Poll: Do You Use Cockpits?

When the Wing Commander series began, one of the most familiar visuals were the ships cockpits. You weren’t flying behind some third person shooter… you were right there, in the action, living in the game world. The ‘hand on the joystick’ that moved as you played the game became an oft-quoted example of the series’ dedication to interactivity.

As the series went on, though, cockpits earned their detractors: they covered much of the screen space, letting you see less of the action. They took up a lot of memory to load and they required a truly exception artist to get just right. Starting with Wing Commander Armada in 1994, cockpits became optional. When Wing Commander IV shipped in 1996 it included no cockpit art whatsoever. As went Wing Commander, so went the clones: games like Descent: FreeSpace and Tachyon: Beyond the Fringe quickly followed suit and went with ‘invisible cockpits.’

So: what do you think? Would you like to see a return to the cockpits of yesterday… or do you still turn them off when you go to play the classics? Sound off using the poll below:

Als die Wing Commander Serie begann, war eines der bekanntesten visuellen Elemente die Schiffscockpits. Du bist nicht hinter einem Third-Person-Shooter geflogen.... du warst genau dort, in der Action, in der Spielwelt lebend. Die "Hand auf dem Joystick", die sich während des Spiels bewegte, wurde zu einem viel zitierten Beispiel für das Engagement der Serie für Interaktivität.

Im Laufe der Serie verdienten Cockpits jedoch ihre Kritiker: Sie bedeckten einen Großteil des Bildschirmbereichs und ließen Sie weniger von der Action sehen. Sie nahmen viel Speicherplatz in Anspruch und brauchten einen echten Ausnahmekünstler, um genau das Richtige zu tun. Beginnend mit Wing Commander Armada im Jahr 1994 wurden Cockpits optional. Als Wing Commander IV 1996 ausgeliefert wurde, enthielt es keinerlei Cockpitkunst. Wie der Wing Commander, so auch die Klone: Spiele wie Abstieg: FreeSpace und Tachyon: Beyond the Fringe folgte schnell dem Beispiel und entschied sich für "unsichtbare Cockpits".

Also: Was denkst du? Möchten Sie eine Rückkehr zu den Cockpits von gestern sehen.... oder schalten Sie sie immer noch aus, wenn Sie die Klassiker spielen wollen? Hören Sie mit Hilfe der folgenden Umfrage einen Sound ab:

When the Wing Commander series began, one of the most familiar visuals were the ships cockpits. You weren’t flying behind some third person shooter… you were right there, in the action, living in the game world. The ‘hand on the joystick’ that moved as you played the game became an oft-quoted example of the series’ dedication to interactivity.

As the series went on, though, cockpits earned their detractors: they covered much of the screen space, letting you see less of the action. They took up a lot of memory to load and they required a truly exception artist to get just right. Starting with Wing Commander Armada in 1994, cockpits became optional. When Wing Commander IV shipped in 1996 it included no cockpit art whatsoever. As went Wing Commander, so went the clones: games like Descent: FreeSpace and Tachyon: Beyond the Fringe quickly followed suit and went with ‘invisible cockpits.’

So: what do you think? Would you like to see a return to the cockpits of yesterday… or do you still turn them off when you go to play the classics? Sound off using the poll below: