The Powerplay discussion thread.

[GluttonyFang]

If someone really wants to combat log they will do it before the 15 second timer so I don't see that as much of an argument. The only risk you have with time is that they may call in friends, in which case you should be prepared or have more people scooping. There are work-arounds to this issue that has arose since their solution to a different issue. It will get fixed in time, it's good that people have brought it up, but this idea that piracy is crippled seems to be a bit biased. What about the pirates who don't play on open or pirate against NPE not PVP? Does this affect them the same?

Having more people scoop and use collector limpet in a single instance will bug it out, we have also mentioned this earlier in the thread, please read the thread thoroughly to prevent circular arguments. Tell people who does PvE piracy that they should be satisfied with 20 tons of cargo they get from a type 9 that stretches across a wide space and the 21st cargo always explode into thin-air.

Not flame beating. What I'm saying is that there are individuals who have spammed the hell out of people with containers and it was an issue that needed addressing. Could it have been handled better? Sure. Was it everyone's fault in this thread? No. Was it a problem? Yes.

Hopefully the solution will be addressed better and all the constructive criticism and ideas can be offered from pirates and coders alike, I am neither, but for the time being there are ways to work around it without turning it into the end of peoples professions. I wasn't even aware pirating was all that lucrative anyways, how many tonnes do you usually ask for?

We are not here to discuss the cause of the issue, I mentioned this earlier as well and even responded to your thread with this issue. Please do not begin discussing the cause of the issue because it is unproductive and off topic, it will create the unnecessary flaming that will close this thread for toxicity, unless it is your intention, of course, please stop responding or starting posts that associate itself with cause finger pointing.

Piracy isn't lucrative to begin with, which is ridiculous that it is even further capped at 20 tons cargo limit.

Also the amount of cargo demanded depends on the player's piracy philosophy or group principles if they apply. 20 tons is definitely an extremely low, and unacceptable number.

 

[Kiblams]

Powerplay did a good job of getting a lot more people back into the game, though it looks as though the honeymoon has worn off after only 10 days judging my the steam players at least.

The steam sale may have been a big contributor in this drop though, so it's hard to say at this point. All I know is that the players through steam are at their lowest point since release after a huge jump up with the Powerplay release

 

[Sabalias]

I expect the real issue here is, 80% of the negative heads have no clue how powerplay works, simply because they have not and can't be bothered to read the manual.

Big assumption. There are probably 3 camps in this discussion; those who have read and understood PowerPlay but dislike it, those who have decided they don't like it because they may not understand it, and those that like it (whether they fully understand it or not). I'm not sure that you can legitimately assume that people who don't like it mostly fall into the second group.

Sabalias

 

[Fyrd Judge]

Big assumption.
Sabalias

No it's fact based on the majority of the questions on the forum that i have observed. The majority of negative heads simply do not know they mechanics of powerplay.

Ask them to explain merit decay and they get confused.

 

[Hilight]

You're absolutely right... But let's get in your sandbox and try and play a bit shall we?

Miner - Are you suggesting the game mechanics/gameplay are as interesting/involved as you'd like them to be? Just shooting at rocks and picking bits up? Surely some added logic/intelligence/depth might go a long way? And where's the emergent gameplay David Braben himself talked about as regards ED? Exploring for, and finding rich pockets/locations of resources and either profiting from these directly or selling the information, and for this to be the first rung of the ladder of platforms and station and system occupation beginning?

Bounter Hunter - How many people in ED describe themselves as a "Bounty Hunter" and in the same breath continue on to explain their in RES areas? Let's look at this occupation then shall we? Fly to an area with a big signpost on it, "Will all NPC Wanted please form an orderly queue and fly into this area to needlessly commit suicide so CMDRs can farm credits." Does this hit anyone as maybe lacking in depth, logic and ultimately interest to some degree?

Pirate - Again, this occupation needs to attention and love. Indeed, the game means traders don't even bother with shields/weapons at times as they can simply duck into SOLO to escape the more dangerous CMDRs, or simply combat log.

