how is the experience on co-op and mouse&keyboard?

[armtriangle]

I really liked project wingman and I play a lot of starfighter assult on bf2 2017, so I'm looking for something similar but with co-op where I can play with friends against AI and not just multiplayer pvp(so I don't immediately get my as kicked). Does the game allow steering&aiming with mouse?

[HuskyDynamics]

Indeed it does, and personally I think the mouse control is quite good! I'd definitely recommend checking it out at least; you can always refund it if it doesn't work for you.

The co-op experience is very good as well, by the way (aside from the occasional teamkiller or griefer, but those usually get kicked pretty quickly).

[IxianMace]

The mouse flight is perfect in my opinion, as it allows for flying the aircraft as you would with a flight stick as well as using mouse look to look around the cockpit and select targets. As for multiplayer co-op, it can be a hit or a miss, since hosts tend to disconnect long before the scenario is close to concluding. Since multiplayer sessions are hosted locally on a player's PC, if the host disconnects, everyone gets disconnected.

Here's a video of the last multiplayer session I played and recorded. I fly with the mouse. The video is a few months old, but I feel it should be a pretty good representation of what to expect as far as public co-op games are concerned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFrHbf7d8T8

[GoatseWithTheAwesomeSauce]

i've rebound the controls so i control the plane with my keyboard and look around and select targets with the mouse and it works great, except i cant really use guns and landing sometimes gets a little silly

[armtriangle]

Originally posted by IxianMace:

The mouse flight is perfect in my opinion, as it allows for flying the aircraft as you would with a flight stick as well as using mouse look to look around the cockpit and select targets. As for multiplayer co-op, it can be a hit or a miss, since hosts tend to disconnect long before the scenario is close to concluding. Since multiplayer sessions are hosted locally on a player's PC, if the host disconnects, everyone gets disconnected.

Here's a video of the last multiplayer session I played and recorded. I fly with the mouse. The video is a few months old, but I feel it should be a pretty good representation of what to expect as far as public co-op games are concerned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFrHbf7d8T8

can I use the mouse to control movement instead? I'm more used to where the heading of the plane chases the position of the mouse on the screen

[IxianMace]

Originally posted by armtriangle:

can I use the mouse to control movement instead? I'm more used to where the heading of the plane chases the position of the mouse on the screen

If you're looking for a control scheme like War Thunder or Project Wingman where you point the cursor to where you want the aircraft to go and the aircraft orients itself accordingly, then I don't think that kind of system is implemented in Nuclear Option. Mouse flight is via full manual control only, like a virtual joystick.

Additionally, you cannot control the aircraft while in external view. All flight control is done from an internal cockpit view.

[HuskyDynamics]

Originally posted by IxianMace:

Originally posted by armtriangle:

can I use the mouse to control movement instead? I'm more used to where the heading of the plane chases the position of the mouse on the screen

If you're looking for a control scheme like War Thunder or Project Wingman where you point the cursor to where you want the aircraft to go and the aircraft orients itself accordingly, then I don't think that kind of system is implemented in Nuclear Option. Mouse flight is via full manual control only, like a virtual joystick.

Additionally, you cannot control the aircraft while in external view. All flight control is done from an internal cockpit view.

Brief addendum; planes can be controlled in external view with the keyboard, but not the mouse.

[armtriangle]

Originally posted by IxianMace:

Originally posted by armtriangle:

can I use the mouse to control movement instead? I'm more used to where the heading of the plane chases the position of the mouse on the screen

If you're looking for a control scheme like War Thunder or Project Wingman where you point the cursor to where you want the aircraft to go and the aircraft orients itself accordingly, then I don't think that kind of system is implemented in Nuclear Option. Mouse flight is via full manual control only, like a virtual joystick.

Additionally, you cannot control the aircraft while in external view. All flight control is done from an internal cockpit view.

I see. i could probably still go where I need to go with just buttons for pitch+roll+thrust and fire missiles, but wouldn't it be nearly impossible to aim the machine gun since every control input is either 0 or 100?

[IxianMace]

Originally posted by armtriangle:

I see. i could probably still go where I need to go with just buttons for pitch+roll+thrust and fire missiles, but wouldn't it be nearly impossible to aim the machine gun since every control input is either 0 or 100?

