Updated: 22nd April 2022 (See here for a list of latest updates to this page)
RELEASE DETAILS
Release Date: PC Release – 19th May 2021 | Console – Cancelled
Available on: PC, XBox One, PS4, VR – Partial
Pre-order (PC Only): Odyssey (£29.99/$39.99/34.99EUR) | Deluxe Alpha (£39.99/$54.99/46.99EUR) | Steam Store
Lifetime Pass Holders: Free upgrade including Odyssey Deluxe Alpha
PC Specifications: See this page
Horizons Compatibility: See this page
CONTENTS
| 1. INTRODUCTION |
| > Pre-Release |
| > Release |
| > Post-Release |
| 2. PLANETS |
| > Planetary Atmospheres & Surfaces |
| > Flight Model |
| > First Footfall |
| > Organics: Plants & Fauna |
| 3. SPACE LEGS |
| > A Giant Leap for Elite |
| > Space Suits |
| > Emotes |
| > Equipment & HUD |
| > Combat & Weapons |
| > Vehicles, Ships & Travel |
| 4. MISSIONS, STATIONS, GAMEPLAY & LORE |
| > Mission Overview |
| > Social Hubs, Space Stations, Ports, Settlements & Social Hubs |
| > Engineers |
| > Narrative & Lore |
| 5. QUALITY OF LIFE CHANGES |
| 6. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
1. INTRODUCTION
> Pre-Release
On the 23rd April 2021 Frontier announced that the PC version of Odyssey would be released on the 19th May 2021, with the console version initially due to arrive in the Autumn of 2021. The reason given for the console delay was because of remote working issues due to Covid. The Alpha was rolled out on the 29th April 2021 over a number of weeks to allow players to test specific parts of the game. It came to and end on the 5th May 2021. Pre-ordering Odyssey enabled players to receive an additional suit.
> Release
Odyssey enables players to set foot on existing airless planets as well as those with a ‘tenuous atmosphere’. Players can take missions whilst walking around specific interiors of ports, settlements, stations, megaships, Fleet Carriers, Thargoid bases and the Guardian ruins. All of the existing planets in the game have been given a significant visual makeover thanks to changes to the planetary generation code, and the Cobra engine which significantly improves their appearance.
“Odyssey is an important expansion because getting out on foot is the next logical step and something we are very proud in doing. The key thing is that it brings millimietre, on foot scale to a gigantic play space […] that makes the play space very much bigger. Even ships like the Cobra are really big and up until now that scale has been lost. Atmospheres also change the feeling on a planets surface with skies and the day night being very different with the thin atmospheres we are introducing.”
David Braben
> Post Release
Since the initial release there have been a host of issues, mainly with the performance of the game but also bug related issues. This also meant the Frontier decided to indefinately pause the relase of the console version of the game until they were sure it would run as intended on the XBox and PS4. Then on the 10th March 2022 Frontier announced the cancellation of console development for consoles.
Frontier then released a number of updates which introduced additional content as well as incrementally tackling ongoing bugs and issues. You can find the patch notes for these releases below with all details being added to this page.
Patch Notes: Odyssey Release | Hotfix #1 | Hotfix #2 | Hotfix #3 | Update #1 | Update #1.1 | Update #2 (Odyssey & Horizons) | Update #3 | Update #3.0.1 | Update #4.0 | Update #5.0 | Update #6 | Update #6.0.1 | Update #7 | Update 7.01 | Update #8 | Update #8.01 | Update #9 | Update #9.0.1 | | Hotfix #4 | Update #10 | Hotfix: #10.0.1 | Hotfix #10.0.2 | Hotfix #10.0.3 | Update 11 | Update 11.01
2. PLANETS & ATMOSPHERES
> Planetary Atmospheres & Surfaces
Improvements to existing the planetary surfaces and planets with ‘tenuous’ atmospheres will increase the varieties and make roughly 20% more in-game planets landable. The improvements to existing surfaces will see new rock formations making the planetary surfaces more interesting to navigate. Frontier have also confirmed that the lighting has been improved for all aspects of the game. The new planetary changes will also be in-game for any existing landable planets in the Horizons update. The changes to the planetary tech for Hoirzons only players (PC & console) won’t happen until the game is released for console in the autumn.
“We’ve made quite a few changes on the rendering side, to list a few examples: We now have some per-pixel lit particles, we have more shadowed spotlights working together, and we also finally have physically based materials that have information about how rough they are and how they should respond to light. If we then feed in these realistic lighting values that we have now, things work right, together, and consistently. That’s part of the reason why the new planets are looking very nice now, it’s a combination of lighting from the atmosphere, the star, and any lights around your body.
