General Expand the Customisation Options

[Erinir]

Considering the number of ships in the game and the current array of customisation options available to commanders within Elite Dangerous, I suggest that the team now turn their attentions to providing commanders with a means of customising the ship interface. Specifically, referring to the HUD elements, sounds and animations when commanders interact with their ships so that commanders know when they're in an Imperial eagle rather than just a standard eagle, denoted by the specific HUD appearence, etc...

Different ships or at least, different ship manufacturers, should provide different HUD configurations, fonts, menu animations, sounds... At the moment, a lot of effort goes into making each ship unique in terms of flight model and appearance and yet all ships appear to use the same "software" for commanders to be able to control them.

Given that ARX is now in the game and commanders naturally look to customisation when and where possible, it makes sense that the ability to alter those elements that commanders can enjoy whilst they are playing the game takes priority over other customisation options that can only really be appreciated in the camera suite or by other commanders.

 

[Bloodsign]

Having an XML file system to configure HUD elements where CMDRs could also specify custom graphics would be a huge boon.

So much of the game is already OUTSIDE the game, why not put interface customization directly into the CMDRs' hands?

 

[Erinir]

After having a discussion with one of our server members, it seems that having a universal HUD, regardless of ship or ship manufacturer, is part of the lore which is good in a way as they'll be able to write in a story explaining how manufacturers have increasingly felt the need to distinguish themselves due to increasing competition pressures, hence, unique ship interfaces, etc... For that reason, I'm not too sure giving players complete control over how the interface looks would be a good idea but it certainly underlines the need for FDev to move in that direction through offering HUD customisation through the Frontier store. It's a financial opportunity and one that can be enjoyed more by players.