Choose the Coolest Cockpit (May 31, 2010)

Mechwarrior 3 & 4 had some pretty sweet 3d cockpits


Mech 3's were spartan and a bit too similar mech to mech but I liked 'em alot. 4's were terrible though! Absolutely awful, clumsy barely there butchered textures...oh man.

Mech3

MechWarrior-3-Patch_3.jpg


Mech4 (progress?)

mechwarrior-4-black-07.jpg




I always found the wc3 cockpits a little overdone... wc1/2/armada had just the right amount of detail and features to match the info being displayed, it just appeared the wc3 cockpits were more art than interface,

Agreed, though I'd never consider turning WC3's cockpits off, I hated how the ITTS would disappear if your targeted ship was off-screen, including when it was obscured by your instrument panel! Considering how erratically ships can change direction in WC3 this was a major major oversight. Just makes things more challenging though so I guess it's not all bad...
 
Privateer, because it made you feel like you were really in a ship that has a purpose whether it be a cargo ship or a fighter.
 
I'm gonna go ahead and go with Wing 3 as my favorite. They just looked so real to me back then. I haven't played WC4 or Prophecy/SO yet, but I remember thinking: "Wow, cool!" when I saw the cockpits in WC3 after having played all of WC 1-2.
 
Heh, yeah. I still haven't voted, I just can't make up my mind. All I know is that WC3 and WC4 were the worst by a long shot.

I suppose WCP would be the top choice, if it wasn't for one detail - it had no visible cockpit damage. That's a huge drawback. It's the only thing we weren't able to re-create when working on WC1/2 cockpits in Standoff.

So, have you decided yet?
 
I'm one of the proud 15.9752 people who voted for the Armada cockpit. The decision gave me a bit of pause, but not much. Maybe they're caught up in the whole feel of the game for me, which was so strikingly different, in gameplay and atmosphere, that's made it unique for me after all these years.

And they're very well done, too.

I think the strangest part is that the Armada cockpits are the only ones I've had dreams about. I also drew an Arrow cockpit on a manila folder cover in first grade - I admit I don't know for sure whether my inspiration came from Armada or Wing3, as I got both around the same time, but it was probably Armada. Everything about it left a profound impression on me.

I love the Privateer cockpits today, but in 1994 or '95, I saw the screenshots of the civillian Tarsus cockpit on the back cover and shied away from buying it - something I bitterly regret today, of course. I think that's the only time that a cockpit screenshot has ever deterred me from something. I guess it was too much of a leap for me to make at the time.
 
I did vote in the end, for WC1. In the end, I simply couldn't make up my mind, so I went with the one particular cockpit I somehow loved the most (the Scimitar).

The trouble is, so many of the available choices had something great going for them - WC1 & 2 had great damage effects, Armada had the best atmosphere of all, Privateer... was, you know, Privateer; and WCP had the great 3d cockpit struts.

I am hugely surprised that so many people went with WC3. I think, within the game itself, photorealistic was definitely the way to go - you couldn't have the player going from live action cutscenes to a cartoony cockpit, after all. But still, even if it was the best choice for the game, it also made for some pretty ugly cockpits - and they certainly didn't age well, as usual for "photorealistic" CGI.
 
I am always surprised how well WC3 does in these kinds of polls. I think it's by far the weakest WC in almost any regard (though still a great game). But I think WC3 brought many people into WC the first time and you always have a special place in your heart for your first love.
 
I would have to say I always liked the Sabre and Broadsword's.

The Ferret I really like just because it seemed to match the character of a reserve patrol fighter, utilitarian, simplistic, easy to use.
 
I am always surprised how well WC3 does in these kinds of polls. I think it's by far the weakest WC in almost any regard (though still a great game). But I think WC3 brought many people into WC the first time and you always have a special place in your heart for your first love.

Well, first time I fired up Wing3 and saw the hellcat cockpit appear in SVGA and firing up it's diagnostics, and pushing the throttle forward to leave the carrier I was like "OMFG!!! it's just like it would look in real life" Ofcourse, these day's it looks more dated then the original cockpits.
 
Well, first time I fired up Wing3 and saw the hellcat cockpit appear in SVGA and firing up it's diagnostics, and pushing the throttle forward to leave the carrier I was like "OMFG!!! it's just like it would look in real life" Ofcourse, these day's it looks more dated then the original cockpits.

Hehe, don't we see featureless plywood Hellcat cockpits in the WC4 intro? So really it looks *better* than real life...:)
 
Galaxy Cockput in Privateer! I love cockpits big enough to get up and move around a little in. It just feels more comfy!

No in all seriousness, The Saber cockpit was always my favorite. The Epee one felt like an escape pod!
 
I never really had trouble with the Epee - it was the Rapier that gave me a hard time, and I think I can pinpoint the problem to the cockpit. The Ferret and Epee have good visibility, the Sabre is alright, the Broadsword, not so much but the game gives it stronger shields than most capital ships. The Rapier - the Rapier gives you a couple of square holes to look out of. I never did as badly in missions as when I was flying a Rapier; style-wise it's one of my favorite ships but I'll take almost any other ship in the game over it. Including the Epee.
 
Back
Top