I never played the original Elite on the BBC - I regret that now.

I did, however, try Frontier: Elite II. It divided the critics particularly its gameplay, physics model (allegedly real) and combat - oh, and the bugs - but I actually seemed to enjoy it (I tend to be more forgiving towards games if I like the concept). Let's just say that when I *obtained* Elite+ for the PC, despite its bug-free self and the presence of hand-coded missions (I got the one with the tribbles, poor me), it was a huge come-down, having previously played Frontier to death. That tells you how much of a quantum leap Frontier was in terms of scope. You could land on planets! Lots of stations everywhere! The Solar System and indeed the rest of the Galaxy on a single floppy disk! Fly almost any ship! Etc.

I never played First Encounters, though. What was it really like?

Has anyone tried the Elite clone "X - Beyond the Frontier" and its add-on, the aptly-named "X-Tension" (they're both German games)? As an Elite fan I like it and still play it, but not many were convinced, which was a shame.

I should also add that "Frontier: Elite II" contains a plug for "Transport Tycoon" - at the orbital or underground stations, one of the advertising hoardings you may read says "Coming soon: Chris Sawyer's Transport Game!" (Chris "Tycoon" Sawyer was the man behind the PC conversion of "Frontier" as well as "Elite+".)

I've got X and I wouldn't mind some sort of 'quick start' hints. Everything seems to be a bit overwhelming.

Doug - you played "X-Tension"? It's got a full manual (albeit the version I have is in .PDF) which tells you everything you need to know to get started i.e. it's better than the one for BTF. Patch it up to version 2.1 and you get a big Paranid mission hidden somewhere in the new sectors. (As for my own perseverence when I first got the original X, let's just say a week with the Flu helped.)