Hi,

iam very excited, cause EAW will get adjustable head positions for smapviews and for now a rather small offset for "mouse view"(padlock).

For now EAW´s virtual cockpit view always had a centered static head position.
As result we wasnt able to look around canophy frames and the rear plating.
As result in most cockpits it was rather difficult to play with cockpit enabled, but without padlock, cause we couldnt always follow the target, cause it dissapeared behind a frame or something else, where a real pilot by easy could look around to keep sight.

EAW1.28a will have 30 files, one for each plane, where offsets for each snap view direction can get stored.

We will implement 30 files as default, additionally every addon maker or user can create own files to fit to the currently used cockpit and preferences(A Yak7 need a other head offset than a Spitfire, to achive the best sight).

While working on this i got aware how bad some EAW cockpits are(also some default one). With this new possibility it realy make sence to create a complete Tail, cause we now can look around the rear plating.

For now the offset views particular cant show the full potential, cause most cockpits miss needed areas(i dont want to look around the plating and see empty space), but with the possibilitys we can get the best out of the current cokpits.

A to big rear plating?? No problem, simply shift the head upward or sideward. A very big canophy frame right in front?? No problem move the head backward and the frame will get much smaler.

Currently i miss the time, but i will offer some sceenes asap!

Greetings,

Knegel

btw, this will be very important for Bi-planes, to look around the upper wing.

YEP !!!

Ralf, my feelling was that inside the narrow Bf 109 cockpit it was pretty impossible to have a look to the rear stab...

As you was lucky enough to seat inside a real one could you confirm me that i m wrong?

Cheers, Olivier

A very thrilling aspect, Ralf! How will it handle te view situation? Shall we be able to lock the view at the chosen pint or does come back to the standard location when the button (or whatelse may be chosen for view adjustment) is released? The padlock function is able to do this as well in a similar way...

Hi Doc,

its was good possible to see the vert stab.
The 109 cockpit glas is so close to the head, only by turning the head and moving it a little toward the glas, your eye´s get very close to it, and from this position you can look through the free space between glas and plating. You can almost look alongside the whole rear fuselage.

The strait rear up view was more of a problem.

Hi Franzy,

this for now only will work with the snapviews, not in padlock mode and mouse view.
So only for the 19 static view directions(front, front up, front left, front right, instrument view, left, shoulder left, left up, shoulder left up, right, shoulder right, shoulder up, shoulder right up, rear, rear right up, rear left up, vertical up). For the floating view we only can use a smal offset.
With better cockpits this offset can get increased.

Greetings,

Knegel

Thanks for the explanation, Ralf - so it will take some button-pressing to get the optimum view...

Makes me curious, though, to see first screenies

Wonderful!
A "holy grail" for me--- a kind of poor man's Trick IR. A BIG step forward.
Hope to see your screenshots ASAP, Ralf.
Congratulations.

Same mission and a left rear snapview.

Older exe with normal snapview:


New exe with adjusted head positions for each snapview:


The (x,y,z) head position offsets for all of the snapviews are in a file, and there is a file for every slot.
They are editable using a utility, so a modder can experiment when a new cockpit has been made.
In this shot I edited the y offset using the utility:


Jel

Hi,

as Tony´s last screene show, currently we cant use this feature to its extends, cause the cockpits are not all complete.

Here are some more examples.

You can test the different yourself, by using the Me410 and Typhoon. The default rearview in both planes is horrible(very big plating, although already reduced in the typhoon).

Here the spitfire "normal view"(this remain the normal view).



And here with "snap view forward":


If you have the snap views on the joystick POV(head switch), you can push the button forward, if a target dissapear behind one of the frames, then it will appear again. You get the impression the pilot moved his head rearward to avoid the frames.

Here is the current Me410 cockpit adjusted to its best(everybody can change this to his need and preference).
shoulder view:


Shoulder up view:


Rear up view


Here the Typhoon:
Default shoulder view:


Adjusted shoulder view:


Default shoulder up view:


Adjusted shoulder and rear up view:






As you can see, now you can see better what happen at your rear, what would be normal for a bubble canophy plane like our Tiffi.

Greetings,

Knegel

This is by far not poor man´s Trick IR.

The Snapview Viewsystem is still the only view system that make you able to fly like a real pilot, cause its the only view system that give you a exact feedback of the position of your plane in rlation to your view direction and angle. And this is most important to fly exact.

In real life we feel exact to what exact direction we look, in relation to our bum and our bum is directly linked to the plane, so we always know exact to what direction our plane fly and what bank angle it currently have n relation to the ground(if we see it or know where it is) and/or in relation to the enemy.

In a flight sim its not possible to know where exact your plane fly to and what bank angle it currently have, if you look into an undefined direction, specialy if there are no canophy frames in sight, which could give a hint, cause the link between head and bum is missing. But even if you see the frames, you still dont know exact what upward or turn angle your view currently have. This of course get even more difficult, if we look somewhere rearward.

The snap views have a exact defined direction and once you got used to this, you can manouver your plane absolut exact, in relation to the ground and/or to the enemy, even if you look somewhere rearward.

Track IR is a very nice feature to identify enemys with zoom enabled, cause it move smooth and with the static snapviews the target then often isnt in sight. Specialy for tight dogfights i always prefer snapviews. Track IR in combo with snapviews is probably the most poverfull and realistic viewsystem.

Greetings,

Knegel

Geez, Ralf, why must you be so negative and contrary about every comment I make to you?
I'm trying to give you a high compliment. No need to put me down.

I said it sounded like "a kind of poor man's Trick IR", not a replacement for Track IR.
You have apparently done what I was not able to do-- look around the struts by changing head position. I haven't tried it yet, but that's tremendous.

Yes- I saw that Wuddy, but for Ralf something might have got lost in the translation.
Anyhow, I have finally taken Ralf's advice and set horizontal snapviews to my Sidewinder POV hat, with the now defunct shift key (since XP) to up. It is great.

Jel

Hey Wudy,

i dont took your comment as critic or negative and the answer actually wasnt for you, more for the others, who dont use snapview. I took your comment just as starting point for a reminder, to point out(again) how important thw "snapview" view system and so this new addition is, if you want to get realy good as virtuel pilot.

The similarity of "Trick IR" and "Track IR" jumped to my eye´s and i bet not only to mine, and i felt the need to clarify that Track IR, although a extreme nice feature in general, still dont work as good as the snapviews(in close bombat and exact aerobatics), so that people who dont have Track IR, dont need to think "if i only would have it, then i could get good".

Sorry that i offended you, wasnt my intend!

Greetings,

Knegel

Thanks for the kind explanation, Ralf.
I get a little too prickly.
I happen to agree with you-- this sounds better than Track IR. No stuff on your head to adjust.
Didn't know that "Aces High" has something like it; still a "first' for EAW.
To me, that's quite a "Trick" to accomplish (pun intended).

btw, EAW always had this feature for some 2d cockpits.

In Aces High this feature is of course fully developed. There the player have 6 ingame buttons to move the head position, then he can push a "store current position" button. So its very easy to adjust the different view positions. We currently need to use a external tool to adjust the views, then we need to start the game to see the outcome. Not very comfortable, but normaly this only need to be done once for every cockpit and the pre adjusted positions are already not bad.

When i once switched from 640x480 to 800x600 and the 2d cockpits stopped to work, i was very disappointed about the playability of the Virtuel cockpits. I always loved the moving head positions in the 2d cockpits to achieve the best sight. Some planes turned to be a real "no go", like the 109G/K, Typhoon, Hurricane and P47C, until the deflection cockpits got created, cause the shoulder and shoulder up view was not available cause a by far to big plating or better sayed cause the static view position.

Maybe we also can get this going for the dynamic views(mouse, padlock), we will see.