Elite on the BBC Micro (1984)

In the peculiar BBC resolution of 256x248, this is the original version of Elite, and the original version of Lave Station.

This version of Elite was released on many of the platforms of the day, including Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System and PC.

Elite on the Commodore Amiga (1988)

Rewritten for release on the Amiga, this version kept the same gameplay but harnessed the massive increase in power offered by the then advanced 68000 CPU and accompanying graphics chips. The wireframes were filled in to make proper polygons, and sound was greatly improved. Colours played a part too, Lave Station seen here in green. 320x256 (PAL), 320x200 (NTSC).

This version was also released on the Atari ST, Acorn Archimedes and a few other platforms, and on the PC as "Elite Plus" to replace the original version.

Frontier: Elite II on the Commodore Amiga (1993)

Frontier was a new game written specifically for the Amiga, and took Elite to a whole new level of realism. With real Newtonian physics, realistic star maps and star systems, and unprecedented detail, this game took full advantage of the Amiga's power to deliver an incredible experience. Lave station looks more solid here and has grown some superstructure. 320x200.

Also ported to MS-DOS where the PC's "chunky" graphics format could be used to an advantage to allow texture mapping of the polygons, and to the Atari ST, where the graphics and sound took a slight dip in quality due to the hardware constraints.

Frontier: First Encounters on MS-DOS (1995)

First Encounters took Frontier and added updated graphics, textures and new techniques like gouraud shading and planetary surface elevations. On the surface the game is very similar to Frontier to play, right down to some of the same bugs and quirks being present in both games. Lave is seen here with some texturing added. Only released for MS-DOS on the PC. 320x200.

Elite: Dangerous on Windows (2014)

Nearly 20 years in the making, Elite: Dangerous is the fourth installment in the Elite line, and brings with it two decades worth of graphical improvements. Lave station here looking quite different, but still with the same overall form, and even a little nod to the old Elite version with the green lighting seen on the sides. 1920x1200.