After playing cyberunk, and watching the Odyssey reveal, I'm now concerned about Odyssey...

[Juniper]

I will get Odyssey because I have a couple of LEPs, bought when Frontier were promising a very different game to what they actually delivered.

But there is nothing in any of the trailers that appeals or gets me remotely excited. I don't want Call of Duty in space. I have zero interest in shooting people in the face. More empty & desolate planets (with different coloured skies... woooo!!) that you teleport out of your seat to walk on. Fantastic. And just to compound the "too little too late" feeling, it's only being released for last-gen consoles with "no plans" for current gen.

I'm hoping there's more to it, but given that it's Frontier & you only go by what they actually say and show, my expectations are exceptionally low at this point.

We'll see.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

And yes, the number of new features that have entirely missed the mark is surely breathtaking. From CQC, tele-presence (cmdrs firing at cop npc's and firing off all your heat sinks) to the AX missiles (that were immediately nerfed 50 fold after the weekend Goid bunfest)... The number of these incidents is too many to recount! Fdev have a knack for underestimating the ED community by a country mile!

So my expectations of Odyssey are rock bottom. Simply because of the years of experience I have with FDev's lack of imagination, buggy coding and mismanagement of the role out of new features.

Yeah, and sure it sounds a bit glum when you go back and read it, but how many times?

I would like to dream about exciting new features added to elite, but its frontier developments. I actually did this for years and it was great, really enjoyed a heavy dose of hopium as part of the package. But im an adult and dont get any joy from seeing a corporate business make sales irrespective of anything else. The whole idea is really not the right thing to do.

 

[Susanna]

Elite and cp2077 are both way more fun than their respective forums!

That too is true... It's not an ideal world is it

 

[Susanna]

I will get Odyssey because I have a couple of LEPs, bought when Frontier were promising a very different game to what they actually delivered.

But there is nothing in any of the trailers that appeals or gets me remotely excited. I don't want Call of Duty in space. I have zero interest in shooting people in the face. More empty & desolate planets (with different coloured skies... woooo!!) that you teleport out of your seat to walk on. Fantastic. And just to compound the "too little too late" feeling, it's only being released for last-gen consoles with "no plans" for current gen.

I'm hoping there's more to it, but given that it's Frontier & you only go by what they actually say and show, my expectations are exceptionally low at this point.

We'll see.

Woooooo! I think we are on the same page! Hello fellow disappointed and disillusioned Cmdr!

 

[Juniper]

Woooooo! I think we are on the same page! Hello fellow disappointed and disillusioned Cmdr!

Hello.

I don't mean to come across as disillusioned or disappointed - I would love it to be good. But the gameplay reveal trailer was called "Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Gameplay Reveal Trailer" - not "Combat Reveal Trailer". That suggests this is all there is, because shooting people in the face was the only gameplay they "revealed".

I don't do combat in E: D, or pretty much any game. I have six accounts across PC and PS4, and they are all Elite at either Exploration or Trade (sometimes both), but they are all Harmless. Maybe they will throw explorers or traders a bone or two in Odyssey, but I've seen or heard nothing to suggest they will at this point. Doing a kind of cut-down version of No Man's Sky scanning (with plants only) isn't exactly thrilling sounding. I'd rather play NMS itself, where they did it properly.

What I'd like to see is some player engagement. Some actual NPC AI that isn't "move here, shoot there". Some way of the player actually impacting the large sandbox they've created, even if only in small tiny ways. To date, all they've done on that level is FCs, and they litter the bubble like spam so the system map is now a game of "hunt the station".

Anyway, yeah. We'll see. My expectations are very low. Let's see if Frontier can meet them.

 

[GunnerBill]

I didn't see the trailer but if we're taking OP at their word and Odyssey is heavy on FPS then I'm disappointed. Does ED really need to become COD in space? Is it going to be at all possible to walk about on a populated planet without being shot at?

Or is it just going to be lot's of fools jump spamming about firing at everything? If so meh, not for me.

 

[Ydiss]

Hello.