Dr. Kay Ross – Elite: Lead Render Programmer
“The lighting on a world with an atmosphere is different to that of a world without. You don’t have the atmospheric contribution as much, it’s a slightly starker look – and I love that we’re able to see that now in our engine. Not only are we generating the Milky Way as accurately as we can, we’re also getting the looks down.“
There will be an upper cap on high gravity worlds where it would not be safe for commanders to deploy into. Speaking about the introduction of ‘thin atmospheres’ and what it would mean to the game, Art Director Jonathon Bottone commented,
“…lots of work has gone into making every sunset feel unique. A new algorithm takes into account the composition of the planetary atmosphere, the color and distance of the nearby stars, as well as other factors. The result is “a huge range […] of interesting alien kind of feels.”
Polygon Interview
During an interview with MCV/Develop lead programme Dr Kay Ross commented on the changes made to the generation of the planetary terrain via the Stellar Forge (the Stellar Forge generates the rules by which each planet is formed, from its size to it’s chemical composition and any atmosphere).
“In Odyssey we are changing the process in which we generate landable planet surfaces. Where before we had a generator for rocky surfaces and one for ice surfaces which both took Stellar Forge inputs, we now have terrains and terrain materials of various different types and scales which are derministically selected and blended together depending on the Stellar Forge driven properties of that planet.
Dr Kay Ross – MCV/Develop (page 40)
“Landable planets are still classified between rocky, icy, rocky ice, high metal content and matal rich depending on what emerges form the Stellar Forge simulation, but the terrains are dependent on those simulation values more than these discrete titles (classifications). Terrain shapes, styles, and combinations are mixed toehter, meaning there is a lot of variation within these classes.”
Frontier have also redesigned the way that rocks and boulders sit on planetary surfaces. Previously they were placed around the player by the CPU as they drove along, however,
“For Odyssey, we have what we call the ‘scatter system’. This is sending data through another noise graph, and we have essentially different collections of things that are expected on different areas of different types of planets – so you get a wider range of things being put down in different patterns and densities, depending on what should be there. This is going to make the surface more visually interesting to drive and walk around!“
Dr. Kay Ross – Elite: Lead Render Ppogrammer
“Surface pressure, volcanism, atmospheric composition, and other geological agents all play a key part on the structure and natural features of each world, capriciously moulding their appearance and making them unique and distinctive.”
> Flight Model
Frontier have confirmed that they are looking at how any changes to planet atmospherics will affect the handling of ships as they fly into and through their atmospheres. Gareth Hughes, Principle Designer of the game commented,
“That is something that we’re currently investigating. It’s quite challenging and I can’t promise anything for launch but it’s something that we are definitely investigating.“
Gareth Hughes – Principle Designer – 18th August 2020
> First Footfall
Claiming ‘first footfall’ will occur the moment a player sets foot on the surface of a planet. Unlike handing in cartographic data players will not have to travel back to the bubble and sell it in order to claim it. The Commanders name will then appear in the system map. Additionally players will not be able to claim planets and moons in occupied human space,
“The galaxy of Elite Dangerous isn’t new, the year is 3307 and humans have been exploring space for more than 1,300 years. Planets and moons in human occupied systems, along with particular bodies of historical significance will have First Footfall already claimed.”
Elite Dangerous Q&A
> Organics: Plants & Fauna
Odyssey features a significant number of varieties of flaura and vegetation that can be found on planetary surfaces. Their locations will be shown from space and dictated by the chemical make-up of the planetary surface, as determined by the Stellar Forge. These discoveries exist in various levels of maturity with players able to scan their genetic make-up using a field sampler, log the contents to the Codex, before then selling the data to Vista Genomics at ports and stations for credits. Players making a unique discovery have their names attached to them in the same way when they discover planets and other stella phenomenons.
“The thin atmospheres we’re unlocking in Elite Dangerous: Odyssey are inhospitable environments, incapable of supporting human or typical animal life. That being said the array of organics discoverable in-game extends beyond traditional plant life or ‘flora’. Some of the organics found are more fungal or chemosynthetic bacterial in nature, and others would sit well outside of any earth classification system – these could, in scientific terms, be considered fauna, but not in the traditional sense of the word and we want to be clear on what to expect in game based around the thin atmospheres that will be unlocked. In summary we use the term organics because this is a more representative and accurate term for what commanders may discover.”
Frontier Forum
“There will be a huge variety of organics available to discover in Odyssey with a large number of core species and further variants and subspecies planned for day one. The generation of these will take into account numerous factors including the compositional make-up of the planet and atmosphere, along with their geographical placement on that body.”
Frontier Forum
3. Space Legs
> A Giant Leap for Elite…
The introduction of ‘Space Legs’ is feature that has been heavily spoken about by both Frontier and the game’s players since before its release in 2016. In this respect Frontier see it as the fulfillment of an early promise. David Braben has always seen walking about as part of Elite and you can read about his and Frontier’s thoughts on it in ‘The Future? It’s on the list…”.
In what could well be a somewhat revolutionary moment for the game, Frontier have confirmed that new players will have the opportunity to either start the game on foot, rather than buying themselves the traditional starter ship. Frontier have subsequently commented that players would not have to fly a ship to complete missions but could instead use the Apex Shuttle service inside inhabited space.
“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.”
Luke Betteron – WCCFTech Interview
Frontier are keen to give the setting foot on a planetary surface as unique a feeling as possible for players. This will however (as of this post) involve a ‘fade to black’ screen from cockpit to either the exit hatch, the top of the ships ladder or perhaps the surface itself. Game director Peter Jackson commented,
“One of the things […] is the idea that you kind of get that Neil Armstrong moment when you actually set foot on a planet for the first time so it has to have a slight emotional resonance to it. It had to feel like you were literally touching the ground for the first time”
Peter Jackson – The Road to Odyssey Part 1 – One Giant Leap
> Space Suits
Walking on planets will bring about its own challenges with players having to monitor their oxygen levels which will bring in survival elements to the game (NPCs will not be restricted by oxygen levels). The affects of heat, gravity and radiation are also factored into the equation with players managing their power levels in the same way they would managing their engines, systems & weapons pips when flying ships. Suits would also be battery powered, provide a shield and have nightvision available to the players in the form of an upgrade. Players will have displays in their helmet, similar to how they have them onboard their ships. Gravity will affect how high a player can jump and thus how effective their jetpack will be. For outposts in Zero-G players will use mag boots to attach the player to the floors.
Frontier have said that there are three main varities of suit for specific jobs, namely:
- Combat – Manticor Dominator: Tough shields and armour allowing players to carry two primary weapons and more grenades
- Exploration – Supratec Artimis: Built to help you survive in extreme environments whilst searching for biological samples.
- Scavenging – Remlock Maverick: Robust, bif pack size and comes with an Arc cutter to cut away panels etc.
- Flight Suit – Default flight suit can be used for the above 3 playstyles but it’s not recommended.
Suits will also be upgradeable, with players able to buy the same base suit numerous times whilst fitting each one out differently. Frontier have said that there will be a “vast amount of ways Commanders can customise their avatars in game.” There will also be an on-foot vanity cam allowing players to take photos as they would with their ships.
“The Supratech Artemis explorer suit is perfectly designed to help pilots investigate and research brand new worlds and biological lifeforms.”
Elite: Dangerous – Twitter
“The Maverick Utility Suit boasts the largest carrying capacity and access to the Arc Cutter”
Elite: Dangerous Twitter
“With the best shields and weapons capacity, the Manticore Dominator suit will give soldiers the power to control the battlefield.”
Elite: Dangerous – Twitter
“Does my suit have enough power to get me from A to B? Am I going to run out of oxygen? Am I going to get ambushed? Am I going to get lost and not to be able to find my way back to my ship?
Gareth Hughes – Principal Designer of Elite: Dangerous
“We have navigation…but you might go too far and the journey back can be really intense! Am I going to make it? Or am I going to suffocate in my suit a hundred meters away? So there are some really cool, intimate, and intense moments that come from the foot gameplay.”
> Emotes
In Update #8 Frontier introduced Emotes into the game alolowing players to make a variety of hand signals during play. These are:
- Salute
- Wave
- Applaud
- Disagree
- Agree
- Point
- Stop
- Advance/Go
The ‘Point’ emote is contextual, allowing the player pointing at, for instance’ a ship, to highlight it in-game for fellow commanders.
> Equipment & HUD
Players will be able to equip themselves with a variety of on foot equipment. in addition to their weapons, some of which have been seen in the promotional trailers and videos. Frontier have so far confirmed the following tools:
- Flashlight – Pre-built into the suit to see in dark places
- Arc Cutter – Designed to prise open metal contrainers, doors and hatches
- Genetic Sampler – Used to collect and indexes samples from simple living organisms
- Energy Link Tool – Transfers energy between the user’s suit battery and a target socket. It also discharges powerful electrical pulses over a short distance.
- Profile Analyser – The Profile Analyser scans a target’s data for basic personal information. It can also be used nefariously to clone security profiles to access restricted areas.