Trader - Find a pair of stations and fly to-and-fro between then, taking expensive items back and forwards, and igore the lower price items, such as food, which no one ever bothers with as the galaxy is happy to starve to death Would it be more interesting if Traders actually more at risk? Imagine if we could hire/employ NPC wingmen (even just one) so instantly traders could always have some sort of cover. Wouldn't that make trading a tad more interesting having a second NPC ship to outfit and cover you in dangerous space?

Play Galactic Politics - You're referring to Powerplay? I assume your use of the word "politics" refers to the Power which simply grinds the most at a set of mini-games (to collect points), wins? Where are any new gameplay elements or missions? Why are we still doing the same grind mechanics as six months ago, simply now wrapped up in a pseudo board game with bar graphs to reward players mass grinding?

...and I could go on...



You refer to blockading? Now why didn't Powerplay actually introduce new missions that actually introduced *shock horror* new things to do, including ones that ideally even promoted PvP interaction:-
- Power's give missions to protect convoys to a system. Or VIPs going to a system.
- Enemy Power's give counter missions to attack/destroy those convoys or kill those VIPs.

And *shock horror* the results are not simply measured on who grinds the most, but actually on a like for like basis and which Power performs them best. ie: Mindless grind does not simply win...


Anyway... I've said enough. We just need the depth of gameplay, exploration, occupations we all hoped for! What worries me is ED came to release with simplistic grinding at its core, and worse still Powerplay has made no attempt to improve upon this, but worse still embraced it and dug its heals in as if it has not the slightest interest in progressing from it.

Your complaints of no depth are pretty much like saying "Oh this fantasy RPG game doesn't have any depth because all you do is get stuff and kill monsters" Virtually all genres of computer games are each more of the same across the board within in each genre...For example, in FPS games you pretty much run around and shoot things in every game out there. You pick a genre you like and then play it and if you don't like it, you pick another genre. Personally, I really like space simulators. I've been playing them for many, many years. Elite is an extremely good one because of the variety of things you can do in the game and the variations of play styles available within each variety (which equals depth). For example, there are a number of different ways to go about being a trader or a bounty hunter. I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that if your were to begin trading in Elite, you would do it differently than I go about it. The fact that those options of play style available in Elite means implicitly that the game has good depth...It's on you to discover it...and if you can't or won't or if you do like the genre (and it sounds like you don't), then by all means pick another

 

[InMemoriamSirocco]

I expect the real issue here is, 80% of the negative heads have no clue how powerplay works, simply because they have not and can't be bothered to read the manual.

It works just like a game shouldn't. Like a second job. You have to grind for a reward that you will only get after a period of time has passed. You will be rewarded according to the amount of grinding you have done.

You can also invest gigantic amounts of money to increase your weekly salary.

Since the beginning of the game, credits were the one unit of measurement of success in the game. Taking part in Powerplay seems to be only for those who have more than they could ever spend, because effectively, it makes you lose money.

And for what? A couple of systems change their color on a map. And maybe you get a cookie in the form of a piece of equipment that you don't need.

There was talk of a missions overhaul. All I see are the same cookie cutter missions from Premium Beta... many of them with utterly unbelievable restrictions. ELITE status for a 30k Mission? As an Elite pilot, I would tell the mission giver "increase that by a factor of 100 and we have a deal".

Powerplay adds no depth to the gameplay at all. It is a grindfest with questionable rewards. If the Powerplay mission at least were paid in credits along with merits... if killing an Anaconda would give you many more merits than killing a Condor... maybe there would be an incentive to play.

I strongly suspect that the majority of players who were thrilled to try it have now tested it out, found out that this is really it and there is nothing more to it, and are gradually abandoning Powerplay as the failed attempt at gameplay it is.

 

[Daffan]

I believe this is what you get when you design games without actually playing them.

as a pvp player i would like to shake your hand my friend

i dont even think 1 person on their dev team ever did pvp once, ONCE!

