A Virtual Cockpit! (For Pilots with Legs...)

[VR Golgot]

Hello devs!

I'm sure you've all seen various takes on virtual cockpits in the VR world. I would like to suggest that they'd be a great and pragmatic addition to ED too.

For these lovely reasons:

• Rule of cool: It would just be very sci-fi to stab 'launch SLF' or 'target power plant' with a jab of your motion controller finger.

• The current menu panels, if enlarged, brought closer to the pilot, (and sprinkled with a lot of dev magic), look like usable interfaces.

• Core controls could still be bound to motion controller keys for high-pressure responses while flying. (PIPs, targeting, boost, etc etc).

• Galmap would be god-like if moved around all Minority Report style.

• Virtual sticks can do the business (see VTOL etc). And having the stick animations already in place is a handy bonus convincer (see the Holocab mod below).

• In a weird world where 'Legs' were a thing, you could transition between cockpit and character play without swapping controllers. (NMS style etc).

I'll keep it short, and just stop with those big beats.

Fingers crossed that some future world has you all budgeted up and passionately playing around in such a space

Some bonus vids:

VTOL flight skills with a virtual stick:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRlNRF73aJU&t=40s

VTOL virtual cockpit on a mission:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7sfNT9Kurk&t=17m50s

The rather lovely Holocab mod:

Source: https://youtu.be/bCRBfDAD-qk

Spoiler

PS WeirdWizardDave is very right there. Pressing a button above your head to lower landing gear is very cool. Not actually expecting you to add those buttons though

You can find a Dangerous Discussion fan chat about virtual cockpits here.

 

[Lestat]

The thing with Elite they did not have artificial gravity as Star Trek. But Elite Dangerous uses magnetic boots.

Other than that it a cool idea.

 

[Arioch]

VTOL VR has impressive fidelity with its virtual HOTAS and having a fully clickable/flickable cockpit never gets old.

I’d be all over this like a Thargoid on an escape pod.

 

[Dragsham]

The virtual hotas works fab in vtol. It's a bit weird initially because your holding 2 wireless controllers and the buttons are limited. But in vtol you have Hands!! And can point and touch buttons on radar or map screens in front of you. Amazing game.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Yup, would be all over this, when I get some controllers for my Pimax 5k.

 

[VR Golgot]

VTOL VR has impressive fidelity with its virtual HOTAS and having a fully clickable/flickable cockpit never gets old.

I’d be all over this like a Thargoid on an escape pod.

The virtual hotas works fab in vtol. It's a bit weird initially because your holding 2 wireless controllers and the buttons are limited. But in vtol you have Hands!! And can point and touch buttons on radar or map screens in front of you. Amazing game.

I need to give VTOL a proper go . Haven't actually played it, just heard and seen good things!

Mentioned on the other thread that Ultrawings is the best virtual stick I've messed with to date, but I remembered the shoddiest one too... ('Space Battle VR' was the most meh. No offence to that little indie title, but damn was that a case study in how not to do it :/)

I keep trying to think which panel interactions I've come across are the 'best in class'. I'm sure I've come across some that were super painless to use, but can't place the games right now. (I can recall being able to fling lists up and down / slow the scroll with a finger / select entries with surprising ease etc).

The thing with Elite they did not have artificial gravity as Star Trek. But Elite Dangerous uses magnetic boots.

Other than that it a cool idea.

Yeah the Star Trek gif was just some convenient gloss

(I'm not really advocating free hand control either, cool as that could be. IE more free-form hand control with no stick. Think 'gorilla arm' fatigue is likely too much of an issue there)