I've played Elite on and off over the years, without ever really getting anywhere. It's a great game, but I never quite mastered it and therefore never explored as much of the galaxy as I could, or should have. I remember watching one of my mates play it though, and he was pretty awesome at it. His skills meant that watching those dogfights was pretty exciting!
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| Please don't crash. Please don't crash. Bet you I crash. |
I've searched for accessible Elite-type games ever since, and none has quite hit the spot. Freelancer came pretty close, I have to admit. The X series was also a good attempt. I've chipped in to a Kickstarter called Drifter that looks pretty promising, too. And then there's Oolite, which I really need to spend more time with. So the space pirate genre is well catered for, but for this book, I need to go back to the beginning.
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| Can't we all just get along? |
But it might serve a wider purpose right now if I play a range of games released by Elite Systems Ltd. Some of the Spectrum's most revered programmers were in their stable, knocking out a huge number of successful arcade conversions and original games. It would do me some good to get a batch of screenshots and I'd probably have more fun into the bargain. It's not that Elite isn't fun, it's just not as... immediate.
On a different note, I've been contacted by a programmer offering support, quotes and, crucially, contacts. This is a big step forward, even at this early stage, and I'm very grateful for that. If I can get everybody on board as willingly and easily as that, I'll be a happy man. Of course, the road ahead is probably about as smooth as a level of Moon Patrol...
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