So maybe I should have paid more attention to the requirments but do I HAVE to have a joystick? Can I not just play X-Wing with a mouse? When I try to run the game I get the old check your joystick error message and then the game closes. :-(

Thanks.

Hey KORraN,

Thanks for the heads up. I got the 1993 version running, but its really choppy. Which I know sounds insane. Do you know if there are any settings that might improve the frame rate?

Thanks!!

Even if you could play it without a joystick, you really owe it to yourself to get one to play this and TIE Fighter.

Good question. Can someone recommend good modern joysticks?

I had this game over 20 year ago, but do not remember which joystick I used. I think it was a flight joystick.

I just never understood Lucasarts' reasoning for eliminating mouse support in the Windows 95 versions of the games (TF and XW)

I agree with you, it's a better experience to play with a joystick - I eventually did - but in the 90s I finished both X-Wing and TIE Fighter with mouse and keyboard only.

They are more than playable with mouse, they're enjoyable. Joystick is the optimal experience, no question, still no reason to exclude the mouse. Especially after having released the games twice with mouse support.

As I recall the X-Wing vs. TIE engine which the 1998 games used required a joystick. So that's the reason technically. Now, why Totally Games eliminated mouse/keyboard for that game, I imagine they didn't feel the mouse and keyboard were precise enough for a network multiplayer flight sim. Who really knows, I suppose I could email my friend who worked on the game back then and see if he remembers :)

Ey sure, if you get in touch with your friend, ask him if he remembers :)

http://www.thrustmaster.com/products/t16000m

Sadly these games are capped at around 35 FPS. It's a hard-coded limit that unfortunately can't be worked around as of yet and probably won't ever be able to (people have tried for years.)