The Frontier computer games were released by David Braben and Frontier Developments in the mid-1990s - Frontier Elite 2 in 1993 and Frontier First Encounters in 1995. Both games expanded considerably on the concept established by Elite in the 1980s
Graphically the games reflected the increase in computing power in the intervening decade and with memory capacity no longer such an issue the programmers could include far more content and gameplay
Frontier Elite 2
Frontier Elite II was released in 1993 as the long-awaited follow-up to Elite. This sequel was written by David Braben, who had co-authored the original Elite. In this new game, numerous new ideas were introduced
There were two galactic superpowers - the Federation and the Empire - who offered commanders military missions according to their combat experience. These missions included deliveries, espionage and bombing raids and could only be achieved by those commanders who had both the combat experience and a sufficiently well equipped ship to cope with the situation
Money could be made more quickly by trading in illegal goods on the black market but this was very risky as the threat of pirate and police activity increased. Other more legal ways of making money included mining precious metals from uninhabited planets and escorting people who advertised on bulletin boards to their chosen star system in custom built cabins on your ship
For the first time, the game was set in the real galaxy, with recognisable star names and systems including the solar system. Also for the first time, players could land on the planets as well as dock at orbital stations, and conduct their business there
Many new ships became available which the player could purchase if they had sufficient funds, giving the opportunity to specialise - in trading, piracy, missions, bounty hunting etc
Your aim? To make money, achieve Elite combat rating, gain promotion in the Federal and Imperial navies, or just have a good time exploring the galaxy
Click on the image to the right to view the complete IBM PC Frontier Elite 2 package
Frontier First Encounters
Frontier First Encounters improved and expanded many of the elements of Frontier Elite 2 with classified military missions and better graphics. It also introduced the third military power, the Alliance, who though offering no missions of their own offered the ultimate mission, to explore the Thargoid regions of space and investigate the disappearance of the previous commander who went ahead with these missions
This, together with other unique missions, introduced a degree of linearity to Frontier, whilst maintaining the freedom of movement and activity of FE2. There were also five journals, updated each month, tracking the activities of the military powers as well as reflecting the impact of some missions, in other words, getting the player in the newspapers!
Click on the image to the left to view the complete Frontier First Encounters package
When it was released, FFE was full of bugs but the versions available for download now run without too many problems, and those bugs that do remain can be regarded as quirks rather than fatal errors As mentioned, the best part of these games is the degree of freedom the player has within them The video to the right shows the FFE intro movie as displayed in the hi-res FFED3D version of the game
The above descriptions only scratch the surface of what they have to offer. Happily, after being unavailable for some considerable time, FE2 and FFE can be downloaded so everyone can enjoy the best games ever made - Frontier Elite II and Frontier First Encounters
