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⌂ ∞ ▽ Elite on the 6502

Playing the Elite Compendium

How to download and play the Elite Compendium

A Transporter leaving the space station on the BBC Master in the Elite Compendium

You can play the Elite Compendium in a web browser, or on a BBC Master 128 or BBC Micro (for the latter you'll need a model B or B+ with 16K of sideways RAM, or a B+128). Here are your options:

To load the Elite Compendium, insert the disc image and press SHIFT-D-BREAK (or SHIFT-D-F12 on most emulators). The disc will automatically load if you're playing it in a browser. The menu system will show you all the available options, and you can either read more information by highlighting an option and pressing the left or right arrow, or you can choose which option to run by pressing RETURN.

For the BBC Master version, all options work on a standard BBC Master 128 except for 6502 Second Processor Elite, which needs a BBC Master Turbo (i.e. a BBC Master 128 with an internal 65C102 Second Processor) or a BBC Master 128 with an external 6502 Second Processor.

For the BBC Micro version, all options work on a BBC Micro with 16K of sideways RAM except for 6502 Second Processor Elite (which needs sideways RAM and a 6502 Second Processor) and the Elite Universe Editor (which needs a 6502 Second Processor).

Commander files for the game are on drive 0, while universe files for the Universe Editor are on drive 2. When playing Teletext Elite or BBC Micro Elite, ensure that the disc is inserted when launching or docking, so the game can load the correct files (just as with the original BBC Micro disc version).

Note that the Elite Compendium needs sideways RAM, so it is not suitable for an unexpanded BBC Micro. Also, note that not all sideways RAM solutions are supported (see the section below for more details).

Using a Delta 14B joystick
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All versions of Elite in the Compendium support the Voltmace Delta 14B joystick and Delta 14B/1 adaptor box:

The Voltmace Delta 14B joystick and 14B/1 adaptor box

The Compendium lets you use the buttons on the Delta 14B for the most important flight controls, so you don't have to keep reaching for the keyboard. You use the joystick part for flying and moving the chart crosshairs, and you use the buttons for the following:

Delta 14B buttons in the Elite Compendium

You can download a PDF of these controls for easy reference, or here they are in text form:

  Fire laser                                    Fire laser
  Slow down              Fire laser             Speed up
  Unarm missile          Fire missile           Target missile
  Front view             E.C.M.                 Rear view
  Docking computer off   In-system jump         Docking computer on

To get all this working, you will need both a Delta 14B joystick and a Delta 14B/1 adaptor box, as well as a real BBC Micro or BBC Master, as no emulators currently support the Delta 14B system. If you don't already have these, then the joysticks pop up on eBay reasonably regularly, but the adaptor box can be really hard to find. Luckily you can buy modern reproductions of the 14B/1 from Stardot legend ukwebb; see this Stardot thread for details. I have one of his adaptor boxes (it's in the picture above), and I can highly recommend it.

To set everything up for Elite, first make sure your computer is switched off, and then connect the 14B/1 adaptor box to the analogue port and plug the ribbon cable into the user port. Next, attach your Delta 14B joystick to the rear socket; don't attach it to the side socket, as that isn't supported.

Now load any version of Elite from the Compendium and start the game. While you are still docked, configure the game to use the Delta 14B by pausing the game with COPY, pressing "L" (which will give a confirmation beep), and then pressing DELETE to unpause the game. You can now enjoy the future of gaming, 1984-style.

To switch back to the keyboard, repeat the COPY-L-DELETE process. You can still use the keyboard controls while using the Delta 14B, with the exception of the steering, which has to be done with the stick.

Note that because the Elite Compendium supports instant docking when you have a docking computer fitted, so does the Delta 14B. To dock instantly, simply press the bottom-right button to enable the docking computer, and then press the middle-bottom button to skip the docking sequence and dock. This is about as convenient as docking gets...

Notes on sideways RAM
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When loading Elite, the Compendium will check for the presence of sideways RAM, and if successful it will load a ROM image into sideways RAM and ask you to press a key to play the game. If the game can't find any sideways RAM, then it will tell you and give up. Note that your sideways RAM must be writeable, so if you are on a BBC Micro and have a read/write switch fitted, make sure it's in the write-enable position.

Note that the game will only work with sideways RAM that uses the ROMSEL latch at SHEILA &FE30 to switch banks. The BBC Master's sideways RAM is fine, but some types of BBC Micro sideways RAM use the RAMSEL latch at SHEILA &FE32, while others use the user port at SHEILA &FE60 and &FE62, and I'm afraid there just isn't enough free memory in Elite to support all these different styles of sideways RAM. In particular, owners of Solidisk or Watford Electronics sideways RAM may be out of luck here.

Release history
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The Elite Compendium has had the following releases:

  • 2024-01-11 - Initial release
  • 2024-01-12 - Fixed the Data on System bug in the 6502 Second Processor version
  • 2024-05-04 - Fixed an issue with corrupted ship rotation on the BBC Master version
  • 2024-05-15 - Fixed the Moray bug from the original BBC Master and 6502 Second Processor versions, and fixed an issue with Thargoids corrupting the screen in the BBC Master version
  • 2024-05-17 - Fixed an issue with Thargoids corrupting the screen in the 6502 Second Processor version
  • 2024-06-30 - Added the joystick fire button fix to the BBC Micro, Teletext and 6502 Second Processor versions, and fixed the volume controls in the 6502 Second Processor version
  • 2024-06-30 - Released the Compendium for the BBC Micro with 16K sideways RAM
  • 2024-07-01 - Updated BBC Micro version to work with IntegraB board
  • 2024-07-08 - Added all Compendium-specific features to the BBC Micro disc, Teletext and 6502 Second Processor versions
  • 2024-07-10 - Added all applicable Compendium-specific features to the BBC Micro cassette version
  • 2024-07-12 - Applied the volume setting to explosions in all the BBC Micro versions, as they weren't being muted
  • 2024-08-27 - Fixed a minor issue with the BOXART2 universe file that would make it take up more memory than required
  • 2024-11-02 - Added Delta 14B support to all versions of Elite

You can check the release for a given disc image by loading the disc and typing *TYPE README to display the credits. The build date is at the end.

Known issues
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On the BBC Master, the buttons on the Delta 14B can sometimes be a little flaky (though the BBC Micro is fine). Specifically, if you press the "go faster" button in the top-right, it can sometimes trigger the "target missile" button just below it. I've also seen it trigger the "rear view" button below that, but this is rarer. This is more of an annoyance than a problem, but it's worth knowing about.