I agree that space sims are better with cockpits. Unlike most of you, I never turned mine off either. They add such superb atmosphere which you just don't get with a HUD. I was just playing X-Wing a few hours ago and got jumped by a TIE Fighter. The way I knew I had been attacked was because my cockpit practically exploded! And the alarms that sounded when your ship took critical damage in the early Wing Commanders is forever embedded in my nightmares.
My favorite space sim of all time if Freespace 2 but I still believe it could have benefitted from cockpits. And Wing Commander esque funerals, award ceremonies, wingmen... (WC1 is my second favorite space sim). All the immersion and "you are there" feel that was present in Wing Commander 1 largely disappeared by the mid 1990's and it is such a shame. Why was it so difficult for companies to recreate such a winning formula?
I love the Freespace series for different reasons but you never forget the feeling you had when you booted up WC1. It truly felt as though you were onboard the TCS Tiger's Claw, leading ace of the Black Lion squadron, here are your wingmates, here's your commanding officer, the briefings gave you the feeling of the overall war effort... and then you suit up and go into the COCKPIT of a sleek fighter and go to war.
I always loved the cockpits but they're only part of the problem. No space sim has ever recreated the same level of immersion for me as the original Wing Commander did. Vengeance of the Kilrathi was great as well, Heart of the Tiger a little less so, and then IV was a movie. And IV influenced all the space sims after it. Then the genre died after Freespace 2, which I consider to be a pure masterpiece.
At least we have games like Standoff. That one brings me back to the good ol' days. I'm also eagerly anticipating WC Saga, hoping it'll bring me the best of both worlds... will Saga have cockpits?
My favorite space sim of all time if Freespace 2 but I still believe it could have benefitted from cockpits. And Wing Commander esque funerals, award ceremonies, wingmen... (WC1 is my second favorite space sim). All the immersion and "you are there" feel that was present in Wing Commander 1 largely disappeared by the mid 1990's and it is such a shame. Why was it so difficult for companies to recreate such a winning formula?
I love the Freespace series for different reasons but you never forget the feeling you had when you booted up WC1. It truly felt as though you were onboard the TCS Tiger's Claw, leading ace of the Black Lion squadron, here are your wingmates, here's your commanding officer, the briefings gave you the feeling of the overall war effort... and then you suit up and go into the COCKPIT of a sleek fighter and go to war.
I always loved the cockpits but they're only part of the problem. No space sim has ever recreated the same level of immersion for me as the original Wing Commander did. Vengeance of the Kilrathi was great as well, Heart of the Tiger a little less so, and then IV was a movie. And IV influenced all the space sims after it. Then the genre died after Freespace 2, which I consider to be a pure masterpiece.
At least we have games like Standoff. That one brings me back to the good ol' days. I'm also eagerly anticipating WC Saga, hoping it'll bring me the best of both worlds... will Saga have cockpits?