Powerplay: Ideas from the devs - Feedback wanted! #3

[Derthek]

Sorry, but that sounds like - I want some cool stuff first, don't work on something you can deliver in reasonable time frame and what's required for other things to be added down the road.

What's the problem with adding PowerPlay and tweak it going down the road? Some people don't like it, totally fine, but some people claiming it changes game so much they can't play anymore? Huh?

This reasoning alone should indicate gamers never should be charge of putting schedule of the game.

Yeah i was a little mad, my beef is that PP bowled over my system and there was nothing i could do to stop it.
PP is a tired idea with out much imagination, it tries to use math instead of a more interesting mechanic so I have to disagree with you there.
If we were given a way to fight powers as indie pilots i would be okay. granted that wont get 5 months of grinding the BGS back, but atleast it woul give me a chance.
Any way, i dont really care. I'm going to be taking a break until christmas or so. This game went from sim to... i dont even know.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Sorry, but I don't see how this is brainstorming "early".

Brainstorming early would have run the key drivers and mechanics of PowerPlay past your playerbase before coding it up.

Yes, technically, that would have "spoiled the surprise".

But, please believe me, the surprise was not a good kind of surprise. It was a bit like dropping hints to Dad about an awesome birthday present for three months... then gifting a pair of underpants that were the wrong size.

People expect something and get something different, news at 11. Who would make that decision is PP good enough or not? You, "forum polling committee" or someone else? It seems FD goal was add mechanic to the game and then tweak it for wider mass appeal.

You might not like such way of doing things, but it seems to me that it's either this, or two month long beta. Last one is very expensive for FD to run.

FD went off and added something to the game that sounds fine as a set of bulletpoints...

• Political archetypes, each with their own portrait, ethos, strenths and weaknesses
• Territorial control display on Galaxy Map, in 3D, with different colours
• Players can "pledge" to assist Power figures, earn rewards and income over time
• Additional combat risk from being pledged, as rival powers compete in populated space

...but the vital game mechanics involved in delivering these things were never discussed with the DDF, or with the current playerbase. Not in any shape or form.

Ok, I will bite. Why they should be? To be perfectly clear, I don't grind, so PP would be useless for me at this point. Still, don't see how they would have done any different considering limitations of project.

It seems lot of player input is mostly how it should work in perfect world, where dev time is infinite and doesn't cost much. Having bigger impact on BGS, having missions - it's all been on their books *already*. It will just take time to get those features in.

This complete lack of dialogue resulted in an implementation that delivers poor moment-to-moment gameplay, is not much fun, gets boring very fast, and often "grates" with the established in-game mechanics people did like.

In my opinion it doesn't grate with established in-game mechanics people did like (and do they even like those established mechanics is open to debate). In fact, it was up to play If you think game design should be "players tell they want everything but a kitchen sink" and this would resulted in much pleasant result...ok, it's valid opinion, but it feels not very strong on facts, much more based on emotions.

 

[CaptainKremmen]

Sorry, but that sounds like - I want some cool stuff first, don't work on something you can deliver in reasonable time frame and what's required for other things to be added down the road.

What's the problem with adding PowerPlay and tweak it going down the road? Some people don't like it, totally fine, but some people claiming it changes game so much they can't play anymore? Huh?

This reasoning alone should indicate gamers never should be charge of putting schedule of the game.

Pecisk, I can't speak for anyone else, but can give insight as to my experience.


In my own "Elite" world, built up in my mind (thanks in part to FD's hard work in creating background and narrative content), there are two superpowers, plus a third amalgamation of independent systems. There is friction between them, they push and prod at each other, but these power blocs are not in a state of outright war.

The superpowers will happily take advantage of local system squabbles to advance their own agendas, embarrass the other side, and even fight "wars by proxy" if they think they can get away with it (ie. keep their own noses clean).

In any system with functioning legal jurisdiction, violent conflict is only authorised under wartime rules of engagement in designated conflict zones. To attack any CLEAN ship outside these conflict zones is illegal, and subject to harsh penalties.

