Difference between revisions of "Alt Fan Elite FAQ"
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(Created page with '=== Alt.Fan.Elite Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) === This FAQ can be read in a linear fashion or by following the hypertext links. Your choice. Last updated 28th September 1…') |
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| + | '' The following is a 'historically preserved document' rescued from a Google cache that contains a lot of information on various classic forms of Elite. '' |
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| + | |||
| + | ''Please do not edit nor expect links, addresses, to work. '' |
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| + | ---- |
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=== Alt.Fan.Elite Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) === |
=== Alt.Fan.Elite Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) === |
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=== Contents === |
=== Contents === |
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| − | 1) Netiquette - a quick guide |
+ | '''1) Netiquette''' - a quick guide |
Contains abbreviations and idiosincracies of the group as well as an introduction to posting for newcomers. |
Contains abbreviations and idiosincracies of the group as well as an introduction to posting for newcomers. |
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| − | 2) Common information |
+ | '''[[AFE_FAQ2|2) Common information]]''' |
| − | 2.1) Ship groupings |
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| − | 2.2) Unusual denizens and the versions they inhabit |
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| − | 2.2.1) Cloak and Dagger Ship |
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| − | 2.2.2) Dredgers |
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| − | 2.2.3) Generation Ships |
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| − | 2.2.4) Rock Hermits |
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| − | 2.3) Hidden Features |
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| − | 2.3.1) Initiative Save |
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| − | 2.3.2) Forced Witchspace |
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| − | 2.4) Missions |
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| − | |||
| − | 3) Versions of the Game |
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| − | 3.1) Electron Elite |
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| − | 3.2) BBC Tape Elite |
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| − | 3.3) BBC Disk Elite |
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| − | 3.4) Elite - The Executive Edition (BBC with Tube) |
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| − | 3.5) BBC Master Elite |
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| − | 3.6) BBC Tube Elite |
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| − | 3.7) Master Compact Elite |
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| − | 3.8) Elite A |
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| − | 3.8.1) Description |
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| − | 3.8.2) Missions |
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| − | 3.9) Amiga Elite |
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| − | 3.10) Spectrum Elite |
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| − | 3.11) MSX Elite |
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| − | 3.12) Tatsung Einstein Elite |
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| − | 3.13) NES Elite |
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| − | 3.14) C64 Elite |
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| − | 3.15) Apple II Elite |
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| − | 3.16) Amstrad CPC Elite |
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| − | 3.17) Atari ST Elite |
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| − | 3.18) PC Elite |
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| − | 3.19) PC Elite+ |
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| − | 3.20) Archimedes Elite |
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| − | 3.20.1) Description |
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| − | 3.20.2) Missions |
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| − | 3.20.2.1) Genesis Capsule |
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| − | 3.20.2.2) Kill Zartid III |
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| − | 3.20.2.3) Kill Zurid Pino (cloaked) |
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| − | 3.20.2.4) Medicine Run |
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| − | 3.20.3) Extra features |
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| − | 3.20.3.1) Space Beacons |
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| − | 3.20.3.2) The Urutu |
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| − | 3.20.3.3) Crazy Craft |
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| − | 3.20.3.4) Missionaries |
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| − | 3.20.3.5) Messages |
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| − | 3.20.3.6) Scrolltext |
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| − | 3.20.3.7) Escorts |
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| − | 3.20.3.8) Rentadock |
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| − | 3.20.4) Fluffy Dice |
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| − | 3.21) Archimedes Elite Gold |
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| − | 3.22) Frontier Elite II - PC, Amiga and Atari ST |
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| − | 3.22.1) Description |
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| − | 3.22.2) The Mirage and the Dart |
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| − | 3.22.3) Bugs |
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| − | 3.22.3.1) Deimos and Phobos |
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| − | 3.22.3.2) Garbage Truck Bug |
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| − | 3.22.3.3) Wormholes |
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| − | 3.22.3.4) Get Rich Quick |
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| − | 3.22.3.5) Mining Machine Bug |
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| − | 3.22.3.6) Mad Protection Scheme |
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| − | 3.22.3.7) Impossible Missions |
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| − | 3.22.3.8) Unshiftable dissatisfied passenger |
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| − | 3.22.3.9) Note |
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| − | 3.23) First Encounters |
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| − | 3.23.1) Description and missions |
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| − | 3.23.2) Interesting Ships |
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| − | 3.23.2.1) Bubble Drive Ships |
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| − | 3.23.2.2) Thargoid (the "Unknown") |
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| − | 3.23.2.3) Keeping the Quest |
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| − | 3.23.2.4) Baffling Alien |
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| − | 3.23.2.5) Long Range Cruiser |
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| − | 3.23.3) Bugs and Problems |
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| − | 3.23.3.1) My Missile Hits Me! |
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| − | 3.23.3.2) My Turret Gun Hits Me! |
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| − | 3.23.3.3) They Won't Give Me A Nuclear Missile! |
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| − | 3.23.3.4) How Do I Turn On The Transmission Jammer? |
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| − | 3.23.3.5) I Can't Voluntarily Use My Escape Capsule! |
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| − | 3.23.3.6) My Assassination Target's Not There! |
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| − | 3.23.3.7) Joystick prevents map rotation |
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| − | 3.23.3.8) I have -1 passengers and can't sell my ship |
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| − | 3.23.3.9) Not Actually Bugs. |
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| − | 3.23.3.9.1) Everyone's Out To Kill Me! |
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| − | 3.23.3.9.2) Wormholes fixed |
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| − | |||
| − | 4) Tricks of the Trade |
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| − | 4.1) Good trading |
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| − | 4.1.1) Original Elite |
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| − | 4.1.2) Frontier & FirstEnc |
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| − | 4.2) Good combat |
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| − | 4.2.1) Original Elite |
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| − | 4.2.2) Frontier & FirstEnc |
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| − | 4.2.3) Archimedes Elite |
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| − | |||
| − | 5) Technical Information |
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| − | 5.1) Slowing down old games on a PC |
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| − | 5.2) Getting the various Elites |
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| − | 5.3) Problems running First Encounters |
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| − | 5.4) Trouble with Win95 |
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| − | 5.4.1) Frontier Elite II |
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| − | 5.4.2) First Encounters |
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| − | |||
| − | 6) Other Relevant FAQs |
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| − | |||
| − | 7) Particularly impressive Elite WWW sites |
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| − | |||
| − | 98) Is that it? |
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| − | 98.1) The Elite Project |
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| − | 98.1.1) What is it? |
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| − | 98.1.2) How can I keep tabs on it? |
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| − | 98.2) The Galileo Project |
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| − | 98.2.1) What is it? |
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| − | 98.2.2) How can I keep tabs on it? |
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| − | 98.3) X |
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| − | 98.3.1) What is it? |
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| − | 98.3.2) How can I keep tabs on it? |
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| − | |||
| − | 99) Miscellaneous |
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| − | 99.1) How do the rankings go? |
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| − | 99.2) What's with this Right On Commander stuff? |
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| − | 99.3) Acknowledgements |
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| − | 99.4) Disclaimer |
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| − | |||
| − | == 2) Common Information == |
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| − | |||
| − | This section contains information which either fails to fall into a |
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| − | category elsewhere or applies to more than one game and so is located here |
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| − | to refer back to. |
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| − | |||
| − | Note: In the descriptions of versions, they may be described as deriving |
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| − | Elite ratings from kills, points or score, where the method is known. See |
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| − | 99.1) How do the rankings go? for details. |
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| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 2.1) Ship Groupings |
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| − | ------------------- |
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| − | |||
| − | Different versions of Elite have had different sets of ships in the game, |
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| − | both as opponents and, more rarely, available to fly. They can be split |
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| − | into several groups. Datacards showing the ArcElite ships can be seen |
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| − | here: http://www.jades.org/arc/elite/dcdex.htm |
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| − | Note that there are some significant differences to earlier versions, |
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| − | including that the Asp shown is completely new. For screenshots of both |
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| − | the ArcElite Special Asp and the classic Asp MkII (also in ArcElite), see |
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| − | the ArcElite picture gallery at http://www.randomword.demon.co.uk/rob/elite/arcelite.htm |
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| − | Also, the ArcElite Boa II bears little resemblance to the Boa of earlier |
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| − | games. |
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| − | |||
| − | Minimal list: Primarily for low-end machines where memory is a |
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| − | major restriction. Consists of: |
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| − | Asp Mk II, Asteroid, Boulder, Cobra MkI, Cobra MkIII, Escape Capsule, |
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| − | Gecko, Krait, Python, Sidewinder, Thargoid, Thargon, Viper, Coriolis |
