| Elite | |
|---|---|
 Cover art for Firebird releases | |
| Developers | David Braben Ian Bell |
| Publishers | |
| Composers |
|
| Series | Elite |
| Platforms | |
| Release | 20 September 1984[1] |
| Genre | Space trading and combat simulator |
| Mode | Single-player |
Elite is aspace tradingvideo game. It was written and developed byDavid Braben andIan Bell and was originally published byAcornsoft for theBBC Micro computer in September 1984.[2]Elite'sopen-ended game model, and revolutionary 3D graphics led to it being ported to virtually every contemporaryhome computer system and earned it a place as a classic and a genre maker in gaming history.[3] The game's title derives from one of the player's goals of raising their combat rating to the exalted heights of "Elite".
Elite was one of the firsthome computer games to usewire-frame 3D graphics withhidden-line removal.[4] It added graphics andtwitch gameplay aspects to the genre established by the 1974 gameStar Trader.[5] Another novelty was the inclusion ofThe Dark Wheel, a novella byRobert Holdstock which gave players insight into the moral and legal codes to which they might aspire.
TheElite series is among the longest-running video game franchises. The first game was followed by the sequelsFrontier: Elite II in 1993,[6] andFrontier: First Encounters in 1995,[7] which introducedNewtonian physics, realistic star systems, and seamless freeform planetary landings. A third sequel,Elite Dangerous, begancrowdfunding in 2012 and was launched on 16 December 2014,[8] following a period of semi-open testing; it received a paid-for expansion season,Horizons, on 15 December 2015.[9]
Elite proved hugely influential, serving as a model for other games includingWing Commander: Privateer,[10]Grand Theft Auto,[11]EVE Online,[12][13][14]Freelancer,[10] theX series[15][16][17] andNo Man's Sky.[18]
Non-Acorn versions were each first published byFirebird andImagineer. Subsequently,Frontier Developments has claimed the game to be a "Game by Frontier"[2] to be part of its own back catalogue[19] and all the rights to the game have been owned by David Braben.[20]
The player initially controls the character "Commander Jameson",[21] though the name can be changed each time the game is saved. The player starts at Lave Station with 100 credits and a lightly armed trading ship, a Cobra Mark III.[2] Most of the ships that the player encounters are similarly named aftersnakes or otherreptiles.[22] Credits can be accumulated through a number of means. These include piracy, trade,[2] military missions, bounty hunting andasteroid mining. The money generated by these enterprises allows the player to upgrade their ship with enhancements such as better weapons, increased cargo capacity, an automated docking system, an extra energy bank and more.[23]
In the game universe, stars have singleplanets, each with aspace station in itsorbit. Stars are always separated byinterstellar distances which cannot be crossed using the ship's sublight engines. Travel between stars is accomplished by hyperspace jumps, and is constrained to those within range of the limited fuel capacity (a maximum of 7light years) of the ship's hyperdrive. Sublight travel uses no fuel.[24]
Fuel can be replenished after docking with a space station, which requires matching the ship's rotation to that of the station before entering the docking bay[21]—a task that can be avoided by purchasing a docking computer. Equipment upgrades include a fuel scoop, which allows "sun skimming"—collecting energy from the stars'corona[24]—described by the manual as "a dangerous and difficult activity", but in practice a fairly simple process far easier than manually docking at a space station—and collecting free-floating cargo canisters and escape capsules liberated after the destruction of other ships.[25]
While making a hyperspace jump between star systems, the antagonistic Thargoid[26] race may intercept the player half way, forcing the player's ship to remain in "witch-space" and do battle with the smaller invasion ships of the Thargoid. As the interrupted jump uses the full journey's fuel, the player may have insufficient fuel to subsequently jump to a nearby planet, trapping them in witch-space. They must either use an escape capsule, if owned, or abort the game and reload.[27]
An extremely expensive one-timegalactic hyperspace upgrade permits travel between the eight galaxies of the game universe. There is little practical difference between the different galaxies. However, in some versions it is necessary to travel to at least the second galaxy to access the game's missions. The planetary layout of the galaxies is different, and many players have discovered trade routes between closely positioned planets with fortuitous economic combinations.
Most versions of Elite included several optional jobs for the Galactic Navy.[26] One requires tracking down and destroying a stolen experimental ship;[22] another involves transporting classified information on the Thargoids' home planet, with Thargoid invasion ships doing their best to see that the player does not succeed throughout the duration of the mission involving multiple interplanetary jumps.[28] Rewards differed depending on the mission - from cash and gems to esoteric hardware such as acloaking device.
According to Braben and Bell,Elite was inspired by a number of sources. The developers refer to2001: A Space Odyssey,Star Wars,The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the originalBattlestar Galactica as influences. Braben also cites the works ofLarry Niven,Jerry Pournelle,Arthur C. Clarke,Robert L. Forward,Isaac Asimov andOrson Scott Card.[29] While both have confirmed that the default commander name Jameson was inspired by theTravellertabletop role-playing game which Bell played,[26][30][21] Braben has denied that substantial parts were derived from it.[31]
When the developers met atJesus College, Cambridge, Bell was already working on a game for Acornsoft calledFreefall.[32] Braben had started writing a game calledFighter, but had not yet completed it. The two projects were sufficiently similar that after comparing notes and seeingStar Raiders on theAtari 800 they decided to collaborate to produce what eventually becameElite. They first approached Thorn EMI;[33] the company's rejection letter stated that the game was too complicated and needed to be finishable in 10 minutes with threelives. Braben and Bell then met with Acornsoft; their demo ofElite's combat and docking sequences impressed managing directorDavid Johnson-Davies and other Acornsoft executives. The company agreed to publish the finished game, although they feared that it was too ambitious for Braben and Bell, and was uncertain about the merits of two developers instead of one on a single game.[34][35] The programmers were given a £1,000 advance from the company and a royalty rate of 7.5% was agreed.[33]
The game took two years to write and started out as a 3D arcade game without the trading element.[32] It was written inmachine code usingassembly language,[36] giving much care to maximum compactness of the code. The last part added was the3Dradar display fitted into the last few unused bytes in their computer.[37]
The original BBC version used a novel split screen approach to show four colours (five, including the black background) onscreen simultaneously; the upper two thirds of the screen were displayed inMode 4 while the lower part was in Mode 5.[38] The subsequent Electron version ran entirely in Mode 4, because the video chips were not 100% compatible and therefore were in black and white only.[21]
TheElite universe contains eight galaxies, each with 256 planets to explore. Due to the limited capabilities of8-bit computers, these worlds areprocedurally generated. A single seed number is run through a fixed algorithm the appropriate number of times and creates a sequence of numbers determining each planet's complete composition (position in the galaxy, prices of commodities, and name and local details; text strings are chosen numerically from alookup table and assembled to produce unique descriptions, such as a planet with "carnivorous arts graduates"). This means that no extra memory is needed to store the characteristics of each planet, yet each is unique and has fixed properties. Each galaxy is also procedurally generated from the first. Braben and Bell at first intended to have 248 galaxies, but Acornsoft insisted on a smaller universe to hide the galaxies' mathematical origins.[35]
However, the use of procedural generation created a few problems. There are a number of poorly located systems that can be reached only by galactic hyperspace— these are more than 7 light years from their nearest neighbour, and, being low-tech, are unable to replace the galactic hyperdrive, thus trapping the traveller. Braben and Bell also checked that none of the system names wereprofane - removing an entire galaxy after finding a planet named "Arse".[39]
The developers did not spend much time playing their creation, and the quality testing was mostly performed by Acornsoft's managing director David Johnson-Davies, who also planned the packaging and marketing campaign at the time.[40][41]
The original BBC Micro disk version uses a non-standard disk-format forcopy protection. This relied on specific OSWORD &7F DFSopcodes in theIntel 8271floppy-disk controller to directly access the disk, and produce a non-standard sector/track-layout. This causes issues for legitimate customers that use theWestern Digital 1770 disk-controller (DFS) ROMs from third-party manufacturers such asWatford Electronics. Acorn subsequently released alternative versions of the BBC disks that are compatible with theWD1770. In addition to this, self-modifying code was used as part of the protection system, created by Rob Northen.[42] This BBC disk-copy-protection was also used by Superior Software in itsExile game.[43]
 OriginalAcornsoft cover | |
| Author | Robert Holdstock |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Acornsoft,Firebird Software |
Publication date | 1984 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Paperback |
Acornsoft set in motion a large-scale publicity campaign and commissioned a presentational package for the game that was far more elaborate than normal. Acornsoft packagedElite in a box larger than its usual releases, complete with anovella byRobert Holdstock calledThe Dark Wheel, a 64-page Space Trader's Flight Training Manual, reference card and a ship identification poster. The flight training manual was written in a style that took the rookie trader through the controls and various aspects of play.[40]
The original Acornsoft version ofThe Dark Wheel promised on its back cover that "[a] sequel to the novella is planned for publication in 1985", but no direct sequel was ever written. A second novella,Imprint by Andy Redman, was included with theIBM PC release ofElite Plus, but apart from being set in the same universe it is in no way connected to the original story.
