External View [A definitive discussion]
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Lol nice! Actually the picture is kind of ironic in the context of this thread isn't it?
FD is advertising Elite Dangerous with the very image that is both controversial gameplay wise and at the same time exactly what players want, to see their pretty stylish ships. So does this picture speak against an external view (hide and see around obstacles) or for it (cool visual of lurking in ambush)?
IMHO this will still be rare except for asteroid fields. And the OP proposal would make the cobra very visible to enemy scanners with a deployed "hot" drone as an explanation for an external view.
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I've not read all these pages but my opinion for what its worth, I think that an external view would be immersion breaking if its allowed to be used for combat.
I think a solution would be 'photo mode', where you select it and it freezes the game and switches to an external view, where you can spin the camera around and take screenshots. okay freezing the game is pretty hard when its online, but I'm sure they are clever enough to come up with something like a photomode that allows people to take pics but doesn't allow its use in every day play.
I think a solution would be 'photo mode', where you select it and it freezes the game and switches to an external view, where you can spin the camera around and take screenshots. okay freezing the game is pretty hard when its online, but I'm sure they are clever enough to come up with something like a photomode that allows people to take pics but doesn't allow its use in every day play.
Just as an idea:
A quick-fix could be a second screenshot key binding for 'view only'.
Just save the screenshot to disk while omitting the rendering of all cockpit.
This way you can take beautiful pictures, optionally without the cockpit and hud and all the stuff, while not impacting game play at all.
This of course will not work when shooting videos, but for pics that'll be great.
A quick-fix could be a second screenshot key binding for 'view only'.
Just save the screenshot to disk while omitting the rendering of all cockpit.
This way you can take beautiful pictures, optionally without the cockpit and hud and all the stuff, while not impacting game play at all.
This of course will not work when shooting videos, but for pics that'll be great.
But doesn't fix the problem of people wanting to take piccies of their own ships in cool locations.
Especially given the fact that skinning your ship costs money, and currently the only person who can't see it is yourself!
Indeed.
Im not spending a DIME on ship exterior skins unless I can view it in space, not in the dock. Take it for what its worth ED.
Exactly. Make it happen, and I will buy them all
Very good. Now imagine it's the POV from one of the Anaconda pilots using their real-time external view (or drone), and it perfectly illustrates why such a feature will mess some things up.
FTFY - the internet acts like the big spender but rarely gets it's wallet out, and always has an excuse.
An inappropriate comment.
![[VR] Mad Mike](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/27/27910.jpg?1553527108){kind=avatar}
to be fair, (and I dont usually side with neoracer - and I dont like the little attempt at the blackmail either in his full post) but...
to be fair (again) he isnt being tight, this is a full price retail game and he should not feel obliged to spend an extra penny if he does not choose to..
I have no idea what his level is, but regardless of if it is the £20 early KS cost for full game, or £200 for alpha access, he has (presumably) paid as much as was necessitated of him.
Nor did I - hence the wind-up comment. I don't care how much someone spends or not, but to say "if you change X then I will spend Y" is an empty promise/threat.
Not even close...
It's a mere statement of intention. As Richard III (the blackmail king) put it, " A third view! a third view! my kingdom for a third view!"
Armour
Complete nonsense. On a serious note, I like to see what I buy. Period.
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Fair enough, and I don't disagree...
However, if / when I'm reincarnated in approx. 3280, I'm going to save up for a Celica, er, Cobra, and also for an external view probe if they already exist. If they don't, I'll invent them and make a fortune
After all this discussion I still cannot see why a recorded review at the end of a flight, whether it includes action or not, and it could be switchable off and on cannot be implemented.
In fact there is a third party addon that allows this actual process in FSX, and a different one in Xplane that achieves the same thing.
If it can be limited so that you cannot get anything more than a cockpit view while in record mode it doesn't create immersion breaking or any advantage during combat, but what it would do is allow for some really great vids that on you tube would publicise what a fantastic game this is.
Nor do I. I far prefer tying it all in to gameplay with the use of drones, but there's no reason why that recorded drone footage couldn't be dumped to disk for people to do their videos and "selfies".
The other side of the coin is that the Cobra pilot could have his 'drone' around the other side of the asteroid, watching the Anaconda... so they both know what the other is doing and an interesting (and immersive?) game of cat-and-mouse takes place.
Don't forget, the drones are not armed so can't be directly used in combat. AND they would show up on the scanners of the ships involved.
IMHO this sort of situation adds to the excitement AND immersion.
Additional views
I kinda miss being able to see the outside of my ship like we could with the chase camera in Frontier and Encounters.
There'd be a lot more photo ops if we could get an external shot of our ship against interesting backdrops after all, than the usual in-cockpit view.
Might seem silly but I liked watching the landing gear deploy and retract too, imagine how cinematic it would look to switch to an external view as you come in to land, sweep down toward the pad and deploy your gear moments before touching down. More challenging too!
I kinda miss being able to see the outside of my ship like we could with the chase camera in Frontier and Encounters.
There'd be a lot more photo ops if we could get an external shot of our ship against interesting backdrops after all, than the usual in-cockpit view.
Might seem silly but I liked watching the landing gear deploy and retract too, imagine how cinematic it would look to switch to an external view as you come in to land, sweep down toward the pad and deploy your gear moments before touching down. More challenging too!
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