| Elite |
| |
| Release Date | 1985 |
| Original Publisher | Firebird Software Ltd (UK) |
| Min. Hardware | ZX-Spectrum 48K/128K |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Strategy Game: Management |
| Max. Players | 1 |
| Edited with | Elite Character Designer Elite Commander Editor Elite Editor Elite Hacking Program Elite Service Elite Shipbuilder Mostly Harmless Super Elite Editor |
| Inspiration for | 1 Line Space Trader Awaken Comercio Cosmico |
| Original Price | £14.95 |
| Mods | 4 title(s) |
| Competitions | C&VG 1984 Golden Joystick Awards Computer Gamer's Game of the Year Awards 1985 |
| Features | Keyboard Overlay, Lenslok Protection, Vector Graphics |
| Themes | Hyperspace/Warp |
| Groups | Gold Edition |
| Tie-in Licences | Elite (Software) from David Braben (UK), Ian C.G. Bell (UK) |
| Ports | Elite (SAM Coupé) |
| Other Platforms | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, Commodore Plus/4 (unofficial), MSX, NES, PC/DOS |
| Average mag. score | 96.40% (5 reviews) |
| Martijn's WoS score | 83% (719 votes) |
Re-releases
| #1 - Boots (UK) | |||
| #2 - Serma Software (Spain) | (1985) | ||
| * Release price: 2800.00 Ptas |
Authors/Contributors
| David Braben (UK) | - Game Design/Concept | ||
| Ian C.G. Bell (UK) | - Game Design/Concept | ||
| Philip Mochan (UK) | at Torus | - ? | |
| Ricardo J.M. Pinto (UK) | at Torus | - ? | |
| Dominic M.N. Prior (UK) | at Torus | - ? | |
| Mark Wighton (UK) | at Torus | - ? | |
| Tim Boone (UK) | - Load Screen |
Annual Awards
| 1st Best Game Overall - 1985 Crash Readers Awards. | |
| 2nd Best Flight Simulation - 1985 Crash Readers Awards. | |
| 2nd State Of The Art Award - 1985 Crash Readers Awards. | |
| 3rd Best Shoot'Em Up - 1985 Crash Readers Awards. | |
| Winner of the C&VG 1984 Golden Joystick Awards - Best Original Game. | |
| Winner of the Game of the Year Awards 1985 - Best Arcade Game. | |
| Winner of the Game of the Year Awards 1985 - Best Spectrum Game. | |
| Winner of the Game of the Year Awards 1985 - Game of the Year. |
Review Awards
| "Crash Smash" | at Crash | issue v.1 #22 - 1985/Nov | page 28 | |
| "Sinclair User Classic" | at Sinclair User | issue #44 - 1985/Nov | page 23 | |
| "Sinclair User Classic" | at Sinclair User | issue #54 - 1986/Sep | page 47 |
Remarks
| The main difference between the 48k and 128k versions is the 48k loader, that was not compatible with the 128k systems and got removed from that version. |
Remarks
| The original 48k cassette contains two versions of the game, with slightly different ships. On one side, the enemy ships are the Cobra, Asp, Fer-de-lance, Thargoid/Thargon, Sidewinder, Krait and Viper. On the other side, the Krait has been replaced with the Adder. Save games are fully compatible, so it is possible to start playing with one set of ships and then switch to the other set. |
Compilations
| Full version in | Supreme Challenge | (1988) | by Beau-Jolly Ltd (UK) | ||
| Full version in | ZX Files Megatape 4 | (1998) | by Magazine ZXFiles - covertape from issue #7 - 1998 | - titled "Elite (Joystick Club Version)" | |
| Full version in | ZX Files Megatape 4 | (1998) | by Magazine ZXFiles - covertape from issue #7 - 1998 |
Main File Downloads
| Filename | Release | Machine | Scheme | Language | Comments | |