The equipment and weapons will be upgradeable by visiting the starports and planetports and possibly the new batch of Engineers who will be arriving in Odyssey (see further down this page for more details).
“Kit out your character with an array of weapons and gear, and coordinate with teammates to master a multi-layered, deep, tactical environment where Commanders, SRVs and Starships converge.”
Odyssey Website
> HUD
The first person HUD (Heads Up Display) has a variety of components which can be seen below. It should also be noted that players will be able to access the mission board from inside their HUD as well as their ship, or electronic devices inside stations and bases.
1. Character Information – Displays other characters:
- Name
- Health and Shields
- Rank, Criminality
- Authority Level at the current Settlement
- Relationship to the player (allied or enemy)”
2. Weapon Reticule – This is used for aiming when the player is not aiming down a weapon/tool’s sight.
3. Ammunition– Shows the remaining ammunition in the magazine and the ammunition reserves for the equipped weapon.
4. Grenade – Shows the currently equipped grenade type and the remaining number of grenades.
5. Radar – This shows:
- Character position
- The direction and state of characters (hostile, neutral etc)
- Indicates the position of specific interactions (eg. terminals)
6. Environment Info – Shows the environment temperature and gravity.
7. Compass – Shows player direction and highlights the direction of key in-world elements (eg. mission objectives)
8. Player Coordinates – The precise location of the player on the planet’s surface.
9. Health – Shows the player’s current health.
10. Authority Level – The level of access to settlement facilities that the player currently has.
11. Active Player Bounty – This shows that the player has an active bounty on them in their current location.
12. Suit Power – Shows current capacity and level of suit power charge. This also has icons that show the suit functions which are causing power drain.
13. Emergency Air – Shows current capacity and level of emergency air supply.
14. Shields – Shows current shield power and status (active, turned off, or recharging)
> Combat & Weapons
Frontier have confirmed that although combat will be an integeral part of Odyssey, it will also be optional, allowing players to use other methods to complete on-foot missions if they so wish, see this missions section for more information. The combat itself however can vary, from an all out attack to a more nuanced approach involving more stealth. All in-game combat can take place in any area of the game with the exception of the social spaces with players being free to take on combat missions on their own against AI, other players or in team mates in your wing. Needless to say opening fire can bring players a whole host of responses and in-game legal responses depending on the security and system type you are in at the time. On the 17th December 2020 Frontier released their Sphere of Combat Dev Diary. This can be seen below.
“Experience intense first-person combat, kit out your character with an array of weapons and gear, and coordinate with teammates to master a multi-layered, deep, tactical environment where Commanders, SRVs and Starships converge.”
Elite Dangerous – Official Site
“It can can [be both fast and slow paced]. 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.”
Luke Betterton – Elite: Dangerous Games Designer
Combat in Odyssey will be from a first-person point of view only and will bring together vehicles and starships along with players on the ground. Frontier believe they have been able to find ways to get players into more of the smaller and medium ships for combat over planetary surfaces, possibly by making them far harder to strike with ground based artillery and weapons. Frontline Solutions will allow players to take a ride to a nearby conflict zone (if there is one via the BGS) to join an onfoot battle. Players will be able to make their own way there in their ship, take a shuttle, or go via a Dropship.
Additionally there will be a first person combat version of CQC (Close Quarter Combat), the previously released stand-alone combat arena with small fighter craft so players can hone their skills outside the main game. The weapons in Elite: Dangerous Odyssey follow-on from the ship based weapon types.
- Kinetic – Manufactured by Kinematic Armaments
- Plasma – Manufactured by Manticor
- Laser – TBC
- Explosive (Grenades: Explosive, EMP Shield Grenade)
Before engaging in combat players should turn their suit shields. They can then use laser weapons to strip other players shields before using explosive or kinetic weapons to damage the suit armour. In using grenades players can carry three different types which will be effective against shields and armour on both players and ships/SRVs. The third type, a shield generator grenade will temporarily provide the player with a dome of protection.
Each variant in turn has a different manufacturer with players having to make decisions about which of these weapons to carry when taking on missions. Like most combat based games Frontier have given each of the weapons their own distinctive style, feel and sound. To aid in this process Frontier spent some time at Pinewood studios recording various gun tail sounds in a variety of different soundscapes.
Weapons will also be customisable both internally and externally, from sights and suppressors which suit the players playstyle, right down to weapon skins. See the Engineers section for more information on weapon upgrades.
During Update #6 Frontier introduced AI trooped with more firepower in the form of Enforcer Troops armed with rockets -they use the KA-L6. These will operate in military settlements only.
