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This is often the most brought up subject.  Like I said earlier, the transition to 3D is not an easy one.

The predominant opinion is that the best setup is with a fancy joystick, such as the FlightStick.  This has lots of buttons and switches on the stick itself that will let you control the game.

Failing that, the next best option is to use a normal, ANALOG joystick together with the keyboard.  I personally use the joystick to point where I want to go and to use Z and X to accelerate and decelerate, respectively.  I don't suggest a digital joystick, such as the Gravis gamepad, because a large portion of that immersive experience is lost when you can't control how fast or how slow you want to turn.

The least attractive solution is to use the keyboard by itself, although it has been known that a lot of players have become quite adept at this method.  The best way is to use the keypad for pointing, sliding, etc. and other keys (such as z and x) on the other side of the board for accelerating and firing.

One suggestion that everyone should try, though -- have DEDICATED sliding keys!  For example, use W,A,S and D for slide up, left, down, and right, respectively.  This lets you slide while doing other things, such as turning, and will improve your gameplay significantly.

-- [2c] ---------- What are some popular control configurations?

"I use a Wingman Extreme joystick from Logitech.  The trigger fires my weapons, the hat slides, and the rest of the buttons are default.  I use "A" and "Z" to accelerate and decelerate."
-John D., aka Bruin on #descent

"The mouse is the best for me.  Pitch up is the mouse, y-axis inverted.  Pitch down is the mouse's x-axis.  Fire primary is mouse left button, and fire secondary is the mouse right button.
(If you're using a 3 button mouse, use the middle button to fire the secondary, and right button to go forward.  W,A,S, and D to slide, and Caps Lock for a reverse view.  Reverse acceleration is left shift, and forward is space bar.  Everything else is default." -"vxl" on IRC/#descent

"Mouse Y: pitch; Mouse X: turn (yaw); Mouse 1: primary weapon;
Mouse 2: accelerate; Mouse 3: reverse; W,A,X,D: slide; Q,E: roll;
C,Z,S: increase, decrease, stop cruise; spacebar: primary weapon;
Left Alt: secondary weapon; Left Shift: slide mode for mouse;
Left Ctrl: bomb.  I tend not to use the cruise control much."
-Sean Gugler

"Number pad as ship heading controls.  / above 8 is the flare launcher; the * is the bomb key.  My right hand is on the num pad with my pointer on 4, my middle finger on 8, and my ring finger on 6.  My thumb rests on 0, which is the thrust-reverse key.  My left hand controls forward movement, and rests on the right side of the main keypad.  Right shift is thrust forward, the alt is slide on, and ctrl is fire.  On the num pad, the 1 and 3 are roll left and right."
-Matt Ebel

-- [2d] ---------- I can't find places on the map.

Remember that when you enter the map screen, the view is from behind your ship, with up pointing up.  Use slide up and down with the map to zoom.  (With defaults, use left alt + up or down.)

Note that these controls were altered for the registered/retail version.  In this version, the sliding keys move the map around ("pan" it) and the forward/backward keys control the zooming.
Also, by hitting the primary fire button, it resets the map to the view from behind your ship, as mentioned above.

For the shareware version, to pan across the map (make the map move, as if you put your hand there and slide it over), hold down "S" while moving the joystick/cursor keys.  Your new center of rotation will be the center of the screen, NOT your ship.

-- [2e] ---------- Undocumented Map features

The following features are undocumented:

(Shareware only) In the map, hold down "S" and move the control around.
You can pan the map this way.  In the registered version, use the slide keys to move the map around.

If cheat codes are enabled (see below), hit "Alt-F" in the map screen.
The entire map will appear.

-- [2f] ---------- What are the differences between the different robots?

From the introductory info:  (Robots labeled ** appear only in the registered/retail version.)

Class 1 Drone  (Yellow) :
Standard utility robot, apparently modified for combat.  Should pose little threat alone, but could be trouble in groups.

Class 2 Drone  (Blue) :
Aggressive when cornered.  Relatively weak weapons, but fires rapidly.

Medium Lifter  (Green with arms) :
Normally used to burrow through porous rock.  Recon cameras have witnessed this robot shredding anything in sight -- including hostages!  Stay away from this robot -- because he has no projectile weapons, your best bet is to fire from far away.

**  Secondary Lifter (Red, has one arm) :
Usually used in groups of 2 or 3.  Advanced intelligence; fires in rapid bursts.

**  Advanced Lifter (Red, 4 arms) :
Silent and fast.  Usually in groups.  Has a tendency to ram into you once it sees you.

"Spider" Processing Robot (Red, 4 arms) :
These mechs were designed to pick up rubble for processing in their body cavities.  Explodes into smaller spiders when hit.

Class 1 Driller  (Silver) :
This robot is vicious, as it fires its vulcan guns (chaingun) at you immediately when it sees you.  Don't stay in its sight too long!

