I generally agree with you, but i'm not debating the interface of it at all. This was done in the other poll and that's why this one was opened, to discuss not the interface but the possibilities that exist.
The thing is, while i don't look at my turn signals and clutch in the car to use them, i do look momentarily (like a real life snap view) at the air-conditioning and the cd-player controls, because it's a whole cluster of buttons on the car's center console whose location i either don't remember (how often does one need to use the fog lights in Greece?
) or i can't find by touch alone. I just know their general location, move my hand towards it but before i press anything i still need to take my eyes off the road for a fraction of a second and confirm what i'm just about to press. This is actually preferrable to keeping eyes on the road at all times but also keeping my right hand tied up while i'm fumbling around for the correct switch for an extended period of time.
In that sense, things like a clutch and turn signal controls are the equivalent of controls mapped to HOTAS and keyboard. The other ones are secondary controls that you don't need all the time, so that's why the car's designer decided to put them in a place where you might need to look before you use them.
Once again, it's a matter of options. I would like to have the added option to go all manual on those juicy new flyables and if someone else doesn't, well there's always the difficulty settings where one can turn it off. I think the main reason for this poll is not a "my way is better" approach, but to gauge if there's enough interest from the potential buyers of the sim to justify going ahead and modelling these things.
When i first fired up the IL-2 demo almost 10 years ago it was the hardest, most realistic, most challenging experience i've ever had with simulators up to that point. When comparing it with the latest offerings however i feel like i've been having it easy for the last few years. That doesn't mean IL-2 is suddenly not up to par, because for a 2001-2005 title it pretty much is.
The distinction lies in the context however, because technology evolves and possibilities broaden. If SoW uses the same amount of excessive automation as IL-2 in certain functions without the possibility to select a more complex model, IL-2 will still be a benchmark sim for a 2001 title but SoW won't be a benchmark sim for a 2010 title.
I hope i'm making myself clear, i'm not dissing the titles, i'm just saying we have to judge them according to what else is out there on the sim market and at the same time understand that since the market is small, it might take a while before all the necessary bits are assembled.
I would be perfectly content with a statement that says "yes, these features are possible in the new engine, there is built-in support for them and sometime in the near future modders or the development team will implement them".
This stuff needs to be included, probably not on release but certainly during the first year of the sim's life. An important portion of the confirmed customer base wants it, but there's also a big part of the flight sim community in general that might want it, so this means that Mr.Maddox and team might probably want it as well due to the possibility of extra sales outside the dedicated fans of IL-2 and WWII combat sims.
For example, what about licensing the engine to developers of civilian sims? Or what about a mod-pack with 2-3 freeware open beta stages before it goes payware, like Over Flanders Fields? There's a big gap now that MSFS is dead and there are a whole bunch of companies that used to code for that series. I don't expect them to suddenly close shop, it's more likely that they'll search for a new platform and if that platform happens to be SoW it will be good for everyone. We get more realistic options in our combat sims, Maddox and co. get more money and if that money goes into hiring additional staff, we might also get the SoW expansions faster.
It's like that movie with the baseball field, "build it and they will come"