Base Defences
The base defences at ports and settlements will offer serious resistance to incoming pilots attempting to take a base by air power with point defence to shoot down incoming missiles as well as anti-personnel and anti-ship turrets. The number of these will vary depending upon the size of the settlement in question and it will also be possible for players to take these weapons offline by removing the power core. Specific alarms and turrets can be disabled at specific consoles in the base, notably the command building.
Player Death
Frontier has confirmed the following upon a players death:
- If you are on foot and don’t own a ship you will respawn at the nearest port.
- If you are with a ship you will be given the choice of respawning at the nearest port or back on your ship.
- If your ship is on the planet surface when you die you will be spawned back in your ship, but above the planetary surface.
- If you die and your ship is at a station, you will spawn at the station
- Anything you have collected in your backpack will be lost upon your death.
- Weapons cannot be lost or dropped either by choice, or upon player death.
Players in settlements will be able to pick up Medkits to restore health, as shown below.
> Vehicles, Ships & Travel
Odyssey will see players able to travel around without owning a ship. This will be done in two ways:
Apex Travel
The Apex Travel company will allow players to book a ride to a destination or mission location on available passenger vessels. The distance players will be able to travel anywhere there is a drop off point. Travel times will not be be instant, but whether they are faster than travelling in your own ship has yet to be confirmed. Players will also be able to call a space taxi from planetary surfaces within habitable space to take them back to a port or station.
Update #7 made it possible for players to re-direct their Apex shuttle in mid-flight.
See a short video of this in operation below.
Frontline Solutions
A mercenary service offering players the ability to take part in large scale combat without aligning them with any in game faction. Players can choose to go there in their own ship, via Inter Astra or take a dropship to the battle.
Physical Multicrew
Commanders will also be able to deploy, on foot, from other commanders ships and into ship launched fighters and SRVs owned by other players. The Alliance Crusader, Anaconda, Beluga, Federal Corvette, Imperial Cutter, Type9 and Type10 now support multicrew of 4. It has also been confirmed that there is now an auto-land feature on planetary surfaces allowing your ship to touchdown automatically.
Scorpion SRV
Update #9 saw the release of the Scorpion SRV. This heavily armed vehicle allows one or two players to ride in it at the same time, one driving whilst the other operates the turret. It can carry 2 tonnes of cargo.
Fleet Carriers
On the 15th March 2022 Frontier release the Fleet Carrier update (Update #11, originally due as Update #10). The update allows owners and visitors to Fleet Carriers to experience the ability to walk around the interiors of them whilst experiencing the jump sequence between systems. The interiors of the carriers are modular meaning that they will reflect the services the players chooses to install on them, plus the ability to take a seat. The release also included a new ‘Protect Mission’ and various bug fixes.
Main Areas
- A main concourse and hangar lobby.
- A Command Deck with an additional area for the owner and their Wing.
- A seating area for safe Fleet Carrier jumps.
Optional Areas & Services
- Bar
- Vista Genomics service desk
- Pioneer Supplies store
- Shipyard access point (included with the Shipyard service)
Megaships
Social Spaces were added to the interior of Mega Ships during Update #8. These include:
- Inter Astra
- Apex Interstellar
- Vista Genomics
- Pioneer Supplies
- Bartender
- Frontline Solutions
- Escape Pods
Escape Pods are available at Megaships to cover any rare situations whereby players might find themselves trapped on a Megaship and are unable to get back to their own ship. When you choose to use a friendly, ever supportive Escape Pod, it basically sends you to a safe location instead.
4. Missions, Stations, Gameplay & Lore
> Mission Overview
Frontier have said that they want to expand the core gameplay loop and give it more options, whilst allowing players to play the game differently if they so wish. Update 5 saw the introduction of shared missions allowing players to work together and share the credits gained from completing them.
“Our design philosophy was to identify what our player base loves about Elite and distill that down and make sure that those game loops and things that people love engaging with are represented on foot as gameplay loops that they recognize but are obviously presented in a way that is appropriate for foot gameplay.”
Gareth Hughes – Principal Designer of Elite: Dangerous
Missions are available from contacts and boards in the social hubs, settlements, Frontline Solutions and your helmet HUD. As of UPdate #8 missions can also be found by NPC’s outside planetary bases. The missions will be generated dependent upon the background simulation’s surrent state. These will be:
- Active
- Abandoned
- War
- Damaged
- Online
- Online Damaged
- Offline
- Offline Damaged
- Conflict Zone
Each of these will be based within 27 unique settlement locations based around six different themes, namely:
- Agriculture
- Industrial
- Extraction
- Tourism
- Research
- Military (containing unique building times with bespoke mission variations)
Other missions can be found via points of interest which will be found (spawned) in the same way that skimmers and cargo currently do. Settlements will also give pirates the opportunity to raid them and take their loot.
