Well, I'm currently in a system (groombridge 18 i think) that is a fed system, and inside are military strikes with two sides. PMC and system defence forces. PMC appear to be allied with hudson and system defence forces are 'lawless'. Does that not mean that the federation is in a state of civil war. There is no sign of the federation navy though, so this appears to be an unofficial civil war. I don't understand tbh.
The Powerplay discussion thread.
- Thread starter Matt
- Start date
The decay is really punishing for anyone who lacks time to play a few hours every night just to farm enough to KEEP standing, not to mention to grind up just to reach rank 3 in order to get hold of a faction locked module.
I would have no issue with decay if I could at least accumulate my daily points and use them - but having to sit and collect the 30 minute pittance is not a fun way for non-combat followers to assist the faction.
In theory, with 3 hours every night of collecting faction supplies every 30 minutes at rank 2 I should get 90 points each day.
That's 630 points every week.
Lets assume I went from a 200 points from rank 1 to Rank 2, collected 100 points from that week and needed 650 points to reach rank 3. If I miss 2 days playtime in collecting my supplies I would FAIL to reach rank 3 by 200 points.
IF I fail I now have 275 ((100/2)+(450/2)) points allocated and need 475 points to reach rank 3. I now need to play 6 days to collect the points.
I have no problem with this being a long-term goal to reach a rank but as it stands a casual player or someone with limited playtime will not easily gain anythign above rank 3.
Decay is not a bad thing but perhaps it should be based on the points you accumulate instead of a flat decay to represent that the higher up you get more is demanded of you.
Rank 1: -10% per Week
Rank 2: -15% per Week
Rank 3: -20% per Week
Rank 4: -25% per Week
Rank 5: -30% per Week
Payout per week could also be based on the points accumulated (example below)
Rank 1: Merit X 10 per Week = Max 1 000c
Rank 2: Merit X 250 per Week = Max 50 000c
Rank 3: Merit X 666 per Week = Max 500 000c
Rank 4: Merit X 2000 per Week = Max 5 000 000c
Rank 5: Merit X 5000 per Week = Max 50 000 000c
So someone at Rank 3 with failing to reach rank 4 but had 1750 merits would gain:
500 000 for rank 3 (Max merits)
2000 000 for rank 4 (1000m X 2000c)
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Thank you for making my head hurt. Reading this... This is fun?
I am a casual player. I pledged, still at rank 1, will remain at rank 1. So what?
Gonna write this for the 5th time, hopefully at some point we'll get some feedback on this.
In my opinion they should decouple standard rewards from the ranking system. Make the voting perk the piece that rank is used for, and the decay makes sense if you think of it in terms of political influence within the power. The rank then becomes the voting bloc you've put together and reflects your influence within the power.
The other perks such as the equipment, discounts and monetary bonuses, should be static targets that can be achieved as fast as the player works through them, and do not decay while that player belongs to the power.
In this way casual players can play at their pace and ultimately achieve the rewards that are most important to their playstyle. Meanwhile the more hardcore players have a competitive target to chase on the voting side and we get additional benefit in that those are the players that will determine the expansion targets. I would also add that additional voting mechanics should be added - for example I think preparation targets should be something that is voted on, not randomly picked based on whatever is closest to where you're located (or picked by double agents!!).
Anyway just my .02.
In my opinion they should decouple standard rewards from the ranking system. Make the voting perk the piece that rank is used for, and the decay makes sense if you think of it in terms of political influence within the power. The rank then becomes the voting bloc you've put together and reflects your influence within the power.
The other perks such as the equipment, discounts and monetary bonuses, should be static targets that can be achieved as fast as the player works through them, and do not decay while that player belongs to the power.
In this way casual players can play at their pace and ultimately achieve the rewards that are most important to their playstyle. Meanwhile the more hardcore players have a competitive target to chase on the voting side and we get additional benefit in that those are the players that will determine the expansion targets. I would also add that additional voting mechanics should be added - for example I think preparation targets should be something that is voted on, not randomly picked based on whatever is closest to where you're located (or picked by double agents!!).
Anyway just my .02.
