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Originally Posted by The Review
Nothing more has been added except a newer, easier-to-use interface and new graphics. This game would have scored a higher rating if it had had something cool added, like going on fun missions from the planets.
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This game does have a few features the previous one didn't.
Actually there are missions in this one. They appear randomly as you explore through the 8 galaxies of the game universe, progressing towards earning the rank of "Elite". There aren't many of them, but you will encounter them upon docking at stations.
My memory from years ago recalls a couple of them: a travelling merchant offers to sell you a unique cargo called "trumbles", who are apparently a new fad pet, which you find only multiply in your cargo space and start crawling across your viewscreen. The only way to get rid of them I'll leave you to discover yourself. ^^
The next one you get seems to have you flying into a solar system of a sun that is going nova, to help in the evacuation of stranded inhabitants.
Another mission has you in search of an experimental ship that has some prototype stealth technology on it. Apparently this ship had been stolen by pirates. You are tasked with finding it, and retrieving this stealth device. This mission gives you the opportunity to encounter two types of ship that only appear on this mission in the game.
The last one that I can remember is a Thargoid invasion into human space. The thargoids have set up a beachhead in a nearby star system, and have taken control of that system's Coriolis station. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is the suicidally heroic one of single-handedly entering this system and neutralising that threat. This mission will require you to have what is known in spacer parlance as an "Iron Ass" (a fully kitted out ride). Do not attempt it before you have anything less. Upon completion of this mission you get a piece of Thargoid technology and a special fancy new title.
There are rumored to be more missions, approximately one for every galaxy (except the ninth), but i don't recall ever encountering these. Upon achieving Elite you start getting "Alexander the Great" syndrome (And he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer...) and feel much less ambitious.
Ninth Galaxy, you say? Yes. a random encounter will have you sort of 'stopped' in hyperspace (witch space) by the Thargoids, who will attack you with a very very large armada of ships. Survive, and you will have access to explore the ninth galaxy.
EDIT: Also, i have an alternative idea of play-style, compared to the guide above. Instead of wasting time trading like a fool (lol), follow these steps:
1) trade until you can afford the "fuel Scoop" upgrade. At the point when you've earned enough to buy this, you need not buy another tonne of cargo in your career ^^. This upgrade can collect both fuel (by flying close to a star) and cargo cannisters (floating in space, either randomly or from a destroyed ship).
2) Proceed to outside the station's "safe zone" (the "S" disappears from your control panel). a good idea is to start flying toward that system's sun, so that you have a navigation reference. After this, just jump until you encounter a ship, and hopefully it is a nice fat cargo hauler like the Boa or Anaconda. Blow it up, and watch all the blue dots appear on your radar. These are cargo cannisters. to pick them up, you simply fly toward them, keeping them in the lower portion of your viewscreen.
3) Take "recovered" cargo, and sell it. Pure profit. In Elite Plus, you're unlikely to get caught being a pirate, which means that you are unlikely to ever see your legal status turn worse than "offender" unless you are extremely blatant about your actions- killing police, killing in a station's safe zone, etc.
4) Rinse off, grab a few drinks at one of the station's night-spots, and then go out and do it again.
5) As you earn money, upgrade your ship. Its what those credits are for! The order you should get upgrades in is:
_1) Fuel scoop
_2) ECM
_3) Beam laser
_4) Escape Capsule
After this it doesn't matter much. But those first 3 are 100% essential to survival in the Elite universe [and the escape capsule is for more than just immersion- it has the added bonus of clearing out your criminal record.]. Upon getting these upgrades, the rest matter somewhat less, though you'll want to upgrade to the military laser before too long (the faster you can take out an enemy, the less shield drain that is incurred, and the longer you stay alive in a fight). If you're terrible at docking, go for the docking computer if you must-- but be prepared to have the Elite commanders mocking you for this. Its a crutch, and you really need to develop good enough control of your ship to perform a proper and consistent dock with the station to be able to survive in combat.
Once you feel that you're established and competent, then get that intergalactic drive and explore the other galaxies. This is how new missions are eventually given to you
Added Trivia: This version of Elite was actually programmed by Chris Sawyer!