There's Thargoids On The Starboard Bow [Elite 3D]

A trip down memory lane: Elite 3D, a version of Elite hacked by Mark Moxon to use anaglyph 3D, playable on a BBC micro emulator (standard BBC B with 6502 second processor). This was one of my favourite BBC games back in the 80s.

Elite was first released for the BBC Micro 40 years ago, on September 20th 1984. At a time when every other game involved three lives and a hi-score table, Ian Bell and David Braben, produced something original and unique - an imaginative 3D sci-fi universe in which you could fly your spaceship from star to star, docking at space stations, trading legal or illegal goods, upgrading your weapons and ship systems, fighting pirates or becoming a pirate yourself. 

Elite was both a creative achievement - the first true open-world game, and a technological achievement - realtime 3D graphics for stars, planets, spaceships, space stations and asteroids, AI for enemy ships, an economic and political simulation, eight galaxies to discover, and a few "surprises" all crammed into 32K for the original BBC version - in fact there's even a 16K Electron version with only a few less features. That's less bytes than an e-mail.

Versions of the game appeared on other home computers and early PCs, each with their own quirks and twists. Braben went on to write two excellent PC sequels, Frontier and Frontier: First Encounters, and (much, much later) successfully returned with the MMO Elite: Dangerous.

The original Elite was known for a steep learning curve, particularly for combat and docking skills. I had forgotten just how hard this game could be: on my first flight I emerged from hyperspace and was immediately attacked by swarms of pirates - there's only one on screen here but look how many are on the scanner. I didn't stand a chance, but at least managed to take three or four down before they got me.

I've never forgotten the sound from this game - particularly the screeching as my shields are worn down by enemy lasers, followed by the crashing sound of hull damage.

Also among the pirates was a Thargoid - I'm quite sure I saw it. I didn't get a screenshot because I was too busy dying.

On the other hand, a few flights later I survived to reach the safe zone, and managed to successfully dock with a space station - this was another hard-earned skill when first playing the game. Inspired by the film 2001, docking involves lining up with the space station entrance, then matching the rotation of the space station.

The trading aspect of the game is also quite hard - even after several more flights buying and selling goods I'd only managed to earn a few extra credits, nowhere near enough for the upgrades I want.

You can play Elite 3D in your browser here. There's more information about it here.

Mark Moxon, the one-time editor of Acorn User, can be found on Mastodon (@markmoxon@universeodon.com) where you can read about his Elite-related and other projects. I love the 3D anaglyph hack - it doesn't change the game at all but adds to the experience while remaining firmly grounded in the 80s. Silly hacks are also part of Elite lore - the best of these was the hack for the Archimedes version that added fluffy dice and a bumper sticker.

Kick Start My Heart [Elite Dangerous]

There's a faint glimmer of light at the end of the (docking) tunnel: a Kickstarter campaign has been launched to fund a new Elite game, Elite Dangerous.

When the classic space-opera Elite first appeared on the BBC Micro it was ground-breaking and a work of genius. Eight galaxies of 3D open-ended interstellar trading, fighting, adventuring, asteroid mining, docking and ship upgrading were squeezed by programmers Bell and Braben into less memory than an e-mail.



Elite is still the watchword for non-casual computer gaming. The learning curve was brutal: it took me three  weeks of playing to figure out how to launch my ship, turn it around and return to dock (you are required to match spin with the space station) – only then could I venture out beyond the safety zone, try out my shiny new hyperdrive and get blasted to pieces by space pirates. Elite rewards the dedicated player: some events in the game are only seen rarely, or are scheduled to occur on reaching a particular rank which could be weeks or months into playing.

Elite created something which still marks out the best computer games: a player community. Micro User, Acorn User and BEEBUG magazines regularly printed letters describing dubious in-game discoveries e.g. “I found another secret mission!” “I was ambushed by Thargoids!” “I saw a space dredger!” sometimes accompanied by pencil sketches and followed by weeks of debate as to whether the space dredger was real, or whether the pilot had indulged in one too many narcotics trading runs.

Versions of Elite appeared on different computers: each with its own graphic style and quirks. An early PC version was extremely playable however the best and most quirky version was produced for the Acorn Archimedes: features included an ongoing war between police and criminals, and fleets of unarmed Space Missionaries calling on you to repent. A popular hack for this version kitted out your Cobra with fluffy dice and a bumper sticker.

Elite also spawned two sequels: Frontier and Frontier First Encounters, both groundbreaking in their own way, and then - nothing. Rumours of a planned Elite 4 have come and gone, and all but a few of the waiting pilots had given up hope.

So last week's announcement, more or less unexpected, came as a pleasant surprise. The story is by no means over: the campaign is live and the video and concept art look serious, but Frontier have yet to achieve their ambitious Kickstarter goal, and then they have to actually write the game. As a backer Sci-Fi Gene is hopeful and looks forward to completion - Godspeed Elite Dangerous.

What about the crew (part two)

Two more capital ship sims:

Star Trek Bridge Commander definitely deserves a mention here: the slow, heavy movement gives the feel of a capital ship even though this is essentially a very simple mission-based combat sim. In addition this is very much a Star Trek capital ship: combining immense weapon power and other high-tech with vulnerability (computers emitting smoke and sparks at the tiniest blow); also many of the combat sequences in the films and Next Gen TV series do feel very consistent with combat in STBC. Interaction with crew is particularly good here; there's a real sense of actually ordering people and teams to carry out work; each character has a tiny amount of autonomy (the First Officer raises shields when you are attacked; helm and tactical stations carry out their own combat maneuvers; engineering starts prioritising repair works etc.) Combat is particularly immersive - as the action unfolds crew members are constantly calling out status and damage reports for your own ship or the target. Outside combat the game is much more limited. Crew are fixed - there's a disappointing mission when your tactical officer is replaced by a Klingon. Hoping to see braver, riskier or even suicidal tactics I was disappointed as combat remained unchanged apart from a slightly dodgy Klingon accent (I don't remember any Scottish Klingons, although I suppose lots of planets have a North). I played this game with a Game Commander voice recognition set - if you try this, don't use the packaged command set, search for the better, fan-produced file on the Net.

Homeworld: conjures up the feeling of commanding a capital ship and fleet (although no crew element apart from background radio chatter) Much of the immersion comes from the attention to graphical detail - supply ships and fighters dock smoothly with motherships and maneuver to avoid collision with each other as they enter formation.

So what I'd like is to hire crewmembers from Frontier to man the Homeworld ships, interact with them through the Bridge Commander interface and watch them live and work as in Battlecruiser. I don't ask for much...