Migration to PC worth it?

[here_it_comes]

Yes. Go dual stick or stick/throttle.

 

[Caydran]

OP, if you go PC, you will also get the software extra's that can complement Elite like VR, VoiceAttack, Headtracker, HOTAS....

You wil be glad you did.

 

[Templar01]

So I've been playing on Xbox since forever.

Facing Odyssey and me not willing to get the next gen console, I am thinking of migrating to PC.

However, I need to buy the game again and only credits can be transferred.

So what would you do? I am thinking of starting all over again in Elite rather than selling all my assets for maybe two billion credits. All the ships and especially the painful engineering must be redone anyway shudder.

I simply want the game to look better and enjoy mouse (maybe joystick) precision.

Great question and topic.

As someone who started on Elite on the XBox One and abandoned the platform altogether, I'll share with you my experience.

1. The advantages in my experience to console play are:
   1. Ease of setup. There is only one configuration for the machine.
   2. Speedy bootup of the game(although that can be debated depending on your PC)
   3. Cost - Platforms pound for pound are cheaper, there is no getting around that.
   4. Stability - PCs are open systems and therefore subject to random problems due to incompatibility. Consoles have the upper edge here.
2. Comparing ED console play to PC is not even Apples and Oranges. It's more like Bicycles vs Automobile. Both will get you places but Automobiles have expenses that scale with what you want to get out of the vehicle. Likewise, you can build a comparable gaming rig to the XBox for under $500 and still get expandability. Can't really upgrade a console can you? Maybe storage but that's about it.
3. There's a whole other universe of modding that comes into play also. FDEV followed suit of other gaming platforms that left enough elements of the system open to modding for individual preference. Many of these mods operate on the local files stored on the PC such as graphics and reading the log files. Can't really mod the game on the console, it's a closed system with no access to the local filesystem.
   1. If you need proof, take a look at the ED Tools CODEX http://edcodex.info/?m=tools There are 226 tools currently for the PC platform. None for XBox or PS4.
4. Peripheral support - You can use most Xbox controllers on a PC but only a minority of PC Controllers work on an XBox. Many require specific versions of the PC variant. That means if the next generation Joystick or HOTAS comes out, you're likely to be last in line if at all.
5. Upgradability - As I mentioned in item 2. You can't upgrade a console. So here is what you miss out on:
   1. VR - Oculus has provide some level of support but by and large, nobody else has. Either way, you're always going to be an afterthought by the developers. Hell, VR is still struggling to get enough of their own AAA titles onto the medium.
   2. Graphics upgradability. So let's say you do get to that nextgen VR like the new HP Reverb G2 with it's 4K display or the Pimax. You're going to need a beefy graphics card to run it. Can't upgrade a console. Or let's say you graduate to a 4K or even 8K display. You'll find that you're at a dead end with a console. Remember the original Playstation? They promised us 1280 x 1024 resolution and it never happened along with other broken promises.

All in all, PC is an expensive platform to game from compared to a console but it's worth every penny. The thing is, you can get away with spending as little or as much as you want. A PC is scalable where a console isn't. There have been years where I went three years without an upgrade then binge on upgrades because of some breakthrough technology such as VR. VR cost me about $2,000 over two years between two different headsets and three graphic card upgrades and an upgrade to a 4K monitor, but the way I look at it, it's much cheaper than a vacation. And buy the way, ED and games like it beg for VR despite that VR is an afterthought on ED and far from perfect. I only used my Oculus Rift during mining because the text on the Oculus is very hard to read and causes eyestrain but my HP Reverb G2 so far I've used for all game play because of the increased resolution and clarity.

So if you're only a casual gamer and are tight on funds. Stick with the console. But if you're hard core and play more than 20 hours a week and have the discretionary income, PC gaming is the way to go. Despite the agony of dealing with compatibility issues, theirs always the sense of eureka accomplishment when you've figured out a way to get your rig to do thing the manufacture simply doesn't support.