4.0 Access on PC: FAQ

And who knows, with Horizons 4.0 being the new "official" Horizons, maybe that will incentivize Frontier to fix the remaining performance, lighting, and UI issues, since basically everyone but a small minority will likely be on 4.0 after it releases.

I doubt that any major fixes are going to happen. UI issues could be fixed but unless FDEV gets incentivized enough to hire the necessary developer talent performance and lighting are not going to get any better. Odyssey is a dead end from a development point of view.

Enjoy 3.8 while it lasts. I intend to. Once the number of console players drops low enough FDEV will be able to shut down the servers without looking too bad. When that happens the PC version will probably go with it.
 
i am really sorry to ask this, but...

Why do you even made 4.0 Horizons in the first place if that version can't instance with Odyssey?
It's the same version, just with EDO content withheld. Think of it as the base game now. It, unlike 3.8, will get the new events, CGs, development, and people can then update to EDO very easily. So it's worth being on 4.0, and it's free for 3.8 owners.

Instancing quirks between 4.0 and EDO are probably a mix of historical PEGI restrictions and fdev desire to push horizons players on to the current version and upgrade.

I imagine a 3.8 player, put off by the negative response to EDO last year, thinking 3.8 is "better". So fdev give them a free upgrade to 4.0. They then try it, because why not, and shock horror it's actually good. Then a sale comes along and they upgrade to EDO for a pittance.

Sounds good to me 🤷‍♂️
 
I think it's fair to say that DLC should be treated as an optional enhancement of the game, not a new paywall for features you already had. Don't get me wrong; I think EDO is worth the full price and it's on sale right now, even, but it shouldn't be required to play with people that, for whatever reason, don't find value in it. I mean, they occasionally make a big deal about the "sphere of combat"; we can have horizon's players play alongside us without them ever needing to step foot on the ground.
I get the impression that you're kinda focusing too much on a singular definition of DLC, there's a broad scope as to what constitutes one. Elite Dangerous was launched with a development road map and the functionality that Odyssey has brought to the main game was part of the main development tree, not just some side levels or bonus maps:


Elite Dangerous was initially released with many additions to come as later updates. Horizons was one that and Odyssey is another in the line of expansions that are to come in the future. That's not a DLC in the limited scope of how I think you intend it to be understood. If you watch the video, listen to it all, one of the key themes is continual development down the line with much more to come. That's not a bonus side DLC as you suggest and to consider it to be one would be to be misinformed.
 
I actually agree with you, in that if someone enjoys Horizons 4.0, they might as well throw a $20 at Frontier and grab Odyssey on sale. Also, as a Horizons 3.8 holdout, I have no expectations of future content (paint jobs, ships, etc), and I accept that I'm living in a shrinking universe of players. I do wish all the half-baked stuff in Horizons was finished and the bugs fixed before Frontier abandoned it to maintenance mode, but I also understand that there's no economical incentive to continue fixing what is now officially "outdated" code. Heck, I'm actually (pleasantly) surprised that Frontier is keeping 3.8 around on PC.

And who knows, with Horizons 4.0 being the new "official" Horizons, maybe that will incentivize Frontier to fix the remaining performance, lighting, and UI issues, since basically everyone but a small minority will likely be on 4.0 after it releases.
At the end of the day, it's one's own personal choice and free time. Only thing I'd say is don't ever feel so entrenched in identifying as a hold out that it becomes your raison de terre when it comes to Elite as a whole. o7
 
It's the same version, just with EDO content withheld. Think of it as the base game now. It, unlike 3.8, will get the new events, CGs, development, and people can then update to EDO very easily. So it's worth being on 4.0, and it's free for 3.8 owners.

Instancing quirks between 4.0 and EDO are probably a mix of historical PEGI restrictions and fdev desire to push horizons players on to the current version and upgrade.

I imagine a 3.8 player, put off by the negative response to EDO last year, thinking 3.8 is "better". So fdev give them a free upgrade to 4.0. They then try it, because why not, and shock horror it's actually good. Then a sale comes along and they upgrade to EDO for a pittance.

Sounds good to me 🤷‍♂️
But ummmm, people who refuse to move to EDO is because the new DLC is not optimized yet until now? that is why they said 3.8 is better in term of optimization? i mean, weird enough because i got 30ish fps on CZ on foot and on ship in any graphic settings, i am pretty sure it is hard to force them to move to 4.0 if the optimization not as good as 3.8. Plus you can't instance with a friend that play on odyssey.

At the end, still pointless and weird decision to make.....
 
But ummmm, people who refuse to move to EDO is because the new DLC is not optimized yet until now? that is why they said 3.8 is better in term of optimization?
And those people who are on 3.8 and don't own EDO, put off by the initial release problems and performance. Will they have tried EDO for themselves? No, because they haven't bought it.

Now they can try it for free and see if it works fine. It certainly works so much better now than on release.

How else will people on 3.8 get to try it on their pc, without buying EDO? A free 4.0 upgrade.

It's entirely sensible. The only issue is the lack of instancing between 4 and EDO. But having a free upgrade to 4? It's a great idea. No loss at all for those on 3.8 to try it and then be able to play - if they want - on the development codebase.

I fail to understand the complaints really.
 
i am really sorry to ask this, but...

