Star Citizen: It's going to be a little "twitchy" and that's OK

I see way too much disparaging of twitch games/gameplay around here. To the point where it seems like some of you honestly believe that if twitch is a factor in a game, then the game is bad. This is nonsense.

First, one thing needs to be made clear: twitch gameplay and tactical gameplay are not mutually exclusive. They can, and should, coexist in a game like Star Citizen.

With a WWII-centric dogfighting model, how could reaction speed/accuracy not come into play? IRL, it's widely accepted that fighter pilots(from the days of dogfighting) must have good reflexes. That's just part of the job. Of course tactics will come into play too.

As far as FPS goes - Let's say that during a boarding action, one team breaches a door and storms a room containing a second team. In this scenario, it should be obvious that things like quick threat assessment and target acquisition are important. That is "twitch".

Now, I realize that the above scenario is likely triggering some PTSD, remembering encounters from other games. Someone popped into a room that you and your friends were hunkered down in, and before you could even turn towards him, he laid you all to rest with a few well-aimed shots? Shitty day.

But you must understand something: not only did that person out-twitch you, but he also used an effective tactic. Blitzkrieg/Shock-and-awe. Your tactic of hanging around and hoping that someone would wander into your trap was countered by his tactic of cannonballing face first into that "trap". He was ready, and you were complacent. If you were prepared, then it would have come down to numbers/positions/cover - and you probably would have got him. But reflexes/accuracy would always be a factor. 

An argument I have seen multiple times is that such an outcome isn't "realistic". "People don't burst into a room IRL and single-handed take out four gunmen." I say: "They could". If they practiced multiple times daily, the way gamers do.. thousands of times, breaching and clearing the same room.. well, people have trained themselves to do far more unlikely things than that, and this is exactly how/why some people seem so fast. Repetition. Shooting people in the face is a skill that you too can become more efficient at. In this "living breathing universe" it only makes sense that the characters who spend a lot of time doing would be more proficient at it than others.

Unless we are talking about trench-style warfare, and even sometimes then, twitch will be a factor in FPS. Trying to remove it would create an awful and unrealistic game with sluggish artificial limitations.

Unless we are talking about large capship battles, the same applies to space pewpew.

That being said, it isn't the end of the world if you aren't fast. Practice will make you faster. I used to be the guy who beat everyone to the shot, but I'm older now. And usually drinking. So now I'm the guy who shoots you in the back. My K/D is relatively unaffected. Twitch is handy, but - even in the games I see continually blasted for being too 'twitchy' like CoD - it is far from everything. Good positioning and situational awareness are more important. I'd go so far as to say that if you get into a fight that is decided by twitch, then you've already failed at tactics/awareness. Games that are PURE twitch are pretty rare. Most games, and real life, use both. Adapt.