Hello!
I'm posting today because I assume that Frontier are seeking feedback about the Odyssey alpha, which for the most part I am tremendously impressed by. Seeing the Elite universe brought to life on a human level is incredible after so many years of imagining it. Elite does the macro very well; it is wonderful to see the micro as well.
One of the reasons I backed Elite was the commitment to internal consistency and scientific plausibility behind the game. David Braben and the rest of the developers were keen to emphasise the thought and consideration that had gone into the design of the ships and space stations. Videos like this one show that, in which David discusses the design of the Coriolis:
One of the fundamental tenets of the Elite universe is that it doesn't have artificial gravity. 'Gravity' is provided by spin, which is why the space stations spin and why the rings of the Orbis are the width they are. This dev diary explains this more fully:
Elite Dangerous was completely designed around this principle, and the internal consistency is what made Elite such an absorbing, believable universe for me.
In recent years this has been eroded a little bit, here and there. There's the coffee machine in the Krait, with cups dangling on hooks, regardless of whether you're in the depths of space or not. There's the fleet carriers, which don't spin, but still have boxes stacked in neat piles in the hangars. (I asked Dav Stott on Lave Radio once whether this was an oversight - he joked that it was 'space velcro', and that I should take it up with the art team
)
Now we have access to the interiors of stations, which is utterly wonderful. I visited an outpost last night (for clarity: I mean the small, non-spinning space stations) and noticed that the interiors were nearly identical to those of the stations that provide 'gravity' through spin: bars with bottles and glassware neatly stacked, objects lying on benches and tables, drinks in open-topped glassware, conveniently not floating away.
But outposts don't spin, and the Elite universe doesn't have artificial gravity. So really, the outpost interiors shouldn't have this stuff - drinks might be expected to be in little squeezy pouches (like in the Expanse) and things could be expected to be strapped to walls. 'Space velcro' is fine, and 3307 is a long time away, so you wouldn't necessarily expect the interiors of the outposts to look like the inside of the ISS. But for the game to be internally consistent, the art of the interiors should at least reflect the fact that they're zero-G environments.
To a small degree, the devs have recognised this: when you emerge from the lift, your suit says "magboots engaged" or similar, indicating that someone at FD is still aware that outposts are zero-G environments. But that's as far as it goes - the art design doesn't reflect this at all.
The design of the Orbis and Ocellus stations were famously informed by ideas of what living in space might be like, by 20th century futurists like Gerard O'Neill and John Desmond Bernal (who designed the Bernal sphere, which inspired the Ocellus design). This commitment to plausibility has always been one of the things I have most loved about Elite Dangerous, and it is a shame to see it undermined.
Frontier have form in improving art assets over time in the interests of plausibility and immersion; the interiors of the spinning starports were updated long after release with lots of variations themed on the station's economy type, which we all absolutely loved seeing - so I am hopeful that Frontier might be able to revisit the outpost interiors and make them more consistent with the rest of the Elite universe. Given that Odyssey simulates survival and vulnerability in space so well, it would be a shame for outpost interiors not to be similarly plausible and believeable.
I thought about keeping quiet and hoping that it's addressed later, but alphas are for feedback, so here I am. Frontier: thank you for doing such a wonderful job with Odyssey, and please consider the above to reinforce the wonderful commitment to plausibility and immersion that Elite has always had. And other forum-folk: if you agree with the above, please do (respectfully) say so below. Equally, if you disagree with me and don't think it's a big deal, Frontier would presumably find that useful to know as well.
Thanks for your time!
I'm posting today because I assume that Frontier are seeking feedback about the Odyssey alpha, which for the most part I am tremendously impressed by. Seeing the Elite universe brought to life on a human level is incredible after so many years of imagining it. Elite does the macro very well; it is wonderful to see the micro as well.
One of the reasons I backed Elite was the commitment to internal consistency and scientific plausibility behind the game. David Braben and the rest of the developers were keen to emphasise the thought and consideration that had gone into the design of the ships and space stations. Videos like this one show that, in which David discusses the design of the Coriolis:
One of the fundamental tenets of the Elite universe is that it doesn't have artificial gravity. 'Gravity' is provided by spin, which is why the space stations spin and why the rings of the Orbis are the width they are. This dev diary explains this more fully:
Elite Dangerous was completely designed around this principle, and the internal consistency is what made Elite such an absorbing, believable universe for me.
In recent years this has been eroded a little bit, here and there. There's the coffee machine in the Krait, with cups dangling on hooks, regardless of whether you're in the depths of space or not. There's the fleet carriers, which don't spin, but still have boxes stacked in neat piles in the hangars. (I asked Dav Stott on Lave Radio once whether this was an oversight - he joked that it was 'space velcro', and that I should take it up with the art team
)Now we have access to the interiors of stations, which is utterly wonderful. I visited an outpost last night (for clarity: I mean the small, non-spinning space stations) and noticed that the interiors were nearly identical to those of the stations that provide 'gravity' through spin: bars with bottles and glassware neatly stacked, objects lying on benches and tables, drinks in open-topped glassware, conveniently not floating away.
But outposts don't spin, and the Elite universe doesn't have artificial gravity. So really, the outpost interiors shouldn't have this stuff - drinks might be expected to be in little squeezy pouches (like in the Expanse) and things could be expected to be strapped to walls. 'Space velcro' is fine, and 3307 is a long time away, so you wouldn't necessarily expect the interiors of the outposts to look like the inside of the ISS. But for the game to be internally consistent, the art of the interiors should at least reflect the fact that they're zero-G environments.
To a small degree, the devs have recognised this: when you emerge from the lift, your suit says "magboots engaged" or similar, indicating that someone at FD is still aware that outposts are zero-G environments. But that's as far as it goes - the art design doesn't reflect this at all.
The design of the Orbis and Ocellus stations were famously informed by ideas of what living in space might be like, by 20th century futurists like Gerard O'Neill and John Desmond Bernal (who designed the Bernal sphere, which inspired the Ocellus design). This commitment to plausibility has always been one of the things I have most loved about Elite Dangerous, and it is a shame to see it undermined.
Frontier have form in improving art assets over time in the interests of plausibility and immersion; the interiors of the spinning starports were updated long after release with lots of variations themed on the station's economy type, which we all absolutely loved seeing - so I am hopeful that Frontier might be able to revisit the outpost interiors and make them more consistent with the rest of the Elite universe. Given that Odyssey simulates survival and vulnerability in space so well, it would be a shame for outpost interiors not to be similarly plausible and believeable.
I thought about keeping quiet and hoping that it's addressed later, but alphas are for feedback, so here I am. Frontier: thank you for doing such a wonderful job with Odyssey, and please consider the above to reinforce the wonderful commitment to plausibility and immersion that Elite has always had. And other forum-folk: if you agree with the above, please do (respectfully) say so below. Equally, if you disagree with me and don't think it's a big deal, Frontier would presumably find that useful to know as well.
Thanks for your time!
