FDL horrid cockpit

[SAB380]

Grinding gives me subliminal discomfort.

 

[CMDR EDGEL0RD]

I cannot believe that the support structure of the canopy renders the ship impossible for anyone to fly. Annoying to some? Probably. Impossible to operate? That's a long stretch... You do realize, every ship has a canopy support structure yeah? How do you deal with the others?

Read op please. I'm not trying to overstate anything. The discomfort I'm experiencing flying FDL is quite severe, and I'm not alone in this.

 

[GG7]

I hate the off center FDL cockpit, and it's one of the reasons I don't fly it.

I'd rather be seated centrally, with the copilot behind or infront, or off center (I don't care, why does the FDL need a copilot anyway?)

All the other off center cockpits don't bother me, just the FDL.

Ditto!

I have a beautiful Gold one fully engineered but the cockpit is so off-putting that when it come down to it, I always pick a different ship. Don't really know why I keep it around actually. Maybe wishful thinking that FDEV might someday fix it.

 

[Straha Yeagar]

But the eyes peeking through the Nav panel from the center console are just so cute

 

[AkimuMC]

Read op please. I'm not trying to overstate anything. The discomfort I'm experiencing flying FDL is quite severe.

I read it about 5 times trying to wrap my head around the issue, and I just cannot.

Seriously, how do you deal with the support structures in the other flight stations? They are there on every ship. I can see the FDL support structure aggravating some OCD, but I just cannot understand the issue of "subliminal discomfort" from my non-dominant eye tracking into obstacles that are out of my dominant eyes filed of view.

IRL, that happens all the time. Maybe try sitting further from your screen?

Everyone is different, and I am not saying you are not experiencing a problem, I just do not experience the same, and I truly cannot understand the issue.

 

[CMDR EDGEL0RD]

I read it about 5 times trying to wrap my head around the issue, and I just cannot.

Seriously, how do you deal with the support structures in the other flight stations? They are there on every ship. I can see the FDL support structure aggravating some OCD, but I just cannot understand the issue of "subliminal discomfort" from my non-dominant eye tracking into obstacles that are out of my dominant eyes filed of view.

IRL, that happens all the time. Maybe try sitting further from your screen?

Everyone is different, and I am not saying you are not experiencing a problem, I just do not experience the same, and I truly cannot understand the issue.

The only solution is to place an eyepatch on the right eye.

Yes, not all people expirience this. I am by no ways have medical education. Reason for discomfort is up to debate. Yet the fact that discomfort is present for some people with different degrees of severity is unquestionable.

 

[Clifra Jones]

Me too OP. It's a combination of being slightly off-centre and the window bars.

Mainly the window bars though. I really dislike target information being covered by them (including stations/systems) and not being able to properly see what an opponent is doing. If you ever watch PvP fights in the fdl they usually bring the target to centre from the top left to avoid the bars.

They'll probably not be changed though. It would require major ship graphical rework cost without a clear payoff which FD have never done, and so many people fly it anyway because it's the PvP meta that they won't see a reason to.

Agreed, it does not cause me issues I just found it to be rather odd without any obvious reason for the design.

Honestly why do we have canopy frames at all. If a 1944 P-51 can have a frame-less canopy why cannot a ship built in the 34th century also have this.

 

[Clifra Jones]

Apart from the psychology, I don't like the fact that the cockpit design doesn't suit the HUD design. When approaching a destination the distance and ETA are partly hidden by the bar just to the right of centre. That's not something a real aircraft/spaceship designer would tolerate. (And if it's really HUD, how can the cockpit frame obscure it?)

I assume the HUD is designed to be focused on infinity so it will appear forward of the canopy. You are right though, no ship designer worth his salt would have approved this.

 

[AkimuMC]

The only solution is to place an eyepatch on the right eye.

Yes, not all people expirience this. I am by no ways have medical education. Reason for discomfort is up to debate. Yet the fact that discomfort is present for some people with different degrees of severity is unquestionable.

Dress as a pirate then? Problem solved?

 

[AkimuMC]

Agreed, it does not cause me issues I just found it to be rather odd without any obvious reason for the design.

Honestly why do we have canopy frames at all. If a 1944 P-51 can have a frame-less canopy why cannot a ship built in the 34th century also have this.

There are probably a few issues that the difference of Earths atmosphere, and the vacuum of space, would require different engineering. Just a guess...

 

[Garand1987]

I read it about 5 times trying to wrap my head around the issue, and I just cannot.

Seriously, how do you deal with the support structures in the other flight stations? They are there on every ship. I can see the FDL support structure aggravating some OCD, but I just cannot understand the issue of "subliminal discomfort" from my non-dominant eye tracking into obstacles that are out of my dominant eyes filed of view.

