My first time playing the original Elite was so memorable, especially when docking for the first time. Commander Airwolfr
Celebrating 35 years of Elite!
- Thread starter Stephen Benedetti
- Start date
Commander Him-Self (PC):
There were many favorite moments over the years with classic Elite but my very special one was now with ED being able to fly in VR! and finally "being" directly in the cockpit.
The really awesome moment was finally arriving at Sag A* during DW2 for the first time and then just standing there at the window on the bridge of my Federal Corvette
with the VR gear on, looking out into to black gazing at the big black hole and wondering if humanity will on some day be there looking at Sag A* for real.
Cheers
There were many favorite moments over the years with classic Elite but my very special one was now with ED being able to fly in VR! and finally "being" directly in the cockpit.
The really awesome moment was finally arriving at Sag A* during DW2 for the first time and then just standing there at the window on the bridge of my Federal Corvette
with the VR gear on, looking out into to black gazing at the big black hole and wondering if humanity will on some day be there looking at Sag A* for real.
Cheers
A true story. Back on Earth in 1984 a couple of nerds completed a gravity breaking game called Elite.
I was at college in Edinburgh at the time with a friend Q. Another of our number received the game as a Christmas gift. The following year we spent an inordinate amount of time at his house patiently waiting for a turn. It took so long to have the credits for the docking computer that I didn't need it by the time I could afford it. But good games are rare and time is short.
Last year his mother passed over and, as a long time friend of the family I attended the service. During a quiet moment that evening, my friend came over and whispered in hushed tones, "Dave, do you remember that game we played at college? Do you remember Elite?" I thought back a few years to the kick-starter advert I had seen and the small contribution that I made at the time thinking, "well - even if it never happens at least I will know that I tried" and nodded, stifling a grin.
"Do you know there's a remake of it? I've been playing since the beta"
I nodded again thinking about my two old saitek joysticks, Microsoft wheel and pedals and the brand new i7 with 1070 graphics card that I had set up at home and leaned back to whisper, "I got it on Steam six months ago. Add CMDR seSSlaine".
We successfully winged up the next day to do a few surface landings and collect materials. We both regard Lave our home system although I have a smattering of ships dotted about now. My 'loaned' Sidewinder and first purchase, a Cobra Mk3, both reside there.
I am now not long back from DW2 and currently saving for Fleet Carrier as I rarely do anything else these days. o7 Living in the Black.
I was at college in Edinburgh at the time with a friend Q. Another of our number received the game as a Christmas gift. The following year we spent an inordinate amount of time at his house patiently waiting for a turn. It took so long to have the credits for the docking computer that I didn't need it by the time I could afford it. But good games are rare and time is short.
Last year his mother passed over and, as a long time friend of the family I attended the service. During a quiet moment that evening, my friend came over and whispered in hushed tones, "Dave, do you remember that game we played at college? Do you remember Elite?" I thought back a few years to the kick-starter advert I had seen and the small contribution that I made at the time thinking, "well - even if it never happens at least I will know that I tried" and nodded, stifling a grin.
"Do you know there's a remake of it? I've been playing since the beta"
I nodded again thinking about my two old saitek joysticks, Microsoft wheel and pedals and the brand new i7 with 1070 graphics card that I had set up at home and leaned back to whisper, "I got it on Steam six months ago. Add CMDR seSSlaine".
We successfully winged up the next day to do a few surface landings and collect materials. We both regard Lave our home system although I have a smattering of ships dotted about now. My 'loaned' Sidewinder and first purchase, a Cobra Mk3, both reside there.
I am now not long back from DW2 and currently saving for Fleet Carrier as I rarely do anything else these days. o7 Living in the Black.
Favourite memories playing Elite:
* Playing Elite I on the Atari ST and being attacked by Thargoids in Witch Space; my room mates hearing my anguish and frantic struggles would play the Star Wars Imperial March really loud in the apartment.
* Watching the Frontier Elite II introduction, think it is one of the best opening scenes I've seen to any game, even now.
* Playing Frontier Elite II and coming into dock and RNGesus would play Hall Of The Mountain King instead of the Blue Danube.
* Watching Babylon 5 introduction at the point you enter the maw of the space station docking corridor always makes me itch to run over the computer to play Frontier Elite II and relive that thrill of space travel and exploring.
* The retro graphics look of Frontier Elite II, even today, I really miss - especially the atmospheric day or night landings, varying cloud cover, and that rush as you time your lift off to chase down a bounty that's just about to leave. Love the acrid burning odour of lasers searing the surrounding atmosphere and ship's metal.
CMDR Snert
PC Master Race
* Playing Elite I on the Atari ST and being attacked by Thargoids in Witch Space; my room mates hearing my anguish and frantic struggles would play the Star Wars Imperial March really loud in the apartment.
* Watching the Frontier Elite II introduction, think it is one of the best opening scenes I've seen to any game, even now.
* Playing Frontier Elite II and coming into dock and RNGesus would play Hall Of The Mountain King instead of the Blue Danube.
