Could we possibly have Horizons remain 'as is' rather than get 'upgraded' with new tech?

So like many - I am sadly not a fan of the new visual style in EDO - preferring the brighter (and less performance intensive) style of Horizons

Things are just much harder to see in Odyssey and in Horizons, to my eyes at least, look fine.

I understand FDevs position on updating graphics to meet the expectations of the times, and so hold no ill feeling regarding their new direction - and I know that many CMDRs really do like the new visuals. But I also think it would be nice to give CMDRs that prefer Horizons the option to continue playing the game they have paid for and enjoyed for many years without problems

What do you guys think? is this a thing that should be considered or am i just out of touch?
 
Regarding the UI
  • The Horizon's UI wasn't fantastic. Lots of things about it both visually and functionally annoying.
  • The Odyssey UI is worse.
  • I rather a new UI replace both. Test it using people that (a) play the game and (b) have never played the game.
To be honest...I miss the original UI pre-horizons...perhaps its just what I became most comfortable with...I still get confused whenever I have to request docking, lol
 
If Odyssey's planet tech gets fixed/reworked and looks like this, would you accept it replacing Horizons? Not saying that it's a sure thing that the planet tech will get to that point, I think, because of performance reasons. Even right now, the UltraForCapture setting is pretty performance heavy.

Regarding the UI
  • The Horizon's UI wasn't fantastic. Lots of things about it both visually and functionally annoying.
  • The Odyssey UI is worse.
  • I rather a new UI replace both. Test it using people that (a) play the game and (b) have never played the game.
If they are serious about their focused feedback threads and take well thought-out suggestions, it will be OK in my book. The fact that they added bookmark route plotting functionality tells me that they are at least trying.
 
Totally agree. Horizons is visually easier to see. In Odyssey, so much of the text is small. It's obvious it's meant for a PC monitor and not an HDTV. I hope they don't touch Horizons. I actually prefer Horizons and find myself playing it more. I just find Odyssey frustrating.
 
They are definitely not going to run two codebases. If you think updates are buggy already, just imagine twice of that for each. I'm still unsure why they even went the way they did. Must have been a nightmare. Real curious what went on behind the scenes there.
I currently have this challenge at my work right now. We have a stable version that's been running nearly 15 years but it is so saddled with tech debt that whenever we have to urgently change something it becomes a HUGE deal. We also have our 'NextGen' version that's been rolling out to our areas with lower utilization. Keeping those in sync, required since it's usually government compliance related, is very difficult and expensive.

I applaud FDev for trying to move forward past the mountains of tech debt that I'm sure exist...but I'm afraid they may have underestimated just how tough of a nut that is to crack.
 
If Odyssey's planet tech gets fixed/reworked and looks like this, would you accept it replacing Horizons? Not saying that it's a sure thing that the planet tech will get to that point, I think, because of performance reasons. Even right now, the UltraForCapture setting is pretty performance heavy.


If they are serious about their focused feedback threads and take well thought-out suggestions, it will be OK in my book. The fact that they added bookmark route plotting functionality tells me that they are at least trying.
If the planet tech were made to look like the 'in game footage' we were teased with, AND the performance is roughly the same as Horizons, AND all the UI's get fixed (GalMap, SysMap, Shipyard, and Outfitting), sure I could go for that.

However I do not think FDev is capable or will 'Fix' the UI's. I expect the console optimization and performance issues will take all the time from now until console release and any changes as pointed out in the roadmap will be very minor.
 
Agreed, although after this I don't even care to play Horizons anymore...

What would actually be nice (especially for us who pre-ordered) would be to go back completely to Horizons, give us Arx equal to the price of the game and re-release it when it's ready.

That would be a nice move. It's not like they really lose something by giving out ARX.....
 
I hope that Horizons could be kept "as is" for a couple of reasons

Galmap: you can actually target a Nebula in Horizons for easy of "browsing" for systems to visit. In Odyssey Galmap this cannot be done just get the "not found" message.
Planets: they look awsome in Horizons some actually look if the gravity from a gas giant they are orbiting are ripping the thing apart. In Odyssey they are more "high plains drifters" boring, dull and way too smooth.
 
Last edited:
It cannot hurt to ask if Fdev are willing to run two codebases. And yes I would love to hear what exactly transpired and the specific issues that led to that conclusion.
They are definitely not going to run two codebases. If you think updates are buggy already, just imagine twice of that for each. I'm still unsure why they even went the way they did. Must have been a nightmare. Real curious what went on behind the scenes there.
 
I really hope so. In this way you can switch to Odessey when planning to do boots on the ground content, if not, you stay in Horizon, and enjoying a better UI and performance.
 
I absolutely agree! I have been asking for this everywhere it crops up. I even asked Frontier, and what I got was:

“… you can still launch Elite Dangerous in Horizons mode via the launcher and enjoy the game in it's previous form... A lot of these things will become consistent across Horizons and Odyssey at the time of console launch, but by then we expect much more of the player base will be satisfied by their design and accustomed to them.”

Which was not the answer I was after, but I think they are getting the idea that leaving the option for Horizons in place is something that would be appreciated by a group of players.

I live in hope that they won’t force us into giving up Horizons. (For the record, I bought Odyssey, but just don’t want to have to play it. They can keep the cash, but I won’t be pre-ordering anything ever again from them)
 
Top Bottom