If only CIG would change the Freelancers cockpit view...

NaffNaffBobFace

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I thought it was supposed to be a fighting freighter. And the Cutlass. And the Connie a Space Superiority thingmabob.

The freelancer has a MASSIVE issue in that if they make the cockpit all glass it'd look like a bell-end and the whole ship a giant schlong.

It's a pretty big problem for the Freelancer range.

EDIT:

Here is an artists impression of the problem, as you can see the Freelancer with the glass cockpit is at Mauve Alert which just makes the problem even worse.

Freelancerd.jpg


The guy is screaming because they are at Mauve Alert, not because the ship looks like a Johnson. it's pretty scary when Mauve Alert happens.
 
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Shadow Reaper

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It's a game balance issue. If they made a light freighter that was as good a fighter as a fighter, no one would buy fighters. The Lancer has huge shields and reduced EM and IR signatures, with some fair weapons, and can carry second tier sensors, etc. If it didn't have a shitty view, who would buy the Cutty? Who would buy a Hornet? CIG goes to great lengths so that no one can easily decide "this is the one ship I want". That's the last thing they want people to feel, is they can stop buying ships.

Also, it should never happen that a freighter pilot feels safe against a fighter pilot. The guns on freighters are just there to make you think you would have a chance in situations that are actually quite hopeless. If you're flying anything alone and pirates come callin', odds are you are forkin' over the goods or you are a dead man. Freighters don't actually have much need of weapons at all, unless they have escorts and would stand a chance in a raid.
 

Dorian Grey

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I thought it was supposed to be a fighting freighter. And the Cutlass. And the Connie a Space Superiority thingmabob.

The freelancer has a MASSIVE issue in that if they make the cockpit all glass it'd look like a bell-end and the whole ship a giant schlong.

It's a pretty big problem for the Freelancer range.

EDIT:

Here is an artists impression of the problem, as you can see the Freelancer with the glass cockpit is at Mauve Alert which just makes the problem even worse.

View attachment 8536

The guy is screaming because they are at Mauve Alert, not because the ship looks like a Johnson. it's pretty scary when Mauve Alert happens.
Lmao
 

Dorian Grey

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I had a cutty, it has more struts obstructing the view than a hornet! ;) Joking aside, I like my Freelancer. First ship I bought (and I agree, the original's interior and view was worse). It's just that that's dash seems like of of this massive tables where people seat at opposite ends to eat!! Lol
 

Shadow Reaper

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I want to use the ship mainly for exploration. But damn man. If I can't see out the damned windows I might rethink it.
If the view is what you're after, look no further than the Reliant Sen. That is a clever little explorer and should be a real kick to fly, except in combat. However, it is good to note that it rotates much faster on some axes than on others, so there are ways to fly it and be dangerous. Someone experienced in a Reliant should have a much better chance against raiders than a Lancer pilot, and there are far fewer who would bother a Sen since she can't carry much.
 

Sraika

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I have to say, I quite like the aesthetics of the freelancer cockpit. Obviously, gameplay wise, it's terrible, but it certainly looks cool. Plus, according to lore, it's not actually supposed to be a fighting ship, it's a "long haul merchant ship". The other variants are just repurposed. Merchant ships don't need good views.
 

Talonsbane

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Given that a lot of things pertaining to ships is all about finding a balance, I feel that there are ways to improve the view from the cockpit of the freelancer variants. In particular, I feel that they should add view windows below the feet forward to the center horizontal cross beam if for no other reason than to assist in safely landing the ship for the protection of the cargo. I feel that they can cause the turrets to only fire forward unless you have somebody in the weapons stations. In the Dur, you can limit how well you can scan, explore & record without somebody in the terminal for that. Which would leave 1 seat extra for engineering or miscellaneous functions. The only way that you can have the ship be fully functional is to have a full crew, but even then that isn't a match for 4 fighters attacking it. The Dur has already sacrificed a large portion of its maximum cargo capacity in order to install the larger fuel supply, more efficient engines & scanning capabilities.
 

