Elite Missions

[sharky-doo]

Does anybody know where I can find some information on the missions (if any) in Elite please. Sorry this appears twice, i put it in the wrong section

[Nighteyes]

There's some stuff on Elite >here<.

[sharky-doo]

There's some stuff on Elite >here<.

Hi Nighteyes, thanks for the link. I've looked through the Sewer disks but can't find info on the actual missions. It seems to a bit top secret methinks.

Thanks for the help.

[unseenmenace]

I used to love Elite but only ever got a mission once and couldn't for the life of me complete it. I'd love to see a remake of the original Elite but with solid shaded polygons and better 2D graphics. I redrew all the graphics for my copy of Elite (cockpit, planets, title screen etc) but was limited in what I could do as you couldn't change the palette without hacking the game apart If anyones interested I'll try and dig my copy of Elite out and upload my redone screens.

[Nighteyes]

Alright, now I got curious myself. It's been like 20 years since I first played Elite on an Apple ][...

>Clicky<

I do remember the Thargoid mission. Man, that one was a bitch...

[RetroGamerUK]

As I said before in some other posts:
Godamned missions? I never saw any in any of the 9 galaxies!

I prefer Elite2, plenty missions there!

I sure would like to see a screenshot of one of these "missions", maybe then I will believe they exist.

[simonsunnyboy]

Here is a shot from the Thargoid mission showing that I have those shitty Thargoid documents in my cargo hold. I never got anywhere in this mission. Made a single jump with the escape pod to the next destination but was unuable to get any further.
I still have this savegame but I don't plan to play this any further. I actually did beat the Constrictor mission but somehow missed to get the cloaking device. Perhaps I shouldn't have fired too much into the rubbish of the Constrictor

[keili]

I have almost all tips, cheats, poke and solutions from the ASM (Aktueller Software Markt, a german magazin). Maybe i can find some hints there. I'll search tomorrow.

[keili]

Was too interesting . Here are the missions:

1. Find and destroy the Constriktor
2. Deliver secret Targoid-documents
3. Save a station crew from a super nova
4. Find and destroy the Cougar
5. Destroy a station, that is kept by Targoids

I can scan the whole text, if wanted, but it's in german.

[simonsunnyboy]

Yeah, I'm interested for sure!
Always wanted to start Elite all over someday!

[Nighteyes]

Always wanted to start Elite all over someday!

Jeez, I don't think I'd have the nerve to do that all over again. I dunno about the ST, but on the Apple ][ you'd only get missions until you reached elite status, and that took a hell of a lot of playing time.

Of course once you got to dangerous or so, you'd have a completely decked-out ship, so you could concentrate exclusively on a lucrative career as pirate and smuggler.

Still, after flying the Constrictor and Thargoid missions, I lost interest anyway. It just got too repetitive...

[sharky-doo]

Was too interesting . Here are the missions:

1. Find and destroy the Constriktor
2. Deliver secret Targoid-documents
3. Save a station crew from a super nova
4. Find and destroy the Cougar
5. Destroy a station, that is kept by Targoids

I can scan the whole text, if wanted, but it's in german.

Hi Keili.

Thanks for your list of missions, it's a great help to konw that there are some missions in there somewhere. There is no need to scan the text as unfortunately I do not read German.

I started playng Elite again using the STeem Engine on the PC, it's a great bit of nostalgia. I remember receiving missions but I cannot remember if it was on he ST or the Spectrum version.

Thanks to all for your help.

Sharky-doo

[keili]

My scanner doesn't work . I will scan it at work next week.

[keili]

Done . You can find the pdf-file here:
http://people.freenet.de/KeilisAtari/Elite.pdf

[RetroGamerUK]

It really warms my heart to know everyone is happily planning to re-play all the missions on Keili's list, but I would like to know more such as: Do the missions occur on a random basis, are they given at certain systems or are they only activated by something else that I am unaware of as I have never been given a single one in many many many hours of playing.
I bet the menu disk I played it from was missing the missions, was probably an Automation.

[simonsunnyboy]

Keili's scan says it all:

* to get the missions you must reach a certain Elite score (not necessarily rank)
* do not use the escape pod or you have to collect as many points again
* gain score by blasting enemy ships

I'll probably translate this solution/scan for you as it shouldn't be that hard.

[Goldrunner]

For those who do not want to play forever to get to the missions here is the cheats to play the missions straight away. This document can be found on Ian Bell's site (co-author of Elite) so I am sure it must be correct!

