I thought you guys were private citizens drawing money from a sort of slush fund. So I imagine it appears as a crime wave. Or... things are going unreported. There's a lot of pilots in the Galaxy, but probably compared to the number of dirtside livers and space station colonists it's such small percentage. The idea to the majority of citizens must seem so far away.
Power Play: Only Peace, no War
- Thread starter Ironwolf
- Start date
No, we are Commanders who pledge allegiance to a power. Some of these powers are part of a Major Faction, such as the Federation and Empire.
We are visible on the sensor as pledged, and everything belonging to other powers is flagged as 'Hostile'.
Declaring a faction,that does not have a ceasefire in place with the Power I'm aligned with, means you are my enemy. I will fight you no matter where I see you. The lines have been drawn, and teams have been picked. It's on and it's awesome. Don't take it personally, but you made the wrong choice.
I see them as border skirmishes so far. Did you know that Russia and Imperial Japan had a very nasty battle at Khalkhin-Gol resulting in a ceasefire until 1946? Now you do 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Khalkhin_Gol
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Khalkhin_Gol
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I see them as border skirmishes so far. Did you know that Russia and Imperial Japan had a very nasty battle at Khalkhin-Gol resulting in a ceasefire until 1946? Now you do
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Khalkhin_Gol
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Did you know that the soviet union just tried to install weapon systems into a friendly country (Cuba) and we almost head a nuclear war?
No I'm not mad. Just because it's a massacre it doesn't make it a war.
The fact remains that the ones doing 99% of the killing out there are fellow commanders, ie players shooting other players, who are only supporters of the different factions and not officially part of their armed forces.
What we've effectively got is an intergalactic riot. Yes, it's a problem for the official forces, and a lot of people are getting killed, but until the powers get involved and, say, a federal navy destroyer attacks an Empire corvette, or a wing of Federation fighters and Empire fighters get engaged in a dogfight, it's not a war.
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To all intents and purposes, they are. They're officially signed up and the faction in question is giving them specific orders to undertake. Anything they do is as a direct result of that faction.
That's essentially what is happening. Especially in Hudson's case, where he's the President of the Federation (and it gets even more tricky when you consider that many of the pilots in question do actually hold an official rank with the Federal or Imperial militaries - or, for some utterly bizarre, never explained reason, both).
So, let's go for a radically loose interpretation of what's going on... Let's say we're actually the equivalent of, say, privateers with a proverbial 'letter of marque'. Well, OK, that means the government in question has officially authorised you to attack enemy vessels during a time of war. Even then, it would mean you'd be entitled to attack for the express purpose of commandeering the ships in question to bring them before an admiralty court. It's a distinction which has always been regarded, at best, as fairly dodgy, because all it does is to give pirates a thin veil of official legitimacy.
What's going on here is even worse than that. There are literally no capture missions. They're all about either total destruction or engaging in piracy and stealing official cargo.
This isn't a riot. This is officially sanctioned warfare. Whether or not the Commanders in question are considered a part of the military forces (and there's definitely a case for that if you're holding actual rank or have pledged allegiance to Hudson, who's the Federal equivalent of the Emperor), they would still be regarded as undertaking actions openly endorsed by the faction, itself. You're on the payroll and taking orders, no matter what.
Again, ask yourself what would happen in today's world if someone began destroying oil tankers from Saudi Arabia or illegally snatching cargo heading for China. Look at the warships which have been sent in to combat piracy around Somalia - it would be several magnitudes higher than that!
So, yes, what we're seeing playing out should very much be considered as countless individual little acts of war.
If we, as pilots, are given bounties and fines for minors traffic violations, then why aren't we seeing galactic powers encountering consequences for the actions they're all causing against one another? It makes an absolute mockery of any Federal/Imperial claims that they're even able to stand up to their own massively violent internal disputes, much less would guarantee safety/security for anyone joining their respective cause.
