New Planet Tech is KILLER of Exploration (all terrain is tiling/repeating/not procedural/random)

[Valorin]

I've come back with another comparison. I mentioned the loss of Taylor Keep before. That was a beautiful INRA base in a crater, in a crater, between the central pillar in the crater.

I've just gone to check out a Guardian Site in Vela Dark Region JS-T b3-0, planet A 3 and it had the guardian site set in the most incredible location, with the circle overlooking the vast terrain much lower:

Horizons:

Horizons:

And here is the same location in Odyssey. To no surprise it looks like every other planet:

Wow... Just wow...

This is something I noticed on all Odyssey non-atmospherics, and I wonder if it is intentional or not: There is no dust/fog.
I'm almost sure this is more realistic because without atmosphere everything just sinks to the ground and stays there.
The "fog" though is mostly what creates the great atmosphere (no pun intended) at those Guardian ruins and other sites.
It also helps with the LoD in the distance, which looks not too good in any game when there's no fog.

I really don't mind the change of location. That's just the planet completely remade, but the mood has taken a hit without the fog.

 

[Erei]

I'm almost sure this is more realistic because without atmosphere everything just sinks to the ground and stays there.

There is a very thin fake "atmosphere" on the moon, according to the astronauts. It's next to impossible for camera to take a picture of it. But apparently, the dust in the "air" makes a kind of light fog/haze.

 

[Amy Pendergast]

There is a very thin fake "atmosphere" on the moon, according to the astronauts. It's next to impossible for camera to take a picture of it. But apparently, the dust in the "air" makes a kind of light fog/haze.

Reality knows how to hide LOD breaks obviously.

 

[Valorin]

That lost so much atmosphere I'm speechless.

At least the handcrafted POIs should look better than that.

Well, there's a lot of them. I'm just on my way out of the Bubble, maybe I'll take a look at a few ruins. I spent unholy amounts of time at Guardian ruins back then...
I am pretty sure though the fog will be missing in all locations. Let's hope that's a bug. Or whatever it is, that they change it.

 

[Just]

At least the handcrafted POIs should look better than that.

Well, this is the "funny" part.
Special locations seem to be ones that got downgraded worst.
Remember Deciat - Farseer Settlement?

Because why should anyone in FD realize that locations that are most often visited by players should look BETTER and not WORSE then average random location.

Such level of planning requires mental capabilities of 100 Einsteins.

 

[Amy Pendergast]

Well, there's a lot of them. I'm just on my way out of the Bubble, maybe I'll take a look at a few ruins. I spent unholy amounts of time at Guardian ruins back then...
I am pretty sure though the fog will be missing in all locations. Let's hope that's a bug. Or whatever it is, that they change it.

Yep, let's have a look what the patches will bring.
I mean it's acknowledged that something is amiss, we can only wait.

But good find, i was mostly on a bit normal site seeing so for.

 

[Valorin]

Well, this is the "funny" part.
Special locations seem to be ones that got downgraded worst.
Remember Deciat - Farseer Settlement?

Because why should anyone in FD realize that locations that are most often visited by players should look BETTER and not WORSE then average random location.

Such level of planning requires mental capabilities of 100 Einsteins.

Concerning the Guardian sites, I'm pretty sure they were placed randomly in Horizons as well, but maybe someone had the time back then to look at them after that and actually touch things by hand.
Going over all those special sites we have in the game would really take a while and a few people who actually have the time.

Concerning Farseer's base this looks just unfinished somehow. As if they copied the topography but the systems weren't really compatible. No clue. They removed that really strangely positioned stone with one of the patches, so it really looked like time was short.

It's the fog. When we have it back it will all work out. It will all be fine. I'm sure of it. Oo

 

[Just]

It will all be fine. I'm sure of it. Oo

Yes, it will be better with time.
And in a few years, when most of bugs will be fixed, we'll have another "game changing" update.
And posts like:

"WHY U BROKE ODYSSEY FD, IT WAS SO GOOD, WHAT IS THIS NEW ALFA YOU HAVE SOLD US AS FINISHED PRODUCT!!! REFUND!!!"

Maybe this is the mysterious DARK WHEEL of ED?

