Post Your Support for Elite Odyssey to have VR Support.

Better late than never I guess, and not that I think FD is monitoring this thread and taking a head count that will in any way sway their decision to add VR support or not in the future, but...+1 VR for Odyssey from me. :)

I've been playing since first beta, so I have the lifetime account, and it does feel like a little punch to the gut that there will not be VR support out of the gate. But, there wasn't for ED proper for the first ~2 years after launch. Different situation, I know, but I can only be thankful that they ever added it at all. Not only that, but I feel it's one of the better VR experiences you can have in general, despite not being roomscale or having motion control support. I'm more of a sit-down sim guy anyway, so don't really care about that. I'm just really hoping that VR can be added to Odyssey at some point, since I can't imagine it being any more complex than NMS. The biggest hurdles are always the gameplay and control mechanisms. But, as others have said, I'd probably be satisfied if whatever K/M or controller configs they will have would be fine for VR as well. I'm thinking the likes of Subnautica, which I have no problems playing with an xbox controller. If it means having to switch from my HOTAS and pickup a controller for Odyssey, I'm OK with that.

Life's too short to hate on FD for finding themselves in a position that has made VR support at launch prohibitive. If it goes more than a year after Odyssey launches and still no VR support, I may have to reevaluate my position :/. Do I feel that my $150 was well spent due to this? Considering Horizons and the amount of hours I've put in over the last 6 years...sure.
 
Better late than never I guess, and not that I think FD is monitoring this thread and taking a head count that will in any way sway their decision to add VR support or not in the future, but...+1 VR for Odyssey from me. :)

I've been playing since first beta, so I have the lifetime account, and it does feel like a little punch to the gut that there will not be VR support out of the gate. But, there wasn't for ED proper for the first ~2 years after launch. Different situation, I know, but I can only be thankful that they ever added it at all. Not only that, but I feel it's one of the better VR experiences you can have in general, despite not being roomscale or having motion control support. I'm more of a sit-down sim guy anyway, so don't really care about that. I'm just really hoping that VR can be added to Odyssey at some point, since I can't imagine it being any more complex than NMS. The biggest hurdles are always the gameplay and control mechanisms. But, as others have said, I'd probably be satisfied if whatever K/M or controller configs they will have would be fine for VR as well. I'm thinking the likes of Subnautica, which I have no problems playing with an xbox controller. If it means having to switch from my HOTAS and pickup a controller for Odyssey, I'm OK with that.

Life's too short to hate on FD for finding themselves in a position that has made VR support at launch prohibitive. If it goes more than a year after Odyssey launches and still no VR support, I may have to reevaluate my position :/. Do I feel that my $150 was well spent due to this? Considering Horizons and the amount of hours I've put in over the last 6 years...sure.
Amen brother, While I'm not a kickstarter as it genuinely never came on my radar until horizons, I don't grudge a penny I've spent on Elite, of which there are many... However, it was Elite that got me into VR, and as such I've played elite for four years 100% exclusively on VR, so for me, the end of VR support from the company is the end of my support of the game/company.

The only carrot and or stick I have for influencing Frontier is my debit card, more specifically the flashing of it at their store, or the withdrawal of my custom. I'd rather give them my money and play the game, than be excluded from future content and keep my money. Sure I can make noise on the forum, wear a flashy blue avatar and VR Tags on my username, but it's the money that counts. As such I've not spent a ha'penny on their store since the VR bombshell dropped. A lot of guys are chanting NoVRnoBuy! the flipside of that is equally true. Add VR to the "Odyssey" game update, and that chant becomes a "shut up and take my money!", I can not, and do not claim to, speak for others; but if Odyssey was, say £40, and Odyssey VR was £60, I'd be all over it like a rash. But if I buy Odyssey at launch in the hope that they might maybe eventually possibly add VR, only if it's not too difficult; what means do I have to coerce them?