Gareth Hughes the Prinicial Designer of Elite: Dangerous has commented on the difference in being able to pick up missions directly from the mission givers,
“One key area where this can be most keenly felt is in the difference obtaining missions; the mission board offers a quick and efficient way to pick up regular missions but engaging with a physical faction representative offers more nuanced missions with greater personality and narrative depth and also the opportunity to barter for a better reward. ”
Gareth Hughes – Principal Designer of Elite: Dangerous
Some of the missions will ask Commanders to visit a certain location, retrieve a specific item, or kill NPCs, or avoid killing NPCs. However, you don’t need a mission to go to a settlement; you can go wherever you want, when you want – creating your own adventure and storyline. These options include the ability to perform nefarious acts like looting or killing NPCs outside the scope of your mission. These actions could have a negative effect on the controlling faction, which will in turn affect your reputation with them and the BGS.
Once the mission has been offered to you, you may try and haggle over the price in an attempt to make more money. Your success rate will depend on your in-game rank and your rank and reputation. Failure to reach an agreement could have consequences for the player.
“If you want to, you can engage with a faction that owns a settlement that happens to be at war, maybe a big conflict zone. Maybe you end up having a proper battle where you can help them win and therefore help them within that system.”
Gareth Hughes – Principal Designer of Elite: Dangerous
NPCs
Odyssey’s NPCs are made up of either guards or civilians. Civilians will not attack you, but instead ask that you ‘leave the area’. Guards however will react to players and other NPCs based on a number of factors. For instance having your weapon drawn will illicit a warning. Other actions may illicit NPCs scanning you, which could lead to you being instantly attacked if you have a criminal record. The scan also lets them know if you had any illicit goods, stolen items or cloned IDs. All of these will have some variation depending on the BGS faction where the base is located, and your affiliation with them. Your relationship withthe planetary faction will also dictate your ability to enter specific building and rooms within the base.
Ground-based NPCs are able to react to your actions (audio and visually based) and respond appropriately. For instance the AI will look out for unusual behaviour such as a player cutting through a panel to gain access to a location, or even discovering a panel which has been previously cut through. This will then raise the alarm and trigger a response from the base security. Missions will also have other wrinkles to them, such as a request that you aren’t killed, you don’t kill anyone, or don’t kill anyone other than the named target. Below are some examples of various mission types in Odyssey.
Assassination Mission
- Players could take an all guns blazing approach and go into the settlement and shoot as many people as possible until they come across their mission target and then take them out.
- Alternatively players could take a more ‘considered approach’ by:
- Finding an information terminal in the settlement and gain authorisation via a hacking device or by scanning AI in the settlement
- Lock on to the chosen mission target by highlighting their location
- Track them down using various other tools to circumvent security measures before assassinating them.
- If you require back-up should the mission go wrong then you would be able to have a team mate outside the settlement acting as a ‘getaway driver’.
Scavenging Mission
- Mission givers might give you information about an abandoned ship or wreck by getting your attention and making a case as to why you should visit it.
- Using your scanning equipment you can then find the location of the agreed target. Many of the targets will be in the same system as you are in, you won’t always be required to fly long distances to do them.
- Inside the crashed ship there might be quite a lot of wreckage with loot that is either visible or in boxes which may require breaking open. Some will require special tools to access them. Small items can be carried by the player, others will require an SRV to carry them.
- The specified item can then be returned to the mission giver who will pay you for it. Anything else you find can be sold at stores.
- Scavenging can be done without a mission and it will be possible to follow other players to mission sites and steal their cache.
Power Core Missions
All settlement/ports have a reactor building which contains a power core which is used to power a location and without which it loses all lighting, door lock down etc. These power cores can be used within a mission as well as being the focus of a mission themselves. For instance:
- A player might accept a mission to power up a settlement which has no power core.
- This would involve travelling to another settlement with a power core given to them by the mission giver, gaining access to the building and powering it up.
- There are also mission extensions which would then involve putting out any fires and re-pressurising buildings in the settlement.
- Within those mission extensions there is also the opportunity for further events to take place such as:
- Pirates or scavengers being inside settlement who would have to be avoided or taken out.
- A dropship arriving despoiting ‘Tier 5’ NPC troops to stop you from completing the mission.
- An alternative is that players could be asked to steal a power core to power back up a station which is currently not working.
- An example of this type of mission can be seen by watching the Odyssey playthough mission as seen below.
