I guess this was too soon to report. I had found I can switch that camera to the front in the lab, which is great, but it should be definitely said so before launching first rover.

There is still a problem with trying to position the rover with the equipment on the side you don't have a camera on. Only way around it for now is pressing "c".

Right, but for the full immersion I like driving by looking only in the camera. Outside view seems like cheating :)

If you want immersion, then play as intended. The camera is mounted on the backside with a purpose, being that the front wheels do not stick out as much as the back wheels, so you can drive closer to rocks with your front mounted instrument. It's a simple technical reason why it is as it is. Deal with it.

If it's too confusing, you can always switch the controls in the options to the opposite directions.

Well don't tell me, that in real case if they want to do some apxs scanning, they are driving blindly just by looking in back. I bet there is more sensors that help them navigate on front side...What kind of science would that be, using just people mind to imagine distance and angle.

I understand your concerns, but in the early phase of the space program in this game, you only get to pilot small rovers. They can't carry alot of cameras around and they have very limited space for instruments.

It's perfectly plausible to have no camera on the front. You just have to navigate while driving backwards. When planning to scan a rock, you have to turn around and drive blindly. If you would be a good scientist, you won't just do it on the fly, there is some planning included. Scientist don't pilot expensive machinery around rocks without knowing what to do. Use a pencil sharpener and a potato on your desk to plan ahead. The sharpener is your rover and the potato is the rock. Move the sharpener around a bit and make a PLAN. Then transfer the plan into the game. This is how a real pro would do it. Go ahead and become a pro yourself today!

I do believe that this is based on a real rover that had the equipment on the front and a camera on the back. I might be completely wrong here, but sure I ahve heard it mentioned. Its not really that hard to drive backwards.

I know it's too early, but it's the purpose of this tracker to collect ideas, isn't it ?

Sure, in real case scientist can draw chart, where is the rock, where is the rover and make calculation. Than they input commands to drive rover precisely on required spot. However neither of these thing can be do in the game.

I am not trying persuade anybody to put camera to the front, that doesn't solve a thing because than apxs need to be in back and it's same situation. However to have good immersion from the game without peeking through outside camera, there could be more tools to drive rover more accurately without need to actually bump into the rock several times.

People have suggested a slightly better HUD with like a compass style display to improve navigation. However, the small rover is meant to be what it is and I dont find it too much of a problem to drive. Go up to a rock using the camera. Line it up so you know you're going to be on target and then back it up so the scanner touches the rock.