# Elite: Harmless — a Commodore 64 Elite disassembly

> Elite: Harmless is a full ca65 disassembly of the Commodore 64 release of Elite, taken from the 1986 GMA86 disk, with the code split into flight, docked, text, ship-hull, math, sound and graphics modules. Its build script reassembles the original loader stages and game files, checks them against MD5 sums, and writes a disk image. The same source builds an enhanced variant with a faster multiplication routine and faster line drawing, and a loader document explains the choice of the GMA86 disk and describes the first stage of its copy-protected loader.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Game
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-09
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-10
- Original resource: <https://codeberg.org/Kroc/elite-harmless>
- Primary source: <https://codeberg.org/Kroc/elite-harmless/src/commit/a8b7615a57a814c1312a39e68f4b371e7eb7dc43/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/elite-harmless-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/elite-harmless-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/elite-harmless-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** Building uses the cc65 toolchain and the repository setup script under Linux, Mac or Windows with WSL; the game runs in a Commodore 64 emulator such as VICE.
- **Scope:** Disk images are produced only by building the source.
- **Limits:** Documentation of the disassembly is ongoing.
- **License:** Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International.

## Primary sources

1. <https://codeberg.org/Kroc/elite-harmless/src/commit/a8b7615a57a814c1312a39e68f4b371e7eb7dc43/README.md>
2. <https://codeberg.org/Kroc/elite-harmless/src/commit/a8b7615a57a814c1312a39e68f4b371e7eb7dc43/build.sh>
3. <https://codeberg.org/Kroc/elite-harmless/src/commit/a8b7615a57a814c1312a39e68f4b371e7eb7dc43/src/boot/gma/README.md>
4. <https://codeberg.org/Kroc/elite-harmless/src/commit/a8b7615a57a814c1312a39e68f4b371e7eb7dc43/INSTALL.md>
5. <https://codeberg.org/Kroc/elite-harmless/src/commit/a8b7615a57a814c1312a39e68f4b371e7eb7dc43/LICENSE.txt>

## More in Games

- [EQOA Decomp: matching PS2 modules of EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers](https://awesomerea.org/resources/eqoa-frontiers-decomp-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Eternal Darkness: a work-in-progress GameCube decompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/unending-occlusion-eternal-darkness-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem — a matching GameCube decompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/eternal-darkness-decomp/index.md) · Case study
- [Eternal Fighter Zero -Memorial-: exact-function source reconstruction](https://awesomerea.org/resources/eternal-fighter-zero-case/index.md) · Case study
- [EVA-Decomp: matching Neon Genesis Evangelion on Nintendo 64](https://awesomerea.org/resources/eva-decomp-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Evo's Space Adventures PSX: matching decompilation of Evo's Space Adventure](https://awesomerea.org/resources/esa-psx-case/index.md) · Case study

## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.