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Piloting


Hylios

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How will piloting function as the scale of ships get larger? Say I want to build a Battlestar or Macross, and have some consoles set up in

 

command bridge to maneuver the ship. Will my pilot(s) have to do that by sight? Or will there be some sort of display on the console for the

 

pilot(s) to use?

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I wonder if Lua scripting will come into play with piloting, especially with larger ships.  From simple scripts that change the attitude of the ship to fit the requirement of a course change, to more complicated ones that adjust ship settings and perform pre-programmed manoeuvres.

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i imagine that you can set buttons/joysticks/levers and whatever to execute luo scripts, and u will have to use lua scripts to activate engines etc. with the proper timing. The accellerator-"button" would activate a luo script that starts up all engines at the back etc,or a lever that sets the power output of them all etc.

 

I just hope that we can build interfaces which override certain keys on our keyboard when used, so that we can put lua scripts on wsad etc. while using those interfaces. Would make controlling vehicles much easier and more fun.

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Assuming we're right on the flexibility of assigning buttons and lever to complex lua scripts, there are some very interesting possibilities available.  On large ships you can have lua scripts that allow the main controls to be overriden by support controls in another section of the ship - security against boarding parties!

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Assuming we're right on the flexibility of assigning buttons and lever to complex lua scripts, there are some very interesting possibilities available.  On large ships you can have lua scripts that allow the main controls to be overriden by support controls in another section of the ship - security against boarding parties!

Or a strategy for the pirates!

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Hi everyone!

 

Right now, we have planned 3 ways to pilot a ship, be it a solo ship or a giant multiplayer battlecruiser:

 

1) When you use a cockpit (generally for solo spaceships):

The character enters the cockpit, then you'll have a locked First Person view similar to those in "space sim" games.

 

2) When you use a dashboard control unit and pilot by looking through a spaceship window (generally for multiplayer spaceship):

Still in First Person View, but you will be able to leave the dashboard, go to another dashboard in another area in the spaceship and perform some other actions. If piloted this way, biggest ships will probably need several people to be properly piloted. But it's juste a guess.

 

3) Using a control Unit activating the "Drone Camera Mode" (usable for any ship, but will be probably useful essentially for biggest spaceships):

Third Person view. You see the Spaceship in its globality from outside the ship. Will probably make piloting easier if a really big ship is piloted only by one player.

 

Beside that, the LUA script customization should remain a factor with great potential on the piloting gameplay.

But it's hard to say right now what will be invented by the players with this possibility ;)

 

Best Regards,

Nyzaltar.

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3) Using a control Unit activating the "Drone Camera Mode" (usable for any ship, but will be probably useful essentially for biggest spaceships):

Third Person view. You see the Spaceship in its globality from outside the ship. Will probably make piloting easier if a really big ship is piloted only by one player.

 

I am happy to hear this.   :)

 

I do understand why other games like Elite Dangerous choose not to allow it.  The immersion of being in 1st person in the cockpit is awesome.  But i've noticed a funny thing that happens with the design of the ships in Elite Dangerous.  As the quality and price of the ships go up the cockpit on the ships extend further and further out from the front to allow for closer to a 180 degree view.

 

On the huge freighters your basically in a little glass bubble sticking out of the front of the ship.  It makes for a much better view but in reality it doesn't seem like a very realistic design.  Putting the pilot out there on the front of the ship like that, one little slip of the controls when your landing and you'd be a pilot pancake.

 

That just got me thinking about how it might really work in the future.  So we have backup assist cameras on SUVs now, so i would imagine on a spaceship in the future you could have cameras all over the ship and maybe even some kind of 3d composite view of all the cameras that might look and feel a lot like a 3rd person view in a video game.

 

So as much as i enjoy 1st person view sometimes i'm glad we'll have the option for both.

 

I was also thinking that the "Drone Camera mode" could be used for building.  I know initially there may only be a 1st person view for building, which i think will be tough.  If we could enter that same Drone camera mode when we're building with some sort of movable pivot point and no clipping, that would be great.  A building camera mode exactly like that is supposed to be in development for Landmark still i think.

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To be perfectly honest, I think the bridge of any ship should be located in the center of the ship, or at least nestled within some considerable armor. Observation decks are find, but I would apply liberal usage of bulkheads between them and the rest of the ship. I'm one for utility, rather than aesthetics.

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To be perfectly honest, I think the bridge of any ship should be located in the center of the ship, or at least nestled within some considerable armor. Observation decks are find, but I would apply liberal usage of bulkheads between them and the rest of the ship. I'm one for utility, rather than aesthetics.

 

Let's agree to disagree then :)

 

*cough cough* I think you're forgetting the Millenium Falcon's design.

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Let's agree to disagree then :)

 

*cough cough* I think you're forgetting the Millenium Falcon's design.

 

That's funny i never really thought about it, but i think i always pictured that being the turret on the starboard side of the Millennium Falcon, but i just looked closer at a picture and that's the cockpit.

 

It would be tough to fly that thing from way over on the side of it like that.  I've got a whole new respect for Han Solo lol 

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Let's agree to disagree then :)

 

*cough cough* I think you're forgetting the Millenium Falcon's design.