Marketing activities included a £50,000 promotional budget from Acornsoft, including television advertising[26] and a launch party at theThorpe Park theme park (holding such an event for a video game was almost unheard of at the time) and a competition to be among the first to achieve the status of "Elite".[38][44]
The story tells of a young starship pilot named Alex Ryder, whose father Jason is killed when their merchant ship is attacked by a notorious pirate. In trying to understand and avenge his father's death and achieve an "iron ass" (a space-trader's term for a well-armed- and armoured spaceship), Alex encounters the basics of the Elite universe—including combat, hyperdrive and hyperspace and the deadly aliens called Thargoids. Finally Alex discovers the truth about his father and his combat rank. He also acts as an acceptable face of trading as his female co-pilot, Elyssia Fields, is an alien and wanted in several systems. Alex wants to avenge his father's death, but must exercise caution in tracking down the assassin. By trading commodities, he slowly improves the arms and armour of his ship. When he is competent at using the spaceship for combat, but before he feels ready, he makes a trade that is sure to bring his father's killer to him.
Alex also learns what the "Dark Wheel" is and what it takes to join its ranks.[45]
The first version of the game was released for the BBC Micro, model B on tape and disk and "about a month or two later" theAcorn Electron tape version was released.[21] The Electron's limitations meant the game was in black and white only, and several game features were cut including Thargoids and suns. Neither the BBC nor the Electron tape versions featured missions. Additionally, the original tape version for the Electron contained abug that stopped Galactic Hyperspace from working.[46] Acorn provided a mail-in tape-replacement service to upgrade to v1.1 (marked as such on the tape label) that fixed this bug.[47]
A version for the BBC Micro with the6502 Second Processor was announced by Acornsoft on 25 July 1985, this new version added several extras over the standard BBC version, including 18 ships in the player environment (up from 10), no loading from disc when leaving/arriving at a space station, the ability to save screenshots and print screens to an Epson compatible printer. It also boasted over double the frame rate and a MODE1/MODE2 split screen vs. MODE4/MODE5 giving a full colour game for the first time.
The great commercial success of the BBC Micro version prompted a bidding war for the rights to publishElite in other formats,[48] whichBritish Telecom's software arm,Telecomsoft, eventually won.[49]
Contemporary versions for home computers based on the6502 microprocessor were ported by either Bell or Bell and Braben.[26][45] TheCommodore 64 conversion introduced Trumbles[50] (creatures based on thetribbles inStar Trek: The Original Series). When the docking computer is activated in the Commodore 64 version and some other versions, a musical rendition of "The Blue Danube"Waltz is played, as a nod to a space docking sequence inStanley Kubrick's 1968 film2001: A Space Odyssey.[30]
The ZX Spectrum version, programmed by "Torus"[51] included asupernova mission not found in the original.[21]
TheAmstrad CPC conversion has fewer ships than other platforms, lacking the Anaconda and Transport, along with some minor differences in missions and titles.[52]Ricardo Pinto, the programmer for the Amstrad version, explained that his team was given a 6502 hex dump by Braben and Bell, which did not help development: "In the end we wrote our version by playingElite on a [BBC Micro] and making ours look the same."[53] This version included the "supernova rescue" and "cloaking device" missions, and refinements to the launch tube and jump drive animations.