Why do you even made 4.0 Horizons in the first place if that version can't instance with Odyssey?
I would have thought so you can see how Odyssey would perform on your system. Higher spec requirements are needed for Odyssey. (the specified specs are too low IMO). Think of H4.0 as a teaser to see if you like the changes (not atmos obviously) but UI, rendering etc.. If you run this well, then odds on that you will be fine with the forward moving developing version of Elite. One version for us all eventually. This gives you a heads up on if you may need to upgrade without committing to a purchase to find out you don't like it.
 
i am really sorry to ask this, but...

Why do you even made 4.0 Horizons in the first place if that version can't instance with Odyssey?
Belive me or not you will be bored after few attempts to instance together with Odyssey players... same as every time walking thgough your ship interior. You should know what I mean.
 
Belive me or not you will be bored after few attempts to instance together with Odyssey players... same as every time walking thgough your ship interior. You should know what I mean.
You can always leave a negative review on steam as they still didn't include ship interiors... Plenty of others have...
(or, of course, play Star Citizen, provided you have a high-end PC)
 
I would have thought so you can see how Odyssey would perform on your system. Higher spec requirements are needed for Odyssey. (the specified specs are too low IMO). Think of H4.0 as a teaser to see if you like the changes (not atmos obviously) but UI, rendering etc.. If you run this well, then odds on that you will be fine with the forward moving developing version of Elite. One version for us all eventually. This gives you a heads up on if you may need to upgrade without committing to a purchase to find out you don't like it.
Make sense, I hope FDev also deliver a full optimization on this 4.0 Horizons, for real.... and for some player that can't perform 4.0 can die slowly in the black.... RIP.
 
Last edited:
I admit to being curious just how many of the posters on the ED forum only play ED, and, as their PC played it "OK" then have seen no need (or perhaps have not had the budget) to move their PC along with the times.
EDO is playable on my 6th Gen I7 laptop with a 1070 GPU, just... But that is 5 years old and is starting to show its age a little.

EDO is poorly optimised, no argument, but is significantly better than on release, so should give reasonable play even on modest PCs, which hints toward 4.0 Horizons being useable for anyone with reasonable spec kit (even @Old Duck should be perfectly fine on their 2070 GPU laptop, should they venture forth), and probably EDO, if they feel so inclined.
 
Console will remain on 3.8, this option is for PC.
I don't see why PC players should get the option of 3.8 or 4.0.
I understand console is constrained to 3.8 only, but allowing 3.8 to remain on PC only gives a further avenue for issues to be raised from. - To which the answer is 'upgrade to 4.0'.
If Frontier as confident that 4.0 is the way forward (and that PC will never revert to 3.8), then I would force an update on the PC community.
It'll simplify the back-end estate (marginally but it will simplify the supported estate).
 
I will try 4.0 but there's little that I know about it...
That about matches the rest of us!
But... It appears from the info given that it will be EDO without landable atmospherics and on foot - and also without EDO / 3.8 players.
So... New lighting, UIs, Planetary Tech, EDO ship modelling changes (snuck in without making any fuss about it) and some emissive cosmetics not emissive any longer... And the PJ's that look pink in EDH appearing dull browny-red...

Probably other stuff I haven't thought about, too. ;)
 
I doubt that any major fixes are going to happen. UI issues could be fixed but unless FDEV gets incentivized enough to hire the necessary developer talent performance and lighting are not going to get any better. Odyssey is a dead end from a development point of view.
I'm not quite so negative on Odyssey. I think it still has potential. We forget that Horizons has undergone a number of pretty massive changes during its relatively long lifetime. Look how long the beige plague lasted, yet Frontier did finally fix that problem, and I think they did a pretty stellar job with the new (now old) planet coloring system. The hopeful side of me would like to think that Odyssey is currently in its version of the beige plague, and that someday things like lighting and shadows and performance will be fixed. Until then, I am grateful we still have 3.8.

Only thing I'd say is don't ever feel so entrenched in identifying as a hold out that it becomes your raison de terre when it comes to Elite as a whole. o7
Yes, you say that a lot. You seem more obsessed with me buying Odyssey than I am with holding onto Horizons Legacy. The irony is that if I had bought Odyssey and then left a negative review (which is quite likely), you would be accusing me of review bombing, LOL. Be careful what you wish for :p
 
I would have thought so you can see how Odyssey would perform on your system. Higher spec requirements are needed for Odyssey. (the specified specs are too low IMO). Think of H4.0 as a teaser to see if you like the changes (not atmos obviously) but UI, rendering etc.. If you run this well, then odds on that you will be fine with the forward moving developing version of Elite. One version for us all eventually. This gives you a heads up on if you may need to upgrade without committing to a purchase to find out you don't like it.
Except the worst performance drops (even on hi-end systems) are in settlements and concourses which are not available in 4.0H
So the estimate done based on that would not be the most accurate.

Other than that, your reasoning is sound.
 
Except the worst performance drops (even on hi-end systems) are in settlements and concourses which are not available in 4.0H
So the estimate done based on that would not be the most accurate.

Other than that, your reasoning is sound.
But most Horizon supporters don't care about on foot settlements, so they won't miss that anyway, they just want to compare how they play their game on the new variation of the engine. <edited.>
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom