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(in which you said largely the same thing, but in enormously more detail
Yes and no. Framing this as mouse vs joystick is the exact misnomer I'm trying to clear up. As an owner/designer/builder/user of a true zero-order joystick that is in no way whatsoever at
any disadvantage against a mouse or other zero-order device, I'm sensitive to the nuances of this argument and it leads to 3000 word essays when people draw the all too common and incorrect conclusion that a "joystick" can't compete with a mouse. If you want the tl:dr that gets the *actual point in far less words but still sound as it would be described by game designers, engineers, people that make controls; it would sound like this.
A zero order application is best controlled by a zero-order controller, which generates positional information. Examples of zero-order controllers are a mouse, or a touchpad, or can even be a specialized a joystick such as the one I constructed. A *normal joystick however is a spring-loaded first-order controller and generates velocity commands instead, which when combined with inherent mechanical characteristics that make it excel at being a first-order controller put it at a clear disadvantage in a zero-order environment such as MWO or just about any shooter.
The word "joystick" is not interchangeable with the phrase "first-order controller", and the word "mouse" is not a viable substitute for the phrase "zero-order controller".
As to your conclusion about the keyboard being superior alongside the mouse/zero-order controllers, simply put that is not correct/wishful thinking. Throttle/turning are objectively better handled by analog controllers as opposed to kb, and all dedicated throttles worth their weight have excellent button layouts that offer better reflexive/intuitive control over all the rest of the functions your left hand is otherwise relying on a keyboard to perform, which is a rather clumsy affair in comparison, especially when factoring in digital throttle/turning vs analog. Many in the 8 man scene use throttle/mouse with a large presence of throttle/pedals/mouse. Kb takes back seat to analog alternatives for all but chat, but a first-order controller such as a regular joystick or x-box controller will never compete on even footing with a zero-order controller like a mouse, in a zero-order environment.
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The devs do not understand joystick programming... Flight sims, racing games, and older MW titles had joystick support figured out decade(s) ago. When I move a joystick 30 degrees to the right the torso should twist a certain amount and stop.
They do, but users need to understand the difference between a zero-order applications (like MWO or any other shooter) and a first-order applications like flight sims or previous MechWarrior titles. It's completely different control design from the ground up. Zero-order applications and first-order controls do not mix well, but until more people understand
why, there is much confusion on the subject. This also has nothing to do with cryengine or anything other than which
control-order each aspect is designed around. In fact, the analog throttle and turning are beautiful working examples of first-order design, and hence first-order controllers like throttles and pedals work really well to control them. Much better than a keyboard in fact. Aiming however is zero-order, and that makes all the difference in the world since anything other than a zero-order controller is at a major disadvantage.
Aiming in MWO is designed around the same exact movements/inputs coding as moving a cursor when you are browsing the internet. A regular first-order spring-loaded joystick is just as much a fish out of water when trying to move the cursor while on the internet as it is for moving the reticule in game. It's literally the same. exact. movement. The reason is because a zero-order application is engineered around controls that directly generate positional information with the upmost of ease. Position is not as effectively derived by velocity commands as it is by directly manipulating position. If an application is zero-order, there is little if anything further that can be done by devs or even magicians; however higher order applications such as flight are pretty easily adapted to zero-order controllers by devs, but it only works from higher to lower. Once down to a zero-order application though, you are stuck with zero-order devices or sufferring with substandard controls. The article was meant to clear up this area of common misunderstanding.
They likely chose this for marketing reasons, because everyone has a mouse but only some of us have sticks. Now whether or not is was a
wise decision of the devs to choose to design the game around zero-order controls in the first place is a totally different argument, and I think is more the spirit of what you are driving at. So long as you frame it in letter as they "don't understand how joysticks work" though, the argument does not come across as very well informed and you shouldn't expect anyone that knows anything about this stuff to take it seriously, especially the devs.
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