That's my world. I understand it. It makes sense.


All of a sudden, along comes version 1.3, with ten "Power" figures...

• 4 x Empire
• 2 x Federation
• 1 x Alliance
• 1 x Pirate
• 1 x Industrialist
• 1 x Wacko Tech Priest

And I'm asked to swallow the following...

• Every power has their own private Space Patrol. Not a "Federal Navy" or an "Internal Security Service", but a Blackwater-style organised mercenary mob.
• Any time a Federation Space Patrol comes across any other Space Patrol in their region, they ATTACK AND KILL THEM.
• Any time the Industrialist Space Patrol comes across a Federation, Imperial or Alliance Power Spacer Patrol in their region, they ATTACK AND KILL THEM.
• Ditto for every other Space Patrol, in their region. Kill, kill, killy kill.
• Irrespective of the local system Government or Allegiance, such attacks are 100% okay with the law. Nobody gets WANTED... except the victim, if they try to defend themselves.
• Each Power is busy printing thousands of tonnes of propaganda leaflets and corruption reports, presumably to inject enough "spin" to keep the local system populations from objecting to the psychotic frag fest going killing their sons and daughters in the space lanes, while the police do nothing.

I'm sorry, but no.


In PowerPlay, a Imperial flagged ship can attack and destroy a CLEAN ship flown by one of Federation President Hudson's inner circle.

And in PowerPlay, the attacker would be 100% allowed to do this, if in their own "Power region". The things work, this could technically happen in a system in which the controlling minor faction is Alliance affiliated.


In v1.3, the attacker is 100% free and clear to do this. In the eyes of the broken law, the victim is not "allowed" to defend themselves. If they do, they become WANTED.

In my Elite world, all hell would break loose if this happened! Empire flag attacking Federation flag, with the Alliance turning a blind eye? A three-way galactic WAR would break out! The galaxy would burn down.


Yet this is what I'm supposed to swallow?

No. This messes up my game world. It messes up Major Factions, galactic politics, the idea of superpowers fighting proxy wars, Minor Faction jurisdictions, System Control and Law, you name it.


In my case, when (briefly) pledged to Denton Patreus, I was attacked in a Federation Power "region", but in Imperial Minor Faction Jurisdiction. The Imperial "Internal Security Service" sat there, doing nothing, as I was attacked. And I was an ALLIED reputation Imperial Earl.

When I defended myself, I became WANTED... and the Imperial Internal Security Service ships attacked me.


I really, really hate this.


Does it change the game so much that I can't play any more?

Kind of, yeah. I'm afraid it does, a bit.


That's why I'm on a long-range exploration trip. Out of sight, out of mind. Because of PowerPlay.


[edit]A bit more...

In my opinion it doesn't grate with established in-game mechanics...
<snip>.

Answered above.

<snip>
ok, it's valid opinion, but it feels not very strong on facts, much more based on emotions.

Agree entirely. I definitely have some negative emotions when it comes to PowerPlay... but I've done my level best to explain in a rational manner, above, where these negative emotions come from, using some in-game lore descriptions, contrasted with PowerPlay experiences. Hope that helps!

 

[Fracktal]

I also appreciate the thought and work that goes into PP.

However I have to echo some of the words of the critics in this thread: Powerplay is interesting on paper, but not in game. It's not rewarding or gratifying. You guys are trying to fix the reward side of things, but the gratification is never mentioned.

1) You need to make participating in PP gratifying by itself

2) The results of success in PP needs to lead to gratifying consequences

The first point means that the PP activities need to be something other than "shoot X" or "ferry Y", preferably activities you don't get any other way, and the second point means that the consequences of success need to be more than just a bigger bubble on the map. Do stuff with your captital ships. Show them engage the other fleet and squashing them. Give powerplay participants "F... YEAH!" moments when decisive battles are won using the assets secured by their previous hard earned work.