**  Class 1 Heavy Driller (Dark brown) :
Tough and armed to the teeth.  Proceed with extreme caution!

**  Class 2 Supervisor Robot (Blue, small; has antennae) :
Supervisory; will increase the awareness of other robots nearby.  Often fast.

**  PTMC Defense Prototype (Grey & Dark Brown) :
Fires rapidly without overheating.

**  Class 2 Platform Robot (Sleek; light brown) :
Has lasers or missiles.  Big threat if cornered.

**  Class 3 Gopher Robot (Grey, small) :
Generally known for laying bombs in its path.

Small Hulk  (Green, bulky) :
Standard borer robot.  Tough and agile.

Medium Hulk  (Yellow/Brown, bulky) :
Heavily armored for explosive deployment deep in mines.  Slow moving, but very dangerous.

SuperMech  (Red; fires homing missiles) :
These guys are like the hulks, but about 200% more angry.

Mega Hulk   (Yellow, huge, cloaks) :
This robot is huge and cloaks whenever you hit it.  It reappears somewhere else.  For hints on how to kill it, see section [3d].

**  "Boss"  (Red with enormous eye) :
Like the Mega Hulk, cloaks whenever you hit it.

-- [2g] ---------- What are those yellow tunnels with sparkly things?

These are areas which recharge your energy.  If your energy level is below 100, if you enter this area, your energy will be refilled to 100.  Note that this area has no effect on your shield level.

-- [2h] ---------- What are those purple areas with new ships?

These are enemy generators, and they are VERY DANGEROUS.  Try to stay away from them, as new enemies pop out of them unexpectedly.

-- [2i] ---------- What are the relative strengths of the weapons?

Espen Monnich wrote the following table:

 "----------------------------------------------------
  |Weapon     | Number | Damage  |  Total  | Energy  |
  |           |of shots| pr.shot |  damage | pr.shot |
  |-----------|--------|---------|---------|---------|
  |Laser lv1  | 2 (4)* |  10     |  20 (30)| 0.25    |
  |  "   lv2  | 2 (4)  |  11     |  22 (33)| 0.25    |
  |  "   lv3  | 2 (4)  |  12     |  24 (36)| 0.25    |
  |  "   lv4  | 2 (4)  |  13     |  26 (39)| 0.25    |
  |-----------|--------|---------|---------|---------|
  |Vulcan     | ca. 25 |  --     |  4      | 0       |
  |-----------|--------|---------|---------|---------|
  |Spreadfire | 3      |  6      |  18     | 0.25    |
  |-----------|--------|---------|---------|---------|
  |C. Missile | 1      |  25     |  25     | 0       |
  |H. Missile | 1      |  27     |  27     | 0       |
  |-----------|--------|---------|---------|---------|
  |Bomb       | 1      |         |  24     | 0       |
  ----------------------------------------------------

* () specifies the Quad laser. It shoots 4 shots, but does only 50% more total damage.


NOTE: This table is a bit unclear, because I have not considered the fire- rate for each of the weapons and the speed of the shot itself. For example, the Spreadfire has a bit faster fire-rate than the Laser, and the fire-rate and the speed of the shots for the Vulcan is very high."

-- [2j] ---------- What's strafing, sliding, and translation?

John Viggiano contributes:
"Sliding, Strafing, etc.: What's the correct terminology?
Descent documentation refers to a sideways, up, or down motion, without changing the direction your ship is pointing, as "sliding."  In the side-to-side mode, this is similar to the "strafing" motion in Wolfenstein 3D and Doom.
Technically speaking, strafing refers to shooting at ground targets from the air with a machinegun, so the nomenclature selected by Id (creators of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom) is something of a misnomer. (Perhaps it was selected because the motion would be useful in actual strafing.) While "sliding" avoids this problem, the term "translate" has been used in spacecraft navigation to describe this motion since Gemini 3 performed these operations in orbit in 1965."

This FAQ refers to this phenomenon as "sliding", in accord with the Descent documentation.


Part [3].  STRATEGIES

-- [3a] ---------- I think Descent is too easy/boring.

Try the following:

:: Don't use any cheat codes
:: Increase the difficulty level of your game
:: Use only one type of weapon, i.e. use only the normal guns

Descent has many difficulty levels, and should appeal to every gamer.

-- [3b] ---------- I think Descent is too hard.

It depends what you mean by "hard".  If you're having trouble controlling the ship, see the section above about controlling your ship.  Otherwise, try the following:

:: Decrease the difficulty level of your game
:: Try flying around an empty mine tunnel as fast as you can and as fluidly as you can.
:: PRACTICE SLIDING!!  This technique will save you many times over when it comes to enemy fire.
:: Learn when to (and when not to) use the different kinds of weapons you have.
:: Practice, practice, practice!