http://www.channel4.com/bits/bitslater35elite1.htm webposted 21/12/00 Elite Interview Part One The Bits Brain: Viewer Questions Answered Is it possible to blow up a space station? (Andrew Brain) David Braben: No. It would have had too many repercussions in the game – but it would also have taken more memory! Ian Bell: The intention was to disallow it and I think it *was* impossible on the 6502 versions. Bugs may exist in other versions. Just how in Sam Hill did you manage to cram an entire universe in to the archaic, 64K, claustrophobic cubbyhole that was the BBC model B!?! (Rob) DB: The BBC only had 32K, and 16K of that was normally needed for the screen. We designed a special screen mode for "Elite" that only used 10K, so we had a massive 22K to play with. The game was written in assembly language (which is much more efficient than today’s C++). Also the galaxies were not stored, they were generated from ‘pseudo random’ data. There’s more info on this on our website. IB: There was 32K available for the cassette version, and 6K of that went for screenmap. As is now widely known, the game universe was generated from simple rules applied to a single seed value rather than stored. We spent a lot of time compacting the code. If you achieved the ranking of Elite you got a code that you sent off the makers of the game. How many players do you know of reached Elite status? DB: Huge numbers. In the office in which they were being dealt with, the postcard competition entry forms were mostly from people who had reached ‘Elite’, and they were piled high to the ceiling all around the room, but I don’t know the figures. IB: I don't know how many reached Elite. If I can find out I'll add this to the FAQ on my Elite website at www.ibell.co.uk/elite. In the manuals, it mentioned Generation or Sleeper ships traveling between the stars. Was this just a wind up or where there actual ships in the game? (Jon Lunn) DB: The manual and stories (written by Rob Holdstock) did a lot of scene-setting that was independent of the game, and it did mention Generation Ships, Rock Hermits and a few other things. We added Rock Hermits to some of the later versions, but Generation Ships never existed. IB: Tall tales in the playground were/are part of the game's mystique. The answer to your question is "Yes". Will we see Elite on a mobile phone in the near future? DB: You never know! IB: I hope so. Do you play many modern games? And if so, what is your favourite? Do you have a vast collection of every space sim and subconsciously rate it against Elite? DB: I do tend to look at other space sims, and I suppose can’t avoid comparing them against the Elite series. I do play modern games, but I find the majority not to be very compelling. Some games are great in multi-player, but the last game I really enjoyed and spent many hours on was Zelda. IB: No. The last game I played was Doom. I don't keep track of the spacesim genre. Do you look at the many Elite related sites out there? If so do you have any favourites? (Matt Dibb) DB: I do occasionally read (and post) to alt.fan.elite – the USENET newsgroup, and recognise Matt’s name from there. It is great to see all the Elite and Frontier sites that people have lovingly crafted. IB: I browse them sometimes. I prefer the pure Elite sites without Frontier elements. When the game originally came out on Acornsoft it appeared to be the bastard child of two earlier hits on the label - David's earlier Starship Command (The energy bank system is similar) and Geoff "GP3" Crammond's wireframe Spitfire sim The Aviator. Come on, admit it - was Geoff's game at least a partial inspiration for Elite 1.0? (Mike Auber) DB: "Starship Command" was written by Peter Irvin, not myself, and "Elite" was largely complete when I first saw "Aviator". I don’t think the "Starship Command" energy bank system was particularly inspirational – it is only a bar graph, after all, and I used a similar system in my 3D space game "Fighter" – a precursor to "Elite" – before "Starship Command" was written. The explosions in "Starship Command" were definitely inspirational, though, as was the very important idea of only having 256 pixels across the render area to make rendering faster – though we did take this a step further by reprogramming the display. IB: "Starship Command" was by Peter Irvin. An artful game that I played a lot. I was aware of the strong energy bar similarity but it was the best way on that machine to convey an energy level. We first saw Aviator when Elite was nearing completion, it in no way "inspired" Elite. Click here to go back to Part Two. To get more information or give David or Ian your feedback go to: Frontier Devlopements website. Ian Bell's Website. Bits would like to thank David and Ian for their kind support for this interview. http://www.channel4.com/bits/bitslater35elite2.htm The Bits Brain: The Bits Brain's Questions Do you think that it would still be possible for just two people to create a hit game? DB: Yes, "Rollercoaster Tycoon", written by Chris Sawyer together with a graphics artist was the best selling game in the USA in 1999. IB: Yes. If they take a road less trodden. Are the best games ones that have an element of depth to them? DB: I think depth is important, but ‘best’ is very much a personal, subjective thing. It is usually the intangible properties of a game that make it appeal to me I think, and a consistent immersive world is what is needed to draw me in, at least. This is why I liked Zelda. IB: "Best" is subjective. I think depth is important, but many deeply superficial things are extremely popular so perhaps I’m mistaken. To you ever think that you could top Elite? Yes. IB: That's the plan. Why do you think that Elite is the only old game that ranks alongside very recent releases like Final Fantasy VII and Zelda 64? DB: "Elite" has a place in people’s hearts, as I think it was the first game that people played continuously for a long period of time; it was the first game where you could identify with your character. It was one of the first to use saved positions to preserve your character over a long period of time, and it was perhaps the first game not to have a score. IB: A good 3D combat system combined with a core simplicity of design. Looking back, was Elite the future of computer games? DB: Very definitely yes. Interestingly it was a hard game to get published. We were told by, for example Thorn EMI, that they were not interested as people wanted a game that typically took 3 minutes to play through, that had a score, that had multiple lives. They thought people would not be bothered with saved positions, that the game was far too complicated – but these turned out to be its strengths. IB: No. It broke new ground is all. We don’t yet know the future of computer games. How would the game have been different without the technical limitations of the time? DB: A difficult question. Clearly it would have had more content, more missions, better graphics – the list is endless – indeed the development may have been endless. ‘More’ is not always a good thing, so it is difficult to say. A more important issue is what would the competition have been like – and would the game have stood out so well if the competition also was without technical limitations? IB: That is impossible to say. The technical limitations defined it. How do you still rate Elite and are you bored of talking about it? DB: I think "Elite" has stood the test of time, particularly as it was so different to its contemporaries. There is a factor which irritates me sometimes, though. Many people recount features of "Frontier" (the first sequel to "Elite") and describe them as coming from "Elite" – the criminal records, for example. One magazine last year (I think) even had a picture of "Frontier" captioned as if it was from "Elite", but I suppose it is no big deal! The basic concept behind the "Elite" series of games is sound, and we are working on a further sequel at the moment, so no, I’m not bored of "Elite"! IB: I'm not familiar enough with modern games to rate it comparatively. If it does stand up that’s as much an indictment of modern game design as it is testament to our work. I'm not bored of talking about it. It seems to have given a lot of people a lot of pleasure and that's what game design is all about. Click here to go back to Part One. To get more information or give David or Ian your feedback go to: Frontier Devlopements website. Ian Bell's Website. Bits would like to thank David and Ian for their kind support for this interview.