ST (Amiga?) Elite cheats

This is the method of 'cheating' from within Elite. To start with, load up Elite, and type in SARA as the first answer to the protection. After that type in the correct word when asked again. To enter the cheat mode, press '*' on the numeric keypad. Elite will then display a screen titled Elite Hacker V1.0. Then you can use the following table to 'give' yourself equipment that you can't buy. For instance, you can't buy an ECM JAMMER or a cloaking device, but you can equipt your ship with them, the jammer will stop ECM systems on the normal everyday ships, but not the space station or those that are introduced by missions. Both are on a similar toggle to the docking computer and will need to be switched off. 'Y' toggles the cloaking device, 'L' toggles the jammer. Also you can give yourself a retro rocket that WILL NOT RUN OUT the normal retro's will run out after about 4 or 5 uses.

This table has all addresses in hex.

Location. Contents. Use.

00 to 07 00 00 5A 4A 02 48 B7 53 Defines the galaxy you are in. (this number is doubled for each galactic jump, until seven jumps are done, then reset to the above.)
08 to 09 0000 to 00FF Defines which planet you are currently at.
0A 00 to 3F Flags. (see note 1.)
0C to 0F 00000000 to 7FFFFFFF Your cash in tenths of a credit.
13 00 to 49 Your fuel level in tenth of a light year (0 to 7.3 LY).
15 00 to 1D Your missiles available (0 to 29).
17 00 or 01 Large cargo bay present (01) or not (00).
19 00 or 01 ECM system present or not.
1B 00 to 0F Pulse Lasers. (see note 2.)
1D 00 to 0F Beam Lasers. (see note 2.)
1F 00 or 01 Fuel scoop present or not.
21 00 or 01 Escape capsule present or not.
23 00 or 01 Energy bomb present or not.
25 00 to 02 Energy unit present or not. (02 is Naval Energy unit.)(see note 3.)
27 00 or 01 Docking computer present or not.
29 00 or 01 Galactic Hyperdrive present or not.
2B 00 to 0F Mining Lasers. (see note 2.)
2D 00 to 0F Military Lasers. (see note 2.)
2F 00 or 01 Retro rockets present or not.
31 00 or 01 ECM Jammer present or not.
33 00 or 01 Cloaking device present or not.
34 to 37 See note 3. Amount of food you are carrying.
38 to 3B See note 3. Textiles.
3C to 3F See note 3. Radioactives.
40 to 43 See note 3. Slaves.
44 to 47 See note 3. Wines.
48 to 4B See note 3. Luxuries.
4C to 4F See note 3. Narcotics.
50 to 53 See note 3. Computers.
54 to 57 See note 3. Machinary.
58 to 5B See note 3. Alloys.
5C to 5F See note 3. Firearms.
60 to 63 See note 3. Furs.
64 to 67 See note 3. Minerals.
68 to 6B See note 3. Gold.
6C to 6F See note 3. Platinum.
70 to 73 See note 3. Gems.
74 to 77 See note 3. Alien Goods.
78 to 7B See note 3. Medical supplies.
7C to 7F See note 3. Unhappy Refugees. (See Mission 3)
80 to 83 See note 4. Thargoid papers. (See Mission 2)
85 00 to FF Legal status (above $32 is fugitive, $00 is clean.)
8B 00 to 08 Combat rating.
91 00 to 05 Next mission number.
93 00 to 51 Present mission details. (see below for explanations.)
95 00 to FF See data on the missions below.
97 00 to 40 Number of hyperspace jumps before the next mission.
99 00 to 3B Game time in seconds.
9B 00 to 3B Game time in minutes.
9D 00 to 17 Game time in hours.
9F 00 to FF Game time in days.
AD 00 to 1D Cursor type. Usable cursor types are 00 to 04.
AE 00 Put 01 here to give yourself 'eternal' retro rockets.


Mission details.

Mission 1.

This mission is to find and kill a ship. The EMC jammer is ineffective for this ship. Best method to kill it is to follow it until you come out of hyperspace and have a 'CONDITION RED' immeadiately, stop dead and turn to face the attacking vessel, open up with forward laser until the ship changes from a grey blob, when this happens, use the retro rocket so it doesn't fire at you and continue to fire at it. Be careful as it drops a cargo canister when it explodes. There is a 400 credit bounty and 10000 credit reward for the ships destruction.

The following table shows the details.

Location. Contents. Meaning.

93 11 Start of mission.
12 Mission not accepted.
13 Next planet is stored in 95.
14 Final planet is stored in 95.

Mission 2.

This mission is to deliver a set of papers to a space station, usually as far from where you are, as possible. When this mission is accepted, you ship is refueled and stocked with 4 missiles. On completion, any energy unit installed is replaced by a NAVAL ENERGY UNIT.

The table below shows the details.

Location. Contents. Meaning.

93 21 Start of mission. The final planet is stored in 95.

The cheating way to complete this mission is to change location 09 to the number in 95, leave the space station and then re-dock.

Mission 3.

This mission is proceded by a fuel leak. You are supposed to refuel at the star, as the space station will not allow you to refuel there. Select your hyperspace destination before leaving the station as you only have eleven seconds to do the jump. Any cargo is lost when the mission is accepted. 1Kg of gems is given as the reward.

