Vote your choice - Clickable Cockpits or Not

[MikkOwl]

It is not possible to click things when in a dogfight for sure. But energy tactics or running away, or chasing someone, then it should be possible. But what would we need to click anyway at that moment? The most important stuff is on our controllers anyway.

EDIT EDIT EDIT:

Clearly this is something meant for start, take-off, normal flight (climbing, cruising), landing and re-arm etc. Could be fun. The most important factor affect this is - how many aircraft controls are there? In IL-2, tons of binds (most of them) are not aircraft controls, but view, AI and option controls. SoW will have more aircraft stuff, as we already know. Question is, how much? If a lot, then clickable cockpit is very useful. If just a bit more, then not very useful.

[robtek]

As stated in the last interview one must i.e. have a switch for windows de-icing, that is a important but seldom used switch, switching on and dimming the gun-sight is the same.
There one sees the dephts of the programming and can imagine how many important
but in a combat situation non-essential switches and levers there will be.
All the people which are talking of SoW:BoB as a combat simulation should be
aware that the combat is only a small part, just the climax, of this SIMULATION.

[Lucas_From_Hell]

For those who aren't getting how it works in a combat simulator, please check these videos to see what we're talking about before bashing.

They're from the most advanced combat simulator released to date (only till October ), and almost all the players use clickable cockpits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_1rXqKJ6fg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awtCKKADT5s

I understand it's a matter of taste, but most (actually, all) of those against clickable cockpits in combat sims never ever tried it. I'd recommend actually trying before saying it's useless or anything .

Those interested check other videos in the same channel, most show how do clickable cockpits fit perfectly into a high fidelity combat simulator

[blades96]

I'm pro clickable cockpits cause if SOW is going to have a full realism option then there simply will not be enough keys to cover all the controls required just to do a startup.

[ECV56_Lancelot]

Originally Posted by blades96

I'm pro clickable cockpits cause if SOW is going to have a full realism option then there simply will not be enough keys to cover all the controls required just to do a startup.

DCS - Black Shark have´s a hell lot more switches and knobs that a ww2 aircraft, and every one of them have a key combination.
And still, with a HOTAS, you don´t need to use the mouse to click anything during combat, at least that you make a lousy programming of your hotas, and don´t remember a key combination of a button/switch that you need to use.

[zakkandrachoff]

for a WW2 fighter is not necessary a clickeable command of cockpit , we are in action all the time, this is not like black Shark. Maybe cockpit clickeable in a B-17, He-111 or for the Radar in the ME-110 G. but not for Me-109, Hurricane or Spit.

[Antoninus]

Yea, the spitfires will attack you in your Bf-109 right after take off in France and you will be engaged in dogfights all the way to London and back.

[Lucas_From_Hell]

Lancelot, they all have commands, true. But you have the option between 200 key assignments and 2 (left click/right click). I chose the easiest one

Please let me remind you that not everyone has a fancy HOTAS.

Zakkandrachoff (now that took a while to spell), there will be DCS: A-10C soon, so you'll probably change your mind. In CAS, you have some intense action, specially when under fire. Usually, the dirty world of ground attack is way more dangerous than the ballet of dogfighting. When you're down low and alone in an attack helicopter hovering with MANPADs & SHORADs, trust me, you have way more action than at angels 20 with your squadron.

And in knife fights, you (usually) don't need to move much more than stick, trigger and maybe flaps, all these (usually) assigned to stick and keyboard.

'Switchology' isn't about action, but caring for little things. It's the same as appreciating every single line and rivet of a plane. The beauty is in detail, my friend

Anyway, it will be optional, so no reason for fighting over it when you can just disable it

[Blackdog_kt]

Originally Posted by P-38L

Face it this way:

We have been using IL-2 Sturmovik for a long time, it is the perfect flight simulator.

Have we ever need the mouse to click something from the cockpit? the answer is NO!

Do we need the mouse to control the airplane? the answer again is NO!

Do you (people) want to ruin the most beautiful of the cockpits, using a mouse? again the answer is NO! (Just watch the video from the spitfire's cockpit)

Program your JoyStick or create a console to represent the switches and controls.

Be creative!

I'm sorry, but IL2 had maybe half the amount of controls and operating limits to manage than SoW will probably have. At some point you'll run out of shortcuts or be unable to remember them. Even if you don't, someone else will, so why not give these guys a different option?
Telling people to be "be creative" is like telling them to "go buy a $300 HOTAS set", or like me telling them "no, you go buy a TrackIR and click things".
On the other hand if both methods work, some can have their fun mapping a bunch of switches to their HOTAS and some can have their fun by not mapping them, but we'll all still have the same amount of control over the aircraft

The thing is, if you don't like it don't use it. The only case were something is ruined is by not including this, because everyone who can't afford a HOTAS would be unable to fly full real. It's like making a sim where everyone has to have the same peripherals to fly effectively and that's definitely not fun. Some people have TrackIR, some have HOTAS, some have both and some have none and only use a hat switch or a mouse. Should the interface be so restrictive that they can't use it unless they have a specific piece of hardware? I think not.

Originally Posted by blades96

I'm pro clickable cockpits cause if SOW is going to have a full realism option then there simply will not be enough keys to cover all the controls required just to do a startup.

That's the bottom line really. If anyone wonders about the amount of different controls, i've got the following links for you.

FW-190 manuals: http://www.classics-hangar.de/downloads_en.htm

P-47D Razorback manual: http://www.a2asimulations.com/wingso...27s_Manual.pdf

It's not an Airbus, but there's maybe 40 or so different switches in the P-47 cockpit. I don't want to have to map and remember each and every one especially since i can look at it with my TrackIR and, thanks to the high resolution cockpits, read what's what before activating it.

For me the dilemma always was: More in-depth modelling of the airframe even if that means a bit of a clunky interface at times? Or should we not model half of the airframe because we don't want to change our habbits?

I choose the first option.

[AKA_Tenn]

yea 90% of the switches are for start-up and switching between combat/cruise mode... in a fight u should already have all the switches set so all u gotta worry about is throttle/pitch and maybe supercharger settings... if ur switching radiator or electrical systems in the middle of a fight then there's something wrong with you... not the game.... in a more realistic situation you can't micro-manage all the systems of your plane to keep it running maximum performance... like i said this is a simulator not an arcade game... so what u'd do is learn how to make it run as best as u can without needing to constantly adjust controls and... even tho u won't be getting the best performance possible out of it... at least ur paying less attention to ur plane than the fight...

and with this game... u'll probly need to constantly adjust things that were pretty much automatic in il2... such as prop pitch... i suspect we'll see a lot of spits with dead engines when the game first comes out, as they didn't have automatic prop pitch