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| − | Station. Note no boulders - no mining lasers. |
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| − | |||
| − | Standard list: Original BBC Elite and direct clones had all the |
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| − | ships of the restricted list above, and also the following: |
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| − | |||
| − | Adder, Anaconda, Boa, Constrictor (mission target), Fer-de-Lance, Mamba, |
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| − | Moray, Shuttle, Transporter, Worm, Dodecahedral Station. |
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| − | |||
| − | Elite A list: Elite A is a highly expanded version of BBC Elite and |
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| − | contains all ships off the standard BBC list plus the following new and |
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| − | unique ships created specially by the author: |
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| − | |||
| − | Bushmaster, Chameleon, Ghaival, Iguana, Monitor, Ophidian. |
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| − | |||
| − | Note the Bushmaster is not the same as the one in ArcElite. Documentation |
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| − | also hints at the existence of a fast, heavily defended destroyer under |
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| − | tests by the galactic navy (the Constrictor?) and a battle-carrier being |
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| − | developed at a secret location to combat the thargoids. It also notes that |
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| − | encounters with unknown ship types need not necessarily be uncommon and |
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| − | that the encyclopedia may be incomplete. |
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| − | |||
| − | ArcElite list: ArcElite is a bottom-up rewrite of Elite for the |
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| − | Acorn platform and features the following additional ships: |
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| − | |||
| − | Asp II custom edition - note the original Asp MkII is still in play, |
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| − | Boa II - the original Boa has been removed, |
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| − | Bushmaster, Caiman, Copperhead, Hognose, |
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| − | Moccasin (2 clearly distinct variants exist), |
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| − | Racer, Urutu. |
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| − | |||
| − | Note that because the missions are different, there is no Constrictor. |
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| − | |||
| − | Also look closely at the Copperhead. You've seen it before, haven't you? |
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| − | To quote the datacard, "Due to it being equipped with a rejected precursor |
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| − | of the Cobra MkIII Mous, this ship is often observed flying rather |
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| − | erratically." Think of a game beginning with Z.... (PC users can now think |
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| − | of one by David Braben beginning with a V...) |
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| − | |||
| − | There are two additional ships; the Cougar is found in Master and Tube |
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| − | (and possibly Master Compact) versions of Elite as a very rare encounter, |
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| − | and as a reinforcement for the cloaked Asp in the 16 bit mission set. |
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| − | In most versions with the full shipset, the Wolf MkII can be occasionally |
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| − | encountered. It is a lone trader with a very powerful weapon and shields |
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| − | at least as strong as a thargoid's. Peaceful unless attacked, it is a |
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| − | fearsome foe. |
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| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 2.2) Unusual denizens and the versions they inhabit |
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| − | --------------------------------------------------- |
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| − | |||
| − | 2.2.1) The Cloak and Dagger Ship |
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| − | -------------------------------- |
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| − | A ship of unusual design which does not appear on radar and is the target |
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| − | of one of the later missions in some versions of Elite. When destroyed it |
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| − | releases a cargo cannister containing the device, which can be triggered |
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| − | (method depends on game version). It drains half a bank of energy but |
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| − | makes enemy ships less successful at locating and shooting at you - very |
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| − | useful against thargoids, I hear. See section 2.4 for more information on |
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| − | this mission. |
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| − | |||
| − | 2.2.2) Dredgers |
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| − | --------------- |
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| − | No confirmed sightings of dredgers have ever been made and it is unlikely, |
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| − | from examination of the code, that they were ever in any Acorn classical |
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| − | Elites, and utterly certain that they are not in Frontier or First |
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| − | Encounters. There is some doubt about ArcElite - there is a mystery ship, |
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| − | but it is commonly held to be the Urutu. See section 3.20.3.2. |
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| − | |||
| − | 2.2.3) Generation Ships |
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| − | ----------------------- |
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| − | These have never been implemented to the best of my knowledge - this is |
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| − | nearly 100% certain for classical Acorn Elites and direct ports, Frontier, |
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| − | First Encounters and ArcElite, all of which have been dissected in great |
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| − | depth by fans with sufficient programming skill to extract the ship |
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| − | models, and absolutely certain for PC Elite and Elite Plus, Amiga, Atari |
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| − | ST, MSX and C64 Elites (all ship names are listed in the executable). It is |
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| − | also rumoured that Ian Bell once stated in an interview that none of them |
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| − | have ever been implemented in any version of Elite to date. |
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| − | |||
| − | Some claim to have found wandering space stations available on comms in |
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| − | Frontier Elite II when mis-jumping. General opinion is that this is a bug. |
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| − | No-one has ever tracked one down to dock at. |
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| − | |||
| − | 2.2.4) Rock Hermits |
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| − | ------------------- |
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| − | These have been confirmed to exist on Spectrum Elite, PC Elite and PC |
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| − | Elite +, 6502 Tube and Master Elites. They are superficially similar to |
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| − | asteroids but (in some versions) do not spin. When shot they disgorge a |
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| − | krait (verified for PC Elite+) or sidewinders (apparently; some versions) |
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| − | which then attack the player. The failsafe ID technique in the PC Elites |
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| − | is to missile-lock them and read whether it says "Asteroid [debris]" or |
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| − | "Asteroid [hermit]". |
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| − | |||
| − | They also exist in ArcElite and are readily recognised because their |
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| − | asteroids are painted bright yellow, blue and pink and a message flashes |
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| − | up reading "Hermit beacon detected". Their proximity prevents jumping. No |
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| − | ships emerge but a criminal record is gained for shooting one. No minerals |
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| − | are released on mining. |
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| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 2.3) Hidden Features |
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| − | -------------------- |
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| − | |||
| − | 2.3.1) Initiative Save |
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| − | ---------------------- |
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| − | This works on all Acorn platform implementations of Elite except ArcElite, |
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| − | apparently. I've only tested it on BBC Disk Elite and Elite A. Press @ to |
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| − | bring up the disk menu, select save commander, then press return for name |
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| − | and drive. If you die you will return to this position. No need to |
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| − | actually do all that slow disk accessing and _really_ saving until you |
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| − | turn off. Remember to save every now and again though, in case you |
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| − | accidentally hit break or something! |
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| − | |||
| − | 2.3.2) Forced Witch-Space |
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| − | ------------------------- |
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| − | Again, one for the Acorn Elites (not ArcElite). When engaging hyperspace, |
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| − | hold down X for maximum climb. You will get mobbed by thargoids every time. |
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| − | Note this is impossible in Elite A because the ship becomes inoperable |
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| − | while the computers dedicate themselves to the hyperspace calculations so |
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| − | your climb gradually recenters before you jump. It also doesn't function |
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| − | with the new emergency Hyperspace Unit. |
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| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 2.4) Missions |
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| − | ------------- |
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| − | The following list includes all missions in all versions of Elite, of which |
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| − | I am aware. In sections on individual Elites, they shall be referred to by |
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| − | name. |
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| − | |||
| − | 1) Tribble |
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| − | ------- |
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| − | At 6553.6cr, you are offered a Tribble / Trumble for sale. If you buy it |
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| − | it sits in your hold eating cargo and multiplying. If you get enough, |
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| − | you may see one crawling across the screen! They are useless and can |
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| − | be destroyed by flying close to the sun. If you escapsule, one comes |
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| − | with you to start the whole cycle again. |
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| − | |||
| − | 2) Supernova |
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| − | --------- |
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| − | You enter a system and all your fuel drains away in a leak. |
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| − | When you dock, you are told the sun is going nova and are asked if you |
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| − | will take refugees. Accept, and all your cargo is dumped to make |
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| − | space and you have to launch immediately. Refuse, and you are kicked |
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| − | out anyhow. You now have to use a galactic hyperspace or scoop the |
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| − | star for fuel. Your reward: Some gem stones, or 1000CR (varied with |
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| − | version). |
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| − | |||
