Is it possible to view your ship from outside the 'pit during flight?
-
Greetings Commander, want a more instant approach to your questions and need for help? Check out the Galactic Academy Discord server!
Feel free to join the Galactic Academy Discord server by clicking here!
Newcomer / Intro External Viewing of Spacecraft during Flight?
- Thread starter Wombat1940
- Start date
Yes - there's a set of keybinds for an external camera suite in the Options. You can just switch to (one of) the external camera(s) and, if you didn't map any of your physical flight controls, retain control over the ship, or you can switch to an independently moveable external camera. In the latter case, for me, I lose the ship controls - that might be due to my specific bindings, I've never investigated that far, however, since I have a little drift on the stick and switching to the free camera stabilizes the ship.
Be careful, though - the external camera suite has more movement controls than the ship itself, it's easy to get lost in there. I use my old XBox gamepad for the camera controls, in addition to the HOTAS for the ship
.
This is one example from the external camera view:
Be careful, though - the external camera suite has more movement controls than the ship itself, it's easy to get lost in there. I use my old XBox gamepad for the camera controls, in addition to the HOTAS for the ship
.This is one example from the external camera view:
Oh my God! There's a whole suite of them!
Something else to look at later. Thanks
Oh my God! There's a whole suite of them!
Yeah - I feel your pain over this.
We originally had a nice one-key external view (called a debug camera if I remember correctly) - one press and there you were outside the ship and you could move the viewpoint about for nice screenshots - dead simple. Then they decided if you were playing Elite Dangerous then you obviously would want to produce cinematography to rival Emmanuel Lubezki so a whole load of nonsense was added - seriously, a myriad of controls I have never used. A real pain in the botty.
Last edited:
On the other hand, there's me, who LOVES the camera suite and all of its features, and considers it one of the best things they ever added.
Seriously, though, the camera suite is complex because you can do so much with it. It even includes blur and focus settings, as well as wide angle and zoom. You can have the camera follow your ship, or ride to the side, or anywhere you want. You can leave the camera in one spot and fly your ship around in front of it. You can hold the camera in place except for roll, and let the ship fly and roll as you film. You can fly the camera way up above your landed ship and get a great view of your surroundings. And much, much more.
If all you want is a quick screenshot of your ship from a canned angle, then the suite might be a bit daunting at first, but once you get the thing set up you can do quickies too.
So don't mind Para, he's a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to the camera suite
Seriously, though, the camera suite is complex because you can do so much with it. It even includes blur and focus settings, as well as wide angle and zoom. You can have the camera follow your ship, or ride to the side, or anywhere you want. You can leave the camera in one spot and fly your ship around in front of it. You can hold the camera in place except for roll, and let the ship fly and roll as you film. You can fly the camera way up above your landed ship and get a great view of your surroundings. And much, much more.
If all you want is a quick screenshot of your ship from a canned angle, then the suite might be a bit daunting at first, but once you get the thing set up you can do quickies too.
So don't mind Para, he's a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to the camera suite
Sorry, I'm with Para.So don't mind Para, he's a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to the camera suite
Here's a challenge for you Codger. Bind a single key for Para and me, producing a "nice one-key external view" like it used to be. Something that with " ..... one press and there you are outside the ship and you can move the viewpoint about for nice screenshots ...... " Yes?
Last edited:
this, but I found a simple way around, at least on PC, I use a gamepad for camera only, aside my HOTAS
Yes a lot of people do - still I say it is nuts (the camera suite itself - not people using a controller for it).
Last edited:
Sorry, I'm with Para.
Here's a challenge for you Codger. Bind a single key for Para and me, producing a "nice one-key external view" like it used to be. Something that with " ..... one press and there you are outside the ship and you can move the viewpoint about for nice screenshots ...... " Yes?
Yes but I don't have a "gamepad" or a "HOTAS". Yes ..... I have the PC ............................. and just a mouse and keyboard. And don't need anything else to achieve: a single key bind to produce a "nice one-key external view" like there used to be. I just need somebody to do it for me.
It actually takes 3 or 4 keystrokes, depending on whether you want to hide the hud. I use a free macro program (Voicemacro) to reduce it to one keypress, so on my machine it does in fact work as you suggestSorry, I'm with Para.
Here's a challenge for you Codger. Bind a single key for Para and me, producing a "nice one-key external view" like it used to be. Something that with " ..... one press and there you are outside the ship and you can move the viewpoint about for nice screenshots ...... " Yes?
I use that same macro program for pip management, too, so it was simple to add a command for the camera.
"pip management" ???
Voicemacro ...... downloaded, installed. Next? Yes, I want to hide the HUD ........
Yes, I want to hide the HUD ........Have a look at "Cockpit Interface" - 6. Power Distributor in the Online Manual
I'd suggest reading the whole thing, actually.
Thanks for that. In hindside, I probably don't need to know. I now see it is to do with "adding commands to the camera". Something I'm trying to avoid.
In the cockpit on the right hand side there is a display with 3 columns labelled Sys, Eng & Wep the columns show the readily available power for each of those systems beneath each column is a display of 4 lights (pips) they default to 2 each by using the bound keys you can move those 6 pips in any combination in those systems.
Sys - Systems most importantly shields as your shields regenerate they take power from this column with no pips in the column it will not refill and when empty the shields stop regenerating however the more pips here the stronger your shields become around twice as strong with 4 pips.
Eng -Engines when you hit boost you take power from this column you can’t boost when the column is to low the column recharges faster with more pips you can boost more frequently and your top speed will be higher with 4 pips here.
Wep - Weapons this column effectively controls the cooling systems for the weapons when drained your weapons will overheat and stop firing having 4 pips here will ensure this recharges faster allowing you to fire continuously for longer.
Pip management is juggling things so that there is always 4 pips in Sys when your shields are being hit and 4 in Wep when you are shooting back all while keeping enough pips in Eng so you have enough speed and manoeuvrability.
How you build your ship will affect how hard you have to manage your pips for example an all multicannon build will need only one or two pips to keep shooting till you run out of ammo leaving more for the other two systems.
Ok but pips and juggling them are much older than and unrelated to the camera it is just that it can be quite tricky to juggle them just how you want them so people cleverer than me write macros to do it as they do for unrelated complications like the camera.I'll put this away for some other time. Please read this.
Which is why it is flippin' stupid. At the very least you need to go "Enter Camera Suite" - "Free Camera". I really don't know why they made it that way - why not have External Camera just moveable like the old camera and then the Camera Suite is available if one wants it. Sorry, it is one of those things that they did that just annoys the besaviour out of me.
❄
Last edited: