Oolite Bulletins

Not sure if this is the right forum to discuss Classic Elite in, but it seemed the closest fit.

Having recently discovered Mr. Bell's website and thence downloaded a ROM of the unreleased NTSC version of Elite for the NES, I discovered that the "Slaves" cargo had been renamed "Robot Slaves", yet remained as illegal to export as ever. Is this a peculiarity of the NES port, possibly to do with Nintendo's longstanding policy of only approving family-friendly games, or have similar changes also been made in other Elite versions?

BuggyBY wrote:

Not sure if this is the right forum to discuss Classic Elite in, but it seemed the closest fit.

Others do exist. Expect a link, shortly.

Edit: try this one: http://forums.frontier.co.uk/

BuggyBY wrote:

I discovered that the "Slaves" cargo had been renamed "Robot Slaves", yet remained as illegal to export as ever.

"Robot slaves"? WTF is a "robot slave"? I certainly don't pay the washing machine any money; not even my PC gets an income.

The Spectrum version of Elite definitely had proper living "slaves".

Hi BuggyBY
All the Elites that I have played (bbc, elk & spectrum) have included slaves, with the implication that they're human, bird, slimy poet etc, so I imagine that it must be a Nintendo thing to be a bit more PC
(Also is it possible to have a robot slave? I thought that by definition all robots are slaves although I'll need to check that fact with Asimov / a jawa )

Having read Ian Bells website he speaks very highly of this version - is it as good as suggested?

xzanfr wrote:

Having read Ian Bells website he speaks very highly of this version - is it as good as suggested?

While I've only played for a few minutes so far, it's certainly pretty easy to get blown up. The fact that the starting Cobra comes with a docking computer certainly makes that part of the early game less frustrating. Also, I don't remember the time-skip feature (a bit like a poor man's torus drive, and reminded me of the escort missions with the synced torus drives from [wiki]Escort Contracts OXP[/wiki]) from any other version I've had a look at. I haven't played any Classic Elite version for more than an hour total so far, though, so I'm not a good choice as reviewer.

I played NES Elite and there are indeed Robot Slaves and Narcotics were renamed Rare Species. As xzanfr mentioned, it is a PC thing.

CaptSolo wrote:

I played NES Elite and there are indeed Robot Slaves and Narcotics were renamed Rare Species. As xzanfr mentioned, it is a PC thing.

And does the ship still have lasers which are used to kill other pilots?

And are kills still awarded?

And does one get to Elite by trading food and soft toys to rich industrial systems and cartoon videos to poor agricultural economies ... or is it still by killing 6000+ pilots + crew + passengers?

Just wondering, like.

SandJ wrote:

"Robot slaves"? WTF is a "robot slave"?

My hard disk had a 'slave' option. But, as I dislike slavery, I never used that option.

SandJ wrote:

I certainly don't pay the washing machine any money; not even my PC gets an income.

You give them power as payment, don't you?

CaptSolo wrote:

... and there are indeed Robot Slaves and Narcotics were renamed Rare Species.

Hmm... I think I'd rather get busted for running narcotics than running rare species. Very odd!

El Viejo wrote:

Hmm... I think I'd rather get busted for running narcotics than running rare species. Very odd!

Rare species probably are described in the intergalactic version of the cites regulations. At least in europe you get busted when importing such rare goods without permission.

Eric Walch wrote:

At least in europe you get busted when importing such rare goods without permission.

Rightly so - that is a vile trade!

Eric Walch wrote:

El Viejo wrote:

Hmm... I think I'd rather get busted for running narcotics than running rare species. Very odd!

Rare species probably are described in the intergalactic version of the cites regulations. At least in europe you get busted when importing such rare goods without permission.

Here you only get fined on export... well, i suppose the bounty aspect is a greater deterrent than jail.

SandJ wrote:

CaptSolo wrote:

I played NES Elite and there are indeed Robot Slaves and Narcotics were renamed Rare Species. As xzanfr mentioned, it is a PC thing.

And does the ship still have lasers which are used to kill other pilots?

And are kills still awarded?

And does one get to Elite by trading food and soft toys to rich industrial systems and cartoon videos to poor agricultural economies ... or is it still by killing 6000+ pilots + crew + passengers?

Just wondering, like.

Game play wise, it is alike in every respect except for naming of those two illegal commodities. I believe Ian Bell rated this the best port for several reasons: More detailed HUD, game controller icon system, and it's use of character graphics rather than bitmaps.

SandJ wrote:

CaptSolo wrote:

I played NES Elite and there are indeed Robot Slaves and Narcotics were renamed Rare Species. As xzanfr mentioned, it is a PC thing.

And does the ship still have lasers which are used to kill other pilots?

And are kills still awarded?

And does one get to Elite by trading food and soft toys to rich industrial systems and cartoon videos to poor agricultural economies ... or is it still by killing 6000+ pilots + crew + passengers?

Just wondering, like.

Have you learned nothing from American TV & movies? Mentions of slavery and drugs, and seeing exposed female nipples are far more damaging to impressionable young minds than mass murder, blood, gore and violence..

Diziet Sma wrote:

Have you learned nothing from American TV & movies? Mentions of slavery and drugs, and seeing exposed female nipples are far more damaging to impressionable young minds than mass murder, blood, gore and violence..

Which is also true for American politics:

Which of the following two is grounds for impeaching a sitting American president:

• Ordering torture and allegedly committing war crimes;
• Having consensual oral sex with an intern.

You may choose only one of the above options.

Commander McLane wrote:

Diziet Sma wrote:

Have you learned nothing from American TV & movies? Mentions of slavery and drugs, and seeing exposed female nipples are far more damaging to impressionable young minds than mass murder, blood, gore and violence..

Which is also true for American politics:

Which of the following two is grounds for impeaching a sitting American president:

• Ordering torture and allegedly committing war crimes;
• Having consensual oral sex with an intern.

You may choose only one of the above options.

Speaking as an American citizen, I agree with both you fellows comments / observations.