Odyssey is the next expansion for the Elite Dangerous game. Its release is scheduled for May 19, 2021 on PC and in the fall of 2021 on console, without further details at this time.
Odyssey is a big step forward for Elite Dangerous, as this expansion adds the possibility of getting out of your ship, with a lot of diverse and, above all, varied content to achieve on foot. The first novelty is therefore to be able to roam freely outside your ship, including inside stations, outposts and even directly on planets, many of which have had flora!
We thus begin with the discovery of the stations, nerve centers of all the pilots. Each type of station will have its own interior and architecture, and does not necessarily offer the same possibilities / stores. While some "things" will still be able to be done directly from your ship, such as taking on missions, anything store related will require you to walk directly to the location.
There are many new NPCs and vendors. Such as the land equipment vendor. Going to see him, you can get not only new suits, but also the equipment for your missions on foot, as well as improvements for these products. Not every piece of equipment you buy will necessarily be able to be transported, as it will depend on the type of suit you are wearing. Indeed, currently, there are four types of combination:
- Flight Suit - The default suit, having no tools or specifics.
- The Maverick suit - This suit has a specific tool, which is the arc cutter. The latter makes it possible to cut certain elements, such as protective plates or airlocks, in addition to offering a lot of storage space.
- The Artemis Suit - The Explorer's Suit. It is the combination offering the greatest reserve of oxygen, a colossal reserve of energy, and a genetic sampler, making it possible to collect biological and organic data. On the other hand, it has an extremely weak shield.
- The Dominator Suit - The name speaks for itself. This is the tactical combination par excellence. It does not have any additional tools, but can carry 2 main weapons and a secondary weapon (where the others only allow you to carry a single main weapon and a secondary), and offers a very large shield.
Each of these combinations can be purchased and equipped at any time while in your ship. This allows you to change "role" on the fly, without necessarily having to enter a station, which is extremely practical, especially if you are in a remote system, and also avoids many cumbersome round trips.
Just like the ship, the suit can be upgraded through engineering (not yet available at the time of this writing).
Of course, you have to equip yourself in relation to the content carried out and the missions selected. Regarding the missions, the game offers many kinds, such as combat, transport, acquisition, operation, recovery and assistance missions. Each of these missions offers different gameplay.
Once on the ground, you are completely free. You can even, if you wish, land far from the base and come on foot (very practical if you have to infiltrate a hostile place). The places are all different. Some are abandoned, others hostile, sometimes neutral. The game therefore allows several types of approaches.
For example, you can steal the identity of a staff member, allowing you to access a secure area. However be careful, if you get scanned by a guard, or if someone sees you duplicating someone's identity, you are immediately attacked on sight!
Alternatively, you can use the arc cutter to cut through the control panel cover plate and manually pry open a secure door.
Or, you can use a hacking tool to electronically pry open a door.
As mentioned above, the missions are varied. This ranges from the simple recovery of documents (in a legal way), to outright theft (illegal), or even the direct invasion of an enemy station or the attempt to repair an outpost before it don't be too late!
If you don't like doing missions, there's always the option to explore! With Odyssey, exploration sees itself being updated with the organic and organic search system.
Now, when you scan a planet with the surface finder, you can also detect organic traces on its surface. There are many different types of organisms, and the game offers many different filters (about ten) to detect them.
Once you have detected what you are looking for, all you have to do is land to go harvest!
The harvesting of biological elements is done in several stages. Of course, you must equip yourself with the Artemis suit, which is the only one with the genetic sampler tool.
The first is therefore, once on the ground, to find a biological element. When it's done, you need to start harvesting. This is done via a mini-game. However, be careful, a single harvest is not enough! You need three samples, but it requires genetic diversity in the elements. Often, it is enough to walk a hundred meters to find genetic diversity of the same species, but, depending on the rarity of the organism, you may have to walk a long time! Also, it is important to note that only one search can be performed at a time. If you want to collect elements from other organisms, you will first have to finish completing the harvest of the organism in progress!
Fortunately, the genetic sampler has a scanner, which makes it possible to detect all the organisms in the vicinity, as well as to check the genetic diversity of the samples in progress. Similarly, if you have already fully harvested an organism, it will be marked in a different color.
Once one or more samples have been collected, all you have to do is return to a station and sell your data. It works similar to selling map data!
Conclusion
Odyssey is really very promising. The addition of the "on foot" system is really very well implemented, the missions are very varied, offering content for all types of players and promising a lot of additional hours of play, in a game that already offers content of several thousand hours! It's unfortunate that it's not possible to roam around in your own ship, but the developers have announced that it will be implemented later (without giving a date), stating that they could have done it now , but that they wanted to offer something really interesting, and not just the ride in the ship without being able to do anything inside it and without there being any interest in going there.
As I write these lines, Odyssey's alpha has been in phase 3 for a few days, introducing the biological and organic exploration and research system. A fourth phase is still planned and then, if there is no postponement, it will be the release of the expansion!
In short, if you are an Elite Dangerous player, this extension is to buy with your eyes closed.
And finally, some small screenshots from inside a base!
