Third Person Cameras In Supercruise or Non Combat

[Malicar]

How about third person cameras when in Supercruise and or say inside a station or no fire zone? I really like how Destiny mixed it up with first person combat zones and then third person for walking around in the tower. This would actually work very well In Elite Dangerous. As long as combat remains faithful to first person we should be ok and from what I can tell there is plenty of places we could be looking at these stunning ship models from a different camera.

The videos FD puts out look fantastic and you can even see some animation on the ship models. Why hide all these awesome assets when it's really only combat that we should be forcing first person. From the FD vids you can see several types of third person cameras. Are these cameras in the game already? I know this conversation has been going on since alpha but ED does feel really limited being forced in first person ALL the time. Especially with those cool looking cameras FD teases us with.

I originally voted first person only but after Destiny I see there is room for both while keeping all the HOTAS guys and immersion breakers happy.

 

[InverseFalcon]

Pretty sure I saw devs considering the possibility of using camera drones for 3rd-person view, but only for limited non-combat usage. Not sure if that would require a utility or system upgrade or would be standard. In any case, devs are aware of the desire and have it as a possibility.

 

[Defacto]

I would really like to, at least, have FE2-style hull-mounted external cameras. I think they completely make sense to have as standard.

 

[synchromesh]

It has been thought its not the elite thing having pretty views...BUT
Fitted External camera's for accessing damage wouldn't be to unrealistic for a good excuse to have them

 

[Krait_79]

Would be nice if eventually there was a cinematic mode that you could review a previous journey, mission etc in 3rd person freeview. I'd rather they concentrate on other stuff first but it would be a great addition at a later date.

 

[KushHaze]

How about a utility mount that could launch a camera drone, you would control the drone from your ship. You could fly around your ship and others, while flying the drone your ship would have to be stationary or risk drifting into other objects.

I imagine a scenario where I park my ship in a large crater on some asteroid so I can't be seen, launch my recon drone and scout the belt, if I sneak up on someone I can attach the camera drone to the enemy ship and use it to track them through space.

Until they remove the drone or the drone runs out of power you could spy on them through the camera or just get some epic GoPro style shots. They could even have some that are used to repair or scan objects that are just too dangerous to get your ship close to.

 

[Screamapillar]

How bout we put some side mirrors. I think it would be pretty cool seeing who is shooting at you from behind. The pursuer can even shoot out those mirrors. That or a camera in the back. Yes I am actually serious.

 

[Ahernar]

I totally miss the ability to spin the ship in stations .Pretty please , ship spinning is something of a reflex now , not beeing able to do it hurts

 

[Innocence]

I really don't see the problem with offering a third-person fly-by cam. It'd make for epic scenery whether you're supercruising or docking, and I can't think of a way this could be exploited?

 

[CMDR VOLTAGE]

I was astounded to find out that a game this beautiful, where you spend all your time inside your ship, has no option to allow you to see it from the outside, other than the outfitting screen. No chase cam, no cinematic fly-by, no 'useless for piloting' vanity cam? I understand the immersion argument, but no one would be forcing anyone to use it, and certainly there is a way (as the OP mentioned re out of combat and non-interdicted super cruise) to ensure it has no impact on flight. Ie. it wouldn't be functional or practical to attempt complex maneuvers, let alone combat using it.

Are you really telling me all of us who love these games, and spend all this time amassing credits to buy ever more awesome ships, wouldn't be using that option to check out our fancy craft? Damn if only to setup screen shots and watch my chain guns spin!

Please

Thank you

 

[Drezden]

I would rather allow it to record combat for later viewing with camera controls

 

[danjay]

the original 1980's Elite allowed you to see either side and behind you, which in those days was essential. I really cannot see why 'updating' the game wouldn't allow you outside views.

 

[Zenicetus]

I really don't see the problem with offering a third-person fly-by cam. It'd make for epic scenery whether you're supercruising or docking, and I can't think of a way this could be exploited?

3rd person view in Supercruise would allow much better situational awareness of nearby ships attempting to interdict, or targets that can be interdicted. To the extent that this makes the scanner or eyeballing threats less useful, I doubt FD would do this. We're supposed to use the scanner and Mark I eyeball for finding targets and watching for enemies.

It does seem odd that a side revenue stream for FD is selling paint jobs we can only see in the Outfitting screen, so I'm betting on camera drones at some point. Probably controlled with your normal flight controls so the ship has to be parked somewhere. Or if not a drone, an actual EVA in a spacesuit for ship inspection and shooting photos. That would allow for beauty shots, at least. Given the focus on in-cockpit, hands on stick flying, I don't think this game will ever have a 3rd person view of ships in motion or in combat.

It might be possible at some point to record the streamed data and rebuild it for a cinematic replay, but that would require extra work on the client side. Some air combat games can do that, so it might eventually be possible here.