The word clones can infer an inferior example, but that was not intended. In fact a lot of work and inovation was needed to transfer Elite to other systems. This can be seen from the user interface images below. It's a tribute to the Bell & Braben masterpiece that so many systems had their own version of Elite spreading the word at the time, and of the programming skills that were evolving too across a range of microcomputer systems.

The images below show examples of the graphics, both ships and HUD for some of these systems. A timeline for these versions, and others, is presented in the Timeline web page.

Later versions introduced solid coloured surface models, most notably in the Acorn Archimedes version of Elite, made possible by the faster Risc processor. Other microcomputer systems followed suit as new technology provided speed and better graphics.

A video demonstrating these changes is presented below showing the ships of the Archimedes version, which some claim was the best version at the time.

All the BBC Micro version ships are present with the addition of a number of others including - Asteroids, Barrels, Boulders, Bushmaster, Caiman, Copperhead, Dodo Space Station, Hardhead, Hawk, Hognosenav Buoy, Qbomb, Racer, Urutu, Witchspace Buoy, and Wolf.