Delivery Mission
Obtained by interacting with designated NPC contacts on planetary surfaces. They will give you an item to take to a specified place or contact.
Smuggling Mission
As above, with added risk!
Collection Mission
As above.
Throughout all of these missions players will have to manage their suit’s power and life support. Player shields can be power hungry when in use, as can certain tools. This might not be an issue when you can enter a building and re-charge them, but in more remote areas then the environment can place a far heavier load on them, and be temperature specific depending on light and shade. This might made certain planets landable based on where you touch down, but once the sun rises…..
> Social Hubs, Space Stations, Ports, Settlements and Points of Interest
Odyssey looks to bring a wide variety of missions to the game and give players the opportunity to choose how they are carried out. Many of these will be taken via the social hubs at three main types of location:
- Spaceports – Coriolis and Orbis stations
- Planetports – Large surface installations
- Outposts – small orbital stations such as mining outpost/trade depots
Each of these categories will have a unique layout, with a degree of standardisation to help you find your way around with the visuals inside installations themed around the economy type of the star system. These social spaces will be the main explorable area, which you will be able to access through the hangar bays. Social spaces will be available to Odyssey players in pre-existing and new locations throughout the galaxy. Update #7 of the game intruduced more visual alternatives to the inside of social hubs swapping out railings with alternatives, replacing crates and planters with other props to better suit the theme, using different partitions and wall pieces, swapping beams and roof sections, and adding pipes or more industrial looking geometry. In addition, wealthy services and high tech stations now show less rubbish and junk on the floors, while the agricultural, industrial and asteroid stations are progressively more untidy.
Frontier have said that they want “Commanders to be able to enter a social hub and be able to do their business in a timely manner.” This is why social hubs will be built for efficiency and quest givers and vendors will be ‘roughly’ in the same places from port to port. Accessible areas of the starport, such as the hangars where you disembark (and marvel at your ship), are connected by a system of elevators, this will ensure that you won’t have to travel for hours to access your ship, to pick up missions or meet contacts.
These areas will be the focus from ground based events and will allow players to seemlesly walk from planet to the interiors.
“We’ve been looking at a lot of Arctic research bases and things like that as inspiration for a relatively small group of people out in the middle of nowhere, in the flat, and often with a purpose or an industry that they may be engaged in, which gives us a hook as well for some of the visuals that we need to provide. It’s been really fun.”
Chris Gregory – Art Director
> Shops
There will be six varieties of shops inside available for players to purchase an array of goods and services from.
Pioneer Supplies
Outfitters of weapons, spacesuits, and related consumables. As with ships some stations will not stock specific items, but some high-tech systems may occasionally stock some premium weapons with engineeredm odifications. These will change on a regular basis, so get them whilst they’re hot.
Inter Astra
The shipyard where players can preview and purchase star ships.
Frontline Solutions
A mercenary service offering players the ability to take part in large scale combat without aligning them with any in game faction. PLayers can choose to go there in their own ship, via Inter Astra or take a dropship to the battle.
Apex Interstellar Transport
An interstellar taxi service, capable of transporting players anywhere there is a drop-off point.
Vista Genomics
An exobiologist, where players will sell their genetic information whilst exploring new worlds.
Pilots Lounge (The Black Market)
An expansion on the current black market allowing players to buy and sell new illicit goods via the bartender in your local drinking establishment. Buying specific items from the bartender will involve bartering for them, rather than buying outright. If you don’t want to trade illegally then chill out and enjoy the views of the station interior and listen to the dynamic AI conversations and the 800 different pieces of music playing over the speakers.
Terminals
Players will also be able to pick up missions from factions via terminals inside ports and outposts.
“Take on a wide variety of contracts and play your way, from diplomacy and commerce to lethal stealth and all-out combat. Diverse settings, objectives, and NPCs offer endless mission variety and a near infinite amount of content to enjoy.”
Odyssey Press Release
> Engineers
Frontier have introduced a raft of new engineers to the game which, along with the previous ones, are able to be seen face-to-face. These new engineers deal with suit, weapon and module upgrades. Once a weapon is engineered it cannot be changed, instead players would have to buy another base weapon and begin the process again. Although Frontier expect a certain level of grind to get the top engineered equipment they have said that the entry level ones will not be hard to get hold of. A list of all engineers can be seen here, some of which can now be found in the Colonia region.
> Narrative & Lore
Towards the end of 2020 Frontier returned Galnet and the use of community goals to the game, a move which was welcome by the game’s community. This has been confirmed as of continuing into the Odyssey release.
5. Quality of Life Changes
> AMD Super-resolution
- You should now experience an increase in game performance, as rendering is enabled at a lower resolution and then upscaled, rather than rendering at a constant full resolution.
