In a new Q&A, Frontier Developments has clarified some parts of the upcoming Elite Dangerous: Odyssey expansion, and it has made fans very excited. The questions of import landed on two topics; will planets be habitable? and whether or not co-op will be fleshed out. Both of these have been a big part of the expectations for the new expansion. Players have wanted to journey around the stars and planets of the galaxy since the game debuted. The inclusion of habitable planets will finally come in Elite Dangerous: Odyssey.
As for what to expect, it’s very simple. Not all planets are hospitable. Although you will have plenty to explore, you will have to do so carefully. Temperature readings will need to be heeded, as will the effect of gravity. Players will be able to explore thousands of planets when they find one that they can walk on.
Frontier Developments also took time to talk through other elements of Elite Dangerous: Odyssey. The new expansion will also look to expand multiplayer options a bit. With new co-op explorations and claiming planets, the shenanigans you can get up to are vastly more varied than before. Sure, you could explore other planets via rovers, but being able to walk around and uncover new secrets adds a needed layer.
According to the developers, around 20 percent of all planets will be interactive in this way. And it seems like the team is planning to build story missions and future content on this frame. There’s a possibility of factions in-game forming and doing battle over the rich resources on various planets. There will also be some missions that introduce players to the feature, and possibly lead into a wider story.
And don’t think you’re going to find all the hidden secrets that easily by just hitting various planets at random. Most of the universe in the game has yet to be explored. “Elite Dangerous is a huge and expansive galaxy containing more than 400 billion star systems. To date, our players have traversed just 201 million of these systems which equates to around 0.05%,” said the developers.
The system surrounding claiming planets will work similarly to the First Discovered By and First Mapped By features. This will allow players to jump in and claim planets for themselves, or possibly for in-game factions.