| − | 3) Stolen Police Ship |
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| − | ------------------ |
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| − | You are asked to help the military track down and destroy a stolen |
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| − | police ship - it's quite obvious; it's been given a new paint job. |
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| − | Reward: 4000CR |
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| − | |||
| − | 4) Thargoid Documents |
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| − | ------------------ |
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| − | You are asked to pick up the captured designs of a thargoid |
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| − | battleship from site A and take them to site B (usually a very long |
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| − | journey) and are hassled by thargoids all along the way. In some |
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| − | versions you may even find out that you were only a decoy, after all! |
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| − | Reward: Naval Energy Unit (better than standard model) or 5000CR |
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| − | depending on version. |
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| − | |||
| − | 5) Asteroid Bombardment |
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| − | -------------------- |
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| − | A planet is under threat of collision with an asteroid shower. All |
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| − | the system's ships have been destroyed trying to fragment them. You |
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| − | must save the day! Reward: 6000CR |
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| − | |||
| − | 6) Cloaking / Masking Device |
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| − | ------------------------- |
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| − | Reports of a ship in a nearby sector which is fitted with some sort |
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| − | of a masking device. Destroy it. It is intermittently invisible to |
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| − | both radar and sight and cannot be missile targetted. It is one of |
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| − | the 3 Asps you encounter on first entering the system, and when you |
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| − | engage, Constrictors (fawn, blunt) and Cougars (red, blue and black, |
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| − | with rectangular wings) come to its aid. Novel, eh? |
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| − | Believed variant: Master & Tube Elites: Cloaked ship is a Cougar. |
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| − | No Constrictors present. |
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| − | Reward: A masking device (so long as you manage to retrieve it!) |
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| − | |||
| − | 7) Thargoid Invasion |
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| − | ----------------- |
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| − | A nearby space station has been taken over by thargoids. They |
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| − | apparently also possess a hyperdrive jammer. If you destroy the |
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| − | station (which is guarded by a swarm of thargs) you receive a |
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| − | hyperspace jammer as a reward. You also receive the rank "Archangel". |
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| − | It is impossible to dock at this station. |
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| − | |||
| − | 8) Constrictor |
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| − | ----------- |
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| − | A top secret naval ship prototype has been stolen - the Constrictor. |
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| − | You must track it down and destroy it. If in galaxy 1, you are told |
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| − | where it was last sighted, and follow the trail (in the Data on |
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| − | System screens) to where it galactic-hyperspaces. If in galaxy 2, |
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| − | you are just told that it has entered this galaxy and must try and |
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| − | remember the site of galactic hyperspace entry. Note down all systems |
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| − | in 7ly of your entry to galaxy 2: These are where it may have jumped |
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| − | to. Explore each in turn (include the one you arrive at - this is the |
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| − | correct next stop in some versions) until you pick up the trail |
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| − | again. When you find it, it is tougher than any other ship, including |
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| − | Constrictors in the Masking Device mission, and is energy bomb proof. |
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| − | A sly way to beat it is to missile at close range so it cannot ECM in |
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| − | time. |
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| − | Reward: Money (varies with version, may be up to 10,000CR) |
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| − | |||
| − | ArcElite missions are covered in the section on ArcElite as they are |
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| − | unique to it. |
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| − | |||
| − | Note: In Elite Plus, there is also a message in the code welcoming you |
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| − | to the 9th Galaxy. No-one has yet found out how to get there. I have |
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| − | some pet ideas: |
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| − | 1) Galhyp from witchspace |
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| − | 2) Something to do with your galhyp and the hyperspace jammer... |
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| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3) Versions of the Game |
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| − | ----------------------- |
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| − | |||
| − | 3.1) Electron Elite (Bell & Braben, 1984) |
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| − | ------------------- |
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| − | |||
| − | A version for the Acorn Electron, this is the simplest form of Elite. It |
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| − | has the reduced ship selection, and no suns so the fuel scoop is only |
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| − | useful for collecting cargo. The screen is monochrome, including the |
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| − | console, and graphics are wireframe with hidden line removal. As on the |
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| − | BBC version, this does not include suns, which can be seen through their |
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| − | planets. All space stations are Coriolis model. There are no missions. |
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| − | |||
| − | Elite rating is based on number of kills. |
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| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.2) BBC Tape Elite (Bell & Braben, 1984) |
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| − | ------------------- |
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| − | |||
| − | This version has the reduced ship set. The space view is monochrome with |
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| − | wireframe ships, as above, but the console is 4-colour (red, green, and |
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| − | yellow or white depending on whether you had an escape pod) due to a |
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| − | cunning trick allowing it to be in Mode 5 while the main view was in Mode |
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| − | 4. All space stations are Coriolis model. There are no missions. One |
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| − | interesting feature of this and of Electron Elite is the inability to turn |
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| − | off the docking computers(!). |
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| − | |||
| − | Elite rating is based on number of kills. |
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| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.3) BBC Disk Elite (Bell & Braben, 1984, combined disk 1986 with |
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| − | ------------------- Master and Tube Elite) |
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| − | |||
| − | Like BBC Tape Elite but with more ships, and when you dock on a |
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| − | space station you get a brief view of other ships sitting around |
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| − | on the ground. |
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| − | |||
| − | This is the archetypal classic Elite. Each sun has one planet and each |
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| − | planet has one space station but this may be Coriolis or Dodec class. |
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| − | Planets are occupied by a variety of races and have a variety of |
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| − | governments which act as danger classifications, from the tame Corporate |
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| − | States, through Democracies, Confederacies, Communist States, |
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| − | Dictatorships, Multi-Governments and Feudal Systems, to Anarchies, |
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| − | the worst of the worst. |
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| − | |||
| − | The ships flew using an inertialess engine - the player controls speed, |
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| − | not thrust, and can change direction instantaneously. |
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| − | |||
| − | The game uses the standard ship set. |
||
| − | |||
| − | The first batch of disks sold had a minor glitch which prevented |
||
| − | asteroids from ever appearing. Boulders never appeared either - |
||
| − | these are simply the fragments produced from shooting an asteroid |
||
| − | with a mining laser and can be sold as minerals. |
||
| − | |||
| − | To display the authors' names on the spinning ship screen, pause the game, |
||
| − | press X, then unpause again. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Missions: Constrictor (triggered at 256 kills, galaxy 1 or 2) |
||
| − | Thargoid Documents (triggered mid-dangerous, galaxy 3, maybe |
||
| − | other galaxies too) |
||
| − | |||
| − | Elite rating is based on number of kills. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Bug: As in 48K Spectrum Elite, if the hyperspace counter reaches 0 while |
||
| − | docking, you will dock in your destination system without having to fly |
||
| − | in. |
||
| − | |||
| − | This may in fact be widespread among classic Elites. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.4) Elite - The Executive Edition (Bell & Braben) |
||
| − | ---------------------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | A special BBC 6502SP version put together by Ian Bell and given to a few |
||
| − | people, but not published. The only differences I know between this and |
||
| − | normal Tube Coprocessor Elite are the presence of a StarWars-type |
||
| − | scrolltext which rolls up the screen when you start the game, and that |
||
| − | after this you get a mock-battle, in which you are scored for number of |
||
| − | enemies destroyed and penalised for usage of missiles. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Missions: Unknown, probably as Master and Tube (see next section). |
||
| − | |||
| − | Elite rating is based on number of kills. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.5) BBC Master Elite (Bell & Braben, 1984, 2nd release 1986, 3rd |
||
| − | --------------------- release 1986 on combination disk with Tube |
||
| − | and original BBC disk versions.) |
||
| − | |||
| − | The first Elite to have colour in its main display. The console is drawn |
||
| − | in eight colours and the main display in four (including black). This |
||
| − | version uses the standard ship set but also sports a peculiar craft which |
||
| − | is the second one displayed during startup when creating a new pilot. |
||
| − | |||
| − | According to Chris John Jordan, who was involved with the creation of |
||
| − | Acornsoft's editions of Elite, it is the Cougar, an initially peaceful |
||
| − | trader which fights very effectively when attacked and possesses |
||
| − | better-than-average shields and laser. This has since been verified by |
||
| − | visual and missile-radar ID of the ship in Elite Plus for the PC. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Missions: Constrictor (256 kills, galaxy 1 or 2) |
||
| − | Thargoid Documents (mid-dangerous, galaxy 3, maybe others) |
||
| − | Others, details unknown. Cloaking device believed to be |
||
| − | among them. |
||
| − | |||
| − | The odd ship seen on one of the startup screens is a Cougar, believed |
||
| − | to be the Cloak & Dagger Ship (ie with Masking Device) in this verison. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Elite rating is based on number of kills. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.6) BBC Tube Elite (Bell & Braben 1986, superseded by joint disk |
