Odyssey - what's the point?

[Deleted member 182079]

On second thought, what's the point of this thread.

Never mind.

EDIT - right maybe removing my OP wasn't such a good idea, basically the gist of it was that I feel there's a distinct lack of purpose playing EDO content, unlike Horizons (i.e. ships) gameplay loops. There's only engineering of weapons/suits but you don't really need that per se, as I found that even just G2/3 level gear (I'd argue even stock) is more than sufficient for pretty much anything EDO throws at you.

On top of that the time investment vs reward is completely out of whack compared to Horizons, even though (and also because) EDO gameplay loops are meatier now - and yet they feel shallow mini-games bolted onto the main game, with no real synergies between EDH & EDO.

(at least now it's not a wall of text anymore!)

 

[Awan]

As someone with 7k hours, I can empathize to a degree with what you're saying; though, my experience with Odyssey has really been quite different. As you stated, I've done largely everything under the sun in EDH - from large PvP fights down to simple trade for station repair efforts. Up until, I'd say February of this year I was avidly play EDH nearly every other day - with various player groups and so on. But eventually, idk - I petered out (perhaps knowing that EDO was coming soon and I really felt like letting off the gas a bit).

Since EDO released, I'd say I'm on-foot about 70% of the time. I enjoy my gameplay - lots of it is cataloging new organics for Canonn Interstellar through their API plugin, or its spent solo'ing settlements in raids. I'd say you're completely correct that engineering is very optional in EDO - I'm running largely G3 gear, and having no issue wiping out the highest threat CZs/settlements. I'd also agree with you in saying that Odyssey "doesn't really have a point" right now.

But I'd like to remind you, that when Horizons first release - all we were able to do in 2.0 was dock at new surface starports (which had identical functionality to space-born ones), some new missions, drive our SRV around largely blank worlds, visit RNG POI, and collect resources for synthesis. I suppose volcanism was also in there as well on Day 1; but that was excruciatingly hard to find back then. And that was it lol. That was Horizons release. But lots of people had the same complaints about how Horizons felt barren and that there wasn't much to do outside of drive a car for a bit and break up the monotony. The difference here is they gave us a $40 product and we expected a bit more initial longevity. However, if you look back and realize where release Horizons was, technically Odyssey has more active content from the get go than Horizons did on release. Perhaps to them this seemed initially sufficient in retrospect.

If I were you, I'd try and stay patient with Odyssey until we get to the end of June where they stated that they will give us more information about what will be new features will be coming to Odyssey that they've promised are there, and what direction we can expect Odyssey to go in as a whole. We're kind of at a standstill right now because we're missing our console players; so I'd highly imagine that stuff like new SRVs, new ships, new on-foot features, etc. likely won't be a thing until we're both caught up.

So, Horizons really started out super basic. But there we were told that we'd be getting more before we bought it - that it'd be a full season with content.
I think the issue here is that they haven't told us anything more yet on EDO; and it feels like most of us have hit the end game of Odyssey content already.

 

[gooddoc]

As a player with over 11.2k hours in the game, I'm quite enjoying Odyssey.

I suppose the novelity hasn't worn off yet.....playing every day again - something I'd eased up on prior to Odyssey's release...........AND doing different & new things that I'v not done before in-game.....including pewpew stuff, both on foot & in Ship.......even my pewpew Rank went up a notch .

So as far as Frontier & their release goes.......job done, warts 'n all

 

[Awan]

The biggest plus we got out of Horizons' initial release was the new ships that were added on Launch; of which we don't have any in EDO rn. But I personally wouldn't count that as another "New Horizons Feature" because most of those ships came into the base game anyways - on top of the fact that while ships are the bread and butter of the game, the gameplay we were executing was still the same on Horizons launch.

I always welcome new ships, but I'm thinking of strictly brand new Horizons related content here, when in comparison to EDO.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

As someone with 7k hours, I can empathize to a degree with what you're saying; though, my experience with Odyssey has really been quite different. As you stated, I've done largely everything under the sun in EDH - from large PvP fights down to simple trade for station repair efforts. Up until, I'd say February of this year I was avidly play EDH nearly every other day - with various player groups and so on. But eventually, idk - I petered out (perhaps knowing that EDO was coming soon and I really felt like letting off the gas a bit).

