You can start it without VR by unpluggin your VR headset.
I'm not sure if this joystick works, but tell me if it works or not because an update can maybe add it.
I see no options for remapping controls, it only responds to the mouse and keyboard. a joystick cannot "just work" with a generic control mapping, because there are so many variations - hats, thumb buttons, twist axes etc. You need a full Direct Input (XInput/generic gamepad mappings won't cut it) mapping utility page under Input if you want to attract the 6DOF crowd