I love flying in 6DOF, and the immersion and detail Elite offers is incredible. But it's missing something. A velocity vector indicator is a tiny addition that could add utility and immersion to many aspects of the game involving spaceflight, without bridging too far into "hard milsim" realism. I know it's been requested before, but it would be a desperately cool addition, ESPECIALLY if more terrestrial interaction is planned in 2025 in, say, colonization efforts. :]
A Velocity Vector Indicator (VVI) is a small carat usually displayed in the craft's HUD that indicates the craft's flight path in reference to a fixed point. Some add a kind of "amplitude" line to indicate the velocity being traveled along that vector. It's a quick visual reference for military pilots to judge (in addition to flying by feel, aka the "seat of the pants sensation") how the craft is actually traveling, and it can save them from undercorrecting and smacking into a canyon wall, for example. Helps you maintain the craft in controlled flight. In spaceflight, a VVI could clue you in as to whether you're at a dead stop, losing advantage in a turning dogfight, or holding the PERFECT cold orbit against a Thargoid interceptor. This is especially critical in FA-off applications where micro-corrections to your craft's velocity vector can quickly devolve to fighting the ship instead of the enemy.
Currently I use my D-Scanner carat in analysis mode as a static indicator of where my nose is pointed. It's a quick and dirty replacement for a true dynamic VVI, because I can at least use it as a fixed point to see my vector changing while docking at stations to keep from bunging the toast rack in my Corvette. BUT...add in any other variables (e.g. the pressure of combat, the precision of hooning) and it's all but useless (plus, you won't be in analysis mode during combat).
Tl;dr: please add a dynamic VVI as an optional HUD element while flying in Elite Dangerous. You could switch it off in the ship tab if you hate it, but it adds a touch of realism and a ton of utility, especially in FA-off applications.
A Velocity Vector Indicator (VVI) is a small carat usually displayed in the craft's HUD that indicates the craft's flight path in reference to a fixed point. Some add a kind of "amplitude" line to indicate the velocity being traveled along that vector. It's a quick visual reference for military pilots to judge (in addition to flying by feel, aka the "seat of the pants sensation") how the craft is actually traveling, and it can save them from undercorrecting and smacking into a canyon wall, for example. Helps you maintain the craft in controlled flight. In spaceflight, a VVI could clue you in as to whether you're at a dead stop, losing advantage in a turning dogfight, or holding the PERFECT cold orbit against a Thargoid interceptor. This is especially critical in FA-off applications where micro-corrections to your craft's velocity vector can quickly devolve to fighting the ship instead of the enemy.
Currently I use my D-Scanner carat in analysis mode as a static indicator of where my nose is pointed. It's a quick and dirty replacement for a true dynamic VVI, because I can at least use it as a fixed point to see my vector changing while docking at stations to keep from bunging the toast rack in my Corvette. BUT...add in any other variables (e.g. the pressure of combat, the precision of hooning) and it's all but useless (plus, you won't be in analysis mode during combat).
Tl;dr: please add a dynamic VVI as an optional HUD element while flying in Elite Dangerous. You could switch it off in the ship tab if you hate it, but it adds a touch of realism and a ton of utility, especially in FA-off applications.
