Marking today’s launch of Elite Dangerous: Odyssey into alpha testing on PC, Frontier Developments has given players a look at what the test will entail, sharing a development roadmap of features that will be gradually added to the game over the coming weeks. This is all building up to the full release of Odyssey for late spring, with the PS4 and Xbox One counterparts set to release this autumn.
The alpha test will go through four stages, starting off with First Steps before progressing to add Combat features, Exploration and finally Compatibility to ensure that all of the new features work alongside things like Fleet Carriers, ship-launched Fighters and SRVs, and so on.
Here’s the outline from Frontier:
- Phase 1: First Steps. Focussing on Odyssey’s core systems and network features, Phase 1 will group all Commanders in a single star system to maximize player interaction. Players can purchase the Remlock Maverick scavenger suit and the Takada and Kinematic weapon sets, and take part in a selection of activities, including salvage, collection and delivery. Players will not have access to spaceships at this stage, but in-system travel will still be possible thanks to the new Apex Interstellar feature.
- Phase 2: Combat. Introducing Elite Dangerous: Odyssey’s first person combat experience, Commanders will have access to the Manticore Dominator combat suit. Faction conflicts will be enabled, in time for the Frontline Solutions Mercenary Company to start operations in this phase. Additionally, players will be able to travel up to 20 light years in their own spaceships, and can get involved in an expanded variety of missions, including trading with settlements in neighbouring systems.
- Phase 3: Exploration. Expanding the playable bubble to 50 light years, this phase shall include unexplored planets and the coveted “First Footfall” experience. Commanders can now don the Supratech Artemis explorer suit and analyse alien organics with the Genetic Sampler tool.
- Phase 4: Compatibility. In the final phase of the Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Alpha, players will have access to their own Commanders, and test the inclusion of existing features in the main game, like Fleet Carriers, ship-launched Fighters and SRVs.
All of this is subject to change, of course, with Frontier potentially mixing up the features being added and the areas of testing depending on how things progress.
A few weeks ago at the start of March, Frontier released a lengthy look at a pre-alpha version of the Odyssey expansion and the on-foot gameplay that it can enable.
Announced last year, Elite: Dangerous: Odyssey was pitched as an “early 2021” release at The Game Awards, but the UK company’s plans have been affected once more by the ongoing pandemic. The PC release of Odyssey is now planned for late spring, while the PS4 and Xbox One counterpart will now only arrive in autumn. Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Deluxe Alpha and Lifetime Expansion Pass holders will get access to this release.
Source: press release
