Agree with Jeff about the editor controls. It is very difficult to position and zoom to see the details at times.
More than once, I've just about got the view I wanted and the mouse pointer then lands on another part and the scene shifts..
Or, because of the pivot location, the view can't be moved just quite far enough..
Also, the model in the editor has a rather washed out look. Some controls to change the colors or contrast would allow users to better view the model in the editor, and may allow them to also compensate for monitor graphics quality/age,
Maybe even multiple view ports (or assignment to multiple monitors for those who have them)?
And yes, it would be useful at times to zoom much closer. The same applies to a locked model using pan and zoom in the sim itself. There are ways around it (learned that by having to add a camera to check push rod motion) , but just having a closer zoom would be easier.
Linear motion:
The linear motion of servo arms, push rods, and canopies are presently approximated with a large radius. While not impossible, setting up is rather labor intensive and "trial and error". True linear action would hopefully make those tasks both easier and better, including perhaps, movements through more than one axis. If LM is not in the works, then how about graphical marker(s) showing each radius arm(s) used of a moveable pod?
Sounds:
Great work is being done on custom engines sounds, and it would be nice to see that idea expanded. For example, the "drum" sound on landing. It is apparently system specific as some hear it and others don't. The ability to edit or add your own landing and roll out sounds (such as taken from a real world in flight recorder) would be good.
The HD version of one graphics AP has music in the background. I do not know if that music is a separate file users can change. If not, being able to change it would allow more realistic flying field sounds like people talking, pilots trying to get a stubborn glow/gas engine started (sorry guys, couldn't let that one get by
), or other planes flying nearby.
Perhaps another place for sounds for those making scale models of real world aircraft would be those made by retract gear/doors.
On a related note, how about some computer controlled movement of other planes or helis? Something like FSX had.
Realize that might be a performance crusher, so perhaps only doing so to a limited and optional extent.
Or, how about using a RF recording as a scene animation? Must be the same AP and pilot spawn of course.
Water:
Guess this falls under visuals and maybe physics. It's difficult describe in words, but way the planes interact with the water surface just doesn't look right. It may be a physics setting or something in a plane being brought in from an older version, but the planes seem to bounce up and down at landing far too quickly to look real (maybe that is a pivot location issue?). The planes also stop too quickly, like they are landing on honey not water. There is a setting to improve that, but to me, it still doesn't look quite right. Again, difficult to put it into words. Perhaps part of the issue is that-- as far as I recall-- the majority of the those planes are land versions converted to floats. Perhaps a plane with greater mass (such as one of the Clipper ships from the 30's) would logically ride deeper in the water and move differently.
Propellers:
In the real world, they break on impact. Also, they DO fatigue at the hub and lose blades. RF props seem to come from the same world as Superman.
The same super strength can be said about the ability of retracts to open and lift a plane onto it's wheels.
This may already be in RF, so feel to correct me if I'm wrong: the cheap nylon prop tips visibly flex with changes in RPM. Those props may no longer be made in the real world (for fatigue/safety reasons) or are not supported in RF?
Airfoil editor:
There is a huge number of airfoils in the library to choose from (thank you for that BTW), but searching controls could be improved. For example, on the Tri Squire it would have been nice for search results of only the flat bottom airfoils within a range of % thickness.
Wind:
In the real world, the wind can come from any direction on any given day. How about an option to randomly change the wind direction with each reset? Or randomly change it during the flight (i.e. weather front moves in). With the setting of the sun, wind commonly dies down-- might be interesting for those slope flying if their flight lasts long enough.
Just my 2 cents.