 

[Fyrd Judge]

It works just like a game shouldn't. Like a second job. You have to grind for a reward that you will only get after a period of time has passed. You will be rewarded according to the amount of grinding you have done.

You can also invest gigantic amounts of money to increase your weekly salary.

This comment proves you have not read the manual and have not grasped the mechanics of merit decay. You grind (at your own pace) then eventually start earning 50,000,000cr a week, then you only grind for 1500 merits a week there after to keep getting 50,000,000cr a week. The faction i am on have fully grasped it and are hell bent on ranking 5. But hell, who cares what others are doing , we will have billions of credits each by the years end.

 

[random_tangent]

This comment proves you have not read the manual and have not grasped the mechanics of merit decay. You grind (at your own pace) then eventually start earning 50,000,000cr a week, then you only grind for 1500 merits a week there after to keep getting 50,000,000cr a week. The faction i am on have fully grasped it and are hell bent on ranking 5. But hell, who cares what others are doing , we will have billions of credits each by the years end.

Isn't it 1250?

 

[Ervig]

This poll, like a great number of internet polls, has a problem called self-selection bias: the only people who are likely to vote are the ones who feel strongly about the issue (ie the loud minority). People who just play the game and stay out of forum drama aren't voting, and neither are those that just don't care about PP one way or another. All this poll confirms is that there is a group of people who don't like PP, another group that does and a third that doesn't care, and we already knew that. Anything beyond that, ie actual numbers, is suspect because of selection bias. This is of course assuming that no-one was cheating the poll, which would make it even less trustworthy.

Do you mean to say:
those that just don't care about PP one way or another aren't voting AND poll confirms a third that doesn't care

So .... they ARE voting?

 

[Fyrd Judge]

Isn't it 1250?

Yep you are correct it is less grinding to do.

 

[Yabba Addict]

I don't know. I think we need to keep coming up with novel alternative solutions!


- Make every cargo canister request docking clearance, land at a docking pad, sell itself, and donate the money to charity.

- After 17 seconds, have all the jettisoned cargo canisters fly close to each other, and form a giant robot, which then forms a blazing sword, and a head, and attacks you.

- When you dump a cargo canister, have it follow you everywhere you go, smashing into your canopy glass, while shouting "SORRY!" loudly in a Mr Gumby voice. Wearing a knotted handkerchief hat.

- Turn all cargo canisters into cute puppies, to melt the hearts of cargo-spammers and make them sad about what they did.

That what's annoying me about this thread and the rules being applied right now, one of the reasons the last thread was closed was for circular logic, which is forcing the posters to come up with (sometimes sarcastic) alterations of an extremely simple fix to keep the thread from simply disappearing. We all know the fix that should be applied and eventually will be if the whine is kept up long enough (whining being one of the only things that FD will respond to).

 

[random_tangent]

Yep you are correct it is less grinding to do.

As someone who has played PP, can you tell me how long it takes to accrue 1250? My impression is not that long. I know this is going to depend on what I spend my time doing, but say for example I'm a combat pilot doing undermining for 15 merits a kill. Is it literally just as long as it takes me to get 83 kills?

 

[Kiblams]

As someone who has played PP, can you tell me how long it takes to accrue 1250? My impression is not that long. I know this is going to depend on what I spend my time doing, but say for example I'm a combat pilot doing undermining for 15 merits a kill. Is it literally just as long as it takes me to get 83 kills?

If you are not doing combat for the merits, you get (at rank 5) 50 allocation of power commodities every 30 mins, so you would need to wait 12.5 hours clicking the buttons to collect them every 30 mins to accrue the needed power commodities to transport.

 

[Fyrd Judge]

As someone who has played PP, can you tell me how long it takes to accrue 1250? My impression is not that long. I know this is going to depend on what I spend my time doing, but say for example I'm a combat pilot doing undermining for 15 merits a kill. Is it literally just as long as it takes me to get 83 kills?

Let me explain it this way.

The Manual says "Your merit total from the previous cycle is halved then added to your current cycle value. After two cycles, its value is halved again before being added. After three cycles, the value is halved once more. After four cycles the value is no longer added."

