hank,
like the others said: Mouse is supported, but not really recommended in the long run. While a scant few get really good even with mouse, its not a common occurence - sooner or later youll need to operate views, flap, rudder, throttle and plane all at the same time. Youll simply run out of fingers/hands to hit the keys in time. Also, the rudder control via keyboard is awfully imprecise.
IMHO, theres no harm in trying out the game with mouse if you do not have a stick. Youll be able to take off, land and maybe even the starts of "dogfighting" - even though ill have to tell you that is IS more difficult then it would be with a stick.
But if you plan on staying longer then a few days with this game, i really recommend you get yourself a stick. Doesnt have to be anything very fancy for starters. You can get the Saitek ST290 for as much as 20 USD at Walmart. Heres a post i made in the past (if you do a search for Joystick in this forum, youll find a lot more):
Good stick to buy:
That very much depends on what you can/are willing to spend money wise.
What you definitly NEED is this:
8-way hatswitch
throttle lever
rudder control (twisty or rocker rudder)
as many buttons as you can get.
In the price range to 50 EUR, there are a few good sticks like the Saitek ST290 Pro or Saitek Evo, both being twisty rudder control (ie you need to twist the stick handle for rudder input). I myself used a Speedlink Black Widow (rocker rudder!) for over a year and with much success. Another good one is the Thrustmaster Afterburner II, which has both twisty and rocker rudder option.
If you know youll stick with the game for a while, and can afford it, go for a Saitek X45 (rather stiff springs, rocker rudder) or a Saitek X52 (twisty and pretty loose springs). Those, combined with a set of rudder pedals, are fully HOTAS (ie you do not need to remove your hands from stick while fighting). They will cost you (without peds) about 100-130 EUR.
The top notch best thats out there is CH products. Joystick, throttle and pedals will cost you around 350-400 EUR. Those will last a lifetime though. This is something id only buy if youre sure youre going to be in the flight sim "business" for a while.
I started out with a 10 EUR stick (small throttle, no rudder, 5 buttons) - which was completely useless. Even before my free trial was out, i bought the Speedlink stick.... which was a very good deal for the money and got me a long way. In the long run, i needed more buttons for finer and quicker control in fights (no need to remove hand from stick to drop flaps etc) - im now on a X45 and CH pedals, that one by one will be replaced with CH stuff as they go out.
What you buy is kind of a personal preference. If you can do it, go to a media store and take a few sticks in your hands - see which one fits into your hands well. Youll also need to decide if you like twisty or rocker rudder better. Then google for the sticks and try to find a good deal on the web. Comparing prices can really pay off. Id be vary of used sticks from EBay - even if they are looking good and new on the outside, you cant see inside.... its usually not worth the reduced price. If you get new, youll always have a warranty.
Whatever you buy, stay away from logitech joysticks. They have a pretty low quality at the moment and usually only last a few months.
Here are a few links that should help you get started:
Setting your mouse up as controller:
http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/mouse/mouse.htmSetting your Joystick up as controller
http://trainers.hitechcreations.com...controllers.htmA onepage keymap for printing:
http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/quickref/quickref.pdfHow to fly:
http://forums.hitechcreations.com/f...threadid=193009http://trainers.hitechcreations.com...ghtcontrols.htmTakeoff and landing:
http://trainers.hitechcreations.com...akeofffield.htmhttp://trainers.hitechcreations.com...andingfield.htmhttp://trainers.hitechcreations.com...eoffcarrier.htmhttp://trainers.hitechcreations.com...dingcarrier.htmAlso a very important thing to do is setting your views! After all you cannot shoot someone you dont see.
http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/views/views.htmhttp://trainers.hitechcreations.com...overthenose.htmGenerally, lots of reading, practicing and most importantly HAVING FUN doing it will help you improve fast.
http://www.netaces.orghttp://trainers.hitechcreations.com (The official homepage of the Aces High II Trainer Corps - a collection of our help files)
http://forums.hitechcreations.com/forums/index.php (get an account there, very good Help and Training as well as Tech Support section).
Hope this helps you.
Schatzi
