Screenshot by Michelle Starr/CNET

Elite: Dangerous is due for full release on December 16 (it's currently playable as an unfinished beta), and for space adventurers, it's going to be amazing. The space simulator -- including exploration, trading and combat -- takes place in a 1:1 scale build of the Milky Way galaxy, created from real astronomical data, but using procedural generation to create planetary systems.

And you, the player, take to the helm with a first-person view of the cockpit of your starship. Obviously this has potential as far as the Oculus Rift is concerned... but one German player has taken it to its beautiful, logical conclusion.

Markus Boesen, who has been playing the beta, has built himself a custom rig, inspired by the German Elite: Dangerous community, that transforms his game station into the cockpit we all dream about, with the windshield displayed across three screens using three TH681 BenQ Full HD 3D DLP projectors to make it so.

The setup also includes a custom touch interface dashboard, comprising three Treckstor Ventos 10.1 SurfTabs, running on Roccat Power-Grid software; voice commands available using VoiceAttack software; head tracking and gesture control using TrackIR and Leap Motion respectively; a Saitek X52 Pro HOTAS joystick and Logitech G19 keyboard; a Crossfire2x Sapphire RADEON R9 290 Tri -X OC video card with AMD Eyefinity, resolution 5,760x1,080; and sound via a Logitech Z-5500 5.1 surround system.

Boesen didn't elaborate on how much the setup had cost him, only stating that it was more than you would invest in an Oculus Rift -- obviously -- but he still wouldn't have it any other way.

"The extra invest was 'a bit' more than for an Oculus Rift, but I had a lot of fun during planning and construction. Priceless!" he said. "I never tried an Oculus, but I can't imagine to play without seeing my hands handling with this Roccat Grid tablet interfaces. Maybe OR is also cool, but I personally prefer to use more concrete things. And BTW, this video was not made to start just another competition pro or against OR. I only wanted to show MY way and did not intend to persuade anybody from my personal way of travelling through the galaxy."

He may not have intended to persuade anyone, but we are well and truly persuaded. Check out Boesen's rig in the video below and let us know your own thoughts in the comments.

(Via Polygon)