It's not Elite or Frontier, but I've installed Freelancer HD on my PC and I'm looking forward to spending some time on it. I played it on release in 2003 and it's amazing how the game and its characters are still familiar despite not having experienced the game for over 20 years!

When Frontier First Encounters launched in 1995, it was a DOS-only game in 320x200 resolution. Some 30 years later, we can all enjoy the same brilliant game in much greater detail, thanks to some enterprising and talented coders. Details of FFED3D are at tinyurl.com/FFED3D-AJ

Perhaps the other surprise omission from the FrontierAstro Top 5 Elites was the #ZXSpectrum version. A lot of people loved this back in the day, but to me it looked drab and ran too slowly. Somehow it lacked the magic of #BBCElite and was inferior to the #C64 version too. Sorry!

If you're wondering why #ArcElite didn't make it into my top 5 Elites, it's because I've had limited experience playing it and I didn't care much for the 16-bit versions anyway. Here's my complete Top 10 - from the note on my phone I used while I agonised over the final order! 😁

*FrontierAstro Top 5 Elites* 1. BBC Elite (disc) - the original is still the best! Jaw-dropping graphics and gameplay made this an instant classic. It set a new standard for games, with its flawless execution and physical presentation (manual, novella etc.) It all started here!

*FrontierAstro Top 5 Elites* 2. Nintendo NES Elite - often referred to as the "impossible" version, David Braben and Ian Bell wrote this masterpiece, which uses the Nintendo controller to deliver a fantastic gaming experience, with lots of nice touches as well. A genuine classic!

*FrontierAstro Top 5 Elites* 3. BBC Master Elite - an amazing update to BBC Elite. Much more colour, smooth flicker-free graphics and no in-game loading. Missions to undertake as well. Those lucky enough to own a BBC Master computer had an astonishing game to play in 1986!

*FrontierAstro Top 5 Elites* 4. Commodore 64 Elite - An excellent version, which maintained the classical BBC style while adding extra colour and the "Trumbles" mission. Graphical flicker can now be eliminated (see ALT text) and the full range of ships/space stations is present.

*FrontierAstro Top 5 Elites* 5. Amstrad Elite - Probably the best of the Z80 versions. Very playable, no flickering graphics, a few missions and plenty of colour, although they can get a bit garish at times (see picture). Solid filled planets were a first for Elite as well.

People will argue long into the night over whether #Spectrum Elite or #Commodore64 Elite was the best. With its more colourful display and extra ships, the C64 version probably edges it, although the Spectrum game did boast the LensLok protection system 😁

Was Frontier Elite 2 on the #AtariST the best game ever released on that machine? Atari ST Review magazine certainly liked it, in their February 1994 edition. "Quite superb - as close to the perfect game as you'll find!" Overall score of 96%.

I've never really been into comics, but back in 2012 Dave Jones of DJ Comics released a 5-part adventure, set in the Frontier Elite universe. Definitely worth a read on a cold, rainy day! djcomics.wordpress.com/frontier-eli...

Yeah, maybe I'm a monster, but they did overcharge me on my docking fees...

If the Tatung Einstein version of Elite looks suspiciously like the Spectrum version, it's because it is a direct port from the Sinclair machine. The retail box was actually the Spectrum box, with stickers covering the logo where needed. The manual was also from the Spectrum!

Elite for the #AcornArchimedes was arguably the ultimate version of the original game. The physical items included were certainly unsurpassed, including 24 Ship Data Cards. The long-held tradition of naming ships in the game after snake species was no longer adhered to.

Elite was immortalised by the UK's Royal Mail in 2020, when they produced a limited edition gamer collection pack of stamps. Seven other games were covered (see ALT text), including information on each one and a certificate of authenticity issued for each of the 2500 packs.

PC Elite certainly wasn't the prettiest version, when it was released in 1987. This was due to the restrictions of the CGA graphics. It did feature solid filled polygons, however. Elite Plus came along in 1991, and boasted a delicious 256 colour mode.

This was about as close as you got to a patch for computer games in the 1980s. For more serious flaws, like the bug which locked up #AmstradElite after a few hours of play, replacement media had to be sent out to anyone who requested it (new version with white label).

Elite for the Amstrad CPC was released by Firebird in 1985. It was an excellent conversion, featuring solid-filled planets and a good variety of ships. It came in cassette and disc formats and the retail package included the manual, novella & Ship Identification Chart.

In 1986, when Acornsoft's library of games was acquired by Superior Software, versions of #BBCElite were released under both labels for the new #BBCMaster computer. There was even a 3½" disc version for the Master Compact, confusingly described as a Compact Disc.

Elite for the #AtariST looked and played very similarly to the #Amiga version, with a few differences. Combat was considered to be a let-down, not helped by the enemies firing bullets at you, rather than lasers. Otherwise, a very good conversion with a few missions to undertake.

By 1988, the 8-bit computer era was pretty much over, and Elite made the jump to the new 16-bit machines. In doing so, they lost some of the magic of the original games (IMHO) but were otherwise good conversions for new and old gamers.

I would suggest an alternative Christmas schedule to this one. Ditch all the other games and just play Elite from 9.00 to 5.00. At some point load up The Complete Cocktail Maker and see how much your game playing skills deteriorate! 🍸🍸🍸

An interesting advert in the Special Racing Programme included with Acornsoft's Revs racing simulation, in 1984. It managed to combine elements of Revs and Elite, utilising the wonderfully named Gloria Slap, one of your competitors in the game.