This is an excellent point.

Expansion method shouldn't be defined by a Power Ethos power but by the Allegiance of the system.
That would make more sense lore wise and would add well some choice making for expansion target.

An imperial power expanding in an independent, alliance or federation system should be through military events.
While expansion in imperial system should be a peaceful event (carrying cargo)

 

[DaveC]

I haven't read *every* post on this thread, so forgive me if this has been mentioned already.

How about some means of saying "No expansions next week"! Maybe allow pledged commanders to nominate a special preparation system for expansion called "No Expansion". If a higher proportion of nominations are awarded to that "system" than the total awarded to real expansion systems, then the power doesn't promote any prepared systems for expansion the following week.

But use nominations for this rather than having us ship stupid amounts of imaginary documents to achieve it.

 

[hellig]

Hello dear FDev-Team,

at first I love the PP-Idea. And I can understand that this complex thing needs even more then 2-3 iterations to be perfect. At the moment here are my top "Anti-Frust" recommendations:


1) Complete Documentation
2) Communicate Pledge per Power
3) Reduce / Eliminate the Delay of showing the actual Prep, Exp, Fortify Values
4) Anti-Griever Tool
5) 30 Min Treshold vs. Daylie Limit
6) More Reliable and Transparent EoW Processing
7) Power-Channel
8) No Merits for useless packages



1) Complete Documentation:
Even you add a guide for e.g. for Merit-Draining, there are a lot of unclear formulas, constrains. For e.g. the statistic page has even absolut no explaining help page. Also the constrain between Government-Style and CC-Change while flipping is unclear. Or why do a System drops from 103 to 0? Or raised from -27 to 11 from one week ot another? And there are much, much more open questions.

2) Communicate Pledge per Power
We have systems, we have population, we have distance from HQ. But we don't have a balance of power in respect of the amount of supporting cmdrs per power. Please add a Amount of Pledge Cmdr per Power into the CC Overhead Calculation. At the moment the amount of Cmdrs makes the actual limiter calculation less fair and more useless.

3) Reduce / Eliminate the Delay ...
... of showing the actual Prep, Exp, Fortify Values. A lot of Cmdrs a frustrated because they make wrong decision on outdated values. If you don't want eliminate the actual cache mechanic, please offer a "load actuals" Button or something like this. The "Last Update" value in the right upper corner only shows the "7:00 start-of-week". So no help in judging the values which are offered. It is possible to update the "Last Update" everytime the local PP-Cache is written?

4) Anti-Griever Tool
I saw some Ideas, for e.g. down/up votes to bring one power more in one unified direction. But atm it is very easy for a small group of trolls with some Anacondas to bring a power down from inside, for e.g. prepping bad systems, shouting on allies, etc. pp. Not sure if a kind of a court with a possible jurisdiction could help.

5) 30 Min Treshold vs. Daylie Limit
At the moment the working people are really disadvantaged, because they could not click every 30 Minutes on the Button. What do you think of a kind of a "stacking treshold". After 30 Minutes you can gather 50 Items, after 1h 100 etc. evt. with a draining limiter over the day and even the week, see also 6).

6) More Reliable and Transparent EoW Processing
At the moment so many systems was overtaken in the last minute of a Power-Week. In context with the delayed display this feels very chaotic. Even the player in the "wrong" timezone are very disadvantaged to jump into the last minute fights.
Perhaps not offering free packages in the last hours anymore, could mitigatte this a bit. Or accept the prep-nomination only until before the last day of the week. Or even drain the "stacking treshold" in the week, for e.g. 120 per h at the start an 10 per h in last few hours.

7) Power-Channel
Please add a Power-Scoped Ingame Chat-Channel. So we can inform commanders about actual threads.

8) No Merits for useless packages
Not sure why a power should grant merits for useless packages? For e.g. if a fortification is done, why should grant merit for more packages?

