Originally posted by Ghosth
Well Schatzi normally I agree with you, however this time finds us on opposite sides of the fence. AH is a WWII "flight" simulator, with some very good gameplay. As such it really demands the minimum of hardware to fly well. That includes a joystick, flying with just keyboard is simply not possible. Flying with the mouse while possible is not easy, intuitive, or supported, and takes much time and attention to detail to master. It would be like trying to drive a car with no steering wheel. Only the brake & throttle. Yes you can make the car move with just those 2, but your really not driving it.
Same can be said for 95% of those who try to fly with a mouse.
Yes they are making the plane move, but can they really FLY?
Considering that we have between 600 and 1500 $ tied up in a computer.
15$ a month for AH plus internet at another 15 - 40 $ a month.
Paying 50$ for a joystick so we can get the most out of the game we love really isn't unreasonable. Especially not when you consider most good joysticks will last 3 - 6 years with no real problems. Thats less than a dollar a month and makes a HUGE difference on your flying.
Trying to run AH without a joystick should be like trying to run AH without a sound card. Should get an error msg telling you AH won't run without it.
Saves their time, your time, trainers time, and everyone has fewer headaches.
Because we are all on the same page from the start.
I see where your coming from Ghosth, belive me I really do, but, mouse users are customers/consumers first and foremost, I use a mouse here in my office and a stick back at the homestead, I have no real issues in being able to shoot people down or whatever in using a mouse or the stick, I'm still flying, either by using a mouse or a stick, if by really "flying" you are reffering to getting into a position to shoot someone, then I fail to see how using a stick only acheives this?
New versions/patches are usually created to enhance the experience of the product, but in this case, it looks like it's been rushed in with minimal amount of testing and working with the community, to decide to include a new procedure for mouse users without thought or care to mouse users is ignoring the wishes and demands of consumers, The end effect for HT is that this program is not a public service or a domain for a few individuals to hang around in with the right equipment, It's a business, it has to make money, to sell, Ask yourselves, If you ran a business and you disenfranchised a significant number of your customer base, would that be a smart business move? I think not.
All they have to do is fix the left button issue on the mouse, won't take long and would solve a lot of these debates, Consumers don't change to business demands, Business changes to Consumer demands, otherwise, Consumers have choices and I'm sure a lot of people out there will be weighing up their options and looking around for an alternative product.
Cheers
Hawco