I have been playing FreeSpace for the better part of the last decade, and now I have an urge to build a full simulation cockpit to play the game in. But rather than just dive in, I thought I'd get a feel of what the community thinks of something like this.
My current idea uses the controls from the Control Config screen in Options, broadly divided into the following categories. Each category is planned to be implemented as a separate module, with pushbutton switches, LCD panels, etc.
- Targeting
- Communications
- Shielding
- Energy Management
- Weapons
- Wing Status
- Escort List
- Objectives List
- Target Window
- Player Status
- Radar
- Ship Movement
I was thinking of a slight change in the way the ship is controlled, that is, moving the joystick left/right will cause the ship to bank instead of turn (like regular flight simulators). Turning the ship left/right is controlled by the pedals. I'm also considering an automatic throttle control, where the throttle lever is controlled by a motor when Match Speed is enabled and a ship is targeted. I've attached a sample cockpit design (not to scale
).
Now, I don't deny that this is an ambitious project. My questions to the community are:
- Is there any way to modify FSO so that parameters could be sent out over a network to another device? For example, the speed of the targeted ship so that the autothrottle module can adjust the throttle lever to the correct level.
- Do you think there is anything that could be added/removed/changed whatever to the sample cockpit design
Thanks in advance.
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