Celebrate Elite's Ruby Anniversary!

aRJay

aRJay
Happy Birthday.

I started with Elite on the 48k Spectrum (so 39 years ago) but never got anywhere near earning the badge. Lensloks and forever trying to find a cassette player that worked reliably.

Then came Frontier: Elite II, real stars and a choice of ships it was wonderful at least it was once I got autopilot.

Frontier: First Encounters, I am sorry but somehow I totally missed that one.

Then in 2016 I got Elite Dangerous and have been playing it ever since.

Thank you Frontier Developments.
 

Spaceman-FXL5

S
aRJay said:
trying to find a cassette player that worked reliably.
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Yep, before speccy had a floppy disc, if it didn't load, had to rewind and start again :eek: - and hunting for the cassette cleaner and liquid to clean gunk off the head.

At that time I was starting in IT and off-site back up was a 20(?)MB Removable Hard Disc Platter - needed a briefcase to carry it, last person out took it home!
 

AlSki

AlSki
I started with Elite at school on the BBC B`s, then Spectrum once I could get one.
I've played FFE many times, including a lot of time on FFED3DAJ.
ED has been the cause of my learning to assemble modern computers, how to watercool them, how to make custom cabling, and had an erm... helping hand in my RSI.
:)
 

Cmdr. Numa

Cmdr. Numa
ubermick said:
Love the decal, thanks a million for it and happy birthday Elite.

Agree with this. The new prices are too steep, and the community in general agrees. (Listen to the recent Lave Radio episode 502, for a wider view on this.)

Completely understand that a price hike was going to happen eventually, but what we got was too extreme. Hopefully at some point the community team will take the feedback on board and revisit their decisions on pricing.
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That's why I only call it ARGHS now ever since the price increase.
 

Valorin

Valorin
Paul_Crowther said:
Greetings Commanders!

This week the Elite franchise celebrates an amazing 40 years of bringing you the freedom to explore the Milky Way in your own unique way!

Elite (1984)​

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"Elite" was written by David Braben and Ian Bell starting in 1982 while the authors were still at Cambridge University. It was first published by Acornsoft on the BBC Micro in September 1984 to huge critical acclaim. The rights to other computer platforms were then auctioned by Jacqui Lyons of Marjacq, and British Telecom then went on to publish on many other platforms under the name of Firebird.

"Elite" set many firsts, and was the first genuine 3D game on home computers. Even many years after its release it is fondly remembered. For example "Probably the best computer game ever" (The Times, December 1988). It went on to sell around 1,000,000 units, and is popular still, having appeared on most popular formats.

Indulge your nostalgia and experience the first incarnation with the original Elite, available FREE in the Frontier Store!

Frontier Elite II (1993)​

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Written in five and a half years by David Braben, with Konami Inc of Japan as publisher, the game was released in October 1993 and was in the top few slots in the UK Gallup chart for the best part of the following year. It was the best selling game in Europe 1993 according to Gallup.

"Frontier" also set a number of firsts. It was the first game to have real-sized planets, where cities could be viewed from orbit, it was the first to use curved surfaces (Bezier), the only game to do a palette-fit every frame to get best use of colours!

Frontier First Encounters (1995)​

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Released in Easter 1995, "First Encounters" also had a number of firsts to its name. The game was renowned for its detailed modelling of the geography of planets, despite the relative lack of power of the target PCs at the time. It was the first game to use procedural texturing to generate the vegetation, snow and more on the planet surfaces. Mountain ranges, cliffs and wonderful alien landscapes and atmospheric effects all contributed to the atmosphere of the game, and the coloured lighting from the redder stars gave some planets an eerie look.

Elite Dangerous (2014)​

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Released in December 2014, the BAFTA-nominated Elite Dangerous is the definitive, massively multiplayer space epic. 10 years later and Elite Dangerous has seen two expansions, an ongoing narrative filled with political intrigue, corporate espionage, a galaxy wide war against the extraterrestrial threat of the Thargoids and astounding community led initiatives and activities!

Free Ruby Anniversary Gift​

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To celebrate 40 years of Elite we're giving every Elite Dangerous Live player an exclusive Ruby anniversary decal completely free! Simply head to the Elite Dangerous Gamestore to claim it for the amazing price of 0 ARX! The decal comes in a range of colour, allowing you to choose the best match for your ship!

Ruby Anniversary Cosmetics​

Want to celebrate the Ruby anniversary of Elite in style? Check out the Ruby anniversary cosmetics available in the Elite Dangerous gamestore now!
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Give your favourite ship or SRV a new look with the Ruby paintjob, available on vehicles in the game!

Or, throwback to the past with the Dodec station bobblehead!
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The Anniversary cosmetics will be available until 21st October. Grab yours today!

Have a fond memory from 40 years of playing Elite games? Share them on Facebook, X and Instagram with #EliteRuby!

With such a historic legacy we can't wait to explore the future with you!
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I have very fond memories of playing Elite 1984 on a C64 together with a friend in his basement. And later Frontier on my Amiga... No clue how many hours I sunk into that game. And even later First Encounters which I have installed even now, modded for 3D and looking awesome...
I love these games and went back to First Encounters whenever a new space game didn't give me that feeling of being in space and free to go where I want. Like the X games and many others. Jump gates?! Well, nope.
I actually missed the Kickstarter for Elite Dangerous and discovered it by accident shortly after release, which almost made my jaw fall off... Sequel to the only space game that managed to captivate me for 30 years straight. Well. Got another 10 years in now and always return.
 

Valorin

Valorin
ShiMan said:
Also, I think that it would be a good time to consider putting E:D to the rest, and think about a brand new story. Not in the 1:1 galaxy, where we would need at least a 2-3 generations focused on discovery like the workers in Zaonce. I think that the current Bubble would be enough.


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1qWEzBvLlw
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NO!
The Bubble is NOT enough! No Galaxy, no Elite! Not willing to discuss this. Nope, nope, nope.
 

Argyria

Argyria
Happy Birthday Elite, thank you to David Braben & Ian Bell for their vision, and to David Braben and FDev for keeping the dream alive.

FDev: how about putting the David Braben bobblehead on sale again? Seems a good excuse to make it available - at least for a limited time!
 
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GJ51

GJ51
Hedganian said:
10k ARX for each paintjob is insane, even the SRV and fighters.

There also should be a bundle to get ALL the ruby paintjobs (including those for which you don't currently own the ships), in a similar way to the Azure paintjob that was applied to players when the Horizons DLC was rolled into the main game.
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No doubt

I've tried to lobby for this many times

I have 114k ARX but I'm not going to buy the Ruby paint jobs even though I would if I could get a resaonable bundle price

Sorry FD - another classic fail
 
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GJ51

GJ51
Classic case of pricing yourself out of the market and then wondering why they aren't selling...

45 paint jobs at 10k ARX...

450k ARX to outfit a fleet - nuts

At $60/100k ARX it would cost $270 to buy one set of paint for a fleet.

TOTAL insantity
 
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