How complicated are controls?

[Glowyrm]

Hey folks,

I'm currently in the market for Elite: Dangerous or a similar game. How difficult are the ship controls if you've never played a game like this before? My control devices would be a basic mouse and keyboard. I would probably live a peaceful miner or trader life and avoid combat as much as possible.

Thanks for any info!

 

[Jukelo]

Basic flight controls are pretty standard, you should have no issue. Mouse and keyboard is probably what the overwhelming majority of the playerbase uses and it works fine out of the box.

 

[Vardaugas]

Takes a bit until to used to them, might need to customize them until it feels right, probably need to look up the controls in the settings for what you can do and what key to push. You know them by hard in no time.

 

[SAB380]

Flight controls are very simple.
Simple enough that it works on PS4/Xbox controller.
It's not meant to be hardcore flight mechanics.

 

[Stigbob]

Joystick with throttle and hat easily covers all (basic) flight control.

 

[Ashnak]

As simple, and almost as complicated, as you want them to be. You _can_ have full 6 axes control if you want it, or you can fly with keyboard and mouse (and a lot of the more successful PvP players do).
For casual, peaceful flying, though, I'd suggest you look into getting a gamepad. At least I find this easier to handle than KB+M. And should you succumb to the virus and go full monty with a HOTAS, you can always keep the gamepad connected for camera control .

 

[ForeverN00b]

They will take some getting used to, if you have never played a game like this before. Keyboard and mouse is definitely a viable control option, in fact a lot of top PvP pilots use it because of the advantage in fine aim control.

If a joystick might suit you, I suggest getting an inexpensive one to try the game. While kb/m is viable it may not be the easiest to learn on, but I am biased because I've played many flight /space sims and games with a joystick.

Either way, be prepared to take a few hours to master the controls. You can reassign any control, which i recommend assigning controls in a way that is comfortable for you. The number of controls is high, so focus on the basics in the beginning (thrusters, control axes, landing gear, etc....).

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Controls a fairly simple, and only combat requires complex inputs sometimes.

I find my wired (and knock off) Xbox One gamepad suits ED on the PC perfectly. Well except for hotas, but I sit on a cushion on the floor, in front of the TV. So yeah.. hotas wouldn't be too comfy. Lol

A cheapy Xbox one clone gamepad is around £20~.

 

[GreyAreaUK]

They will take some getting used to, if you have never played a game like this before. Keyboard and mouse is definitely a viable control option, in fact a lot of top PvP pilots use it because of the advantage in fine aim control.

If a joystick might suit you, I suggest getting an inexpensive one to try the game. While kb/m is viable it may not be the easiest to learn on, but I am biased because I've played many flight /space sims and games with a joystick.

Either way, be prepared to take a few hours to master the controls. You can reassign any control, which i recommend assigning controls in a way that is comfortable for you. The number of controls is high, so focus on the basics in the beginning (thrusters, control axes, landing gear, etc....).

One thing to remember is that the game includes some flight tutorials, so you can get familiar with the controls without incurring any penalties. They are well worth doing, even if you just restrict yourself to the non-combat ones.

I'll also add my voice to the 'get a joystick if you can' vote. While you can certainly play Elite using keyboard and mouse, even a cheap HOTAS changes the feel of it from "I'm playing a game" to "Holy Zod, I'm flying a spaceship!"

 

[zarrazee]

Ship controls aren't too bad. You don't have to learn / master all the keys at once to enjoy the game.

I use mouse (right hand) and keyboard and have it set-up like this

• Yaw / Pitch - Mouse
• Roll left & right - A & D
• Lateral thrust left & Right - Q & E
• Vertical thrust up & down - R & F
• Thrust forward & backwards - W & S

If I fancy a smoother, less digital and more analogue feel, I use mouse (right hand) and hotas (left hand - don't use the throttle)

• Yaw / Pitch - Mouse
• Roll left & right - Twist action on hotas
• Lateral thrust left & Right - Analogue left/right on hotas
• Vertical thrust up & down - Analogue up/down on hotas
• Thrust forward & backwards - Mouse wheel (10% increments)

Works well for me; feels comfortable and intuitive.

Good luck!

 

[Jethro49]

I'm using a HOTAS (X52 pro), and don't have to touch the keyboard for most of my flying operations. I had some hours on Xplane, and flying a space ship in ED with flight assist is easier than landing a plane

 

[fitzsteve]

I'd recommend a controller or flight stick if you're novice to flight sims, mouse and keyboard can be very tricky to master although I do use the mouse in multi crew for controlling turrets in the gunner role.

I have a Hotas for the main PC and play by xBox360 controller when I'm lounging on the sofa in front of the TV/Media PC. The Hotas I actually find more complicated as there are so many buttons and I guess being used to playing games on a gamepad I felt more natural using the 360 controller. I find the controller layout #2 works quite well with some tweaks. You'll find when you drop your landing gear the triggers for weapons become left and right thrusters for landing, you can map these to use in flight as well but it's not essential as you can so most manoeuvres with pitch and roll.

Do the tutorial missions until you are confident with taking off and docking as you will find this the hardest part at first, once you're outside the station it's easy enough to get around. Watch a couple if Youtube beginners guides that will give you tips on super cruising within star systems and how to go between planets/stations, then move on to jumping between star systems, etc. Docking on planets is harder so give that a go once you're a bit more confident.

The mission board when you first start generates a beginner mission, many miss that but it takes you to the next system and gets the ball rolling so look our for it.

Good luck commander.

 

[GammaZ]

IMO the default controls are a bit... weird.
But after some adjustments, for basic flight without any fancy maneuvers they are as simple as in any arcade 3d space game.
More complicated maneuvers, ability to account for inertia etc will come later, with experience.
Stick is useful for "immersion", but other than that is not required, the game is completely playable with KB+M.

