The next paid expansion: Odyssey for Elite: Dangerous, is set to release on May the 19th, 2021!
Find out more about Odyssey with our recap, and get ready for the Alpha on PC this March 29th.

This article will regularly be updated with new bits of sourced information.
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Elite Dangerous: Odyssey FAQ

▲ What are the first details about the expansion?
► Presentation, Teaser-Trailer & First Details about Odyssey
► Let’s remember the following statement they made, as they have a « continued and unwavering commitment to making Elite Dangerous the most authentic, ambitious, and expansive evolving space game in the world. ». – Source

▲ That’s too long, do you have a recap?
► Here we go:

• FPS Combat.
• Weapons & Equipments that you can improve thanks to the use of Mods & Engineers.
• Social Hubs to meet other players.
• Select Contracts, missions and bargain your rewards.
• « Public Outposts » where you can buy and improve your equipments.
• New planets with atmospheres that we can explore, a new Exobiology Rank.
• 4 new suits for different activities.
• Each of them have pros & cons. Military = additional weapon / Exploration = exobiology tool / Recuperation = Cutter Laser
• Different weapons: SMGs, handguns, shotgun, rocket launcher and rifles and different grenades.
• New lighting in-game but no multi-lighting system to get shadows from multiple stars

► Elite Dangerous: Odyssey marks the birth of a highly anticipated new era for the long running definitive space simulation, allowing players to touch down on countless new planets powered by stunning new tech, and explore with unrestricted freedom from a first-person, feet-on-the-ground perspective. Elite Dangerous: Odyssey’s emergent gameplay will let players forge their own path through a wide variety of missions, ranging from diplomacy and commerce to lethal stealth and all-out combat. Coordinating with your teammates and selecting the right equipment for the mission at hand will be key to master a multi-layered, tactical sphere of group combat where Commanders, SRVs and starships converge. – Source & Source Publique

▲ Release Date?
► May 19, 2021 for PC & Autumn for consoles. – Source Source Release

• Alpha PC: Early Spring 2021, March 29th on PC
  
  • With the Alpha around April, as the leak revealed on Steam for the 21st of April
• PC release: May 19th
  
• Consoles release: Autumn 2021

▲ What will it cost?
► Everything… and if you meant « How much? »: 39.99£/46.99€/54.99$ Digital Deluxe Alpha / 29.99£/34.99€/39.99$ Digital

▲ I own the Lifetime Pass Expansion, will I need to buy the expansion?
► No, this is included in your Lifetime Pass Expansion. – Source

▲ I heard that the VR won’t be supported in Odyssey, is that true?
► All of it, the Force, it’s all true. Virtual Reality will not be playable with Odyssey at launch. However the dev teams are not closed to it. – Source
► VR will still be playable with Elite: Dangerous and Elite Dangerous: Horizons. – Source

▲ Apparently, we will be able to build Bases?!
► Wrong, this is not on Frontier’s roadmap. – Source

▲ Four artworks are shared around, are they official?!
► After some research, these are official images shared with certain press websites during a first Press Release. The first appearance dates from June 3 on massivelyop then the Czech IGN site. These Press Releases have surely been recalled/changed to no longer include these images which have no visible official logo, nor a warning of work in progress. However, these are official images either created by Frontier, or ordered from their Freelancers. – Source

▲ Will we be able to visit our ships? And stations?
► We won’t be able to visit our ships, but we will be able to visit Social Hubs in stations.

▲ Did David Braben reacted to the announce?
► Yes: « Odyssey is our most ambitious Elite Dangerous expansion to date, » said David Braben, Founder and CEO of Frontier. « Extending coverage to the super-fine scale that is needed for on-foot gameplay while maintaining the vast raw distances measured in light years, is a huge achievement by the team, and greatly extends the already rich Elite Dangerous experience. We hope you will join us to continue this journey of discovery and adventure when Elite Dangerous: Odyssey launches in early 2021. »

▲ Will Frontier rebalance the Credits payout from activities?
► Yes, they already rebalanced Mining, Bounty Hunting, and AX & CZ Combat

▲ Any short/medium-term plan to expand/improve the possibilities of multi-crew on ships?
► You’ll be able to physically mutlicrew in Odyssey allowing players to taxi other players around. We’re also aware of various issues with mutlticrew that we’re working on fixes for – Source

▲ Ships Interiors for Odyssey?
► We don’t have anything to share on ship interiors. We can only confirm that they won’t be available for launch – Source

▲ My burning question is regarding Powerplay unsurprisingly- its been five years of no gameplay updates, will it see changes in Odyssey?
► Powerplay is a huge aspect of Elite Dangerous and will be part of Odyssey. In terms of updates, as I mentioned on stream we are looking into this, but it is not a quick fix. Odyssey will be bringing a huge amount features that are the current focus. But Powerplay is not forgotten about, it is very much still on my agenda – Source

▲ Can you please share some info about any plans for an updated/enhanced version of Elite: Dangerous for the new generation of consoles, PS5 and XBox Series X?
► We don’t currently have plans for enhanced versions of Elite Dangerous but you can enjoy Elite Dangerous on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X via backwards compatibility – Source

▲ Are there plans to fully integrate VR into Odyssey in the future or will we only ever have the virtual flat screen workaround?
► Hi Marrs, our VR plans are still as we’ve stated with full integration a possibility in the future but unconfirmed – Source

▲ Can we look forward to more robust features for squadrons?
► We’d like to expand and improve the squadrons feature. Plans for this are unlikely to come to fruition before Odyssey, but it is on the agenda. Right now there are no plans to update Squadrons as our focus is on Elite Dangerous: Odyssey. However, player feedback is always welcome to all parts of our game – Source

▲ Will there be an Odyssey Beta?
► As we have stated previously we find betas very important to the development of our games. How and when we use our betas is still being decided, when we have any news we will update the community – Source

▲ Another part of the game that sorely needs some updates is CQC.
► We don’t have any current plans to update CQC but are in close communication with several individual and groups of CQC players about potential improvements. Let us know any suggestions or feedback you have – Source

▲ Will there be an helmet HUD in odyssey?
► helmets for on-foot play in Odyssey WILL have a HUD – Source

▲ Are there plans to introduce the AXCZ back into the game?
► AX combat is important to us and the story of Elite Dangerous going forward, the team and I have worked hard a crafting a narrative that incorporates all elements of the game into a coherent story – Source

▲ Are there going to be changes to the amount of AX/Guardian weapons you can have on a ship as 4 is alright but would be nice to have more.
► There are currently no plans of changing the amount of AX/Guardian weapons on a ship at this time – Source

▲ Is powerplay and BGs ever going to open only?
► There are no plans for PowerPlay and the BGS moving to Open only at this time – Source

▲ How does the team think about the amount of grinding required for various activities, especially material grinding and relogging – is there any plan to make materials more fun to acquire?
► We’re not fans of the current meta for material gathering and well aware of how grindy it is. Re-logging being the best method is especially not something we want for Elite. Alternatives are an ongoing discussion with dev – as soon as plans are made, we’ll let the community know – Source

▲ Are there any plans to make a medium class Gutamaya ship?
► Not currently, but we’re open to design ideas! – Source

▲ Will the Tech Broker Weapons (Shock Cannons, Enzyme Missile Racks, all Guardian Weapons) receive a balance pass and/or Engineering Blueprints?
► Our focus at the moment is balancing the economy and gameplay loops. However, we do aim to further balance the rest of the game as time goes on – Source

▲ Will we be able to visit our Fleet Carrier with Odyssey?
► Nothing to share about this at the moment – Source

▲ Will you ever give the possibility to buy commander slots instead of being forced to make a new account to have a new commander?
► There are no plans to add additional commander slots – Source

▲ Any plans for adding some meaning to PvP and more incentive to do it?
► PvP is one of the things we are looking into for our ongoing balances. We are always open to suggestions and feedback – Source

▲ Hello, is there any news when the Moon will be available to land on
► No news on this, just yet! – Source

▲ APEX is the feature allowing us to taxi between systems & places. Players will be able to taxi other players.

▲ Different weapons types & damage like thermal, kinetic etc with their pros & cons similar to our current weapons.

▲ Among the information I collected recently, I also noted that the weapon we have seen in a recent PCGamer magazine is in fact a Rocket Launcher, confirmed by Junior GameDev Diana Flindt. A heavy weapon, probably anti-vehicle or even against ships as well.

