STOP PRESS: Formula Fusion - Next gen Wipeout - from ex Wipeout Devs.

[blackwiggle]

SL tried a version of that sort of internal view you talk about in Wipeout Fusion, I didn't like it, well I should say I didn't like the way it was implemented in Fusion, it seemed a sort of 'Tacked On' feature.
I don't know what the newest Mechwarrior internal views look like, I only ever played the first PSone Mechwarrior [With the big Sony Duel Sticks ]

I like the internal in HD, it's great going down a straight and somebody is coming up to the side of you, you can see the other pilot and his control panel lights flashing, it looks even better in 3D.
As far as having a point of reference in front of you, well have you ever ridden a Bicycle?, you don't have a point of reference in front of you when doing that either, you just 'Know' where your middle point is at speed, same thing in HD.
The different handling of the crafts alters the middle point in HD when racing in internal, basically you just adjust your aim point either fore or aft to equalize the effect.

Maybe it's because I've always race internal view in all the wipeouts, is why I don't have a problem with it, sure I could most likely be a lot faster if I switched to external view, but the Wipeout Racing Experience has always been first and foremost for me.
Asayyeah felt the same .... reminds me, this thread might be right up his ally.
Mind you doing BR's can have you in a spin, and huge ramming fests, like I suffered in nearly all the races in this weekends AVALON meet, can just swamp your view, same thing if somebody in front of you runs into a Bomb and blows up, for a second or two you can't see anything except a explosion.

That's immersive to me.

It turns what basically is a Arcade Racing Game, into a First Person Experience ... some can deal with it, others shy away from it and prefer to default to Arcade view .... to each their own.
As long as there are great Tracks, as well thought out as the SL tracks were [each track had hidden benefits [BR positions ] depending on what speed you were racing at]