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I feel for you OP, but PP was not designed for casual players. There are benefits, direct and indirect, but unless one is playing a lot its difficult for those to overcome the negatives (like being interdicted every 32 seconds).
My understanding was that PP was designed for those in the 'mid-game', and not so much for casuals and new players. I've never played WoW, but I suppose it might be like opening a level 70 dungeon. It's designed for those play a lot.
That isn't a criticism of your play style, OP, and at some point I'll go on a break and lose all my merits, so I understand. It's simply the way it was designed. And, to be honest, I don't see a problem with that aspect of PP. I'm delighted they added something like this.
My understanding was that PP was designed for those in the 'mid-game', and not so much for casuals and new players. I've never played WoW, but I suppose it might be like opening a level 70 dungeon. It's designed for those play a lot.
That isn't a criticism of your play style, OP, and at some point I'll go on a break and lose all my merits, so I understand. It's simply the way it was designed. And, to be honest, I don't see a problem with that aspect of PP. I'm delighted they added something like this.
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But it's system in expansion stage. Which means hudson is invading and killing feds. PP is confusing.
Im a casual too (i think) , about 4 hours in the week. For me its a game changer , i have a reason to log in again with PP and so far i like any minute of it.
That said , im not hauling stuff from a to b......
That said , im not hauling stuff from a to b......
One thing I like about Elite is that it does not cater to the casual player. There are plenty of games that do, very happy to play a game that doesn't. And I drift between hardcore and casual depending on the week. There are plenty of ways to play this game casually and have a lot of fun, you are just not going to be awarded the same as someone who plays hardcore.
For sure decay should be not in irl time but played time.
At least for solo players, even I'm a full online one.
It sounds fair that you loose merits if you do something else than helping your power. But the meaning of "if you do something else" should be not "washing your car, going to work, or all family responsabilities"!
It looks totally stupid that somebody going to holidays will loose merits in a such game. We are not playing Clash of Clans!
I'm quite sure with the current status, David Braben himself will never go high in rank ;D
In addition, if current PP's merits is clearly unfair for casual gamers (which are probably the biggest part of ED players), it is also unfair for explorers.
Well, in my honest opinion, I'm quite sure they will change it. It is so illogical and unfair that it cannot stay as is.
In the same manner, the bounty should be not in real days, but in played hours... But ok, here I think i'm dreaming.
At least for solo players, even I'm a full online one.
It sounds fair that you loose merits if you do something else than helping your power. But the meaning of "if you do something else" should be not "washing your car, going to work, or all family responsabilities"!
It looks totally stupid that somebody going to holidays will loose merits in a such game. We are not playing Clash of Clans!
I'm quite sure with the current status, David Braben himself will never go high in rank ;D
In addition, if current PP's merits is clearly unfair for casual gamers (which are probably the biggest part of ED players), it is also unfair for explorers.
Well, in my honest opinion, I'm quite sure they will change it. It is so illogical and unfair that it cannot stay as is.
In the same manner, the bounty should be not in real days, but in played hours... But ok, here I think i'm dreaming.
The problem is not about being casual - it's the way we get the supplies in order to support a faction.
I have a full time job and a family to take care of and limited play time. The TIME i need to spend is not what makes a game casual.
I can play as hardcore as the next one with the time I have - the problem is that the game do not ALLOW for me to play on MY time but I have to wait for the game to GIVE me the supplies I need in order to get what I need.
Preparing systems and supplying them as a supporting playstyle means it's difficult to get over rank 3 unless I go into combat zones and that's not what I see my role as.
The dogfood dispenser timer is bad game design.
mxcross2002
M
do you not think that pledging and having to grind for merits sort of removes you from the
rest of the game or can you still make your own credits in the meantime , are you
not losing in the long run comparing how much you can grind an hour for yourself
rest of the game or can you still make your own credits in the meantime , are you
not losing in the long run comparing how much you can grind an hour for yourself
A casual gamer who played 100 hours in 10 months should be at the same status than a hardcore gamer who played 100 hours in one month.
So what separate a hardcore player from a casual one? He goes faster IRL.
I'm not sure why there is a need for merit decay anyway. Why can't we just progress up the ranks the same way that we progress towards Elite, etc?
Why should they be separated in the first place ?