BR, Cmdr Chero

agree with this one,

Right now my main game play is, log in load up hold, leave game in background, and check in each 30 min to load more, until the hold is full then go somewhere to unload rinse repeat. You go do something else for an hour and you groan about losing out on gathering merits since you cant be there each 30 minutes to load up your hold, allowing you to go back to base before you log out to gather what you have "saved" up in playing makes more sense!

 

[Derthek]

Kremmen, what you say sums up how I feel about the fed/imp/ally relationship

Not only did powerplay rob me of my home, but it also robbed the galaxy of a sense balance and harmony.
Massive all out war didn't need to happen to make Elite interesting.
In fact the very idea that 10 psychopathic dictators would even have so much power baffles the immersion right out of me.
I miss the good old days when the Feds were Feds, the Empire basked together, and the Allies chilled way up there.
The idea is broken from a mechanics point of view as well as a story point of view.

@sandy

"Flavour" can be solved by getting rid of merit decay, merits already reward those who have worked more than others by definition as you have to work to earn them. Obviously people who work more will have more. This concept is redundant.

"Voting" wont stop the PP abusers and will only frustrate the people who want to PP seriously as votes wont be taken seriously. Look at the amount of people on the Poll page who admit to using PP for its benifits rather than to progress a power. They are on here, they have access to all the strategies, yet they still dont PP properly.

"flagging" could be simplified by reducing the number of powers to 1 fed/imp/ally as there would be more room for pledged pilots to roam without facing opposition. The most hardcore player groups such as the pirating groups and the imperial groups have ALL abandoned powerplay because they find it restrictive and non-sensible. Consider the simple approach of removing powers before you consider adding more to the mess.

"Freedom Fighters" is the only really good idea on the list, and all it does is give a way to cure the galaxy of powerplay. I know you love powerplay, but please consider the playerbase that does not. We have no way combating this train wreck and this idea is the least you could do for us. Come on, I've bought ~300$ canadian worth of paints to support you guys. Make it an even fight, so that I can push as hard as pledges push. Also allow "freedom fighters" to act as one single group, able to undermine any power at any time. We can give the pledges something to fear. I promise we will make one hell of a story if you let us. I dont mind being wanted in all power-space, but if this mechanic will have a disadvantage against powers in any way you can consider my steam key redeemed.

"more powerful ethos" too simple is not a bad thing. at least we would know where we stand when attempting to flip a power.

"Mission variety and rewards" isnt this what PP promised us in the first place? Its a little late to bring that up now, as the hype train for missions went out the window along with the delay for the AI update.



I hate because I love. This game has more potential than i think even you realize. Adding a restricting political mechanic like powerplay should not come without a way to counter it.
That is, unless, players & indeed the citizens of elite are too simple minded to find purpose without a 2d character who they can't even talk to justifying their lives.

 

[{SAS}Stalker]

Pecisk, I can't speak for anyone else, but can give insight as to my experience.


In my own "Elite" world, built up in my mind (thanks in part to FD's hard work in creating background and narrative content), there are two superpowers, plus a third amalgamation of independent systems. There is friction between them, they push and prod at each other, but these power blocs are not in a state of outright war.

The superpowers will happily take advantage of local system squabbles to advance their own agendas, embarrass the other side, and even fight "wars by proxy" if they think they can get away with it (ie. keep their own noses clean).

In any system with functioning legal jurisdiction, violent conflict is only authorised under wartime rules of engagement in designated conflict zones. To attack any CLEAN ship outside these conflict zones is illegal, and subject to harsh penalties.

That's my world. I understand it. It makes sense.


All of a sudden, along comes version 1.3, with ten "Power" figures...

• 4 x Empire
• 2 x Federation
• 1 x Alliance
• 1 x Pirate
• 1 x Industrialist
• 1 x Wacko Tech Priest

And I'm asked to swallow the following...