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I've not gotten into powerplay, it seems like to much of a mess. But perhaps someone playing it can answer me this question:
Are the powers alligned to the larger factions allies or enemies? In other words is Felicia Winters at war with that angry looking dude with the finger? And if so does that mean that joining with Ms Winters (or the pointing gentleman) result in me having to be concerned about travelling in some parts of Federation space, even though I've alligned with a Federation faction?
If so this is a complete deal breaker as far as ever playing PP is concerned for me. It's as immersive as pac-man, the cherries, and the ghosts, with equally arbitrary game mechanics.
Are the powers alligned to the larger factions allies or enemies? In other words is Felicia Winters at war with that angry looking dude with the finger? And if so does that mean that joining with Ms Winters (or the pointing gentleman) result in me having to be concerned about travelling in some parts of Federation space, even though I've alligned with a Federation faction?
If so this is a complete deal breaker as far as ever playing PP is concerned for me. It's as immersive as pac-man, the cherries, and the ghosts, with equally arbitrary game mechanics.
Right now nobody actually bothers fighting Powers of the same major faction as them. It's waaaay more profitable to attack Powers from a different major Faction. That, of course, brings its own problem, because it gives the Empire, with its 4 Powers, an absolutely massive advantage.
So much this. I was reading the 'Server Update' thread thinking - what the heck has all of this got to do with Elite? Why come up with the major and minor factions and the whole background simulation, if you are then going to completely ignore them and encourage participation in some abstract, cut-rate board game? <Big Sigh>
Unfortunately, all other powers are hostile, even those belonging to the same Major Faction.
Totally dumb idea to have politically aligned powers fighting so openly like this, on such a massive scale.
At least for me, my dying hope and failing enthusiasm for E D coincides with the imminent early access for Rogue System.
Time to shelf E D for something more worthy.
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I struggle with this too.
I thought/hoped Powerplay actually was a revision and expansion of the already existing faction and political system, spanning the entire populated "bubble".
Adding new possibilities and gameplay choices of influencing and shaping it in interesting and meaningful ways, injecting more content and context....basically what you'd call "fleshing out".
Perhaps i just can't see the "bigger picture" here, perhaps there's a longterm "master plan" to bring it all together in a coherent, overarching manner.
But when considering that, i get the uneasy feeling that i'm vastly overestimating FD's capabilities, and that i'm kidding myself.
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A few weeks ago I still thought like that. Now I think I have been kidding myself.
I think this has become increasingly dumbed down.
The vision that once was has now passed, now it's just a product they want to sell mainstream.
I only have two words to comfort myself.
Rogue System.
- - - Updated - - -
The player base has shifted to mainstream, which I think has always been their target group.
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Maybe we'll all be friends again when the Thargoids show up, and all this fighting amongst the Powers is only temporary.
Wait a second, didn't Ronald Reagan say something about this at the UN in the 80's? and Yes, he was talking about ED, not RL.
[video=youtube;Ag44dRO8LEA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag44dRO8LEA[/video]
Wait a second, didn't Ronald Reagan say something about this at the UN in the 80's? and Yes, he was talking about ED, not RL.
[video=youtube;Ag44dRO8LEA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag44dRO8LEA[/video]
I think FD wants E D to sit at the same table as EVE, WOW and other 'successful' MMO's.
Unfortunately.
Yep, exactly why I refuse to take part in PP and am heading out to explore some instead.....the entire concept is completely asinine imo. Pretty sad when the only good thing I can say about it is that it isn't mandatory and can for the most part be ignored. If I find that the Cmdr's that have pledged become too annoying I will move to solo or group as much as I'd hate to do so, (I actually like occasionally chatting with Cmdr's when bumped into) but I won't put up with people that use PP as an excuse to attack any player for no reasons beyond the fact that they can. One or two here or there isn't a problem as you can chalk that up to them role playing psychotic pilots but if it is literally like every Cmdr I run into that acts like that for no reason I will find a better option that suits me.
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As long as you don't side with another Power, you should not get blown up on PowerPlay grounds.
Federal security shows up to protect Delaine's thugs and his slave ships... thanks for THAT nicely believable and immersive detail...