* Watching Babylon 5 introduction at the point you enter the maw of the space station docking corridor always makes me itch to run over the computer to play Frontier Elite II and relive that thrill of space travel and exploring.
* The retro graphics look of Frontier Elite II, even today, I really miss - especially the atmospheric day or night landings, varying cloud cover, and that rush as you time your lift off to chase down a bounty that's just about to leave. Love the acrid burning odour of lasers searing the surrounding atmosphere and ship's metal.
CMDR Snert
PC Master Race
For me it was playing the original ELITE and i got to play it at school in 1984 where i had convinced the teacher who i thought was very gullible that playing ELITE was for science and also taught me about managing money and trading, yes they fell for it and i was so happy. I loved the Beeb and managed to get hold of one second hand and my one major memory that lives with me until this day is the rear view when you left the station that is if you could dock in the first place !! It may have been a simple thing but the feeling was awesome, i went on to own versions of ELITE for C64,MSX,BBC, and AMIGA, thanks for the memories.
CMDR: Dean Demon
CMDR: Dean Demon
CMDR Kzak.
Most memorable Elite moment was realizing, after playing the original Elite on the C64, that this was a much larger world that I had ever seen in any other game at the time. Saving games, upgrading my ship, going anywhere I wanted (within 7 LY), this was all new. And it changed my view on games forever, something I can thank Elite for.
Most memorable Elite moment was realizing, after playing the original Elite on the C64, that this was a much larger world that I had ever seen in any other game at the time. Saving games, upgrading my ship, going anywhere I wanted (within 7 LY), this was all new. And it changed my view on games forever, something I can thank Elite for.
The docking music (waltz) in frontier elite 2 always sticks in my mind. Always used the docking computer but the 15yr old me was still impatient and had to time hop this, inevitably crashing into the planets surface. Que the rebuy (load last save). Wait did I forget to save it again NOOOOO!
Cmdr Josh Rogan
Cmdr Josh Rogan
A Fantastic Game! I've been waiting for a game like this for my whole life
My favorite memory in elite - when i can walk on board of my ship, then walk on atmo planet surface, get on my ship back, reach my base, and after a while looked at long ships list including my own station, and "moving base" ships, that can jump over 50Mil ly, giving me possibility to reach Andromeda galaxy, meet other species with different technology, buy their ships, ship components, more powerfull scanners that can detect artifacts when reaching system. And no more crashes and bugs in game...
...But wait a minute... that moment not yet come. I'll wait, i trust you yet.
P.S. Skins not necessary for me, so if you read this, and my words reach to your mind, or heart, it will be enough for me.
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CMDR Bethune
My favorite Elite memory? That has to be the start of DW2.
Sitting at the controls of my Asp Explorer, throttled down and FSD charged. The sound of the engine humming, listening to the comms as we were awaiting the countdown to launch.
As I look around I see other CMDRs in their ships all around me waiting to leave as well and then it happens, the countdown starts and I exhale as I put my hand on the throttle, pushing it forward as we are told to engage.
Slowly my Asp starts to move, picking up speed gradually as do the ships around me, the colored engine trails making for quite the lightshow as one by one we jump... DW2 had finally started and I was there.
And I was stupid enough to not record it...
My favorite Elite memory? That has to be the start of DW2.
Sitting at the controls of my Asp Explorer, throttled down and FSD charged. The sound of the engine humming, listening to the comms as we were awaiting the countdown to launch.
As I look around I see other CMDRs in their ships all around me waiting to leave as well and then it happens, the countdown starts and I exhale as I put my hand on the throttle, pushing it forward as we are told to engage.
Slowly my Asp starts to move, picking up speed gradually as do the ships around me, the colored engine trails making for quite the lightshow as one by one we jump... DW2 had finally started and I was there.
And I was stupid enough to not record it...
When I first started playing I quickly went through the basics. However, later on I plotted a long course only ignoring fuel. Well, I sat in space on empty thinking to myself I should have paid more attention to the basics lol. Now I pay attention to every detail and immerse myself into my space fantasy.
My favourite memory is from Frontier on the Amiga, when on a photograph base X mission, where the base was on a planet with such high gravity that it couldn't be completed by flying close to the surface. My workaround involved spamming the take photo key, messing about with the frame shift controls to allow me to approach, take the photo then fly directly through the planet unharmed (and with an excellent rated photo!)
CMDR woitab (PC)
CMDR woitab (PC)
The game around 1.5 had even worse skinnerboxes and MVP placeholders.
CMDR Ulon [Aid]
For me one of my favorite Elite memories has been when in 3303, I was on my first ever major exploration trip. I had chosen the Formadine Rift as my destination. Experiencing the lonely, yet breathtaking fascination of outer space in itself was one of the most unique experiences I ever had playing video games. Then, one day along the journey I decided to pay a black hole in a planetary nebula a visit - a detour from my straight journey, only to encounter another player out here in the black. At the time, a lot of the overall interest in the Formadine Rift had been diminishing, so I did not expect to see any other pilots out here. I had not seen any over at the few star ports in the region nor at some of the fairly well known popular systems. Yet there we were, meeting by pure chance at this place, which is far from the usual direct path towards the Rift. Fooling around, dropping together near the black hole and doing other things. Unfortunately we were heading into different directions from there, but ever since that encounter I started to realize what exploration in Elite Dangerous actually means. I'd have to look into EDSM logs to fin out this pilot's name. Should check, if he is still flying.