||
| − | ------------------- with Master and original BBC, also 1986) |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | Designed to run on a BBC B or Master with second processor, this game |
||
| − | appears identical to BBC Master Elite only faster. I would speculate that |
||
| − | it also has the same missions. Note that the Cougar does not appear on |
||
| − | the startup screens, however. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Elite rating is based on number of kills. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.7) Master Compact Elite (Bell & Braben, 1984) |
||
| − | ------------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | Existence of a special version designed for the Master Compact is rumoured |
||
| − | but has yet to be confirmed. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.8) Elite A (Bell & Braben, highly modified by A.Duggan, allowed for |
||
| − | ------------ release 1997) |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.8.1) Description |
||
| − | ------------------ |
||
| − | |||
| − | Using the Elite A unique ship set, this game is a non-commercial |
||
| − | significantly altered version of BBC Disk Elite. While the graphics are |
||
| − | the same, many features have been altered: The player begins as pilot of |
||
| − | an Adder and can buy better ships (this is _very_ expensive and seems |
||
| − | likely to keep me in a job right up to Elitehood!) as he earns more money. |
||
| − | Ships have different speeds, turn rates, numbers of missile pylons, shield |
||
| − | and hull strengths, laser mounts, hyperspace ranges and cargo hold sizes. |
||
| − | Equipment now occupies space so it is essential to strike a balance |
||
| − | between weaponry and trading space. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Other significant modifications include: |
||
| − | Special cargos, which must be delivered to a specific destination as |
||
| − | quickly as possible with payment depending on speed. |
||
| − | An online encyclopedia allowing access to ship statistics and pictures |
||
| − | (though I can't see how the value given as cargo space is derived - it |
||
| − | seems utterly erroneous on the Adder and Gecko, at least), equipment |
||
| − | information and keys. |
||
| − | An IFF device allowing identification of ships' intents at a distance. |
||
| − | Random ship appearance positions, so you can't tell whether they're |
||
| − | pirates by their start location. |
||
| − | Replacement of the vastly unfair energy bomb with an instant hyperspace |
||
| − | run away unit. |
||
| − | Many more less significant changes. |
||
| − | Note that there are also some new ships not in the encyclopedia! One can |
||
| − | be seen at Simon Challands' webpage. |
||
| − | http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/public/gfr/fr950671/elite.htm |
||
| − | There is another, but I know no more than that it exists. |
||
| − | |||
| − | It runs in an enhanced mode with a Tube Coprocessor which is slightly |
||
| − | faster, accesses the disk less and has more varied ship encounter |
||
| − | combinations. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Elite rating is based on number of kills. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.8.2) Missions |
||
| − | --------------- |
||
| − | Because the game has only been made recently available to the public |
||
| − | full mission details are unknown until someone plays through them. |
||
| − | |||
| − | However, it can be confirmed that the Constrictor and Thargoid Document |
||
| − | missions are present, at least, and possibly more. |
||
| − | |||
| − | This version is available from Ian Bell's WWW page. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.9) Amiga Elite (Telecomsoft, 1988 |
||
| − | ---------------- & Firebird, date unknown) |
||
| − | Followed by Elite Plus (Amiga Empire Interactive, 1995) which was the |
||
| − | Elite files in a box with Elite Plus artwork, apparently. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Available from Ian Bell's webpage. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Solid colour graphics in bright colours. All stations are coriolis. |
||
| − | Standard ship list, but with the Wolf MkII (no description available). |
||
| − | In this version it is a tough pirate ship. Thargoids can mob you in |
||
| − | witch space or attack as (and sometimes _with_) normal pirates. |
||
| − | Asteroid pieces are called platelets, not boulders. Like the BBC |
||
| − | version, but unlike PC Elite and Elite+, there is no status/danger |
||
| − | warning light on the console. Thargoids _do_ release thargons, |
||
| − | contrary to some reports, but are apparently very reluctant to do so |
||
| − | even in prolonged battle. As in the Atari ST version, enemy ships fire |
||
| − | bullets, not lasers, and only when resolved from dots. |
||
| − | |||
| − | There are 4 or 5 missions: |
||
| − | Supernova |
||
| − | Constrictor |
||
| − | Thargoid Documents |
||
| − | Thargoid Invasion |
||
| − | |||
| − | There is also a cloaking device, activated by pressing Y, and which |
||
| − | may be obtained by destroying a special ship. The mission is slightly |
||
| − | atypical. You receive the following message: |
||
| − | |||
| − | Warning to all Traders: Reports having been coming in from Traders in |
||
| − | this sector of an unknown hostile ship with awesome capabilities. |
||
| − | Rumours suggest that this ship is fitted with a device which causes |
||
| − | on-board computer systems to malfunction. |
||
| − | |||
| − | The ship is a Cougar flanked by 2 Asp Mk IIs. It does not cloak but |
||
| − | releases the device in a cannister on destruction. When activated, |
||
| − | enemy ships will not shoot at you, though they will fly at you and |
||
| − | bank away as normal. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Elite rating is based on score. |
||
| − | |||
| − | This version also has the Wolf MkII ship. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Undocumented features: |
||
| − | In early versions, enter "sara" as the protection code, followed by the |
||
| − | correct one. Then press * during play to bring up a hex editor. |
||
| − | The ships can be viewed using the following keys on the initial spinning |
||
| − | cobra screen: |
||
| − | F - change ship |
||
| − | A - stop spinning |
||
| − | D - restart spinning |
||
| − | O - zoom out |
||
| − | I - zoom in |
||
| − | |||
| − | Pressing W during flight gives a score, game time, and the credits. |
||
| − | |||
| − | On later versions, the initial protection code is "suzanne". |
||
| − | |||
| − | This can also be used to create custom galaxies: See |
||
| − | http://www.netrover.com/~timt/amicheats.html |
||
| − | for more details. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.10) Spectrum Elite (Firebird/Torus 1985, followed by many enhanced |
||
| − | -------------------- versions and rereleases) |
||
| − | |||
| − | First game ever to use the Lenslock anti-piracy system: You look at some |
||
| − | coloured squares on the screen through a special lens, and they reveal |
||
| − | themselves as a 2 digit code which you type in to get access. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Ship set: Adder, Asp Mk II, Cobra Mk3, Fer-de-Lance, Krait, Python, |
||
| − | Sidewinder, Viper, Thargoid, Thargon. |
||
| − | All space stations Coriolis. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Status display was white on red which became white on magenta with escape |
||
| − | capsule. Status indicator on scanner changed from green to yellow to red |
||
| − | to flashing red depending on degree of danger. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Sometimes on docking, a message was produced: |
||
| − | "Pirates have taken over your ship - Game Over" |
||
| − | I doubt this did much for playability. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Pausing then pressing a specific key then unpausing toggled forced |
||
| − | witchspace mode (witchspace every jump). The key may have been F. |
||
| − | |||
| − | And a cheat: If your hyperspace countdown finishes just as you get the |
||
| − | docking tunnel, you will find yourself instantly docked in your |
||
| − | destination system. So launch, trigger hyperspace, and re-dock at the |
||
| − | station you just came to. Only tested on 48K version. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Bug: If you destroy a ship you have fired a missile at, it will fly to |
||
| − | the last known position then stop. It cannot be shot or ECM'ed and can |
||
| − | be flown through. This is rumoured to also appear in a version of PC |
||
| − | Elite. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | Missions: Supernova, Cloaking Device, maybe others. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.11) MSX Elite (Tape: Mr. Micro ltd. |
||
| − | --------------- Cartridge: Japanese import.) |
||
| − | |||
| − | Wireframe graphics, looks like 8 colours. Hideous music. |
||
| − | Four missions: Supernova |
||
| − | Constrictor |
||
| − | Thargoid Documents |
||
| − | Thargoid Invasion |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.12) Tatsung Einstein Elite (Mr. Micro ltd., 3" disk) |
||
| − | ---------------------------- |
||
| − | I now know what a Tatung Einstein looks like. |
||
| − | |||
| − | A single-unit monitor and keyboard system with built in 3" disk drives. It |
||
| − | ran CP/M, so it was probably Z80 based. Very similar to the Amstard PCW |
||
| − | 8256/8512 but with a completely different case. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Submissions to afefaq@randomword.demon.co.uk |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.13) NES Elite (Imagineer, 1991) |
||
| − | --------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | Ian recommends this as the version to play if you wish to re-experience |
||
| − | classic Elite. It certainly looks good but the emulator which he |
||
| − | recommends is highly restrictive unless you register for the full version, |
||
| − | and it runs slowly on a P133. Note that this game has a scrolltext and |
||
| − | practice combat at the beginning, like executive Elite. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Wireframe graphics. |
||
| − | Missions unknown. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.14) C64 Elite (Firebird Software, 1984) |
||
| − | --------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | As colourful as BBC Master Elite but with a smaller screensize leading to |
||
| − | a lower resolution. |
||
| − | |||
| − | There are 3 missions: Trumbles (like Tribbles), Constrictor and Thargoid |
||
| − | Documents. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Want to know what a trumble looks like as it crawls across your screen? |
||
| − | See Ian Bell's page (link at top of this section) - it's the blue bug-like |
||
| − | thingy used as the C64 Elite icon. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Elite rating is based on kill-points. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.15) Apple II Elite (Firebird, 1985) |
||
| − | -------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | Limited colour - uses the funny Apple II system where by lowering the |
||
| − | screen resolution, black and white bars become colour... |
||
| − | |||
| − | Mission details: Unknown. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.16) Amstrad CPC Elite (Firebird, 1985) |
||
| − | ----------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | This game allegedly has the reduced ship set, but apparently there are |
||
| − | Fer de Lances. The docking sequence is a simple tunnel, rock hermits |
||
| − | release kraits and sidewinders when attacked, and all stations are |
||
| − | Coriolis type. It occasionally produces a "Pirates have taken over your |
||
| − | ship - Game Over" message on docking. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Mission details: Has Nova, Thargoid Base, Cloaking device, maybe more. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.17) Atari ST Elite (Firebird, 1988) |
||
| − | -------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | Described as "Graphically very good", uses solid colour. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Missions: Supernova, Constrictor, Thargoid Documents, Masking Device, |
||
| − | Thargoid Invasion |
||
| − | |||
| − | Apparently, combat was a severe letdown: Enemies shot round red bullets at |
||
| − | you, not lasers, and at close range only. So buy a rear military laser and |
||
| − | you can rule the spacelanes. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.18) PC Elite (Microprose Software, 1987, Andy Onions) |
||
| − | -------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | The original PC Elite. Classical Elite, but with the option to choose |
||
| − | solid graphics or wireframe. CGA only - 4 (sickly) colours. The two |
||
| − | versions are completely independent of one another. The menu provides a |
||
| − | touch of humour, telling you you need a fast computer (6MHz 80286 or |
||
| − | faster) to run solid graphics mode. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Missions: Supernova, Masking Device, Thargoid Invasion |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.19) PC Elite + (Microprose Software, 1991, Chris Sawyer) |
||
| − | ---------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | PC Elite improved to run in EGA or VGA (with 16 colours) or MCGA (with 256 |
||
| − | colours) graphics modes. All modern machines will probably be able to use |
||
| − | the MCGA mode. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Missions: Tribble, Supernova, Stolen Police Ship, Thargoid Documents, |
||
| − | Asteroid Bombardment, Masking Device, Thargoid Invasion. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | Adders and Kraits (in particular) have a tendency to "bleed" missiles: |
||
| − | Once you fight back and start doing them serious damage they loose them |
||
| − | all in quick succession. This makes combat very dangerous before you have |
||
| − | an ECM, because you can't escape missiles like in BBC Elite. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Anarchies are great fun, with a relentless assault from large numbers of |
