Back in 1984, this was probably the most exciting moment in computer games up to that point - when the first mission was triggered in #BBCElite. Suddenly you felt much more important, as Her Majesty's Space Navy was giving *you* a secret mission to carry out! Happy days...

#BEEBUG was an A5-sized computer magazine in the UK, taking a mainly serious look at the #BBCMicro during the 1980s and 1990s. It included a favourable single-page review of #BBCElite in its November 1984 edition, awarding the game a deserved 5 stars!

A&B Computing was a popular computer magazine in the UK during the heyday of the #BBCMicro. They awarded #BBCElite a healthy 95% score in the December 1984 issue. Eagle-eyed readers would have noticed a couple of typos/errors, but it was otherwise a good, accurate review.

So we have 100% clarity about the best versions of #Elite, here's the FrontierAstro Top 10. The top 3 are:-
1. #BBCElite - the original and still the best
2. #NESElite - the "impossible" version, and a great one too
3. #BBCMasterElite - fast, colourful and amazing fun to play

Ok, now the debate about the best version of #Elite has been settled 😉 the question is, why is it #BBCElite? Well, aside from the brilliant way it plays, you get a real sense that this is the way the authors envisaged the game, and that what you're playing is The Real Deal™ 😎

I grew up with a #BBCMicro and a 6502 Second Processor.

But I was ‘last year’ years old when I learned there was a special version of #BBCElite for that combo 🤯

Never got to use a #BBCMaster though…

In the 1980s, if you were one of those rich kids who nobody really liked, you could try to make a few friends by showing them #BBCElite on your #BBCMaster computer. The game was much more colourful and ran very smoothly, but wasn't really that different to the original game.

The iconic boot sequence of #BBCElite, back in 1984. From there, you could go wherever your imagination let you...

#BBCElite in 1984 kick-started the inclusion of lots of physical extras in computer game boxes. By the time #FrontierElite2 arrived in 1993, this was well established and the 90s probably represents the peak of computer gaming. Waiting for a 100Gb download just isn't the same!

Did you know there was a demonstration program for #BBCElite sent by Acornsoft to retailers in 1984? This was for shop displays, to entice buyers. Now @markmoxon.bsky.social has incorporated flicker-free graphics to make it even better!
Download it now, from elite.bbcelite.com/demo/

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!

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.

David Brabens Lander terrain formula from bbcelite. The sand is made by dividing the result by 2.

#Elite on the #Acorn #Electron is slow - way slower than on the #Commodore64, for example.

But how does the enhanced 16K SRAM version cope?

Turns out enhanced Electron Elite is faster than the #C64! Sure, it can't compare on colour or music. But... result! 🚀

#retrogaming #retrocomputing #bbcelite