Ya sorry guys, but open cockpit is the way I think it needs to be. Covering it up makes it much more like a robot and most people have less connection with their pilot this way. You'd basically never see people, unless you invented entire social gameplay mechanics that required it, which is a lot of work just to see your character. Putting your char on a UI screen really only makes it work for you and only when you open up your UI. Others can't see you unless they maybe pull up an inspection UI, which again is not most of the time.
People are overthinking the shields thing. It doesn't ruin gameplay, or even immersion to have a hand-wave here. Granted, it might to some players, but we have games with death and respawning, infinite ammo, and enemies that pop into existence and in some games animals that drop weapons. It's really not going to cause a design problem (unless you say that all design must make physical sense, but that's never the case and is a straightjacket that limits the core goal of fun). What it does require is a suspension of disbelief. You already did it with Firefall frames and their lack of coverage... and Firefall has no shields. By all rights a weapon that can chew through Firefall's ceramic and sintergel filled frame should evaporate you on a headshot, but it doesn't.
The design for the Omniframe is already more striking than any "guy in a suit" type thing and stands out as fairly unique. If we close the cockpit it would start to look like every other mech game out there. If we do away with the frame and use a suit, then we're going to have trouble standing out from generic space marine (or Warmachine or Overwatch).
Movies make this sacrifice all the time. The mechs in Matrix, Edge of Tomorrow (Live, Die, Repeat), Aliens (loader), and in many cases the open helmets and cockpits of movie designs are there to let you see the character and identify one from the other and to see their expressions and humanity and character. This design will let us have far more customization options and a unique look that I think sets us apart...while creating a stronger connection to your friends characters and your own.
For those that want a more armored look, the pilot can have suit variations that resemble hard armor for those that prefer it. For those that want to dress casual, this allows it. Its all about expressing your individuality as a person and not just as a machine. In fact, nesting the pilot into the frame gives your a ton of more options for customizing your look, feel and even personality than Firefall ever did.
Maybe I'm wrong. If so, that's the goal of the mini-milestones. If I guessed wrong and people can't get behind this design and feel its a deal breaker for them, the next round won't fund. That's why we break it up into smaller chunks. It minimizes your risk by raising smaller amounts and gives us the ultimate feedback. Meanwhile, though, the response has been overwhelmingly positive with only lingering worry about the openness. "Have a cookie, by the time you're done eating it, I hope you'll be as right as rain"...to butcher a quote from the Matrix. What I mean is, see how it feels to play it, and you won't really be remembering your worries about an open pilot.
For any BMW fans out there, you might remember the Bangle butt. Chris Bangle, lead designer for BMW, changed the trunk of the 7 serious BMW radially, and the outcry was immense, not like the polite discussion we have here.
I hated it too. But sales of the 7 serious rose, and the butt spread not just to other BMWs but to many other makes as people copied it. I've long since forgotten why I hated it, and even think its normal now. Same with my reaction to the N64 controller with its middle "prong." I sent a not so nice letter to Nintendo about that one, and so did many, many others. You never hear about that now.
This won't be the only departure from Firefall's *specifics*. I'm not aiming to copy Firefall but to adhere to its original principles and design, much of it never implemented. Ember will be its own kind of game....the game Firefall never got the chance to be. So expect the unexpected, but I think its safe to say this (the Omniframe) is one of the biggest differences you'll see.
