1984 Elite vs 2014 Elite
- Thread starter Insomnia
- Start date
Indeed !
My spectrum had 48Kb RAM, an 8 bit Z80 CPU running at a 3.5Mhz and a tape cassette that took 5 minutes to load Elite !!!
Do people of today even know what a cassette is ?!
What sort of new fangled technology is this 'cassette'?
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My personal copies of my collage programming projects were programmed via teletypes (basically a pneumatic typewriter with a paper output, no screen at all) and stored on paper tape (several rather large rolls) and my first job included changing run parameters via punched card decks (no joke). Oh, the joys of early remote working via my acoustic coupler modem for the phone handset at a whopping 600 baud (they used to be slower).
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These hi-tec magnetic tape and 'internet' things! People just don't know how lucky they are
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Joking aside, I find it amazing how drastically things have changed since my first computer around 35 years ago (ZX80 home built from a kit)
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What's a fair maiden?
Well, considering the skanks of today I am not surprised by this Q .. ya know, back in my day ... *mind wanders off into the past*
What do you mean?
If you buy an orange without knowing how an orange tastes and then you complain that it doesn't taste like an apple, it's certainly not the fault of the orange.
To a potential buyer, who knows what Elite is about and wants to know whether the implementation is good or not, those 'reviews' can be discounted completely.
OK - using the line of "not having played Elite" as a reason as to why the game is rather simplistic isn't a defence strategy you should employ. That game (Elite) was developed back in the 80s when computing power was severely limited and DBOBE/IB squeezed every bit (no pun) out of the BBC and subsequent conversions. Today though computing power is magnitudes higher which by implication means you can do so much more.
Granted ED has moved on in terms of sound and graphics - they are technically brilliant IMO - the AI is improving all the time - but for me the BGS / mission board is a bit of a let down.
- Mission board - very simplistic. Based on your reputation / rating you get offered simplistic missions - no chains; no PG story arc. So 80s in style.
- BGS - complex in nature yes but for example trade items are artificially clamped - Why are food commodities not through the roof on starving planets ? Once you start trading (which was the bread and butter of Elite and is in ED today) you work your way up the goods to reach Paladium / Gold / Slaves and never touch Hyrogren again, ever ! Why not ? Why are these commodities still being dealt with like they were in the 80s Elite ?
- Elite was a single player game and now it's MP. The social tools are terrible (very simple in design) that don't actively bring random people together. My friends list, for example, consists of people I know from the forum plus the odd random person I have met on my travels. Why, for example, if I am in a Federation station (docked) can't I talk to other Federation pilots docked elsewhere ? Don't they have a public forum in the 3300s ? I understand the constraints of P2P networking but for things like chat (socialising - MP stuff) surely an IRC type relay is warranted in the game ? Make people aware they are not alone in the galaxy and bring like minded people together. What we have is - simplistic.
(I also know "caveat emptor" so yes, buying an orange means researching it. However, if you go to buy a car built in 2016 you expect the perfrormance and power of today and not something based on what was done in the 80s ...)
EDIT:
I am not bashing ED in the above, merely stating an opinion. ED right now is a little simplisitic - I understand that they had to start somewhere and couldn't do everything at once so yes - things will get better but it doesn't change the fact that some things right now are underdeveloped. (Exploration anyone ? Jump / Honk / scan / Jump / Honk / scan
)
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Rather an old thread but an interesting topic.
To my mind the game we had in 1984 was perfect for it's time - nothing even came close in terms of immersion. Now we are 30 years ahead and everything has moved on. I see Mr Braben and co. recreating that same 1984 game and then adding the extra bits that came with the following games or at least the better bits. Once we reach that level of game then all of the new possible content becomes viable and we finally get what I consider Mr. Brabens ultimate dream...
An Elite galaxy to live in.
To my mind the game we had in 1984 was perfect for it's time - nothing even came close in terms of immersion. Now we are 30 years ahead and everything has moved on. I see Mr Braben and co. recreating that same 1984 game and then adding the extra bits that came with the following games or at least the better bits. Once we reach that level of game then all of the new possible content becomes viable and we finally get what I consider Mr. Brabens ultimate dream...
An Elite galaxy to live in.
The fundamental principle of the series Elite (Elite 84, FE2, FFF) is the freedom. On this plan, Elite crosses the times. However it is true than the older versions are part of the IT prehistoric compared with the current technology
It is an old thread. I had this page bookmarked on my computer and I started reading some of the last answers which was why I made a new post, without actually realising I revived a dead thread. Sry about it...
Elite has come a far way since 1984. 32 years later we have the opportunity to create everything that we wish in a space game, and in VR to. We are living in amazing times where everything starts to be possible. Scientists even mention the bending of space time and that we have gravitational waves. Some even suggest stars can be used as portals between dimensions and other stars. New technology is about to revolutionize every aspect of life. The future is looking bright for mankind And also for E.D
And also for E.D
ED's really nothing like the original, for the same reason Elite 2 and 3 aren't. Some of the reasons for that is that Elite 2 and 3 took the game to the next level, in addition to being entirely different. They're also the basis of Elite Dangerous' framework. ED hasn't quite hit that milestone, but it's getting closer every day. I get nostalgic about Elite 2 every day I play, because I see many similarities with just about everything I do in ED to stuff I did in Elite 2. From BHing, to trading, to heading off into the black and exploring and landing on planets.
