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Cockpit view12/9/2023 Some aircraft manufacturers provide reference points which the pilot uses while making the seat adjustments. It is used to size the cockpit windows and defne the location of all the controls, displays and instruments. I have hopes for the future but it’s been a year and still no better options.The design eye position, also known as eye datum or design eye reference point (DERP) is one of the key aspects of cockpit design. (space bar in FS2020)? Surely they can do better. If you were in a real cockpit in a real aircraft, would you have to sacrifice the outside view when adjusting your autoplilot functions? Would you have to choose between seeing your whole panel or the runway If I was asking too much of the developers I would accept the workarounds but, if it worked so well in past MS flight sims, why can’t they figure out a way to do it as well (or better) in FS2020? Plus, do you really want to completely lose the outside view while just seeing a part of the cockpit, as in ccrbc’s suggestion? It just isn’t the same and it makes it difficult. Those suggestions do help, don’t get me wrong, but they don’t quite match the flexibility of the old system. But even using arrow keys and zooming, you can’t adjust the “angle” like the old Enter or Backspace keys did in past sims so you could “look over” the cockpit. We have this amazing scenery but so often we can’t enjoy it from the cockpit. I just wanted to kind of sum up what I think many users find so frustrating about this beautiful creation. I know there are many threads about hiding the panel, incorporating 2D panels, multi monitor support, etc. So, until 2D cockpits, or user friendly 3D cockpits, and a way to hide the cockpit altogether (or move it to a separate monitor), becomes a part of this sim, I find that it is only a visually stunning game, not a true successor to the lineage of past MS flight sims. The obscured scenery while in the 3d cockpit, unless you zoom way out which really makes accessing controls impossible, negates the ability to both fly AND enjoy the new scenery. The moving, bouncing cockpit is a major drawback as far as user interface. What this all leads to is a bunch of aircraft that look wonderful, scenery that in mind boggling, but a flight that is just not as satisfying or “user friendly”. Yes, I can hit a new view and see the gauges close up but now there is no scenery- I am flying blind while adjusting things. When I click on the heading selector or alt knob the cockpit bounces or moves and the cursor is no longer positioned to continue adjusting the knob. So I find the planes less enjoyable to fly. (The space bar gives you a little better view but then you can’t see your gauges- defeating the purpose). No matter how much you play with the camera views (and you have to do it for every aircraft instead of globally) you can’t get that “W” key perspective and you can’t “look over” the panels. If the panel or cowl was in the way I could change the seat angle/height or just hit “W” and see the same perspective with nothing blocking the scenery. In FS2004/FSX I could do all this from the cockpit. When I want to really look around or get a good view of a runway I’m approaching I find myself continually going to external view. Why? Because the FS2020 cockpits hide so much of it. Now we have mind blowing visuals, yet I don’t enjoy the flights as much. The ATC gave usable directions, and it was easy to dial in ILS frequencies and follow flight plans.They were fun and still a bit of a learning curve…just enough to satisfy. I had countless hours with FS2004, enjoying the airliners even if they didn’t have real world startup procedures and systems. I am one of those avid sim users who has had every version of MSFS since day one. are not really much better or more realistic than past sims. I can say that quite confidently because most other features- flight models, ATC, IFR functions, etc. MSFS2020 is an amazing sim in the visual sense, and most would agree that its visuals are its strongest feature.
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