▲ You can also read our Recap of the interview with PCGamer (Read the Magazine)

▲ Differences of armours & suits

The tactical suit is mainly our combat suit. It adds an extra weapon slot and its armor & shields are better than the other suits. However, the latter does not have access to all the tools. So we will be forced to get various suits if we want to extend our gameplay to various other activities.
We will also be able to customize our armour with different cosmetic items.
Oxygen & Power confirmed for suits.
Flashlight confirmed for suits to light up dark areas during exploration… if you have the power to run it.

▲ Weapon Drawing & Aiming Down Speeds

Between an Arma and Call of Duty feeling, the developers are not looking to give the on-foot combat an Arcade feeling, but something more realistic. Weapons might have different weights. They will have different drawing & downsight aiming speeds. We’ll be able to feel a difference between each of the weapons in the game, which should be of different types, such as the ones we know with our ship, between kinetic and thermal, etc…
We don’t expect an overly dynamic gameplay with very fast movements and shots, but it won’t be soft & slow either. Frontier wants the gameplay to be thoughtful, strategic to give the best sensations of realism / science fiction. If we’re in a short range combat where we want to be able to quickly draw & shoot, then a pistol is more appropriate… or you may need a long range weapon as needed, for something far from you.

▲ The Shields

Suit shields use energy, so players will need to think about when to deploy them. Some weapons such as lasers are effective against shields, while kinetic weapons are effective against armour and damage to the character underneath.

▲ Confirmation of instances shared between foot/vehicle/ships

There is no real separation between fighting on board a ship and fighting on foot. If you have trouble settling an on-foot combat, a friend can help you and support you with a ship in the air. You will be able to shoot the characters on foot with your ship, and they will also be able to shoot back.
There will be new ships with Odyssey, but they can’t talk about it yet

▲ Help to move

If you are part of a wing, you will be able to board an ally’s ship if they allow you to do so, in order to go to another place in the galaxy.

The following images with captions are also available.

 

 

The developers want to deliver on the promise they made at launch, to allow the players to stroll on the surface of billions of planets in-game and to explore the new worlds, outside of our ships. We will be able to land on more planets and explore them on foot. So again, every planets in-game may not be ready for exploration on foot.

Odyssey will add a new dimension to the game and to all gameplay currently available, to make it deeper and more interesting.

A special suit will need to be worn to explore on foot. The latter will be more resistant in order to counter the hostile effects and the surrounding vacuum of space.

The planets and textures have been reworked, as can be seen in the video with a rocky planet and an icy planet. The maximum viewing distance on the surface has also been increased and we will be able to see flora on the surface.

Hopefully it won’t destroy all the tracks players created with canyons, craters and everything.

Many species of plants may be seen on the surface, and we can also use a Sampling Tool to extract samples of this flora, to resell them on various stations for rewards.

There will be a new Rank to xp: Xenobiologist and you can even tag the planet with your name if you explore it first!

 

The second Dev Diary for Elite: Dangerous Odyssey is out: Forging Your Path!

 

Additional information from the official Livestream, October 1 – Review of the Live

• We will be able to negotiate our missions in Odyssey, for example asking the NPC for a higher reward if we think we are worth it *shakes my hair*. If the NPC accepts because he thinks it’s ok thanks to our good reputation, our rank, etc… the negotiation is successful. However if the negotiation does not succeed… well we’ll see but apparently it can go very badly if the NPC feels abused!
• A mission asking us to collect debris on the surface could require us to fetch the object requested by the NPC, not far from the base (scaled in kilometers). On site we could find the object after a few scans on foot or in SRV… but there could also be containers of different sizes. Some could be opened by hand and their contents lotted, but larger ones might require special tools to be opened!
• Odyssey will be designed to play a criminal character as well as a « good » character. Different opportunities will be available for these gameplay.
• The character animations will be very refined and Frontier have combined technologies to give a very precise rendering with Motion Capture and Hand Keyframe. They can’t wait to show us the combat animations.
• Remember that there will be no transition when entering a building… but between us there will surely be one between the ship and the surface or the social hubs.
• There will be a CQC Arena Combat on foot!
• NPCs in social hubs will be different depending on their lives, factions, affiliations and other generated parameters. one of the developers likes to watch them go about their lives and think about what kind of life they have… oh, this one one looks like a criminal… maybe he’s about to steal something ?!
• No social hubs for Fleet Carriers… « for now » but with their smiles it looked like it could be something for after the release of Odyssey.
• There will apparently only be two body types, male and female.
• The perspective on foot will be First person only.
• Surface bases, such as Dave’s Hope, will be enhanced and visitable on foot.