I don't mean to come across as disillusioned or disappointed - I would love it to be good. But the gameplay reveal trailer was called "Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Gameplay Reveal Trailer" - not "Combat Reveal Trailer". That suggests this is all there is, because shooting people in the face was the only gameplay they "revealed".

I don't do combat in E: D, or pretty much any game. I have six accounts across PC and PS4, and they are all Elite at either Exploration or Trade (sometimes both), but they are all Harmless. Maybe they will throw explorers or traders a bone or two in Odyssey, but I've seen or heard nothing to suggest they will at this point. Doing a kind of cut-down version of No Man's Sky scanning (with plants only) isn't exactly thrilling sounding. I'd rather play NMS itself, where they did it properly.

What I'd like to see is some player engagement. Some actual NPC AI that isn't "move here, shoot there". Some way of the player actually impacting the large sandbox they've created, even if only in small tiny ways. To date, all they've done on that level is FCs, and they litter the bubble like spam so the system map is now a game of "hunt the station".

Anyway, yeah. We'll see. My expectations are very low. Let's see if Frontier can meet them.

Action is obviously the biggest aspect of Odyssey. I don't think fdev have really obfuscated that. But they have created a suit for exploration, they're adding content for it (obviously not enough to your standards and I'd suggest we're quite some way off from that expansion right?) and they've actually said we'll be able to do everything we do in space on foot, pretty much.

Combat, trade and exploration are the three pillars. They've consistently added to all three with each major update. Exploration was a shadow of its current state at launch. Getting out of our ships or srv was the next logical step.

Think about that step for a moment. It's huge. If you truly want an nms style exploration game in Elite (and I'd suggest Braben does if you watched any of his old videos) then surely the first thing fdev need to do is build the massive infrastructure to actually make it possible? Seems Odyssey is doing that, plus spades more (ie, they propose it's enough as a standalone experience).

I'd suggest a lot of what they've hinted at is, at its heart, exploration (scavenging crash sites, exploring settlements and similar activities are all strictly exploration, it's just you might need to defend yourself but I'm pretty sure you need to do that almost all the time in nms)

But one step at a time yeh? Think about exactly how much "content" airless planets really, by rights, should actually have. Not much. What we have is great, I think (I've still not competed a single region codex). What do we truly need before we can start exploring rich landscapes filled with life and interesting features?

More than rock and ice with tenuous atmospheres.

And what's really important if we ever want to explore them?

Walking.

Odyssey is a key hurdle. Just like horizons had to overcome planetary landing (which they absolutely nailed imo). But fdev absolutely had to add solid combat mechanics to it from day one because, like it or not, it's one third of the game. And you've really got to think a little more realistically when you actually look at everything they've had to create, including the animations, locations, ui, mission systems, audio...

One step at a time. One day, we'll hopefully get to land on atmospheric planets and have a ball exploring them. I'd rather expect such an expansion would be impossible without stuff like Odyssey coming first. And I'd rather fdev do it this way than never release.

And I definitely prefer it this way than playing nms, which has the worst flight mechanics I've ever experienced in a space game.

 

[Kemo]

I'm glad you have made this point because I feel it's a very valid one. Given that the gravity on the low atmosphere planets will be generally low (probably circa 0.3-0.5g) I'm expecting most of the walking to be bouncing along like Neil on the moon... Not the earth like gait that we have seen in the trailers to date...
So will combat be a (arguably laughable) bouncy castle affair or just more earth gravity pew pew?
I for one am way underwhelmed atm...



And yes, the number of new features that have entirely missed the mark is surely breathtaking. From CQC, tele-presence (cmdrs firing at cop npc's and firing off all your heat sinks) to the AX missiles (that were immediately nerfed 50 fold after the weekend Goid bunfest)... The number of these incidents is too many to recount! Fdev have a knack for underestimating the ED community by a country mile!

So my expectations of Odyssey are rock bottom. Simply because of the years of experience I have with FDev's lack of imagination, buggy coding and mismanagement of the role out of new features.