According to the lead programmer of the 16 bit Amiga/Atari ST and the MSX conversions Rob Nicholson, he did not have access to thesource code because of contractual issues and had to write them "blind". All he had were the ship shapes and the procedural generation code for the galaxies.[54]
Elite Plus was released forMS-DOS in 1991. Whereas the originalElite (1987)[23] for the PC usedCGA graphics,Elite Plus was upgraded to take advantage ofEGA,VGA andMCGA. It was coded entirely inassembly language byChris Sawyer, who later wroteRollerCoaster Tycoon.[28]
TheAcorn Archimedes version,ArcElite (1991), written by Warren Burch & Clive Gringras and regarded byStuff magazine as the best conversion of the original game,[55] added intelligent opponents who engage in their own private battles and police who take an active interest in protecting the law. As well as such gameplay enhancements, the version also exploited the more modern hardware by usingpolygon mesh graphics in place of the wire-frames. The game world no longer seems to be centred around the player; freighter fleets with escorts go about their own business, pirate formations patrol lawless systems looking for cargo to loot and mining ships can often be found breaking up asteroids for their mineral content. Unlike the mythicalGeneration Ships of the original, rare occurrences of other non-pirate entities mentioned in the manual really can be found in the Archimedes version: geometric formations of space beacons; hermits living among the asteroids; abandoned ships towed by police (although Dredgers and Generation Ships are confirmednot to exist in ArchimedesElite).[56] The Archimedes version ofElite was originally written to be a space trading game calledTrojan - however the obvious similarities eventually meant that to avoid a potential lawsuitTrojan had to become an officialElite conversion.[57] ArcElite was one of a number of games released for free byThe Icon Bar website in 2006.[58]
Some versions feature a new title, "Archangel", for the player to earn that substitutes the rank of Commander. Archangel is reached by undertaking a special mission to destroy a space station in a system invaded by the Thargoids. The player's reward for completing the mission is to receive the title Archangel and obtain a device that is capable of emulating anti-ECM broadcast.[28]
Versions for32X andSega Mega Drive were in development but cancelled due to Sony backing out of the project and lack of publisher.[59] However, a ROM image of the Mega Drive demo was released online by co-designer Ian Bell.[60]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Amtix | CPC: 94%[62] |
| Crash | ZX:92%[24] |
| Computer and Video Games | C64: 36/40[64] ZX: 37/40[65] |
| M! Games | 85/100 (Amiga) |
| Sinclair User | ZX: [67] |
| Your Sinclair | ZX:9/10[68] |
| Amstrad Action | CPC: 94%[61] |
| BEEBUG | BBC:[63] |
| Personal Computer Games | BBC: 9/10[69] |
| Super Gamer | NES: 80%[70] |
| Zzap!64 | C64: 97%[22] Amiga: 98%[71] |
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| Golden Joystick Award | "Best Original Game" (1984)[72] |
| Crash | Readers' Awards "Best Game Overall" (1985)[73] |
| Computer Gamer | "Game of the Year", "Best Arcade Game" (1985)[74] |
| Next Generation Magazine | #1 "best game of the 1980s" (2008)[25] |
| IGN | #12 "Top 25 PC Games of All Time" (2000)[75] |
| Retro Gamer | #1 "Top 100 Retro Game" (2004)[76] |
| Times Online | #3 most influential video game ever. (2007)[77] |
| Stuff | #6 "100 Greatest Games" (2008)[78] |
| Telespiele trade show | One of the 16 most influential games in history. (2007)[79] |
Elite received very positive reviews on its launch and theBBC Micro version eventually sold 107,898 copies.[80] The game's popularity became a national phenomenon in the UK, with reports airing onChannel 4 and elsewhere.[81]Elite was Firebird's best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987.[82] Bell estimates that approximately 600,000 copies were eventually sold for all platforms combined,[81] while Frontier Developments' Elite page states that the numbers are around a million units.[2]
Elite's technical breakthroughs reportedly amazed the BBC Micro's developers, withSophie Wilson calling it "the game that couldn't have been written". However, many players found gameplay difficult and unfamiliar; the game was so controversial thatThe Micro User devoted its April 1985 letter column to readers debating it.[4]
