Celebrating 35 years of Elite!

cainthekiller

C
So, there I was, fighting a Fer de Lance with my engineered Vulture. Back in the day, Fer de Lances were THE force to be reckoned with. My shields dwindling fast, my shield cells gone, my cannon ammunition quickly depleting. Oh, those damn FDLs, how they turned, back and forth, and packing a huge punch. I was about to kill it. AI was improved and they no longer rotated around waiting to be killed... Oh boy... 5% hull, 4, 3, 2, 1... And then it started the chain reaction for explosion. And in that moment I noticed it wasn't just another Elite FDL piloted by another NPC, but Wedge Antilles himself.

Or at least the randomly generated name the game gave this particular NPC. I don't know why, it's silly, but blowing up Wedge Antilles out of the void gave me a sense of pride but at the same time a little sadness... Who said videogames aren't immersive and emotional experiences?

That's the best memory so far... Thank you Frontier for delivering this ongoing masterpiece.

CMDR Alex Richtofen
See you in the void o7
 

Dradonis

Dradonis
Favourite moment was in frontier elite 2, that first planetary landing, gave me tingles that hooked me and kept me playing for 3 years straight without switching to another game. Ahhhh good times. :sneaky:
 

xXNoobkiller25

xXNoobkiller25
Stephen Benedetti said:
Greetings Commanders,

Over the years, the Elite series of games has grown and evolved, starting all the way from the first Elite (published on this very day in 1984) to the Elite Dangerous we have today!

For the 35th anniversary of Elite 1984, we want to look back and celebrate each and every Commander who has shared this incredible ride with us.

Haven't had the chance to earn your wings in the iconic Elite? Claim your free copy on the Frontier Store for PC and Mac here.

As a gift for every Commander, head over to the in-game store, and you will be able to claim your own Retro Thargoid Bobblehead, available until 23 September (16:00 UTC) for 1 ARX.


But that's not all! Alongside this octagonal interloper, we've got 35 Cobra MK III Classic Wireframe Paint Jobs to give away. To be in with the chance to win one of these Paint Jobs, all you need to do is reply to this thread, telling us about your favourite memory playing one of the Elite games. Don't forget to include your Commander Name to be eligible to win!

The competition will run from now until 23 September (11:00 UTC) and winners will be contacted by 25 September (11:00 UTC). With the aid of the Elite Dangerous development team, our top 35 favourite comments will be rewarded with the Paint Job.

You can also get involved over on Steam, Twitter and Facebook! Please find all of the Terms and Conditions below.


Whether you've only just donned your flight suit, or you've been with us over the last 35 years, thank you for all of your passion and support!

Fly safe.



TERMS AND CONDITIONS (FORUM/STEAM)
  • Prize: One (1) Cobra MK III Classic Wireframe Paint Job. (35 per platform – Frontier Forums, Steam, Facebook and Twitter)
  • One submission per person (per platform).
  • You only officially enter the competition when you reply, with your favourite Elite Dangerous memory, to the relevant competition thread/post.
  • Be sure to include your Commander Name in your reply to be eligible to win.
  • The competition closes on Monday 23 September (2019) at 11:00 UTC.
  • The winners will be announced by Wednesday 25 September (2019) and prizes will be credited directly to the winner's account.
  • The winners will be chosen by a panel of Elite Dangerous developers.
  • Objectionable or offensive content will be disqualified.
  • No submission should violate the Elite Dangerous EULA and TOS.
  • Frontier Developments has the right to remove any entry at their sole discretion
  • Frontier Developments employees are excluded from participating in the event.
  • Frontier Developments reserve the right to exchange any prize for a prize of similar value.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS (FACEBOOK/TWITTER)
  • Prize: One (1) Cobra MK III Classic Wireframe Paint Job. (35 per platform – Frontier Forums, Steam, Facebook and Twitter)
  • One submission per person (per platform).
  • You only officially enter the competition when you reply, with your favourite Elite Dangerous memory, to the relevant competition thread/post.
  • Be sure to include your Commander Name in your reply to be eligible to win.
  • The winners will be contacted by the Frontier Community Team via Facebook DM, Twitter DM or Forum DM. Please ensure you are following @EliteDangerous on Twitter to allow us to contact you.
  • The winners have 7 days to respond and claim the prize; if no response has been received after 7 days, you forfeit your prize.
  • The competition closes on Monday 23 September (2019) at 11:00 UTC.
  • The winners will be announced by Wednesday 25 September (2019) and prizes will be credited directly to the winner's account.
  • The winners will be chosen by a panel of Elite Dangerous developers.
  • Objectionable or offensive content will be disqualified.
  • No submission should violate the Elite Dangerous EULA and TOS.
  • Frontier Developments has the right to remove any entry at their sole discretion
  • Frontier Developments employees are excluded from participating in the event.
  • Frontier Developments reserve the right to exchange any prize for a prize of similar value.
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I think one of my favorite memories is getting to meet all the great people in the community i can't believe how many people i have met playing elite i look back on it and its crazy i played by my self at first and did a the harsh grind in the beginning and worked my way from the viper mk 3 to the mk4 to the asp explorer silly mistake awful ship for combat so i got the vulture instead to the fer de lance then the andaconda to the Corvette met alot of people in my fer de lance love the ship and now if i go and play i always have a buddy joining me but other then all the great people i have met im more of a combat guy i could say seeing mega ships is jaw dropping when they jump into a combat zone but honestly exploration is also jaw dropping seeing sag a and all the cool things in the black and also thargoid hunting is exhilarating i just love this game and it has brought me alot of good friends and alot of joy over the years
commander name: xXNoobkiller25 - xbox one
 

