54 replies to this topic

[Tweaks]

The transparent part of the cockpit is supposed to be made of special laminated glass or some other transparent material. I don't know what it's supposed to be made of, but I know it's transparent and that it's not a video screen.

That said, we have no visual effect showing the thickness or reflection on the glass, so it just looks like there's no glass at all, except when you go slightly underwater. This sort of breaks the feeling of immersion in my opinion.

I would like the following effects to be added for better immersion purposes:

• Show the actual thickness of the glass on the edges.
  
• Add some texture to the glass which would show better with light, just like you see dirt on your car's windshield better when the sun is shining through it. The texture could more obvious on the edge, as if dust or wear accumulated there (which would be realistic).
  
• If it rains or you walk under a waterfall, even if there' some sort of water repellent on the glass, you should see some form of droplets on your cockpit windows.
  
• If the cockpit glass takes damage, cracks and scratches should start to appear.
  
• On cold maps, as the 'Mech gets hotter and then cools down, slight frosting should start to show on the edges of the glass until it melts.
  
• On night or dark maps, if your internal cockpit lights are turned on, you should be able to see a dim reflection from the video screens, just like you can see the screen of a GPS reflect in the windshield of a car at night if it's mounted on the glass.

Bottom line, I'd like to feel like I'm behind an actual glass (or whatever that material is) cockpit.

Edited by Tweaks, 16 September 2013 - 04:04 PM.

[Tweaks]

By the way... If you're going to vote no, it'd be nice to see your reason.

[Kibble]

I think everyone would love this. I would also like the addition of NV/Heat vision to only effect the glass of your cockpit and not the eyes of the player.

[Tweaks]

Kibble, on 16 September 2013 - 04:15 PM, said:

I would also like the addition of NV/Heat vision to only effect the glass of your cockpit and not the eyes of the player.

Considering the HUD is projected in your neurohelmet's visor and not on the glass of your cockpit, I don't see this happening.

[wickwire]

+1 great list of ideas

[Alabraxis Hyperion]

Not to mention snow should stick to the glass a bit. Borderlands 2 does it very elegantly - just a flake here and there to give the impression, without impairing your view.

[irony1999]

One of the dev's posted they would like to have the alternate views "projected" onto the glass of the cockpit (IR, Nightvision, etc). So some of what you are proposing may be in the pipeline for 2014.

Edited by irony1999, 17 September 2013 - 07:50 AM.

[Syllogy]

It's already on the board.

[stinkypuppy]

i kinda like the current glass because its not vision impairing or anything. i was playing arma 3 and i got a sun reflection on my window and couldn't even see. some things like showing the thickness on the edges would be nice but special effects like window cracking would just make things hard to see and it already is when explosion clouds of AC/2's cloud your vision

[Tweaks]

Syllogy, on 17 September 2013 - 08:25 AM, said:

It's already on the board.

Do you have any reference? Post? Podcast? I'm not arguing,I'm just curious. Where is that "board" I can see?

[Elyam]

The cockpit shouldn't really be a visible part of the experience. Mechwarriors are supposed to be piloting while encased in a heavy neurohelmet with all vision augmented by mech sensors and HUD including a compressed 360 of the surrounding environment. I would be for the glass enhancement if we ever played outside of that venue (for example, if we could enter and leave the cockpit and see the regular interior), but I would rather the devs spend their time moving us toward the actual neurohelmet interface view..

[Tweaks]

Elyam, on 17 September 2013 - 03:29 PM, said:

The cockpit shouldn't really be a visible part of the experience. Mechwarriors are supposed to be piloting while encased in a heavy neurohelmet with all vision augmented by mech sensors and HUD including a compressed 360 of the surrounding environment. I would be for the glass enhancement if we ever played outside of that venue (for example, if we could enter and leave the cockpit and see the regular interior), but I would rather the devs spend their time moving us toward the actual neurohelmet interface view..

