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Elite on the BBC Micro and NES

An introduction to flicker-free Elite

Improved ship drawing on the BBC Micro, Commodore 64 and Commodore Plus/4

The BBC Master version of Elite includes an improved ship-drawing algorithm that noticeably reduces flicker. This improvement was also included in the Apple II version of the game, but it never made it back to the original BBC Micro and Commodore 64 versions... until now.

Here's a comparison of Elite-A, with the standard version on the left, and the flicker-free version on the right:

And here's a comparison on the Commodore 64, this time with the flicker-free version on the left, and the standard version on the right:

In the original BBC Master version, planets still flicker, as that's a different part of the code. To fix this, I've written a brand new routine to reduce flicker in the planets as well. This does require a fair amount of memory, so it isn't available the BBC Micro cassette version or Elite-A, but for players of the BBC Micro disc version, BBC Master, 6502 Second Processor, Acorn Electron, Commodore 64 and Commodore Plus/4, you can enjoy both flicker-free ships and planets. See the technical information for details.

Here's the flicker-free BBC Master version, showing a rock-steady planet:

And here's another clip from the Commodore 64, showing a flicker-free space station:

See the downloads page to get hold of a copy of flicker-free Elite, or check out the technical information for details of how it works.