Documented and annotated source code for Elite on the Commodore 64

Post by danielbln » Fri, Dec 20, 2024, 11:48 AM UTC

glimshe wrote: post #9

jfim wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The creator of the repository does mention it: > My hope is that the educational and non-profit intentions of this repository will enable it to stay hosted and available, but the original copyright holders do have the right to ask for it to be taken down, in which case I will comply without hesitation. I do hope, though, that along with the various other disassemblies and commentaries of this source, it will remain v…

Long copyrights are a cancer in our society. Just notice the fear in his writing - "without hesitation". We're talking about a ~40 year piece of work here. Patents last 20 years and people keep filing them in the millions. We remain an inventive species. Obviously the protection works. Why do we need to protect copyrights for near a century?

Post by voidUpdate » Fri, Dec 20, 2024, 11:55 AM UTC

MarkMoxon wrote: post #10

taneliv wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it perhaps as easy as adding the check on https://github.com/markmoxon/elite-source-code-commodore-64/... ?

Unfortunately it isn't that simple. Check 3 only looks to see if we are moving backwards into the station slot. This is a bit pointless to calculate as falling backwards would mean that a number of the other checks (e.g. angle of approach) will already be failing. This is why check 3 is omitted from later versions of Elite, including the C64 version; it isn't needed. Lots of information on the docking checks here: ht…

Post by MarkMoxon » Fri, Dec 20, 2024, 11:59 AM UTC

voidUpdate wrote: post #13

MarkMoxon wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately it isn't that simple. Check 3 only looks to see if we are moving backwards into the station slot. This is a bit pointless to calculate as falling backwards would mean that a number of the other checks (e.g. angle of approach) will already be failing. This is why check 3 is omitted from later versions of Elite, including the C64 version; it isn't needed. Lots of information on the docking checks here: ht…

Pretty much the first time I ever tried to dock, the docking computer set me down squarely on top of another player's ship. After trying my best to cancel the docking, I ended up losing my docking request, which meant I wasn't allowed to be there, and got the space police after me. I've not really played it much since

Post by MarkMoxon » Fri, Dec 20, 2024, 12:10 PM UTC

another2another wrote: post #16

Well that is some well documented code, and no mistake. It keeps mentioning a Cougar ship type, but I don't remember them in the game?

Post by MarkMoxon » Fri, Dec 20, 2024, 12:42 PM UTC

another2another wrote: post #18

MarkMoxon wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is in-game, but it is astonishingly rare. Specifically, there is a 0.011% chance of spawning a Cougar during each ship spawning routine, which is around 1 in 9000 ship spawnings And it's got a cloaking device so it doesn't appear on your scanner. Anyone who has genuinely seen one of these in-game is a really lucky commander! Lots of details here: https://elite.bbcelite.com/deep_dives/the_elusive_cougar.htm...

Hmm, I wonder if that's what the second mission was to find? I played it on the CBM64, and seem to remember being given a mission to find a stealth ship. Flew around loads, but never found it as far as I can remember.