Due to life circumstance my gaming purchasing is going to be much more limited this year than in years past. So I need a bit more input from duders before I pull the trigger on this one.

First off I am a space flight fan from way back since I first heard video game characters talk in wing commander 2 up through mark hamil in 3 and 4. I adored privateer and freelancer. I kind of fell off a bit at free space 2 even though it looked cool I couldn't afford a good pc at the time .

This game looks like it will scratch a good ton of itches for me, but I just can't decide.

First off, all I have is a game pad which I have heard mixed opinions about.I may be willing to get a stick later since no mans sky and star citizen also look incredible.

I know there is no story, but how engaging to you find the actual game, losing myself for a couple hours pretending I'm a space trucker or fighter pilot sounds great.

Gah I really wish there was some kind of demo because I just need to feel how this plays.

This topic is making no sense as I read it but Im going to post it anyway on the off chance someone gets what I'm getting ant and can give me an answer or I come up with a better way of phrasing what I'm asking.

I'll say it works perfectly with a 360 gamepad if you change the defaults a bit (the default gamepad settings are weird), so no need to get a stick unless you really want to. As for how engaging it is, I think that's a bit too subjective to say, really. The game is a bit more barebones than previous Elite games (where you could land on planets, which currently isn't possible in Elite Dangerous, but is supposedly coming down the line, possibly as paid DLC). I find it pretty engaging just to do trading runs, I only rarely get into combat (though I did upgrade my ship's guns so it can fight off all the regular kinds of pirates I've come across so far), but to enjoy that aspect, you'd probably have to be one of us crazies who also enjoy civilian flight sims, Euro Truck Simulator and that kind of stuff. I do think the ships feel great to control, so combat is absolutely enjoyable too, I just prefer the hauling life in these kinds of games.

Since you mentioned playing Privateer, it's pretty much the same thing as the Elite games, so I suppose you understand what kind of game this is. But, yeah, I agree a demo would probably be good. As I said, I think the ship movement feels fantastic, and I play it pretty much entirely with a 360 gamepad (only use the keyboard for shortcuts like deploying the landing gear), but I also agree with people saying the game is pretty thin on content right now.

@fisk0: so do we know if the additional content is going to be paid or is this just kind of an early access game without calling it early access

@garris: They've said there'll be free content updates, but they haven't been specific about what'll be free and what'll be paid DLC. Some posts on the official E:D forums have hinted that planetary landings will be paid DLC, but nothing's been confirmed to my knowledge.

@garris:

I'm playing with a gamepad and using these bindings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfbY7yWNsOA

They're not perfect, but they're a pretty good starting point, and I find that they make way more sense to me than the default bindings. But I have no experience with flight sims, so this might be crazy talk to you. There's a .bind file in the link that you'll get to pop in the correct folder and no need to mess about with those huge menus.

Also, I'm really enjoying the game. I've never been into space sims before, but with this one I'm all in. Bought the game a week ago, and have spent just as much time on forums and youtube as ingame, just to learn learn learn. Am slowly coming around to understanding how to dogfight competently, how to read trade routes and how to explore the stars. I still get goose bumps when I think about the first time I brought stolen goods into a huge space station, hauling ass through a narrow entrance hoping to evade the scanners.

@garris: Can't really say much about Elite, since like yourself I'm also on the fence about it, and came to this thread looking for opinions. But considering you mention being on a budget, have you tried X3? Both Terran Conflict and its expandalone Albion Prelude are fairly cheap on Steam.

They're perhaps a little less flight-simmy, and a little more trade simulator, and at times they can be a little clunky, but in my opinion they're good fun. Aside from flying your own ship, they also allow you to remote-control an entire fleet if you like, set up trade routes for said fleet, build your own space stations and slowly spread your empire across a gigantic universe. Or you could opt to be a pirate or mercenary (granted, combat seems less polished than the trading options).

They also work just fine with just KB+M and a 360 pad. There's no multiplayer though, and the interface can definitely be a bit obtuse, but personally I got the hang of it quite quickly. Plus there's also a healthy amount of mods available (on Egosoft's own forums moreso than the Nexus), ranging from small tweaks to total conversions.

If you're looking for a space-sim to sink hundreds of hours into, they provide in spades. Just make sure to steer clear of the follow-up, Rebirth, since by all accounts that is unfortunately a hot flaming mess.

I've spent a handful of hours in it and haven't managed to accomplish much of anything. Definitely the kind of game you need to dedicate a lot of time to. I bought a hotas stick last year and was waiting for something like Elite, and both the controls and the visuals of the game are really great. Also, there is a combat demo(originally for pre-orders) you can find if you look around a bit.

I backed the kickstarter on day 1, so you can tell I'm into the whole elite thing. Since I backed at the alpha level, I've been playing for over a year now, using a gamepad the whole time.

Major content expansions such as planetary landings are expected to be paid dlc, but there is a lot of free stuff in the works too. For example only 15 out of the promised 30 ships are in right now, so the remaining 15 will be free.

It's definitely not for everyone, by if it's your thing it will keep you hooked for a long time

I played the original 1984 Elite so, while waiting for SC to come out I thought I'd use this to fill the gap. Elite has been fun, but it's essentially been a single player game for me, with the occasional JackAss player interdicting me to have me dump my cargo. I consider myself to be a social gamer so I'm a little put off that my only interaction has been one of space lane robbery. I have a HOTAS but found myself gravitating towards my 360 game pad with some slight keyboard help. Overall the experience has been fun, but make no mistake entry into Elite Dangerous is definitely a grind and your just rewards are getting money, status, and eventually a very expensive ship to maintain and repair with no curve towards rewarding higher-level game play or the wares you acquire towards wealth, for now. I seem to have found myself trading amidst NPCs as I moved out about 150 LY from my starter area which has staved off Multi-Player piracy, which despite my chagrin is a little exhilarating, and a break from the occasional modicum. It has about the same story mode as the original Elite which seems procedurally generated and dynamic. I'm not sure what the future holds, but Epic story arcs and an improvement on multiplayer game play and perhaps organizations would be welcome. Overall, I think it's worth the $60. In a way, I'm bummed I didn't kickstart it as I wasn't even aware of this 'sequel' until it's crowd funding had closed.