Bringing all the best Elite hacks together in one feature-packed disc
The Elite Compendium is a collection of the very best of Acornsoft Elite, updated with as many hacks and enhancements as I've been able to fit in. If you're looking to play 8-bit Elite, then this is a pretty good place to start.
The Compendium is available in three versions: one for the BBC Master, one for the BBC Micro with 16K of sideways RAM, and one for the Acorn Electron with 16K of sideways RAM. The BBC Master version contains the following goodies:
and the BBC Micro version looks like this:
The two BBC versions of the Compendium are similar, but the BBC Micro version comes with BBC Micro cassette Elite instead of BBC Master Elite.
The Acorn Electron version of the Compendium currently consists of just one game, which contains all the features from the BBC Micro version and more (so that's Thargoids, suns, missions, lots of ships and plenty of other backported goodies). See the Compendium version of Acorn Electron Elite for details.
All the extra features in the Compendium have been backported from other versions of 6502 Elite, so everything is part of the official Elite canon.
These are the most important extra features in the Compendium:
| Feature | Details | Taken from |
|---|---|---|
| Flicker-free | I've added flicker-free ships and planets using the algorithm from the BBC Master (read more about flicker-free Elite) | BBC Master |
| Music | I've added the music from the Commodore 64 version, with two different tunes and options to swap tunes, disable music and change the volume (read more about musical Elite) | Commodore 64 |
| Volume | I've added volume control for all sound effects (pause the game and use "<" and ">" to change the volume of music and sound effects) | BBC Master |
| Trumbles | I've backported the non-sprite version of the Trumbles mission from the NES version (read more about the Trumbles mission) | NES |
| Docking | I've backported a number of docking computer improvements from the NES version, to make auto-docking a bit more enjoyable:
| NES |
| Fuel scoops | Fuel scoops will only work when you are moving, which makes a lot more sense | NES |
| Joysticks | When joysticks are enabled, the "fire laser" key on the keyboard is no longer disabled, so you can have one hand on the stick and one on the keyboard | BBC Master |
| Delta 14B | Taking inspiration from Angus Duggan's Elite-A, I've added full support for the Voltmace Delta 14B joystick, so if you are lucky enough to own one of these and the accompanying 14B/1 adaptor box, you can now fly your Cobra Mk III without relying on the keyboard | Elite-A |
These improvements appear in all versions of Elite in the Compendium, with the exception of BBC Micro cassette Elite (which doesn't include the Trumbles as this version doesn't include any mission at all) and the Acorn Electron version (which doesn't include music, volume control or Delta 14B support).
There are quite a few other features in the Compendium, so here's a breakdown of everything you get on the disc:
| Version | Extra enhancements in the Elite Compendium |
|---|---|
| BBC Master 128 Elite |
|
| 6502 Second Processor Elite |
|
| BBC Micro disc Elite |
|
| BBC Micro cassette Elite |
|
| Acorn Electron Elite |
|
| Teletext Elite |
|
| Elite Universe Editor |
|
Because of the extra memory required by all these Elite hacks, the Compendium needs a BBC Master 128, a BBC Micro with 16K of sideways RAM, or an Acorn Electron with 16K of sideways RAM. You will also need a 6502 co-processor if you want to play the 6502 Second Processor version of Elite or the BBC Micro version of the Elite Universe Editor.
Apart from Teletext Elite and the Elite Universe Editor, all of the hacks included in the Compendium are 100% canon - they are all taken from official versions of 6502 Elite, as noted above. This means they were all written by Elite's authors, Ian Bell and David Braben (with Aidan Bell and Julie Dunn composing the music). So, for example, the flicker-free drawing algorithm is from BBC Master Elite, the music comes from the Commodore 64 version, the docking computer enhancements are from the NES version, the red enemy lasers are from the 6502 Second Processor version, and so on.
So the Compendium is effectively a Greatest Hits of the original Elite, and in terms of gameplay, nothing new has been added; it's all original Bell and Braben brilliance, just backported to work on the BBC Master and BBC Micro.
What else is on the disc?
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The Compendium also contains three commander files on drive 0, which you can load into any version of Elite via the save and load menu (press "Y" on the title screen or press "@" when docked):
- MISS1 is for those who want to play the Constrictor mission; load it, launch from the station, dock once again (you have a docking computer) and the mission will start.
- MISS2 is for those who want to play the Thargoid Plans mission, and you can trigger it in the same way.
- MAX is a maxed-out commander to let you hit the ground running.
All of these commanders will also trigger the Trumbles mission when you dock:
If you load MISS1 or MISS2, then the Trumble mission will be offered on your second docking, as the first docking will trigger the missions shown above; if you load MAX, then the Trumbles will be offered on your first docking. Remember that the Compendium implements instant docking with the docking computer, so the quickest way to trigger a mission is to load the relevant commander file, then press f0 to launch, "C" to activate the docking computer, "J" to insta-dock, and then you will be offered the mission.
The BBC versions of the Compendium also contain a full collection of universe files on drive 2, which you can load into the Elite Universe Editor. See the Universe Editor instructions for details.