what stick do you use
From my experience mouse and keyboard for arcade. For realistic I would still use mouse and keyboard as I find the precision of the mouse is superior in most situations to the extra manoeuvrability of the joystick.
for sim joystick, although there are many very good sim players who use mouse joystick and I’ve noted messing around with it that it has very smooth input once you’re accustomed to it which makes shooting easy.
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I started arcade with joystick but quickly learned that it wasn’t a wise decision and that isn’t needed. I now use mouse and pad controller to fly and find it very similar in ability to a joystick.
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I also started with joystick in AB and I wouldn’t suggest it. Like OP said, it’s too sensitive in that environment. You just can’t compete with how many points you’d be getting with mouse-aim. Also, you don’t really learn much towards joystick control because Arcade doesn’t allow flat-spins and realistic aerodynamics.
I suggest using mouse-aim in Arcade to quickly unlock some tier I-III planes, and then progress to RB/SB for joystick combat.
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I found it depends of the joystick and his software. Before i used Logitech 3D pro and it was really hard to aim and fly straight. Now i am using Virpil joystick with extension and i have no problems with the aim; movements are smoothy, real pleasure! Use joystick only in SIM! Buy rudder pedals and throttle!
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Although i do not play Air AB - the usage of MnK versus joystick depends imho on individual preferences and play styles and ofc the played game mode.
So if you like performing headons or have fun with effortless point and click on ground units, the MnK is the recommended way.
The main advantage of mouse aim lies imho solely on the artificially increased stability in those 2 situations - and the possibility to use the WASD keyboard whilst looking around with the mouse. To use a joystick with the right hand to fly and the mouse with your left hand in order to look around is rather complex.
Playing with joystick in Air RB is recommended if the user is able to create undisturbed 1 vs 1s (imho very rare in Air AB, for me my main strategy in Air RB) as the increase of turn performance and overall handling allows you to fight and best pilots in comparable or even better planes - at least to a certain degree assuming equal pilot skills and similar energy states.
By the way - disabling the instructor is recommended as he prevents you from using the full potential of your plane.
The most obvious downsides of joystick vs mouse aim is that you have to avoid headons vs mouse aimers and that the correct setup might take ages.
To make things even worse your perfect setup for plane A needs sometimes severe changes for plane B. Even in case that A and B are almost identical and share the same flight model there might be the need for an adjustment. Best example - my IT P-47 D-30 flies perfect, the almost identical US P-47 D-28 is “wobbeling” at lower speeds with the same settings.
Afaik a hell of joystick pilots have individual joystick settings for their preferred planes, this takes time.
A much easier way is to look for planes with similar flight models and flight characteristics - allowing you to use the same profile for all. I use a generic jostick setting for all of my planes (and i play exclusively with joystick in Air RB due to the convenient markers) as i am simply too lazy to create and switch to individual profiles, actually i only change gun convergence when switching planes.
Hope this helps, have a good one!
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I find that I only need a unique setup for the broken Spitfire FM’s. Everything else shares the same flight profile.
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Star Wars Nerd,
Somewhere around here I have a Logitech 3D Pro. I used to have a Thrust Master. Right now I’ve been using an Inter Act Raider FX.
-Nighthawk P
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Thank you everyone for your replies. I suppose it makes sense not to use a joystick in Arcade Mode. Very helpful information.
Does anyone use a stick for non-air battles or is it too impractical?
-Nighthawk P
Playing Air Arcade with mouse for years, never felt an ergonomic need to switch to a joystick.
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Some of us play flight games for no other reason but to use a joystick, and wouldn’t have picked up a flight game otherwise.
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Warpig,
I’m actually that type of person as well, which led me to the OP. However, I noticed that even with settings adjustments the stick seemed over sensitive. Is it more realistic in Sim Mode?
-Nighthawk P
Waelse,
I used to have a CH flight yoke. I might consider getting another since I like Flight/Combat Simulators.
-Nighthawk P
Arcade mode is a boosted version of all flight models and controls. So yes, planes are much more reactive in Arcade, compared to using Full Real Controls in Sim. Flight characteristics will be much more realistic Sim.
There’s also the issue of getting your flight controls setup to your liking. Things like Sensitivity and Nonlinearity can go a long ways into making your controls fit you, and will make your plane much easier to handle.
Sensitivity adds a delay to the controls. It’s especially useful for new players to lower your Pitch sensitivity to avoid flatspins. As you get better, you can advance your sensitivity back towards 100%, or to a level that you prefer. There is no right or wrong setting.
Nonlinearity adds a curve to an axis. Think of it as a virtual joystick extension.
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Warpig,
Thank you. That’s very helpful.
-Nighthawk P
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Yeah but why choose Arcade for that?
Feel like a proper pilot with a joystick, yet never get your wings ripped.
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Because a new player isn’t gonna know any better. Hence why this topic was created by the OP. 😉
Everyone has a 3D Pro stashed somewhere, and we’re all sitting on a goldmine as their price has skyrocketed lol.
Mines gonna end up as a heli collective when I get to modding it to suit.
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I srongly recommend to set zero dead zone except for the yaw axis. Then you can play with the linearity of the axis and find your spot.
I recommend to download CDK and create your own mission with endless AI respawns to practice.
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qpranger,
I’ve being playing Arcade just to get a feel for the dynamics of the game. It’s the easiest way to do it.
I will definitely be playing in Sim Mode in the future.
-Nighthawk P