The neurohelmet is not a replacement for the transparent cockpit. There is still a cockpit that you can see through even though the pilot has a neurohelmet to control the 'Mech's balance and receive damage inputs and the like.

[Elyam]

The transparent cockpit is a backup system. If sensors and neurohelmet view drop, then the pilot still has limited view through the cockpit via a very small viewport in the helmet, or, in desperate times, even the removal of the helmet. But all of that is not part of the normal pilot experience. Normal is a completely computer-provided view of the outside environment from cameras augmented with overlaid sensor- and data-sourced information. The cockpit and glass are zero part of the experience, until and unless damage requires you to rely on the old-fashioned way.

Some people have only seen depictions of the neurohelmet that appear to have a wide and clear faceplate that allows the pilot to look through the cockpit glass and interact with readouts on the dash. That isn't so - the helmet is almost entirely sealed but for a 3" hexagonal port, though it is very difficult today to come up with a picture on an internet search. I'll see if I can scan one later.

Further edit: neurohelmet depictions changed over time, with the viewport becoming a bit larger. that's all you can find in newer images. But I strongly recommend against any description that leads away from the original format where the pilot's view is entirely artificial. Avoid anything that suggests your using a windshield and dash-mounted readouts. The full helmet-provided augmented HUD is completely integral to Battletech and is what MWO should hope to one day achieve.

Edited by Elyam, 18 September 2013 - 03:42 PM.

[Blue Footed Booby]

Alabraxis Hyperion, on 17 September 2013 - 07:49 AM, said:

Not to mention snow should stick to the glass a bit. Borderlands 2 does it very elegantly - just a flake here and there to give the impression, without impairing your view.

I'd prefer if any effects of looking through glass were very subtle so it doesn't mute the colors in the levels, but I'd love for there to be stuff like raindrops on the glass or frost forming on the edges.

[focuspark]

No. You're describing refraction. If you think the GPU requirements for MWO are high today? Add refraction of the entire scene and you can double them.

[Syllogy]

Tweaks, on 17 September 2013 - 03:18 PM, said:

Do you have any reference? Post? Podcast? I'm not arguing,I'm just curious. Where is that "board" I can see?

There is a very closely guarded secret behind the divination of what is already on the board.

[Oppresor]

Yes I agree, anything that increases the immersion factor. By having a visible cockpit glass it reinforces the 2nd person concept, differentiating it from 1st person; more importantly it helps to allay the fear that an incoming Tetatae is going to hit you in the face.

[Bhael Fire]

Glass effects are going in soon, starting with newer mechs and then retroactively with older mechs.

[Roland]

Of all the things that need to be done, I'm absolutely baffled that this even made it onto the radar.

[Boozlebean]

Elyam, on 18 September 2013 - 09:36 AM, said:

The transparent cockpit is a backup system. If sensors and neurohelmet view drop, then the pilot still has limited view through the cockpit via a very small viewport in the helmet, or, in desperate times, even the removal of the helmet. But all of that is not part of the normal pilot experience. Normal is a completely computer-provided view of the outside environment from cameras augmented with overlaid sensor- and data-sourced information. The cockpit and glass are zero part of the experience, until and unless damage requires you to rely on the old-fashioned way.

Some people have only seen depictions of the neurohelmet that appear to have a wide and clear faceplate that allows the pilot to look through the cockpit glass and interact with readouts on the dash. That isn't so - the helmet is almost entirely sealed but for a 3" hexagonal port, though it is very difficult today to come up with a picture on an internet search. I'll see if I can scan one later.

Further edit: neurohelmet depictions changed over time, with the viewport becoming a bit larger. that's all you can find in newer images. But I strongly recommend against any description that leads away from the original format where the pilot's view is entirely artificial. Avoid anything that suggests your using a windshield and dash-mounted readouts. The full helmet-provided augmented HUD is completely integral to Battletech and is what MWO should hope to one day achieve.

Yes. Everything Elyam just said.