drizzzt

Honestly, I don’t see this game doing well in the open market without third person options. For one, their first person view tends to feel as if you’re crawling on the ground. You get stuck on plants, or player made holes you can’t see. It’s complicated to get out of different situations simply because you can’t see. With a setting to use third person if you’d like, it would be the best of both worlds. Those set on first person can continue using it and those who prefer third, can change to the setting. Many games do great with both options.
 
Secondly, being able to see your character tends to give the player a sort of “bond” with it. I have spent hours looking at my avatar in Landmark and it still warms my heart to see photos of it. For some players it builds on the emotional side of gameplay. For me, that’s as important as having beautiful sunsets, or desirable textures.
 
Third, while in third person, you can also see visual queue’s to assist with building, or even while mining. Instead of depending on staring the small building square to see the mode your in, in 3rd person, you can see your character shift as you flow through modes. And most importantly, while building, I can see exactly what I’m doing if I have a full line of sight of my surroundings. 
 
And lastly, emotes! Third person opens up conversation, such as emotes- clapping, dancing, sitting, etc etc etc... the opportunities are limitless. Just need to add one small option in settings! It’s that simple. 
 
Of course, this is only my opinion. But I admit...I strongly dislike playing this game (so far) solely due to not having third person capabilities. I gave it a couple months, hoping to get used to the first person mode, but for me, it’s so painful to get stuck on things constantly. And I absolutely hate feeling as if I’m a foot from the ground while moving up a mountain, or hill. I want to see the beautiful scenery...not the rock I’m stuck on! 
 
Please give us us the option in settings for third person! You’ll later make money selling emotes, clothing/skins, pets...the opportunities are limitless. Take a look at landmark, swtor, LoL, WoW, and so many others..third person is critical in those games, and it is here as well. 

3rd person will be crucial for content creation. And content creation will be a big marketing/sale channel for DU.
Besides, JC has already stated that there will be a proper 3rd person mode in the game.

Alright that's a fair argument but let's clear up the positions here for clarity:
 
1. Complex landing = More crew roles
2. Complex landing = more immersive (less complex landing therefore is less immersive)
3. 3rdPP = Easier to land therefore 1stPP makes landing harder
4. By implication: DU is "hard earned piloting SKILLS earned over 00's / 000's of hours vs 20-30's" (is this skill training or player skill?!)
5. picture taking: Should be restricted to other players
 
Those are the arguments being made, there's about 5 of them.
 
In isolation the statement more crew roles is well made. But adding it to more complex landing. That component needs examining.
 
A) Complex landing is seen in Star Citizen (a space sim which demands as such). It looks BORING. It looks FRUSTRATING. It adds very little immersion beyond perhaps the 1st time or 2. In fact it also reminds me of the CHORE of getting in and out of ships and cockpits which also has realism/immersion but ends up being GRINDY. Multiply by many players many times and it's imo a BAD gameplay design idea. About Crew Roles, this still holds but I don't think this is a realistic way to manage it.
B ) Take a positive alternative: The old Elite game had a tricky skill system of aligning your ship reticle with the rectangle to get into space stations and you'd blow up if you got it wrong. It perversely could be the most risky time of a mission. It was relief to do it successfully but after say x20 there was an upgrade to auto-docking sequence with 3rd person view video recording while the Blue Danude played in the background and you could relax happily as you docked and kicked-back sipping your refreshment.
C) For sure but the space sim crowd is incredibly niche. Most players just want grindy stuff like landing to be auto- and even 3rdPP view to enjoy the experience of piloting as opposed to millimetres of frustration.
D) I don't know how the skill-training system will work for Piloting as a skill, presumably though as a part of that maybe that is necessary and a good idea. Doubt it will be so exaggerated hours as you suggest though. Maybe it will also be ship piloting landing skill for different sizes the more you train it? No bearings on this yet.
E) This is not a good idea. Players like taking pics, like looking at the visual gratification of their ship designs in action and for combat, it just adds frustration whereas 3rdPP adds utility and fun.
 
I think your positive ideas are:
 
I) Crew Roles via Skill Training - How? Not player skill system though.
II) 3rdPP is easier to land but the subsequent is that is appropriate not inappropriate.
 
But they are independent of your consequents.
 
Peeling back to the original subject: Landing should be simple given it's frequency and it's link between ship gameplay and non-ship gameplay.
 
Edit: NQ just tweeted this picture of a ship hangar:  
 
See those ships just floating about, people just want to PARK their ship amongst others in a busy place and bustle about doing things instead of feeling like a bull in a china shop. Maybe there's at least 5 ships parked in there in view on the solo, coop size scale? I've seen videos of SC where it looks like trying to stuff a cow down a rabbit hole or even worse squeezing a ship into the back of the ship and it looks more like trying to get gameplay to work than just working invisibly so that actual gameplay chosen by players can carry on...