Since EDO released, I'd say I'm on-foot about 70% of the time. I enjoy my gameplay - lots of it is cataloging new organics for Canonn Interstellar through their API plugin, or its spent solo'ing settlements in raids. I'd say you're completely correct that engineering is very optional in EDO - I'm running largely G3 gear, and having no issue wiping out the highest threat CZs/settlements. I'd also agree with you in saying that Odyssey "doesn't really have a point" right now.

But I'd like to remind you, that when Horizons first release - all we were able to do in 2.0 was dock at new surface starports (which had identical functionality to space-born ones), drive our SRV around largely blank worlds, visit RNG POI, and collect resources for synthesis. I suppose volcanism was also in there as well on Day 1; but that was excruciatingly hard to find back then. And that was it lol. That was Horizons release. Lots of people had the same complaints about how Horizons felt barren and that there wasn't much to do outside of drive a car for a bit and break up the monotony. The difference here is they gave us a $40 product and we expected a bit more initial longevity. However, if you look back and realize where release Horizons was, technically Odyssey has more active content from the get go than Horizons did on release. Perhaps to them this seemed initially sufficient in retrospect.

If I were you, I'd try and stay patient with Odyssey until we get to the end of June where they stated that they will give us more information about what will be new features will be coming to Odyssey that they've promised are there, and what direction we can expect Odyssey to go in as a whole. We're kind of at a standstill right now because we're missing our console players; so I'd highly imagine that stuff like new SRVs, new ships, new on-foot features, etc. likely won't be a thing until we're both caught up.

So, Horizons really started out super basic. But there we were told that we'd be getting more before we bought it - that it'd be a full season with content.
I think the issue here is that they haven't told us anything more yet on EDO; and it feels like most of us have hit the end game of Odyssey content already.

First of all apologies for editing my OP - I noticed a similar "whine" post elsewhere and mine was really mostly a copy of that, and there's already enough -posting threads around so no need to add this one to them (as it would inevitably end up as such).

I appreciate your reply though - suppose my problem (and it is very much my problem, hence the edit) is I did expect a lot more meat on the bone (and better integrated at that, not just bolted on with barely any synergies between EDH and EDO content) particularly after the years long content drought, Horizons came a year after ED and we're now so far into the planned 10-year lifecycle I don't have much hope left that FDev can flesh out their game... instead (and maybe because it's a different team now - fully understand people move on) you'd even have to cross your fingers they're not butchering it even more, be that as part of the design or simply bugs.

I'll wait for sure until I see how the next few weeks pan out, but the patches until now haven't been great - each of them brought new issues and I'm not confident FDev will beef up content as they're busy enough getting the game to run acceptably as is (not to mention consoles).

It just feels a more than half a decade long hobby of mine is slowly coming to an end, and that makes me sad.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

As a player with over 11.2k hours in the game, I'm quite enjoying Odyssey.

I suppose the novelity hasn't worn off yet.....playing every day again - something I'd eased up on prior to Odyssey's release...........AND doing different & new things that I'v not done before in-game.....including pewpew stuff, both on foot & in Ship.......even my pewpew Rank went up a notch .

So as far as Frontier & their release goes.......job done, warts 'n all

Happy you're having fun, but EDO to me is not what I was hoping for (and my expectations were already pretty low) - sounded better on paper than what it is in reality for me, purely in terms of gameplay - the technical issues merely represent the notion of kicking a man that's already down.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

People for years demanded FD do space legs.

FD did space legs.

Apparently what some people imagined it would be turned out to be not what they imagined.

Is anyone even slightly surprised?

 

[Awan]

I did expect a lot more meat on the bone particularly after the years long content drought

For an initial release, I did too. Like gooddoc said, I'm personally enjoying Odyssey and it got me to return. That being said, I definitely expected new vehicles, maybe even new vehicle types, a few surprise gameplay loops related to the story, and a bit more meat in regards to player to player interaction. But it seems game development complications coupled with the issues of the console not being able to release in unison really torn apart and spread a lot of EDO's release across many months.

I think everybody is picking the pieces of glass out of their feet from the car crash and are working to get a better version of EDO running ASAP rn. New features are bound to come, as you don't just make a new feature in 2 months; i'm sure its stuff they've been working on equally as long as EDO itself in some cases.

