Set Up Mouse as Controller
Before I explain how to set up your mouse, let me loose a few words on Mouse vs. Joystick. Aces High II lists the Joystick as a System Requirement – and it should be considered as such. Mouse flying can be done, I even know quite a few people that have done it for years and with high success – but a joystick (no matter how simple) will make things a lot easier for you and will give you more precise and coordinated input in the long run.
If you use your mouse for flying, it will have to serve a DOUBLE duty. To navigate the Game Interface (Clipboard, radio) and to steer your plane. We will need to assign a switch to change between the two basic functions – the “Mouse Toggle”. While in “flight control mode”, your mouse cursor will be stuck in place and can’t be used to click on anything. While you are in “game interface mode” you can not control your plane.
Of course there are plenty of different ways to set up your mouse for flying. To avoid confusion, in this article, I will stick to one layout I have found easy to use and practical. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be “customized” and adapted to your own wishes and preferences.
When you enter the game, your mouse is automatically in “interface mode”. Open your clipboard with ESC key, Go to OPTIONS > CONTROLS > Map Controllers. Now your clipboard will look like the image below:
Note that if you do not have any game controller plugged into your computer your X and Y axis as well as some of the buttons are already preconfigured to default settings. If that is the case, you can skip the DEFAULT MAP step in the following description. Doing it anyway doesn’t hurt the setup process.
Make sure that the Mouse is selected in the upper right pull-down box - Select Controller. For now we will map “Mode 1 (Planes & Default)” – in the Mode Selection pull-down menu.
Click on DEFAULT MAP in the upper left corner. This will automatically assign the X and Y axis to the corresponding Analog Input – Roll (Aileron) and Pitch (Elevator).
It will also map some of the mouse buttons, but we will have to change those settings in a bit.
Now, your Clipboard should be looking like this:
