Haha yeah, those are all very good reasons for not using the stock board and derp -it even says 'debolestis' right on it lol

That said, even with great native support on a game I still prefer to do it all through TARGET when possible. Even if there is no direct functionality to be gained (rarely is that true), if I ever have to reinstall the game, use a random client, dodge a controls wipe during a patch etc it's really nice to have that all separate from the game (kb emulation of default bindings etc) and I find it easier to keep track of my bindings and update them when needed.

While DCS has great native support, I use my cockpit and hardware in early access games and such (controls seem to be the LAST thing devs think is relevant for today's kbm crowd) as well as using controls for games that do not support them at all and TARGET has provided me the tools I need to compensate in those situations where others failed. For a single program seems more comprehensive than any of the alternatives that I know of, but is easy to use and still works great for basic stuff too. Joystick Gremlin was born out of such a need (Star Citizen pre-alpha controls shenanigans) but for non TARGET capable devices and so far seems as close as any other software gets as I understand it but I haven't tested it on thorny edge cases like to see if it can do absolute mouse emulation in MWO. Joy2Key is the only other mouse emulator I know of that works besides TARGET (tried a lot), however it lacks critical features like being able to fine tune gain in x and y or manipulate many other aspects of the axes so is not a viable substitute plus is messier to work with than TARGET.

For most people's needs especially in established flight sims though the complication requirements are admittedly light and most programs would suffice.