Editing Elite (video game) (section)

== Gameplay ==
[[File:BBC Micro Elite screenshot.png|thumb|left|The BBC Micro version of ''Elite'', showing the player approaching a Coriolis space station]]

The player initially controls the character "Commander Jameson",<ref name="postmortem"/> though the name can be changed each time the game is saved. The player starts at Lave Station with 100 credits and a lightly armed trading ship, a Cobra Mark III.<ref name=elite_home/> Most of the ships that the player encounters are similarly named after [[snake]]s or other [[reptile]]s.<ref name="zzap64"/> Credits can be accumulated through a number of means. These include piracy, trade,<ref name=elite_home/> military missions, bounty hunting and  [[asteroid mining]]. The money generated by these enterprises allows the player to upgrade their ship with enhancements such as better weapons, increased cargo capacity, an automated docking system, an extra energy bank and more.<ref name="mobygames">{{cite web | url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/elite | title=Elite | publisher=[[mobygames.com]] | access-date=19 January 2015 }}</ref>

In the game universe, stars have single [[planet]]s, each with a [[space station]] in its [[orbit]]. Stars are always separated by [[interstellar travel|interstellar]] distances which cannot be crossed using the ship's sublight engines. Travel between stars is accomplished by hyperspace jumps, and is constrained to those within range of the limited fuel capacity (a maximum of 7 [[light year]]s) of the ship's hyperdrive. Sublight travel uses no fuel.<ref name="crash"/>

Fuel can be replenished after docking with a space station, which requires matching the ship's rotation to that of the station before entering the docking bay<ref name="postmortem"/>—a task that can be avoided by purchasing a docking computer. Equipment upgrades include a fuel scoop, which allows "sun skimming"—collecting energy from the stars' [[stellar corona|corona]]<ref name="crash"/>—described by the manual as "a dangerous and difficult activity", but in practice a fairly simple process far easier than manually docking at a space station—and collecting free-floating cargo canisters and escape capsules liberated after the destruction of other ships.<ref name="gamasutra_history">{{cite web | last = Barton | first = Matt |author2=Bill Loguidice | title = The History of Elite: Space, the Endless Frontier | website = [[Gamasutra]] | date = 7 April 2009 | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/the-history-of-elite-space-the-endless-frontier | access-date = 27 December 2009}}</ref>

While making a hyperspace jump between star systems, the antagonistic Thargoid<ref name=ma15/> race may intercept the player half way, forcing the player's ship to remain in "witch-space" and do battle with the smaller invasion ships of the Thargoid. As the interrupted jump uses the full journey's fuel, the player may have insufficient fuel to subsequently jump to a nearby planet, trapping them in witch-space. They must either use an escape capsule, if owned, or abort the game and reload.<ref name="bellfaq2">{{cite web|title=Elite FAQ Ian Bell Autumn 1999|url=http://www.iancgbell.clara.net/elite/faq.htm|access-date=23 January 2015}}</ref>

An extremely expensive one-time [[Hyperspace|galactic hyperspace]] upgrade permits travel between the eight galaxies of the game universe. There is little practical difference between the different galaxies. However, in some versions it is necessary to travel to at least the second galaxy to access the game's missions. The planetary layout of the galaxies is different, and many players have discovered trade routes between closely positioned planets with fortuitous economic combinations.

Most versions of Elite included several optional jobs for the Galactic Navy.<ref name=ma15>{{citation | url=https://archive.org/stream/MicroAdventurer15-Jan85#page/n14/mode/1up | title=An Elite Crew | journal=Micro Adventurer | date=January 1985 | issue=15 | page=15 }}</ref> One requires tracking down and destroying a stolen experimental ship;<ref name="zzap64"/> another involves transporting classified information on the Thargoids' home planet, with Thargoid invasion ships doing their best to see that the player does not succeed throughout the duration of the mission involving multiple interplanetary jumps.<ref name=elitefaq/> Rewards differed depending on the mission - from cash and gems to esoteric hardware such as a [[cloaking device]].