Haha, don't be sorry. And no, you are not wasting my time here. EDIT: Also your rant is totally justified. Since i obviously didn't put in the effort to explore more ways on how to control the player craft.
You are totally right, grabbing a Stick in VR only works when you simultaneously lock in your touch controller. In its current state, I myself prefer the the mapping to GamePa . Not because I am happy with it, but because the only 6dof scheme I could fit into that game is just not cutting it.
The game as it is, is not about 6dof movement. The goal of reaching a WW2 behavior was just more fitting for the initial target platform (Oculus GO). But even that WW2 feeling is lacking since a big element of WW2 dogfights was the management and shifting around of Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy. That potential energy part is absent with the lack of gravity and atmosphere.
But yes I thought about non stick based control schemes. Given RCS thrusters, reaction wheels and "classical" engines. You should be able to use one 6dof controller to fully control your ships motion. Translation of the controller off the center would result in a acceleration in that very direction, same for rotation.
I have a problem with using that scheme in high speed combat in open spaces since this would be like a FPS in one big open space but with another added dimension. Also: as long as it is too fast paced you are tempted to make ever growing motions because you want your craft to react faster and stronger. Whats lacking is feedback of when you are in neutral position/ hitting the edge of your valid input.
But when it comes to close combat in confined areas like inside a asteroid, spaceship or a debris field, I could image a said scheme with some vibrating feedback to be sufficient.
Now to your scheme:
I actually like the idea of being able to drag around virtual handles in the cockpit to control speed and orientation. Edit: If i restructure the player-craft and its cockpit this might actually be doable.
I still see a few issues with that though:
- Dragging a virtual handle to rotate the craft will not result in an immediate reaction since the spaceship still is a physical object. HUD elements need to kick in to give the player immediate feedback.
- Having a cockpit without reference points might become nauseating. So a simple glass sphere with the fuselage rotating around it will not cut it.
I think I am going to stay with classical control schemes for small fighters, but I might look into your proposed scheme for bigger slower ships.
From my current perspective there is more potential in 6dof to operate cockpit elements like buttons, switches and knobs or in commanding a Homeworld style fleet.