 

Additional information from an interview with Polygon

• There will be three Social Hubs, each with a unique layout: Small, Medium, Large. It will help players to find their way inside these buildings very easily.
• “Thousands” of new Settlements will be added to the game. They will show up on the surface of existing planets, but also on newly accessible planets with thin atmospheres. And each of them will have one or more factions vying for control. Settlements will be larger than social hubs. Each one will comprise multiple buildings, with each themed to match the nature of the Settlement itself. You could see Industrial, Agricultural, Extractions… and other types of Settlements.
• Each suits will provide statistical bonuses that will apply to those three main styles of gameplay. Players will need to collect new items and resources to upgrade suits, which can be specialized. You might want to own two Combat Suits, setting one up for long-range combat and the other for short-range. High level upgrades will require Engineering, much like high-level ship upgrades. They will somewhat work like spaceships, with power and systems management. If we’re leaving the suit’s shields on, it will drain power that will not be available for other modules.
• NPCs from these colonies, especially in combat, will have different levels depending on their factions and combat ranks.

 

Recap:

• All new suits will have their favourite playing styles, with strengths & weaknesses. Three suits: Combat, Exploration, Salvaging.
• Players will be able to take missions in Social Hubs at stations in space or on the surface.
• All gameplay in space will be transposed to a gameplay on foot, we could even steal items to resell them on the black market.
• Generated « walking » NPCs will also have faction and a life, and some will speak with the players.
• The audio team has worked on all ambiences « outside the cockpit » which is a whole new experience for the players.
• Apex Interstellar is a new company of « taxis » that will allow the players on foot to move between various places in the galaxy, while remaining on foot. You will be able to go to other places where the service is available, seated in the NPC’s ship much like current Multicrew. There will be a time to travel then.

 

A few additional details on these images

• We notice multiple companies or areas
  • Apex Interstellar Transport – A kind of taxi that could transport the players on foot to nearby stations on the planet, or even to other systems & stations in a limited range
  • The Lounge – A place to relax and maybe get a few dangerous missions?
  • Pioneer Supplies – General outfitters of weapons, spacesuits, and related consummables.
  • Inter Astra – A shipyard, where players can preview and purchase starships.
  • Frontline Solutions – A mercenary outfit, which will allow players to explore combat scenarios without necessarily aligning with any given faction in the game world.
  • Vista Genomics – An exobiologist, to whom players will be able to sell genetic information from newly discovered life forms encountered while on foot.
  • Dropbox Area – Trading Hub?
  • The black market – While black market contacts already exist in the game, this is where players will be able to fence the new kinds of stolen and illicit goods available in Odyssey.
• Many different outfits for NPCs, although many have leather-colored blazers.
• Note the Missions board
• A blue screen detailing a planet with atmosphere, a scanner maybe
• Santi, Naturally – A new drink, advertisement?
• Very few weapons were seen, always the same two, some sort of blue & white railgun and a gray & white machinegun. We can see a glimpse of two additional pistols, small blue/white/black ones.
• Your servant Remlok will be present to sell our best equipment :p
• Can we see a kind of RIComs (I call it that way), a computer on the wrist of some characters?
• At the very end, the Cobra appears to have flashing lights, indicating directions from the aircraft, but these lights do not appear on the Cobra during the first seconds of the video (the Cobra appears to be generated imo)
• You can see an ashtray in the weapons market; Smoke in the buildings! *kof kof*
• What else… we can see an interface with ARX, it will always be there :p

 

 

If I’m still largely left on my hunger with these 1m of « gameplay » trailer, some information are to be noted:

• SteamDB seems to indicate a release for April 21, 2021, later than we would have imagined in « early 2021 », but it’s still in the first third of the year. This date is not official.
• The activatable shield on our suits seems to break when it’s emptied, we see it on a character on the left of the picture which is really the best scene of the clip: a rather large battle on a surface base. An NPC on the right seems to float a bit above the ground, crouching without doing anything while his friends fight.
• The flashlight is a big block over our left shoulder.
• The fight looks fast, dynamic and seems interesting.
• Odyssey is available at €35/£29 in the standard version, and at €47/£39 in the Deluxe version with access to the Alpha and Beta of the game.
• Apart from the fighting, even if it looks good, and some landscapes; We didn’t learn anything really new with this trailer. We will farm, but on foot.

