New Idea for Heidi Expansion Pack

[alfredo_laredo]

Hi guys! first of all, I dont have the Piper Cub, because is just to damm slow for me, but Im planning in buying it in the near future. either way ive seen lots of videos reviews and so.. to have a very good Idea of the Quality and features of the Piper.

One of the Things I love about the B-17 and P47 is the amazing long travel adventures Ive had in FSX, but after reading a few books of the Piper Cub, theres something about long distance travel in the cub that makes it amazing.

So.. about all the personalities that Heidi has "silent" "fun"... how amazing would it be to have a "Experienced Pilot" personality, someone who doesnt scream or complain, but someone who help you like the crew of the B-17.. Imagine you are flying a long distance leg almost at the maximun range of the cub, you get tired and decide to take a little brake to take out your coffe or something and haidi takes control of the Cub saying "My Plane" just keep heading, altitude very basic, like pressing Z key on the P-47.. yeaaa you can say is cheat in a way, but having a Pilot there would be more real.. maybe she coud notice engine problems, alert you of possible Ice conditions, coment on the Wind aloft, even calculate your G.S., comment on your RPM or the Fuel Remaining

All that would be very easy to do, but as A2A usually pushes things even further away imagine Heidi with the ability to spot certain terrain features.. like "I see the Coast!"... "look theres a lake" "the ocean 2 oclock"

You know.. there are unlimited posibilities of what can you do and acomplish..

With that in mind, how about a completly new adventure airplane with a Heidi as an adventure partner?
Lockheed Electra?

that would be amazing!

[tstock1453]

Being able to put Heidi in another plane was probably my first thought. Adding her as a "experienced Pilot" option would be a good idea. I've enjoyed flying the cub and listening to Heidi's many different comments. As a helper she'd go from comical passenger to valuable partner.
All of it's a blast and I tip my hat to A2A. I upgraded my computer once I saw the ad in PC pilot magazine for Heidi about the Cub and Heidi knowing my old system wouldn't handle any more add-ons. I wasn't disappointed with either.
Good idea Lerado! I hope A2A picks up the idea.

[Killratio]

A female helping with navigation in a Lockheed Electra, long distance?

Why does that seem like it will end badly??????

[pjc747]

A female helping with navigation in a Lockheed Electra, long distance?

Why does that seem like it will end badly??????

Please no Amelia Earheart option!

[Tailspin45]

A female helping with navigation in a Lockheed Electra, long distance?

Old thread, but to be clear, Amelia was not helping with the navigation. She was the PIC, and Noonan, way in the back behind the long range fuel tanks, was helping with the navigation. They passed messages back and forth clothes-pinned to a string on a pulley!

Discovery of a recent image taken in Miami shows an added window, ostensibly there so Noonan could take sextant sightings, had been replaced with a an aluminum patch or insert. Dunno if it hindered his ability to navigate, but it might help solve the mystery of what happened to them.

[Paughco]

Not sure about this one. I get lots of "right seat noise" from my Ford F-150 truck. Don't need it in my flight sim J-3!

Seeya
ATB

[n421nj]

A female helping with navigation in a Lockheed Electra, long distance?

Old thread, but to be clear, Amelia was not helping with the navigation. She was the PIC, and Noonan, way in the back behind the long range fuel tanks, was helping with the navigation. They passed messages back and forth clothes-pinned to a string on a pulley!

Discovery of a recent image taken in Miami shows an added window, ostensibly there so Noonan could take sextant sightings, had been replaced with a an aluminum patch or insert. Dunno if it hindered his ability to navigate, but it might help solve the mystery of what happened to them.

Zoom is the sound the joke made flying right over your head. ^^^^^

[Paughco]

I have seen rumors, posted on this very site, that A2A might come out with a T-33. Or maybe a T-6 Texan. That's very nice. I hope that they offer a Heidi option in those aircraft!

Seeya
ATB

[Bruce Hamilton]

Heidi has gone from passenger to flight attendant to pilot, and personally, I like her better when she's quiet. I don't mind the occasional "It's warm in here" or "Plane, 2 o'clock", but I draw the line at her comments on my piloting skills. I got you down safely, now shut your pie hole.

[EightyFiftyFive]

LOL @ Bruce! how bout a roll of duct tape?

[Illi73]

I got the Piper Cub too (recently) and Heidi is a great feature of that plane (if you can even call her a feature of a plane... maybe I should call it feature of the sim-pack). It's fun, especially on a 'relaxing sightseeing/touring trip'.

Personally I don't need her on every plane I have, but what I much rather see is that there would come an option to switch on rendering passengers in your plane, if you take any with you. I almost always fly with a passenger in the Cherokee and C182, but when I look around me (in the virtual cockpit) I see only the empty chairs. I have to look from outside the plane to see the passenger(s) and pilot. Pilot hiding, makes sense, of course, because you don't want to 'have their head block your view if you move a bit around'. But it would be nice to have the passengers rendered, in my opinion.

[aonyn]

I too have to agree, it would be nice to have interior passengers in the other planes. Interactive Heidi is great in the cub, and would be nice all around, perhaps even with the option of active copilot. That said, I do understand that the A2A guys have to balance features with performance, and that they will not release and unoptimized system hog... so I trust their decision, but still while it is mentioned, yeah it would be nice. Afterall, she certainly adds to the immersion, which is part of what accusim is all about.

Regards,
Dave

[Alan_A]

Trouble is, it's hard to create a passenger figure that 1) looks realistic and 2) doesn't drag your system performance to its knees. Re: the first issue, Heidi in the Cub is sort of a special case, because she's seated in front of you and you mainly see the back of her head. If she was seated alongside you, her face as is wouldn't look all that natural, not close-up. And the texturing and animation work required to get her to look natural would involve a lot of computing power. I've yet to see a passenger figure other than Heidi that looks remotely human (the worst are the ones in some of the X-Plane helos that look like they're inflatable). Then there's the matter of animation - those zombies tromping around the Orbx airports are kind of upsetting, at least to me. So, speaking personally, I'd rather use my imagination when it comes to friends in the cabin, because the alternative seems to involve a trip to the bottom of the uncanny valley. My $.02...

PS - for more about the uncanny valley, have a look here. And here.

[Illi73]

Yes, I see the points, Alan_A.

Of course I wouldn't be staring at my passenger all the time (I mean, that is not why I'm flying a flightsim in the first place). I wouldn't expect them to react to my flying (like Heidi does, which is fine to be a neat 'Piper Cub Only' feature) and I don't even necessarily need them to animate, because as I said, I'm not observing them. But it's nice when I'm flying them, that they "are there". As long as they'd be 3D, it would suffice. And if the polygon count is similar to Heidi, I'd be more than happy already.

But yes. It's something that should be optional either way, so people with lower end PCs (or who feel the system drag) can switch them off.

[Warbirds]

I also would love to have passengers or copilot in my A2A planes. Wouldn't it be great to see the right seat filled.

I think the sim B-17 II had the copilot and the whole crew working and animated and it ran just fine. You could even put your own artwork on their flight jackets and name them after famous crews.