 

[Amy Pendergast]

Yes, it will be better with time.
And in a few years, when most of bugs will be fixed, we'll have another "game changing" update.
And posts like:

"WHY U BROKE ODYSSEY FD, IT WAS SO GOOD, WHAT IS THIS NEW ALFA YOU HAVE SOLD US AS FINISHED PRODUCT!!! REFUND!!!"

Maybe this is the mysterious DARK WHEEL of ED?

I call it simply the "Circle of Forums" - nails it every time in every single forum of every single game so far for me

 

[Just]

BTW:
I am currently searching for landable atmospheric planets with B/A class main star.
Because I loved light in some systems with those classes in Horizons.

And I start to have a bad feeling about this.

Because what are the chances, that I have ACCIDENTALLY so many landables but NONE with atmo - they are here, but never landable.

 

[Just]

NVM, I found it on another system.
Two landables and one has atmosphere
RNG is funny sometimes.

 

[Valorin]

BTW:
I am currently searching for landable atmospheric planets with B/A class main star.
Because I loved light in some systems with those classes in Horizons.

And I start to have a bad feeling about this.

Because what are the chances, that I have ACCIDENTALLY so many landables but NONE with atmo - they are here, but never landable.

Active and powerful stars often just strip the atmosphere from planets. Especially if they don't have a magnetosphere, or a weak one. So I guess the Stellar Forge takes that into account, and those atmospherics are pretty rare.
But they are out there. Found a few and keep on searching. I also like to jump at random stars like that and hope to find atmos.

 

[Amy Pendergast]

Active and powerful stars often just strip the atmosphere from planets. Especially if they don't have a magnetosphere, or a weak one. So I guess the Stellar Forge takes that into account, and those atmospherics are pretty rare.
But they are out there. Found a few and keep on searching. I also like to jump at random stars like that and hope to find atmos.

Sometimes I'm not quite sure i like how they go all in on realism in this tech.

It's a game after all.

 

[Helvellyn]

That lost so much atmosphere I'm speechless.

At least the handcrafted POIs should look better than that.

I'm guessing that they might've been deliberately placed in interesting locations in Horizon, and the location kept (is it at the same lat / long as before?) but with a new engine it's essentially in a random location. Pity.

 

[hunvagy]

Farseer really felt like someone forgot to finish it. The assets were in the wrong place, and the whole base was at an angle.

 

[Just]

Hmmm...
Atmo made some bad magic with B star light, making it look... boring.
Too Sun-like.
Gonna look for "O" with atmo landables.

 

[Drelthar]

I've come back with another comparison. I mentioned the loss of Taylor Keep before. That was a beautiful INRA base in a crater, in a crater, between the central pillar in the crater.

I've just gone to check out a Guardian Site in Vela Dark Region JS-T b3-0, planet A 3 and it had the guardian site set in the most incredible location, with the circle overlooking the vast terrain much lower:

Horizons:

Horizons:

And here is the same location in Odyssey. To no surprise it looks like every other planet:

Wow... Just wow...

When the art director looked at these locations (The art director -did- look at all the hand crafted locations.... right?) What did he think? "This is fine?"

I don't think so, because the art direction for elite has always been amazing. Unless they got rid of their art director.

 

[whitezephyr]

I've come back with another comparison. I mentioned the loss of Taylor Keep before. That was a beautiful INRA base in a crater, in a crater, between the central pillar in the crater.

I've just gone to check out a Guardian Site in Vela Dark Region JS-T b3-0, planet A 3 and it had the guardian site set in the most incredible location, with the circle overlooking the vast terrain much lower:

Horizons:

Horizons:

And here is the same location in Odyssey. To no surprise it looks like every other planet:

Wow... Just wow...

Yikes... Looks like it had the life sucked right out of it in Odyssey. Hopefully this can be fixed.

 

[Just]

(...). Unless they got rid of their art director.

I guess we have to be "art directors" now.
You just have to find right place and angles

 

[Nerix]

Yikes... Looks like it had the life sucked right out of it in Odyssey. Hopefully this can be fixed.

Yep, at least they have admitted that the planetary tech is not working as intended in some occasions. So there is hope for a fix.