Here are some figures that shows you what different levels of weekly merit income and how many weeks it would take you to achieve max rating (5). First number is the amount of merits you gain, second number is the amount of weeks it will take you to achieve rating 5 with that amount of income.


1300 = 39
1400 = 27
1500 = 22
1600 = 18
1700 = 16
1800 = 14
1900 = 13
2000 = 12
2100 = 11
2200 = 10
2300 = 9
2400 = 9
2500 = 8
2600 = 8
2700 = 7
2800 = 7
2900 = 7
3000 = 6
3100 = 6
3200 = 6
3300 = 6
3400 = 6
3500 = 5
3600 = 5
3700 = 5
3800 = 5
3900 = 5
4000 = 4
4100 = 4
4200 = 4
4300 = 4
4400 = 4
4500 = 4
4600 = 4
4700 = 4
4800 = 4
4900 = 4
5000 = 3

When you reach rating 5, you only grind for 1250 merits a week there after to keep getting 50,000,000cr a week.

Want furtther advice then pledge to Torvil. The faction that understands the mechanics of powerplay and whose members will guide you through mature organization to reach your goals.

 

[CaptainKremmen]

That what's annoying me about this thread and the rules being applied right now, one of the reasons the last thread was closed was for circular logic, which is forcing the posters to come up with (sometimes sarcastic) alterations of an extremely simple fix to keep the thread from simply disappearing. We all know the fix that should be applied and eventually will be if the whine is kept up long enough (whining being one of the only things that FD will respond to).

Actually, I was only posting that to be a smartarse.

 

[Windsaw]

I expect the real issue here is, 80% of the negative heads have no clue how powerplay works, simply because they have not and can't be bothered to read the manual.

It's actually funny.

When PP came out I read the manual. All of it. From beginning to the end.
At the end I asked myself: "Okay, that's how to do it. But why exactly should I do it?"
After that I read the forums and some videos and came to the conclusion that, at least for me, there isn't any reason to.

So I didn't even bother to start.

 

[Fyrd Judge]

It's actually funny.

When PP came out I read the manual. All of it. From beginning to the end.
At the end I asked myself: "Okay, that's how to do it. But why exactly should I do it?"
After that I read the forums and some videos and came to the conclusion that, at least for me, there isn't any reason to.

So I didn't even bother to start.

I also read the manual (also did beta) and when i fully understood that i could earn 50,000,000cr a week for little grinding, i instantly thought , hell that is for me. But not many people want 50,000,000cr a week for a micro grind a week work, that's their choice.
I accept the concept of the game for a few may not be for them, ie strategy and cooperation. But for us that do like Powerplay, it is a GREAT addition.

 

[B1rdy]

I expect the real issue here is, 80% of the negative heads have no clue how powerplay works, simply because they have not and can't be bothered to read the manual.

The system is unnecessarily complex thus hard to understand completely, however, it does not change the underlying game mechanic. It's like "enhancing" your bluray player remote by splitting the play function across five buttons and 10 sub menus.
The only gamplay element where the game lets you get better and develop skill is combat. Combat aside the game mostly demands patience from the players. There is no real skill involved in exploring or trading. The hardest thing in this game is to learn it, to my understanding that's the worst basis for a game you can possibly have.

 

[Fyrd Judge]

The system is unnecessarily complex thus hard to understand completely,

That is why is say, " read the manual." When you do every thing is understood and nothing is then complex.

however, it does not change the underlying game mechanic. It's like "enhancing" your bluray player remote by splitting the play function across five buttons and 10 sub menus..

woooo, you lost me there.

The only gamplay element where the game lets you get better and develop skill is combat. .

First thing is, Elite isn't a combat game, get that out of your head now. Second thing is Powerplay is a strategy game that requires cooperation, that developes team work command and control. A depth of gaming that Elite has not had since the introduction of powerplay. Powerplay is multimedia gaming that many were wanting and if you don't like it, you don't have to do it, you can carry one as normal as if powerplay had never come.