For me one of my favorite Elite memories has been when in 3303, I was on my first ever major exploration trip. I had chosen the Formadine Rift as my destination. Experiencing the lonely, yet breathtaking fascination of outer space in itself was one of the most unique experiences I ever had playing video games. Then, one day along the journey I decided to pay a black hole in a planetary nebula a visit - a detour from my straight journey, only to encounter another player out here in the black. At the time, a lot of the overall interest in the Formadine Rift had been diminishing, so I did not expect to see any other pilots out here. I had not seen any over at the few star ports in the region nor at some of the fairly well known popular systems. Yet there we were, meeting by pure chance at this place, which is far from the usual direct path towards the Rift. Fooling around, dropping together near the black hole and doing other things. Unfortunately we were heading into different directions from there, but ever since that encounter I started to realize what exploration in Elite Dangerous actually means. I'd have to look into EDSM logs to fin out this pilot's name. Should check, if he is still flying.
CMDR X0X609X0X,
My favorite memory was probably when I was testing my parking skills. Full speed plus turbo boost before entering the hub. Somehow my instinct was telling that I had it. That I would park it like a pro in the movies. I was trying to make the breaks to work including reverse speed and maneuver upwards. After 3-5 seconds of adrenaline, I crushed at the tower
Still love to enter fast and park as fast as possible just not turbo anymore. It costs
My favorite memory was probably when I was testing my parking skills. Full speed plus turbo boost before entering the hub. Somehow my instinct was telling that I had it. That I would park it like a pro in the movies. I was trying to make the breaks to work including reverse speed and maneuver upwards. After 3-5 seconds of adrenaline, I crushed at the tower
Still love to enter fast and park as fast as possible just not turbo anymore. It costs
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My favourite memory is of that one time when frontier released a minor quality of life update, and it broke half of the game mechanics! Thankfully, they were competent enough to roll back the update until the problems were fixed.
Hold on, actually, I think I'm remembering it wrong...
Hold on, actually, I think I'm remembering it wrong...
My favorite memory is my first Guardian expedition. I went out to scan the obelisks and do some research on the guardian sites that had newly appeared. The feeling of isolation was overwhelming, and I was hellbent on feeding my curiosity. Spent an entire week out there in the black with nothing but obelisks, guardian drones and the sound of my SRV. That was a one-of-a-kind experience.
CMDR Hygelac,
Ironically my best Elite Dangerous memory parallels my best Elite memory, it's the first time I managed to dock. I'll never forget the actual terror of going through the pre-flight check-list (which is a wonderfully immersive detail for new pilots) and taking off of the shuttle pad in my little sidewinder, that has to be the most cautious and nerve-wracking undocking procedure in the history of space-flight. However, my feeling of triumph was quickly replaced by a cold sinking feeling when I realised that I now had to dock again without smearing my ship and pilot across the station facade!
I didn't even make it more than 10km from the station, I nervously piloted around the station a few times admiring the beauty of the coriolis station trying to pluck up the courage to actually make an approach. But the old skills, finely honed from years of post school trading runs, held true and not only did I manage to dock, first time but I didn't even scratch the shields.
I'm not ashamed to say that I ran around the house in jubilation cheering myself as if I'd just single-handedly won the world cup. Again, this was pretty much my same reaction at 14 years old as it was at 40!
Thanks for the memories.
Ironically my best Elite Dangerous memory parallels my best Elite memory, it's the first time I managed to dock. I'll never forget the actual terror of going through the pre-flight check-list (which is a wonderfully immersive detail for new pilots) and taking off of the shuttle pad in my little sidewinder, that has to be the most cautious and nerve-wracking undocking procedure in the history of space-flight. However, my feeling of triumph was quickly replaced by a cold sinking feeling when I realised that I now had to dock again without smearing my ship and pilot across the station facade!
I didn't even make it more than 10km from the station, I nervously piloted around the station a few times admiring the beauty of the coriolis station trying to pluck up the courage to actually make an approach. But the old skills, finely honed from years of post school trading runs, held true and not only did I manage to dock, first time but I didn't even scratch the shields.
I'm not ashamed to say that I ran around the house in jubilation cheering myself as if I'd just single-handedly won the world cup. Again, this was pretty much my same reaction at 14 years old as it was at 40!
Thanks for the memories.
I've just read this Old review as I bought this game for my Spectrum When I was 24 back in 1984 complete with the lens lock copy security device. We moan about patches and bugs but back then I thought this game was amazing now it really is. https://www.gametripper.co.uk/games/zx-spectrum/elite/