 

BUT also four images received by my Press Relation in French that keep me much more in suspense than the trailer!

 

The Elite Dangerous Community Team proposed a long Livesteam to celebrate the 6 years of the game! They prepared a list of the best memories of 2020, some in-game activities that you could follow with me during the Livesteam at 12pm UTC today, and most of all we have also appreciated the information about Odyssey thanks to a new Dev Diary, centered on the Combat.
4 minutes of video bringing new images & details to the Combat of Odyssey as well as a pre-recorded Q&A with Gareth Hughes, Lead Designer on Elite Dangerous, allowed us to get answers to some questions about the Combat on Foot.

Firstly, Gareth tells us that Odyssey will be an Extension centered mainly on the new surfaces of planets with light atmospheres; there will be Combat, but not only; it’s just a part of Elite. However this video is dedicated to Combat, so we will mainly talk about it.
When we talk about Combat, we think about our characters on foot with our suits, weapons and tools; But Combat on the surface will also be extended to SRVs and ships. The latter will also be able to interact with the characters on foot on the surface. Although it has been difficult to balance the troops, SRVs and ships on the surface, Frontier seems to have found the right compromises between these gameplays so that each has its own advantages, disadvantages and different battle tempos. Frontier wants to create what they call a triangle of combat between the ships, SRV & on-foot troops.

While the players’ Social Hubs will be secured (no combat possible), it will be possible to use our weapons as soon as we get out of them, anywhere on the surface, especially in hot spots such as conflict zones, points of interest and planetary settlements. The best example here has been the Combat and Assassination Missions but also the Conflict Zones in the surface bases.
Different gameplay approaches will be possible. If our combat mission asks us to kill a given character, we could shoot down absolutely all the NPCs getting in our way or we could play Splinter Cell with the Scavenger suit, to cut the protections of an access point with your unique tool in this suit: the Arc Cutter. You can then use the access panel to hack it and track your target. For this you could get a list of the NPCs present on the base and other information that will allow you to have the location of your target on the base. Select the NPC you are looking for and it will be displayed in Augmented Reality and highlighted. All you have to do is infiltrate, break through the base’s protection and gently assassinate your target.

Gareth also indicates that the Artificial Intelligence handling non-player characters has been particularly well done. Indeed, sentinels and other NPCs will pay attention to surrounding sounds, what they see but also to objects lying around. If you have left the protective plate of your access point on the ground, the NPCs will be able to notice it and investigate.

We also note that on a base, several buildings are available such as the HAB houses, the main building of Production PROD or the Power Core PWR.
On the PROD building, we could retrieve plans of defenses, objects or things produced on this base. Why not keep them or even resell them in other markets or black markets.
If we deactivate, destroy or steal the power core: then the base will be plunged into darkness, the doors will close, the defenses will be deactivated and of course all the NPCs will stop working to investigate the cause of the failure. Missions could ask to steal a generator core or even to repair a base by bringing a new generator.
As an example of a scene, you arrive on site, there is significant damage, there are fires in various parts of the complex, and enemies are still on site. It’s up to you to rid the station of these thieves and restart the generator… when all of a sudden, while you’re in an inner room repairing something, you hear a Dropship flying over the base and dropping reinforcements from the enemies! It’s up to you to sneak out or clean up these new enemies if you think you’re up to it.

There’s also talk about the three suits that will be available when Odyssey comes out.

• The Remlok Maverick Suit allows you to specialize in Utility and Versatility, with a unique Arc Cutter as its only tool.
• We also have the Manticore Dominator Tactical Suit, for combat, allowing the player to have two main weapons instead of one, as well as more grenades and better armor and shields. Don’t forget that the shields will have to be activated and deactivated manually and will drain energy from our suit.
• The exploration suit is called the Supratech Artemis and will also be available with its unique Sampling Tool for exobiological sampling and its new dedicated Rank.
• The Remlok Flight Suit can be used but has no specialization.

