Author Topic: Elite (original) from Frontier (Read 4337 times)

Graeme · « **on:** 11 February, 2018, 09:08:55 pm »

https://www.frontierstore.net/games.html?q=elite

If you remember the original 1984 Elite game, it is now available on Mac and PC ... from Frontier directly... ummm... for £0. Download. It includes a BBC Emulator to run the program.

Oh dear... I sense hours of trying to get from Dangerous to Elite all over again.

Chris S · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 February, 2018, 10:38:21 pm »

RIGHT ON COMMANDER!

The latest incarnation is better

Elite Dangerous_20180211180103 by Chris Smith, on Flickr

Elite Dangerous_20180203205303 by Chris Smith, on Flickr

It's quite stunning to look at, and really immersive to play. I love it. It's just as much a grind as the original though!

Graeme · « **Reply #2 on:** 12 February, 2018, 10:22:23 am »

Yebbut: free. And runs on my laptop w/o £££ GPU. And retro!

My son, like me at his age, is investing a significant amount of time becoming an experienced pilot in a fictitious world. Yes, he bought Elite Dangerous and loves it.

Canardly · « **Reply #3 on:** 12 February, 2018, 10:28:46 am »

Yes things have come on a bit since Pong and wireframe.

simonp · « **Reply #4 on:** 12 February, 2018, 11:44:47 am »

It looks ver' pretty on a 4K TV.

Chris S · « **Reply #5 on:** 12 February, 2018, 01:47:00 pm »

Quote from: simonp on 12 February, 2018, 11:44:47 am

It looks ver' pretty on a 4K TV.

Sure does!

L CC · « **Reply #6 on:** 12 February, 2018, 01:50:34 pm »

#spacewidow

pcolbeck · « **Reply #7 on:** 12 February, 2018, 09:47:55 pm »

I spent hours with original on a Specy until I sold the Specy to finance my first date with Mrs Pcolbeck 29 years ago.

Graeme · « **Reply #8 on:** 12 February, 2018, 10:23:24 pm »

Quote from: fboab on 12 February, 2018, 01:50:34 pm

#spacewidow

Don't eat Chris S!!! Oh wait, misread that. As you were.

Graeme · « **Reply #9 on:** 12 February, 2018, 10:24:17 pm »

Quote from: pcolbeck on 12 February, 2018, 09:47:55 pm

I spent hours with original on a Specy until I sold the Specy to finance my first date with Mrs Pcolbeck 29 years ago.

And now you can totally relive the whole experience from Novice for free. I mean, free of charge.

simonp · « **Reply #10 on:** 12 February, 2018, 10:58:18 pm »

Quote from: pcolbeck on 12 February, 2018, 09:47:55 pm

I spent hours with original on a Specy until I sold the Specy to finance my first date with Mrs Pcolbeck 29 years ago.

The original was on a BBC B. All imitations are inferior.

I still remember the original Acornsoft advert depicted here:

http://www.frontierastro.co.uk/Files/elite_misc.html

Elite pushed the boundaries of what could be achieved with the limit RAM and processing power available. The split-screen graphics was a first, I think (changing display mode part way during raster scanning so that the view screen could be higher resolution single-bit graphics and the console was lower resolution colour).

The memory layout of the BBC's video memory was also inconvenient for wireframe graphics; it was organised, IIRC, for displaying text rather than a plain raster image. This means that horizontally adjacent pixels are not necessarily at adjacent memory locations. See description here:

http://www.dfstudios.co.uk/articles/retro-computing/bbc-micro-screen-formats/

IIRC, Elite used mode 1 (320x256 1bpp) and mode 5 (160x256 2bpp).

I believe Revs also used some graphics related tricks: the sky is a featureless blue and IIRC, the colour palette was modified during the frame scanning such that the top half (or so) of the screen contained data, hidden by assigning all colours to cyan.

simonp · « **Reply #11 on:** 12 February, 2018, 11:13:01 pm »

Quote from: Chris S on 12 February, 2018, 01:47:00 pm

Quote from: simonp on 12 February, 2018, 11:44:47 am
It looks ver' pretty on a 4K TV.

Sure does!

Sadly I've found the screen tearing of games too annoying, so I'm going to rescue the PC I specced (it's quite a beast) from the TV and plug it into the lower-resolution (2560x1440) 27" monitor I bought for it. Also the TV gets used quite a lot for... TV. The monitor has adaptive sync and a much lower latency than the TV as well.

Bigger issue is finding the time between the rowing and the working, both of which are very time consuming activities.

Graeme · « **Reply #12 on:** 12 February, 2018, 11:29:50 pm »

Quote from: simonp on 12 February, 2018, 11:13:01 pm

Quote from: Chris S on 12 February, 2018, 01:47:00 pm
Quote from: simonp on 12 February, 2018, 11:44:47 am
It looks ver' pretty on a 4K TV.

Sure does!