That may be the case, though some aircraft/weapons may not require precise aiming of their guns due to how they operate. For example, the SAH-46 Chicane (an attack helicopter) has a nose-mounted turret that automatically aims at whatever you've got selected. The VL-49 Tarantula (a utility aircraft) has a side-mounted cannon that fires guided shells that steer themselves toward targets, meaning you only need to have the gun pointed in the general direction of the target when firing.

The biggest problem with using the keyboard to fly in this game is when it comes to landing your aircraft. You really need fine, precise movements that only a mouse/flightstick can provide as opposed to the full-or-none input of a keyboard, or you might be in for a really rough time getting the plane on the ground in one piece.

I've played other flight games using only the keyboard that didn't have virtual joystick mouse flight implemented, so I know how it feels to fly using an on/off control scheme. There are ways to work around things, like staggering your inputs or moving your aircraft and then letting your target 'drift' into your sights for a guns shot, but in Nuclear Option, the keyboard controls feel very janky and cumbersome compared to flying with a mouse, and I really wouldn't recommend flying with the keyboard. If you really want to fly using the keyboard, then you might have your work cut out for you. I know it's not something you're used to, but I'd strongly encourage you to learn to fly via virtual joystick with the mouse.

[armtriangle]

Originally posted by IxianMace:

Originally posted by armtriangle:

I see. i could probably still go where I need to go with just buttons for pitch+roll+thrust and fire missiles, but wouldn't it be nearly impossible to aim the machine gun since every control input is either 0 or 100?

That may be the case, though some aircraft/weapons may not require precise aiming of their guns due to how they operate. For example, the SAH-46 Chicane (an attack helicopter) has a nose-mounted turret that automatically aims at whatever you've got selected. The VL-49 Tarantula (a utility aircraft) has a side-mounted cannon that fires guided shells that steer themselves toward targets, meaning you only need to have the gun pointed in the general direction of the target when firing.

The biggest problem with using the keyboard to fly in this game is when it comes to landing your aircraft. You really need fine, precise movements that only a mouse/flightstick can provide as opposed to the full-or-none input of a keyboard, or you might be in for a really rough time getting the plane on the ground in one piece.

I've played other flight games using only the keyboard that didn't have virtual joystick mouse flight implemented, so I know how it feels to fly using an on/off control scheme. There are ways to work around things, like staggering your inputs or moving your aircraft and then letting your target 'drift' into your sights for a guns shot, but in Nuclear Option, the keyboard controls feel very janky and cumbersome compared to flying with a mouse, and I really wouldn't recommend flying with the keyboard. If you really want to fly using the keyboard, then you might have your work cut out for you. I know it's not something you're used to, but I'd strongly encourage you to learn to fly via virtual joystick with the mouse.

I've never tried virtual joystick iirc. Is it built into the game or do I need a mapping software? Does the virtual joystick mean I can control the amount of pitch/roll rate I want with my mouse?

[IxianMace]

Originally posted by armtriangle:

I've never tried virtual joystick iirc. Is it built into the game or do I need a mapping software? Does the virtual joystick mean I can control the amount of pitch/roll rate I want with my mouse?

Virtual joystick is built into the game; all you need to do is make sure the option is enabled in the settings.

From the main menu, click SETTINGS -> CONTROLS -> Tick the box labelled Use Virtual Joystick (Mouse Flight Controls).

When the virtual joystick is enabled, you can use your mouse to fly the plane as if the mouse were a joystick. You can control pitch and roll, but not yaw. You can pitch and roll gently or sharply depending on how far/quickly you move your mouse.

If it's not already enabled, I recommend making sure the box labelled Invert Virtual Joystick Pitch has a tick in it. This way, the aircraft should pitch down when you push the mouse away from you and pull up when you pull the mouse toward you, just like it would with a joystick.

[dukesalt]

Just wanted to second the opinions of a few other people. I've never played flight Sims or warthunder, so I jumped right in with the virtual joystick and it works fantastically. I've enjoyed it so much that I'm borderline considering buying a HOTAS setup just for this game . . .

[Khaziir Everflight]

i play mouse and keyboard for now (because i have no comfortable way of looking around without taking either hand of stick or throttle, with my hotas) and am pretty happy with it. I even manage to control the small heli relatively well, after only a few minutes of trying around.