External View [A definitive discussion]
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almostpilot
Banned
And any chance to have it? Not for combat, but for a pleasure view of your own ship.
There's a little discussion here on that subject - enjoy!
other people can do what they like with camera views (unless for whatever reason it gives them some tactical advantage during combat)
i myself will always use the cockpit view, just like in racing games.
i myself will always use the cockpit view, just like in racing games.
If I can't have a 3rd person rear view, how can I tell if I'm trailing a mushroom or a banana peel behind my Sidewinder?
Sure, but you never wanna take a 3rd person peak after a crash, say? Check your wheels are still attached and aligned, suspension / deformation etc. etc? I do. And i occasionally watch hotlap replays using all the cameras, tracksides etc. - and also AI-only races (like when you set up an F1 sim to mimic that Sunday's race, admit it, we've all done it)..
You don't need devs breathing down yer neck to tell you when and how to use views. Sometimes you'll wanna check yourself, like your reflection in a mirror, or take a selfie. Or else it's an itch you can't scratch - like scabies, or necrophelia. Is that what you want? Itchy squirmy necro-lust instead of a simple camera view? My God, there's just no reasoning with some people...
I honestly don't understand why it is an issue at all. It worked just fine in Frontier and FFE without any combat advantages or whatever - you switched to the view and that was what you got, a beautiful view of what was going on. You could even use controls and watch your ship manoeuvre although there was no HUD so you didn't want to be doing that when in combat, or landing, or performing any non-trivial manoeuvre. It just wasn't an issue.
The issue has nothing to do with combat advantages or disadvantages.
Frontier are going for a specific kind of immersion in Elite: Dangerous and they consider being able to switch to a view outside your head to break that immersion.
They are trying to create a universe which YOU inhabit. If you can leave your head then it undermines what they are attempting to do. What they are doing is making the game THEY want to play and the game THEY want to play is one where YOU are in a vibrant galaxy.
I agree with them.
Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
Anything that may have been included in single-player games has to be reconsidered in the context of multi-player.
There is no breaking of immersion since third person drones are a reality in 2014, and because you can opt to not use the feature in the first place.
This pointless argument has been dead, buried and the zombie shot to death several times already.
I don't think anyone objects to a death camera or replay function after you docked, but Data should absolutely never be provided in real time.
The pointless argument of telling people not to use it if they dislike it has been done to death over and over again as well.
It would work in a singleplayer game. In Multiplayer, a third person view is so tremendously advantegous, using it will become mandatory in order to stay remotely comepetitive.
It's like telling people: "Look - We're implementing a wallhack in our game - it's fine because you don't have to use it".
Well, it is sort of possible with the old look through the top of the cockpit approach. But obviously it's painful/tricky.
Read the thread. Plenty of suggestions out there to address the combat advantage that the ultra-competitive PvP obsessives are desperate to avoid.
Let's consider a simple scenario - Two players out in the middle of space fighting. One in their cockpit, the other in the suggested external view.
With the suggested external view (drone) behaviour, can you now explain this "tremendous advantage"? Can you explain why the individual in their cockpit will have to switch to external view to "stay remotely comepetitive"?
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As it stands, visual range is further than scanner range. I've had it where I spotted a kerfuffle going on in the distance before it showed up on scanners, and I could then scoot over and see what was happening. Unless more effective scanners are implemented, eyeballs > scanners at long-range.
True... But how - at this long range - is an external view superior to a cockpit view? ie: If we're say 4-5km away from what we're looking at, does it really matter what view we're in? Really?
And let's not forget, while in external view, the suggestion is no HUD, so while you're in external view looking at the pretty dots in the distance, you won't notice the two pirates approaching from the other direction on your HUD? You would have in cockpit view.
External view was never practical for combat in Frontier and FFE. It was simply to assist you in admiring the galaxy around you, while getting a cool look at the outside of your ship(s).
I'd love to have that in ED naturally. It is that much better looking for a start!
I'd love to have that in ED naturally. It is that much better looking for a start!
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