Bandai Namco offers workarounds for problems with Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown on Steam

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The PC version of the arcade flight sim went live today, but is lacking some features.

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Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, which debuted on consoles a couple of weeks ago, is now available on Steam, along with a new trailer showcasing high-flying gameplay and a few of the accolades it's received since the console versions came out. It doesn't appear to be going quite as smoothly as all that on PC, however, as user reviews on Steam are decidedly mixed. 

The game appears to look great and run well, but there are multiple complaints about lack of support for 4K resolution and 21:9 aspect ratios, as well as HOTAS (Hands on Throttle and Stick) devices beyond specific Thrustmaster models. It also apparently doesn't support mouse controls for navigating menus. 

Some workarounds have been posted to the Ace Combat subreddit, and the development team indicated on Twitter that it's aware of the issues with joysticks and looking into it. It also said that the inability to select 4K resolution is a problem with Windows: If you have Windows set to 1920x1080 (or any non-4K resolution, I assume), you will not be able to run at 4K in the game. 

HOTAS setups are great—I used to rock a very nice CH outfit back in the days of dedicated game ports—and I'm sure I'd be disappointed if I still had one and couldn't use it properly. At the same time, Ace Combat 7 is not a DCS production: It's an arcade-style yank-and-banker, more akin to Hawx than Falcon, designed to be played with a controller. And in that regard, it's quite good: As "an ode to Afterburner, all effortless loops and rolls," we said in our 75/100 review, "it's a roaring success." 

"We want to thank Ace Combat fans for their continued support and passion for the franchise," Bandai Namco said in a statement. "We invite Ace Combat 7 PC players with questions regarding flight stick compatibility, flight stick drivers, and resolution settings, to visit the official Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Steam page. This page will be updated with future updates as they become available." 

I've had this stuck in my head for two hours now. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

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Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.