Could we tag one of the Frontier Forums community managers to see if they could pass along the original questions to the relevant people?
Has Frontier taken into account the effect Thargoid attacks will have on Powerplay?
- Thread starter CMDR_Brantford of FLC
- Start date
You can try, but the history of PowerPlay is basically being treated like the redheaded stepchild that your ex dumped in your care, and that you only keep alive because otherwise you'd be sent to prison.
It's Fdev, man.
Flip a coin. If heads no, if tails, no. But also maybe, probably not. If they meant to, they didn't actually mean to, but lucked into it.
So maybe, yes.
Flip a coin. If heads no, if tails, no. But also maybe, probably not. If they meant to, they didn't actually mean to, but lucked into it.
So maybe, yes.
Sure, but as someone who spent years watching FDev not care about a die-hard community that took something they made and made the most of it, I have a hard time caring.
Let it burn.
Well, I suppose I need to update my attitude a bit as I learn new information.
Some of the star systems that have been affected by Thargoid invasion have actually lost their population - as in dropped to 0. This should affect PowerPlay, but no PowerPlay information in game reflects this (it never does, and I can't really recall a time when you could actually trust all PowerPlay information in game).
Judging by EDDN messages, the population for 63 Tauri dropped to 0 Thursday, so it seems to have been an instant effect.
There are currently 4 systems in the HIP 20577 bubbles under Thargoid attack where ports have been abandoned and the population is 0, and another 4 under Thargoid attack with abandoned ports but unaffected populations.
I suppose this will make the cycle tick on Thursday the 8th the most interesting one in a very long time.
Some of the star systems that have been affected by Thargoid invasion have actually lost their population - as in dropped to 0. This should affect PowerPlay, but no PowerPlay information in game reflects this (it never does, and I can't really recall a time when you could actually trust all PowerPlay information in game).
Judging by EDDN messages, the population for 63 Tauri dropped to 0 Thursday, so it seems to have been an instant effect.
There are currently 4 systems in the HIP 20577 bubbles under Thargoid attack where ports have been abandoned and the population is 0, and another 4 under Thargoid attack with abandoned ports but unaffected populations.
I suppose this will make the cycle tick on Thursday the 8th the most interesting one in a very long time.
These invasions seem to be a multi-week CG-level of effort for each system, how can they expect powers to repel thargoids? According to the UI there are currently 83 systems requiring work. The community seems to be focused on a single one and it won't manage even half of its progress in a week, plus there are still 5 maelstroms coming to set down further areas of thargoid expansion.
PP-wise we're 14 updates into Odyssey and the Odyssey population CC hasn't yet been updated into pre-Odyssey control systems. If these thargoid invasions setting system populations to 0 does effect control systems income that will be pretty unbalancing... but only to whoever's unlucky to be near the maelstroms.
PP-wise we're 14 updates into Odyssey and the Odyssey population CC hasn't yet been updated into pre-Odyssey control systems. If these thargoid invasions setting system populations to 0 does effect control systems income that will be pretty unbalancing... but only to whoever's unlucky to be near the maelstroms.
I'm just going to call it, i think this is the storm before the calm. How we deal with the maelstrom isn't clear yet... and I'm expecting a few things to fall out between a solution and now, generally summed up as:
- we get some more powerful ways to deal with Thargoids
- we get a way to eliminate/ suppress the maelstrom, which in turn suspends threat expansion in it's vicinity
And on top of that:
- if this expands into powerplay/bgs mechanics, there may be ways to indirectly affect the Thargoids by bolstering a power to invade Thargoid controlled systems... at which point
- maybe we see a way to support Thargoids, by directly opposing powers
Those two are more of a long shot, but feasible.
If a certain person from five years ago had not messed up my expansion into Jaques I would have had some form of answer, but as it stands I think PP right now 'floats' on a snapshot of the BGS and is not aware of underlying values beyond gov alignment.
My take is that 2023 u15 will be aligning Powerplay to the BGS (akin to Goid War) and these issues are then resolved.
My take is that 2023 u15 will be aligning Powerplay to the BGS (akin to Goid War) and these issues are then resolved.
perhaps they are trying to teach their playerbase a lesson about armed robbery and murder.
wait till the players figure out how to send them to systems they want decimated, then your going to see some real -holes come out of the woodworks.
i think its great, seeing the thargoids doing to us what weve been doing to them for centuries now.
i think its also pretty telling that we are actually crying victim over it too.
yes, i am 100% certain they considered the effect of this war on powerplay.
wait till the players figure out how to send them to systems they want decimated, then your going to see some real -holes come out of the woodworks.
i think its great, seeing the thargoids doing to us what weve been doing to them for centuries now.
i think its also pretty telling that we are actually crying victim over it too.
yes, i am 100% certain they considered the effect of this war on powerplay.
