DCS is Enjoyable With Just Keyboard & Mouse

[TTDSI]

I've been on DCS for 3 years now, I own F/A-18, A10c, Huey, Apache, Ka-50 and other modules I don't recall. All three of those years have been on K&M, yes it's really fun and you can become proficient at flying with a mouse and keyboard allthough to ease the pain get a mouse with extra buttons to have a sad excuse for a HOTAS. preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOG9aaCcqz4
https://youtu.be/9nVX4TeDwSA
https://youtu.be/MLzbv4Wr7-I

I fly the Apache alot, you'l grow to love DCS, and playing with keyboard and mouse only shows your love for aviation! Mind all that on a sad laptop! DCS requires no extra hardware to enjoy! DCS is a fantastic flight sim accessible to just about literally anyone willing!

Why are people so hostile to this idea? DCS in my opinion has a splitting point between VR and with a combination of throttle and a joystick, between K&M. I have both VR and a hotas setup but the immersion is broken when you can't have the full package. for the sake of this argument I'm assuming basic players that don't have the money laying around for a home built cockpit.

For people who blow people off of DCS high fidelity models because "It's in possible to play with just M&K" is quit ridicules and wrong, not only costing module developers money but the enjoyment of that person. Any module in DCS is 100% manageable, I've learned this with the crazy cockpit of the A-10C ii.

The immersion breaking part from a hardware standpoint is the amount of focus points your hands have to deal with when flying. For VR or Head Tracking with throttle & Joy there is only 2 points important focus points, throttle and joystick with the 3rd being Keyboard for all those binds, the player doesn't have to focus on looking around (<---big immersion thing.)

For K&M&T&J, quite the nasty juggle if you ask me, in order for you to maneuver you can't look around and in order to look around you cant maneuver, yes I do admit you can use your left hand for the joystick, but your sheer effectiveness at operating the aircraft is prohibited by 3 important focus (T&J&M) points & 1 less important focus point (Keyboard) which only 2 cant be operated at a time.

Keyboard and mouse, much like VR there are only 2 focus points, K&M. DCS fully supports WASD flying, no worrying about looking around, juggling controls (for the most part,) and most importantly not a dime out your pocket to start flying any DCS aircraft, you name it, you can fly it with K&M, A-10C, F/A - 18, F-16 (even in Falcon BMS! for u old timers), Huey, Apache, Ka-50, even easier FC3, Hind, Mi-8, and all the other modules.

There's no doubt that the complexity of certain modules varies on K&M, but the fun is there and obtainable. All these play styles are up to preference, but telling people they need prerequisites before even attempting to enjoy DCS is absurd in my opinion. In this argument not all possible intricacies touched upon nor do I care to really do so, DCS is fun, for everyone and I hope ED can provide more, in other words TAKE MY MONEY.


----------------------------------------- MY KEYBINDS (Mouse4 & Mouse5 recommended)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12LIFy0KZofhfgDPF6KYD0mEjZkF0-N6s?usp=sharing

[Ironwu]

Playing DCS with just a mouse and keyboard is like a dancing dog.

The dog does not dance very well, but one is surprised it does it at all.

Enjoyment of DCS will be improved markedly with even an inexpensive joystick, such as the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro (~$35).

[startrekmike]

I honestly, genuinely can't tell if this is a joke thread or not. The video showed that while it is technically "possible" to play DCS with a keyboard and mouse, it doesn't really work in practice and will result in a constant struggle to maintain even the most basic level of control. If that is fun for you, so be it.

[SSerponi76]

The game might be playable with M+K but surely NOT enjoyable.
You need at least a really simple joystick.

[bingbean]

Originally posted by TTDSI:

little preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOG9aaCcqz4

I fly the Apache alot, you'l grow to love DCS, and playing with keyboard and mouse only shows your love for aviation! Mind all that on a sad laptop! DCS requires no extra hardware to enjoy! DCS is a fantastic flight sim accessible to just about literally anyone willing!

So the slow response to keyboard in Apache was fixed already?
Anyway, you are thinking you enjoy DCS with KB+M, i and perhaps most of us on this forum think, you just did waste 3 years of yours live, because you only got a fragment of the experience you could get if you used any kind of joystick.

