Trying to think of things to get Father in Law for his birthday. He recently discovered a re-made version of Elite, so he's getting a joystick for his birthday to play that on. So I was thinking maybe another game that he could use his joystick with.

I thought of Wing Commander, but the hubby thinks he won't appreciate the plot driven nature of that game.

And his computer is an antiquated pile of scrap, so nothing too system requirementy either.

Suggestions?

I think the first two that pop to mind are Terminal Velocity and Mechwarrior 4. Descent is probably worth considering, I didn't like it, but it is a good game.

When you said 'Joystick' I was thinking platformers
As for a flight stick....I don't play very many flight sims but have never considered a flight stick practical because it doesn't have anywhere near the number of buttons to accommodate the controls.

I usually have to throw down my 16 button game pad and just go at it with keyboard and mouse.

Maybe Freespace, but it probably has the same issue Wing Commander does.

Still maybe worth a look. It's not overly plotty, but it is fairly complex.

Does it have to be sci-fi? The Red Baron Pack on GOG seems like it would be a great choice. It features a WWI dynamic campaign (i.e. no story/plot - procedurally generated missions) which set the standard and is still thought to be one of the best campaign/mission generators out there. It's an older game (you can use a glide wrapper to get 3D graphics) so it doesn't have high system reqs - in fact the GOG game comes with a cpu throttler to slow the program down so it doesn't run too quickly on modern machines (though if you get a glide wrapper you can usually mostly do away with that or raise it up high since the game will run a little more slowly). many of us who play a lot of flight/space sims would not consider playing without a joystick practical ;P

Evochron series. Sort of like Elite...and in a sense similar to the X series. You trade, fight, etc. I find it a bit easier to master than the X series, but both are rewarding if you put enough time into them.

You can basically ignore the plot and do whatever you want.

That's pretty much exactly what popped into my head. I think it's available for free now and it works really nicely with a joystick, especially if you have z axis controls on the joystick.

http://www.thirdwire.com/
Joysticky and not plotty thanks to dynamic campaigns.

Yeah I can see that if you stick close to your keyboard with the stick. When I play a game pad game I've got a big comfy sofa pulled up to this computer desk so I like to flop back in it and throw my feet up putting me a bit of a distance away from mouse and keyboard.

I'm so lazy that I map the mouse to the game pad along with the ESC and Enter keys because I can't be bothered to sit up and lean forward. XD

Wing Commander Academy - it's basically Wing Commander 2 with all the plot removed.

Crimson Skies?
There's a bit of 'radio play' between missions but it's not too distracting

I can see where that might cause problems with a joystick/flight sim :P

HEATHEN! ;)

You're supposed to use your flight stick with a keyboard (unless you're rich). Try Wing Commander: Privateer. It's Origin's take on Elite. Unlike the main line series, the plot is fairly light and can be ignored entirely if you don't care about working through the story.

Darkstar One - It's quite a bit like Elite, and while it's got some story, it's just an excuse plot. However, the game requires you to stick to it in order to go to ever more distant clusters. Aside from that, it's just flying around in a large galaxy, doing odd jobs (such as hunting for pirates, eavesdropping on a meeting or shooting photos for a space calendar).