On March 4, Frontier announced the open Alpha for their latest upcoming expansion for Elite Dangerous: Odyssey. For the first time players will be able to traverse on foot across the surfaces of planets and spaceports. To kick off this announcement, Frontier unveiled a video showing a group of three players infiltrating a settlement and sabotaging its reactor, highlighting the stealth mechanics players can use to their advantage. In the gameplay footage, the NPC guards don’t appear too intelligent, and so the stealth mechanics may not really have been necessary anyway. Nevertheless, the developers have stated that Commanders will be able to use a variety of suits, weapons and equipment that will assist them in accomplishing their objectives. Players will also be able to affect what missions they can take on by making use of ED’s Background simulation, which controls the political and economic conditions of the Milky Way.
More on Weapons
In addition to the video release, the developers recently held a Q & A about weapons and their capabilities. All weapons will be usable against ships, though not all of them will be effective. Rocket launchers and other explosive weapons will be the players’ best bet. Players will always have a weapon available to them, just as they will always have a sidewinder (a type of low tier ship). When it comes to types of explosive weapons that will be available at launch, rocket launchers and grenades will be the options. For those players worrying about aiming, the target reticle will be on screen at all times while gamers are on foot, though firing from the hip is possible as well as firing down the sights, with decreased accuracy of course. All weapons will have sights and various scopes will be available for each type of weapon, using engineering options.
Aside from rocket launchers and grenades, players can expect pistols, shotguns, and rifles along with SMGs, but more details will be released in the future. These weapons will be upgradable, though once a weapon is modified the change cannot be reverted. Also, players must choose carefully what weapons they bring on a mission, since they can only carry a limited amount of them. Weapons will be shareable, however, as players can trade weapons and other items with their friends.
PC, PS4, and Xbox One
Frontier has stated Odyssey will be available for PC in the late spring. Console launch on the PS4 and Xbox One will occur in the fall and is expected to cost $39.99. INN will keep you updated.