Gareth mentioned group combat with players having different suits so one of you can cut & hack Access Points while your friends would have a bodyguard role with various weapons.
As far for the damage types, they will be just like ours ships: Kinetic vs Armor, Thermal vs Shield, Explosives and Plasma weapons. For the manufacturers, we’ve seen Takada, Manticore and Kinematics.
We will also have various grenades such as Explosives against armor, EMP against shields or a grenade generating an energy shield on an area for our allies.
We also all have a jetpack, adding a certain verticality to the combat especially by using the surrounding scenery.

Concerning the Zones of Conflict on foot, the AI will also avoid being run over by SRVs by dodging the vehicles effectively. Players, be careful not to be run over by SRVs! If NPCs see an enemy SRV, they will equip themselves with anti-vehicle weapons instead of tempting the devil with small, inefficient weapons. 3 to 6 players or NPCs on foot could counter an SRV with their weapons, noting that grenades and heavy weapons will have a better effect.
NPCs seem to have intelligence and skill levels between 1 and 5; 5 representing an elite NPC.
Different defenses will be ready against ships with the turrets and drones we know well. Against SRVs we will also find various turrets and foot guards. And on foot we will also have these foot guards, turrets and other defenses.

It has been confirmed that new engineers will be added to the game. The old ones will have additional stuff and we will even be able to visit them on foot, but they will still specialize in ships, while new Engineers will specialize in the suits and weapons for our characters.
Frontier Developments wants us to keep our weapons so that we can improve them with the Engineers and modify our gameplay differently depending on the Mods we add to them. We could have the same weapon with two different game styles, just like the current weapons on our ships. The Engineers mods will be available to new players, even casuals, but Gareth notes that a veteran and very active player will obviously be able to have many mods to be more effective in their gameplay.

 

 

 

The video in details

First of all, FDev CEO David Braben announces that the development is progressing very well, and that more information will be shared with us in the coming weeks.
The Alpha is scheduled for release on PC on March 29th.
You can buy Elite Dangerous: Odyssey at £40 / 47€ / $55 on the Frontier Store, or Steam.

So here we are with an Infiltration & Combat Mission (Heist) in our hands. Three commanders are grouped in Multicrew – Crusader ship: Two players on foot and one player in the ship ready to for extraction of our two burglars.
We fly over this icy rocky planet to infiltrate a base and steal the Power Regulator.
The Lead Community, Arthur Tolmie, notes that now the Landing Computer will allow us to automatically land anywhere on the surface to find a location for the ship. He also mentions that this video used an « old build » from Odyssey and that things have been improved since then.

The two pilots on foot therefore get out of the ship to infiltrate the base. The NPCs don’t seem in the least attracted by the very suspicious behaviour of the two accomplices who hide behind the scenery and run very determined towards the centre of the base’s power plant.
Note that their entrance is not considered hostile, but some actions are. « If a guard scans you, don’t move » says Bruce, Community Manager, as the would-be criminals have not yet done anything wrong.
It’s better to let yourself be scanned than to run because NPCs might react badly. They also react if you pull out a gun in front of them.

The interface is composed as follows:

• Top left – A Radar showing items and NPCs/Players around us. This is also where we will get information if we are Wanted and if we are transporting illegal Merchandise. The radar shows the other NPCs/Players with triangles/circles showing their direction. Like what we have currently in our ships, these triangles are either full for the NPCs or empty for the players. Defense drones will appear in blue circles of varying size depending on their power.
  • Blue = wing
  • Green = squadron
  • Red = enemy
    • Weapons out = triangle
    • Weapons holstered = circle
• In the middle left – Multicrew, we have the wing information with the symbols of the members, names, shields, Health Points (HP). H3rmes is in his Crusader.
• Bottom left – A circle with the shields when activated and HP in the centre. An Oxygen bar. A Power bar that diminishes as long as you are outside of a ship or building.
  In this bar we can find :
  • A red low-gravity indicator (0.49g), which changes the way the gameplay is played. Thrown objects can be tossed quite far here!
  • Temperature indicator. The more extreme the temperatures are, the more power the suit will need to keep you at the right temperature. Garreth, Lead Designer, notes that depending on the orbits of the planets you might be in a good temperature… but when the star lights up the face of the planet it can turn into a barbecue! In the video you can see that the temperature changes depending on whether you are under « the sun » or in the shade or even in a building.
  • Jetpack,
  • Indicator of power used via a tool,
  • Active Shields,
  • Oxygen in production as it is deactivated once in a building (it regenerates energy and oxygen).
• At the top – Gravity and Temperature as well as a direction indicator, degrees and longitudes/latitudes.
• Centre – The aiming point, with the weapon’s information such as clip ammo and total + the grenades you might have when the weapon is out.
• Top corner right – Can display the light / headlamp if it is on.