Bouncy Castle Pew Pew anyone?

Personally I suspect they'll be some in-world explanation as to why we're not all going to be bouncy Neil's. If I was to guess, the jetpacks could work in this way, similar to the way the SRV thrusters work, pushing you down on to the surface just enough to counteract the low gravity.

(who remembers this...

Spoiler: Thrusters on SRV demo

If that's the case, kinda fine, but what would be great is to be able to shoot out the backpack jetpack and send your foe flying off into space

PS... wish we could have had long Dev diaries like this for Odyssey

 

[Juniper]

One step at a time.

Elite Dangerous Odyssey: Not At Launch. It's become a meme now.

I get what you're saying, but after all these years I'm tired of "jam tomorrow". After Horizons, we had (combat only) Multicrew and a host of other irrelevancies.

I feel they really do need to nail all the elements of Odyssey right off the bat or it's simply game over.

My patience for "maybe they'll remember the rest of the game later" ran out sometime in 2016, briefly rekindled at FX17, and then finally extinguished when they dropped most of what they told us they were planning to do with Beyond.

Bear in mind they have no plans to release this for current console hardware, so the long-term lifetime of the game is in serious doubt. And because they pulled the bait'n'switch by moving to online only - once they turn the servers off, that's it.

It's not like they haven't had plenty of time (and plenty of manpower if we are to believe what we are told) to get this done. So, if they don't, well...

 

[Ydiss]

Elite Dangerous Odyssey: Not At Launch. It's become a meme now.

I get what you're saying, but after all these years I'm tired of "jam tomorrow". After Horizons, we had Multicrew & Power Play, and a host of other irrelevancies.

I feel they really do need to nail all the elements of Odyssey right off the bat or it's simply game over.

My patience for "maybe they'll remember the rest of the game later" ran out sometime in 2016, briefly rekindled at FX17, and then finally extinguished when they dropped most of what they told us they were planning to do with Beyond.

Bear in mind they have no plans to release this for current console hardware, so the long-term lifetime of the game is in serious doubt.

It's not like they haven't had plenty of time (and plenty of manpower if we are to believe what we are told) to get this done. So, if they don't, well...

Yeh lots of stuff I'd preferred without too. Engineers, power play (sorry Rubbernuke, love the concept, would have preferred something else though) and more.

I'd have preferred them go straight for landing, walking, then atmospheres. Problem with that is they also need to fill the galaxy with stuff to do.

I'd suggest they've done that with exploration though. Seriously, if you were about on day one... Look at what we have now. Not even close.

I'll be so surprised if Odyssey doesn't at least moderately expand the game world for explorers. Surely just getting out of your ship, as an avid explorer, is a giant part of that?

 

[Rat Catcher]

Is it going to be at all possible to walk about on a populated planet without being shot at?

I'll only be pestered by NPC's... I guess it is up to you what your game contains...

 

[Alien]

I'd suggest they've done that with exploration though. Seriously, if you were about on day one... Look at what we have now. Not even close.

Day 1 of the Alpha back in 2014, we had 4 systems.

 

[Juniper]

Personally, I think I would have been far less repulsed if I hadn't happened to stumble across a game (Pathfinder: Kingmaker) that, while in no way comparable to ED, has everything ED has always lacked and probably always will. This game came to me like a hard culture shock. However, I'm now "suffering" at a very high level.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker - great game. Nothing like E: D, but a great example of its type.

The problem E: D now has IMO is that it was ground breaking in several ways when it was first released, but they've wasted years of development on irrelevant nonsense that nobody asked for or wanted, and it's sat basically static & abandoned for the last three.

In the meantime, other games have come along, caught up, and overtaken E: D in almost all areas. They are playing catch-up.

That to me is obvious from the trailer alone, and based on the trailer, they're missing the mark in terms of what Elite actually is: A space trading & exploration game.

But I appreciate it is only a trailer, and there may be more to come. I certainly hope so, for their sake as much as anything.

 

[Zieman]

Day 1 of the Alpha back in 2014, we had 4 systems.

