How does this compare to EVE?
eve u control ships in a 3rd person and just click where u want to go and the ship / game does the flying for u.
in Elite, u have to fly first person and you have to fly it yourself. some examples below:
but do note, some may find it boring etc because there are no goals, no story or content in the game. but if you want a 1:1 scale of our galaxy to explore, trade and fight, this is probably the closest you'll get. again this game is NOT for everyone. ask more questions if necessary before taking the plunge.