Each of the two players on-foot have a specialised suit:

• Remlok Maverick Suit – for utility and hacking. There is a larger inventory, an Arc Cutter to cut panels and doors but also an EnergyLink which has a Siphon mode and an Overload mode to force certain systems at the cost of a lot of power from the suit.
• Manticore Dominator Suit – for combat. Two main weapons slots instead of one, reinforced armour and shields.

Note that they both have a light / headlamp that could also act as a radar for the surrounding area on the left shoulder. The latter could be modded.

As the ship takes off to scan the surrounding area awaiting the extraction call, both players step forward greeted by NPCs making rounds, patrolling. Our dreaded protection drones are there to defend the area: explosive Stingers, the rapid Guardians and the robust Goliaths, which you can find in our Fortress Guide.

You can see that from the ship, it is much easier to target the defences on the base. Finally, a better way to fight ground defenses from a ship?

Several containers are available in the base and players can collect items such as Medkits and other items that will go into inventory.
This inventory is linked to your character. If you die, you will lose this inventory.
If our character dies, we will reappear in orbit in our ship or at the nearest base.

Some scenery can be destroyed, such as explosive barrels that are marked in red to follow the main video games colour codes.

• Orange / Yellow with a light for the loot
• Green for life
• Red for explosives
• White / Black for scenery

The different buildings are noted by their uses. Here CMD for Command Post, HAB for Habitats, STO for Storage and PWR for Power Plant.

27 different patterns of these stations are available, with 6 different economies.
These 27 patterns are mixed with the 6 economies which can give many variables for the bases:

• Agriculture
• Extraction
• Industrial
• Tourism
• Research
• Military

After heading towards the entrance of the PWR building, you will notice that the door requires Authority Level 3. We could copy the authority level of an NPC with Level 3 authority on the base, but we decide instead to cut the entrance panel with an Arc Cutter before overloading it with our EnergyLink to force the door open.
Here, two unfortunate defenceless civilian employees are being cut by our pilots.

Garreth insists that we are doing a heist type mission so we have to sneak in and out. Here to get out we will need some muscles. It is possible to do completely discreet actions and never get detected by the security.
We will be able, among other things, to mod our equipments, for example to get excellent stealth suits and weapons with silencers.

The Power Plant is then hacked using an item called E-Breach that we have to buy beforehand, just like the EnergyLink Overload charges.
The NPCs don’t like us using these items, so be careful!

All the NPCs of the base have their own behaviour, according to their role (Civilian Employee, Guard, etc)… however here the base is on high alert because the power plant has spotted an intrusion! All the guards are therefore moving towards the PWR building in order to investigate and repel the invaders.
It is possible to hack certain things depending on the buildings and consoles / panels that we find, such as alarms, specific defences (anti-vehicle, anti-ship, anti-personnel, drones, …).

Frontier assures that the NPCs have several behavioural states between enemy, neutral or allied; But also in patrols, investigation, hostile for example. If they discover something suspicious like a metal plate left on the ground by the players, they could investigate and try to understand what happened.

A fight between the players and the NPCs follows.
Simply look at the NPCs in front of us to scan them automatically and get information about them such as their shields, HP, authority level on the right and combat level on the left.
The better weapons you have, the easier it will be to fight against higher level NPCs. The level of the NPCs will depend on the base, the BGS background simulation, your own combat level and also on the level of the accepted mission.

The sound and visual ambiances are rather impressive and the immersion is great on this Mission.

We then fled in the middle of the guards, taking a few shots but also putting down a few NPCs.
We also receive an enemy grenade while the NPCs shout « KEEP FIRING!!! » or even « GRENAAAAAAAAAAAADE!! ».

An indicator displays from which direction we are taking damage.
We can shoot with the sights aimed down or via hip fire, but this second mode is less accurate.

I feel like FDev is kidding a bit here, I was waiting for at least an access ramp… but here we are left with a blue square so we can be teleported into the ship… or…. Beam me up Scotty!
I would have rather preferred a ramp to be deployed, like the ship launched fighters, and then we have to get to to the top of the ramp and press a bind to enter.