Useful indeed, couldn't they ship this with the game?

Sorry for the bump, but trying to use the mouse for controls and when I use the ini the ship is just constantly going down, I can only get it to stop if I frantically drag my mouse up and up and up over and over, as soon as I stop my ship starts spinning downward again.
Anyone have this problem?
I'd really just like to get it setup where I can use the mouse to control the direction of the ship and W/S/A/D to control strafe left/right and thrust/reverse.

I don't know about EoC, as I have always used either a joystick or a gamepad with accelerometers, but the original game (I-War the first) would let you fly the ship using the numpad as a joystick replacement.
The only reason I know this is because at the time I was playing the first game, I was using a Pentium 1 366(?) with 32MB RAM(?) and a 8 GB HD (below the minimum specs, but it did just barely work). I had gotten it for free from a friend so I could write school papers. And I had no money for a joystick. And my dad bought the game for me from a small gameshop by his house because it looked interesting.
Changed my life. Really.
But seriously, that aside, try the numpad. I don't know for sure if numpad control was included in EoC; it was originally developed to use joystick-only controls (all ship's functions are in a menu tree accessible via the POV-hat instead of the keyboard) since it was being developed for the Dreamcast simultaneously and they wanted to minimise the code differences between the two releases. I really wish the Dreamcast version actually got released. I'd love to play it on my Dreamcast. :D
If all else fails:
-buy a controller-s from the original XBox and a USB adapter to replace the fat end of the cable
-download and install XBCD
OR
-buy an old joystick on eBay. I have a Gravis Blackhawk Digital that was designed for gameport but comes with a USB adapter. it was like $25 when I bought it from Best Buy, you should be able to find it for less.
This game is worth the effort.

I can confirm that it works. it seems to work straight off without configuration. Even then the software with it will let you configure it however you want.

And the game is totally worth it!

Why are people so resistant to buying joysticks now? No wonder simulations have fallen off the map in favor of other genres that play just fine with only KB+M. People can't be bothered to get the proper tool for the job anymore, so to speak. Everything apparently has to work with either KB+M or a gamepad with a couple of twiddlysticks and analog triggers now, nothing else, because those are the standard interfaces-even if there are alternatives that work far, far better for specific titles. It's not like you have to go all-out HOTAS + rudder pedals + TrackIR for several hundred US$ at first-there are $40 or so sticks that do the basics just fine.
In fact, regarding a certain other game on GOG that people compare a lot to Freelancer, I can't really stand it because while there IS joystick support, it's half-assed compared to the KB+M implementation, and it's not a game I want to play with KB+M, though I could do so in a pinch (just like another series that's been on GOG since day one, but whose joystick support ISN'T half-assed).
I will say this, though-Independence War is definitely a better choice to try and go keyboard-only on than something like IL-2 Sturmovik, Falcon 4.0, or DCS: Black Shark, simply because those titles require a lot of finesse with ANALOG control that a keyboard will never provide for actually hitting something with your guns, landing, or aerial refueling. I-War has autopilot and a blatant aimbot for your PBCs and other weapons.
You could try making a GlovePIE script that turns the mouse into a virtual joystick and feeds the data into PPJoy's virtual joystick driver, giving you some semblance of analog input, and ideally, there should be a key bound to toggle the script off so that you have normal mouse input for the menus. (No, I haven't tried to make one yet, simply because I haven't needed to...but I might just try to figure it out for those who do need it.)

XBCD doesn't seem to want to work with win7 64, it can't see the device at all. Are there any other programs?

I get getting rinsed in the first mission and found out that you have to use lateral thrusters, however i've tried using right hand on joystick and left hand on keyboard, but it doesn't really work well... I'd love to be able to use the second joystick as the thruster keys.


Does xpadder work with I-war?

Nope, unfortunately, xppader does not work with I-War 2, you have to change setting to keyboard only then manually remap all the key.

bah, ok bought myself that cheap joystick from maplins logic 3. Never used a joystick, it feel so odd and I keep zooming past the guy I'm aiming for.

I just bought a Logitech Rumblepad 2 gamepad, and IWar recognized it and works just fine (apart from changing a few keys to my liking),

The Rumblepad got one joy for aiming, one for thrust / rolling. I'm curious how it plays like with one joy (like, eh, the joystick)

For one joystick you use the stick for roll/yaw/pitch and the WASD keys for thrusters.

See, that's my question. Joystick can only be moved in 2-D way, isn't it? up-down and left-right.

So how can it serves 3 purposes?

Clarification that I've never touch any joystick in my life ... yet

Most joysticks have a twist axis as well to control yaw (most space sims have it as bank by default, actually), alternatively several expensive HOTAS sets have rudder pedals that serve the same function.