hello it's ricardo and welcome back to elite dangerous well as odyssey's alpha at least for
pc players gets closer and closer the chatter from frontier is starting to increase basically
on a bi-weekly basis but there's always some sort of tidbit that we can find out in the community
and on the forums and in this case from developer gareth hughes who has come back with a question
and answer session on npcs the interface um and what you're going to be able to do
in regards to player combat so let's take a look but i'll be fair it's not the most exciting of
topics they do answer the questions mostly however you know some things i think are probably a given
like any first person shooter when engaging with npcs and things like that and it tends
to focus on what's happening in regards to combat as opposed to what could be happening when you're
walking around stations which is a little bit of a shame so like i say let's take a good look
so posted by paul crowder the community manager of frontier on the 22nd of january
2021 first off when we see this post we're greeted with what we've all been waiting for
really a little bit of interpersonal chat room content within elite dangerous we're
in the boozer we're in the bar and you can see people sat at the bar holding tablets
at tables milling around having a pint or some other type of liveation
now despite one guy or could even be a woman
with their hands on the hips even if he's doing the my little teapot you just don't know
and someone who could well be michael jackson with the white gloves there and some nice loafers
in some sort of conversation you've got a drink thing in the background there drink dispensers and
you've got a waitress and some flat screens just like what you get in mcdonald's it just sees that
the future is not that far away anyway without dissecting the picture too much let's get on to
the meat of what's going on so they say oh seven commanders i salute you so they want to talk about
the interface and changes to npcs okay so let's start off with the interface it's the top section
of this particular q a session they say will night vision or a light be available on the hud you will
be able to upgrade suits in many ways night vision and lights are just two of the upgrades available
more on this in the future all suits have a torch by default though so you'll always be able to see
hmm okay but night vision it's on the ships as standard if you've got your helmet on
you know you would think well i might be fitted into the helmet you just don't
know do you anyway they're gonna say be able to upgrade they're very sort of like positive yes
all suits have lights night version from what we can determine from that more than likely it's
gonna be an upgrade okay next question does the player's radar show players and npcs before combat
if so do they change to indicate relationship yes much like in space the radar displays information
regarding players around them and their current state okay so fair enough um let's move on down
can we officially call the second icon on the display tigger mode
yes and bounces away so okay um will the hud be customizable i.e different
colors for the visually impaired the interface will not be customizable for elite dangerous
odyssey well that's a shame isn't it now as somebody who has customized their head colors
on their screen in their ship by effectively manipulating some of the files
um on pc for this and being very aware that you know people do have visual impairments as well
can't see certain colors i myself after having laser eye surgery can't see the color blue that
well it's quite fuzzy anyway it's a bit of an emission i think on the form of frontier they
do so much work with um fantastic charities like special effect etc and all the rest of it
to bring gaming to uh disabled and disadvantaged communities what with um different controllers and
and what have you that not being able to change your head colors that's a hell of an emission i
wouldn't say it's a game changer but you know i mean come on guys this is the 21st century right
anyway can players turn off their hood no the hood whilst on foot will be essential
to getting around as it's in space as it is in space okay
they continue with the last section on the interface can we hide from other players radar
they state we are still in the process of reviewing how pvp and the hud will work
so they can't confirm an answer on that just yet now some games if you stay still
disappear off the hood or off their radar don't you soon as you start moving or shooting
then you appear now if you're staying still and hiding it would stand to reason
that perhaps your inability to move wouldn't trigger on someone's radar
anyway we'll leave that to them and see what they come up with but to be fair on the interface
some okay questions i wouldn't say they're groundbreaking let's hope the odyssey mpc
questions will be a little bit better so odyssey npcs let's scroll down so we get that fully on
the page so will we be able to use npcs as a team in combat or just other players so what they're
saying is if you're billy no mates um and haven't got any friends and there are loads of people out
there who play solo solo other or their friends i haven't got the game right you know can you get
other players corral other players npcs into your team okay so combat zones be a mix of
both computer ai characters and players on both sides so i'm kind of thinking they're gonna say
yes do on foot npcs spawn per instance or is there some sort of permanence if so is
it timed like space poise or permanent hmm and they alluded to this in the last session anyway
settlement ais is spawned based on the settlement theme and state okay
the star system factors will also affect the ai difficulty so the bgs can also have effect
okay not entirely sure what a bgs is background simulation there you go does oxygen level impact
combat ability and does this apply to npcs as well if your suit loses power its life support
will shut down causing the suit's emergency air supply to be used if the emergency air
supply is fully depleted then you will start to affixiate something to look forward to in it
making aiming and locomotion more difficult loss of suit power will also stop you from using your
assisted jump and your audio will change lowering awareness of what is happening around you okay so
talk about sensory deprivation there this does not affect ai as they will use consumable batteries
to recharge their suit when required okay so say they run out of consumable batteries then
how does energy level impact combatability is it just about your shield generator and do mpcs have
the same energy constraint too energy levels are critical to combat as this powers your shields
this supply is not infinite so you know when to activate your shields will be key
well there you are then so we're saying don't walk around with your shields on all the time
being a clever dicky because your shield battery power will run out and then you will be vulnerable
can npcs get into npc vehicles or ships for combat or are those treated separately
on foot mpcs do not get into vehicles well that's a shame though they can deploy from drop ships
okay that is a shame do on foot npcs chase you yes if given reason to okay fair enough next up
is combat ai scripted for the new settlement or is the ai clever enough to adapt itself
to open terrain or other obstacles oh good question ai will actively
investigate areas report findings use cover and communicate to call in reinforcements
yes but is it clever enough to adapt didn't quite answer the question but okay you know it'll
actively investigate areas so you can assume and it is a big assumption yes any information on the
scope of line of sight for the ai all ai line of sight will be governed by the same way the players
okay fair enough will npcs engage in combat without player input if you're wanted npcs may
engage you without provocation okay um will oxygen levels affect npcs now they
kind of alluded that to the top as well didn't they ai will not be affected by oxygen levels
the same way the player is because they've got stuff to power their life support stated upstairs
okay will npcs have different states depending on the time of combat i.e will they be asleep
if a player attacks at night npcs will not have time of day states oh now that's a shame because
attacking at night you should be like say you know a weaker guard shouldn't it they're gonna
be ready to fight like duracell batteries any time of the day okay will we see ground combat
between mpc factions like we do in conflict zones yes conflict zones will be a mix of ai and players
will you consider adding super power navy armors for ground combat i.e mpcs wearing imperial
federal uniforms or armor or such armor being available to players it could prove to be a very
potent world building tool they are always looking at what customized options players would like
to see in the game so what they're saying is no didn't think that next up will there also be some
kind of on foot system authorities yes omnipot they are often kitted out with the best gear
so if they turn up make sure it's not for you and that was the end of that i really wasn't
gonna report on this it's quite uninspiring really but it is news and it is developments
on the elite dangerous odyssey game thanks very much for watching if you're not so bored and
you're still with me watching this video like and subscribe hit the notification icon and stay safe
you