||
| − | ships (as many as 7 have been reported) at once, and they never stop |
||
| − | coming. Good equipment and powerful lasers are a must. Not one for your |
||
| − | regular trade routes! |
||
| − | |||
| − | Apart from the tribbles, missions are triggered on a hyperspace count |
||
| − | basis: After you leave galaxy 1 a counter increments with each hyperspace, |
||
| − | triggering missions at certain levels. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Note: Also present in the code are the messages for when the player |
||
| − | trails the Constrictor. This mission does not appear to be implemented, |
||
| − | however. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20) Archimedes Elite (Gringras & Burch, 1991) |
||
| − | ---------------------- |
||
| − | There are two versions - v1.05 and v1.14. The latter has the password |
||
| − | protection removed. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.1) Description |
||
| − | ------------------- |
||
| − | Claimed by all those who have played it (to the extent of my |
||
| − | knowledge) to be the best incarnation of Elite ever. |
||
| − | Superficially, it is BBC Elite with solid, colour graphics and |
||
| − | extra ships. However, for the first time in the Elite universe, |
||
| − | you are no longer the centre of action. The AI has taken a |
||
| − | colossal step forwards. Now you can encounter pirate packs |
||
| − | battling it out for dominance of their private patches, traders |
||
| − | under attack, Bushmaster mining vessels smashing asteroids into |
||
| − | chunks and scooping up the pieces, vipers towing disabled ships |
||
| − | back to the station, vipers flying along in formation looking for |
||
| − | some lawbreaker to fight... (they are _very_ deadly. I've seen a |
||
| − | pack of six flying along in a perfect rectangle suddenly peel off |
||
| − | into combat. They took down 5 caimen and 5 geckos before I could |
||
| − | even blink). There are even other ships like yourself - Cobras |
||
| − | armed to the teeth looking for pirates to fight, to boost their |
||
| − | Elite rating. A considerable range of new ships, all with their |
||
| − | own unique characters. And then there's the oddities. But that'll |
||
| − | wait until later. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Quite simply the most playable Elite game of all time. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.2) Missions |
||
| − | ---------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.2.1) Genesis Capsule |
||
| − | ------------------------- |
||
| − | Requirements: Galaxy 1, 550CR, 1200 kills. |
||
| − | You get hired by GalFam to drop an ecology seed capsule on a |
||
| − | starving world to revitalise its economy. To succeed, simply |
||
| − | jettison it while facing the planet at very low altitude. First, |
||
| − | of course, you have to go and pick it up... |
||
| − | |||
| − | Reward: 500CR and a rosy glow. The system data changes from "A |
||
| − | hopless starving planet" to "A starving planet with a glimmer of |
||
| − | hope". |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.2.2) Kill Zartid III |
||
| − | ------------------------- |
||
| − | Requirements: 1450 kills, 4000CR, any galaxy. |
||
| − | A respected member of the Tri-Alliance (Note for TEP members - in |
||
| − | those days, the thargoids were the baddies...) has been running |
||
| − | plans to the enemy. Find him and kill him. You are told where he |
||
| − | was last seen. Zartid flies blue wing-like ship, and is escorted by a |
||
| − | small fleet of Mambas. If you take too long to kill him he gets |
||
| − | reinforcements. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Advice: If you can't take it, energy-bomb the mambas first. You |
||
| − | might also want to try the missile trick from the BBC Disk |
||
| − | Constrictor mission. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Reward: Yaw boosters. These turn a good pilot into a deadly |
||
| − | pilot. In the right hands they can improve laser accuracy by as |
||
| − | much as 50%. Best used with mouse control - right hand on the |
||
| − | mouse, left on the cursors. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.2.3) Kill Zurid Pino |
||
| − | ------------------------- |
||
| − | 2600 kills, any galaxy. |
||
| − | You have killed Zurid's father, the infamous pirate Rantan Pino. |
||
| − | Zurid has stolen a top-secret Cobra with a cloaking device and |
||
| − | missile autolock and is coming to get you. Zurid flies a red- |
||
| − | brown cobra which does not appear on scanners and has 8 missiles. |
||
| − | Another difficult fight. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Reward: Missile Autolock. A little cross on your current missile |
||
| − | target and a lot of pose value. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.2.4) Medicine Run |
||
| − | ---------------------- |
||
| − | 4600 kills, planet no. MOD3 = 1, any galaxy. |
||
| − | Travel around the galaxy gathering components for a medical cure. |
||
| − | The chemicals may have various side effects - one makes you |
||
| − | likely to explode if you get too hot sun-scooping, another seems |
||
| − | to increase the damage of enemy lasers to your shields and |
||
| − | energy, and a third reacts with any of the others if your shields |
||
| − | are reduced to nil while it's in the hold. Advice: As soon as you |
||
| − | find the mixing centre, drop off the more troublesome ones! |
||
| − | |||
| − | Reward: 2000CR and innoculation! |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.3) Extra Features |
||
| − | ---------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.3.1) Space Beacons |
||
| − | ----------------------- |
||
| − | Navigational aids for the lost spacer, these are a feature of |
||
| − | ArcElite only. Brightly coloured tetrahedrons registering as |
||
| − | cargo on the scanner, no benefit is gained from shooting them, |
||
| − | and they do not appear on the hold contents register when |
||
| − | scooped. They do take up 1t of storage, however, and cannot be |
||
| − | shifted short of using an escape capsule. |
||
| − | |||
| − | I vaguely remeber something about ejecting one in association |
||
| − | with every tonne of X jettisoned, but I cannot remember what X |
||
| − | was, and have tried it with minerals and food without success. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Space beacons do not stop you jumping. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.3.2) The Urutu |
||
| − | ------------------- |
||
| − | Mentioned on the Moccasin card in ArcElite Gold, this is the name |
||
| − | frequently associated with the yellow ship with a grey underside |
||
| − | and green nose border and triangles on its back. This ship is |
||
| − | rectangular with a rounded nose and may be pirate or trader. It |
||
| − | is almost as fast as a Cobra and _very_ manouverable. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Notes released on an Acorn Computing cover disk pertaining to be |
||
| − | documentation of the state of the game, however, suggest |
||
| − | otherwise, recording that dredgers may have been included in some |
||
| − | of the jump-emergence event possibilities. Maybe these ships are |
||
| − | dredgers. They certainly seem meaner than your run-of-the-mill |
||
| − | bad guy. However, dredgers are apparently huge. This ship just doesn't |
||
| − | seem big enough. |
||
| − | |||
| − | On the other hand, there are two very distinct forms of Moccasin and it is |
||
| − | possible that the one not on the card is the Urutu and that the green and |
||
| − | yellow ship is a dredger. After all, the Urutu is described as a close |
||
| − | cousin of the Moccasin. |
||
| − | |||
| − | For convenience I refer to them as the Moccasin, Special Moccasin and |
||
| − | Urutu. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.3.3) Crazy Craft |
||
| − | --------------------- |
||
| − | Archimedes Elite only. These ships fly in erratic circles. They |
||
| − | are mentioned in the handbook. From the game's perspective, they |
||
| − | are in fact trying to shoot themselves! |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.3.4) Missionaries |
||
| − | ---------------------- |
||
| − | ArcElite only. Harmless weak unarmed ships originally created for |
||
| − | target practice by the navy and bought up en masse by a religious |
||
| − | sect who fly around dangerous planets spreading the word. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Darwin in action. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.3.5) Messages |
||
| − | ------------------ |
||
| − | Sometimes, the unexpected can flash up on the bottom of your screen. Watch |
||
| − | out for: |
||
| − | |||
| − | REPENT, SINNER! REPENT! - cried occasionally over the radio by |
||
| − | missionaries in hognoses. |
||
| − | |||
| − | MEGAWEED!!! - displayed occasionally upon scooping a cargo cannister. A |
||
| − | particularly potent narcotic. Sells as normal though. |
||
| − | |||
| − | WHY DID THE GROIGAN DANCE? _ Thargoids ambushing an |
||
| − | WHY WAS THE KANGAROO HAPPY? unlucky pilot in witch-space |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.3.6) Scrolltext |
||
| − | -------------------- |
||
| − | If you bring up the info window in desktop and leave your pointer on the |
||
| − | copyright message, you get a scrolltext. Apparently one of the names |
||
| − | credited is that of the Mad Hatter, of Micro User Elite column fame. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.3.7) Escorts |
||
| − | ----------------- |
||
| − | If you attack a ship with escorts, it does a runner while you fight them. |
||
| − | Just thought I'd mention it. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.3.8) Rentadock |
||
| − | ------------------- |
||
| − | At Tech Level 8+ if you have no docking computer, you can press C anyhow |
||
| − | and pay a charge of 50CR for use of the remote Rentadock. This puts rather |
||
| − | a dint in the income. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.20.4) Fluffy Dice |
||
| − | ------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | There are two expansion modules worthy of mention: |
||
| − | |||
| − | 1) !EliteExt by Ben Dooks and Andrew Clover, with a few bug fixes by Rob |
||
| − | Pfeifer. Available for download from |
||
| − | http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/public/gfr/fr950671/programs/eliteext |
||
| − | as a self-extracting archive: Set type to Obey and double-click. |
||
| − | it gives you a ship ID system which also displays remaining shields on |
||
| − | target, a clock, a cargo hold fullness readout, fluffy dice which swing |
||
| − | realistically with the movement of the ship and a bumper sticker reading |
||
| − | "My other ship is a Thargoid". Versions before 1.03 (Rob's fix) confuse |
||
| − | Anacondas and Boa II's, and also Moccasins and the rarer special variety. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 2) AUEliteCht - a module available from |
||
| − | http://%20www.cranfield.ac.uk/public/gfr/fr950671/programs/AUEliteCht |
||
| − | which gives a super-powerful laser and rather fancy explosions, among |
||
| − | many other things. |
||
| − | |||
| − | These are both off Simon Challands' wonderful Acorn Elite page |
||
| − | http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/public/gfr/fr950671/elite.htm |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.21) Archimedes Elite Gold (Gringras & Burch, 1991) |
||
| − | --------------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | Archimedes Elite, with reference cards provided for the ships and a little |
||
| − | pad to record market prices on. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22) Frontier Elite II (Braben, with elements |
||
| − | attributable to Bell, 1993) |
||
| − | ----------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | Available in Atari ST, Amiga and PC formats from |
||
| − | http://www.yikesstation.freeserve.co.uk/frontier/downloads.htm#getfrontier |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.1) Description |
||
| − | ------------------- |
||
| − | Ian Bell and David Braben returned to the Elite universe to bring |
||
| − | it up to date. In this game, star systems have more than one |
||
| − | planet, planets may have many space stations and ground ports, |
||
| − | there is far more equipment available to the player, the player |
||
| − | may buy different and better space ships, and there are a wide |
||
| − | range of careers open, from passenger transport to mining, |
||
| − | assassination and life in the military. Of course, one can also |
||
| − | stay as a trader if one wishes! |
||
| − | |||
| − | The biggest change is the inertial (Newtonian) flight engine. You |
||
| − | have momentum and if you change facing, your thrusters will begin |
||
| − | to act to slow you down rather than leading to an instant travel |
||
| − | in the new direction. This is like the real world, as opposed to |
||
| − | Tie Fighter and its ilk. |
||
| − | |||
| − | There are no hand-coded missions but the sheer variety of day-to-day |
||
| − | careers more than makes up. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.2) The Mirage and the Dart |
||
| − | ------------------------------- |
||
| − | For those of you who only have Frontier, some background is necessary. In |
||
| − | classical Elite, thargoids attacked you by diverting your hyperspace jump |
||
| − | then mobbing you. In Frontier, they didn't exist. In FirstEnc the |
||
| − | thargoids are back and they're friendly. I suppose you want one of their |
||
| − | ships now. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Forget it. |
||
| − | |||
| − | The shape is there (you can see it sticking half out of the ground at some |
||
| − | military bases you are sent to photograph). There are snippets of |
||
| − | storyline in the code which lead people to believe that you must be Prince |
||
| − | with the Empire, have some sort of high pass from Sirius Cybernetics and |
||
| − | be at the eastern edge of the galaxy. Unfortunately it was never |
||
| − | implemented. Even the ship definition is incomplete. It is possible to |
||