- There’s also the additional bonus of this integration making the game look even more beautiful.
- Can be used to upscale the resolution when supersampling is set to less than 1x output resolution.
> Automatic Landing
Frontier have included a tutorial in Odyssey to show players how to go about completing on-foot missions.
> Automatic Landing
Players will now be able to turn on an automatic landing feature on their ships making it easier to touchdown on difficult terrain.
> Bookmarks
Frontier have upgraded the bookmarks system in the galaxy map allowing players to see filter and categorise by planetary objects, systems, settlements, stations squadrons etc. Update #7 also saw the number of (personal not Squadron) bookmarks increase to 200.
> Camera Suite Overhaul
Rather than allowing movement thorugh geometry and fading out the camera when occluded (“the blackout“), the camera now tests for collisions and prevents movement into collidable geometry
> Geological & Organics
The currently available geological and organic discoveries on planetary surfaces have been given a visual makeover.
> Module Limpet Controllers
Appearing in Update #9 Multi-Limpet Controllers are now available from Outfitting enabling players to program a limpet to perform one of a given set of tasks and will be available in multiple types which will dictate what functions it is able to program.
- Mining Multi Limpet Controller module (Available in Size 3)
- Operations Multi Limpet Controller module (Available in Size 3)
- Rescue Multi Limpet Controller module (Available in Size 3)
- Xeno Multi Limpet Controller module (Available in Size 3)
- Universal Multi Limpet Controller module (Available in Size 7)
> Module Storage
Update #7 saw the number of modules a player could store increase to over 200.
> Pilot Rankings
Frontier have confirmed that there will now be rankings above Elite, in all current categories of the game as well as the new Explorer one.
> Ship Explosions
Work has been done to improve the visuals of ship explosions. You can see a video here to show the differences.
> Ship Models
Ship models have had a revamp. You can see a few here.
>SRV Handling
Changes have been made to the way the SRV handles on planetary surfaces.
> GUI Changes
Frontier have made considerable changes to many the user interfaces in the game.
6. Frequently Asked Questions
> Walking in Ships
Frontier have confirmed that walking about in ships will not be a feature at the launch of Odyssey. This is something that has been heavily trailed by Frontier in the past.
“While Odyssey will see players explore a wide range of on and off world locations including station interiors, ship interiors will not be included at launch. We understand that the bond between Commander and starship is incredibly strong and know this will disappointing news for some. However, we believe it is right to invest our development time in locations and features which offer the most meaningful experience and gameplay for all players. Rest assured that Odyssey will offer a great variety of long requested locations to explore both on land and in space..”
Arthur Tolmie – Frontier Forum
> Is Elite Dangerous: Odyssey coming to VR?
Frontier have confirmed that VR will not be supported initially when walking about on foot, although players will be able to fly through and drive across the new planets with atmospheres.
“Odyssey will be compatible with VR and you’ll be able to enjoy the same fully-featured cockpit experience players have enjoyed in Elite Dangerous so far. When leaving the cockpit of your ship or SRV, VR players will see a projected screen on which they can continue their journey without removing their helmets. They may also remove their helmet if they choose. VR is only compatible with Elite Dangerous on PC.”
Frontier Website – Paul Crowther
> Are there any plans to port to PS5 or Xbox Series X?
“We’re looking at PC, Xbox and PS4, as far as what we’re pushing it to, it’s not currently planned for PS5 or the Xbox Series X. We’re continuing to evaluate.”
“When we deal with those platforms, we want it to be special.”
> Crossplay
Frontier have said that crossplay will not be coming to Odyssey.
“Currently, there are no plans for crossplay in Elite Dangerous: Odyssey.”
Luke Betterton – WCCTech Interview
> 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 there be oceans in Odyssey?
No, the minimum scientific requirements in the stellar forge are not met with the new planets to have large water bodies in them.
> Will Elite Dangerous: Odyssey be included in my Lifetime Expansion Pass?
Odyssey will absolutely be included in the Lifetime Expansion Pass for free.
> Will Powerplay see any changes in Odyssey?
Frontier have said that,
“Powerplay will be discussed at a later date!”
> Will there be a possibility of mining on the surface of planets in Odyssey?
Frontier have commented,
“Whilst we are not looking at mining on foot at this time, you will be able to visit small mining settlements.”
> Will the rings on planets cast shadows onto other planetary surfaces?
No, this will not happen in Odyssey.
> Will it be possible to walk around Guardian and Thargoid sites?
Yes, anywhere you can land you can walk about in.
Elite: Odyssey 