• Every power has their own private Space Patrol. Not a "Federal Navy" or an "Internal Security Service", but a Blackwater-style organised mercenary mob.
• Any time a Federation Space Patrol comes across any other Space Patrol in their region, they ATTACK AND KILL THEM.
• Any time the Industrialist Space Patrol comes across a Federation, Imperial or Alliance Power Spacer Patrol in their region, they ATTACK AND KILL THEM.
• Ditto for every other Space Patrol, in their region. Kill, kill, killy kill.
• Irrespective of the local system Government or Allegiance, such attacks are 100% okay with the law. Nobody gets WANTED... except the victim, if they try to defend themselves.
• Each Power is busy printing thousands of tonnes of propaganda leaflets and corruption reports, presumably to inject enough "spin" to keep the local system populations from objecting to the psychotic frag fest going killing their sons and daughters in the space lanes, while the police do nothing.

I'm sorry, but no.


In PowerPlay, a Imperial flagged ship can attack and destroy a CLEAN ship flown by one of Federation President Hudson's inner circle.

And in PowerPlay, the attacker would be 100% allowed to do this, if in their own "Power region". The things work, this could technically happen in a system in which the controlling minor faction is Alliance affiliated.


In v1.3, the attacker is 100% free and clear to do this. In the eyes of the broken law, the victim is not "allowed" to defend themselves. If they do, they become WANTED.

In my Elite world, all hell would break loose if this happened! Empire flag attacking Federation flag, with the Alliance turning a blind eye? A three-way galactic WAR would break out! The galaxy would burn down.


Yet this is what I'm supposed to swallow?

No. This messes up my game world. It messes up Major Factions, galactic politics, the idea of superpowers fighting proxy wars, Minor Faction jurisdictions, System Control and Law, you name it.


In my case, when (briefly) pledged to Denton Patreus, I was attacked in a Federation Power "region", but in Imperial Minor Faction Jurisdiction. The Imperial "Internal Security Service" sat there, doing nothing, as I was attacked. And I was an ALLIED reputation Imperial Earl.

When I defended myself, I became WANTED... and the Imperial Internal Security Service ships attacked me.


I really, really hate this.


Does it change the game so much that I can't play any more?

Kind of, yeah. I'm afraid it does, a bit.


That's why I'm on a long-range exploration trip. Out of sight, out of mind. Because of PowerPlay.


[edit]A bit more...



Answered above.



Agree entirely. I definitely have some negative emotions when it comes to PowerPlay... but I've done my level best to explain in a rational manner, above, where these negative emotions come from, using some in-game lore descriptions, contrasted with PowerPlay experiences. Hope that helps!

All of this^

Does it stop me playing, no. Does it stop me playing how I want to, yes at times. There would certainlybe considerably less rabid criticism of PP if it interacted with the BGS in a more logically aligned way. And the fact it doesnt is made all the more worse because, in the words of the devs so long as "some" people are using it, its worth it.

 

[Oss133]

I like the up/down voting and I absolutely need to be a Freedom Fighter.

 

[{SAS}Stalker]

"Freedom Fighters" is the only really good idea on the list, and all it does is give a way to cure the galaxy of powerplay. I know you love powerplay, but please consider the playerbase that does not. We have no way combating this train wreck and this idea is the least you could do for us. Come on, I've bought ~300$ canadian worth of paints to support you guys. Make it an even fight, so that I can push as hard as pledges push. Also allow "freedom fighters" to act as one single group, able to undermine any power at any time. We can give the pledges something to fear. I promise we will make one hell of a story if you let us. I dont mind being wanted in all power-space, but if this mechanic will have a disadvantage against powers in any way you can consider my steam key redeemed.

I dont believe we will ever see freedom fighters simply because it probably would be more attractive to players than PP as it actually makes sense from a BGS pov and like you say it would give us a way to push back the tide of PP and destroy it.

 

[Krieger]

Last time I checked it was commander decision attack or not to attack another commander.

Yes, but the red label in the HUD saying "ENEMY" is there to remind a pledged player that his Power wants him to kill that player and not even think about having a chat about the weather.

