With a due sense of trepidation, my thoughts on PowerPlay.
http://www.drewwagar.com/progress-report/elite-powerplay/
Cheers,
Drew.
http://www.drewwagar.com/progress-report/elite-powerplay/
Cheers,
Drew.
A writer's thoughts on 'PowerPlay' - Drew Wagar
- Thread starter drew
- Start date
PP : It's as always a good start, but needs developing. I too would like some words before the numbers, a weekly leader statement for followers that may show a different side from that shown on Galnet, more personal stuff ( a random, difficult mission with a high merit value) and so on. I play it as it gives me a reason to play outside of improving my ship, but I agree that the DDF has gone into the abyss and that's worrying as it was the projects only real feature map available to everyone.
Nice write up. Pretty much agree with everything you've said there. Nothing wrong with PP (well there is, but it'll get fixed) but it's not Elite, it's fantasy football with spaceships. Interesting point you mentioned the contrast between the unknown artefacts and PP - people clamoured over the UA's, researched & analysed them endlessly, and got very excited with very little to go on and were really happy that at least something they'd been wanting for so long seemed to be finally happening in the game... but even the people who LIKE PP have seem to have been fairly lukewarm about it, more grateful to actually have something to actually have do in the game rather than grateful that they'd been given what they wanted.
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Have to agree with most of that. Powerplay has sucked a lot of the fun out of it for me. Can't see the point of grinding to collect merits, particularly in such a convoluted manner.
And it's hard to avoid.
And it's hard to avoid.
The last says it for me too. Rep to all and virtual rep to Sandmann.
Give us adventure.
Give us adventure.
I would have preferred politics done right, with real ways to sabotage your enemy, destroy their assets etc in game, in open play while other players defend. Right now the only way to sabotage someone is via Fifth column actions, as the entire thing is a race to grind, rather than actively engaging with other human players. I mean, imagine if you could kick powers out of system depending on the number of PvP kills to deaths you get (based on their value of course, a conda would be worth far more than a sidey for example, so kills would have their value based on credits destroyed on either side).
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Rep +1 to all above, "Fantasy football" that made me laugh (but too true!)..... hell I HATE football"
+1 because it is very well written it also highlights why there is such strong division caused by the update. People have different opinions of what Elite was, let alone is. As seems to be required on this forum lets get this out of the way - I am old and started playing games back in days of Hunt the Wumpus yadda yadda. Elite was the first game I ever became addicted to but for me it was never about exploration, never about finding new things, it was about trading, surviving, earning credits and increasing my rank. The great thing with Elite was that you could do some many things with it, it was the first 'open world'. Just from my point of view, if FD had focused on exploration for this update it would have been as worthwhile for me and PP feels for you. Neither of us are right, we just want different things.
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hell I HATE football"
You n me both
S'why I fly spaceships rather than chasing an inflated pigs bladder around a muddy field with 21 other grown men in shorts that are WAY too small. 
Thumbs up and a Salute !!!
Zero interest in PP or Elite in general due to the direction its going and the console market. (Alot of this is them running scared of SC and there using this heads up time to that effect)
Technically its a great achievement, but lacks all the charm of the previous games the first 100hrs are great but then it just slaps you in the face by saying "you want to play more... this is the only game you can play. We will suck all the time and energy you have in playing it, keeping your ship going in repairs, integrity, fuel, insurance, (and soon be load-outs)
Its not game i will invest anymore time in until VR is released and only then its for the experience of the world and not playing the game. (Its said state of affairs when the forums are more fun)
Technically its a great achievement, but lacks all the charm of the previous games the first 100hrs are great but then it just slaps you in the face by saying "you want to play more... this is the only game you can play. We will suck all the time and energy you have in playing it, keeping your ship going in repairs, integrity, fuel, insurance, (and soon be load-outs)
Its not game i will invest anymore time in until VR is released and only then its for the experience of the world and not playing the game. (Its said state of affairs when the forums are more fun)
I would really like background storys, it would make PP much more interesting for me. I think as an imperial it was a little easier to make a decision because there were a ton of Galnet news a while back. In the end I pledged to Arissa because she seemed to be the most traditional but some more information would have been nice. I'm still indifferent if I like the game mechanic but with all the problems there still are at the moment I've just taken off to do some exploring.
I think the reason why PP isn't that interesting for Elite veterans is, that it's focus is on the type of players which are lost in the open world of Elite because they need somebody to tell them what to do. Fortify system X, attack system Y and if you have done enough of that you get a nice bonus on bountys, so go hunting after that. It's not completely against the whole you against the universe attitude in my eyes because you still have little to none influence on the outcome of things but at the time it's too much focussed on a single player type. I hope they expand it some more so it get's interesting for a wider spectrum of players.
I think the reason why PP isn't that interesting for Elite veterans is, that it's focus is on the type of players which are lost in the open world of Elite because they need somebody to tell them what to do. Fortify system X, attack system Y and if you have done enough of that you get a nice bonus on bountys, so go hunting after that. It's not completely against the whole you against the universe attitude in my eyes because you still have little to none influence on the outcome of things but at the time it's too much focussed on a single player type. I hope they expand it some more so it get's interesting for a wider spectrum of players.
I had some misgivings about Powerplay when it was revealed - it didn't bring what I had expected to the game. Also I strongly disagreed with some of the original mechanics, however most of the problem areas were changed during beta testing. I still feel that the design brief was too focused on creating an intricate and subtle game structure for its own sake, and the really important goal of fostering group play was somewhat secondary.
