Quote:
Originally Posted by AdMan
do you have a force feedback flightstick? Even in IL-2 with my saitek I always know when and where I have taken damage and if you're not flying cockpit-only view a quick external check will show damage to tail sections. Damage to a wing will cause the stick to pull to one side and with the saitek evoforce FF turned up past 70% it will jump right off the desktop if you don't have a handle on it.
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no i havnt used a force feedback stick in il2, but i think that aside from maybe feeling some thumps or jolts when you get hit by larger caliber shells or flack, it wouldnt solve most of the problem i mentioned
being able to only externally view your aircraft for physical damage to the exterior of the plane doesnt solve it fully either, because some important damage might not be externally visible (ex control cables damaged, torn, type of engine damage to electrical controls or coolant/fuel hoses, landing gear damaged while it is retracted, etc to name a few). additionally, external views are often used as a cheat during dogfighting or as a cheat to improve SA during flight. it is also not very realistic to be able in mid air step out of your aircraft and make a visual inspection tour to look for damage (note: if there is a time limit of how often and how long you can on external view inspect your aircrat, then this might still be usefull to also include since many of us enjoy inspecting the detailed damage model in closeup and see exactly what has happened to our aircraft after a close encounter).
whatever solution oleg finds to this, the main aim is to somehow use "visual aids" in a game to obtain or provide the same type of information the pilot would get in real life when flying an aircraft. by sitting in our livingroom behind a monitor we are missing a lot of clue's a real pilot would get. personally i am in favour of a keyboard key that would bring up a schematic of our aircraft, with a colour coded damage status. with for ex black marks where some damage was taken, with yellow marking important damage, and red marking critical damage (coolant or fuel loss for ex, structural damage that can soon lead to complete complete structural failure etc..). as initial damage leads to further deterioration, the colour coding might change over time while we are still flying, engine overheating and seizing etc). there might be other ways to do it, for ex bringing up a notepad with a "damage report" etc..
this information is already available inside the game since the damage model keeps a record of what is affected, it is a matter of finding a good simple way to represent the important parts so at a quick glance you can get an overview of your aircraft status. it is not intended as some unrealistic highly detailed engineering report, but as a usefull visual replacement to provide the player with some usefull information, a large part of which is normally more available by physically being in a moving aircraft where you can feel the resistance of aircraft controls and behaviour
those that dont like a feature like that could simply switch it off in the options and not use it
note: the same "damage report" status info could stay with the aircraft after it has landed, and while the same aircraft stays parked at an airfield over hrs or days, the damage could gradually be repaired and be shown to gradually return to normal. when you are at that airfield and choose a plane from the available list of aircraft, each aircraft could be marked with a summary of its status, eg "100% functional", "structurally sound, refueled, but not re-armed", "damaged left landing gear, but armed and fueled" etc..
note 2: you can take the same concept one step further, for ex returning from a mission with a damaged aircraft, you could land it at the nearest airfield. then select one of the other available aircraft at that airfield, and fly back to your home base (while CO of local airfield yells over the radio, "hey darn fool that is my aircraft, come back immediately !!"). once returned at your home airfield with whatever mode of transport you used along the way, you get roster'ed back on for whatever next flight is due. eventually, once repaired and refueled, your own aicraft would be shuttled back to your own base and become available again