That being said, its annoying to have to wait longer after a content drought for the rest of the content you paid for but - there's no use in getting too upset at the rain for beating your flowerbed up. It'll even out at some point. Whether it looks as good as we'd hoped afterwards, that remains to be seen.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

People for years demanded FD do space legs.

FD did space legs.

Apparently what some people imagined it would be turned out to be not what they imagined.

Is anyone even slightly surprised?

I never really felt the need for space legs (given Elite is a game about flying space ships) but kept an open mind about them, and was intrigued when it was showcased - because I thought there'd be more to it and the Alpha only showed us a small fraction of what's out there, turns out we've seen most of it (apart from Thargoids presumably) already. To me it feels like a much smaller DLC than I was hoping for in terms of scope, certainly when considering the price tag. The main raison d'etre seems to be "engineer suits/weapons" and not much else - and adding a new vehicle for Arx-funded customisation options.

In hindsight maybe it would've been better to flesh out (and fix) existing content more, but you can't really monetize that, be it via separate DLC or skins (although they could've expanded on cockpit customisation and FCs, but for some obscure reason never grabbed that low hanging fruit).

 

[Old Duck]

People for years demanded FD do space legs.

IIRC, people for years demanded FD do space SHIP legs.

FD did space legs.

Many of us described in detail what we wanted from those legs, and what Odyssey gave us isn't it. In fact, the only "space" in Odyssey's space legs is walking around on [inside a very small copy-n-paste subsection of] stations and outposts, with a non-existent or limited view of actual space.

I personally begged Frontier to model legs after Subnautica & Space Engineers gameplay (at least regarding ship maintenance and repairs) rather than Call Of Duty, but all the game studios have Fortnite envy, so Odyssey is what we got.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

Many of us described in detail what we wanted from those legs, and what Odyssey gave us isn't it. In fact, the only "space" in Odyssey's space legs is walking around on [inside a very small copy-n-paste subsection of] stations and outposts, with a non-existent or limited view of actual space

This is part of the problem I feel - the "play area" for meaningful (by that I mean walking on an empty, barren planet is certainly doable but there's no point to it, and less fun than hooning it in an SRV) gameplay is actually quite small, compounded by the fact that none of the Horizons POIs offer any EDO specific gameplay content.

Completely ringfenced so you have to actively look out for feet-specific locations (plants, settlements, choice POIs and the 3 different concourses, that's it).

 

[shevek]

I don’t think there will be that much in the way of new stuff added to Odyssey.

I expect Thargoid missions as they were a grayed out box on the mission terminal, but apart from that Odyssey is an upfront purchase unlike Horizons.

 

[Rubbernuke]

I think what squeezes my bulb is that the BGS could be so much more if FD let it. Given the right amount of hooks into every part of the game you could have a true proc gen living galaxy from foot to space.

The other is that FD are too timid on actually making things unavoidable, because in such a proc gen galaxy you'd then have to find ways round these obstacles.

For example, Thargoids: we have Thargoid attack states that mean very little. Instead these should impose more on the BGS and thus distort the BGS under us so we never have the same place twice. This would in turn lessen the need for curated events which could then be hyper focused on things the BGS can't do.

Again, the BGS is almost to that point. It just needs a shove.

 

[Rock Hunter]

My only reason to get Odyssey was for the planet tech and to dip a toe from time to time into whatever the ‘space legs’ content would be. I was happy to pay for something I knew I wouldn’t play specifically and often for ‘legs’ based gameplay as I enjoy Elite as it stands (or stood.)

What has come as a big surprise is the separation between Odyssey and Horizons. Not the lack of interaction between those playing either version but the disconnect between the two spheres. My assumption (and yes, it does begin with a s s ) that the two would inter connect in a meaningful way is, at least for now, wide of the mark by quite a margin.

I‘m surprised to find myself not playing at the moment, the first time in four years that I haven’t played most days. I’m hoping that after the June updates there’s a stability and lack of obvious bugs that may bring me back, if not it looks like I may be enjoying a summer outside before the console release.

I can’t get rid of the sense of disappointment at the manner of the release but whatever happens in the future I’ve had a great deal of value from the money I’ve spent over the years. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed, perhaps with time that sense of disappointment will go and I can enjoy it for whatever it is at the time I log in again.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

I don’t think there will be that much in the way of new stuff added to Odyssey.

