ANNOUNCEMENT Odyssey Update 2021

[Rat Catcher]

E.g. from an article from last August (we don't get a lot of updates regarding the development progress - progress is always good and on time until they announce a delay):

So it was mentioned last August?
I wonder if they have bothered doing any further development since then?
The DLC will never get released because it is Frontier doing it, I suppose?

I appreciate that some of our forum members have no faith in anything Frontier related, such is the breadth of the 'community' that they will continue to play something they despise, apparently.

ETA: I wonder if Odyssey fails to recoup a significant return on its development costs if Frontier will finally give up on the game? It would certainly please some, I'm sure!

 

[Rubbernuke]

He was talking about Odyssey features. I'd assume most of them aren't completed yet, but to give you an example: The atmospheric flight model.

If you're talking about live game features, I'd say Powerplay. That still misses stuff that's in the manual.

Its ironic that Powerplay, the most complicated part of the game, is not in the Pilots Manual at all, but its characters are.

 

[zimms]

So it was mentioned last August?
I wonder if they have bothered doing any further development since then?
The DLC will never get released because it is Frontier doing it, I suppose?
[...]

Why the hostility? You asked for an example, I provided one.

I don't have access to the source code and Frontier haven't exactly been drowning us in details about Odyssey. Or did you actually not want an answer at all?

 

[Rat Catcher]

Why the hostility? You asked for an example, I provided one.

I don't have access to the source code and Frontier haven't exactly been drowning us in details about Odyssey. Or did you actually not want an answer at all?

I read this forum too much perhaps, so see the same patterns over and again.
I would imagine that 6 months ago there were a few parts of the expansion yet to be finalised. The CM's claimed to be already playing it, which himts it may be much further along than the forum members believe.

Sorry if my response appeared hostile, the benefit of written rather than spoken words.

 

[TransTechGirl]

Given that they have yet to figure out what happens when you die while on foot and a pretty bloody major part of people shooting each other is dying, it would seem they don't really have a clue right now and the I'm very dubious about the release date. Also we really haven't actually seem any real gameplay, the in engine footage is all scripted, all signs point to them not even being close to being finished with development.

 

[CMDR Shorty]

Given that they have yet to figure out what happens when you die while on foot and a pretty bloody major part of people shooting each other is dying, it would seem they don't really have a clue right now and the I'm very dubious about the release date. Also we really haven't actually seem any real gameplay, the in engine footage is all scripted, all signs point to them not even being close to being finished with development.

I would like to see these 'signs'. The fact that CMs have been playing it kinda says it is very close to completion!

 

[TransTechGirl]

I would like to see these 'signs'. The fact that CMs have been playing it kinda says it is very close to completion!

CM's say they have played it, but that could mean they ran in a circle for 5 minutes or they managed to engage in "the sphere of combat", but I would bet it was the former. The thing is, unless you can actually ask very specific questions and actually get an answer which isn't a variation of "no" then really what they tell us is meaningless.

To be this far into development and only be trotting out pre-alpha footage, no actual gameplay and not even be able to answer simple questions about game mechanics points to the fact that it hasn't yet actually been built.

 

[CMDR Shorty]

CM's say they have played it, but that could mean they ran in a circle for 5 minutes or they managed to engage in "the sphere of combat", but I would be it was the former. The thing is, unless you can actually very specific questions and actually get an answer which isn't a variation of "no" then really what they tell us is meaningless.

To be this far into development and only be trotting out pre-alpha footage, no actual gameplay and not even be able to answer simple questions about game mechanics points to the fact that it hasn't yet actually been built.

I wouldn't say that "running around in circles for 5 mi utes" is playing a game. I could knock something up in 10 minutes that would let you simply 'run in circles'. After a few years dev time I'm sure they have something worth playing!
Why do you hate frontier so much?
Why do you think the CMs are being so disingenuous with what they are saying?
To me, the fact they they are saying alpha is very soon and they have been playing it suggests it is almost (or is) ready and they are just doing the 'finishing off' bits

 

[TransTechGirl]

I wouldn't say that "running around in circles for 5 minutes" is playing a game. I could knock something up in 10 minutes that would let you simply 'run in circles'. After a few years dev time I'm sure they have something worth playing!
Why do you hate frontier so much?
Why do you think the CMs are being so disingenuous with what they are saying?
To me, the fact they they are saying alpha is very soon and they have been playing it suggests it is almost (or is) ready and they are just doing the 'finishing off' bits

I don't hate them, but years of buggy releases, delayed or entirely missing features, the fact that they release features then abandon them, a lack of transparency regarding delays, failure to combat griefing and botting etc have left me with a healthy sceptical attitude towards them.

You should view CM's in the same was as you should view HR at work, they aren't there for you, they are there for the company. CM's are nothing more than the mouthpiece of Frontier Developments, they tow the line or they loose their jobs.