I don't think at this point we can realistically expect them to add VR at launch, sure we can hope for it, but I cynically maintain that it would be unrealistic. However, I am more than willing to gratefully eat a double helping of humble pie if they do. But I'm not willing to take them on trust that "VR not at launch" means anything other than "We've binned VR guys, but we don't have the minerals to tell you that straight up", as such, until we get a firm commitment that Odyssey VR will definitely happen, maybe not at launch, but within a reasonable but clearly defined timeline, ie: 3/6/9/12 months, my wallet is closed as far as frontier is concerned, Sure, the delayed access to Odessy would suck, and it'd be better at launch, but if it were late VR or NO VR, I'd take related VR and I'd be okay with that. But the evasive "weasel wording" of recent communications on the matter of VR's future relative to the game doesn't instil confidence, and is totally unacceptable to me. Again, I speak for no one but myself, however, the VR guys are generally pretty quorate on this matter, and as such I suspect for all I'm the guys saying it, if most of them were to read what I've said, they'd be mostly agreeing with what I've outlined above.

The latest comments on VR from Game Designer Luke Betterton don't bode well either: "We're still looking at the way that we would tackle that if we need to." - if we need to....? Granted this was somewhat balanced by a slightly more optimistic sentence in the same paragraph "But we're not saying never, it's just we need to focus our efforts elsewhere right now." I'll let you read the entire interview and make up your own mind on what was said and what can be read from it:

Odyssey, the upcoming Elite Dangerous expansion due to release in the first quarter of 2021, will finally transform the latest iteration of the 30-years-old space flight simulation franchise into something more than that. At long last, spacefarers will not be confined anymore to the darkness of the Great Void. Instead, they'll be given the exciting chance to explore uncharted planets all throughout the Milky Way while they go about their various orders of business.

We've had the opportunity to speak with two key members of the development team at Frontier, Art Director Chris Gregory and Game Designer Luke Betterton, to delve into what it's going to mean exactly to take the proverbial 'one giant leap' for the Elite Dangerous team and community.

Let's begin with what you personally consider to be the most exciting aspect of Odyssey.

Chris Gregory:
I think what's most exciting for me is delivering on some promises that we made when we started making this game years ago, in terms of David's commitment to the idea that one day you would be able to get out of your ship and form float, and we are actually doing that. That's what's really exciting. And the reason it's taking a while is that it's something we're going to do justice to.

For me, it's like making a new game. It really is that level of delta between what we've got and what Odyssey is. Again, it sits alongside everything that you have about the old game, but from a depth point of view, it's a new, really exciting challenge.

Luke Betterton: In Elite, we've got this the idea of starports and then there's the various kind of bubbles of humanity that are scattered about the Milky Way. And you generally do stuff at this stop and then you deploy elsewhere in another star system. It's very big. In Odyssey, though, you get to go one step down in terms of how granular the galaxy is. Suddenly all of the planets have a lot more activity, they've got a lot more people on them, various industrial settlements that are actually doing stuff. For me, it's the idea of being able to, as a player, go to those locations and interact with them and have that kind of more personal experience with the various people that are in the galaxy that otherwise have previously been just faces on boards or, you know, fairly distant inbox messages and that sort of thing. Now they'll actually be there doing stuff. It's gonna feel really good.



Following up on that, Odyssey is going to be Frontier's debut first-person shooter game. Was that challenging from a development perspective, stepping out of your comfort zone?

Chris Gregory:
Yes. As mentioned before, that's what makes Odyssey feel new and different. And although as a company it's not something we've done before, a lot of the people who have joined the company come from a place where they're very familiar with this kind of game. They know how to do this and so having them onboard has been a real help.

Luke Betterton: It's nice having that kind of mix of people who have worked on Elite for a long time, and people who are brand new to it and can give us a kind of different perspective. What we've ended up with is something that's technically an FPS but it doesn't necessarily have to feel like every other FPS, it's got kind of its own very Elite style to it.

Would you say it's more like a fast, arcade-style type or shooter or more akin to a slower-paced, tactical one?

Luke Betterton:
It can kind of do both. Playing it recently, it's very much up to you as the player if you want to be slow, tactical, methodical, maybe even silent. If you're very, very good, you can do that. You can wage war on a settlement with human mates, that's very like a surgical strike kind of feeling or you can if you're strong enough go in guns blazing. That might not work in a more well-defended area, but it's very much up to you. It's never going to feel truly arcadey as we're grounded in sort of a sci-fi, scientifically-based reality so we're still going to keep that sensation going.

