[kaffis]

I voted for forced, because I believe in level playing fields, and camera options/capabilities are a big part of that. What we've seen so far is an attractive cockpit, and remains fairly functional. It should be noted that my feelings aren't restricted to air vehicles.

That said, I do think that cockpit occlusion is/should be a big part of how a vehicle is balanced and designed. A cleverly designed cockpit view can promote certain behaviors that then become intrinsic parts of the vehicle balance with external factors like weapons used against it, etc.

I'm on the fence about the current third person view for air vehicles. On the one hand, I'm sympathetic to the notion that they're harder to maneuver in tight landing quarters from the cockpit view, especially since they're VTOL craft meant to be used outside of generously apportioned designated landing zones. On the other hand, this conflicts with my above notes about balance points and everybody using the same tools in combat.

I think the two compromises with 3rd person that I'd feel most comfortable with are the following: 1) Pilots without weapons (Galaxies, at the moment, maybe Liberators depending on how they're equipped and designed) have access to 3rd person camera views all the time, but fighter pilots or Liberator pilots with a nose gun under their control do not. 2) Third person camera views are only available when in a limited "hover mode" meant to be used in take-off and landing, and which provide for severely limited combat potential via locking weapons or crippling maneuverability.