Odyssey's premise to latch on to the space version of Call of Duty and other similar fame and popularity is understandable and could be an interesting aspect of the ED franchise. However, it misses the mark on the activities that a large number of legacy players and newcomers alike came to ED for. The ship simulation, the BGS, trading, mining, and the opportunity to explore the touted '400-billion-star systems' Fontier and dev's have referenced for decades. To breathe life into Odyssey and to capture the hearts and minds of the legacy player and new player Frontier needs to get back to its core values as a franchise. I won't speak for other commanders, but to swing me to Odyssey, I suggest the following...
Elite dangerous played to many of our hearts and desires to 'explore the black'. The addition of Odyssey is both exciting and heartbreaking in its current state. There is a well-established and repetitive trading system for grinding, a limited mining system whose capacity could be so much more if it could actually mine in space vs being restricted to the bubble for support and operation, and there is an exploration system within the known galaxy that hasn't even been scratched by either player or developer alike with an endless opportunity for flora, fauna, minerals, and metal options providing new and exciting gameplay in how to manage, mine, discover, care, or transport them. Options abound withing the Elite Dangerous platform and Odyssey could be a welcome addition if the core values that have built and grown Elite over the decades aren't further lost or abandoned. This legacy commander doesn't stay and play for another mindless grind, honestly, I often abandon them in other endeavors most of the time and don't know the use or value of three quarters of the commodities in the bubble. Though I had a lot of fun trading and fighting to grind out for a ship or two, for a while, in the confines of the bubble early on. I've returned to the bubble a few times after exploring for new minerals and metals and then discovering and mining rare finds for fame, profit, or fortune. But I think in the end, but mostly I stay with the franchise in the hopes that Frontier Developments, Elite Dangerous, and Odyssey continue to satisfy our innate curiosity of the black, the opportunity to discover a payday of fame and fortune as we discover them, but most of all... to enjoy our ships with hopefully more new and exciting options to come as the ships are what Elite Dangerous is really built all around in the end, no matter what capacity of play we're interested or engaged in.
Hopefully this inspires new game play, ideas, and vision vs complaint, ridicule, or argument over implementation. In gaming and the universe anything is implementable and possible, provided there is a demand and desire for it and a willingness to meet it. Never lose sight of the basics of a great idea and what brought you to where you are. By all means add, innovate, and expand. But never lose sight of your core values (or player base) in the hopes of the next great expansion. By all means grow the franchise but keep your core values, never abandon them, and fortune will always follow.
- Stop limiting players to one of the two bubble regions of the galaxy by requiring them to come back for 'repairs' (power plants should have limited battery option so it can be repaired by module too) or for credits like current BGS for all fleet carriers requiring a constant credit vacuum. Players will return to different regions, or create new ones, based on their own needs and gameplay within the platform. They will return, visit, and interact in the new and various bubbles as their needs and game play change within the great platform that is ELITE DANGEROUS. Different bubbles (or naturally created regional play areas) will develop their own high/lows in their economies and the global would have less volatility.
- A smaller, less expensive exploration - mining type of fleet carrier to fill the gap between a 208 million credit clipper and a 5 billion carrier acting as a station. This would make better sense of progression to advance to 'the next level of play'. Carrier should be self-supportive based on material needs to operate in the black (and not based around credits) and be limited to 1 or 2 exploration, 1 or 2 mining, and one type of trading ships to operate from with large storage capacity for newly discovered flora, fauna, minerals, and metals.
- A heavy class of trade vessel with high storage, high jump, minimal or no weapon capacity. Perhaps require special docking platform like a distribution center hub (as occurs in true trading) and have a very slow sub super cruise operating parameter to dissuade it's use as a local transport. These would then be used for deep space transit between miners, carriers, or perhaps a newly created commodity such as livestock. Their return to the 'bubbles' to fulfil trade and transportation of flora, fauna, minerals, and metals from the black would be more like an actual trade economy and the current 'simulated' economy could slowly be 'phased out' of existence as a true one emerges.
- Stands to reason the further away and harder to find an object is the more valuable and interesting it would be. Scatter the flora, fauna, minerals, and metals throughout the galaxy requiring it to be 'discovered' offering high values for first or early discovery, same as that of the celestial bodies. This would also have the codex start to be used for something genuine vs the regional regurgitative catalog it is now. The codex doesn't have a whole lot of new or interesting in it as it just keeps repeating the same types of stars, planets, and 'fauna' from galaxy regions. With the above it would expand with new and interesting finds that would encourage others to seek, find, and add life, breathe, and interest into the commodities markets.
- With Odyssey we should have the ability to walk around inside of our own ships for repairs, scanning the black using FSS, and refining materials mined or discovered by our adventures. Nothing against another 1st person space shooter, but like many I'm one who is holding out on 'upgrading' to see if Odyssey is ever going to also embrace the core values of Elite Dangerous trade, mine, and explore or if it is going solely the way of another dying space shooter like so many others out there. I'm hoping to see Odyssey merge or morph back to the basic values of Elite Dangerous by being a SPACESHIP SIMULATOR as Elite Dangerous has been for decades.
Hopefully this inspires new game play, ideas, and vision vs complaint, ridicule, or argument over implementation. In gaming and the universe anything is implementable and possible, provided there is a demand and desire for it and a willingness to meet it. Never lose sight of the basics of a great idea and what brought you to where you are. By all means add, innovate, and expand. But never lose sight of your core values (or player base) in the hopes of the next great expansion. By all means grow the franchise but keep your core values, never abandon them, and fortune will always follow.