Each unique ship type in the game will have a unique HUD and distinct way to play it.

funny how innovations in one genre are de-regeur in another. Back when flight sims were king, it was common to have 40+ flyable aircraft each with its own cockpit graphics and controls. and all flyable aircraft always had their own cockpit graphics, controls, and flight model. to not do so would have been unthinkable.

i think a lot of it has to do with the way that the gaming demographic has changed, from niche market entertainment for geeks, to mass market entertainment for the "mindless masses".

this might also be expressed as the difference between hard core and casual gamers.

many commercial titles have evolved to appeal to a wider audience, perhaps at the cost of losing some of their appeal with their original core audience.

as hard core gamer myself, i find this regrettable.

but it also offers opportunities for a developer to exploit those hard core markets that are too small to support the big commercial houses.

that's how Rockland makes its money: hard core games, by hard core gamers, for hard core gamers.

i often been tempted to use that as a slogan for the company.