 

A single well-placed shot of sufficient bore could shear the cockpit right off of the Millenium Falcon. So, in my eyes, one of the worst places for it.

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To be perfectly honest, I think the bridge of any ship should be located in the center of the ship, or at least nestled within some considerable armor. Observation decks are find, but I would apply liberal usage of bulkheads between them and the rest of the ship. I'm one for utility, rather than aesthetics.

Sounds like i good idea but probably have it a little offset from the center to mess with pilots that like to aim at center mass.

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  • 1 month later...

I would like to see systems implemented that create a greater use of the ship if operated by multiple players.

 

For example. more gun operations from side turrets if multiple people are operating the ship, maybe better, tighther turning or something if a navigator is present...or more efficient FTL if there is a navigator on board vs just a pilot.

 

I can see the need for having one person be able to pilot a large ship, but there should be benefits for groups who multi-pilot a ship. This would help create team play and help to establish "ownership" to a group working on making a large ship.

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  • 3 weeks later...

What type of control interface is preferred? I love using my HOTAS, X55 Rhino when flying, perfect amount of buttons for most games.  I also like using the ROCCAT Power Grid on my tablet for more controls.  Keyboard and mouse is ok but for me I like the immersion of the flight stick and throttle controls.

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What type of control interface is preferred? I love using my HOTAS, X55 Rhino when flying, perfect amount of buttons for most games.  I also like using the ROCCAT Power Grid on my tablet for more controls.  Keyboard and mouse is ok but for me I like the immersion of the flight stick and throttle controls.

 

I never understood how the Star Trek Enterprises could be piloted with just two touchscreens. I hope there's going to be HOTAS support.

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I never understood how the Star Trek Enterprises could be piloted with just two touchscreens. I hope there's going to be HOTAS support.

 

Check out Roccat Powergrid if you have a touch tab or smart phone and you can see.

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Will space flight be realistic? Or will it be more dramatic like star wars or most other space games. Meaning, will space flight use fore, aft, starboard, portside thrusters for movement, or will ships fly like in an atmosphere? (like dog fighting WWII, Star Wars etc).

 

I can see the appeal to make it realistic, but I find the dramatic action movement as if in an atmosphere to be more engaging.

 

I am sure this has been asked before, but not sure where the thread is at, if it exists.

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View from the cockpit looks great. As for me it is the only sensible way of piloting the ship.

 

In my opinion, the third-person view of ships should act only on the basis of camera. In this mode, there should not be the possibility of piloting the ship. Piloting would be more realistic and require pilot experience.

 

Another important issue is to make ship to behave as realistically fly. That was interesting physics of flight. The weight of the vessel, the number of engines and their location, the quality and type of engines should have an impact on piloting.

 

For large ships which require multiple players for servicing, I think one pilot can take off, fly and land the ship, he has access to general ship systems. But other systems such: weapon, manual control weapon, shields, taking on board various objects from space, repairing damaged systems, should require the actions of other players on the ship.

 

For example: the first pilot can generally turn off and turn on the shields.....but can no longer manage the shields in details, sending power to the shields on the sides of a ship.

 

 

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I wonder if there will be some automation for docking procedures, or if that will even be relevant?

 

Not that I mind manually docking, but in this game i could foresee a fighter coming in badly damaged, and need its carrier to lock on with a tractor beam or something and guide it to landing.

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Having locked First person view is the best and most immersive way to have it, but it does worry me a little that some of the gameplay will be frustrating without a third person to help navigate or look around.

 

Without the use of third person and only having cameras to help you if your ship is no the large side, i think the switching from camera to camera would have to be easy to do, or even perhaps a screen inside your ship that you can switch through.. 

 

This would mean that you could have a higher level cockpit with more screens so you can see more of the ship, or more system or something, then this brings in a whole aspect of why you have more than a single person piloting a ship, it gives more view coverage which grants better maneuvering and dog fighting ect...

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  • 1 year later...
On 5/26/2016 at 10:19 AM, SzaryWilk said:

View from the cockpit looks great. As for me it is the only sensible way of piloting the ship.

 

In my opinion, the third-person view of ships should act only on the basis of camera. In this mode, there should not be the possibility of piloting the ship. Piloting would be more realistic and require pilot experience.

 

Another important issue is to make ship to behave as realistically fly. That was interesting physics of flight. The weight of the vessel, the number of engines and their location, the quality and type of engines should have an impact on piloting.

 

For large ships which require multiple players for servicing, I think one pilot can take off, fly and land the ship, he has access to general ship systems. But other systems such: weapon, manual control weapon, shields, taking on board various objects from space, repairing damaged systems, should require the actions of other players on the ship.

 

For example: the first pilot can generally turn off and turn on the shields.....but can no longer manage the shields in details, sending power to the shields on the sides of a ship.

 

 

well i really want a thrid person for flyign cause i want to look at my ship when i fly it of course there be times i want first person 2

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The pre-alpha demo at PAX has 3rd person mode for ships (press the insert key to activate it).

I could have sworn they said that would be there when we get our hands on it later this month, but I may have misheard. 

 

Suffice to say, it is useful to have, but I found it a little tricky to get used to. For smaller ships, I'll definitely be sticking to first person mode. 

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