Well, I don't know where to begin

[MrJames]

I was only recently made aware of this game's existence.

I never played Elite, but Elite 2 was (and possibly still is) my favourite game. I lost a good portion of my youth to it on my trusty Amiga 600, and later on my first PC.
Then First Encounters came out, it was bugged to hell but I still loved it. I always hoped Elite 4 would eventually be made, I checked the frontier developments website for years.
I stopped looking maybe 5 years ago.

So I'm actually glad I didn't know about it until now as the anticipation would have probably killed me. And less than a month to go until general release, I think I can hold it together long enough to wait for that!

To those who have played it already, is it the same beautiful game Elite 2 was in the 90's?
I don't know if I like the sound of the MMO aspect of it, but you can play solo?

What is generally considered better, the classic keyboard and mouse control, or joystick?
And if joystick is the way forward, can someone recommend to me a good one? (I'm not much of a games player this century)

 

[Commander M.O.]

If you are just looking for a joystick then the Logitech Extreme 3d Pro will suffice. However, I recommend a HOTAS setup Saitek x55 Rhino or perhaps x52 Pro.

edit- Oh yeah, mouse and keyboard will work BUT, I don't recommend playing that way. An joystick controller is definitely the way to go. Some say a gamepad works fine but, I would go for a HOTAS.

 

[T@F]

I would not class it as mmo imo.
Anyway this is the better elite by miles.
As for controls many use hotas you can get one off amazon for £30+.
i use a xbox360 joypad it works fine,Also i can use it for all my games that require joypad where a hota not so much.

 

[MrJames]

If you are just looking for a joystick then the Logitech Extreme 3d Pro will suffice. However, I recommend a HOTAS setup Saitek x55 Rhino or perhaps x52 Pro.

Thanks for the quick reply, I don't mind spending a bit of a cash because I imagine I'll get a lot of use out of it over the coming weeks and months

 

[amigacooke]

Hi and welcome back. Elite Dangerous plays rather more like the original Elite than Frontier. It requires an Internet connection at all times and does have a solo mode, but that is still connected to the ongoing persistent Galaxy.

i'm still using mouse and keyboard, quite a lot of people are using joysticks and there is a great deal of controller information on this forum.

 

[DYSEQTA]

I was only recently made aware of this game's existence.

And if joystick is the way forward, can someone recommend to me a good one? (I'm not much of a games player this century)

Welcome Cmdr MrJames If you can afford a HOTAS then go for it, it makes all the difference, pedals too if you can afford it. I have a Thrustmaster HOTAS and Saitek Combat Flight Pedals myself. Some find the Warthog to be a little over the top price-wise but the thing is built like a tank and is smooth as silk in actuation.

 

[Avnas]

http://youtu.be/7txixfOI0tE?t=1m10s

elite's looking nice. i'd regard it right now as 50% finished though. the core mechanics are there, the 400bn sytems are there, it's really good and immersive, it's fun, but it is lacking in several areas, you'll find out eventually if you lurk the forums what all those little issues are.

i use mouse and keyboard with default settings because it's like space warthunder and i'm really good at warthunder

 

[MrJames]

Thanks for all the replies!

There is certainly a lot of information on here to digest. I read somewhere that a future update will allow planetary landings, and even the ability to control a character and walk around... Well I can't even beging to imagine how much fun that would be

 

[Harbinger]

You should check out some of the Elite: Dangerous twitch streams to get a preview of what to expect.

 

[Si Waters]

Essentially, its the same, with far superior combat mechanics. You can't land on planets yet though, but it'll be an expansion in the future.

I'm hopefully get a Thrustmaster T Flight Hot as X for Christmas, look at that as a budget option.