 | Elite(JoystickClubVersion).tap.zip | Original | ZX-Spectrum 48K | (???) | English | - Cracked Joystick Club release. This is the "Kraits" version. |
| Elite48.tap.zip | Original | ZX-Spectrum 48K | (???) | English | - Cracked to bypass the Lenslock protection if failed three times |
| Elite.tzx.zip | Original | ZX-Spectrum 48K/128K | (SoftLock) | English | ||
| Elite128.tap.zip | Original | ZX-Spectrum 128K | (???) | English | |
| Elite_2.tzx.zip | Original | ZX-Spectrum 128K | (SoftLock) | English | - Image from the "Adder" version. |
Additional File Downloads
| Filename | Size | Release | Type | Language | Comments | |
| Elite.scr | 6,912 | Original | Loading screen | |||
| Elite128.scr | 6,912 | Original | Loading screen | |||
| Elite.gif | 3,044 | Original | Running screen | |||
| Elite(Opus)_Front.jpg | 223,158 | Original | Inlay - Front | |||
| Elite_Front.jpg | 301,880 | Original | Inlay - Front | |||
| Elite_Back.jpg | 281,303 | Original | Inlay - Back | |||
| Elite_Disk.png | 176,165 | Original | Media scan | |||
| Elite_Tape.jpg | 62,857 | Original | Media scan | |||
| Elite_Tape_2.jpg | 77,348 | Original | Media scan | |||
| Elite_Tape_3.jpg | 51,813 | Original | Media scan | |||
| ELITE.TXT | 20,269 | Original | Instructions | - Docs & Cheats (from games database) | ||
| elite.txt | 9,658 | Original | Instructions | |||
| Elite_LenslokInstructions.pdf | 380,648 | Original | Instructions | - Lenslok instructions | ||
| Elite.pdf | 4,715,299 | Original | Instructions | English | ||
| Elite.txt | 19,876 | Original | Instructions | English | ||
| Elite(EN).pdf | 2,885,180 | Original | Instructions | English | ||
| Elite(Acorn).pdf | 1,634,305 | Original | Scanned instructions | English | ||
| Elite_KeyboardOverlay.jpg | 35,522 | Original | Keyboard overlay | |||
| Elite.jpg | 13,804 | Original | Advertisement | |||
| Elite_2.jpg | 9,885 | Original | Advertisement | |||
| Elite_3.jpg | 13,352 | Original | Advertisement | |||
| Elite_4.jpg | 17,665 | Original | Advertisement | |||
| Elite_5.jpg | 146,914 | Original | Advertisement | |||
| Elite_6.jpg | 388,714 | Original | Advertisement | |||
| elite.zip | 0 | Original | RZX playback file | - Recorded by Sard - Several different action scenes from the game, such as fighting Police Vipers, manual docking, star-skimming for fuel and fighting Thargoids in Witch Space! See the text file for full details. | ||
| Elite (1985)(Firebird Software).pok | 882 | Original | POK pokes file | |||
| Elite_Membership.jpg | 160,104 | Original | ? | - Membership | ||
| Elite_QuickKeyControlGuide.jpg | 123,951 | Original | ? | - Quick key control guide | ||
| Elite_ShipIdentificationChart.jpg | 261,013 | Original | ? | - Ship identification chart | ||
| Elite_Spectrum+ControlGuide.jpg | 107,524 | Original | ? | - Spectrum+ control guide | ||
| Elite_TheDarkWheelNovella.txt | 111,460 | Original | ? | - 'Dark Wheel, The' novella | ||
| Elite(SermaSoftware).pdf | 179,101 | #2 | Instructions | Spanish | ||
| Elite(SermaSoftware).jpg | 231,700 | #2 | Advertisement |
Magazine Reviews
| ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) | issue #7-1988/Apr | page 68 | - Review | |
| C&VG (Computer & Video Games) | issue #50-1985/Dec | page 33 | - Review | |
| C&VG (Computer & Video Games) | issue #50-1985/Dec supplement "Adventure Supplement" | page 33 | - Review | |
