Greetings Commanders!
We have a fresh selection of answers to your Elite Dangerous: Odyssey questions! This week Gareth Hughes has graciously shared the answers you gave us on Ships and Vehicles!
Q: Can a ship and SRV damage a player if I run over them?
Absolutely! An SRV can damage or kill a player if they are not fast enough to get out of the way. This goes the same for AI, though they will do their best to evade you if they see you coming!
Q: Will there be updates to ship and SRV combat, as well as ground combat?
Ship combat and SRV combat is in a healthy place right now, our focus is on ground combat for Odyssey, and ensuring that it is balanced well against vehicles. We will be looking closely at balancing in the upcoming Alpha.
Q: Do player shields affect ships like other ships do?
Players will not be able to ‘ram’ a ship whilst on foot no, though it would be fun to watch someone try.
Q: How will you balance night vision on ships with on foot players?
Night vision will work as it does currently; providing ship Commanders improved vision in low light environments. It is worth noting that ‘on foot’ players will be very small targets for Commanders in ships, and too small for ship weapons to lock on to. However, Commanders in ships will be very big targets for players on foot, with some handheld weapons being able to lock on to them.
Q: Will the ship launched fighter be used in ground combat?
Yes, all deployable vehicles can be used. A player can choose to deploy in a fighter if they want, with all the benefits and drawbacks that will provide.
Q. Will we be getting an addition to the ship HUD? As seen in the gameplay reveal, we will have a compass. Surely to make things easier to communicate between players on foot and in ship/SRV a North directional indicator should appear on your radar when in orbit around a planet, or in atmosphere.
The current HUD for ships in Elite Dangerous provides all the relevant information that Commanders will need in Odyssey.
Q. Will spaceships be able to deploy anti-personnel/vehicle bombs/missiles?
We have no plans to add specific anti-personnel ship weapons. We’ve put a huge amount of work into ensuring the combat triangle remains balanced and fair. Ships will however have creative opportunities to use their existing arsenal…
Q: Will we be able to drop in from our ships or do we have to leave and exit the ship like normal during combat situations?
In order to deploy from your ship Commanders will need to land first.
Q. Can we engineer our SRVs?
There will be extensive engineering options for suits and weapons in Odyssey, however there are no plans to engineer SRVs.
Q. When doing a multiple vehicle assault, is it possible for player crew members to drive SRVs from the ship, they are not owning? Similar way to launching a SLV is now?
Absolutely! For instance, there would be nothing to stop a Commander in an Alliance Crusader have their 2 multi-crew teammates deploying in a Ship Launched Fighter, before landing, deploying an SRV and heading in on foot themselves.
We are very excited to see how Commanders team up to complete missions in Odyssey!
That's it for this week. Keep an eye out for more Elite Dangerous: Odyssey news in future!
o7
Edit: To clarify - in order to deploy the SRV the ship will need to be landed. Sorry for any confusion this caused.