| − | create a Mirage by hacking, but the ship stats are mad. For example, it |
||
| − | has more missile racks than the savegame file has slots for. In short any |
||
| − | data in it is random gibberish from whatever part of the program code it |
||
| − | happens to point to. |
||
| − | |||
| − | To put it simply, the ship does not exist in normal play. You have to |
||
| − | cheat. Get one here. |
||
| − | http://www.sslmit.unibo.it/zat/shipyard.htm |
||
| − | |||
| − | I also heard tell once of a small ship with a Class 9 Hyperdrive called |
||
| − | the Dart. This is an utter lie. There is no Class 9 Hyperdrive (the |
||
| − | hackers have verified this), nor is there a shape for it in the game |
||
| − | (again, the hackers have been through it with a fine toothcomb. The only |
||
| − | unaccounted-for shape is the mirage). It is possible this legend arose |
||
| − | from someone hacking themselves to be flying a missile with a Class 8 |
||
| − | drive (and maybe even poked the text and drive stats - _creating_ a Class |
||
| − | 9 drive where none should exist). In short, as far as getting it in the |
||
| − | game is concerned, another fiction. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.3) Bugs |
||
| − | ------------ |
||
| − | The first four are beneficial. These are not guaranteed to work on all |
||
| − | versions, or indeed at all. The ones after these are harmful and are |
||
| − | probably far more ubiquitous... |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.3.1) Deimos and Phobos |
||
| − | --------------------------- |
||
| − | Apparently shooting these asteroidal moons of Mars gets you kills, and |
||
| − | they remain intact so you can keep shooting until you're Elite or your |
||
| − | finger gets tired. Use a mining laser at 3rd acceleration, and make sure |
||
| − | you're a fair distance away and have shields because you get a fair load |
||
| − | of minerals flying off. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.3.2) Garbage Truck Bug |
||
| − | --------------------------- |
||
| − | Load up your ship with rubbish, fly out beyond the last planet of the |
||
| − | system and click just below the jettison button in your cargo hold. You |
||
| − | want to be travelling fairly fast when you do this or you'll hit the crazy |
||
| − | stuff spewing out back. You can increase your tonnage indefinitely in this |
||
| − | manner. Note that some say you simply jettison the rubbish and get an |
||
| − | increase of 1t for each rubbish jettisoned. This could be 2 separate bugs |
||
| − | on different versions, or different (and one therefore incorrect) |
||
| − | relatings of the same bug. Try them and see. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.3.3) Wormholes |
||
| − | ------------------- |
||
| − | When hyperspacing a distance close to an exact multiple of 655.36ly the |
||
| − | fuel tonnage required drops almost to nil on some versions. That's what |
||
| − | you get if you skimp on variable sizes when programming! This allows |
||
| − | rapid transgalactic travelling for very little fuel (simply knock off as |
||
| − | many 655.36's from the distance as possible, then use the range remaining |
||
| − | after that). This bug is only present in early releases. Nonetheless it |
||
| − | is one of the most widely heard-of bugs in the game. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.3.4) Get Rich Quick |
||
| − | ------------------------ |
||
| − | There are two ways to do this. First, go to Cemiess. Buy Gemstones on the |
||
| − | Black Market - they pay you to take them. When your hold is full, sell |
||
| − | your ship thereby losing your cargo but keeping the money. Repeat. Second: |
||
| − | Get a passenger. Repeatedly try and buy a cheaper ship. You will be |
||
| − | credited with the difference each time, but because of the presence of the |
||
| − | passenger your ship will not actually be changed. If you don't actually |
||
| − | want to carry the passenger, eventually buy an escape capsule and use it |
||
| − | just outside the station. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.3.5) Mining Machine bug |
||
| − | ---------------------------- |
||
| − | Mining machines must be picked up in reverse order to that in which they |
||
| − | were dropped or the game crashes. There is a patch to fix this at |
||
| − | http://www.jades.org/files/lavestn/elitearc/frontier/frn_patc.zip |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.3.6) Mad Protection Scheme |
||
| − | ------------------------------- |
||
| − | Sometimes the scheme asks for e.g. page 8238, line 27764, word 29263. |
||
| − | There is a patch available at George Hooper's excellent utilities page: |
||
| − | http://members.xoom.com/encounters/utility.htm |
||
| − | This disables the protection altogether. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.3.7) Impossible Missions |
||
| − | ----------------------------- |
||
| − | Beware of missions requiring you to deliver to or kill someone emerging |
||
| − | from a planet with no starport. They are impossible. Also beware of |
||
| − | missions to planets near far greater masses e.g. many gas giants and a |
||
| − | large star, as it may be impossible to get your frame of reference |
||
| − | relative to them, making approach difficult and missiling near-impossible |
||
| − | (nuclear missiles have a fixed velocity of about 10-15,000 km/s - if you |
||
| − | need to match speeds by going faster than this, they'll never hit). |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.3.8) Unshiftable dissatisfied passenger |
||
| − | -------------------------------------------- |
||
| − | If a passenger declares they're disgusted at how long you're taking and |
||
| − | getting off at the next stop, their contract vanishes but they remain in |
||
| − | the cabin, unshiftable, preventing you selling it or your ship. The only |
||
| − | way to get rid of them is by using an escape capsule. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.22.3.9) Note |
||
| − | -------------- |
||
| − | If you have other troubles, read the section on First Encounters bugs. |
||
| − | While many of these are new to FirstEnc, some may apply to FEII as well. |
||
| − | Likewise, some of these bugs are in turn carried forwards. There are also |
||
| − | many minor glitches not mentioned here such as populations in empty star |
||
| − | systems, etc. etc. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23) Frontier: First Encounters (Braben, 1995) |
||
| − | -------------------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.1) Description and Missions |
||
| − | -------------------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | Written by David Braben alone, this is rumoured to be the buggiest game in |
||
| − | history with the possible exception of Battlecruiser 3000. However, it |
||
| − | pushes FE2 that little bit further and makes something special of it. |
||
| − | Planets are texture-mapped, there are journals you can subscribe to, |
||
| − | keeping you up to date on current affairs, and there are some special |
||
| − | hand-coded missions to surprise you... |
||
| − | |||
| − | The latest patch (version 1.06) is available from Jades' First |
||
| − | Encounters Page, download section - |
||
| − | |||
| − | http://www.jades.org/download.htm |
||
| − | http://www.stratec.ca/FFE3/jffes/download.htm |
||
| − | |||
| − | Handcoded missions are back in this game, and there are a wide variety, |
||
| − | details of which can be found on Jades' missions page. |
||
| − | http://www.jades.org/ffe.htm |
||
| − | They range from transporting a dolphin to destroying a law academy. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Some, however, stand out above the others: These are the missions |
||
| − | involving Argent's Quest and the Thargoids. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Triggered by having sufficient combat rating, and being on Alioth |
||
| − | in early October (November?) 3252. Look on the bulletin board for |
||
| − | TURNER'S REQUIEM and donate 10,000cr. |
||
| − | |||
| − | These missions are somewhat buggy - apparently most problems can |
||
| − | be solved by using stardreamer up until the first cutout, just |
||
| − | before docking, then saving, starting a NEW GAME, then reloading. |
||
| − | Then dock. When docking on space stations, do not accelerate time |
||
| − | for the final stage. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Warning: When entering the first hidden system, make sure you've |
||
| − | got a nuclear missile... |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.2) Interesting Ships |
||
| − | ------------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.2.1) Bubble Drive Ships |
||
| − | ---------------------------- |
||
| − | These are mentioned in the journals in First Encounters but are just a |
||
| − | filler for New Scientist and don't actually exist in the game. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.2.2) Thargoid |
||
| − | ------------------ |
||
| − | You can get the "Unknown" - your very own thargoid fighter - by following |
||
| − | through the Turner's Requiem plotline and siding with the Thargoids. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.2.3) Keeping the Quest |
||
| − | --------------------------- |
||
| − | If you opt not to get a thargoid fighter but return to the Alliance in the |
||
| − | Quest, they will take it back when you land at New Rossyth. So land at |
||
| − | Fortress Campbell instead, sell it, buy a Lifter or something, and go to |
||
| − | New Rossyth. They will repossess the Lifter and you can go and buy back |
||
| − | the Quest - for keeps this time! |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.2.4) Baffling Alien |
||
| − | ------------------------ |
||
| − | There is one unidentified ship that is not involved in the game in any |
||
| − | way. It is octagonal so probably thargoid in origin, but much more ornate |
||
| − | than their usual bland functional designs. It comes with a thargoid |
||
| − | hyperdrive (equal to or better than Class 8) and a thargoid laser of a |
||
| − | very special type - it fires blue with a little explosion on the end. |
||
| − | Try http://www.sslmit.unibo.it/zat/shipyard.htm, All Thargoid Ships file. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.2.5) Long Range Cruiser |
||
| − | ---------------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | You can get a file hacked to fly a Long Range Cruiser, too. Not much fun |
||
| − | as pirates just crash into you all the time before you can even turn to |
||
| − | fire. Again, it's available from |
||
| − | http://www.sslmit.unibo.it/zat/shipyard.htm |
||
| − | |||
| − | I've also recently hacked to fly a Lynx cruiser and a Nuclear Missile. |
||
| − | The ultimate hacking guide is by George Hooper and can be found at: |
||
| − | http://members.xoom.com/encounters/utility.htm |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.3) Bugs and Problems |
||
| − | ------------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.3.1) My Missile Hits Me! |
||
| − | ----------------------------- |
||
| − | It's not being projected far enough to leave your ship. Go to 3x |
||
| − | stardreamer just after launching. This is a frequent problem with big ships. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.3.2) My Turret Gun Hits Me! |
||
| − | -------------------------------- |
||
| − | It's mounted in a position where it's partially enclosed by your |
||
| − | ship's hull (e.g. Griffin Carrier lower turret). No solution. Buy a better |
||
| − | ship. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.3.3) They Won't Give Me A Nuclear Missile! |
||
| − | ----------------------------------------------- |
||
| − | Either you're wearing an Iraqi military uniform or all your |
||
| − | pylons are full. Sell a missile before taking the photography or |
||
| − | bombing mission. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.3.4) How Do I Turn On The Transmission Jammer? |
||
| − | --------------------------------------------------- |
||
| − | It's automatic. It'll take care of itself. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.3.5) I Can't Voluntarily Use My Escape Capsule! |
||
| − | ---------------------------------------------------- |
||
| − | As for missiles in 3.23.3.1, you're not getting thrown clear. No |
||
| − | solution. Just wait until someone else blows you up. In the |
||
| − | Quest, if you want a go in the Stowmaster, try ramming a planet or something. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.3.6) My Assassination Target's Not There! |
||
| − | ---------------------------------------------- |
||
| − | Reload and re-enter the system. If all pads are full when a base |
||
| − | is generated, there's nowhere to put the target! |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.3.7) Joystick prevents map rotation |
||
| − | ---------------------------------------- |
||
| − | Even having a joystick plugged in means you can't use the right button to |
||
| − | rotate the local sectors map. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.3.8) I have -1 passengers and can't sell my ship |
||
| − | ----------------------------------------------------- |
||
| − | Oh dear. You took the scripted mission with a sole passenger in, didn't |
||
| − | you? Well, you're stuck like that. Either use an escape capsule or take a |
||
| − | contract for another passenger and try and get bug 3.22.3.8 to kick in. |
||
| − | Even if it doesn't, at least while you have the contract your passenger |
||
| − | count returns to zero so you can carry out ship transactions as normal. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.3.9) Not Actually Bugs. |
||
| − | ---------------------------- |
||
| − | 3.23.3.9.1) Everyone's Out To Kill Me! |
||
| − | -------------------------------------- |
||
| − | You forgot to destroy the military satellite on a photography |
||
| − | mission or the first hidden system in the thargoid missions. Try |
||
| − | again but get it this time. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 3.23.3.9.2) Wormholes fixed |
||
| − | --------------------------- |
||
| − | "The wormhole fix in FFE is a blatant kludge (one of my favourite |
||
| − | Americanisms!), as the range still appears negative and the fuel |
