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⌂ ∞ Elite on the BBC Micro and NES

Downloading flicker-free Elite

How to download and play flicker-free Elite, on both the BBC and Commodore

The Elite Compendium for the BBC Master is a great way to enjoy flicker-free Elite in combination with my other hacks - see the download page for details. Or you enjoy flicker-free Elite on the BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Commodore 64 and Commodore Plus/4 by choosing from the options on this page.

Acorn versions
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For the BBC Micro, BBC Master and Acorn Electron, you can play flicker-free Elite right here in your browser, or you can download disc or tape images for use in a real machine or an emulator. Most versions have both flicker-free ships and planets, though some only have flicker-free ships (as indicated). Here are the links:

To load flicker-free Elite on a BBC, simply insert the disc image and press SHIFT-BREAK (or SHIFT-F12 on most emulators). To load the tape image on an Electron, refer to the instructions for your emulator or hardware tape simulator.

If your Electron has sideways RAM, then I thoroughly recommend haerfest's enhanced version of flicker-free Electron Elite. This lets you save commander files to disc, which is a massive improvement. You can finds details and download links in this post on Stardot.

Commodore versions
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For the Commodore 64 and Commodore Plus/4, both ships and planets are flicker-free. You can download disk images of flicker-free Elite from the following links:

Head over to the flicker-free Elite GitHub repository for details on how to load these images.

Release history
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Flicker-free Elite has had the following releases:

  • 2021-03-29 - Initial release of the BBC Micro versions
  • 2021-04-27 - Initial release of the Acorn Electron version
  • 2021-08-20 - Initial release of the 6502 Second Processor version and Elite-A
  • 2022-09-03 - Initial release of the Commodore 64 version
  • 2022-09-06 - Initial release of the Commodore Plus/4 version
  • 2023-02-17 - Initial release of the BBC Master version, with flicker-free planets
  • 2023-02-18 - Fixed a bug in the BBC Master version that could sometimes corrupt the launch tunnel
  • 2023-02-22 - Updated the BBC Micro disc version on the BBC Master with flicker-free ships and planets
  • 2023-02-23 - Updated Teletext Elite with flicker-free planets
  • 2023-02-23 - Updated the 6502 Second Processor version with flicker-free planets
  • 2023-02-27 - Updated the Commodore 64 version with flicker-free planets
  • 2023-02-28 - Updated the Commodore Plus/4 version with flicker-free planets (version Π)
  • 2023-03-07 - Updated the Acorn Electron with flicker-free planets, the escape capsule animation, single-pixel stardust and high resolution planets
  • 2023-03-14 - Updated the BBC Micro version with reduced-flicker planets
  • 2024-01-06 - Updated the 6502 Second Processor version to show enemy lasers in red, just like the original version
  • 2024-01-17 - Updated the Elite-A bug fix version so it works on a BBC Master and BBC Master with 6502 Second Processor
  • 2024-01-23 - Fixed an issue that was preventing the encyclopedia from loading properly in the bug fix version of Elite-A
  • 2024-03-20 - Fixed a problem with the loader on the Electron version that was breaking the cargo and equipment screens
  • 2024-03-22 - Added flicker-free versions of the original Acornsoft variant and renamed the other variant to Superior Software
  • 2024-04-09 - Added flicker-free version of the sideways RAM variant of BBC Micro disc Elite

You can check the release for a given disc image by loading the disc and typing *TYPE README to display the credits. The build date is at the end. If there is no build date in the README file, then it is an initial release from 2021.