In his review of the game forBeebug Magazine in 1984, David Fell calledElite "the best game ever" for the BBC Micro.[63] InPersonal Computer Games Shingo Sugiura said "Elite is vast, complex and very, very absorbing. I've got bulging, red eyeballs from staying up into the early hours but I don't care. I'm going to continue playing until I am ranked Elite ... or at least Competent ... or even Average ... Buy it!".[69] John Cook wrote in the December 1984 issue ofMicro Adventurer "A masterpiece such as this is difficult to describe within existing parameters" and "By any standards,Elite is an excellent game, certainly in the Top Three this year. By BBC standards, it is simply the best game that has ever been written for the machine".[40]Crash magazine said about the Spectrum version "Elite is one of the most imaginative ever to be designed to run on a home computer" and gave it a score of 92%,[24] while at the same time it was a best-seller in the Gallup charts.[83] The game was number 16 in theYour Sinclair "Top 100 Speccy Games" in 1992,[84] was voted number 7 in theYour Sinclair "Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time" in 1993[85] and was voted the 9th best game of all time by the readers ofRetro Gamer Magazine for an article that was scheduled to be in a specialYour Sinclair tribute issue.[86] SimilarlyZzap!64 gave the Commodore 64 version 97%, stating that it was "a brilliant game of blasting and trading and is certainly the best game I've seen this year"[22] in 1985 and the Amiga version 98%[71] in 1989.
In 1984,Elite received theGolden Joystick Award for "Best Original Game".[72] In 1985 the game was awarded the "Best Game Overall" for that year by readers ofCrash magazine,[73] and "Game of the Year" byComputer Gamer.[74] In a 1992 survey of science fiction games,Computer Gaming World gave the title two of five stars, stating that its "popularity was largely a result of being one of the first space games with a 'large' universe to explore". The magazine gaveElite Plus two-plus stars, describing it as "More detailed and complex, it is also more tedious than the original".[87] A 1994 survey of strategic space games set in the year 2000 and later gaveElite andElite Plus three stars and two-plus stars, respectively.[88]
In 1993,Commodore Force ranked the game at number four on its list of the top 100 Commodore 64 games.[89] It was ranked #14 top game of all time byNext Generation in 1996,[90] #12 onIGN's 2000 "Top 25 PC Games of All Time" list,[75] the #3 most influential video game ever by theTimes Online in 2007,[77] #6 "Greatest Game" byStuff magazine in 2008,[78] #1 "Top Retro Game" byRetro Gamer in 2004,[76] and #1 "best game of the 1980s" byNext Generation in 2008.[25] In 1996,GamesMaster ranked Elite 11th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time."[91] The game was retrospectively awarded 10/10 by the multi-format magazineEdge—together with only2 other games[citation needed]— and is being exhibited at such places as theLondon Science Museum in the "Game On" exhibition organised and toured by theBarbican Art Gallery.[92]Elite is also featured inGame On! From Pong to Oblivion: The 50 Greatest Video Games of All Time by authors Simon Byron, Ste Curran and David McCarthy.[93]
In 1991,PC Format placedElite Plus on its list of the 50 best computer games of all time. The editors called it "a classic game that mixes solid 3D space combat with trading to create a universe in which you can spend many a happy half-hour bushwhacking the dastardly Thargoids."[94]
Elite has often been regarded as defining the genre forspace trading games. Since its releaseElite has been credited as being the title that defined the modern space flight simulation genre, a significant source of inspiration for later games in the genre[15][25][95][96][97] as well as being influential upon gaming as a whole.[98][99] In interviews, senior producers ofCCP Games have citedElite as one of the inspirations for their acclaimedMMORPG,EVE Online.[12][13][14] The developers ofJumpgate Evolution,[100]Battlecruiser 3000AD,[101]Infinity: The Quest for Earth,[102]Space Rangers,Hard Truck: Apocalyptic Wars[103] andFlatspace[104] have likewise all creditedElite as a source of inspiration. Similar praise has been bestowed elsewhere in the media over the years.[105][106][107][108]
