Why not more "advanced" forms of ships?

[Hekantonkheries]

now, most of the ships in Elite are fighter sized, so i can understand it.

but what bothered me, is even now in the real world, most pilots dont see much, and dont need to see much, outside their window, we have the technology now to "blindly" fly a jet fighter

why no fighters that are completely enclosed, with a more advanced radar helping you keep situational awareness, and a viewscreen to "see" around you, i mean mechnaically it would be little different than a fighter without the big 120* degree viewspace we have now, but aesthetically and maybe for people who would rather rely more on instruments it could be interesting

maybe a few larger ships (the ones with 3+ crew) could have some types that have a battlestar style mini-CIC, chairs all around a table with the ability to switch to "flight positions" and open a bulkhead showing the "canopy" of the cockpit


mostly just a rant since im bored

 

[Dirtmuncher]

now, most of the ships in Elite are fighter sized, so i can understand it.

but what bothered me, is even now in the real world, most pilots dont see much, and dont need to see much, outside their window, we have the technology now to "blindly" fly a jet fighter

why no fighters that are completely enclosed, with a more advanced radar helping you keep situational awareness, and a viewscreen to "see" around you, i mean mechnaically it would be little different than a fighter without the big 120* degree viewspace we have now, but aesthetically and maybe for people who would rather rely more on instruments it could be interesting

maybe a few larger ships (the ones with 3+ crew) could have some types that have a battlestar style mini-CIC, chairs all around a table with the ability to switch to "flight positions" and open a bulkhead showing the "canopy" of the cockpit


mostly just a rant since im bored

It was a design choice. You can fly a from by wire with an oculus rift so full 360 degree view in realtime is not that far away.

 

[Jackie Silver]

The original Cobra Mk III used a display screen.

THE BRIDGE has seats for pilot and co-pilot, a MedStim Center, entrance to the escape pod, descent well to living quarters, communications console, special suit locker, RemLock supply case, attachment facilities for AutoDock System and a hand-weapons locker. The main wall is occupied by the scanner screen, astrogation console and main systems monitors.

Glass cockpits must be in fashion these days.

 

[Sparkz]

Of course the real answer is the aliens that are using this game as a combat tool, have no need for fancy. Just a good way to watch combat pilots before they abduct them for the real deal!

 

[Hekantonkheries]

Of course the real answer is the aliens that are using this game as a combat tool, have no need for fancy. Just a good way to watch combat pilots before they abduct them for the real deal!

This isnt The Last Starfighter (and now i feel old for making/getting that reference, but i swera im only 21 >.<)

 

[tooterfish]

now, most of the ships in Elite are fighter sized, so i can understand it.

They are?

 

[MaD^Mak]

Federal fighters don't have a canopy I believe. They're not playable yet tough.

 

[Spanners44]

now, most of the ships in Elite are fighter sized, so i can understand it.

but what bothered me, is even now in the real world, most pilots dont see much, and dont need to see much, outside their window, we have the technology now to "blindly" fly a jet fighter

why no fighters that are completely enclosed, with a more advanced radar helping you keep situational awareness, and a viewscreen to "see" around you, i mean mechnaically it would be little different than a fighter without the big 120* degree viewspace we have now, but aesthetically and maybe for people who would rather rely more on instruments it could be interesting

maybe a few larger ships (the ones with 3+ crew) could have some types that have a battlestar style mini-CIC, chairs all around a table with the ability to switch to "flight positions" and open a bulkhead showing the "canopy" of the cockpit


mostly just a rant since im bored

The whole purpose of this game is to show off the grandeur of space and give you the feel that you are actually flying a real space ship. If they do ships as you suggest then this game becomes nothing but an arcade style game and you loose the sense of openness and freedom.

 

[BeTeK]

but what bothered me, is even now in the real world, most pilots dont see much, and dont need to see much, outside their window, we have the technology now to "blindly" fly a jet fighter

Just nickpicking but figters especially DO have excelent outside view. They do have to see where the enemy fire is coming from and also passive weapons are not shown on any warning system for example heat seeking missiles. Bombers have more limited outside view but designers do maximize the outside view for the same reasons.

