First time playing this game. Seems to be really good.

A couple of questions came up:

1: do i really NEED a joystick to play this game? I cannot play for example with a mouse+keyboard or a Xbox 360 wired controller? The game refused to start when I didn't have my joystick plugged in. Joystick model: Logitech Extreme 3D Pro

2: With my joystick (Logitech Extreme 3D Pro) I just plugged it in, started up the game. I have not adjusted any settings, trying to figure out the controls on my own was easier said than done.. Any tips regarding controls; maybe a quick summary of the most important functions.

and btw, hos do I roll my ship??? cannot figure it out, the sideway-axis on my joystick does not work with this game... cannot find any keyboard shortcuts to roll my ship.


Many thanks in advance.

1) For the Windows ('98) version, a joystick is strictly required, but since the Xbox 360 controller is still a joystick-type device, it can be used as well.
For the DOS ('93) version via DOSBOX, mouse+keyboard is enough

2) Look at the manual included in your GOG library for the controls... also, the Windows version have a control mapping screen

To roll your ship, keep the button2 pressed and move the stick on the X axis

There's quite a bit of difference between the two... graphics resolution went from VGA to SVGA, the music was changed from a MIDI but dynamic system to a CD Audio but fixed score, from basic but not required joystick support to more complete joystick handling but required, also some difficult missione were tweaked and so on. There's many thread around here where you can find more info on that.

Telling the "best" version is not straightforward, since not all the changes in the new edition were for the good... still, all in all, I would say that from a pure gameplay point of view, the 98 version plays better, both for the controls and for the hi-res graphics (i put the graphic as a gameplay element here, because the low-res version, while not ugly to look at, really makes targeting and identifing ships at range quite harder)

Play a couple of missions in the 93 mode to get a taste of the iMuse music system, then do the same with the 98 and see if losing some and gaining other is worth the switch for you

I'm using the same joystick you are. Here are some of the functions i recommend binding.

If you play the 98 version make sure to bind a full throttle (backspace) and 1/3rd throttle button ([)
Target nearest fighter is one of the ones I use most often (R)
Laser (F9) and Shield (F10) management are critical and used all the time.
Shield balancing (S) and transfer energy to lasers (;) or to shields (') are also good.
I like weapon select (w) and fire mode (x) as well
next target (t) previous target (y) are decent choices.
One I've not utilized but is not a bad idea is fighter attacking you (e) or incoming missile (spacebar)

I bound the left twist and right twist to pre-set targets. I'm finding that to be a bad idea. I'm sure there are other good things to bind that I haven't come up with yet, but that's where i am at for now.

Here's the most important controls:

\, [, ], Bksp: Set throttle to 0, 33%, 66% and 100%.

(1998 version only) Enter: Match speed of target

F9, F10: Cycle laser and shield recharge rates, respectively. You need to increase them above halfway to charge your lasers and shields back. If you set the rates below half, they slowly drain. When you lower the rates the extra power goes to your engines and makes you faster.

; and ': Send energy directly between shields and lasers. Good if you need to charge up your shields quickly in a pinch

S: Toggle shields between all forward, all back, and evenly distributed

W: Cycle through Lasers, Ions (used to disable ships) and Missiles when applicable

X: Set firing mode between single, dual, and quad fire when applicable. Also works for missiles

Right Click/Button 2: Tap to target enemy directly in your sights. Hold and move mouse/joystick sideways to roll your ship.

Spacebar: Target incoming missile

R: Target nearest enemy fighter

H: Hyperspace home to end the mission

That's really all you need to get by. Anything more can be found in the manual.