This is a remake of the Elite 2 intro using Elite Dangerous Horizons. This entire sequence is pretty much nonexistent in the original because it simply lacked the game-play and depth to do so. It's for this reason I never really get nostalgic about it. Elite is an arcade game in comparison to the depth and sheer scale of it's sequels.
[video=youtube;XcjvQk1LeO8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcjvQk1LeO8[/video]
ED still doesn't do system security as well as the original!!
Then what can we create in today´s ED?
Elite II was always my favourite in the series (until now, of course
). I do think FDev could learn a thing or two from Elite II's military progression/mission system & its Black Market & Bulletin Board though!
For me the original Elite was a pivotal moment in gaming - the first game that really pulled me in. In fact I remember first borrowing from a friend for a day on the ZX Spectrum. After he'd taken it home I just left my computer on all the time so I could continue playing for the next few weeks until I could save up and get my own copy. This meant a trip to the nearest city - no Amazon back then - the www didn't exist!
ED has so much more in it of course than the original and I'm still enjoying it after two years and looking forward to how it develops - but I think the main difference between ED and the original from my perspective is that the original was far more challenging - and to make the big profits you had to take significant risk - and I miss that.
The 1984 version really made you sweat when you were trying to get into dangerous systems like an Anarchy or Feudal. You could spend up to an hour in some cases battling your way in - (it was worth it for the really low and high commodity prices). The only way you could escape any combat was to jump out of the system which you didn't usually want to do because you really wanted to get in for the good sale/purchase prices and it would mean battling your way in again from the start.
So if you wanted to make the space station in these kinds of systems you had to fight or leave. You could then either jump back in a try again or cut your losses go somewhere safer and this all made for a really compelling experience at the time and a great feeling of relief when you did make it through and bought your narcotics etc.
As a solo game ED is just a bit nice in this respect - I can escape combat quite easily and there aren't really any consequences if I choose to do so (or any significant benefits if I choose to fight other than a ranking gain) other than perhaps a small damage cost (too small in my opinion) if I get hit before super cruising out. I'm hoping that the AI helps with this in 2.1 in some way or perhaps I'll have to fight my way into an engineers base. Also, perhaps the mission changes will mean I can't get factions to like me until I start doing the risky missions for them. Ultimately though if the mechanics still allow me to supercruise out and continue onward when things are getting a bit tough then it's still not going to be much of a risk or loss. Now if they put pirate gangs outside of anarchy or unsanctioned stations that tried to stop me from docking......
ED has so much more in it of course than the original and I'm still enjoying it after two years and looking forward to how it develops - but I think the main difference between ED and the original from my perspective is that the original was far more challenging - and to make the big profits you had to take significant risk - and I miss that.
The 1984 version really made you sweat when you were trying to get into dangerous systems like an Anarchy or Feudal. You could spend up to an hour in some cases battling your way in - (it was worth it for the really low and high commodity prices). The only way you could escape any combat was to jump out of the system which you didn't usually want to do because you really wanted to get in for the good sale/purchase prices and it would mean battling your way in again from the start.
So if you wanted to make the space station in these kinds of systems you had to fight or leave. You could then either jump back in a try again or cut your losses go somewhere safer and this all made for a really compelling experience at the time and a great feeling of relief when you did make it through and bought your narcotics etc.
As a solo game ED is just a bit nice in this respect - I can escape combat quite easily and there aren't really any consequences if I choose to do so (or any significant benefits if I choose to fight other than a ranking gain) other than perhaps a small damage cost (too small in my opinion) if I get hit before super cruising out. I'm hoping that the AI helps with this in 2.1 in some way or perhaps I'll have to fight my way into an engineers base. Also, perhaps the mission changes will mean I can't get factions to like me until I start doing the risky missions for them. Ultimately though if the mechanics still allow me to supercruise out and continue onward when things are getting a bit tough then it's still not going to be much of a risk or loss. Now if they put pirate gangs outside of anarchy or unsanctioned stations that tried to stop me from docking......
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nats
Banned
Elite II was always my favourite in the series (until now, of course
My feelings as well. It wasn't till I started playing Horizons the other day that I realised how much improvement landing on planets has made to the game. Its finally starting to come together. The next patch with its equipping and mission changes is also one of the most interesting that there has been for a while. This game is finally (for me anyway) starting to rise above the greatness that was Frontier Elite II. I especially love the way some of the missions are actually quite challenging finding your target surface ports amongst a load of unexplored planets. That kind of thing is really starting to improve the gameplay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G67eMq1YwmI take some younglings