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Open source remake of the classic game Elite

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40hz:
With thanks to FreewareGenius.com for finding this one.

If you know what Elite is, you'll want to check this out. And if you've never heard of Elite...well, now might be a good time to find out why a game released by Acornsoft way back in 1984 (when Comodore64s and Apple IIs ruled the earth) still has such a loyal following.

Link to article: www.freewaregenius.com/2009/10/29/oolite-a-brilliant-remake-of-elite-the-classic-game-of-space-trade-and-exploration/

Oolite: a brilliant remake of Elite, the classic game of space trade and exploration
Submitted by Travis on October 29, 2009 – 11:51 pm

Oolite is an open source remake of the classic space simulator Elite. This non-linear title puts the player in control of their own experience. Trading, piracy, and mining are just a fraction of what you can do in this expansive universe.

[Editor’s note: this review was written by Freewaregenius contributor Travis B. Check out his new blog here].

Captain Jensen had traveled three systems to make this run. His cargo hold full of radioactives would fetch a hefty sum on this rich industrial planet. But the swarm of blips fast approaching on radar didn’t look like innocent freighters. The only policed sector surrounding the station was on the far side of the planet. This is what you get for trading with a lawless system…

Oolite takes something old and makes it new again. This open source remake of one of gaming’s great classics Elite is solid gaming gold. In this incredibly non-linear space simulator players can fly around the galaxy trading, fighting off pirates, pirating, or taking intergalactic taxi missions. With no story except the one you make for yourself, Oolite is a member of a dying type of game.
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Link to Oolite homepage: http://www.oolite.org/

Oolite is a space sim game, inspired by Elite, powered by Objective-C and OpenGL, and designed as a small game that is easy for users to pick up, modify and expand upon. Almost every aspect of the game can be changed by using simple, free graphics packages and text editors.

Originally written for Mac OS X, and under continuous development for over five years, Oolite is available for Mac OS X (10.3.9 and higher) and PCs running Windows XP, Windows Vista or Linux. It requires at least a 400 MHz processor, 256 MiB of memory, and a graphics card capable of accelerating OpenGL graphics.
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This new version sports some graphics the original could only dream of. But even with these changes, Oolite still manages to retain that 'retro vibe' that makes most of these old games so enjoyable. Oolite has a gallery. Here's the view of a Trading Post (complete with gaudy billboards) as your ship makes its approach:

Open source remake of the classic game Elite

Video of the above can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnydSYRHhro

Available for Mac OSX, Windows XP/Vista, and Linux. (I've got it loaded on XP and it looks pretty good so far.  :up:)

Note: I had no problem downloading copies yesterday. I did have some trouble getting in today however. I'm guessing word is out and the site is seeing some volume. (Elite fans are a devoted bunch!) Wait a half hour and try again if the page keeps timing out. It's worth it.
 8)

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P.S. There's a decent Wikipedia article about Elite at this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_%28video_game%29
 :Thmbsup:

housetier:
sounds good!  :Thmbsup:

Shades:
Guess I'm getting old, but this one could not capture me like the (rotating wire-frames from the) Commodore 64 version. That one I played for quite some time. Never got that far though :(

40hz:
Guess I'm getting old, but this one could not capture me like the (rotating wire-frames from the) Commodore 64 version. That one I played for quite some time. Never got that far though :(
-Shades (November 01, 2009, 11:26 PM)
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I hear you.  :Thmbsup: I think it really all comes down to what we grew up with.

It occasionally shames me to admit I keep my old C64 handy for those rare occasions when I feel the need to play a computer game. Seven Cities of Gold, M.U.L.E., Ultima III: Exodus, and Elite still don't seem completely right to me unless I'm looking at sprite graphics, wire-frames - and listening to soundtracks coming from that paradoxically awful yet marvelous SID music chip.

The mid-80s were a great era for game innovation. Light on technology (since there wasn't much) - but long on playability and entertainment value. Maybe that's why I could never get into a game like Eve. To my mind, Eve seems less like a game and more like taking on a second job.

But that's probably just me.  ;D

Innuendo:
I thought I had posted on DC about Oolite before, but maybe I was mistaken...

I remember playing Elite on the C-64 (Every version for every platform was different with different features. I think the C-64 version was the version with the most features at the time). Took me months and months and months, but I finally made it to a ranking of Elite. All my friends thought I was insane to stick with that game for so long.

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