Phalanx Cockpit WIP

[Sonic TH]

I haven't followed this project as closely as I would like to so just a quick question, all be it a bit off-topic:

I've seen the QTVRs and was wondering if you're using QTVR inside the game itself or if that's just to show the design?

 

[Bandit LOAF]

I've seen the QTVRs and was wondering if you're using QTVR inside the game itself or if that's just to show the design?

I believe it's just to show off the graphics.

That brings up a good question, though - I've certainly talked to Brad about a RealSpace style 'virtual cockpit' before -- are you considering that for this game?

 

[Howard Day]

I believe it's just to show off the graphics.

Yeah, the QTVR is just to show them off. Like a 3d-screenshot.

That brings up a good question, though - I've certainly talked to Brad about a RealSpace style 'virtual cockpit' before -- are you considering that for this game?

Hmm. How do you mean? If you mean that you'll be able to freely look around, activate a padlock mode and such...yeah, that's what we're doing. If you're talking about getting rid of the cockpit itself, and just using graphical overlays like in WC4, then no. We're sticking to actually making the player deal with any visiblity problems the cockpits have. It's not that one method is better than the other, it's just one of the things I really liked about WC1,2 and Priv - it felt more immersive to me. I kinda felt like we lost some of that "you are there" feeling when we got rid of the cockpit.
Does that answer the question, or am I completely off-base?

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Virtual Cockpit was really the original shining feature of the RealSpace engine... and they ended up dropping it entirely in Wing Commander. It appears in the flight games: Strike Commander, Pacific Strike and Wings of Glory. The cockpit is a 3D object and when you move the mouse you move your head... so you can look around the cockpit, change your default perspective and such. There were various camera options, too, like having your eyes track a target automatically (so, your view would change as the MiG-21 you were chasing turned, that sort of thing).

 

[Howard Day]

You're in luck! That is exactly what we've planned. The Padlock view is that "locked to target" view mode. The cockpits will be completely 3d objects - All the cockpits you've seen from me so far are the actual in-game objects, with their in-game textures. The only real limitation we've got right now is that we're not allowing the player to get up and walk around. Eventually that may come to pass, but at this point it's not on the menu.

Edit: If anyone's interested, each cockpit has fewer than 10,000 polys, and take up no more than 12Megs of texture memory.

 

[ChrisReid]

Okay, added the bucket seats, and I've altered the colors from a brown-ish base to a slight purple-blue base. Somehow, when I did this it reminded me of the morningstar cockpit. I kinda like it, but I'll see what you guys think before I do anything rash.

This is the best one. Go ahead with that.

 

[Magnum]

You're in luck! That is exactly what we've planned. The Padlock view is that "locked to target" view mode.

Fantastic. This is what I had assumed/hoped for.

 

[Ijuin]

Will you still be able to use F2, F3, F4, etc. to access fixed camera views like in Wing Commander? It would be more convenient to be able to use shortcut keys to look behind you quickly in the middle of battle.

 

[Howard Day]

Yup, that's the plan. We'll also support hatswitches, of course. For those of you that still own a joystick.
Okay, I've almost completed this baby - I've added an outside light to show how it will look in-game. As always, comments are welcome, and there's still some time to change stuff if it's bad.
http://www.hedfiles.net/wcpioneer/Phalanx06.mov
Still gotta finish the chairs (visible seam) and center console.
Enjoy!

 

[Delance]

They look good, but are just too dark.

 

[Ijuin]

Perhaps if the internal cockpit lights were brighter, and there were a pair of lights on the cockpit struts that shine onto the dashboard?

 

[Quarto]

I think that Katana or Batorowka sounds more WC like.

Ack, that's an awful suggestion, 99% of the population wouldn't even know how to pronounce it .

Besides, it should be "Batorówka" (the "o" character should have a little slash above it - not sure if it'll show up ). Additionally, it's not actually a type of weapon, it's merely a term used to describe Polish sabres made during a particular period. For obvious reasons, rather than referring to sabre types as the "late 16th century version of the sabre", the Polish referred to them using the name of the ruler (in this case, King Stefan Batory) during whose reign the sabre type appeared. The difference between these sabres and earlier sabre types, however, was about as big as the difference between the Dralthi Mk. I and the Dralthi Mk. II.

 

[Sonic TH]

Hey that's cool about 3D cockpits, I've missed that for a long time myself. Some people don't like them because they can't see what's going on but just floating in space kills the feeling of flying a ship.

Something I liked about tachyon was that they had engine sounds, so you could hear the ship working as you throttled up and such but now I'm way off-topic.

(Wish I could model like that) I can barely do ships, anyway I don't know about a lot of lights, If it was a car at night I wouldn't turn on the dome light to see the dash, it'd light up itself where it was needed.

 

[Shere Khan]

looking good! and it's NOT too dark, of course. after all, we'll have to fix our attention on the surroundings and indicator lights, not on the inner surface of the cockpit.. a colder tint turns out to be OK, too. the only grudges I have left are the font on the KPS counter (gonna change, right?) and a little too bold yellow seat color. somehow it doesn't fit.



maybe making the leather "darker", as Plasteel Skull suggested, will help (hue slightly to red, saturation down a bit). maybe a more neutral color scheme (much less saturation, perhaps more pronounced contrast between surface and grooves):



oh, and a question about a thing I'd love to see in the game. will the pilot's body be partly visible when we're in the cockpit? like the knees and hand on the control stick in wcI/II? and for that matter, will it be visible when we look down while traveling on foot?

 

[overmortal]

There is such a type of sword called 'Scramasax". It's a small celtic sword, typically worn at the back and usually used in some daily chores as a really big knife. I don't think I've heard that name in WC yet. Of course, it was military confed ships that had sword names, but still . . . Scramasax.

 

[scheherazade0xf]

Hey howard, I'm not entirely up to speed, but what engine are you using?

I am writing a pretty-much-plug-in class for trackir.

http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/

I bought the device and I'm adding support for it to vega strike (not a VS plug, read on).

The object should be recyclable wherever for the most part, because it's stand alone for the most part.

Anyways, if you'd be interested in supporting the trackir device in your engine, I can pass the code to you.

It is quite fun to use, by the way. Check out some of the videos on their site.
http://media.naturalpoint.com/video/games/LockOn-BlackShark-6DOF-Demo.wmv
http://media.naturalpoint.com/video/fanfilms/Hush.avi

-scheherazade

 

[Plasteel Skull]

OMG, this cockpit is good! The lightsource livened it up a little bit more and now it almost looks like a photo. Now I know for sure, where this project is going - you guys are doing a game so good, that for EA (or whomever is owning rights to WC) it will be almost impossible to reject buying it from you. And I must say yes - I will than buy it from EA or anyone to play it.

On seats - I think the brown-grey hued seats (the right one on Khan's pictures) would be perfect.

On bladed weapons names for WC ships I have another name "Scyzoryk" - it's a name of the ancient two handed slavic sword

 

[scheherazade0xf]

more like the name for 'pocket knife'
...

~~~

-scheherazade

 

[Plasteel Skull]

more like the name for 'pocket knife'

Damn, you got me!

 

[Howard Day]

Okay - She's done. I darkened the seats, finished the displays and the reticle, and textured the center console. I don't know why it took me so long to do that last one. Unless there are any last minute changes this baby's finished.
http://www.hedfiles.net/wcpioneer/Phalanx07.mov
Enjoy!