IRL, that happens all the time. Maybe try sitting further from your screen?

Everyone is different, and I am not saying you are not experiencing a problem, I just do not experience the same, and I truly cannot understand the issue.

Yeah it took me a bit to get used to yhit FDL, and I’m sure how much it bothers a person is very subjective. The one thing in a ship I cannot get over is the Hauler. HAVE YOU SEEN THE HEATER VENTS?!?! One is open and facing forward, the other is semi closed and clockwise. You can’t unsee it, and as much as I wanna reach out and fix it, I cannot.

 

[Clifra Jones]

This is one of the main problems I have with Elite and a large number of ships in it. The commander / captain should be centrally seated with officers behind him directly or to the sides (like Conda and Vette do). The commander should have a front and center view so he can reliably pilot, steer, and aim his ship in both fighting and docking. Frontier was I think so fearful of making every ship too "samey" on the inside they figured this would be a good idea without realizing how utterly foolish an idea it was to do garbage like this.

Hell thats part of the reason I want the damn Beluga buffed to be the proper explorer it should be (rivaling the Conda since it's main use is to sightsee and tourism), simply because of the large, central view with a huge unobstructed canopy. Now I can tolerate bars around the edge, especially on combat ships since it makes sense to structurally reinforce it, but it needs to be a unified look, not this offcenter off designed garbage. I feel like no one would complain if all the off center ships got an interior redesign to put the player in the front and center instead of off to the side. It's an all around buff to a huge number of ships. But as usual Frontier would rather do other stuff than fix and polish Elite to what it could be.

There should be no reason to have structural reinforcements on the canopy. Seriously in the 34th century they cannot make a seamless structurally sound canopy? Why do we even have "glass" canopies? In SC everything is super-imposed on the canopy. It should all just be displayed on a curved view screen!

 

[Clifra Jones]

Although I have not flown an F-D-L I do not have an issue with offset cockpits. I have a Cobra MkIII that I use without any problems (well, getting used to left hand drive took a bit of time).

In all multi-seat aircraft the primary pilot flies from the left side seat. You get used to it quite quickly.

I don't thing it is the offset it is the oddness of the offset. It is not quite full left side it is just "slightly" to the left and then there are those stupid frames in the stupidest places.

 

[znôrt]

i love everything about the fdl, including cockpit, except the fact it has become a sort of tryhard icon ship. but i can live with that.

on the other hand ... not all of you together could force me to step into one of those ridiculously posh and pretentious (redundancy intended) gutamayas and krugers.

different cmdrs, different tastes. that's what it's about. don't like it, don't fly it. moaning is irrelevant (but you're welcome)

 

[Vasious]

I think it is one of the best Cockpits, spacious, great views; thought I am in VR so your mileage may vary, as it doesn't feel lop sided nor are the struts in annoying places in VR.

Plus here in NZ cars are Right hand drive so those ships feel more natural to fly for me than the left hand Cmdr ones

 

[Clifra Jones]

I think I'm the only one who likes the off-centre'dness of the FdL cockpit. You soon get used to it, and the FdL is such an efficient killing machine it could have a cockpit made from turds and I could still forgive it.

I wonder, give the propensity of Fdev combat mechanics to favour WW2 dogfighting, if the FdL cockpit layout isn't merely a nod to the FW109/BF109, which both had offset gunsights to the right of the pilot to account for dominant-eye aiming, much like holographic gunsights on modern personal firearms?

The BF109 I just could never get used to the offset it is more drastic than the FW109 which is always one of my fav planes.

 

[Clifra Jones]

There are probably a few issues that the difference of Earths atmosphere, and the vacuum of space, would require different engineering. Just a guess...

And those skinny frames on the FDL that look particularly fragile to me are going to make the difference? No not buying it.

 

[AkimuMC]

And those skinny frames on the FDL that look particularly fragile to me are going to make the difference? No not buying it.

I mean, I don't buy that we can fly faster than light... but... We all know some things have got to be suspension of belief in games. Especially in this sort of game.

You have also just slighted the issue of the "frames being in the way" by agreeing they are hardly there. They really don't block as much as folks give them credit for. So, if we were to do it realistically, they would be even more of a problem...

 

[SethJS]

Looks like I'm one of those in the minority, but the FDL cockpit is one of my favorite cockpits in the game, mainly because it is offset and the cockpit is odd. Makes me wonder what it would be like to fly the Millennium Falcon or an A-6 Intruder. Also, the canopy frame being like it is gives a good visual indicator that you're on the right side of the cockpit. I do usually play in VR so that may help.