The only thing I'd add from my personal experience thus far is that the more I play it the more I like it, and it has definitely added something welcome to my experience of ED. Whether that "added something" could have been even better is a matter for conjecture.
The only thing I'd add from my personal experience thus far is that the more I play it the more I like it, and it has definitely added something welcome to my experience of ED. Whether that "added something" could have been even better is a matter for conjecture.
I can't disagree with anything you've said.
I will say that my experience is slightly different though. As a writer myself, I've very much got into Powerplay. That's because in my mind - and on my page - it's become a glorious cast of characters with parallel or contra motivations, working together or finding themselves at odds, each and every action having consequences, each character having agency. For me these characters live and breathe and have personality. I can go and meet them and fight for or against them - I can heckle them and demand they tell me why I should fight for them... and get escorted off by Senatorial security for my trouble, admittedly, but in my mind I can do that.
If I were to make just ONE suggestion to improve the two-dimensional feel of the Powers, it would be this: Give them something else to do. They have manifestos, yes, with tactics that have been prearranged by their individual styles of doing things and personal ethos. But now they're fixed into doing those things ALL THE TIME. Whereas in reality, these experienced players of the political game woudl adapt their tactics as needed to changing situations and circumstances. Heck, even I can think of a three-way peace proposal, right now, that could seriously turn around the situation in the Empire. I even thought about floating it to the appropriate commanders and trying to reach a player-agreement just to see if FD would make it in-game accepted by the leaders. But that's not the point. The point is these leaders are individuals and don't just do the same thing over and over. It feels two-dimensional and yes it will get dull. I would like the leaders to stand up and speak again (haven't heard anything from them in a long time - I want quotes, interviews!), to do varying things not just one method of doing things, and yes I want an even deeper, thicker plot. My brain is already bursting with ideas, and I'll work for free. FD, you know where to find me.
We need mysterious wrecks, hard to find signals, distress calls, odd bits of space that you can’t navigate or that screw up your instruments, more weird artefacts and clues that when you put them together… ?
Give us adventure, Frontier, not politics. That’s the essence of Elite.
Yes!
While I agree about most or all of the blog, I particularly like the last few paragraphs.
Think about how much excitement the UA has triggered on the forums, even if thusfar it has led nowhere.
Think about how much more engagement FD can get by adding in just a few more hints, puzzles and mini stories developing over a few weeks' time.
The powerplay characters could play a role in these stories.
I am looking forward to it.
Also, I don't mind at all that Elite the game is growing, and that not every player is playing every aspect of it. I may decide not to boldly pledge where many have gone before, and to keep observing the Powers from a distance. As far as I'm concerned, let the game grow to be as diverse as real life. But I do have some worries as to the managability of such a large scale game.
Give us adventure, Frontier, not politics. That’s the essence of Elite.
Yes!
While I agree about most or all of the blog, I particularly like the last few paragraphs.
Think about how much excitement the UA has triggered on the forums, even if thusfar it has led nowhere.
Think about how much more engagement FD can get by adding in just a few more hints, puzzles and mini stories developing over a few weeks' time.
The powerplay characters could play a role in these stories.
I am looking forward to it.
Also, I don't mind at all that Elite the game is growing, and that not every player is playing every aspect of it. I may decide not to boldly pledge where many have gone before, and to keep observing the Powers from a distance. As far as I'm concerned, let the game grow to be as diverse as real life. But I do have some worries as to the managability of such a large scale game.
You do realise that there is absolutely no similarity in any way between Elite / PP and fantasy football? Completely different concepts entirely.Rep +1 to all above, "Fantasy football" that made me laugh (but too true!)..... hell I HATE football"
Viajero
Volunteer Moderator
Interesting point of view. On the one hand I d love to see and play those “mysterious wrecks, hard to find signals, distress calls, odd bits of space that you can’t navigate or that screw up your instruments, more weird artifacts and clues that when you put them together”… But on the other, how many of them you think you d need to go through before they all start to become seriously repetitive. How many times before you relaize that thousands of other players are also playing the same “unique” events possibly just a few light seconds away?
No. No matter how many resources you throw at it for this kind of content, this kind is of a finite nature and more suited to Single Player scripted campaign games where most elements can be tailored and hand made. The price to pay though is that it has to be finite.
Dont get me wrong, I definitely can see room for some basic elements of that, such as the recent relics and similar. But if Elite is to live long term, if it is to endure the pass of time, the core of the gameplay I think needs to come from the players themselves, based on emergent content which Powerplay gives a foundation for (and that can be improved upon no doubt). And I can tell you right now, emergent gameplay will never allow me to create a mysterious wreck for you, but will certainly be able to allow me help you refuel your ship if you get stranded in a white dwarf system while on your way in a wing to stop Hudson´s expansion attempts towards Eothienses.
No. No matter how many resources you throw at it for this kind of content, this kind is of a finite nature and more suited to Single Player scripted campaign games where most elements can be tailored and hand made. The price to pay though is that it has to be finite.
Dont get me wrong, I definitely can see room for some basic elements of that, such as the recent relics and similar. But if Elite is to live long term, if it is to endure the pass of time, the core of the gameplay I think needs to come from the players themselves, based on emergent content which Powerplay gives a foundation for (and that can be improved upon no doubt). And I can tell you right now, emergent gameplay will never allow me to create a mysterious wreck for you, but will certainly be able to allow me help you refuel your ship if you get stranded in a white dwarf system while on your way in a wing to stop Hudson´s expansion attempts towards Eothienses.
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A great read and I agree with most of what you said. ..and Frontier, please listen to this "Give us adventure, Frontier, not politics. That’s the essence of Elite."