TIE fighter introduced a lot of more munitions to the game series. Tho some of the munitions guided ability was only good against ships without turrets, or disabled

Proton Torps and Concussion missiles both had a guided tracking ability. It was just the Missiles were more maneuverable and faster, while the Torps did more damage.

There were also Rockets (More boom)

Space bombs (super slow, Bigger boom)

Mag Pulse (would disable targets weapons for a while, good against small ships with turrets)

Ion (good for disabling things when your craft didn't have Ion cannons)

I played both of these games quite a bit in their heyday. I don't remember if the mission editor came stock with the game or if it was community based but I used to love creating my own scenarios. It was quite advanced more it's time; you could have story elements appear at different times during your manufactured missions for role play factor. I'm glad to see them on GOG and I hope they sell well.

So, I think this game will actually run on my 8 y.o. Windows XP box (which I only use to VPN into work...and run OggDude's stellar character builder...). So the question is, do I need a joystick? I'm loathe to buy one. It says the 1994 version doesn't need one, but the 1998 version does. Does this mean both versions are included in the "special addition"?

Yes, when you buy them, each game comes with both the original and Enhanced versions. They are separate downloads and installs.