X switch mode on/off: CTRL during hyperjump "attracts" Thargoids.A switch alignment (during rolling/tilting) on/off.When you have stopped the game with "Inst/Del", there are the following undocumented functions. In the German version, however, there is an additional song. In the English version there is only one music piece (by Johann Strauß).
3D-simulation in vector graphics objects are displayed as lattice model (unique at that time on the C64).The game Elite has the following design features: Here you are awaited by numerous fights with Thargoids as well as an improved energy unit as a reward. After finishing the previous mission and 1280 kills and the third galaxy the player is offered to transport blueprints for a new fighting ship through half the galaxy.After 256 kills and in the first and second galaxy the player gets offered to search the stolen prototype of a fighting ship and destroy it.This is actually not really a mission but it poses a task for the player. If the account has reached 6583,5 Cr for the first time, the player can buy " Trumbels".Sometimes these Thargoid ships also appear in space close to planets.Īs a special goody the player is also offered in this game version altogether three missions: Furthermore, these spaceships send out remote-controlled drones that can be caught and sold. The octagonal ships of the Thargoids are astonishingly strong and robust. They can pull spaceships from their hyperspace jump and attack them in interstellar space. The parts can be collected and sold.Ī special peril pose the Thargoid Invaders. Another source of income is the mining industry, which is the decomposing of asteroids with the mining laser. For shooting pirate ships and asteroids you usually get paid a small award, a bounty. This procedure is usually referred to as piracy. If the player does not want to wait until other spaceships jettison their shipping containers voluntarily, he can help them a bit by shooting the laser. With a space claw you can retrieve unowned items from space, which then can be sold. The prices of the traded goods are random to a small extent and mainly dependent on the economic classification of the corresponding system. On the one hand you can trade by using the price differences between two solar systems. The possibilities to earn money are manifold. Additional equipment can be bought which improves the fighting power and the possibilities to earn money significantly. The beginning spaceship is equipped only very basically and the capital is very limited. Interstellar distances are crossed by hyperspace jump of at most 7 light years. Docking to them can sometimes prove to be difficult. Strangely, there is exactly one planet in each solar system with each exactly one orbital station. The space traffic is handled by orbital stations landing on a planet is not possible (for the player).
Furthermore, the gravitational force of the celestial bodies is missing - one has to steer around planets instead of swivelling into an orbit. Unlike Elite 1, the flying characteristics are like flying through the air (not a vacuum) – the maximum speed is reached quickly and a relatively narrow spiralling is possible. The player can control the speed and the rotation around the crosshair and the vertical axis. The player's spaceship needs to be navigated through three-dimensional space. Large and small mistakes have an influence on the criminal record, which in turn can result in a more hostile behaviour of the authorities or other astronauts. The success of the player becomes noticeable both in cash money and the grading as astronaut. This open game principle differs basically from all computer games known at this point of time.Īs Commander Jameson the player can travel through eight galaxies to boost his career as an astronaut. There is no time limit, in which certain tasks need to be done. The game Elite has no defined aim and no defined ending.
3.8 Manual docking (short course by Worf).