I expect Thargoid missions as they were a grayed out box on the mission terminal, but apart from that Odyssey is an upfront purchase unlike Horizons.

I'm convinced that what we see is what we got - with the exception of Thargoid content as you say; how that'll pan out is anyone's guess but based on what's already in the game now I expect not much more than a variation of CZs but on a Thargoid 'map'.

The fact they didn't seem to have touched up any of the 'legacy' Horizons assets isn't a great indicator that there's plenty of hidden stuff that's yet to come. Unless the game really still is unfinished (in terms of features) but I doubt that somehow.

I was very hopeful for more SRV models to make an appearance, but now after having played EDO I do indeed wonder what for - the Scarab covers all aspects and unless they add actual gameplay loops that justify different SRV types, there's no need, as much as I hate to say this.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

I think what squeezes my bulb is that the BGS could be so much more if FD let it. Given the right amount of hooks into every part of the game you could have a true proc gen living galaxy from foot to space.

The other is that FD are too timid on actually making things unavoidable, because in such a proc gen galaxy you'd then have to find ways round these obstacles.

For example, Thargoids: we have Thargoid attack states that mean very little. Instead these should impose more on the BGS and thus distort the BGS under us so we never have the same place twice. This would in turn lessen the need for curated events which could then be hyper focused on things the BGS can't do.

Again, the BGS is almost to that point. It just needs a shove.

I remember you mentioning BGS states impacting the concourses in various ways, which would be great and add a bit more 'soul' to them - unless it's the added pizzabox at the bottom right section stairs just before the turbolifts, I can't say I ever noticed any difference. They all feel the same with slightly different banner ads and colours of the walls, that's it.

 

[Rubbernuke]

I remember you mentioning BGS states impacting the concourses in various ways, which would be great and add a bit more 'soul' to them - unless it's the added pizzabox at the bottom right section stairs just before the turbolifts, I can't say I ever noticed any difference. They all feel the same with slightly different banner ads and colours of the walls, that's it.

Its what saps my enthusiasm because its another "if FD update this" situation. I have to slap myself and say "this update is only a few weeks old" and realise this is it.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

IIRC, people for years demanded FD do space SHIP legs.



Many of us described in detail what we wanted from those legs, and what Odyssey gave us isn't it. In fact, the only "space" in Odyssey's space legs is walking around on [inside a very small copy-n-paste subsection of] stations and outposts, with a non-existent or limited view of actual space.

I personally begged Frontier to model legs after Subnautica & Space Engineers gameplay (at least regarding ship maintenance and repairs) rather than Call Of Duty, but all the game studios have Fortnite envy, so Odyssey is what we got.

No, they just said space legs. And while you might have been quite specific as to what you wanted, you're just once voice, and FD at the end of the day will make things work how they want it to work... for good or for bad.

 

[Ethaidan]

What's the point of Odyssey... OK...
Odyssey has given me a whole new suite of reasons to fly my ship(s) to new, different, and a greater variety of places...
I map and land more on random planets, I drop in and check out more surface POIs...
It has made me rethink my ship design priorities - I have SRVs and DSS with me all the time...
It has given me some really interesting (ime) alternative means of supporting my BGS faction, and attacking other factions...
And I do very much enjoy the combination of jetpack & rocket launcher - reminds me a bit of the Q2 grappling hook mod + rocket launcher

I don't seem to see this 'complete disconnect' some keep going on about - I still spend loads of time piloting my ship, but now I have a greater variety of reasons to do so, places to go, and things to do when I get there. Odyssey has taken nothing away from Horizons, but has added more reasons/destinations to pilot my ship to so...

Having said that...
I would love zero-G EVA gameplay on derelict wrecks drifting in space.
I would love the ability to hatchbreak a megaship, EVA to it, and do the current on-foot gameplay inside.
I woul love to have FDev revist custom Horizons assets (persistent wrecks, Davs, Guardian, Thargoid, etc.) and work in on-foot gameplay.
I would love more dynamic volcanism, shard sites, plant life, etc.
And it would be nice to see a crossover in Hor/Odd mats - I want to raid a surface Base and steal a shipload of Biotech Conductors or Military Supercapacitors from the warehouse of the right type of Base, or streal a container of Power Regulators from an unsuspecting transport ship.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Basically I see ED as a build your own adventure game. Odyssey just adds more adventure I can do. So for me, its all good.