B) it won't see much use, and so
C) it isn't worth the coding time.

So to reply
A) clearly I don't think what what exists works as well as what I'm suggesting.  Not everyone has a system which can take advantage of it, but neither am I the only one.  Further, I'm not suggesting the existing system change, just that an option exists.

B) there are many features in AH that don't see much use.  In fact this is true of any well developed system, software or otherwise.  10% of the features see 90% of the use, which means the other 90% see somewhere between 10% and .1%.  What percentage of AH flight hours are done in WWI?  At a rough guess well under .1%.  Was it worth putting that content together?

C) What's worth coding isn't my call to make, but that call can't be made in an informed and useful way if no-one understands the suggestion in the first place.  In fact, several of the responses here have shown that the responder hadn't fully understood what I see as the issue, and thus the solution.  That includes Hitech's response about knees, unless he was just being humorous, and I can only presume it >is< ultimately his call.   This may be my fault for being insufficiently clear, however it behooves me to make sure the person making the call understands what I'm trying to put forward is clearly understood.  This isn't arguing, it's communicating.

Last, nobody's said "No, this won't be done," so actually I haven't been given an answer.  I don't even expect an answer, I'm just throwing my thoughts out to the community to improve the game.  Right now they're getting rained on by most (but not all!), but maybe someone will take them and come up with a better idea.  That's what discussion is for.  Pixels are free.

Cheers!

[kvuo75]

I prefer holding the virtual clipboard up to my face, instead of having it strapped to my leg.

 

[guncrasher]

ww1 is a test arena for the damage model.   and second your idea is not good just based on one thing:  the clipboard would be so small that it wouldnt really help you much.  seriously minimized the clipboard then put it where your pilot's knees would be and try to read it.  it would be as used as the ww1 arena but the difference is that the ww1 is at least a test area, the clipboard wont be. I tried it and it's useless to me.

but the most important thing is that your issue can be solved by just assigning a button to quickly put the clipboard away.  if your joystick doesnt have any free buttons then you can always buy a cheap joystick that you can use just for this purpose or perhaps see 68valu.

midway

[Stellaris]

Wow, OK, one more time...

@guncrasher...

As I said earlier, I have already tested the clipboard fully zoomed out.  It works for me.  In fact, it works so well that I now fly with it fully zoomed out all the time, as it's less distracting than otherwise.  Yes, you need a good screen, but some of us have good screens.

I also have lots and lots of buttons on my joystick/throttle, and my clipboard is already mapped to one.  The main issue is the loss of immersion caused by having view relative elements when using TrackIR.  The clipboard is by far the most de-immersifying (if that's a word) of the several that exist.  Constantly pressing the button to open/close the clipboard is only an issue because I do that as a work-around to avoid having it zip around the sky when I look around with TrackIR. 

Please note that the ONLY thing I am suggesting is that there exist an OPTION to make the clipboard plane-relative rather than view-relative.   It would not have to be in the knee position (I know that was my original suggestion, I've moved past that now), it could be anywhere in your cockpit.  It would not have to be fully zoomed out when used in plane-relative mode, you could zoom it as much as you like.  It would not change the way the clipboard works for anyone who didn't choose the option.

It's really simple.  Again, I can't speak for the code, but I do have professional software development experience in 3D graphics (granted back when "VR" was the cool buzzword).  Based on that, I'd say there is much less development effort in installing this feature than there is in (for example) adding a new plane.  However the P-40 (all 4 types) was .2% of kills last month, which given its poor K/D ratios suggests it was used in rather less than .2% of sorties.  The P-40C specifically would be well under .03%.  Estimating the active player base at 5000 based on sampling the roster, that means if I was the ONLY ONE who used this feature it would still get more flight hours than the P-40. 

However at least one other brave soul has come out in support.  My feeling is many more people would find it a good option given a chance to try it - but only implementation can say for sure.

Now there may be many code-based reasons this is more complex than it appears, code is like that.  I'm cool if it's just too hard to implement.  However the "it won't work because it'll be too small," the "just map a button," and the "not enough people will use it," objections which keep coming up here don't hold water.




 

[coombz]

I use TrackIR as well and think this would be top notch

+1 thanks in advance HTC

[Ron]

+1 

Why not let HTC work out the business case for coding resource..!

Ron.

[FLS]

if you want a proper immersive WW2 style kneeboard just print a map for each terrain, fold it up and and strap it to your leg, then you won't have GPS on your WW2 kneeboard. 

[MK-84]

     How do you propose putting a kneeboard in a plane where there is no pilot, and thus....no knees?
     Furthermore the clipboard "remembers" where you put it on the screen, so why not adjust to the size and location to you liking, and look down before bringing it up?

[USRanger]

C'mon HTC! Give us a proper kneeboard!