20 replies to this topic

[Phoenix Branson]

At the end of the day, MechWarrior’s would love the ability to tour the cockpit of their favorite BattleMechs. The developers of MWO should really consider adding this functionality to the Mechlab. Player’s spend a great deal of time in the Mechlab, tweaking and customizing their BattleMechs, and the out-of-game experience is just as important as the in-game experience. When you select this option in the Mechlab, “Tour the Cockpit,” the window will turn fullscreen and you will enter the cockpit of selected mech. You will see the cockpit in full glory as the camera is recessed back (see photos below). When you look out the windshield, you will see the Mech Hanger! The developers could also add cool effects, such as the onboard computer running diagnostics in the background, checking targeting systems, radar, etc. You can also assign weapon groups at this time, customize your HUD colors, or use free look to admire the war machine you pilot. This would increase the immersion of the game, tenfold!

And the best part is, the work is already done by Amit Joshi (Cockpit modeler/texturer).
http://penny-arcade....ricate-birth-of

Edited by Maverick01, 03 November 2012 - 07:27 PM.

[Phoenix Branson]

Thoughts?

[DeeSaster]

Great idea, I would LOVE assigning weapongroups in the hangar instead of doing it on the battlefield on the go. Would also increase immersion a bit.

[Lavrenti]

DeeSaster, on 03 November 2012 - 10:26 AM, said:

Great idea, I would LOVE assigning weapongroups in the hangar instead of doing it on the battlefield on the go.

That would be a useful aspect of it, yes. But the additional immersion is not to be despised, either. Unfortunately, it might require the ability to run a local server - we would effectively be being launched solo into a tiny map with engines and weapons disabled. On the other hand, that would also be needed for some sort of "hazards course" (like for Half-Life), which would be an EXCELLENT addition to the game.

In any case, I'd love to see it implemented. There are much more important things to get right before we can hope to see things like this, but it's amazing how much difference even having a bobblehead in your cockpit can make. Anything which helps players invest in the game -customisation options that help them think "this mech is MINE" - can only be good for retention of the playerbase.

[Tekerton]

This would be a pretty cool feature for the first few times I saw it. After that it is much like early flash animations on the web, fun to look at but ultimately I just want to get to the content.

I take it that the inspiration for this is coming from EVE online. The mockups shown above are clearly demonstrative of ship spinning, of a sorts.

[Lavrenti]

Tekerton, on 03 November 2012 - 01:01 PM, said:

I take it that the inspiration for this is coming from EVE online. The mockups shown above are clearly demonstrative of ship spinning, of a sorts.

I thought they were from the trailer video, actually. That looked like it was rendered in-engine.

[Tekerton]

not sure. I do know that you can adjust your user configuration file to pull back from the cockpit Control Panel. You can get a real good look at everything that way and even see that the panels are actually functional. Not that you would use them in game, but I do find it rather nifty that they are there.

[Lavrenti]

If there was useful information displayed on them, I'd use them. You can hold L-ctrl to freelook around the cockpit, and if one of those displays was showing tactical data - like the map - I'd be checking that every so often.

[BloodLegacy]

Best idea I've heard in a while.

[stjobe]

Lavrenti, on 03 November 2012 - 01:16 PM, said:

If there was useful information displayed on them, I'd use them. You can hold L-ctrl to freelook around the cockpit, and if one of those displays was showing tactical data - like the map - I'd be checking that every so often.

Some of them are working in some cockpits - e.g. the heatsinks one in the Atlas (IIRC).

AFAIK they want them to all be functional, but it's not a high priority thing.

[Lavrenti]

stjobe, on 03 November 2012 - 01:26 PM, said:

Some of them are working in some cockpits - e.g. the heatsinks one in the Atlas (IIRC).

Yes, and there's another that shows the amount of ammo stored in various locations. The problem is that isn't terribly useful - the HUD already shows my heat status and ammo count, and the subsidiary display shows it's data in a less useful form. I think anything that the pilot needs to know at all times should stay on the HUD, but there are things we don't need to have in front of us permanently but would still be useful to have. A tactical map is the obvious one, the scoreboards and objective status might be another, and a rear-view camera would be nice.

[stjobe]

Lavrenti, on 03 November 2012 - 01:33 PM, said:

Yes, and there's another that shows the amount of ammo stored in various locations. The problem is that isn't terribly useful - the HUD already shows my heat status and ammo count, and the subsidiary display shows it's data in a less useful form. I think anything that the pilot needs to know at all times should stay on the HUD, but there are things we don't need to have in front of us permanently but would still be useful to have. A tactical map is the obvious one, the scoreboards and objective status might be another, and a rear-view camera would be nice.