Scorchio

Scorchio
The rumour mill than ran in magazines months and years after release. I almost wore out my BBC tape, but I'm pretty sure I visited every system in every galaxy just in case I might find that generation ship or space dredger or super-powerful, beyond military-spec lasers, or whatever the phantom of the month was. All on the vague hint that someone had mentioned their cousin's friend's uncle's paperboy swore blind they'd discovered a thing hidden away out there somewhere. -- Cmdr Scorchio
 

jodrell

J
My abiding memory of playing the original Elite was the anticipation of waiting seven and a half minutes for it to load from tape on my BBC Model B.

I played the various other versions that were released over the years, but not until Elite: Dangerous did the game finally live up to promise of what my 11 year old brain was seeing in those wonderful wireframe graphics 35 years ago :)

See you all out there! CMDR jodrell out
 

Siobhan

Siobhan
Gregsy said:
I remember playing the original game on a BBC model B. After many hours of playing I got my rank up to either Deadly or Dangerous (can't remember which) at which point my tape player mangled my game save so I had to start again.
Click to expand...
We had the 5¼" disc version on BBC B, so didn't have that problem. Best game I ever played... well, maybe Arch Elite was better, but I played a lot more of the BBC B version.
 

Lord Bigdog

Lord Bigdog
My favorite memory: Spending my summer in 1984 playing Elite. I was 14 years old. I played the game on my Tandy 1000 computer with my CRT colored monitor, night and day very little sleep. I had the map laid out on the floor marking all the planets and places/coordinates that I have been in the game and also reading the book that came with it and all the different races. I never could beat the game as I ran into the Thargoids which constantly killed me even though I had a really good ship built, even had the option for a diplomatic approach in the game which didn't work either. I ended up sending a letter to company about me being stuck in the game and did receive a letter back stating thank you for playing the game and enjoying it and I should figure it out on my own. LOL...I eventually stopped playing the game. Years past.... In 2016, I was having a discussion with a friend about a game I use to play back in 1984 that was awesome and he said what you describe to me sounds like Elite. I said what? Why yes that was the name of the game. He then showed me and I was floored. I couldn't believe it, did not know that it was even out at the time (in 2016), its the game I used to play but now its on steroids! I was in awe and it bought back my childhood memories of that summer back in 1984. Still playing after almost 4 years :) Lord Bigdog
 

SlickPBW

S
Commander Name: SlickPBW

Favorite memory: definitely doing the “Constrictor Hunt” mission! I had no knowledge that this mission even existed so when I got the first message it was like: Hey, there’s some hidden gameplay here. No additional spoilers from me on this.
 

CLAS5IFIED

C
Honestly my fav memory is still dropping out of warp and seeing some capitals drop out right in front of me and seing a war break out right before my own eyes. It was so intense. Felt like something right out of star wars.

CMDR CLASSIFIED
 
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Fast as heck

Fast as heck
My favourite moment was when I reached Beagle Point in DW2, turned my Anaconda around and saw the galaxy, and every single jump I made to get there suddenly felt worth it. It's a moment I'll never forget.

CMDR FastAsHeck
 

jonbluestone

jonbluestone
Well, I remember way back when ELITE first came out on cassette tape! Then I saved up and brought a disc drive so I could play that version and from there on in, there was no stopping me. Beginning with the BBC Microcomputer and later the Master 128 I pretty much promoted ELITE for thirty years then of course ELITE Dangerous came out ... and what a ride it's been! Being an artist I produced blueprints for the various ELITE ships that were well-received at the time (1998-2002) and originated the Cobra MK III blueprints which can still be seen here: Cobra MK III General Plans along with ELITE inspired media, such as these: Tape Cassette / Master Compact ELITE Disc / Master 128 ELITE Disc and Acornsoft ELITE on Floppy Discs simply to keep the spirit of ELITE alive during the dark years of its having dropped out of sight except in the hearts and minds of the true believers, the COMMANDERS who cruised the black decades before the current crop of flyboys (and flygirls).

