Elite

Game Overview

The aim is simple: trade, amass money and progress from Harmless to Elite via Mostly Harmless, Poor, Average, Above Average, Competent, Dangerous and Deadly. During your voyages between planets you will encounter numerous pirates. The level of piracy surrounding a planet is closely linked with its political status. There are:

Generally speaking, piracy is lowest around corporate worlds. You start with little money and basic armaments. To become elite you must arm your ship to the hilt and complete 5 missions.

Your first game might proceed as follows:

On the other end of the intergalactic jump:

Software Security Codes

Originally, the game asked for a word taken from a specific place in the novella. The following table lists some of the commonly requested words, it shouldn't take more than a few attempts to start the game. Words are referenced by page number, paragraph number, paragraph line number and position within the line.

Software Security Words
Page Paragraph Line Word
06111welcome
07113fire
07414fills
08324banks
09311the
09312rating
14342for
14344favourable
15115return
16133favourable
17111on
27112pirate
29153for
33324sequence
34411an
34427the
36212is
37112it
37241pressing
44113cobra
44142may
46114under

Game Controls

ActionKey
Cancel roll Right mouse button
Fire retro-rocketsR
Front view F1
Rear view F2
Left view F3
Right view F4
Hyperspace H
Intergalactic jumpG then H
Jump drive J
Distance to systemD
Cursor cross home B
Galactic chart F5
Local chart F6
Target missile T
Fire missile M
Unarm missile U
ECM E
Energy bomb Tab
Escape capsule Q
Docking computer C
ID computer I
Radar magnify Z
Increase speed Space Bar
Decrease speed /
Game status W

Cheat

This appeared in the October 1990 issue of ST Format. When asked for a word from the novella type SARA and continue. At any point in the game you can press '*' on the numeric keypad to enter 'Hacker v1'. You can now use the following codes:

OldNewResult
3335Cloaking device
3031ECM jammer
2021Escape capsule
2830Galactic hyperspace
2325Energy bomb
2530Energy unit
2630Docking computer
1930ECM system
1730Large cargo bay
1F30Fuel scoop
2F30Retro rockets
134E7.6 light years fuel
151717 missiles
7180Sell this for cash