Agree, we are in the "shock and awe" phase. This is a medium / long term conflict and I imagine FDev has planned different stages and new stuff coming in to help against the Thargoids to keep it interesting. We (as in, the community) will also learn how to deal with things effectively. If it doesn't feel hopeless 7 days after they invade, then it would not be an event that lasts particularly long.
In any case, the intention is probably that Thargoids keep expanding and we need to decide which parts to save or where to stop them. More like treating a chronic disease in the Bubble than a "let's go back to the pre-14 update Bubble". It will take a while (FDev controlling the timing) to find a hard counter. When we do, and finally repel them, I guess the Guardian AI will wake up and be the next big bad. To me, this update sounds like having a mid-long term planning in mind.
I feel attacked. I'm not sure I should, because I don't remember anything like that other than estimating the cost to do so, but I still feel attack
No, it was not youI feel attacked. I'm not sure I should, because I don't remember anything like that other than estimating the cost to do so, but I still feel attack
But the plan was for Utopia to expand into Jaques before it jumped. The expansion was successful but some prime melon also expanded into a prison colony right next to Sol and Hudson UMed Utopia to stop it (BTW I don't blame Hudsons group for that).The outcomes could have been:
A) about 2million CC in the red and instant turmoil
B) left with a 0 pop system (and empty- i.e. no stations)
C) hippy guided megaship years before megaships
D) Powerplay exploding
Realistically? If we're going to see a proper portrayal of a Thargoid war, then nothing should be safe from them. Power Play, PMFs, everything in the BGS, permit locked systems, engineer systems, absolutely everything the players care about should be lose-able if they don't do something about it.2 scenarios I was thinking about and had questions over:
1) The Thargoids take over exploited systems of a Power's control system(s) and destroy their population to 0. Theoretically. this would destroy all CC from that system and affect the main control system's income (and affect the CC overall for the power). If human players regain that system, does the population come back and a new CC income for that exploited system (re)calculated?
2) Let's say the Thargoids attack a Powerplay Power's Capital (say, Rhea , or Nanomam etc) and take it over. There would be no way for PP players (particularly hauling Powers) to go get merits for taking to control systems. That would leave the systems open to turmoil for as long as the capital city was occupied by Thargoids.. That in theory would mean all systems down to the Capital could be removed.. and if the Capital remained in Tharogid hands, that Power would essentially be removed from the game.
I wonder if frontier has taken that into account.. or if Powerplay is again going to be part of those unintended consequences where they forgot to take those factors into consideration.
We may all have to return to Legacy mode to play PP if we all get wiped out in Live
I think FDev are already on the right track with this, because they also flat out said Colonia is not safe, and if people run to Colonia to ignore the conflict, eventually it'll be on their doorstep. By that same logic, every power in the bubble would have to be able to have everything of theirs on the map wiped out.
Which makes sense, because the Thargoids do not and should not care about our political squabbles. Period.
This is exciting because it means that powers, along with the rest of the bubble, need to engage with this war in some way in order to defend their territory. And, since we're in the early part of all this, the balance of power skews towards the Thargoids. There are stakes. You can lose stuff. You can potentially lose stuff of significant value. All of this makes sense and makes the Thargoid War scenario the most compelling thing that's hit this game in years. Lean into it, it's worth it.
This!
The starter systems are far enough back that the Thargoids would have to wipe out over half the bubble to get to them, if they didn't specifically and single-mindedly head for them. Sol, Achenar, about half the engineers, most of the existing rescue ships, and the stations producing some of the unusual materials essential to repairing stations would already have fallen by that point.
I assume their plan is "point and laugh" if it gets that far, but they could always create a new starter bubble somewhere safer.
the noob area is a new addition to the game, around the same time odyssey dropped.
it can be moved wherever fdev wants it to be.
except... there are still 5 NAMED stargoids inbound on the bubble.
no, you are fighting a losing war and that is the story that fdev is trying to tell you.
just because your feels tell you its gonna be ok, its not.
life be like that sometimes.
it will open up some neat new gameplay aspects tho, so theres that...