**Elite** An ELITE Craft (ref. Computist #70) Okay, gaining Elite combateer status and finding the mysterious planet Raxxla isn't supposed to be easy. (That's why they call the game "Elite".) On the other hand, anything which can make your quest a bit less difficult is worth serious consideration. The Thargoid invaders certainly don't hesitate to implement every advantage their bug brains can contrive; why should YOU settle for less than the best in human technology?! Every combateer is well acquainted with the Mk III Cobra's major limitation: in galaxies where planetary distances can exceed 100 light years, your fighter/trader craft carries only about seven light years worth of hyperspace jump fuel. Nearly as bothersome, the standard Xexor/Hikan Ltd. intergalactic hyperdrive is good for only one hop; whereupon you must locate a new supplier AND shell out another 5000 credits! Happily, thanks to advanced research at Computist Corp.'s Turdnil Labs, BOTH of the above barriers have been shattered!!! Specifications CC/TL Super Jump: exclusive Tardis-pack for 25.5 LY range on standard fuel CC/TL Multi-Galactic: new Dura-Wolfram core for unlimited repeat G-hops Installation and Operation To implement the new designs, you must be able to RESET or NMI into the Apple monitor while "Elite" is running. For the many readers who have added special "$F8xx " PROMS or are using an OLD, pre-autostart, Apple II, this should be no problem. (Our II+ is equipped with home-brew firmware to allow forcing a "RESET into monitor". Unfortunately, "Elite"'s combat displays do not work correctly on the IIgs; and, besides, the OA-CTRL-ESC interrupt is defeated.) The best time to break in is when docked and viewing one of the game's text displays. For Super Jump enter the following at $6F0C: A2 FF. This mod increases fuel top-off level (i.e. you can buy more). It does not affect fuel received should you use your Escape Pod or the amount which can be 'sun-skimmed'. To have access to multi-galactic jump capability, you must own a "Galactic Hyperspace" drive. (If you do not own one, installing the MG mod will allow multi-jumping as soon as you do.) Enter $6BAE: A2 FF 8E BC 02 E8 EA EA EA 8E C3 02. The new code makes sure that, when you do a "G" hop, your inter-galactic drive is restored and legal status resets to "Clean". Once the enhancements are in place, entering $6E87G restarts the program. You will be docked at the current system's trading station. First, buy some fuel. Your status display will show "Fuel: 25.5 light years"! Switch to the Galaxy Display (i.e. "5" key) to see your new 'range circle'. (WOW!) To try out Multi-Jump, blast off and do a "G". Zavoom! You're in the next galaxy; AND you still have a Galactic Hyperspace drive ready for another hop! To be sure, a very challenging quest remains; but, now, you are at the helm of a Cobra Mk III PLUS! _________ Elite Craft Tech Note (ref. Computist #76) Turdnil Labs Maintenance Note EC/DE25.5/11.90/Elt. Evidently, as Bob Igo indicated last month, there ARE different versions of the game. I worked from an original supplied by Firebird at the time Elite was first released. All of the mods described in issue #70 were incorporated into an open copy of the original-- created to avoid having to make the changes upon each boot-- and they all work fine. That the code locations would be off by just one (e.g. $6F0C vs. $6F0D) in some versions is odd, but not unheard-of. Bob also notes that his fuel boost involved an LDY (i.e. $6F0D: A0 FF) instead of the LDX. Recommendations: After RESETing into the monitor, check the code in the areas to be changed. If you find $6F0C: A2 46, then the issue #70 stuff (as corrected in the above maintenance note) should perform as advertised. If you find A0 46, (A2 46, etc.) at a slightly offset location just change the $46 to $FF. The same holds for changes to $6BAE: AE BC 02 ... AND to program restart ("$6E87 G"). Instead of $6E87: A9 20, you may find $6E88: A9 20. As to completing the Navy's first mission: just follow directions. Two things may throw you off the scent of the rogue craft. First, you may not find clues at every station along the way, especially after a Galactic jump. (I picked up the trail in G2 at Errius.) Second, wait a couple seconds after docking before you start punching keys; otherwise, some messages may be cut off. It's also a good idea to check the current planet's description upon docking. How to become Elite? There may be some shortcut; but, as far as I can tell, you become Elite by blowing away many MANY enemy ships. Rubywand