I'm happy to be proven wrong, but FDev have yet to ever manage a release on time, that didn't completely break the game and had all the features they promised.

I feel very strongly about Elite Dangerous because I can see greatness and completely wasted potential, it is frustrating.

 

[Scoob101]

To be this far into development and only be trotting out pre-alpha footage, no actual gameplay and not even be able to answer simple questions about game mechanics points to the fact that it hasn't yet actually been built.

I`m not sure what you mean by "built" - they will be producing builds very often. Thats part of the development cycle.

Also bear in mind that CM`s are always mega cagey about what they say. Making inferences based on CM`s being CM`s doesn't help get to the truth.

I believe June for PC is still realistic based on what we know.

 

[Scoob101]

Given that they have yet to figure out what happens when you die while on foot and a pretty bloody major part of people shooting each other is dying, it would seem they don't really have a clue right now

Or perhaps they have a number of options and they haven't yet finalised which one they are going for.

When you frame it like that it sounds a lot more like they are in control - such is the power of semantics.

 

[Rat Catcher]

Or perhaps they have a number of options and they haven't yet finalised which one they are going for.

When you frame it like that it sounds a lot more like they are in control - such is the power of semantics.

Too positive for some, though

 

[Factabulous]

Often they have an answer, but just don't want to share it - as they know a %age of the players will lose it. Whatever they do about deaths someone will decide it is unacceptable and start an Open Letter, so best to keep it quiet.

 

[Rat Catcher]

Often they have an answer, but just don't want to share it - as they know a %age of the players will lose it. Better to keep quiet. Whatever they do about deaths someone will decide it is unacceptable and start an Open Letter, so best to keep it quiet.

This much could be said for the majority of content - even with the crumbs we have been thrown there have been many pages of 'debate, despair and digs' - claims that we have only ever been shown combat, that the 'in-game footage' wasn't... That the DLC doesn't exist...

It is the forum, if you told all of the Northern Hemisphere member that today was Monday there would be demands for a second opinion

 

[Factabulous]

This much could be said for the majority of content - even with the crumbs we have been thrown there have been many pages of 'debate, despair and digs' - claims that we have only ever been shown combat, that the 'in-game footage' wasn't... That the DLC doesn't exist...

It is the forum, if you told all of the Northern Hemisphere member that today was Monday there would be demands for a second opinion

Yeah - when you look at things they U turned on sharing:

• VR is pancake mode - they weren't planning on tell us that, but caved in after all 5 VR players revolted ( )
• Ship Interiors - they weren't planning on telling us that, but caved because lots wanted to know

There's not been as much outrage about respawn, so they remain silent. Most other stuff is pretty obvious - unless you're trying to be outraged at a possibility. But then again this is the forums, so someone is always outraged at any possibility

 

[thistle]

Given that they have yet to figure out what happens when you die while on foot ...

Hmm.

Do you imagine the build(s) they've been playing recently just don't have respawning?
Or is it more likely they haven't decided exactly where respawning happens and needed playtesting to help decide which of a number of options works better?

Which do you think is more likely?

 

[thistle]

It is the forum, if you told all of the Northern Hemisphere member that today was Monday there would be demands for a second opinion

I wasn't sure this morning, it was DEFINTELY Sunday or Monday or maybe Tuesday at a push.

This is quite normal for me though

 

[Rat Catcher]

I wasn't sure this morning, it was DEFINTELY Sunday or Monday or maybe Tuesday at a push.

This is quite normal for me though

Being retired and in Lockdown, most days I need to look at the clock to know for sure... Terrible thing to admit, I know
(and, sadly, a fact!)

 

[aRJay]

I don't hate them, but years of buggy releases, delayed or entirely missing features, the fact that they release features then abandon them, a lack of transparency regarding delays, failure to combat griefing and botting etc have left me with a healthy sceptical attitude towards them.

....

The problem I have with this is we don't know how successful they have been in that combat.

It is like the soldiers attitude towards the RAF about Dunkirk the Luftwaffe raided Dunkirk several times and few RAF fighters were seen overhead so the soldiers thought the RAF wasn't trying, when actually they were trying hard and quite successfully just not where they could be seen from Dunkirk.

We see that there are griefers and botting but have no idea how much worse it could be.

 

[TransTechGirl]

The problem I have with this is we don't know how successful they have been in that combat.

It is like the soldiers attitude towards the RAF about Dunkirk the Luftwaffe raided Dunkirk several times and few RAF fighters were seen overhead so the soldiers thought the RAF wasn't trying, when actually they were trying hard and quite successfully just not where they could be seen from Dunkirk.

We see that there are griefers and botting but have no idea how much worse it could be.

If they were successfully dealing with griefing and botting they would be able to tell is how successful. The only reason I can think of for not telling us is that they actually haven't and or can't deal with the problems.