Is there any sort of character progression that is specific to the new FPS part of the game that you can talk about?

Luke Betterton:
Yeah, we quite like that in the space game obviously. The ship is almost like your character there, you upgrade that as you go, you get better pieces, a new engine, that sort of thing. Obviously, you can't fit yourself with a new engine, but you'll be wearing a suit, you will have various tools and you'll have access to various weapons. And there's a way that you can improve those. I'd like to go into more on that, but we're going to go into more detail on that a little bit later on.

In terms of the split between PvP and PvE, will Odyssey focus more on one or the other, or is it going to be up to the player?

Luke Betterton:
It's gonna be very similar to the current version of the game. The focus is obviously the factions, you've got the various factions vying for control of the galaxy. As a player, you can either participate in helping them trade well and all that sort of stuff, or you can outright PvE if you want to be a PvE kind of shooter type player, you can do that. You can be this faction foot soldier and take missions to destroy target settlements, or rather not destroy them but get rid of the people that own those settlements so that you can move in and take them over. But also, if you run into another player, if they're against you you either have to back out or you've got to defend yourself.

Can you just shoot everywhere or is it disallowed in settlements?

Luke Betterton:
There are certain areas in Odyssey where we're not going to allow you to use your weapons, where you interact with NPCs, you pick up missions et cetera. But once you're out in the world, it's very kind of Wild West, if you're caught by yourself in the middle of nowhere. No one's gonna know that you were ever there. You may well get killed.

One question from the community is the status of VR for Odyssey. When will that be available?

Luke Betterton:
Elite is obviously a very nice VR game. You sit in the cockpit, and you're in front of the stars. It lends itself perfectly to VR. I'm really glad that we did add VR support because it's pretty awesome, it is quite an experience. Being able to run around on foot, though, is very much a different experience. We're still looking at the way that we would tackle that if we need to. Or if we decide that we think we can get a good way of doing it. And sure, like, that's something that we'll tackle, but for the moment, we have to focus on the actual main experience and getting that working the way that we really want it to feel. So on day one, there won't be any VR support. But we're not saying never, it's just we need to focus our efforts elsewhere right now.

Would you say that Odyssey could be able to lure in even those gamers who aren't too fond of flight simulator games? How viable is it going to be for newcomers to focus on 'FPS content'?
Luke Betterton:
One of the core principals of Elite Dangerous is based upon the freedom to choose your own path and experience our galaxy with as few restrictions as possible. In this spirit, new players will be able to choose to take their first steps on the ground or start their career as the pilot of a starship.
Combining this freedom with diverse first-person gameplay, extensive infrastructure to support on foot play, and the incredible universe and community that already exists within Elite, we believe will open up the world to a huge new audience.
Will 'FPS content' also include player ships, megaships, capital ships, and stations? What about boarding other ships and stealing them?
Luke Betterton:
Our first development diary is focussed on planetary exploration and discovery, while I’m not able to share full details on this just yet I can say that players will be able to explore a variety of locations on foot. We look forward to sharing more about combat and player interactions over the coming months.
Are there any 'combined arms' elements to the 'FPS content'?
Luke Betterton:
We will explore the diverse tactical elements that will converge in Odyssey’s sphere of combat in the near future, but for now, we can confirm that on-foot commanders, SRVs and starships will engage in a multi-layered strategic environment.
Is there going to be any weather system affecting players and/or their ships on planets, such as thunderstorms or dust storms?
Luke Betterton:
At launch, Odyssey will allow players to land in thin atmospheres which won’t have aggressive weather fronts of this kind, but we would love to bring those to Elite Dangerous: Odyssey in the future.
Will there be additional SRVs or fighters in Odyssey? What about new ships or reworks for older ones?
Luke Betterton:
There are plenty of ways to get around in Odyssey and we look forward to sharing more over the coming months.
What does Odyssey offer in terms of 'endgame content' additions and features?
Luke Betterton:
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey offers a completely new perspective to play, and multiple paths to keep forging your own narrative for veteran and new players alike. You may decide to carry on with your selected vocation, bounty hunting, commerce, piracy… or engage in something new. With unprecedented detail and a whole new set of tools and environments at your disposal, you can take the chance and start a completely different career like the brand new Exobiologist specialization.
Are there are any plans for a network code overhaul, possibly paired with dedicated servers for multiplayer?
Luke Betterton:
We’re continuously evaluating all parts of our server infrastructure for Elite, whilst I can’t share any specifics with you right now our team are very much focussed on preparation for Odyssey’s release.
Looking ahead, is cross-play an option you're evaluating for Elite Dangerous as more and more games use it to enlarge their communities?
Luke Betterton:
Currently, there are no plans for crossplay in Elite Dangerous: Odyssey.
Similarly, are you working on technical enhancements such as ray tracing and next-gen console support? If so, is there any ETA on when players might get either?
Luke Betterton:
We’re always looking for ways to enhance the Elite Dangerous experience for our players but we don’t have any specifics to share right now.
Also, going forward, are you planning to keep supporting PlayStation 4 and Xbox One or will you focus on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X?
Luke Betterton:
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey will launch simultaneously on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in early 2021. We are committed to keep supporting the existing Elite Dangerous communities regardless of their platform of choice. Currently Elite Dangerous: Odyssey isn't planned for PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X but we continue to evaluate developing platforms.
Thank you for your time.
 
