Okay, first impressions:
1) It's pretty cool how it seamlessly integrates with the existing Hanger module. You start the game in your Hangar, and then you board your ship to begin the simulation.
2) The graphics are awesome. While both games are technically competent, I like the art style of Star Citizen better.
3) The controls are not remappable in this version (at least not in the UI). Yaw is attached to stick rotation and roll is attached to the X axis. It's very touchy right now, so piloting and dogfighting is tricky.
4) The ships are -very- maneuverable and turn very quickly. Elite has a much heavier feel to it, so the inertia has real weight to it. This feels more like X-Wing vs Tie Fighter (at least for the ship I was flying). Very fast paced action, but still with a cool physics engine.
5) Damage on ships is modeled pretty well. I blew a wing off of a ship I was fighting and it kept going, while the wing continued on its own in another direction.
6) I took damage in a dog fight and lost engines, which resulted in my ship continuing in the direction it was already moving while all I could control were attitude thrusters. I could spin, but I couldn't stop myself from slamming into the space station I was heading towards and exploding. That was pretty awesome.
7) It's a very early build and could use some polish, but it's also very functional and most of what it's missing are features. Right now it's just free flight and dog fighting waves of enemies with a couple wingmen.
-Byshop
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