Get out of this game before you start playing it and before you become obsessed with something that makes no sense. Everything about it is a silly cluster twittle.
Don't let this bozo get you down. My guess is never got very good at this game and blames the builders instead of his own short comings. This post is his first since Aug of last year, in which he was bashing management
As for your question, download the game, it's free. Install it and try the off-line stuff. The game will try to set it's self to your computer (if you have a weak one some of the extras will be greyed out). once you have tried off-line you'll know how well your computer can handle the game. A half decent middle of the road computer will run it fine. If you have trouble, post questions in the tech thread and some people will try to walk you through the tweaks you can do to get it running as well as it can on your computer.
A joystick is a must though you can fly with a mouse (a few guys are pretty dern good with it too!) but a stick is the better way to go. You can get a cheap stick ($20) at Walmart just to check it out. As long as the stick has a hat switch you can use for your views you should be ok. If money is no object and your sure you want in on flight sims, CH Products is the way to go. $300 will get you the stick, throttle, and pedals to do you up right
First thing to do after you have your gear strait is to READ !!! The trainers site that Lusche posted has everything you'll need to answer pretty much any question you could have. Posting questions here on the boards is also a great way to get answers, but you'll remember them better if you hunt for the answers your self. Practice off-line. Get good at taking off and landing. Practice shooting the drones over the airfield.
Once you feel a bit more comfortable with everything, log on. The game will ask you to set up an account. Your account name and your handle are two different things. The account name is a private name and password between you and the Hitech Creations, the handle is the name everyone will call you by in the game. Once you have your account set-up gojoin one of the arenas and have fun !!