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As much as I don't want to look at it this way, I can understand from their perspective that the amount of total sales between PC, Xbox, and PS far outweigh the potential losses of VR players not buying the expansion. It could be a simple crunch the numbers of what that extra revenue potential is compared to the cost of resources towards VR support. I can't entertain the notion that they decided not to support VR because they just don't like VR or the players. It must have been a tough call somewhere along the way. Unfortunately, the few short and somewhat cryptic replies to the matter can come across as them being a bit indifferent about it. Who knows, maybe there's truth to that, but I don't think so, or at least hope not.

Also, I don't necessarily interpret the latest comment from Luke the same way you do. The full comment seems to suggest more that they simply do not have the resources to devote to implementing VR support at launch. Whatever changes they would need to make IF they need to make them is just an unknown to them right now. There have been quite a few games now that have started off without VR support and then added it later, ED included. Just because ED in its current form works with VR, doesn't come close to meaning that whatever new gameplay mechanics they are still in the middle of developing would just simply translate to VR. Unfortunately this just means that VR is going on the backburner until they can get it launched, probably sort out whatever bugs will definitely be in it with at least 3-5 major patches, and THEN they can focus on VR. I think they will. And to be honest, even if it seems very counter-intuitive, the best chance that VR support DOES get added, is if people, VR players included, buy the expansion. If they end up making decent profit from it, it can only make the decision to put something towards VR development easier. It's a risk, but money talks and whinging on message boards...doesn't.
 
I really don't have a bone to pick with the developers. I bought ED for vr use only, at a fair price, and have got many hours of enjoyment out of it.

But, those of us (I'm sure there's more than just myself) that have zero interest in playing ED in 2d, will simply not give this developer another dollar without vr implementation, simply put. I will not give them a dollar, "speculating" that down the road vr might be implemented, screw that.

Make the promise now that vr will be implemented at release, or, see ya later FDEV to my financial support. This sim in 2d is horrible, compared to vr, and I will not waste a minute of my time in pancake mode. If vr is re-implemented down the road, fine, but I will not give them another dollar until that day.
 
I'm enjoying the discussion with you @Baggy MacDouche but to save formatting with quotes I'm going to reply to your comments above inline but in a different colour text, hope that's ok?