I also co-wrote fiction on the late Elite Bulletin Board System (EBBS) with a now sadly deceased friend, and was in essence the co-creator of the much maligned LONGHAUL OUTPOST (LHO) under the name Commander Jannah Berihn. Yes, my days were spent chasing pirates and shipping luxuries between dangerous and anarchy systems to say nothing of the occasional bit of narcotics ... but less said about that the better, as the GalCops may be watching. Good times and I'm still spacing care of a BBC Microcomputer emulator, a disc image and my commander file!

Anyone remember this: ELITE Promotion (1985-86) well, that's a re-draw as the only copies of it available on the web were of rather poor quality but it sums up ELITE rather nicely for me. One last offering, a tribute if you will to ELITE old and new: The Spirit of '84

RIGHT ON COMMANDER!

CMDR Jannah Berihn (of the trading vessel Moonlight Shadow, Diso)

143863
 
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Spidey002

Spidey002
My favorite memory in Elite Dangerous so far has been fighting for my player group, The Fatherhood. When we were a fairly new in-game PMF, we wanted to expand into a nearby system for its hazardous resource extraction sites. We had to remove a current faction in order to make room and were having trouble lowering their influence.

I defied the newly established C&P notoriety rules and ruthlessly hunted enemy "civilian" (terrorist) ships in the Haz RES, singlehandedly lowering their influence into retreat levels overnight, and earning the callsign: "Rambo" from my Squadron.

For The Fatherhood!
 

Nargun

N
Well,
My best memory is when I managed to buy myself my first ASP Explorer, adding a grade A FSD and modifications.
I discovered how it as great to have a crazy jump range, I felt like the rest of the galaxy was finally mine!!
 

zxalexis

Z
Long time ago, in early 1990s, my parents presented me a zxspectrum-compatible computer. It was my 11th birthday, and I got crazy with programming, computers, and of course videogames. That year I bought an Elite cassete game and did my first steps into my Cobra mk3 ship. I've crashed thousands of pirates, sold hundreds of tons of furs and computers, earned credits and imagined almost endless galaxy with stars, planets and their habitants. A year ago the tape refused to read, but first PC-compatibles were already around with colourful Elite-Plus game...
Long hours spent in front of monitors... Computers changed around - the game did not, and it had not to change - the feeling that it gives until now is almost unrepeated by others, in any reincarnation - Elite, Elite+, Oolite or any around. And this game was the one who gave most of expirience to other (succesful or not) galaxies...

Thanks a lot, cmdr zxalexis o7
 

CMDR Serra

CMDR Serra
My favourite Elite moment happened just recently - when we finally completed restoring the last station in the Witch Head nebula.

At the end of the Interstellar Initiative there seemed to be a real sense that while we'd had an interesting curated experience during the linked CGs, while the stations were still damaged and inoperable, the job had only half been done. To that end a merry band of like-minded individuals of all allegiances (and none) vowed to return the stations to working order.

For several weeks we battled Thargoid and Human interdictions, vanishing deliveries and vast distances running goods from the bubble - all the while encouraging each other to carry on with the effort. In the end, purely off our own initiative and with very little fanfare on the 24th of August 3305, the last station - Hanna Enterprise - had the last items delivered and was brought on line shortly after on the 29th.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but - for me - such a great sense of community in an adverse situation and thoroughly enjoyable.

o7

CMDR Vincent Serra
 
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tenshoiganoran

T
My favorite memory is from Elite Dangerous. I had a couple guys at work talk me into getting the game, and even helped me out with learning how to do everything in the game. So, after I learned not to rage quit and actually successfully dock my ship without blowing up, I began skipping around systems, looking for a place that just spoke to me, to call my in game home.

I really liked the blue-white stars, and was hoping to find one with a suitable station. After about a day and a half I found one, with a beautiful ringed lava planet. The station orbiting it even had my dream ship, an Anaconda for sale. Bingo! I found my home. After playing a few days, I noticed that there was a player group active there. I did a little internet research to see what they were about. Their goals were not in conflict with my playstyle, so I asked to join up. I was accepted and have had a great time meeting new people thanks to this wonderful game.

CMDR Axeium
 

paul mallon

P
Stickyllama said:
1984, It was Christmas - I was 14. My parents had bought me a BBC Micro in the hope that I would learn to program. We were staying at my Gran's for Xmas. Come Xmas day - the family never saw me again for the rest of the holiday. I was locked in the guest bedroom becoming dangerous, then deadly in the hope to be Elite.

I did become a coder and here I am 35 years later, still playing Elite and programming. Back when 14, I wanted so much to make amazing games just like Elite, it gave me so much enthusiasm and drive to do so, it made a life goal and shaped my career.

Cmdr Caln for the next 35 years and beyond.
Click to expand...
Love these fabulous stories . I was 16/17 and save up for months to get a c64 and elite game
 
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