BBC Elite - Acornsoft

The BBC cassette tape version of Elite was first released by Acornsoft in September 1984. Although it followed the regular Acornsoft box design on the outside, what the box contained set a new standard for computer games. The higher than usual price tag was more than justified when the entire Elite experience was realised.

The BBC version of Elite featured a clever piece of programming which enabled two display modes to appear simultaneously on screen.

The lower part of the screen was in the BBC's Mode 5, which allowed four colours at a resolution of 160 pixels across the screen. The upper section was in Mode 4, which provided 2 colours but twice the resolution.

This enabled the space scenes to be shown in greater detail, while the scanner section added some welcome colour to the display.

The tape version differed from the disc version as follows:-

• Reduced variety of ships - Cobra Mk III, Mamba, Python, Sidewinder, Thargoid, Viper
• Only one type of space station - Coriolis
• No secret missions
• No military lasers
• No mining lasers
• No loading delays during game

As with all other games on tape, loading the game was a laborious process, taking around 5 minutes to complete. Due to the nature of the cassette medium, no further loading took place at any stage, meaning docking and hyperspacing took place without delay. This was the reason why a number of features were missing compared to the disc version, as the latter loaded in fresh data during the game.

In the UK, many BBC micros in the 1980s used cassette tapes to load and save programs, and this included commercial software such as Elite. The downside to this was the ease with which copies could be made of tapes, simply by using a tape-to-tape machine. Even original tapes could suffer from unreliability when used with a substandard tape deck. The piracy angle was somewhat reduced, as far as Elite was concerned, by the amazing package that the game came with.

The arrival of Elite heralded a new concept in game presentation. Instead of just the game media and an instruction sheet, Elite came packaged with a hefty manual, a novella based on the game, a ship poster and various other items.

Click on the image to the left to view the complete BBC Micro cassette tape Elite package.

Each copy of Acornsoft Elite came with a competition entry card, which was to be completed and posted to Acornsoft by any Commander with a ranking of 'Competent' or higher.
For each month from September 1984 (the game's release) to March 1985, the Commander judged to have shown the most skill could win £100 of Acornsoft software and an 'Elite' emblem. The monthly winners would then be entered into the national Elite tournament, to be held in April 1985.
The entry card for the BBC cassette tape version was blue, whereas it was green for the Acorn Electron and brown for the BBC disc version. Along with the other box contents, this was part of Acornsoft's attempts to reduce software piracy, by making the entire package desirable, rather than just the game itself. The security code referred to on the card was displayed automatically by the game, each time the Commander saved their progress.

BBC Elite - Superior Software

In 1986, Superior Software re-released the BBC version of Elite, with redesigned box artwork and cut-down contents.

The program itself was exactly the same as the original Acornsoft version but due to the smaller box, the printed material present in the 1984 package was largely absent. To compensate partly for this, the price of the re-released version was reduced from the original £14.95 to £12.95.

Playing BBC Elite on your PC

Running BBC Elite on your PC can be done in two easy steps:
1. Download BeebEm to emulate a BBC on your PC
2. Download the game from Mark Moxon's amazing BBC Elite website

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