As much as I don't want to look at it this way, I can understand from their perspective that the amount of total sales between PC, Xbox, and PS far outweigh the potential losses of VR players not buying the expansion. There is always going to be more console / 2Dpc gamers than VR, however as Elite is a niche product, most "typical" gamers play "through" a game in a couple of months, either playing through campaign mode, or grinding the most lucrative mechanic to endgame, where as VR players tend to be longer term players. Because we plan on sticking around, I suspect we are more likely to buy paintjobs and ship kits etc, so overall monetisation of the players would see VR / long term players as more lucrative. While not all long term players are VR guys, most VR players are long term players. As such throwing us under a bus is commercially short sighted. Sure, the company will see an influx of unit sales, but after they've all aped youtube influencers tutorials and got a carrier + [endgame benchmarks] they will have "won" and moved on. It could be a simple crunch the numbers of what that extra revenue potential is compared to the cost of resources towards VR support. See above, I think it's short sighted from a commercial point of view,, albeit lucrative at the beginning. I can't entertain the notion that they decided not to support VR because they just don't like VR or the players. It must have been a tough call somewhere along the way. It's either a brutal business decision, if we allocate X thousands to development of FPS VR, we expect total sales of Odyssey to total Y million pounds, but if we ditch VR and focus on the FPS stuff, we anticipate Odyssey sales being Z million. Say Vee Whut? Unfortunately, the few short and somewhat cryptic replies to the matter can come across as them being a bit indifferent about it. Who knows, maybe there's truth to that, but I don't think so, or at least hope not. The non committal evasive obfuscation that forms the basis for their very limited communique's really rattles my cage, the cynic in me thinks they have already made up their mind, and it's not the decision we hope for, but they simply don't have the minerals to tell us the bad news.

Also, I don't necessarily interpret the latest comment from Luke the same way you do. The full comment seems to suggest more that they simply do not have the resources to devote to implementing VR support at launch. I read the "if we have to" and "never say never" somewhat cynically. They've obviously made a decision not to include VR a while ago, its not like dropping VR is an "oh flip I forgot to get a fresh carton of milk at the shops" oopsie, is it? My fear is the longer the game doesn't have VR, the more it will be developed without VR, the bigger a challenge it will be later on to add VR to it. That is to say the longer the game is without VR the less likely it will be to get VR reinstated in future. Whatever changes they would need to make IF they need to make them is just an unknown to them right now. There have been quite a few games now that have started off without VR support and then added it later, ED included. ED actually had VR support baked in at Alpha in December 2013. Just because ED in its current form works with VR, doesn't come close to meaning that whatever new gameplay mechanics they are still in the middle of developing would just simply translate to VR. Unfortunately this just means that VR is going on the backburner until they can get it launched, probably sort out whatever bugs will definitely be in it with at least 3-5 major patches, and THEN they can focus on VR. I think they will. I'd actually be fine with that, if they'd firmly commit to doing that, but the very few comments we have had on VR have all been vague and weasley worded fill of disinterested ambiguity, "if we have to" being the latest. And to be honest, even if it seems very counter-intuitive, the best chance that VR support DOES get added, is if people, VR players included, buy the expansion. I disagree, buying the expansion without VR shoots VR in the foot, the more successful the expansion is without VR, the less they have a commercial need to maintain that codebase to appease this section of the playerbase. If they end up making decent profit from it, it can only make the decision to put something towards VR development easier. It's a risk, but money talks and whinging on message boards...doesn't. Ostensibly it is part of the Community Managers job description to capture feedback from the community, like they are the companies eyes and ears as well as their mouthpire, and this is a community channel, so Frontier Management ought to be aware of the dissidence growing amongst the dismayed VR Players and the ensuing Odyssey Boycott.
 
Most insightful commentary +1

I really don't have a bone to pick with the developers. I bought ED for vr use only, at a fair price, and have got many hours of enjoyment out of it.

But, those of us (I'm sure there's more than just myself) that have zero interest in playing ED in 2d, will simply not give this developer another dollar without vr implementation, simply put. I will not give them a dollar, "speculating" that down the road vr might be implemented, screw that.

Make the promise now that vr will be implemented at release, or, see ya later FDEV to my financial support. This sim in 2d is horrible, compared to vr, and I will not waste a minute of my time in pancake mode. If vr is re-implemented down the road, fine, but I will not give them another dollar until that day.
Very much this, especially in light of VerticalBlank's accurate observation that "not at launch" is Frontier-Speak for "not happening ever". If we get to Odyssey's launch date without a firm statement of VR will be released in [month] I'll be so far removed from being a future frontier customer that not even hubble telescope could read my debit card.
 
I couldf never go back to playing this game out of VR! I only use VR (WMR) for this game as I bought my headset for it. I think taking away VR support would be an absoloutely terrible idea! Cant belive that they're REALLY considering this! WHERE did Frontier say they are droppinng VR suppoert?
 
