Pre sales question about controllers: Joystick or Mouse?

May 6, 2019

I am interested in buying IL-2 but have a question about controllers and control schemes for this game. I also have a question about VR.

My basic question is how do most people play IL-2: with Mouse&keyboard control or with a joystick?

I am hoping the answer is joystick.

Here is some detail about why I am asking this. I am relatively new to high-end gaming and have spent quite a few hours in another game (War Thunder). I have been enjoying WT but find the control scheme pretty frustrating. I want to play it with a joystick and you can (sort of) but aiming is really bad (wobble) with a joystick at least in the Arcade mode. I have been on the WT forums and have asked and read about mouse vs joystick. It seems the overwhelming majority use Mouse Aim mode. I understand why considering the difficulty I have seen with trying to use a Joystick. I am looking for a flight combat game that while it may support Mouse&Keyboard, is primarily intended for joystick. Joystick is much more natural (to me) and I also fly radio control planes which is also basically a joystick control scheme.

I currently have two joysticks: Logitek 3D extreme and Thrustmaster Hotas One.

I am also interested in VR. I have the Odyssey+ headset. I tried WT in VR. I found that flying in a cockpit view was pretty hard to take (dizzy). Flying in 3rd person view was much eaiser but there seemed to be a bug in shooting. Guns didn't work in that view on ground targets. I could shoot planes and bomb ground targets but not shoot ground targets. So this gets back to the control scheme issues: mouse vs joystick. Flight control in WT is pretty bad with mouse in 3rd person and shooting ground targets doesn't seem to work. I have not tried WT VR with a joystick.

So my VR question is does IL-2 have 3rd person flying in VR mode and is does everything work properly in terms of shooting and bombing?

Thanks for any replies.

May 6, 2019

I suspect very few people play IL-2 with a mouse. IL-2 GB supports it, but any serious simmer will soon find a joystick essential.

As for flying in 3rd person, it can be done (sort of) but you will soon find it too limiting. IL-2 GB was designed to be flown from the cockpit, and you'll find flying from outside in a serious dogfight more or less impossible.

I've not tried VR myself, but from what other people have said, there aren't any major issues. Anything that works without VR should work with it.

May 6, 2019

OK thanks. I will download tonight. Looking forward to it.

May 6, 2019

1 hour ago, rhodesengr said:

My basic question is how do most people play IL-2: with Mouse&keyboard control or with a joystick?

Here is some detail about why I am asking this. I am relatively new to high-end gaming and have spent quite a few hours in another game (War Thunder). I have been enjoying WT but find the control scheme pretty frustrating. I want to play it with a joystick and you can (sort of) but aiming is really bad (wobble) with a joystick at least in the Arcade mode.

Joystick.

In IL-2:GB you can fly with mouse, but your mouse movements are controlling plane control surfaces (ailerons, rudder, elevator), why with joystick is more natural and intuitive, is matter of training. In WT (Arcade mode) mouse movements act more as "point and follow, a "autopilot" control planes surfaces for lead plane where you determine.

May 7, 2019

Joystick, preferably a HOTAS with rudder control or, even better, rudder pedals. VR is incredible in this sim. You will not be disappointed.

Enjoy

May 7, 2019

So I purchased last night and I have to say my first impression is not so great. For quite a while, my joystick didn't even work. I more or less had to stumble on where you have to set it up in Mapping. Some initial instructions guiding a newbie through the setup would have been nice.

Once I got the joystick working, I am not sure the issues are any different than in WT. Seems very hard to line up on a ground target, Maybe thats the realism but for a casual dabbler, it may require too much time to get to a point where its fun. I did try dumbing things down in the physics settings and added full expo (what we call it in the Radio Control world) to the joystick (100% sensitivity which as others have noted seems backwards.)

So I don't know. Maybe it just takes a while to get into. After struggling with IL2 for a few hours, I went back to WT for a night cap battle and it just seemed more fun.

May 7, 2019

Hmm.... usually you'll find plenty of gents here who are glad to help you, including myself. But to be honest,

your last post killed my motivation to help you at the moment... so maybe another day.

May 7, 2019

3 hours ago, heli_brain said:

So I purchased last night and I have to say my first impression is not so great. For quite a while, my joystick didn't even work. I more or less had to stumble on where you have to set it up in Mapping. Some initial instructions guiding a newbie through the setup would have been nice.

Once I got the joystick working, I am not sure the issues are any different than in WT. Seems very hard to line up on a ground target, Maybe thats the realism but for a casual dabbler, it may require too much time to get to a point where its fun. I did try dumbing things down in the physics settings and added full expo (what we call it in the Radio Control world) to the joystick (100% sensitivity which as others have noted seems backwards.)

So I don't know. Maybe it just takes a while to get into. After struggling with IL2 for a few hours, I went back to WT for a night cap battle and it just seemed more fun.

From the sound of it... your lack of patience and flying ability lends itself to playing a arcade type of game. I suggest you stick with WT. ?