||
| − | consumption is 1t. However, when you press H you get the hyperspace noise |
||
| − | (AFAIR) and your fuel drops by 1 ton but you stay put. The thought of 1t |
||
| − | of fuel boldly going where no TC has gone before seems very amusing." - |
||
| − | Graham Thurlwell |
||
| − | |||
| − | This appears only to be true for early versions. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 4) Tricks of the Trade |
||
| − | ---------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | 4.1) Good Trading |
||
| − | ----------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | 4.1.1) Original Elite |
||
| − | --------------------- |
||
| − | Fly Furs and Liquor & Wines from a poor agricultural to a rich industrial |
||
| − | and Computers and Machinery back. A convenient start (though not the best |
||
| − | possible) is between Lave and Zaonce, but Lave is rich. The poorer the |
||
| − | agricultural and richer the industrial, the better. And always be on the |
||
| − | look out for dirt cheap narcotics at the industrial end. You can make a |
||
| − | killing! |
||
| − | |||
| − | Any time you see gold at less than 39.0cr/kg, buy. Ditto for platinum and |
||
| − | 72cr and gems at 19.5cr. Sell when they go over. These volumeless goods |
||
| − | can make a nice bit of profit on the side if you have the cash. Note that |
||
| − | prices may be less favourable at other world combinations, but that poor |
||
| − | agriculturals tend to export these mined precious goods and rich |
||
| − | industrials have a great demand for them. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Remember also that the cheapest "buy" is to scoop after shooting up a |
||
| − | pirate - do this when you're good enough. Go out and scoop a holdful then |
||
| − | come back and sell it. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Ever tried mining traders? They jettison a cannister every time they're |
||
| − | shot, and mining lasers do the least damage so you get the most loot. Bad |
||
| − | for the reputation. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 4.1.2) Frontier & FirstEnc |
||
| − | -------------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | A large number of trade routes exist. However, a fairly immediate one from |
||
| − | the default starting place on Gateway in FFE is this: Nerve Gas, Battle |
||
| − | Weapons and Animal Meat from the Gateway system to Titican (go to the |
||
| − | ground port, not the station - the guard on the ground can be bribed for |
||
| − | 250cr if necessary) and Robots and Farm Machinery back. You should find a |
||
| − | trustworthy black marketeer and stick with them. You will soon find you |
||
| − | have to visit many starports to load up to maximum before doing your run! |
||
| − | |||
| − | Note that Gateway _does_ exist in FE2 - but it's called Oltiqu instead. |
||
| − | |||
| − | In the first two months in FirstEnc, just run medicine to Sohalia from |
||
| − | anyhwere (preferably somewhere that exports it). This is _far_ more |
||
| − | profitable than the Wiccan Ware race. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 4.2) Good Combat |
||
| − | ---------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | 4.2.1) Original Elite |
||
| − | --------------------- |
||
| − | The trick is to get them while they're distant. Target a missile. When it |
||
| − | locks, you're aiming dead on. Kill. Repeat. An analogue joystick works |
||
| − | wonders too. Missiles from close range are rarely ECMed before they hit |
||
| − | the target but beware because the blast frequently damages you too. |
||
| − | |||
| − | When fighting thargoids in witch space, selectively take out the thargoids |
||
| − | (octagonal). When all are dead, the thargons (pentagonal) will fall inert. |
||
| − | Scoop them up as cargo and sell them as alien items! |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 4.2.2) Frontier & FirstEnc |
||
| − | -------------------------- |
||
| − | Combat has become a bit of a jousting match, with ships flashing past one |
||
| − | another too fast for a real dogfight to take place. The best trick is to |
||
| − | pause, aim a turret, fire, and keep firing while unpausing. So it's |
||
| − | cheating. Anything else is pot luck and just as monotonous. However, if |
||
| − | you do play fair there are tactics that will give you the edge. Fight at |
||
| − | low speeds (1000km/h or so) relative to your reference body. Although this |
||
| − | shouldn't make a difference, it does - the enemies find it easier to match |
||
| − | veloc ities and then you have the edge as they are poor at rapid turning |
||
| − | and direction changing, which are easy when velocities are well matched. |
||
| − | Also, turn your stardreamer up to max briefly after each kill, before the |
||
| − | next ship comes in range. They will skip in one at a time instead of all |
||
| − | at once, and will act dazed for a few seconds before they "spot" you. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 4.2.3) Archimedes Elite |
||
| − | ----------------------- |
||
| − | Mastering Yaw Boosters is the key to success. With these in one |
||
| − | hand and the mouse in the other, you have the most manouverable |
||
| − | ship in space. Get in amongst the pirates then orient so your |
||
| − | chosen target is flying more or less vertical relative to you. |
||
| − | Keep him in the sights and fire! He must be in them when the |
||
| − | laser blits reach the centre of the screen, _not necessarily at |
||
| − | the moment of firing!_ |
||
| − | |||
| − | If mobbed by a second bunch of pirates while halfway through the |
||
| − | first lot, charge straight into the midst of the second. Either |
||
| − | you let them have free shooting while they close with you, or you |
||
| − | let the one or two ships remaining from the old pack have a go at |
||
| − | you while you move over to the new. I know which I'd prefer. |
||
| − | |||
| − | I play it squeaky-clean. There's more than enough pirates to go |
||
| − | around, so don't bother attacking innocent ships. They take too |
||
| − | long because they run away. You're better off getting out of jump |
||
| − | range and finding some more baddies. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Beware the sudden increase in reinforcement likelihood two Right On |
||
| − | Commanders after deadly, and the increased tendency of Copperheads to use |
||
| − | missiles. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Concerning thargoids, see (4.2.1). Also note that in ArcElite ramming a |
||
| − | thargoid will destroy it but will not inactivate its associated thargons. |
||
| − | Active thargons can, however, be scooped quite happpily. |
||
| − | |||
| − | I have had response to this section to the effect that yaw boosters keep |
||
| − | your hand too far from the ECM. What can I say, but "If you're not living |
||
| − | on the edge you're taking up too much space". Oh - and I can stab any key |
||
| − | without looking, just like that (*snaps fingers*) so it's not really a |
||
| − | problem for me. I guess that's personal preference then. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Further points: |
||
| − | |||
| − | Shots to an enemy's thrusters do no damage. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Before ships enter from the edge of radar, they will flicker on briefly |
||
| − | somewhere near the centre. If you catch this extremely rapid flash of |
||
| − | green it can act as a reliable early warning system. |
||
| − | |||
| − | It's fine by the police for you to shoot pirates in the station zone. |
||
| − | |||
| − | If you're a fugitive, vipers attack you on sight unless there're pirates |
||
| − | in the area in which case they go for them first. If you're the cautious |
||
| − | type, you can run for it now. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Fer de Lances behave like vipers in that they attack pirates or the |
||
| − | fugitive player. Naturally, they respond if attacked themselves. Armed |
||
| − | with front and rear pulse lasers, they are far less fearsome than the |
||
| − | Cobra Mk3 bounty hunters with military lasers all round. Many's the time |
||
| − | these guys have shown up and joined me in polishing off a pack or two. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 5) Technical Information |
||
| − | ------------------------ |
||
| − | |||
| − | 5.1) Slowing down old games on a PC |
||
| − | ----------------------------------- |
||
| − | There is an excellent software utility called Mo'Slo which allows you to |
||
| − | reduce your PC processor speed to a specified percentage of its maximum. |
||
| − | It is available from |
||
| − | http://www.hpaa.com/moslo/moslotry.htm |
||
| − | It works a treat. Note that it has recently been updated to use less |
||
| − | memory and produce slightly more slowdown per percentage. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 5.2) Getting the Various Elites |
||
| − | ------------------------------- |
||
| − | A vast number of classical Elites can be downloaded from Ian Bell's |
||
| − | WWW page. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Emulators are recommended for all except ArcElite. Note then that there is |
||
| − | an Archimedes (ARM2 - ie a fairly slow one) emulator somewhere on |
||
| − | http://www.nvg.unit.no/bbc/emulators.html#ARM2 |
||
| − | It runs Archimedes Linux, very slowly, and no-one has got it to run |
||
| − | ArcElite yet. Solution: Buy an Archimedes. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Commander Jades (aka Graham Thurlwell) has a good guide as to obtaining |
||
| − | Frontier Elite II and First Encounters on his WWW site. |
||
| − | http://www.jades.org/getffe.htm |
||
| − | The patches are on the download page - |
||
| − | http://www.jades.org/download.htm |
||
| − | which is worth a look even if you haven't got FFE yet. |
||
| − | |||
| − | As for any other version, I'm afraid you're on your own. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 5.3) Problems Running First Encounters |
||
| − | -------------------------------------- |
||
| − | If you just can't load a commander file, I'm afraid that's tough. There's |
||
| − | a bug that means every now and again a commander is generated that won't |
||
| − | load. Always use the incremental filenames so you have a backup. |
||
| − | |||
| − | If you can't run the actual game, here's a list of things to consider: |
||
| − | |||
| − | i) FirstEnc will not run in Win95 or under QEMM.EXE or other protected |
||
| − | mode memory managers because it uses its own, somewhat argumentative one. |
||
| − | This was fine at the time because Win95 wasn't out then, but now it's a |
||
| − | problem. Either select 'shutdown' then 'restart the computer in MS-DOS |
||
| − | mode' or run it in pure MS-DOS mode by selecting this from the F8 menu at |
||
| − | startup or from a boot disk with minimal drivers (try just HIMEM.SYS and |
||
| − | your mouse driver, and CD-ROM driver if you use the CD version). |
||
| − | |||
| − | ii) Do you have the latest patch version? V1.06 is now available from |
||
| − | http://www.jades.org/getffe.htm |
||
| − | http://www.stratec.ca/FFE3/jffes/download.htm |
||
| − | Note that this patch disables videos in the CD-ROM due to incompatibility |
||
| − | with some video cards. |
||
| − | |||
| − | iii) Are you using the CD-ROM version? If so, you should really think |
||
| − | about trying the floppy version. Having payed for the game, you are |
||
| − | entitled to have a working version, after all. Check out |
||
| − | http://www.jades.org/getffe.htm |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 5.4) Trouble with Win95 |
||
| − | ----------------------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | First, a few terms. Back in the dim and distant past of MS DOS, memory |
||
| − | was divided into 2 main regions: Base and upper. Frontier Elite II |
||
| − | uses only base memory and requires rather a lot of it. First Encounters |
||
| − | is capable of using upper memory - programs that do this utilise what |
||
| − | is known as "a DPMI handler". Win95 contains one of these, built in. So |
||
| − | does First Encounters. They are not happy cohabiters. |
||
| − | |||
| − | 5.4.1) Frontier Elite II |
||
| − | ------------------------ |
||
| − | |||
| − | When you run a DOS game under Win95 it creates an environment the |
||
| − | program cannot tell from a genuine DOS boot-up. Unfortunately, this |
||
| − | means including the device drivers (which enable your computer to do |
||
| − | things like use the CD ROM drive or mouse in DOS). These take up some |
||
| − | base memory. If you have too many drivers, there will not be enough |
||
| − | base memory for Frontier to run. |
||
| − | |||
| − | First, if you've been messing around with the memory settings in the |
||
| − | MS-DOS shortcut, delete it. Then read on: |
||
| − | |||
| − | There are 2 solutions: |
||
| − | |||
| − | 1) Remove some DOS drivers. |
||
| − | Under Win95, there is no need to have any of these loaded to utilise |
||
| − | your devices, except if you boot the computer to the command line or |
||
| − | shut down and restart in DOS mode. If you work exclusively in the |
||
| − | Windows environment, you can edit your config.sys and autoexec.bat |
||
| − | files and comment out (prefix with "rem ") any lines that appear to |
||
| − | load code for hardware (and some software - e.g. do you really need |
||
| − | that Display Doctor power management system? Win95 can turn off the |
||
| − | monitor too...). This will free up more base memory. |
||
| − | |||
| − | To check how much you actually have available, go to a DOS box and |
||
| − | type "mem". The figure we are concerned with is the largest |
||
| − | executable program size. Typing "mem/c/p" lists drivers and the |
||
| − | amounts of base and upper memory they are using. |
||
| − | |||
| − | If you have troubles with your system, remove some or all rems. |
||
| − | |||
| − | For more confident users, consider prefixing lines which run |
||
| − | programs from autoexec.bat with "lh " to reduce the amount of base |
||
| − | memory they take. |
||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | 2) Create a boot disk |
||
