CrottyKid said:
Do you use a mouse and keyboard? That's what I'm using now, but I bet I would be a lot better with a controller. I am just now trying this game, and I like it. I like the idea of researching modifications kind of like Rise of Nations or even Clash of Clans. I don't like that someone could drop a hundred bucks on the game and blow past everyone, but I get that that's how they make money. I suppose most games are like that these days.
I tried joystick, but it was surprisingly harder to use. For Arcade and Realistic modes, I use mouse and keyboard. For simulator mode, you might be required to use a joystick, but I haven't even tried that. I play 99% of my games in Arcade mode.
As far as research goes, getting new planes doesn't really make you any better off (or any worse). It simply just adjusts which vehicles you are playing against in-game.
You will see that each vehicle has a battle rating, like "2.3" or "3.7". Your highest battle rating plane/tank that you bring into battle determines the battle ratings of the vehicles you will be facing. I would try to keep all the vehicles you bring in to battle to be very close in battle rating. Ie. About a 1.0-1.3 range difference between smallest and highest. This will help keep all your planes competitive in any given battle.