Elite (video game)

Elite is a 1984 published science fiction computer game by Ian Bell and David Braben, the business simulation and combines an armed space - flight simulation. With more than a thousand planets comprehensive game world and waiving a clearly defined end of the game Elite is considered early representative of an open-world game. The calculated in real time cockpit view of the Space with polygon spaceships was at the limit of computing power at that time home computer.

Due to its popularity originally appeared on the BBC Micro game was ported to many other systems and has remained popular until the 1990s. The gameplay was in foreign productions and official successor games ( Frontier: Elite 2, 1993), often imitated and developed.

Action

At Elite, the player Commander Jameson, who starts the game with a tight start-up capital and a small spaceship, a Cobra Mark III leads. With the spacecraft can first practice only dealing with the proceeds and buy more equipment. With better equipment and weapons can also degrade metals on asteroids, chasing pirates, or even to act as such, and some ( depending on the version different ) to complete special missions. In the progression of the game you go through different ranks; the aim is to achieve the battle classification "Elite".

Development

The original version of Elite was developed by David Braben and Ian Bell for the then popular in the UK home computer BBC Micro. Elite itself was influenced by the pen -and- paper role-playing game Traveller and adopted many elements - such as the classification of stellar systems, and even the shape of some spaceships - from this model.

Elite was one of the first games that allowed the player to move freely in a 3D environment. As a science fiction game spoke elite technology avid gamers through a very progressive representation, which until then surpassed the state of the art in many ways.

In addition to the in the info box in the " platforms," ​​said the official ports there were unofficial ports for the Commodore 128 and Commodore Plus / 4

Technology

Elite is a space simulation with 3D vector graphics, the hidden lines does not represent, so as to give the impression of a solid body. Compared to the usual contemporary home computers wireframes that was a major step forward in the quality of spatial illusion. This progress was made ​​possible by the consistent use of particularly easy to calculate convex body. In later ports, was favored by the increased computing power, partially used polygon graphics with filled areas.

In addition to the new graphic representation of these included details such as a 3D radar screen, which takes up the representation of terms used in modern aviation collision avoidance radar. This system allows accurate positioning of objects in a spherical space.

Despite the small storage capacity of the home computers the field of elite from about 2,000 star systems consisted of eight cards (" galaxies " ), which could be represented by a clever use of a pseudo-random number generator with fixed starting values ​​with minimal storage overhead. Also, this method of presentation of star systems has similarities to role-playing game Traveller.

Elite was also the most famous game in which the Lenslok copy protection system was used.

SciFi allusions

As a science fiction game quotes elite various science fiction works: In the version for the Commodore 64, the player's spaceship is overrun in a sequence of actually harmless but rapidly proliferating nature - an allusion to the Tribbles from the television series Star Trek. Play an important role in the space station to which the player has to dock regularly. These are referred to in the manual as a Coriolis space stations. As in the filmed by Stanley Kubrick story 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke rotate these space stations around its own axis to simulate the interior by the centrifugal force earthly gravity, which makes docking a playful challenge. If a docking computer can call his own later in the game, will entertain with the game played like in the movie during the Andocksequenz Danube waltz.

Reception

In the public and press elite was a great success, such as it was in 1990 presented by the Power Play Magazine in section 100 Best Games.

The Games Privateer, Privateer 2, Freelancer and Darkstar One and the X series are inspired by the gameplay of Elite. Jumpgate, Vendetta Online and EVE Online offer a similar gameplay in the form of Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. For Palm PDAs there with Space Trader reduced to the strategy elements version.

Successor

The successor under the titles Frontier and First Encounters offered interesting developments (realistic flight physics, astronomical largely correct simulation of the Milky Way ), but were unable to continue in commercial terms to the first success.

Many attempts to create clones of elite were made during most of the projects were completed unfinished, the Open source clone Oolite is a successful exception. Elite: The New Kind of Christian Pinder was about reverse engineering of the original BBC Micro version developed and has been ported to many platforms. The more widespread, however, was set after one of the original authors, David Braben, had asked for it.

For 2014, David Braben company Frontier Developments is planning a multi-player and network-enabled successor with contemporary artwork that ties in with the gameplay of the original elite under the name Elite Dangerous. The project has been funded via the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.com.

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