May 7, 2019

All things in life that are worthwhile require some time and effort. Give it some and you will be rewarded but it does take some effort (and WT is somewhat effortless). ?

Edited May 7, 2019 by II./JG1_Vonrd

May 7, 2019

Well I am entitled to my opinion just like you guys. I actually ran into two problems just getting IL2 to run: the joystick issue and when I increased the video resolution the menu disappeared on the left side leaving the game unusable because i could not click on the settings to change it back. Once the menu disappeared, I had to research and then manually edit the setup file. Just saying that it wasn't exactly easy just to get the thing to work at all. If you think it is ok for a game like this to take four hours to get running and that represents a lack of patience well then I guess that is your opinion.

As for flying ability, I think it is fair that you should not have to be an expert from the beginning but if that is the intended market for this product then they should just say so. My flying ability and knowledge may be much better than you think. I have soloed a full scale Cessna 150 and I have a large number of RC helicopters and planes. So i think I know more than the typical person only flying in games like this.

My critique was meant to be constructive and if that makes some of you guys "all butt hurt" then I can't control that.

I guess my main disappointment is still that business about aiming at ground targets. My claim is that it is pretty hard to aim. I did watch some more videos about tweaking the joystick settings and we'll see how it goes. Maybe it isn't the right sort of game for me and maybe I'll like it more after some time.

But you know there is a saying: "There's only one chance for a first impression....." and mine wasn't that great.

Well I am entitled to my opinion just like you guys. I actually ran into two problems just getting IL2 to run: the joystick issue and when I increased the video resolution the menu disappeared on the left side leaving the game unusable because i could not click on the settings to change it back. Once the menu disappeared, I had to research and then manually edit the setup file. Just saying that it wasn't exactly easy just to get the thing to work at all. If you think it is ok for a game like this to take four hours to get running and that represents a lack of patience well then I guess that is your opinion.

As for flying ability, I think it is fair that you should not have to be an expert from the beginning but if that is the intended market for this product then they should just say so. My flying ability and knowledge may be much better than you think. I have soloed a full scale Cessna 150 and I have a large number of RC helicopters and planes. So i think I know more than the typical person only flying in games like this.

My critique was meant to be constructive and if that makes some of you guys "all butt hurt" then I can't control that.

I guess my main disappointment is still that business about aiming at ground targets. My claim is that it is pretty hard to aim. I did watch some more videos about tweaking the joystick settings and we'll see how it goes. Maybe it isn't the right sort of game for me and maybe I'll like it more after some time.

But you know there is a saying: "There's only one chance for a first impression....." and mine wasn't that great.

May 7, 2019

15 minutes ago, heli_brain said:

Well I am entitled to my opinion just like you guys. I actually ran into two problems just getting IL2 to run: the joystick issue and when I increased the video resolution the menu disappeared on the left side leaving the game unusable because i could not click on the settings to change it back. Once the menu disappeared, I had to research and then manually edit the setup file. Just saying that it wasn't exactly easy just to get the thing to work at all. If you think it is ok for a game like this to take four hours to get running and that represents a lack of patience well then I guess that is your opinion.

As for flying ability, I think it is fair that you should not have to be an expert from the beginning but if that is the intended market for this product then they should just say so. My flying ability and knowledge may be much better than you think. I have soloed a full scale Cessna 150 and I have a large number of RC helicopters and planes. So i think I know more than the typical person only flying in games like this.

My critique was meant to be constructive and if that makes some of you guys "all butt hurt" then I can't control that.

I guess my main disappointment is still that business about aiming at ground targets. My claim is that it is pretty hard to aim. I did watch some more videos about tweaking the joystick settings and we'll see how it goes. Maybe it isn't the right sort of game for me and maybe I'll like it more after some time.

But you know there is a saying: "There's only one chance for a first impression....." and mine wasn't that great.

Well I am entitled to my opinion just like you guys. I actually ran into two problems just getting IL2 to run: the joystick issue and when I increased the video resolution the menu disappeared on the left side leaving the game unusable because i could not click on the settings to change it back. Once the menu disappeared, I had to research and then manually edit the setup file. Just saying that it wasn't exactly easy just to get the thing to work at all. If you think it is ok for a game like this to take four hours to get running and that represents a lack of patience well then I guess that is your opinion.

As for flying ability, I think it is fair that you should not have to be an expert from the beginning but if that is the intended market for this product then they should just say so. My flying ability and knowledge may be much better than you think. I have soloed a full scale Cessna 150 and I have a large number of RC helicopters and planes. So i think I know more than the typical person only flying in games like this.

My critique was meant to be constructive and if that makes some of you guys "all butt hurt" then I can't control that.

I guess my main disappointment is still that business about aiming at ground targets. My claim is that it is pretty hard to aim. I did watch some more videos about tweaking the joystick settings and we'll see how it goes. Maybe it isn't the right sort of game for me and maybe I'll like it more after some time.

But you know there is a saying: "There's only one chance for a first impression....." and mine wasn't that great.

Make assurance double sure.

Pre sales question about controllers: Joystick or Mouse?

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