I couldf never go back to playing this game out of VR! I only use VR (WMR) for this game as I bought my headset for it. I think taking away VR support would be an absoloutely terrible idea! Cant belive that they're REALLY considering this! WHERE did Frontier say they are droppinng VR suppoert?

Greetings Commanders,

Thank you for your overwhelmingly positive response to the announcement of Elite Dangerous: Odyssey. We’ve been really excited to share this and it’s amazing to see that you all feel the same way!

This is just the beginning and we will be sharing more details and information in the coming months that you can look forward to.

We’re seeing all your streams, videos, posts and questions and, today, we wanted to answer a few for you straight away:

Is Elite Dangerous: Odyssey coming to VR?

Currently, Elite Dangerous: Odyssey will not be VR-compatible at launch. We’re big fans of VR and we are truly proud of the amazing experience that we currently offer in Elite Dangerous. However, the new gameplay, mechanics and features that will be introduced with Elite Dangerous: Odyssey means that we had to re-examine if we could deliver that same experience without compromise, which, for launch, means Odyssey will not be VR-compatible.

Will there be Base Building in Elite Dangerous: Odyssey?
Base building is not currently on the roadmap for Elite Dangerous, however we have plenty of new features planned instead such as on-foot exploration, new planetary tech, social hubs, combat as well as more to be shared later on! We’re looking to put our best foot forward with Odyssey and if you’d like an overview of what to expect, you can check out the website or Steam page.

Will Elite Dangerous: Odyssey be included in my Lifetime Expansion Pass?
While Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is a paid expansion, we're happy to confirm that yes, this expansion will absolutely be included in the Lifetime Expansion Pass for free.


Stay Safe, Commanders o7
 
I couldf never go back to playing this game out of VR! I only use VR (WMR) for this game as I bought my headset for it. I think taking away VR support would be an absoloutely terrible idea! Cant belive that they're REALLY considering this! WHERE did Frontier say they are droppinng VR suppoert?
VR will continue to work in Elite & Horizons but it won’t function in Odyssey “at launch”, according to information put out by FDev.

The worry from many here, me included, is that the “not at launch” wording is the same used back when Elite came out on the PS4 regarding PSVR - seemingly it’s a euphemism for “never”. (Edit: this comment, happily, has not aged well today :D)
 
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Ships, atmos, SRV’s stay as is.

On foot you either go pancake or they project pancake into your HMD.

No booting between different versions like with base game and Horizons.

Also, station interiors, yes.

Ship interiors, No
 

YES !

The VR in ship and SRV for Odyssey was the least I was hoping for.
Flat screen in the HMD for legs I can live with, especially as it will be seamless without removing HMD or log out/in.

Good to hear they will continue to look into VR for legs as well. That would be the icing on the cake.

Got to admit that I had almost given up hope for keeping VR, so good news. NO, GREAT NEWS.

Have now went from No VR No Buy to when can I pre-order.
 
Good to hear. Something akin to this was the bare minimum i thought that Odyssey would get, before they said there wouldn't be any VR at all on launch. So i will say i am relieved opposed to being excited about it. I still give Frontier credit for listening to this smaller part of the player base.

If Frontier invests any development time beyond that into VR, i'd certainly be happy about that. I don't think there are many games where VR and non-VR players can play the same game together in multiplayer, especially not as an FPS. As far as i am aware there is only Payday 2 that does that, and it was never designed as a VR game when it was released. The developers did some clever things there to balance VR players with some asymmetrical features compared to non-VR players while not having to change anything with the overall game design at all.
 

Deleted member 121570

D
As far as i am aware there is only Payday 2 that does that, and it was never designed as a VR game when it was released. The developers did some clever things there to balance VR players with some asymmetrical features compared to non-VR players while not having to change anything with the overall game design at all.

There is also Detached, which allows cross-platform VR/non-VR play - and is FPS / PvP. :)
 
Absolutely. Walking around in other 1st person VR games is fine - if you've played Alyx, then think that.

I Understand that motion to other players looks weird, and is hard to do, but there are games out there which did this well.
 
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Supporting VR for Odysee as well.
Doesn't need to be perfect from the start, it can still be imrpoved over time. But please don't leave that flat - I just upgraded to an 8K-X - would be a pity not to be able to use it there ;)
 
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