The last 21 bytes, 0xBB to 0xCF, keep the state of PC Elite’s three missions and of the flight: witch space, the fuel leak and the jump in progress. Most are zero in a file saved between missions.
The missions
PC Elite has three missions of its own. Jumps are counted in 0xBC, and when the count reaches 32, 64 and 128 the next mission begins:
| 0xBD | Mission | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | None | |
| 1 | Refugees: carry the people of a system whose sun is about to go supernova to safety | 1,000 credits, or 1,400 when the hold took 35 tonnes of refugees |
| 2 | The masking device: find the ship that can make itself invisible, and bring its device back | The masking device (0x85), if it was scooped up |
| 3 | The Thargoid base: destroy a space station the Thargoids have taken over | A device that copies the Thargoids’ anti-ECM broadcasts (0xC7), and the title Archangel (0x11) |
Fields
0xBBMarket set, mission jumps, mission, a counting flag40xBFWitch space and the fuel leak30xC2Masking device mission30xC5Thargoid base mission and its reward30xC8Supernova growth and countdown30xCBBriefing, arrival and fleeing40xCFJump destination1
| Offset | Size | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
0xBB | 1 | Market set | 1 once the amounts on sale in the present market (the second byte of each pair from 0x97) have been chosen for this visit. A jump clears it, and the next Market Prices screen chooses new amounts at random. |
0xBC | 1 | Mission jumps | Jumps counted towards the missions: mission 1 begins at 32, 2 at 64 and 3 at 128. Jumps count outside the first galaxy, or anywhere when 0xBE is 1. |
0xBD | 1 | Mission | The mission in progress, 0 to 3, see above. |
0xBE | 1 | Count jumps everywhere | When 1, jumps in the first galaxy count towards the missions too. The program clears it for a new commander and tests it; no code in it was found that sets it. |
0xBF | 1 | Witch space | 0 in normal space. A jump that goes wrong into witch space sets it to 100; each alien ship destroyed there takes off 5 or 35, and it stops at 1. |
0xC0 | 1 | Fuel leak delay | Set to 50 on arriving in a system during the supernova and Thargoid base missions. It counts down, and when it reaches zero the fuel leak starts. |
0xC1 | 1 | Fuel leak | Starts at 51 and counts down. While it is not zero, “FUEL LEAK!” shows and the ship loses 5 units of fuel at a time. |
0xC2 | 1 | Masking ship destroyed | 1 when the masking ship has been destroyed. |
0xC3 | 1 | Masking device retrieved | 1 when the masking device has been scooped up. If it is 1 when the mission ends, the device is fitted (0x85). |
0xC4 | 1 | Masking ship count | Set to 5 when the masking device mission is given; the code that handles the masking ship counts it down. |
0xC5 | 1 | Thargoid base mission | 1 while the space station of the mission system is the Thargoid base. Shooting it then is not a crime. |
0xC6 | 1 | Thargoid base destroyed | 1 once the base has been destroyed, until the mission is finished. |
0xC7 | 1 | Anti-ECM device | 1 once the device that copies the Thargoids’ anti-ECM broadcasts has been fitted. L switches it on. |
0xC8 | 1 | Supernova growth | Used once the supernova countdown has run out: it grows by a quarter at a time until it passes 255. |
0xC9 | 2 | Supernova countdown | Set to 400 when the refugees come on board, then counted down during flight. |
0xCB | 1 | Briefing | 0 before the mission’s message has been given, 1 once it has, 2 when the end of the mission has been told. |
0xCC | 1 | Arrived | Set to 1 on arriving in a system by hyperspace; cleared when a mission starts there. A file saved after arriving normally has 1. |
0xCD | 1 | Fled the masking ship | 1 when the jumps in 0xCE have run out: the commander ran away from the masking ship. The mission then ends with “Running away from the mask ship was probably a good idea!”. |
0xCE | 1 | Jumps to flee | Set to 2 with the masking device mission; each jump counts it down. |
0xCF | 1 | Jump destination | The number of the system the last hyperspace countdown was started for. An ordinary jump arrives there; a galactic jump does not change it. After an ordinary jump it is the present system’s number. |