That was later Alphas, at least docking became possible at 14th March with Alpha 3, so before that there were just disconnected scenarios (which may have been set in different systems though ).
Day 1 of Alpha this time (13 Dec) in 2013 we had a scenario to shoot toxic waste canisters...

 

[Kemo]

Day 1 of Alpha this time (13 Dec) in 2013 we had a scenario to shoot toxic waste canisters...

good times!

 

[Juniper]

Yeh lots of stuff I'd preferred without too. Engineers, power play (sorry Rubbernuke, love the concept, would have preferred something else though) and more.

I'd have preferred them go straight for landing, waking, then atmospheres. Problem with that is they also need to fill the galaxy with stuff to do.

I'd suggest they've done that with exploration though. Seriously, if you were about on day one... Look at what we have now. Not even close.

I'll be so surprised if Odyssey doesn't at least moderately expand the game world for explorers. Surely just getting out of your ship, as an avid explorer, is a giant part of that?

Getting out of your ship... i.e. standing up, walking to the airlock, going down a ladder onto a Strange New World (tm)... that would have been thrilling for sure. It would have been an obvious thing to do - minimum viable product you might say.

Not at launch though.

What we're apparently getting instead is teleportation to the planet surface, with an SRV on foot, so you can carry a big gun and shoot things. Woo. So no, just not exciting as an explorer. Sorry.

Exploration hasn't changed significantly since launch. They have added the FSS (which I actually like) but that divides opinion shall we say. You can shoot probes at planets, but then it took them >9 months to fix the truth table that says you've already scanned that planet... doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Beyond that, what has changed? We had exclusively beige planets for >2 years, they broke the lighting system, and now we are where we are. No cities, no life, no comets, no strange spatial anomalies... just an endless procession of staring at a star (with a galaxy the same colour behind it that you shouldn't even be able to see at all) and honking.

There is SO much more they could do with a bit of imagination and risk. I get they need to "fill the galaxy with things to do", but tiny Hello Games managed that superbly using entirely procgen, so they can't even use that as an excuse any more. The secret is out.

Odyssey is literally last chance saloon. And so far, I am filled with dread rather than excitement. That's not right, surely?

 

[Juniper]

Not that it really matters. I'm most likely going to spend all my time being number 1 at the end of the bar.

Sitting with the broken angels, clutching at straws & nursing your scars?

 

[CMDR Yates]

Yeh lots of stuff I'd preferred without too. Engineers, power play (sorry Rubbernuke, love the concept, would have preferred something else though) and more.

I'd have preferred them go straight for landing, waking, then atmospheres. Problem with that is they also need to fill the galaxy with stuff to do.

I'd suggest they've done that with exploration though. Seriously, if you were about on day one... Look at what we have now. Not even close.

I'll be so surprised if Odyssey doesn't at least moderately expand the game world for explorers. Surely just getting out of your ship, as an avid explorer, is a giant part of that?

Yeah, if I remember correctly, combat was the first playable activity during the early alphas as well (I wasn't part of it at the time, but was watching with interest), and pretty early on it was close to the combat gameplay we have now.

I think combat is what needs the most intense and earliest development focus, because it brings most of the control, physics, scripting, and animation fundamentals together in a fast-paced, demanding environment. Once your guy can jump around blasting with a laser, throw grenades, steal McGuffins from an outpost, give commands to allies, etc. then it's just a small adaptation to get him pulling scrap from wrecks, chatting to an NPC with a dialogue tree, sampling biologicals in a minigame, but not vice versa.

I think there's a lot more non-combat stuff that just isn't finished being polished yet, some of which will be in launch, some of which will come after (but hopefully not years after, like it previously took).

 

[Juniper]

Blame it on me

Sugar mice in the rain.

Don't think Odyssey has weather. Well, not at launch anyway.

 

[Drelthar]

Shields are acceptable sponges, they make sense.

Helmet glass could MAYBE take a shot.

Beyond that... it'll be a bit sad for me if people are too tough.