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[Orzorn]

Quote

[PAUL] We used to throw around a tag line here at Piranha. “This is not your father’s MechWarrior®”. There are so many aspects of gameplay that are being added to MechWarrior® Online™ that the game will feel different in a very good way. Our ability to feedback information to a player has evolved drastically since the last MechWarrior® title. This includes updated HUD displays, cockpit displays and if you have the toys, force feedback and more! Our cockpit is not barren. We are implementing new technologies to allow you to look at various instrument panels and get tactical information by doing so. Combat between ‘Mechs shouldn’t be just spotting an enemy and shooting. Logistics and battlefield awareness should play a role as well considering you’re piloting a massive powerhouse into combat.

This quote got me thinking. In what ways are they going to implement the cockpit? In previous games, it WAS basically barren, because it was just a show piece. All the actual read outs were always glued to the player's HUD.

So does this mean that we're going to have information and read outs that are instead a part of our cockpit that we must physically look at (and thus, take out eyes off of the battlefield)? I think it does mean that, and that excites me. Imagine the detail of A-10C Warthog (okay, maybe not THAT detailed), and with a similar mechanic for looking around the cockpit.

Even better is that, because MWO is PC exclusive, we don't have to worry about the issues that console controllers may have with such a function as looking around the cockpit, as a shift key of sorts can easily take care of the function. I'm imagining the cockpit being a place for secondary information (as opposed to primary information, like heat levels, armor levels, and weapon readiness). Say I fire a probe into the sky, then I'll have to use the look key, move my character's head to point at the display panel, and then actively watch the feedback, all the while I still have to manage my mech. Pressing the map key on my keyboard, instead of bringing up some sort of map screen like in previous mechwarrior games, might have my character actually swivel their head too look at a readout of the battlefield layout. In my opinion, any element that isn't part of the standard neurohelmet HUD should be an actual element of the cockpit, rather than some sort of magic screen overlay that just appears when you press the button.

The game could take advantage of the more detailed cockpit as well. Like in the original trailer, when I fire off a probe, my character might actively press buttons in the cockpit. Switching radar modes, view modes, and other things might also warrant my character flipping a switch or pressing a button.

Even better would be small details like my character's hands actually pushing the throttle or stick as I do the same in real life (or the equivalent, if I'm using a keyboard + mouse). Of course, we've all made the suggestion that high heat levels actually cause rippling air in the cockpit, and such things like that. Perhaps a critical hit to the head might cause sparks or small explosions in the cockpit.

I'm glad the developers are paying so much more attention to the simulation-like roots of Mechwarrior, and I hope they expand upon that while making those elements so much more engaging that they're fun even to those who don't appreciate simulation-like games. Who DOESN'T want to feel like they're in a gigantic robot?

[Hohiro Kurita]

Agreed entirely. It's a shame too because this game, if on 360, could heavily utilize the connect - foot pedals for moving the mech, the way it is actually done in lore, foot pedal controls for jump jets, etc. Short of the Virtual pods they used to have but you know..

I don't want to feel like I'm in a giant robot, because a mech isn't a giant robot. It's no different from a tank or fighter plane - those aren't robots.

Edited by Hohiro Kurita, 22 November 2011 - 02:45 PM.

[Orzorn]

Hohiro Kurita, on 22 November 2011 - 02:44 PM, said:

I don't want to feel like I'm in a giant robot, because a mech isn't a giant robot. It's no different from a tank or fighter plane - those aren't robots.

Looks like a giant robot to me.

Another thing I came up with that should be done:
I expect critical hits are going to make a comeback. With that, we need to allow the player to jettison ammo (as in Mechwarrior 2), but I always hated that it jettisoned ALL the ammo for your weapon, instead of being able to specify what ammo to jettison. So, for this purpose, we could have a Multi-Function Display that shows you all of your criticals on each body part. You could click on ammo to jettison it. This way, you could, for instance, get rid of all the ammunition in a damaged arm (to prevent an ammunition explosion from a critical), but not get rid of all the ammunition for your weapon (like if you had half your machine gun ammo in your chest, then half in an arm). Doing something like this without a realistic cockpit would be much, much more difficult, I think.