External Views

[TX-Kingsnake]

Once you get used to flying with superman it can be a hard thing to let go of. Taking this away is like stealing candy from a baby. It makes for a panic when you are engaged. It also adds an unsurpassed element of realism including sneak attacks and exploiting blindspots.

[LW_Tornado]

If you guys take the externals away, I WILL continue to whine, sorry , but ya can't have your cake and eat it too!!!Many times I find myself in a room with no wingman , and the F3 is the best way to check my 6, call me what you want and I'll still dogfight any of my TX brothers in "full real" and do well, so its not an issue of whether i can or cant fly "FR" , I've said it a hundred times, and this is just my lowly opinion, but you lock it all down and it becomes "un-fun" to me, S~ and addios muchachos.B~T-Dawg

[TX-Kingsnake]

Without a wingman you are at even odds with the majority of the other players on the servers. This does not limit you from using external views with the AI bombers. The maps will ALL include AI planes once the maps have been tested. I want to include the AI as soon as possible, but I have to add one thing at a time so I can isolate the variables. When you fly alone you will soon be able to use an AI aircraft (by next weekend if Rah can upload my maps at that time). This also adds another objective, the use of AI planes such as the FW189 for recon. Recon is a factor in the proverbial fog of war. Escorting an AI bomber with locked cockpit will actually make sense if the AI bomber has external views. I think the locked cockpit for planes with cockpits and AI planes with external views evens the odds for the AI planes. The AI planes do not have gunsights or instrumentation, having external views in a locked cockpit game gives AI planes an even tradeoff. I understand that some of you have claustrophobia. It is very difficult to fly without externals. Will you give it a try for a month?TX-KingsnakeWhite >+Commanding Officer

[TX-Bomblast]

If we fly with externals off, we won't be able to fly the AI planes.I like the externals views on, only to compensate for the FLAT monitor we all have to stare into. Those of us that have flown airplanes in the real world know you can't have a 100% reaward view, some planes have more than others. Also, you don't fly staring into the instrument panel either, you are looking outside more than you are inside, only GLANCING at your instruments every once in a while. So where do you/we draw the line? It's hard to say, the German planes have a more restricted view when compared to the Russkie junk, it's Oleg that has screwed us....but I guess I just rambling now. I vote for Superman view, and external views on, whenever we play on the public server, when and if we fly a Historical Co-op then I want it as realistic as possible. No map view, NO PADLOCK, NOTHING....just us against the enemy using our superior skills as TX-pilots.....TX-BomblastRed2

[TX-Rahman]

This was also posted in the wrong forum....should have been TX only.I like externals on...,.Love flying AI bombers etc....  I can deal with a locked cockpit...leave externals on.Regards,TX-Rahman"BLUE 2"

[Seeker]

Maybe I don't understand, but how can you have external views off for flyables and on for AI? Can you still fly in F2 mode in the AI with it off?edit: err...nevermind.TX-SeekerBlack 4

[TX-Kingsnake]

1) External views are available even in locked cockpit for AI planes. Use F2. 2) This forum is intended for public and squadron vote.3) Greater Green is another animal, there is no comparison. TX-KingsnakeWhite >+Commanding Officer

[TX-Sputnik]

Well since I guess this is open discussion ill say I support the externals on category. Kingsnake you are right about many things such as surprise kills but you know what, those pretty much happen way too much more than I like with FR. It seems like its the only way you die and dogfights are less intense, quicker, and very repetative.Thats not the reason to hate such things however, but the reason externals for me IS better is well skins I love them! and i like pressing shift+f2 to see what other people are flying with!somtimes i get tired of flying, so i will spawn and watch other pilots teammates or enemies fight it out, somtimes it can be entertaining enough by itself. Dont forget battle damage! I like seeing what kind of damage my plane has, how many holes are in the wing etc whats making my plane act so funky, Its always some weird combination of damage it doesnt get old to me. Youd have no idea what was going on if you were flying FR and take a couple hits and youd like to see the extent of your damage.Sure people use external views to lockon to enemy planes but its better than using my number keys to painstakenly look around inside my cockpit and rotating my plane flying in random directions looking for an enemy fighter, or even just a friendly plane.Oh ! and dont forget takeoffs and landings this is especially important i beleive on a server with lots of people like OC3, because as planes spawn you cant see directly infront of you unless you have tri landing gear, and its very useful to me to manuever onto the runway and around friendly planes. There is plenty more "friendly"accidents on the runway in cockpit only mode, imagine 16 people on a single airstrip all colliding then respawning then blowing up with all this junk it would be frusterating as hell.Its just more fun, flying FR makes me claustraphobic in some aspects. I can do it, but its very restricting and tiring.

[TX-Kingsnake]

In the discussion of server settings the debate went like this... We are tired of chasing Yaks in black out circles in external views with wonderwoman view. All the attention to flight modeling and detail in the cockpits are ignored. You might as well fly CFS3 because you aren't experiencing anything this game has to offer in terms of realism.  The rebuttal to this was, if we make the settings difficult, we will have an empty server. So... we take a squadron and public vote to find out. That is why this thread is not in the private members area. We want to know, in true democratic fashion, what our public wants from us. There has been a lot of comparison making in this and other threads to the Greater Green. We like the GR. We have flown with them and believe they make a contribution to the betterment of the game. I applaud the fact that they strive for realism. Unfortunately, their server settings are inadvertently biased for those that have hardware that didn't come with the game CD. The people flying that server with track IR and great graphics cards are the ones cleaning house. It is our policy at TX to provide a reasonable level or realism without a bias towards external hardware devices.   TX-KingsnakeWhite >+Commanding Officer

[LW_Tornado]

Wow, 7-7 in tally, purty good post's !!S~T-Dawg

[CygnusXI]

The reason I like external is to get screen shots. I never fly "in action" with externals. The screen shots also prove to the Mrs. that I'm not looking at porn all night. LOL , jkAlso externals are good for spotting the proper ground targetsIMHOYours, CYXI

[BS87]

I vote Externals on. I Like to take a break every few minutes, and watch people fly. Its very enjoying, and sometimes you can LEARN stuff. But i NEVER fly with it, i mean, its insane to me. How can you gun or manuver like that?

[TX-Copper]

Well...im rather new to you guys, so my input really probably counts for squat, but i'll humour myself, and post anyways.I'm not at that level yet where I can fly full real and have even a chance in hell of coming up on top against most of you, and even with externals on, i'm still at a disadvantage.  Externals are fun, geting to watch your bomber etc fly past on those long flights to the target, and I really only use the lovely f3 key anyways when in a df.  I do realize that full real only improves your game, but until I get all the goddies most of you have to aid my efforts, i'm stuck needing externals.It's your server, and i'll do what it takes to continue flying in it, and if that means no externals, well....i'll just have to stare a little more intensly at my screen and squeeze that stick a little harder when trying to out jinx you all (like that will happen)Well.....my 2 canadian cents (thats about .5 cents U.S btw)

[TX-Kingsnake]

We seem to have a big problem here. I was wrong about the externals option for AI planes. Your point of view is stuck at your spawn spot if you fly an AI plane when externals are off. Keep in mind that if externals are off, AI planes are off as well. It wasn't always like this. FB has this 'flaw' if you will. The vote to have no externals means no AI planes. That is not cool for a lot of AI bomber pilots.TX-KingsnakeWhite >+Commanding Officer

[BS87]

Well, since externals are off, looks like no more BF110's or Fw189's for me =(