[Darkreaver1980]

@TTDSI

If you already like flying DCS with keyboard & mouse. I think you will burst out in tears from pure enjoyment after you have a proper HOTAS :D

Also please show us an video doing any air refueling with an Mouse&Keyboard ;)

[-OrLoK- Слава Україн]

I think op is to be congratulated.

it's just a *game* and if that way of playing suits OP then it's doing its job of entertaining 100pc :)

[spike2071]

Originally posted by -OrLoK- Слава Україн:

I think op is to be congratulated.

it's just a *game* and if that way of playing suits OP then it's doing its job of entertaining 100pc :)

[DragonWhite4Gulf]

Hey if you can do it and enjoy IT! Why not use it.
I used to use an X-box controller. I eventually had to get a stick. I couldnt handle the trigger or stick for a throttle.
What really counted was I could PLAY!

[TTDSI]

Originally posted by bingbean:

So the slow response to keyboard in Apache was fixed already?

Sadly not, don't think it's gonna priority for a hot minute.

[Onno]

I'd say that while it is technically possible to use M+K, it takes an ungodly amount of time to get good results and it's easier to make mistakes. I think that for the same amount of time spent you'll get much better results with a joystick. But hey, if you are willing to spend the time in order to forego the use of a joystick , then by all means do so! Nobody is going to stop you and you'll have my deep earned respect if you manage to get good with it.

[TTDSI]

Originally posted by Onno:

I'd say that while it is technically possible to use M+K, it takes an ungodly amount of time to get good results

The point is that it it's not "technical" it's viable who wants to do so, and isn't any more difficult than learning the stick

[startrekmike]

Originally posted by TTDSI:

Originally posted by Onno:

I'd say that while it is technically possible to use M+K, it takes an ungodly amount of time to get good results

The point is that it it's not "technical" it's viable who wants to do so, and isn't any more difficult than learning the stick

Look. I am glad that you are happy with it. I genuinely am. That being said, I think that the viability of mouse and keyboard with DCS is going to depend WILDLY on one's personal, entirely subjective expectations combined with what one actually desires to accomplish in the sim itself. Trying to sell the whole keyboard/mouse thing as something that can be potentially equal to analog control methods (be it a gamepad, joystick, or full HOTAS and pedal set) given enough practice and time will set some rather unrealistic expectations because there is only so much precision you can get due to how DCS handles keyboard input.

[Darkreaver1980]

Its simple, if keyboard & mouse would be better for controlling an plane, then our pilots would use em and not a HOTAS :)

[TTDSI]

Originally posted by startrekmike:

Originally posted by TTDSI:

Trying to sell the whole keyboard/mouse thing as something that can be potentially equal to analog control methods (be it a gamepad, joystick, or full HOTAS and pedal set) given enough practice and time will set some rather unrealistic expectations because there is only so much precision you can get due to how DCS handles keyboard input.

I get your point, but ultimately what I'm saying is that it's possible to enjoy the game with K&M. What expectations do you mean exactly? To aviation it self, full capacity of the sim?

[startrekmike]

Originally posted by TTDSI:

Originally posted by startrekmike:

I get your point, but ultimately what I'm saying is that it's possible to enjoy the game with K&M. What expectations do you mean exactly? To aviation it self, full capacity of the sim?

When talking about this stuff, I don't really factor in how realistic something is in comparison to real life or anything like that. What I am talking about specifically is how one is able to adequately control the aircraft in the sim across a wide variety of mission types and requirements. If you are just using a mouse and keyboard, there is going to be a pretty hard limit to what you can do before your controls start actively getting in your way and preventing you from getting done what you want to get done.

To give you a more practical example. If I were to design a mission for you to fly that requires air refueling, dogfighting, or even complex air to ground combat scenarios (where you have to start juggling a lot of sensors and weapons on top of flying the aircraft precisely enough to deliver said weapons while not getting killed), you are going to very quickly hit points where mouse and keyboard will actively prevent you from doing what you want to do.

The tricky part here is that everyone kinda alters their DCS experience to compensate for the controls they have (or do not have). As such, it is hard to know what you are missing until you actually know what you are missing. You might not feel limited now but if you were to get even a basic entry-level joystick, you would immediately understand how many things the keyboard actively prevented you from doing.