The ENEMY label makes sense in the 15ly radius around a control system when an expansion effort is going on but not in the rest of inhabited space. My problem with this aspect of PP is that it turns the whole Elite Galaxy into an Unreal Tournament map. Such an over-the-top aggression level is typical for an FPS game but it is a mismatch for Elite. Elite allows for much more varied interaction.

 

[Krieger]

Pecisk, I can't speak for anyone else, but can give insight as to my experience.


<snipped for brevity>...

Does it change the game so much that I can't play any more?

Kind of, yeah. I'm afraid it does, a bit.


That's why I'm on a long-range exploration trip. Out of sight, out of mind. Because of PowerPlay.


<snip>

The forum won't let me rep you anymore but you really hit the nail on the head.

Taking a step back I think all these inconsistencies show that Powerplay and Elite can not co-exist in the same Galaxy. PP is a third person board game that wants you to Kill an Conquer in the name of some overlord. Elite is a first person game that wants you to... err... blaze your own trail.

Either PP gets stripped of the ethos and ego hoopla and gets absorbed into the BGS and juridical system of Elite (yes please) or Elite get absorbed into PP to provide the mechanics to move swarms of (player controlled) ships around on the chequer board of PP (the horror!).

Or maybe spin off Powerplay from Elite and make it a standalone game in a different genre (an MMO-RTS or so).

PS: I too am preparing to go on a long exploration trip to leave the PP annoyance behind me for a while.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

CaptainKremmen, what I meant that PP doesn't bother you - at all - if you never pledge to any power.

Of course if you pledge, and then unpledge, you are getting followed. I would tone down that hunting our enemy bit though, seems a bit artifical.

- - - Updated - - -

The forum won't let me rep you anymore but you really hit the nail on the head.

Taking a step back I think all these inconsistencies show that Powerplay and Elite can not co-exist in the same Galaxy. PP is a third person board game that wants you to Kill an Conquer in the name of some overlord. Elite is a first person game that wants you to... err... blaze your own trail.

There's no inconsistencies. You pledge to power, you have benefits and consequences, all of them where quite clearly explained at the beginning. You don't pledge to power, and stay lone pilot as before. Find hard to understand 'can not co-exist in same Galaxy'. No one forces you to pledge last time I checked.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Yes, but the red label in the HUD saying "ENEMY" is there to remind a pledged player that his Power wants him to kill that player and not even think about having a chat about the weather.

And? Still it's decision of commander. People pledge to powers voluntary. These powers have enemies. Now, I personally would like to see less 'total war' feel in PP, granted, but overall that's really not that difficult to grasp. I want a chat a bit about how powers are doing, I will stay and chat.

The ENEMY label makes sense in the 15ly radius around a control system when an expansion effort is going on but not in the rest of inhabited space. My problem with this aspect of PP is that it turns the whole Elite Galaxy into an Unreal Tournament map. Such an over-the-top aggression level is typical for an FPS game but it is a mismatch for Elite. Elite allows for much more varied interaction.

It doesn't turn into anything. Don't pledge and it is same old Elite. Pledge, and you take part into high stakes game, where, yes, there are actual enemies (not only pirates) to kill....or reason with. It's still *your* choice.

Does it feel like people don't like *effects* of PP, than PP itself?

 

[Athan]

Hello Commander Raist!

Don't worry, I'm not going to try to force you to like Powerplay . But I do have a few comments you might find interesting.

<snip>

We have an ongoing dev cycle for the game, for which I'm eternally grateful to the powers that be for, because it means we get to carry on making things better and better in this game I love. And part of that cycle is this bit, where we get to collect feedback from the folk who play the game, which, traumatic though it can be - I also love!

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Sandro Sammarco again." - Thanks for continuing to keep us in the loop as best you can as time allows. The less we feel like mushrooms the better!

 

[CaptainKremmen]

CaptainKremmen, what I meant that PP doesn't bother you - at all - if you never pledge to any power.