Stevetank

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It's a game balance issue. If they made a light freighter that was as good a fighter as a fighter, no one would buy fighters. The Lancer has huge shields and reduced EM and IR signatures, with some fair weapons, and can carry second tier sensors, etc. If it didn't have a shitty view, who would buy the Cutty? Who would buy a Hornet? CIG goes to great lengths so that no one can easily decide "this is the one ship I want". That's the last thing they want people to feel, is they can stop buying ships.

Also, it should never happen that a freighter pilot feels safe against a fighter pilot. The guns on freighters are just there to make you think you would have a chance in situations that are actually quite hopeless. If you're flying anything alone and pirates come callin', odds are you are forkin' over the goods or you are a dead man. Freighters don't actually have much need of weapons at all, unless they have escorts and would stand a chance in a raid.
I've been staring at the new armor stats and the Freelancer does not have any reduced EM or IR stats from armor.

Spoiler: http://starcitizendb.com/components/armor

Line 22 shows the Freelancer with less armor than the 325a, Avenger series, Sabre, and Glaive. Though this is just the initial armor setup and this will change. One thing I also saw is the Cutlass Black near the top with better armor than the Super Hornet, but still less armor than the Vanguard, Gemini, and Retaliator (which is now a total tank). Energy weapons only deal 30% damage to a Cutlass hull, LOL. It's the same as a Vanguard, actually.

I think that CIG won't really change the view for several reasons.
1) The Freelancer was designed with that exterior in mind. It's now just an artistic piece of the Freelancer.
2) The Freelancer doesn't really need to see since the turrets can be automated. The extra computer on the Freelancer will give it a lot of options. It's the same 2x M computers that the Hammerhead has and the Hammerhead can automate 4 turrets with the 4 extra blade slots. The Freelancer only has 3 turrets to worry about, so it should be fine with auto turrets. You can even have other people control the turrets with the 2 extra stations or pass control off to your co-pilot who can then be your gunner. The Freelancer has so many good options with those turrets.

The guns on the Freelancer won't save it from a couple of good players in fighters but it will save them from your average NPC pirate gang. The chances of running into NPCs are going to be much higher than running into a player.
 

marcsand2

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The Freelancer is not a ship for close combat, that is a fight which it will lose, It just can't turn fast enough. Instead it is good at shooting from long distance.
If you don't like the cockpit view, just zoom in. It has a perfect side view, If something is up or below, just roll 90 degrees
Zoomed out:
upload_2017-12-16_23-13-33.png

Zoomed in 50%. It actually stops at 50% if you keep pressing zoom, I would call this combat zoom:
upload_2017-12-16_23-14-43.png

Zoomed in 100% This would be sniping zoom:
upload_2017-12-16_23-15-3.png
 

Talonsbane

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The Freelancer is not a ship for close combat, that is a fight which it will lose, It just can't turn fast enough. Instead it is good at shooting from long distance.
If you don't like the cockpit view, just zoom in. It has a perfect side view, If something is up or below, just roll 90 degrees
Zoomed out:
View attachment 8537
Zoomed in 50%. It actually stops at 50% if you keep pressing zoom, I would call this combat zoom:
View attachment 8538
Zoomed in 100% This would be sniping zoom:
View attachment 8539
Good point, I didn't think about zoom, but I would still like lower windows just for the added ability to help it land safely. Which I feel is a fair point. If not lower windows, perhaps some sort of display to help the pilot aim where the freelancer is landing.
 

supitza

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I'd rather they made the Freelancer bad at something else that was less obviously ridiculous.
The ship is too good for what it's supposed to be so... make a random crew member get diarrhea every 30 minutes, to offset the pros of the ship, because we have no better idea how to balance it.
MISC can do glass canopies; they just don't want the Freelancer to be the best it can be, so they don't steal Drake's market share. Fair competition.
 

marcsand2

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If not lower windows, perhaps some sort of display to help the pilot aim where the freelancer is landing.
Did you ever tried to land a Starfarer at Levski? My 2nd Starfarer landing was at Levski and I pulled it of without bumping into the walls. OK, at approach I overshoot 15 kilometers, I had to request landing permission 3 times, the first bump my nose was too low, so my rear skids weren't on the pad, but still I didn't hit any walls.
The trick is to take your time (3 landing requests), use very slow strafe and most important: use the outside camera view, rotate your view to check every side.

[EDIT] Before that 2nd Starfarer landing I never used outside view to land
 
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