| − | This is better for those not willing to perform surgery on their |
||
| − | boot files and for those who regularly use a pure DOS environment. |
||
| − | Format a floppy disk, flagging the "copy system files" box (or |
||
| − | from DOS type "format a: /s"). Create the following files on it |
||
| − | using edit or notepad: |
||
| − | |||
| − | Config.sys |
||
| − | ---------- |
||
| − | |||
| − | DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS |
||
| − | DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE RAM |
||
| − | DOS=HIGH,UMB |
||
| − | |||
| − | Autoexec.bat |
||
| − | ------------ |
||
| − | |||
| − | lh c:\mouse\mouse (or whatever the command for your DOS mouse |
||
| − | driver is -you'll find it by loading either |
||
| − | c:\autoexec.bat or c:\windows\dosstart.bat |
||
| − | into notepad or edit) |
||
| − | Reboot the computer with this floppy in drive A: and run Frontier |
||
| + | * 2.1) Ship groupings |
||
| − | from DOS. |
||
| − | 5.4.2) First Encounters |
||
| + | * 2.2) Unusual denizens and the versions they inhabit |
||
| − | ----------------------- |
||
| − | This game can not in any way be run from the Windows environment. |
||
| + | * 2.3) Hidden Features |
||
| − | You must either "shut down and restart the computer in MS-DOS mode" |
||
| − | (the option off the shutdown menu) or create a boot disk as |
||
| − | detailed above. |
||
| + | * 2.4) Missions |
||
| − | 6) Other Relevant FAQs |
||
| + | '''[[AFE_FAQ3|3) Versions of the Game]]''' |
||
| − | ---------------------- |
||
| − | The Frontier Elite II FAQ: http://www.jades.org/files/frontier.faq |
||
| − | FFE FAQ (v1.1): http://www.jades.org/files/faq11.txt |
||
| + | * 3.1) Electron Elite |
||
| − | 7) Particularly impressive Elite WWW sites |
||
| + | * 3.2) BBC Tape Elite |
||
| − | ------------------------------------------ |
||
| − | These two are my personal favourites: |
||
| + | * 3.3) BBC Disk Elite |
||
| − | Matt Dibb's page - http://www.hoopla.cwc.com/lotf/ |
||
| + | * 3.4) Elite - The Executive Edition (BBC with Tube) |
||
| − | George Hooper's page - http://members.xoom.com/encounters/ - the utilities section is superb. Also contains the only known listing of Elite-rated commanders |
||
| + | |||
| + | * 3.5) BBC Master Elite |
||
| − | Other good ones include: |
||
| + | * 3.6) BBC Tube Elite |
||
| − | Jades's page - http://www.jades.org/ffe.htm |
||
| + | * 3.7) Master Compact Elite |
||
| − | Case's page - http://home.sol.no/~case/ffe.htm - includes a patch to make space black |
||
| − | like it should be |
||
| − | Zat Solo's page - http://www.sslmit.unibo.it/zat/main.htm |
||
| − | Ian Bell's Elite page - http://www.cix.co.uk/~ibell/elite/ |
||
| − | 98) Is that it? |
||
| + | * 3.8) Elite A |
||
| − | --------------- |
||
| − | For the time being. According to recent press, David Braben is working on |
||
| − | Elite 4. Very little is known about this, not even the final intended name. |
||
| − | Ian Bell also reports an ongoing project on his homepage but gives no |
||
| − | details. Maybe it's another Elite. Maybe not. Who knows? |
||
| − | Vague details on: |
||
| + | * 3.9) Amiga Elite |
||
| − | Matt Dibb's page - http://www.hoopla.cwc.com/lotf/ |
||
| − | Jades' Elite 4 page |
||
| − | These aren't your only hopes, though. There are other games in the pipeline: |
||
| + | * 3.10) Spectrum Elite |
||
| − | + | * 3.11) MSX Elite |
|
| − | ----------------------- |
||
| − | 98.1.1) What is it? |
||
| + | * 3.12) Tatsung Einstein Elite |
||
| − | ------------------- |
||
| − | An attempt to write a single-player game with the feel and open- |
||
| + | * 3.13) NES Elite |
||
| − | endedness of Elite. As a result of a recent debate on the likely |
||
| − | stance of the original authors to copyright, no features |
||
| − | copyrightable to Elite are going to be included, including the |
||
| − | name. Provisional name: Stardreamer. |
||
| − | This game will be public domain. |
||
| + | * 3.14) C64 Elite |
||
| − | 98.1.2) How can I keep tabs on it? |
||
| + | * 3.15) Apple II Elite |
||
| − | ---------------------------------- |
||
| − | See http://www.uni-leipzig.de/~troeger/tep/ for the most |
||
| + | * 3.16) Amstrad CPC Elite |
||
| − | comprehensive list of links about. |
||
| − | The latest code is available from |
||
| + | * 3.17) Atari ST Elite |
||
| − | http://www-stu.cai.cam.ac.uk/~jaj22/tep/ |
||
| − | 98.2) The Galileo Project |
||
| + | * 3.18) PC Elite |
||
| − | ------------------------- |
||
| − | 98.2.1) What is it? |
||
| + | * 3.19) PC Elite+ |
||
| − | ------------------- |
||
| − | An attempt to write a multiplayer game with the open-endedness of Elite |
||
| − | but the universe, scenario, technology and the like are all newly devised. |
||
| − | Will be playable over the internet. |
||
| − | 98.2.2) How can I keep tabs on it? |
||
| + | * 3.20) Archimedes Elite |
||
| − | ---------------------------------- |
||
| − | Via their website: |
||
| + | * 3.21) Archimedes Elite Gold |
||
| − | http://www.galileo.base.org/ |
||
| + | * 3.22) Frontier Elite II - PC, Amiga and Atari ST |
||
| + | * 3.23) First Encounters |
||
| − | 98.3) X |
||
| + | '''[[AFE_FAQ4|4) Tricks of the Trade]]''' |
||
| − | ------- |
||
| − | 98.3.1) What is it? |
||
| + | * 4.1) Good trading |
||
| − | ------------------- |
||
| − | A commercial space flight and combat sim that I am told "looks everything |
||
| − | First Encounters could have been, brought up to date". I have yet to check |
||
| − | out the webpage though I hear a rolling demo is available. |
||
| − | 98.3.2) How can I keep tabs on it? |
||
| + | * 4.2) Good combat |
||
| − | ---------------------------------- |
||
| − | From the link off http://www.egosoft.com/, the company which is developing it. |
||
| + | '''[[AFE_FAQ5|5) Technical Information]]''' |
||
| + | * 5.1) Slowing down old games on a PC |
||
| − | 99) Miscellaneous |
||
| + | * 5.2) Getting the various Elites |
||
| − | ----------------- |
||
| − | 99.1) How do the rankings go? |
||
| + | * 5.3) Problems running First Encounters |
||
| − | ----------------------------- |
||
| − | Elite ratings are as follows: |
||
| − | RANK: KILLS: KILLS FOR ARCELITE: |
||
| − | Harmless 0 0 |
||
| − | Mostly Harmless 2 50 |
||
| − | Poor 8 400 |
||
| − | Average 24 1000 |
||
| − | Above Average 44 1500 |
||
| − | Competent 130 2500 |
||
| − | Dangerous 512 4500 |
||
| − | Deadly 2560 6000 |
||
| − | Very Deadly (ArcElite only) 8000 |
||
| − | Elite 6400 9600 |
||
| − | Why 6400? Ian needed to think of a number and &1900 (which equals 6400) |
||
| + | * 5.4) Trouble with Win95 |
||
| − | was the value of PAGE on the BBC when assembling the source. So there you |
||
| − | go! |
||
| − | The actual number of kills required is the same in all editions, with the |
||
| + | '''[[AFE_FAQ6|6) Other Relevant FAQs]]''' |
||
| − | exception of ArcElite which is considerably harder, and some 16 bit |
||
| − | versions which utilise points. |
||
| − | In BBC Elite all crafts were worth 1 kill, but on points versions, |
||
| + | '''[[AFE_FAQ7|7) Particularly impressive Elite WWW sites]]''' |
||
| − | although the thresholds were the same, "a third ("fractional") byte was |
||
| − | added to the kill tally and each ship had a kill rating varying from 0.06 |
||
| − | for an Asteroid to 8.0 for a Thargoid (Police Vipers were a measly 0.21 |
||
| − | because they were so easy to kill while launching)" - Ian Bell. |
||
| − | This fractional kills system is what I have referred to as "points" in the |
||
| + | '''[[AFE_FAQ8|98) Is that it?]]''' |
||
| − | above game descriptions. The Amiga version bases ranking on "score" which |
||
| − | is similar to the points system but utilises different values: |
||
| − | Adder 100 pts |
||
| − | Anaconda 90 pts |
||
| − | Asp Mk II 110 pts |
||
| − | Boa Class Cruiser 60 pts |
||
| − | Cobra Mk I 60 pts |
||
| − | Cobra Mk III 80 pts |
||
| − | Fer-De-Lance 100 pts |
||
| − | Gecko 80 pts |
||
| − | Krait 100 pts |
||
| − | Mamba 60 pts |
||
| − | Python 40 pts |
||
| − | Orbit Shuttle 3 pts |
||
| − | Sidewinder 80 pts |
||
| − | Thargoid 150 pts |
||
| − | Thargon 20 pts |
||
| − | Transporter 10 pts |
||
| − | Viper 50 pts |
||
| − | Wolf Mk II 150 pts |
||
| − | Worm/Escape Capsule 80 pts |
||
| − | In the Amiga version, Right On Commanders are still awarded by number |
||
| + | * 98.1) The Elite Project |
||
| − | of kills. |
||
| + | * 98.2) The Galileo Project |
||
| − | 99.2) What's with this Right On Commander stuff? |
||
| + | * 98.3) X |
||
| − | ------------------------------------------------ |
||
| − | In classical Elite, you got a message saying "RIGHT ON |
||
| − | COMMANDER!" every 256 kills, as a bit of encouragement from the |
||
| − | Elite Federation. The first corresponded with being about halfway through |
||
| − | competent, and getting the Constrictor mission. |
||
| − | In ArcElite, the messages are as follows: |
||
| + | '''[[AFE_FAQ9|99) Miscellaneous]]''' |
||
| − | "GOOD SHOOTING, COMMANDER!" - Every 50 kills. The first one |
||
| − | corresponds with the promotion from Harmless to Mostly Harmless |
||
| − | (cf 8 kills in BBC Disk Elite) |
||
| − | "RIGHT ON, COMMANDER!" - 1 kill before every fifth "GOOD |
||
| − | SHOOTING, COMMANDER!", ie every 250 kills, beginning from kill |
||
| − | 249. |
||
| − | 99.3) Acknowledgements |
||
| + | * 99.1) How do the rankings go? |
||
| − | ---------------------- |
||
| − | So far, thanks to me (Robert Pfeifer) for writing all this, David Braben |
||
| − | and Ian Bell for writing the original game, Ian Bell again for kill |
||
| − | figures and making so many versions freely available, Warren Burch and |
||
| − | Clive Gringras for writing ArcElite, Andrew Clover for writing the best |
||
| − | Elite add-on ever (swinging fluffy dice and a rear window sticker saying |
||
| − | "My other ship is a thargoid"), the following readers of this FAQ for |
||
| − | corrections and contributions both quoted and silently incorporated: |
||
| − | * Ali Bharmal |
||
| + | * 99.2) What's with this Right On Commander stuff? |
||
| − | * Daniel Brown |
||
| − | * Simon Challands |
||
| − | * Steve Critchlow |
||
| − | * Jonathan Day |
||
| − | * Roger Earl |
||
| − | * Matthew Garrett |
||
| − | * George Hooper |
||
| − | * Chris John Jordan |
||
| − | * Brad Kerr |
||
| − | * Tim Lambert |
||
| − | * Tony Lorusso |
||
| − | * Patrik Radman |
||
| − | * Christian Schmadalla |
||
| − | * Colin Stott |
||
| − | * Graham Thurlwell |
||
| − | * Mark Tysoe |
||
| − | * Mark Williamson |
||
| − | * Michael - no last name given |
||
| − | * John - ditto |
||
| − | * Ian |
||
| − | Anyone else whose name I accidentally deleted while compiling a list of |
||
| + | * 99.3) Acknowledgements |
||
| − | changes - once again, the delete key ravaged the mailbox before the |
||
| − | credits were compiled. Sorry. Feel free to remind me. Sheppy's Cider in |
||
| − | Taunton, Somerset, UK for producing the best medium still cider in the |
||
| − | world, my student's union bar for having once sold bitter at 50p a can, |
||
| − | and KLF, Sisters of Mercy and Ash for writing good music to kill to. |
||
| − | 10,000 kills and I've put away my guns. In ArcElite. Now I'm putting |
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| − | notches in my Elite A belt. |
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| + | * 99.4) Disclaimer |
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| − | 99.4) Disclaimer: |
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| + | [[Category:Classic]] |
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| − | ----------------- |
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| + | [[Category:FE2]] |
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| − | I hereby disclaim responsibility for any faulty information in this FAQ, |
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| + | [[Category:FFE]] |
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| − | and if any the effects of this information, this FAQ and any inferences |
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| − | you may draw from it on you, your computer, your brother, sister, dog, |
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| − | gerbil, or in fact anyone or anything anywhere and anywhen. It's for you |
||
| − | to use entirely at your own risk. Have fun and don't eat it. Except maybe |
||
| − | in hardcopy. |
||
Latest revision as of 07:39, 4 April 2010
The following is a 'historically preserved document' rescued from a Google cache that contains a lot of information on various classic forms of Elite.
Please do not edit nor expect links, addresses, to work.
Alt.Fan.Elite Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This FAQ can be read in a linear fashion or by following the hypertext links. Your choice.
Last updated 28th September 1999. Changes: Many download URLs removed. As soon as alternatives are found they will be posted here and in the Mini-FAQ.
Please send comments, corrections and additional information (especially about missions in various versions) to afefaq@randomword.demon.co.uk
Contents
1) Netiquette - a quick guide Contains abbreviations and idiosincracies of the group as well as an introduction to posting for newcomers.
- 2.1) Ship groupings
- 2.2) Unusual denizens and the versions they inhabit
- 2.3) Hidden Features
- 2.4) Missions
- 3.1) Electron Elite
- 3.2) BBC Tape Elite
- 3.3) BBC Disk Elite
- 3.4) Elite - The Executive Edition (BBC with Tube)
- 3.5) BBC Master Elite
- 3.6) BBC Tube Elite
- 3.7) Master Compact Elite
- 3.8) Elite A
- 3.9) Amiga Elite
- 3.10) Spectrum Elite
- 3.11) MSX Elite
- 3.12) Tatsung Einstein Elite
- 3.13) NES Elite
- 3.14) C64 Elite
- 3.15) Apple II Elite
- 3.16) Amstrad CPC Elite
- 3.17) Atari ST Elite
- 3.18) PC Elite
- 3.19) PC Elite+
- 3.20) Archimedes Elite
- 3.21) Archimedes Elite Gold
- 3.22) Frontier Elite II - PC, Amiga and Atari ST
- 3.23) First Encounters
- 4.1) Good trading
- 4.2) Good combat
- 5.1) Slowing down old games on a PC
- 5.2) Getting the various Elites
- 5.3) Problems running First Encounters
- 5.4) Trouble with Win95
7) Particularly impressive Elite WWW sites
- 98.1) The Elite Project
- 98.2) The Galileo Project
- 98.3) X
- 99.1) How do the rankings go?
- 99.2) What's with this Right On Commander stuff?
- 99.3) Acknowledgements
- 99.4) Disclaimer
