Yes, short-ranged weapons is a reason why Odyssey hurts so much. Even with its old 0.8 shields, it could not take much of a beating. Now with 1.0 shields, it loses the flux war before it can fight back. It could compensate for this with Hardened Shields or max capacitors like Conquest can, but unlike Conquest, Odyssey has a severe OP shortage like pre-0.8 Hammerhead, and it cannot afford everything it needs, much less wants.
As an alternative to raising Odyssey's OP, make Expanded Deck Crew hullmod built-in. If Odyssey wants to rely on fighters, this hullmod is required, and it is expensive. Expanded Deck Crew is the ITU for carriers. (This assumes Odyssey continues to cost as much as a battleship.)
As for speed and fuel use, Odyssey is already the Falcon of capitals in terms of speed and fuel use, but so is Conquest, and Conquest can actually duel a battleship and win (although it struggles against Paragon, admittedly).
@ FooF: Fighters could be an alternative to long-range weapons, but a problem with that is Legion not only has four wings of fighters, but also enough OP (barely), durability, and firepower to duel another capital and win. Odyssey only has two wings of fighters, along with awful durability and sub-par energy-based firepower. Even Legion is a better small ship sweeper than Odyssey because it has twice as many fighters. If frigates can outrun Medusa, and most destroyers and cruisers are at or faster than 80 speed (due to being at 80+ speed or mobility system spam raising average speed higher than normal top), how can Odyssey hunt and kill small stuff other than send fighters at them (especially given the AI's favorite tactics)?