The table below shows the relavent data.

Location. Contents. Meaning.

93 31 Start of mission.
32 Mission not accepted.
33 Mission accepted.
34 Mission complete.

Mission 4.

This mission is to kill a ship. The ship has a cloaking device so missiles are useless. The best method is to repeat the process as in mission 1.

Location. Contents. Meaning.

93 41 Start of mission.

Mission 5.

In version 1.02 there is a bug preventing the completion of this mission. The only way to finish this mission is to clear the mission control location (93) and set the next mission location (91) to 06.

Notes.

1. Bit 0 Turns effects on and off.
Bit 1 Turns damping on and off.
Bit 2 Turns auto-centring on and off.
Bit 3 Reverses the dive/climb on and off
Bit 4 Enables fast or slow docking.
Bit 5 Enables the docking sequence.

2. Bit 0 controls front laser.
Bit 1 controls rear laser.
Bit 2 controls left laser.
Bit 3 controls right laser.

3. These locations store the amount of goods available in grams. The legal range is between 00 00 00 00 and 02 16 0E C0, 0 to 35 million grammes. It is possible to carry substantially more than the 35 tonne limit. If the cargo is collected in canisters, set any of the clear cargo locations to 0F and reset it to 00 after the cargo has been collected. The maximum cargo able to be carried is 4294 tonnes, 967 kilos and 295 grammes. To do this, set the cargo locations to FF FF FF FF. DO NOT DO THIS FOR GEMSTONES. When selling the cargo, there may be a substantial delay as the actual value is calculated.

4. This location decides whether documents are on board or not. If the escape capsule is used, the documents are transfered to the escape capsule.

[simonsunnyboy]

I personally wouldn't recommend cheating. Elite is such a marvellous game that cheating or using a patched game will destroy much of the fun and satisfaction you will gain from a proper game.

I know 'coz I used a patched game to gain the docking computer as I was too dump to dock manually

Stay tuned for a translation of Keili's scan. Perhaps I'll post it later today.

[RetroGamerUK]

The Pompey Pirates 02 disk has Elite..... with a built in hacker (Hacker v1.0) which is accessed by pressing the [num pad *] key.
Since I do not have an uncracked version of Elite for the ST, would this Hacker do the trick?
I may try this "cheating" as I cannot be bothered playing it for ages and never seeing a single damned mission!, cheers for that!

[unseenmenace]

Isn't the editor accessed by pressing * in the origianl game? The Pompey Pirates presumably just hacked it so you don't need to type the "SARA" access code to enable it.

[RetroGamerUK]

I don't have the original ST version, anyone care to "lend" me a copy (image)?

[simonsunnyboy]

Yo folks,

here my translation of Keili's scan. I left out the uninteresting bits in the text.

Translation of Keili's scan

[...]
The goal of Elite is to reach the rank of ELITE as soon as possible.
To reach this goal there are 5 missions in the game that the player should accept and fulfill in order to become ELITE. It is evident that the player should be fully able to fly the Cobra MKIII in any situation. Make sure you have installed the following equipment before attempting the first mission:

• military laser front and aft
  ECM
  docking computer
  energy unit
  fuel scoop (NOTE: Always useful to add cargo and fuel to your ship!)
  intergalactic hyperdrive

1. Mission: Search'n'Destroy the Constrictor
This mission will lead you through several galaxies. While chasing the Constrictor craft, you'll get a next destination communique at every station you dock. Visit these systems one after another. As soon as you have found the Constrictor, it will appear as a Thargoid ship on your radar. Take care as the Constrictor has awesome firepower - about the same as a Thargoid so beware. Destroy the Constrictor and dock to the next station to gain a reward of 10000 credits.
NOTE: I think I've read somewhere that one can collect equipment from the blasted Constrictor. However as far as I remember all I could get into my hold where computers I could sell.


2. Mission: Transport vital and secret Thargoid documents
The player needs fiercy tactics to hold out and survive. It is helpful to equip your ship with retro rockets.
As soon as you have the documents, only Thargoids will attack you from now on. NOTE: And up to 4 of them at a time!
The best tactic is to point your ship's aft at the planet, use the retrorockets and fire at the Thargoid ships to keep them at bay. Use the docking computer as soon as possible (in FAST mode I add).
Transfer the documents. You will gain a Naval Energy Unit that will charge your energy as twice as fast as the normal unit.