Sadly I've found the screen tearing of games too annoying, so I'm going to rescue the PC I specced (it's quite a beast) from the TV and plug it into the lower-resolution (2560x1440) 27" monitor I bought for it. Also the TV gets used quite a lot for... TV. The monitor has adaptive sync and a much lower latency than the TV as well.

Bigger issue is finding the time between the rowing and the working, both of which are very time consuming activities.

Rowing between systems is certainly time consuming. Have you not upgraded your hyperdrive?

Morat · « **Reply #13 on:** 17 February, 2018, 11:09:48 am »

Here's a couple I took years ago. It's not a game that I play a huge amount (I preferred the original BBC elite gamestyle) but it sure is pretty!

Greenbank · « **Reply #14 on:** 19 February, 2018, 12:56:45 pm »

Must. Resist. Another. Time. Sink.

(Played BBC and Spectrum games to ELITE several times over.)

woollypigs · « **Reply #15 on:** 24 February, 2018, 05:37:09 pm »

Yes don't click that link ! 1985-6 disappeared into the world(s) of Elite. And is the reason for me never buying a PC powerful enough to play games on. As I realised that I had a massive addictive behaviour when it came to gaming.

Kim · « **Reply #16 on:** 24 February, 2018, 05:57:58 pm »

I completely lost interest in gaming at the point where the web became useful. Probably for the best.

Chris S · « **Reply #17 on:** 24 February, 2018, 06:42:54 pm »

Quote from: woollypigs on 24 February, 2018, 05:37:09 pm

Yes don't click that link ! 1985-6 disappeared into the world(s) of Elite. And is the reason for me never buying a PC powerful enough to play games on. As I realised that I had a massive addictive behaviour when it came to gaming.

You don't need to - Elite:Dangerous plays really well on a PS4 Pro, which costs about what you'd pay for a high-end GPU for a PC

woollypigs · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 February, 2018, 06:55:01 pm »

And, I should have said, never bought a plaything like PlayStation, Xbox etc. Heck my dad had to take away, aka ground me, the PONG* game that we could plug into our TV back in 78, for the same reasons.

* PONG best ever game, trufac!

simonp · « **Reply #19 on:** 24 February, 2018, 08:07:01 pm »

Quote from: Chris S on 24 February, 2018, 06:42:54 pm

Quote from: woollypigs on 24 February, 2018, 05:37:09 pm
Yes don't click that link ! 1985-6 disappeared into the world(s) of Elite. And is the reason for me never buying a PC powerful enough to play games on. As I realised that I had a massive addictive behaviour when it came to gaming.

You don't need to - Elite:Dangerous plays really well on a PS4 Pro, which costs about what you'd pay for a high-end GPU for a PC

$:-\$

Morat · « **Reply #20 on:** 27 February, 2018, 07:07:52 pm »

If only you could actually buy a GPU. Those damn cryptominers have snaffled the lot

Chris S · « **Reply #21 on:** 27 February, 2018, 07:37:17 pm »

Quote from: Morat on 27 February, 2018, 07:07:52 pm

If only you could actually buy a GPU. Those damn cryptominers have snaffled the lot

Yeah, but once that scam gets nerfed, think how cheap GPUs will be

Morat · « **Reply #22 on:** 28 February, 2018, 10:57:38 pm »

Quote from: Chris S on 27 February, 2018, 07:37:17 pm

Quote from: Morat on 27 February, 2018, 07:07:52 pm
If only you could actually buy a GPU. Those damn cryptominers have snaffled the lot

Yeah, but once that scam gets nerfed, think how cheap GPUs will be

Well yes, true. But they'll be GPUs that have been running flat our for months on the trot. I'm not sure if that is a worry or not.

Kim · « **Reply #23 on:** 28 February, 2018, 10:58:31 pm »

Quote from: Morat on 28 February, 2018, 10:57:38 pm

Quote from: Chris S on 27 February, 2018, 07:37:17 pm
Quote from: Morat on 27 February, 2018, 07:07:52 pm
If only you could actually buy a GPU. Those damn cryptominers have snaffled the lot

Yeah, but once that scam gets nerfed, think how cheap GPUs will be
Well yes, true. But they'll be GPUs that have been running flat our for months on the trot. I'm not sure if that is a worry or not.

Hi-fi enthusiasts would pay good money for that.

Morat · « **Reply #24 on:** 01 March, 2018, 08:08:57 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 28 February, 2018, 10:58:31 pm

Quote from: Morat on 28 February, 2018, 10:57:38 pm
Quote from: Chris S on 27 February, 2018, 07:37:17 pm
Quote from: Morat on 27 February, 2018, 07:07:52 pm
If only you could actually buy a GPU. Those damn cryptominers have snaffled the lot

Yeah, but once that scam gets nerfed, think how cheap GPUs will be
Well yes, true. But they'll be GPUs that have been running flat our for months on the trot. I'm not sure if that is a worry or not.

Hi-fi enthusiasts would pay good money for that.

The same people who buy oxygen free cables?