Helicopter Crew Chief Camera (Idea only)

[phaeden 0]

Greetings,

I had an idea to create/have someone create an addon which would allow a helo pilot to turn on a "crew chief camera" system when slower than 10 knots. This camera would add 2 to 4 camera boxes on the top or bottom of the screen which would display the images below and slightly to the sides of the helo. In this way, the pilot would have a better idea of what was directly below the aircraft so that the pilot could make safer, quicker landings knowing that the area was free of obstacles.

Any takers?

[slatts 1978]

maybe a type of weapon that scopes like a camera

[Guest RKSL-Rock]

Greetings,

I had an idea to create/have someone create an addon which would allow a helo pilot to turn on a "crew chief camera" system when slower than 10 knots. This camera would add 2 to 4 camera boxes on the top or bottom of the screen which would display the images below and slightly to the sides of the helo. In this way, the pilot would have a better idea of what was directly below the aircraft so that the pilot could make safer, quicker landings knowing that the area was free of obstacles.

Any takers?

Thats picture in picture sort of stuff.... so unless render to texture appear in Operation Arrowhead its not possible. I've more than a few uses for that sort of feature myself... Here's hoping it does make it into the engine :)

[GoOB 0]

Does it need to be picture in picture though? I quite like this idea, especially for multiplayer where the pilot might need to quickly get an idea of what his human and or AI gunner can see (allowing more accurate positioning of the aircraft for effective fire from the gun) - There just needs to be an action menu option to "engage crew chief camera" or "engage landing camera" which switches the view to a camera above/below one of the doorguns. The disadvantage is ofcourse that the pilot loses forward view, but I think this could be useful even without picture in picture. All in all, a system somewhat similar to the Mando Missile suite, just eh... Without the missiles.

Edited November 17, 2009 by GoOB

[dm 9]

Does it need to be picture in picture though?

How else are you going to show more than one camera at a time?

Switching the whole view to somewhere else is good, but you'll lose a TON of situational awareness.

I love the idea of having 3 or 4 pc's with cameras attachto'd the helicopter in strategic spots, but I'm not that rich :D

[andersson 285]

Maybe The Blink is onto something? Is it possible to make a dummy weapon called "crew chief camera" and have the optics where the camera should be? Then it would only be a quick click into and out of the optics for the pilot.

[GoOB 0]

How else are you going to show more than one camera at a time?

I didn't say anything about that, really, my whole point was that it could be done without picture in picture - With an obvious tradeoff of lessened situational awareness (as I wrote in my previous post), but during the right circumstances, and if the camera switch is quick enough, getting another viewpoint would be very useful nonetheless.

[raptor 6 actual 13]

Didn't the Stryker in ArmA 1 have that kind of idea? I mean, when you got in as driver, didn't it show you a representation of the IR monitor that the drivers use in RL?

Maybe you could build off of that idea, just aiming the camera to different sections. But, obviously, if I'm even remembering correctly, it was only one shot, and you all are talking about 2-4 camera angles.

Nevermind, I just went back to A1, and see now that it is only a .paa file with a small alpha channel window allowing the driver to see directly infront of him/her that they'd normally see. Not a "different" angle as I hoped.

Good luck on finding a solution.

Edited November 18, 2009 by Raptor 6 Actual

[rocket 9]

What about having an AI voice giving directions when enabled, rather than a camera view.

[phaeden 0]

What if it was something like the GPS tool? Instead of Ctrl-M, the player hit Ctrl-C (or something) that would engage a window like the GPS that would be zoomed in to a high degree so that the player could see the immediate around below and around the helo. It would be enough to see vegetation.

Perhaps, a simple "warning light" or directional warning light that would come on somewhere on the pilot's screen that could indicate the presence of an obstacle.

I know that good pilots can scan area on approach but I have played many times on MP where the pilots, although doing there best, hit objects in the LZ.