In 1986, The Micro User magazine included two pull-out guides to Elite, in the January and February editions. The first contained various hints & tips to help play the game. The second was a cheat program, guaranteed to finish any interest in the game for the player 😐

Having just the English PC version of #FrontierElite2 is clearly not enough. The Amiga, Atari ST and CD32 editions are required, plus the French, German and Portuguese releases as well. But only if you're slightly obsessed 😆

For some reason, I always preferred the Acornsoft Ship Identification Chart for Elite to the Firebird one. It covers the seven ship types found in the BBC cassette tape version. A poster including the extra ships found in the disc version didn't happen until the Firebird release.

Says it all, really. Elite was - and still is - The Game Of A Lifetime!

It's ironic to think, as I wait a couple of minutes for games like F1 25 and Cyberpunk 2077 to load, that over 40 years ago I could be in the Elite Universe in less than 10 seconds! Assuming I had a disc drive and BeebEm emulates the boot sequence accurately, that is 🤔

The Dark Wheel was one of the first examples of a novella bundled with a computer game. Written by the late Robert Holdstock, it did a brilliant job of establishing the Elite Universe in the mind of the player. A planned sequel sadly never materialised.

I've never been sure if Mass Effect is my kind of game, but I figured at £4.99 in Steam's Black Friday sale, it's a risk worth taking 🙂 store.steampowered.com/app/1328670/...

Moving to an astronomy theme, the latest smart telescopes are pretty amazing. I took this picture of The Pleiades the same day it was delivered. The system is easy and affordable for beginners, but offers a load of extra features to take it to the next level in image processing.

By contrast, Elite for the ZX Spectrum didn't seem to suffer from the flickering in the 6502 versions of the game. Perhaps the drawing routine had already been improved for the Z80 machines? It was a little slower than the Beeb version, but still very nice.

Elite on the Commodore 64 always looked good, but the genius that is Mark Moxon has incorporated the flicker-free drawing routines from the BBC Master version into the game, making the whole experience beautifully smooth. Download it now! elite.bbcelite.com/c64/

This cartoon will resonate with anyone who played the 8-bit versions of Elite. It was drawn by Australian artist Cameron Davis, who sadly passed away in May 2024. So far I haven't been able to find any more Elite cartoons by him. Perhaps it was a one-off.

It was a shame that the retail box for Frontier First Encounters in the UK was so drab. For the US release - just known as First Encounters - the artwork was very impressive and must have really helped to sell the game in the shops.

Frontier Elite 2 attracted some excellent magazine review scores when released in October 1993. Amiga Power's dissenting score of 65% is strangely absent from this advert; they described the program as "disappointing", "pointless" and "tedious". Not a game for everyone then!

A few years ago collecting the Elite games was very affordable, but the same cannot be said now, with some crazy prices being asked on Ebay. This lot would probably cost in excess of £2500 today! 😲

The big moment, in the Autumn of 1993, when Frontier Elite 2 was released for the PC, Commodore Amiga and Atari ST. A sure-fire best-seller, it expanded on the concept of Elite with missions, lots of ships to buy & fly and real-life star systems to explore. A landmark in gaming.

This two-page magazine advert for Elite would have whetted the gaming appetite of any BBC Micro user, back in 1984. Released in September of that year, it was the must-have Christmas game, and drew envious looks from Spectrum and Commodore 64 owners.

When Firebird won the rights to publish the non-Acorn versions of Elite, they included a new Ship Identification Chart with the game. Confusingly, it included boulders and asteroids - which aren't ships - and left out the Cobra Mk I and the Worm, which are! Nice poster though.

On the subject of amazing extras included with computer games in the 90's, surely nothing beats Elite for the Acorn Archimedes? £40 was quite expensive at the time, but look at what you got! 😍

The late 80's and early 90's were a great time for purchasing computer games, as they often came with physical extras rather than the downloads of today. This is the beautiful star map that was included with Frontier Elite 2. I still have a framed copy of this!

It's amazing to think how different Elite would have looked if David Braben hadn't had his last-minute brainwave and invented a new, improved scanner for the game. Ian Bell did the coding and the iconic elliptical scanner was born.

Frontier Elite 2 was a huge success when it was released in 1993, but this screen from a development phase shows that there were features which didn't make it into the finished game. Escort duty to Alpha Centauri? That won't be quick!

As promised, lots more pictures and information on the Tatung Einstein and Nintendo NES versions of Elite are now online. This pretty much concludes the updates of the 8-bit Elites! Einstein Elite - tinyurl.com/5ycfy5md Nintendo Elite - tinyurl.com/5h4p5xua

Two more Elite updates today - the versions for the PC and Amstrad CPC. Extra pictures and detailed information for both games. PC Elite - tinyurl.com/3rcwvdsj Amstrad CPC Elite - tinyurl.com/4wnnvhsd Einstein and NES Elite coming soon!

More FrontierAstro updates. This time it's a load of information about the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron versions of Elite. BBC Elite - tinyurl.com/5t4src5k Electron Elite - tinyurl.com/yfuh6wa2

As part of the ongoing site updates, more information about Apple II and MSX Elite is now available! Apple II Elite - tinyurl.com/37xn7evw MSX Elite - tinyurl.com/33bzk9er

Happy 41st birthday to Elite - the game by Ian Bell and David Braben which started a whole new genre of computer games #Elite41