I dont believe in any game that limits your choice for control option. Dispite what was mentioned in the interview with the game developers for FreeLancer, and I quote...
"Final answer...joystick support or no?"
"NO! And you wont miss it"
Thats a load of bull. I miss the joystick control in that game, tho flying by mouse isnt a problem but it would be nice to be able to *ROLL* the ship like the AI ships do. It would have been better me thinks if DA and MS would have done a bit more research and forum soul searching to see how the reactions were prior to that game's release and take those concerns very seriously. Perhaps they did...but in the end...did they really give it due consideration? I truely believe had that particular game included the option for j-stick, or any other game that limits your control options, then perhaps it and others would have done a bit better in sales. Makes no sense in creating such an expensive game only to ignore a majority concern and leave that out of the end result. Reading thru countless game forums and chat rooms, and alot of those debates are still archived and viewable at those forums..including here at WC CIC, a vast number have said they wont buy that type of game simply because there was not the option to select a joystick. Granted not everyone has a joystick...but rest assured, any serious flight or space simmer will have one..regardless of what the developer *thinks*. This isnt 1990 where the question of who has a joystick or not was indeed a legitimate concern for developers, and it is also not a time when computers are still trying to introduce themselves to the consumer, much less worrying about if they have a j-stick or not! As we can see...leaving out something as simple as the option...and stating such things as "you wont miss it" ends up being not such a good idea afterall.
IMO...there is only one true way to fly an aircraft or spaceship....
...and that is with a flight stick...period.