There's also a display that shows mission kills that's currently not functional. I agree that they're currently not that useful, but then again they're not fully implemented yet.

And while your HUD shows your heat status, it doesn't show where your heat sinks are and which are still functioning; that's what the display does. Ammo count is shown in the HUD, but not where that ammo comes from and if that bin is empty or not. Those things might not be too important, but they do add to the immersion, and can sometimes come in real handy.

Rear-view mirror is a hotly debated topic, so I'll just say that it's currently not on the table

[Dukarriope]

Sounds like a real frivolity.
On the other hand, using it as a front for configuring the internals of your mech - weapon groups, configuring a customized HUD style, maybe put in your cockpit accessories while you're at it... would be really really great.

So vote yes.


Following these ideas, maybe it'd be cool to be able to control how dirty or aged your mech (and its interior) looks, too.

Edited by Dukarriope, 03 November 2012 - 01:53 PM.

[Lavrenti]

stjobe, on 03 November 2012 - 01:43 PM, said:

And while your HUD shows your heat status, it doesn't show where your heat sinks are and which are still functioning; that's what the display does. Ammo count is shown in the HUD, but not where that ammo comes from and if that bin is empty or not. Those things might not be too important, but they do add to the immersion, and can sometimes come in real handy.

There are certainly some ammo bins I'd want to empty out first (another thing it would be nice to be able to choose in the mechlab), but since we can't control that it seems irrelevant to have it displayed. And if water ever has an effect on heat dissipation then I might want to know if the leg sinks are still working, but in general what I care about is my maximum heat capacity and how much is being sunk each second.
In an ideal world, the display scheme would be carefully thought out to show the information the pilot needs and we would be able to choose what each screen displays.

[JediPanther]

That's a pretty cool idea. It would be pretty fun to deck out the cockpit.

[Phoenix Branson]

JediPanther, on 03 November 2012 - 07:14 PM, said:

That's a pretty cool idea. It would be pretty fun to deck out the cockpit.

Agreed!

[Cpt Grunge]

Wonderful Idea.

[IQwrassler]

Voted Yes for a great idea!

It would be so awesome to pilot your 'mech out of the hangar to a nearby training/target area where you can test your weapon loudouts for heat, damage and general 'feel' before you march onto the battlefield! Also, it would let you test graphics/game options without having to do so within a match.

Your ideas of custom HUD (HOW ABOUT CUSTOM COMPUTER VOICE PACKS!!??!) fit perfectly into your idea of a mechlab cockpit feature. Also, additional cockpit decorations (more $$ for PGI, more customization for us) would be incentive to have this feature as well (and vice versa).

Great Idea!

edit:

Oh man, I'm imagining one of those aircraft takeoff/landing guys with the two light sticks navigating me out of the 'mech bay into the training facility ('Ramp Rats', thnx Google)! Or engineers scattering as you march out of the repair harness and narrowly miss stepping on your techs, meanwhile the computer AI is doing a diagnostic on your systems! Geeking out hard right now!!!

Edited by IQwrassler, 03 November 2012 - 07:41 PM.

[Phoenix Branson]

IQwrassler, on 03 November 2012 - 07:36 PM, said:

Voted Yes for a great idea!

It would be so awesome to pilot your 'mech out of the hangar to a nearby training/target area where you can test your weapon loudouts for heat, damage and general 'feel' before you march onto the battlefield! Also, it would let you test graphics/game options without having to do so within a match.

Your ideas of custom HUD (HOW ABOUT CUSTOM COMPUTER VOICE PACKS!!??!) fit perfectly into your idea of a mechlab cockpit feature. Also, additional cockpit decorations (more $$ for PGI, more customization for us) would be incentive to have this feature as well (and vice versa).

Great Idea!

edit:

Oh man, I'm imagining one of those aircraft takeoff/landing guys with the two light sticks navigating me out of the 'mech bay into the training facility ('Ramp Rats', thnx Google)! Or engineers scattering as you march out of the repair harness and narrowly miss stepping on your techs, meanwhile the computer AI is doing a diagnostic on your systems! Geeking out hard right now!!!

A target area to test load outs can also be added with this proposed feature. The sky is the limit!

[Phoenix Branson]

We need something exciting about the Mechlab, and this would definitely do it.