CQC Tips from our Elite Friends .

[suburbanguerilla]

I play with a monitor and a 44 quid thrustmaster from maplins . Now you might have noticed i love to play CQC and so here is a plea for knowledge .

1) Which hotas or controller would you recommend . Bearing in mind that i am a competitive soul and would love to get a place at the tournament to meet some of you lovely folks .

Treat this like advice for all , i know of the x52 rule for the competition but would be willing to consider any controller for my home ( i learn quick so not fussed about having an x52 specifically )

2) Virtual reality . Now this is the really important bit ( and confusing bit for me ) , What VR options are there , is it only DK2 ( and 1 ) that we can use with elite dangerous . Bear in mind i am a semi old man . Keeping up with trends is not a specialty of mine . Do the new raft of options work with Elite dangerous .

3) Any top tips welcome , i am an autodidact elite player , not one for reading instructions but i think i might need to re evaluate that

Go on , help and old fool and all those that might read it .

 

[Aelemar]

1) I had been playing on a Xbox 360 gamepad since release. With the Crab setup (I can provide link if needed) it worked really well. Recently, I purchased the Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X for like $40 USD. I have to say I am impressed that such a a cheap HOTAS setup can perform so well. Build quality is pretty good, and it's extremely comfortable. I haven't tried the others (x52) but considering how happy I am with the Thrustmaster, I don't see myself spending the money an x52 costs.

2) Right this moment the only available virtual reality is the DK1 and DK2. Oculus preorders are available, but it will take a while for the units to be delivered. There is the HTC Vive as well, preorders are opening on February 28. So if you want virtual reality RIGHT NOW, DK1/DK2 are your choices (don't do the DK1, ugh, its horrible). If you don't mind waiting for the consumer version, you could preorder the VIVE or Oculus and wait for it to be delivered.

3) Honestly, I don't do CQC. After playing game since release, I entered CQC for the first time just a few days ago. If you need any specific tips on ship loadouts, or other aspects of the game, I'd be happy to oblige.

 

[Arithon]

To answer both questions; the HOTAS is a preference based on what you like and your budget. I bought an X52 Pro for myself and loved it. I bought my son a much cheaper Thrustmaster from Argos for £38 and it works just as well, but has fewer buttons. So it is up to you, but HOTAS is king.

Secondly about VR; Elite supports all the currently available VR and plan on supporting new Head Mounted Displays as they come out. So your options are DK1 or DK2 with the older 0.6 drivers right now. In future you can purchase the Oculus Rift CV1 and the HTC Vive which will work with Elite (I know there is no current support for the CV1 until the drivers are ironed out, but I have pre-ordered one, so I'm betting £530 that Frontier will get it working). To run VR you need a beefy PC, because you are running effectively two screens at 1080x1200 at 90fps (50% faster than the common 60fps). If you haven't got at least a GTX 970 or better, you'll struggle. The good news is a new gen of GFX is due out in Q2 /Q3 this year and even the cheaper models will be 3x faster than current cards - the top end may be up to 10x faster!

So hardware and software issues aside, what is CQCC like in VR? The dogs doo-dahs basically! I don't play CQCC and am not very good (as people have no doubt seen when I played on Kerrash Landing's stream) but when I had my Oculus DK2, I ruled! With peripheral vision and head-tracking you could look around and follow the ships giving you unparalleled situational awareness.

Now, if you don't have a Core i7 PC with a GTX 980 TI card and a sack of cash for whichever VR device meets your preference, you might want to look at cheaper head tracking options. Track IR costs under £200 and is very good. There is also the EDTracker Pro which costs around £40.

Good luck with your shopping trip. If you want to try CQC in VR, I'm happy for you to have a go at LaveCon if you can make it. I will have my CV1 by then.

 

[suburbanguerilla]

looks like i need to hook up with my old friend tom from oc3d . new pc it is , i have watched artysu stream and the field of vision and target tracking is amazing .

on the plus side , the youngest son will be thrilled .

 

[Brimstone]

My biggest tip- use your vertical, horizontal, and reverse thrusters.

 

[suburbanguerilla]

My biggest tip- use your vertical, horizontal, and reverse thrusters.

