For me Odyssey actually revitalized my interest in Elite. Keep in mind I’ve played close to 2,000 hours in Elite/Horizons over 7 or so years, and had dropped off to near zero play.
The last year with Odyssey, I’ve put maybe 100 hours more, I’d guess. It had me engaged with Thargoid activity far more than ever before. And space combat, too. But many of those play sessions were out hunting for exobiologicals on planets.
But I grew a bit tired of it lately. I guess most of that was due to the latest patches’ predominant focus on Thargoid content, and that was never my primary aim as an explorer type. Combat is fatiguing for me, and I often played Elite to relax. Getting my ships ready took hours, and then I’d be stuck for 1+ hours of combat once I got to a war zone. I vividly recall turning Elite off, and feelng tired, drained.
I wish Frontier spent a bit more time on other aspects of the game, like either mining (which has been intermittently broken), or expanding on the exobiological exploration, or even on-foot mission play. (Nearly all the on-foot missions in Odyssey feel like beginner or training missions to me.) Stuff I could actually find some relaxation during play.
At this point, I’m moved on to Starfield. I do realize they are dramatically different games. But in a massive way, Starfield gives me so, so much of the stuff I used to wish was possible in Odyssey. Even the sense of exploration for me is more full and varied, in Starfield.
I’ve read complaints that Starfield is all planet based, with no space exploration. And this makes me question… what exactly are these players wanting with “space” exploration? In Elite, there is nearly ZERO that will be found in “space” while flying around. The only thing to do in space is… GO TO A PLANET. For me, anyway.
But I can’t complain with Elite Odyssey. Even if a player stays away from the focus on Thargoid action, there is much to enjoy.
And I don’t know that Odyssey really cause a player loss. Same thing happened with Horizons. Lots of players I knew didn’t want to buy, weren’t interested in the planets, disliked (hated) the SRV vehicle.
