Controller support = higher skill cap?

[LeLLo]

I'm brand new to the game; been playing less than a week. I've been having an absolute BLAST the past few days failing most of the time with a few glimpses of the real potential this game has to offer.

My main hangup has been the controls. While I'm used to using a keyboard, it still feels awkward most of the time. I'm wondering if you more experienced players will stay with the keyboard or relearn on a controller/joystick?

It seems a controller or joystick would add a few hundreths (if not tenths) of seconds to your reaction time, thus bringing the overall skillcap of the game to a new level. After playing for a long time and seeing a lot of crazy shtuff, do you think it will be harder for you to compete with the up-and-coming controller users in the next 6 months-year?

Sorry if this is too long or the thoughts disjointed. I'm a bit scatterbrained atm.

~LeLLo

[nesnl]

I am not sure what you mean when you say that you think a controller/joystick would quicken your reaction time. Unless of course there is something I am missing. However, either way, the game is less about reaction time and more about plane positioning and optimal energy use. I would say that most of the time kills come from having an advantage over another plane rather than reaction time and even after a lot of practice, some players will always be better at abusing those advantages than others, so I don't think a controller will ever outweigh that factor.

[tyr]

I never used a controller in my life for any computer games and I don't play console systems often.
I'm used to keyboard for altitude and touhou (which demands even more precision and reflexes than altitude) so I will keep the keyboard. I'm really not sure why you say a controller would help improving reaction time. It's all a question of habits.

[bolderz]

I really don't think it's going to matter. I used my gamepad for a lil while yesterday and it plays about the same. Main benefit I will get is that when my fingers get tired from playing for so long, I can reach over, grab my gamepad, put my feet up and play on! I played last night until I fell asleep in my chair (near enough)

The gamepad is very easy/suitable to play with and it's great that it's now supported.

[ORYLY]

An analog stick (or even mouse) is better if you need to look 360 degrees. But with altitude, speed and direction are only modified by four keys, so there's no advantage over the keyboard.

You could argue that the keyboard has a slight advantage over a keypad, because you have move fingers over the directional keys. This means that the travel time from opposite sides of the d-pad/analog stick isn't present.

[mikesol]

I agree with everyone else - especially since I play a plane with a reaction time that needs to be faster than most. I'm going to stick with my keyboard all the way. Honestly I prefer keyboard + mouse to joystick or controller any day.