It has been named as one of the most influential games in history,[79] and has been credited as being the first truly open-ended[109]open world game[110] and opening the door for future onlinepersistent worlds such asSecond Life,World of Warcraft[77] andEVE Online.Elite is one of the most popularly requested games to beremade,[111] with some arguing that it is still the best example of the genre to date, with more recent titles—including its immediate sequel—not rising up to the same level.[112][98][113]
In November 1999, on the game's 15th birthday, Ian Bell released many binaries andsource code of several versions of the original game on his website.[114][115] A dispute arose between Bell and David Braben regarding Bell's decision to make available all versions of the originalElite.[116] The dispute has since ended and the various versions became available again on Bell's site.[31][117]
In the late 1980s a variant of the commercial BBC MicroElite release was created by Angus Duggan bydisassembling and modifying the6502 code from the existing with many extra features, originally titledElite III but now known asElite A to minimise confusion. It includes many more ship types, more ship types flyable by the player (who begins in the less capable Adder), cargo delivery missions, some extra equipment items and numerous gameplay improvements.Elite A was released publicly in 1997.[118] Like the original game, it can be downloaded free from Ian Bell's web site and played under emulation.
Many attempts to developclones ofElite have been made, but most have been abandoned before completion or have otherwise failed to come to fruition. Theopen sourceOolite is a notable exception. Another successful adaptation is1337 (meaning "Elite" inLeetspeak)[119] developed by Jose Maria Enguita for theOric machines, that won the2010 Oldschool Gaming Game Of The Year Award.[120] Contrasting with these conversions, around 1999 Christian Pinder developedElite: The New Kind as a modern PC port of the original BBC Micro version. He achieved a faithful port byreverse-engineering the originalassembly written BBC Micro version and recreating a platform neutralC code variant from it,[121] but at David Braben's request this version was withdrawn from distribution in 2003.[122] In September 2014, onElite's 30th birthday, Ian Bell blessedElite: The New Kind and re-released it for free on his website.[123][124] Since then,Elite: The New Kind is also distributed again in version 1.1 by Christian Pinder;[125] asource code mirror is hosted onGitHub.[126]
In 2020, Christian Pinder also released an upscaled Windows port of the Acorn Archimedes' Elite.[127][128]
On 20 October 2013, theInternet Archive started to offer Elite in theZX Spectrum version for online playing in the browser viaMESSemulation.[129]
If, however - like me - you consider Elite to be the best game ever made, X - Beyond The Frontier is by far its closest relation.
The later version of Elite on the Acorn Archimedes is viewed as the best [...]
It was one of the very first games to feature 3D graphics, but more importantly it challenged the definition of what a computer game was.
David Braben is one of the old-time legends of British computer gaming – along with Ian Bell, he co-wrote the space simulator Elite, a hugely influential game often earmarked as one of the best ever made.
Elite is still one of the most influential games to date, having inspired EVE Online, Freespace, Jumpgate, Homeworld and a handful of other space titles.
But [the BBC Micros] weren't just for learning on, a handful of games were actually released for the Beeb—two of the most influential games ever in fact f– one of which was Revs. (...) The other super influential game [besides Revs] by the way, was Elite.
In 1984, Ian Bell was one of the authors of a game that by many still is regarded as the best game ever written, Elite (the other author was David Braben).
A superior remake of the original space trading game Elite will be released for free this weekend, 30 years after the original game launched
Today, 20th September 2014 is the 30th anniversary of the day the world first experienced Elite, the 3D space trading and combat game written by Ian Bell and David Braben in conjunction with Acornsoft. From that beginning on the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, the game went on to be released for most home computers of the time. Celebrate by playing Elite again, for free. Thanks to Matt Goldbolt. the original BBC Micro version now runs direct in the Google Chrome browser if you click here. Or for Windows PCs, download Christian Pinder's Elite: The New Kind by clicking here.
