Elite / Frontier Mysterious ship

I believe that was the constrictor
Not the Constrictor. I encountered the stealth ship playing Elite on a C64 back in the 80's and I got a good look at it. Back then I did not know what it was called, but now I know it's name: The Cougar. It just so happened my ship became mass-locked but there was no other ships in scanner range nor was I close to a planet. So, I began scanning the heavens and finally saw it. A blockish pixel which is the tell tale mark of a ship. I flew toward it and fired upon it. It fired back and then began quite a dog-fight between me and it. I managed to keep it in my visual range and finally destroyed it.
 
CaptSolo, thanks so much. For many years when I reminisced about elite i thought of the dog fight i had with the cougar. I beat it but i had no information what this strange craft was and could not locate any info on it.

you have solved for me a very old mystery for me. thank you so much :)

what a great game it was tough i was always disappointed i did not find the space dredgers, generations ship or the pirate stations :)

Also found this wiki reference cougar in oolite. it mentions a short line on the cougar ...'The Cougar ST (ST = Speedy Terminator) for Oolite is named for the legendary and rare stealth ship that appeared in some versions of 8-bit Elite. Unlike that ship, the Cougar ST is not stealthy, but it is quite agile and very fast.'

wiki link:

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Cougar_ST_OXP
 
Could someone share with me an image of the cougar from the c64 version? (not the oolite version)

Everyone who has encountered the stealth ship recalls it having two pointy pylons. This is my experience as well. I don't know if there is an official wireframe image of the Cougar from the original developers. The link below is one persons schematic idea of what it looks like:
Elite_cougar.png
 
In the AMSTARD version of ELITE 1 the cloaked ship seemed to be an asp (as far as I could tell)
When it appeared it had a couple of sidewinders with it which gave an indication of its position.

On destruction, the ship dropped a cargo canister which could be scooped by the player - giving them the cloaking device to use themselves! Drained the energy banks fast though.
 
Everyone who has encountered the stealth ship recalls it having two pointy pylons. This is my experience as well. I don't know if there is an official wireframe image of the Cougar from the original developers. The link below is one persons schematic idea of what it looks like:
Elite_cougar.png

That looks very like the "KRAIT"

800px-EliteShipIdentificationChart.jpg


The Cougar, apparently it was supposed to be an experimental naval scout fighter. Like the Wolf, it only appeared in a few versions of Elite, including the C64 version. It carried a cloak.
The cougar was also refered to as the "CAT", Image below.

600px-OldShips2010.jpg


Further info on the Cat Mark I (Cougar) http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Cat_%28Oolite%29
 
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Pretty sure on the Spectrum version it was the Constrictor.
Constrictor wasn't invisible on the scanner. It was a tough nut to crack, and you had to chase it across several systems. Got a Naval Energy Unit for your trouble.
Think this
Deepspace_Constrictor.jpg
as wireframe.
 
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Constrictor wasn't invisible on the scanner. It was a tough nut to crack, and you had to chase it across several systems. Got a Naval Energy Unit for your trouble.
Think this
Deepspace_Constrictor.jpg
as wireframe.

On the Spectrum, I always thought you got a cloaking device & ECM jammer.
 
Constrictor wasn't invisible on the scanner. It was a tough nut to crack, and you had to chase it across several systems. Got a Naval Energy Unit for your trouble.

With C64 Elite the player was awarded the NEU after successfully delivering the Thargoid Plans to Birera in galaxy three. It was a long voyage from Ceerdi to Birera and I was jumped many times by Thargoids. But I knew how to dust the bugs real good.

The Constrictor mission played differently in Elite than it does with Oolite. The Constrictor thief is still found in the same system, but you had to go hunting for him. In Oolite, the player encounters him as they exit from witchspace. The Elite Constrictor is a tougher fight than it's Oolite counterpart. I believe the reward was in credits.

I encountered a few strange things playing Elite. Once I encountered a fleet of ships that were not hostile. I sat engrossed watching them fly by in single file. To this day I do not know what they were but back then I imagined it was a navy group out hunting Thargoids. Thargoid hunting was a passion of mine as well. My favorite planet for such an enterprise was Poor Agricultural, Corporate State. Pirates were not as numerous so they did not interfere. I would jump away from the planet and sun till they only showed as specks in the heavens. That tactic improved game speed or frame rate. The Thargoids inevitably showed up and I would tease them with the laser so they released all their thargons. Then I destroyed the mother ship and scooped the thargons which fetched a good price.
 
With C64 Elite the player was awarded the NEU after successfully delivering the Thargoid Plans to Birera in galaxy three. It was a long voyage from Ceerdi to Birera and I was jumped many times by Thargoids. But I knew how to dust the bugs real good.
Oh yes, you're correct. Time does tricks to one's memory. :eek:
 
Is it a Krait? Is it a Sidewinder? No, it is the Cougar, a mystery no longer. It is not the cloaked ship... They are invisible. The Cougar was visible but did not show on the IFF Scanner. Here is the Cougar:
elite_cougar.png
 
In the AMSTARD version of ELITE 1 the cloaked ship seemed to be an asp (as far as I could tell)
When it appeared it had a couple of sidewinders with it which gave an indication of its position.

On destruction, the ship dropped a cargo canister which could be scooped by the player - giving them the cloaking device to use themselves! Drained the energy banks fast though.

oh yes got the cloak on my cpc464. class back then.
 

Philip Coutts

Volunteer Moderator
Well colour me impressed, I thought I knew all of the ships from Elite but this is a new one on me. Nice bit if information, thanks all.
 
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