3. Mission: Save a station crew from a supernova
You cannot get this mission at a station. The player has to look for it himself.
Look for your Elite Score. Around 270000 points, you should lookout for mission 3. Look on the local star chart for a star that is going to become a Supernova soon. Find and fly to it. The message "Fuel leak" will appear. Fly to the sun and scope up fuel.
Now fly to the station and pick up the people there. Launch and immediately jump to a target system. The sun will go supernova in 15 seconds so you have to be fast. At successful docking somewhere else you'll get a reward of 1kg of gem stones. NOTE: Normally you buy those in gram quantities

4. Mission: Search'n'Destroy the Cougar
When you enter a space station, you will be told that there is a special ship in orbit which can cloak itself and jam other ship's systems. The player can decide if he wants to fulfil this mission. You are not forced to accept it. However it is impossible to reach ELITE without blasting the Cougar.
To find the Cougar, point your ship at the sun and use the short distance jump. You'll detect 3 ships on your scanner then. The Cougar and with 98% probability two Asp MKII.
Blast the ASPs with an energy bomb and, important, use the retro rockets. Target the cougar and open fire. Use the retro rockets when the Cougar opens fire. Stop firing as soon as the Cougar explodes or you will destroy precious cargo containers. Use the fuel scoop to collect the containers and get the cloaking device. Use key 'Z' to activate the cloak. (NOTE: I don't know for which keyboard layout that goes, I assume German one but would try out anyway.) It takes a lot of energy to cloak so choose wisely when to activate it.

5. Mission: Destroy a station invaded by Thargoids
Someday you'll get a message that the Thargoids have started to invade the galaxy. Make sure your Cobra is fully equipped with the cloaking device, 4 rockets, military lasers, naval energy unit and enough fuel to run.
From now on, all orbital statations are occupied by Thargoids. Their appearance will alter as well. Fly to a planet with a high industrial rating (12 or so). On your way, Thargoids will attack you so it might be useful to reuse your tactics from the documents mission.
Use missiles to destroy the station when in range. Thargoid occupied stations have no ECM fitted. Make sure the station has been destroyed. You will gain an ECM jammer that will deactivate ECM systems on other ships. Press 'L' to actviate the jammer.
NOTE: I suppose one has to fill up at the sun in order to leave the system as you will destroy the only station.

Generic notes:
In a "Drive malfunction" situation, you are in deep trouble. Keep the Thargoids at bay while your systems will be repaired automatically. Select a new hyperspace destination and attempt to hyperspace after 5-10mins. Sooner or later the drive will work again.

Later in the game it is wise not to use the escape pod. You will use all your ELITE score to go for the next mission. The score will still display but you will have to collect as much points again. Next mission every 90000 points so if you have 80000 and use the escape pod, you'll have to make 180000 for the mission. Destroy enemy ships to gain score.

Do not buy the cute Trumbles. They will breed and occupy your cargo hold. Fly to the sun to roast them in order to make a ball of furs out of them. That is a rumor and noone will guarantee it will work.

[...]

To the beginner, the following ships are dangerous and mostly deadly: (Target them and press 'I' to get a ship ID)

• Asp MKII
  Wolf MKII
  Thargoid

They are deadly in 90% of all cases so save your game everytime you dock!

NOTE: I personally don't think the Asp is that dangerous. Beware of Geckos, I think those are more deadly. You can kill an Asp with a missile which won't work on Geckos.

If a Thargoid spreads small daugther ships, you will be able to scoop them up to get "Alien Items" in your cargo hold.

....

Some more personal tips by Simon Sunnyboy:

* Do not attempt piracy in democracy or corporate state worlds. Choose Feudal or Anarchy.
* Do not shoot space stations. You won't be allowed to dock with the computer then and the police will come to shoot you.
* If you pirated in a system (blasting yellow cargo ships), the police will probably appear near the station. You can only dock manually then if you manage to survive.
* Buy a fuel scoop soon and collect cargo canisters when you blast an enemy. Get precious cargo for free. A simple Sidewinder worth 5 credits of bounty might turn into a 150 credits fortune if you sell its cargo of machinery or computers.
* Avoid selling firearms, slaves and narcotics at friendly worlds. Feudal or Anarchy won't care.
* Safest worlds are either democracy or corporate state. Less pirates will attack you on your way.
* Always use the ID feature of your gun sight to check who is attacking you.
* Blast Thargoids and Wolf MKII first if you detect any in a formation.
* The cargo hold expansion is a must-have for any privateer scooping up cargo.
* If you want to buy goods yourself, check your planned destination first to decide which goods to buy. Food won't sell on an agricultural world
* Save early, save often!
* The Atari ST version offers RAMSAVE which is rather quick. Use it if playing on a real machien, just don't forget to save to disk before switching the machine off.


Have fun, Elite rulez hard!

[keili]

I would start with a cheat in Elite. You'll need much practice to survive a Targoid-attack.

[unseenmenace]

If you are gonna use the hacker then you can just keep giving yourself smart bombs to kill enemies and retro's to get out of danger.

[simonsunnyboy]

My own experience with Elite is that using a hacked game kills the fun.
But do as you wish ofcourse