Indeed , that and pips .

gone through two of the current trustmasters , the thumb switches keep going , currently my target button , locks and then immediately unlocks target which is a tad frustrating . it has to be hit just right to retain a lock . you might notice me hit you and then hit space and repeat this several times . at £40 ish not that concerned , would love a hotas that lasts a little longer .


Can i add to the list headsets , gone through another raptor hs40 , same fault , broken connection at volume control .

 

[Curtis R. Prophett]

Get that VR rig. You won't regret it. CQC and Elite in general are phenomenal in VR. You really can't imagine it accurately until you try it. The DK2 is great, but if you can get an Oculus Rift CV1 or a Vive, I would recommend that. Preorders are open for the consumer version of the Oculus Rift now, but it is back ordered until July. The Vive preorders start on February 29th, with an expected release date in April, so if you can get in on the Vive pre-order in the very first moments, you may be geared up by the end of April. Oculus no longer sells DK2 headsets, so if you choose to go down that road, you will need to buy a used one. As tempting as it may be to get it sooner, I really would recommend that you wait for the consumer releases of either the Vive or the Oculus Rift. I love my DK2, but I am definitely looking forward to the improved resolution, FOV, and ergonomics of the consumer Rift, specifically for Elite. Looking forward to seeing you in VR!

 

[suburbanguerilla]

Spoken to Tom from oc3d , hes is looking at a rig for me . he seems to think i would be better waiting 6 plus months for the bang to the buck but i am an impatient soul . currently running an i5 4670k with a gtx 780 ti . 8gb ram , would that run a dk2 if i go for a stop gap .

 

[Curtis R. Prophett]

Spoken to Tom from oc3d , hes is looking at a rig for me . he seems to think i would be better waiting 6 plus months for the bang to the buck but i am an impatient soul . currently running an i5 4670k with a gtx 780 ti . 8gb ram , would that run a dk2 if i go for a stop gap .

Nvidia's next generation GPUs are expected later in the year. They are built on a new architecture and are expected to outperform the current generation of chips. That is a good reason to at least wait and see if you have the patience for it. I did not have the patience. I updated my machine late last year, and I am very happy with it so far (980 TI, [SIZE=-1]i7 5820K, 16GB DDR4 )[/SIZE].


The official Elite Dangerous minimum VR specs are pretty intense, so I am not sure that your current rig will be able to handle it. It is not really about the whether you have a DK2 or a Rift CV1*. The crucial point is not the hardware, but rather it is that, for VR, a game basically has to be rendered twice at high resolutions, once for each eye, and at constant, crazy high framerates. The more complicated the game, the more work your GPU and CPU have to do to keep up. Here is what Frontier is recommending as a minimum to run Elite in VR: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=207248


* DK2 has a framerate target of 75fps, while CV1 has a framerate target of 90fps. There are unconfirmed reports that CV1 will have a 75fps mode though, so I am taking that into account.

 

[suburbanguerilla]

Nvidia's next generation GPUs are expected later in the year. They are built on a new architecture and are expected to outperform the current generation of chips. That is a good reason to at least wait and see if you have the patience for it. I did not have the patience. I updated my machine late last year, and I am very happy with it so far (980 TI, [SIZE=-1]i7 5820K, 16GB DDR4 )[/SIZE].


The official Elite Dangerous minimum VR specs are pretty intense, so I am not sure that your current rig will be able to handle it. It is not really about the whether you have a DK2 or a Rift CV1*. The crucial point is not the hardware, but rather it is that, for VR, a game basically has to be rendered twice at high resolutions, once for each eye, and at constant, crazy high framerates. The more complicated the game, the more work your GPU and CPU have to do to keep up. Here is what Frontier is recommending as a minimum to run Elite in VR: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=207248


* DK2 has a framerate target of 75fps, while CV1 has a framerate target of 90fps. There are unconfirmed reports that CV1 will have a 75fps mode though, so I am taking that into account.

Cheers m8 , not what i wanted to hear but it backs up Tom . he knows his stuff so i will start saving , he did tell be it would be expensive . Known him for years , he used to mod cases before taking on OC3d , i just programmed the water knife to his demands . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxMmeX9h0NY . OLD SCHOOL .