 

[Im_Lost]

BTW none of the playable ships are really fighter sized, they are all quite big. Big enough for 1 or 2 crew members to live in, plus cargo space. They just look small because in space there is nothing to compare the size to.

The only fighter sized ship is the federal fighter and they are small even compared to a sidewinder.

Just to put thing in prespective, the Cobra would fill a football field.

 

[burzum]

but what bothered me, is even now in the real world, most pilots dont see much, and dont need to see much, outside their window, we have the technology now to "blindly" fly a jet fighter

That's actually not really true. Flying by instruments is still very challenging and landing on an aircraft carrier is still a highly dangerous task to master. Flying by instruments means you're limiting yourself to a fraction of what you normally would see. For example modern fighter jets have a radar pointing to the front and it doesn't cover a huge area, that's why you have AWACS that guide the fighters and warn them about enemy aircraft.

Another disadvantage of such an enclosed cockpit you suggest is that you won't see anything if you're out of energy or the thing you're in has a mechanic malfunction and won't open anymore.

And ED has a ton of much much more urgent things they need to fix or improve first any way.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

well I would say that first if your viewscreen fails you are s.o.l..and the most basic of sensors is the eyeball.....but going beyond that most ,if not all, current scifi movies have it where there are viewports , star wars , (star trek uses a view screen on the bridge) but still has view ports , dune, firefly ,buck Rodgers even starblazers....our astronauts have them. and honestly if we were advanced enough I would want them on my ship...there is just something about not being able to see outside that is just not appealing

 

[Cmdr Jezath]

I wouldn't mind a siege mode or an emergency broken canopy seal mode for when the glass shatters. It could help you top up your oxygen before you bring it down again, or it could give a slight bonus to frontal hull armour. Would have to be a canopy upgrade slot though.

 

[Dr Roly]

I would have liked ships to have a control room rather than windows. Why would you need windows in space? Maybe useful in a trading or exploration ship, but in a military vessel you'd want as much metal between you and the cold death of space as possible.

Then I realised ED is a space "opera" not a space sim. Once you learn to just go with it, you realise the design choices make for a more dramatic experience.

 

[cptzipzap]

 

[Bog]

If the view outside really bothers you, you could attach a piece of black cardboard to the top 2/3rds of your monitor...

Yes, the logical and sensible place for a combat starship's bridge is in it's geometric centre, but where's the fun in that?

 

[aRtFuL]

Because humans by nature tends gets claustrophobic without windows.

That's why even international space stations have windows even though they don't really need it.

Also, windows are cheaper than systems.

 

[Bog]

Because humans by nature tends gets claustrophobic without windows.

That's why even international space stations have windows even though they don't really need it.

Also, windows are cheaper than systems.

Yeah. I can't remember how much the Cupola for the ISS cost - but at 1.8T launch mass, it can't have been cheap, just for the shipping cost alone. But it seems to be the favourite place for everyone up there.

There's a psychological element in being able to see around you - ESPECIALLY for a fighter pilot, for whom situational awareness is life.

 

[Hekantonkheries]

They are?

fighter sized, in that you can expect them to be able to move with a certain degree of precision and speed, which in space allows them to be far larger than ships in atmos, i mean hell, you can fly everything smaller than a Lakon pretty nimbly


as for the whole thing,w asnt saying ALL ships should be like it, just maybe one line or so that focuses more on the instruments and the "sci fi tech" kinda side of the ship rather than visual tracking, cant expect EVERYONE to follow the same design.

 

[LukeP]

Actually, having kind of "internal display system" not only allows for better survivability of the ship, but also allows to design a spherical view not obstructed by any structural elements.

Some "fighters" (looking at you viper) have actually quite poor view with their hardtop. Eagle has this nose thing that obstructs lower view, which is kind of bummer when you have gimbals on low.

Not to mention lack of mirror views like in normal fighter cockpit. Note how view looks like from good ole MiG-29

Spoiler

[video=youtube;WXxJTKOhSW4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXxJTKOhSW4[/video]

Using some displays could mitigate all those shortcomings. C'mon you have a holo hud, but your view is obstructed. Doesn't add up. Should be able to remove all visual obstructions with flip of the switch.

Also, I posted this somewhere else, but bigger ships in elite universe are made of wood