| C&VG (Computer & Video Games) | issue #85-1988/Nov | page 36 | - Review - not a Spectrum article | |
| Crash | issue v.1 #22-1985/Nov | page 28 | - Review: 92% | |
| MicroHobby | issue #68-1986/Mar | page 12 | - Review - Nuevo | |
| Popular Computing Weekly | issue v.4 #48-1985/Nov/28 special "week#4" | page 20 | - Review | |
| Sinclair User | issue #44-1985/Nov | page 23 | - Review: 5/5 | |
| Sinclair User | issue #54-1986/Sep | page 47 | - Review: 5/5 | |
| Your Computer | issue v.6 #1-1986/Jan | page 41 | - Review: 5/5 | |
| Your Sinclair | issue #35-1988/Nov | page 83 | - Review: 9/10 | |
| Your Spectrum | issue #20-1985/Nov | page 28 | - Review |
Magazine References
Magazine Advertisements
Related Magazine Reviews
| ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) | issue #16-1989/Jan | page 118 | - Review (Supreme Challenge) | |
| C&VG (Computer & Video Games) | issue #87-1989/Jan | page 114 | - Review: 95% (Supreme Challenge) | |
| Your Sinclair | issue #35-1988/Nov | page 83 | - Review: 9/10 (Supreme Challenge) |
Related Magazine References
| ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) | issue #16-1989/Jan | page 116 | - Feature - We Wish You A ... Cheapy Christmas (Supreme Challenge) | |
| Crash | issue v.1 #60-1989/Jan | page 92 | - Feature - Collectable Consumables (Supreme Challenge) | |
| New Computer Express | issue #3-1988/Nov/26 | page 47 | - News/Note - Supreme compilation (Supreme Challenge) |
Related Magazine Advertisements
| ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) | issue #14-1988/Nov | page 88 | - Full-page ad (Supreme Challenge) | |
| C&VG (Computer & Video Games) | issue #84-1988/Oct | page 84 | - Full-page ad (Supreme Challenge) | |
| C&VG (Computer & Video Games) | issue #85-1988/Nov | page 119 | - Full-page ad (Supreme Challenge) | |
| Popular Computing Weekly | issue v.7 #37-1988/Sep/22 special "week#4" | page 2 | - Full-page ad (Supreme Challenge) | |
| Sinclair User | issue #80-1988/Nov | page 107 | - Full-page ad (Supreme Challenge) | |
| The Games Machine | issue #12-1988/Nov | page 88 | - Full-page ad (Supreme Challenge) | |
| Your Sinclair | issue #34-1988/Oct | page 24 | - Full-page ad (Supreme Challenge) | |
| Your Sinclair | issue #35-1988/Nov | page 70 | - Full-page ad (Supreme Challenge) | |
| Your Sinclair | issue #45-1989/Sep | page 36 | - Full-page ad (Supreme Challenge) |
Links
| Centre for Computing History | (Information - in English) | |
| Centre for Computing History | (Information - in English) | |
| MobyGames | (Information - in English) | |
| Modern ZX-Retro Gaming | (Information - in English) | |
| RZX Archive | (Information - in English) | |
| Spectrum +2A/+3 Incompatibility | (Information - in English) | |
| TV/Web Advert (YouTube) | (Information - in English) | |
| The Tipshop | (Information - in English) | |
| UVL | (Information - in English) | |
| Wikipedia | (Information - in English) | |
| ZX Spectrum Reviews | (Magazine Reviews) | |
| Spectrum 2.0 | (User Reviews) | |
| The TZX Vault | (Software Preservation) | |
| ZX-Art | (Spectrum Graphics) | |
| ZXInfo | (ZXDB Front End) | |
| Every Game Going | (Multi-Platform Archive) | |
| New World Of Spectrum | (Spectrum Archive) | |
| Original World Of Spectrum | (Spectrum Archive) | |
| World Of Spectrum Classic | (Spectrum Archive) | |
| Spectrum Computing | (MAIN VIEW) |
