This repository contains a source code library for the Elite Universe Editor. It contains code that is common to all versions of the Universe Editor:
- BBC Master Elite Universe Editor
- 6502 Second Processor Elite Universe Editor
- Commodore 64 Elite Universe Editor
It is also used when building the combined Universe Editor disc and the Elite Compendium:
In all cases, the library code is included in the repository as a submodule.
6502 Second Processor Elite was written by Ian Bell and David Braben and is copyright © Acornsoft 1985.
The 6502 Second Processor code on this site is identical to the source discs released on Ian Bell's personal website (it's just been reformatted to be more readable).
BBC Master Elite was written by Ian Bell and David Braben and is copyright © Acornsoft 1986.
The BBC Master code on this site has been reconstructed from a disassembly of the version released on Ian Bell's personal website.
Commodore 64 Elite was written by Ian Bell and David Braben and published by Firebird, and is copyright © D. Braben and I. Bell 1985.
The commentary is copyright © Mark Moxon. Any misunderstandings or mistakes in the documentation are entirely my fault.
Huge thanks are due to the original authors for not only creating such an important piece of my childhood, but also for releasing the source code for us to play with; to Paul Brink for his annotated disassembly; and to Kieran Connell for his BeebAsm version, which I forked as the original basis for this project. You can find more information about this project in the accompanying website's project page.
The following archives from Ian Bell's personal website form the basis for this project:
The Commodore 64 game disks in this repository are very similar to those released on Ian Bell's personal website, but to ensure accuracy to the released versions, I've used disk images from the Commodore 64 Preservation Project (it turns out that the disk images on Ian Bell's site differ slightly from the official versions). The Commodore Plus/4 version is based on the disk image from Ian Bell's site.
This repository is not provided with a licence, and there is intentionally no LICENSE file provided.
According to GitHub's licensing documentation, this means that "the default copyright laws apply, meaning that you retain all rights to your source code and no one may reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from your work".
The reason for this is that my commentary is intertwined with the original Elite source code, and the original source code is copyright. The whole site is therefore covered by default copyright law, to ensure that this copyright is respected.
Under GitHub's rules, you have the right to read and fork this repository... but that's it. No other use is permitted, I'm afraid.
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 viable.
Right on, Commanders!
Mark Moxon