I played with joystick. Only digital inputs though, no analogue.
The ships had only pitch and roll, no yaw, but on the other side no inertia either. Mining laser was the best weapon, especially against the fragile Thargons.
The ships had only pitch and roll, no yaw, but on the other side no inertia either. Mining laser was the best weapon, especially against the fragile Thargons.
I am in my 50s, but still don't consider myself as 'middle aged' yet.
Not 50 yet but consider myself a well aged child.
Sterling MH
Banned
It got so that as soon as the Python was two pixels wide, it was dead. Never got to see the ship.
But pixels were bigger when I were a lad...
I played the 1984 version with a joystick... was fun too.
I had some nice analogue joysticks for the BBC - made docking easier (without using docking computer). Bought from a Microcomputer shop in Cambridge (Cambridge Computers? - the Beebs were in the cellar showroom)
No gimballed weapons, but there were rear firing lasers, guided missiles and an energy bomb that wiped out everything nearby, so in some ways the tech was better
http://www.elitehomepage.org/manual.htm#A25
I used to run with military lasers front, rear and right side with a mining laser on the left side. I carried an energy bomb but only really used it when the Thargoids dragged you from witch space. It didn't kill the mother ship, but it would clear the decks of tharglets to give you a fighting chance. Then once the mother ship was destroyed you could scoop up the tharglets and sell them as alien materials.
I became a dab hand at flicking to the rear screen, reversing the joystick and shooting down missiles. By the time I made Elite I'd stopped equipping and ECM system as it was easier to shoot the missile down.
Military lasers were awesome. There were times a cluster of bogeys would crop up on the scanner and you could swing round, line up with the barely visible cluster, open fire and destroy 4 or 5 ships before you could even see what they were...
Enjoyed the mission to retrieve the cloaking device (spectrum version) - that was .. interesting to use.
Exactly this
The pixels were huge! Hard to miss a ship that is even only 1 pixel large, and you can think of these big pixels like a 'target lock'. It needed much lesser accuracy than fixed weapons today.
Oh i can still hear the military laser in my ears "Ka-BAM-BAM-BAM". It really didn't sound like a laser....
Last edited:
If we're being ultra strict about the original Elite, that was only on the BBC computer. Everything else was a port. (Referring here to the disc version, not the 'nerfed' tape version)
There were four laser weapons: Pulse, Beam, Military and Mining and you could mount four weapons on your ship: Front, rear, left and right. No gimbals, as has previously been mentioned.
Your ship (The Cobra mk3 only as you couldn't change your ship) carried up to 4 missiles, launched from somewhere on the lower hull.
In terms of missions the BBC version had 2. The first was the 'Constrictor Mission' and second was the 'Thargoid documents' mission.
Sticking with these 'first gen' 8-bit ports...
The C64 was almost a direct port (same processor as the BBC - the 6502), but added the 'Trumbles' to the mix, taking advantage of the sprite hardware in that platform. It also was the first version to feature the Blue Danube music whilst docking.
The ZX Spectrum version differed in many respects, this version wasn't a port in the classic sense, it was written for the Spectrum based on a play through of the BBC version (code conversion between the 6502 to Z80A was more trouble than starting from scratch). It featured 5 missions, different to the BBC ones. These were: Supernova, ECM Jammer, Asteroid, Cloaking device and Thargoid Invasion. (The programmers had spare memory to play with over the BBC, and used it for the missions)
The Amstrad CPC version was very similar to the Spectrum version.
Of course, Elite was ported to the 16 bit platforms of the era too, but the 8 bits are arguably the 'classic' Elites, with the BBC version being the definitive one.
Cheers,
Drew.
ps. One of these days I'll turn this into a lore doc.
There were four laser weapons: Pulse, Beam, Military and Mining and you could mount four weapons on your ship: Front, rear, left and right. No gimbals, as has previously been mentioned.
Your ship (The Cobra mk3 only as you couldn't change your ship) carried up to 4 missiles, launched from somewhere on the lower hull.
In terms of missions the BBC version had 2. The first was the 'Constrictor Mission' and second was the 'Thargoid documents' mission.
Sticking with these 'first gen' 8-bit ports...
The C64 was almost a direct port (same processor as the BBC - the 6502), but added the 'Trumbles' to the mix, taking advantage of the sprite hardware in that platform. It also was the first version to feature the Blue Danube music whilst docking.
The ZX Spectrum version differed in many respects, this version wasn't a port in the classic sense, it was written for the Spectrum based on a play through of the BBC version (code conversion between the 6502 to Z80A was more trouble than starting from scratch). It featured 5 missions, different to the BBC ones. These were: Supernova, ECM Jammer, Asteroid, Cloaking device and Thargoid Invasion. (The programmers had spare memory to play with over the BBC, and used it for the missions)
The Amstrad CPC version was very similar to the Spectrum version.
Of course, Elite was ported to the 16 bit platforms of the era too, but the 8 bits are arguably the 'classic' Elites, with the BBC version being the definitive one.
Cheers,
Drew.
ps. One of these days I'll turn this into a lore doc.
Last edited:
also, there were 4 hardpoints - 1 forward, on rear, one on either wingtip (aimed sideways)So you could shoot to the side, backwards or forwards.
But the best part, the thing I truly miss, to this day...
...Is retro rockets.
Z...
Last edited:
I played it on a BBC model B with disk drive as a kid, the mission I remember was the Constrictor one. Can you provide some detail on the Thargoid Documents mission? I don't remember that on my version.
dont we all! from a middle age cmdr..
I don't know... there was an unhealthy amount of sex drugs and rock n roll happening at 21. I don't think I have the strength to go through that again...
Sterling MH
Banned
I don't know... there was an unhealthy amount of sex drugs and rock n roll happening at 21. I don't think I have the strength to go through that again...
So what's the unhealthy amount? Nil?
The navy obtained blueprints to a Thargoid "Battle ship". You were tasked with transporting these documents to a navy base. Naturally the Thargoids try to stop you.
I believe you were rewarded with a "Naval Energy Unit" as a result, though I might be wrong - memory a bit fuzzy after 30+ years.
Cheers,
Drew.