 

[Factabulous]

There are a lot of controls: Ship / Landing / Fighting / SRV (planets) / Camera. None are especially complicated, but even after years I'm finding new useful keys. Not the thing that causes most people grief in the game, everything is remappable, and you can get by on a subset of controls - and then you'll buy a HOTAS

 

[Aashenfox]

Not very complicated at first. Just practice flying without hitting stuff, then introduce more concepts slowly. Familiarise yourself first with the difference between supercruise and frame jumping. Supercruise lets you travel IN SYSTEM at relativistic speeds, it's how you get from planet to planet. Frame shift or hyperspace jump is when you jump instantly (apart from a short time in 'witch-space' as it is called, which is nothing more than a glorified loading screen) and is how you travel from star to star, or rather, system to system. Personally, I use S on the keyboard for supercruise and J (as well as a button on my joystick) to 'jump'. If your destination is obscured (for example by a planet or star), then you can supercruise away from the object to get a clear line of sight to your destination, THEN you can jump.

Next get used to viewing the panels to the left and right (and up and down, but don't worry about those at first). The way you do this will depend heavily on what control method you use, so I can't offer direct advice. But basically, you have navigation and targets on the left panel, and your ship info in the right panel, both contain critical information you will need immediately, so get used to flipping these screens (and flipping hte sub tabs within them) to quickly get the info you need.

When you are approaching something in supercruise, you'll notice that your speed is relative to your distance from massive objects (as you approach something massive, full throttle makes less and less 'speed'). The trick to approaches is to throttle back to 75% (use a hotkey or a joystick throttle as you'll be using hte '75% throttle' command a lot), when you see 7 seconds to destination. Once you do that, it will say 7 seconds as you cruise in all the way, until you get the message to drop out of supercruise. When you get better at this, you can practice the '6 second rule' which just requires a bit more concentration and throttle control, otherwise you overshoot when the gravitic fields around you change. For the time being stick to the '7 second rule'. By the way, 8 second rule for planets until you become very good at planetary approaches.

Those are the things I wish someone had told me on my first day, hope it helps.

 

[Vardaugas]

When you are approaching something in supercruise, you'll notice that your speed is relative to your distance from massive objects (as you approach something massive, full throttle makes less and less 'speed'). The trick to approaches is to throttle back to 75% (use a hotkey or a joystick throttle as you'll be using hte '75% throttle' command a lot), when you see 7 seconds to destination. Once you do that, it will say 7 seconds as you cruise in all the way, until you get the message to drop out of supercruise. When you get better at this, you can practice the '6 second rule' which just requires a bit more concentration and throttle control, otherwise you overshoot when the gravitic fields around you change. For the time being stick to the '7 second rule'. By the way, 8 second rule for planets until you become very good at planetary approaches.

I found you don't need to hit the throttle at the 7, you can do it at 10 seconds and it'll go down to the 6 slowly anyway as you approach. May be a bit slower in the last bit, but I prefer that than risking to overshoot and do a loop of shame.

Also about supercruise: It slows down the closer you get to a gravity well. If a planet is in the way of your target destination, it will be faster to plot around the planet instead of slowing dow (sometimes terribly so) flying close past by it.

And stations, when you select one in supercruise, you can see the hologram on your ship UI at the left side. It shows where it's facing. Usually they are turned towards the planet/moon they are orbiting with a bit off axis. To approach a station you go around the planet until the station lines up right in front of it, then you pass it up or down where it's tilted towards and once you are inside the orbit you loop back slowly until you face the station and the entry 'mailslot. Saves you the time to fly around the station to the front in normal flight and it makes for a lot less complicated approach. Oh, and selecting one of the cube shaped coriolis stations in normal flight will show arrows on the sides pointing towards the entry slot. Very useful.

 

[Aashenfox]

I found you don't need to hit the throttle at the 7, you can do it at 10 seconds and it'll go down to the 6 slowly anyway as you approach. May be a bit slower in the last bit, but I prefer that than risking to overshoot and do a loop of shame.

Also about supercruise: It slows down the closer you get to a gravity well. If a planet is in the way of your target destination, it will be faster to plot around the planet instead of slowing dow (sometimes terribly so) flying close past by it.

And stations, when you select one in supercruise, you can see the hologram on your ship UI at the left side. It shows where it's facing. Usually they are turned towards the planet/moon they are orbiting with a bit off axis. To approach a station you go around the planet until the station lines up right in front of it, then you pass it up or down where it's tilted towards and once you are inside the orbit you loop back slowly until you face the station and the entry 'mailslot. Saves you the time to fly around the station to the front in normal flight and it makes for a lot less complicated approach. Oh, and selecting one of the cube shaped coriolis stations in normal flight will show arrows on the sides pointing towards the entry slot. Very useful.

Your approach method is a 'lot' slower, but still good advice for a beginner, good additions and clarifications though! It's exactly these odd mechanics that are specific to elite that throw new players for a loop (of shame)

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Controls are as complex or simple as you make them.
Elite is somewhat unique in the degree of control options we get and the extent to which they can be customized.

Personally I found flying with mouse and keyboard to be terrible, and switched to HOTAS within a few days.
Then spent about a week tweaking and refining my setup to be the way that works best for me.

 

[thirstyfish]

KB+M guy here. Really isn't that bad. Seems a bit daunting at first, until you realize that you don't need to have everything bound to a button. I am certain there are some controls I have never used. Feel free to leave the gal map controls alone. If you are planning to use KB+M, I would be glad to get a reference sheet for my bindings to post here.