Of course if you pledge, and then unpledge, you are getting followed. I would tone down that hunting our enemy bit though, seems a bit artifical.

No, apparently you only get followed if you defect (not just unpledge).

 

[sorcer3r]

If you would like to see more players (re-)joining PP then work on gameplay instead of formulas, please!

Missions, Variety and Rewards
I add this section for the record, even though I don’t have much to add apart from: yes, we will be looking at these aspects, simply because feedback has been clear and I want to emphasise that we have been listening. As usual, no ETA, but truth be told, this stuff has always been on the agenda.

Unfortunately, very annoying.
Now we have Powerplay and a mission system overhaul in 1.3 and these aspects are only on the agenda? These should have now the highest priority.
If you have great gameplay you can tweak mechanics and formulas over the next years while players enjoying the game.

I really wonder how many grindy mechanics we still have to endure until we see finally gameplay improvements.

 

[nexxo]

I don't like PP. Why? IT DOES NOT WORLD-BUILD. It makes absolutely no sense in terms of creating a believable galaxy. It is an entirely different, simplistic game (Risk?) clumsily superimposed on a supposedly walk-your-own-path, no-right-or-wrong, complex ambiguous open world of Elite Dangerous. It jars with the world that the main game is trying to create because it is completely contrary to its philosophy of there's the galaxy, now off you go!. It is a total waste of energy and resources that could have been put into the game to actually fill the holes in world building and background simulation that this kludge is trying to skim over.
.
If Frontier focuses on the --admittedly more complex to create and balance-- background simulation and core game play dynamics, players will create their own drama. It doesn't need some artificial Game-Of-Thrones-In-Space serial plastered on top of it. It is a bad idea, devs, that will now require continued input by story writers to keep going, and will keep distracting from the main world building tasks at hand, and has painted you into a corner as to the evolution of the game. Elite Dangerous is supposed to be a world that players can project their own adventures onto. PP is contrary to the philosophy and intent of the Elite Dangerous universe.
.
I'm not sure, frankly, how you are going to get yourself out of this one, but it is the first time that I thought that Frontier might be losing its grip on their vision of this game. You are trying to artificially create something in a rush instead of building a background simulation in which such dynamics will evolve naturally over the next years. You're trying to get the political dynamics of Eve Online in six months, when it took Eve Online a decade to get there. You can't do that. You can't build a finished world, you can only grow it.
.
You are displaying a lack of faith in your own ability to create a living galaxy. Don't. You've been doing great; you just need to really think about what makes a world look alive. It's often simple stuff, psychologically speaking. You could have quick wins for small investment of resources. Suggestions:
.
- Build assets. Tons of assets. Low polygon stuff that is quick to churn out. Boxes, crates, equipment, tools, generators, radar dishes, vehicles, shuttles (between station and planet), probes, satellites. Scatter them all over the place: around station landing platforms, floating in space. Have repair crews/shuttles crawling over station surfaces. A lot of this stuff can be re-used for planetary missions and ship interiors.
- Lights + motion = life. Scatter more billboards around the station interior (not just the docks). Put blinking navigation lights on ships and stations. Light up the buildings inside habitat rings. Have flickering lights suggestive of welding around the station exteriors (repair crews, remember?).
- Add voices for docking requests accepted/denied. Add radio chatter near stations.
.
Then the bigger stuff:
- really focus on trading mechanics as this is a core part of the game as much as the flight dynamics --which are excellent, BTW. Allow people to analyse prices at nearby systems for an item; track its price fluctuations. This is important because a galaxy which focuses solely on combat and destruction is simply not credible. How many ships and lives destroyed every day? Where do all those expensive ships come from? What pilot would sign up to living in a continuous war zone? There has to be more to life out there: ships and pilots just going about their productive business every day, making a living. Real life is not all "kill, kill, kill!". For the same reason:
- add some mining love: recycle the CQC mining outpost and put it at high extraction sites where people can dump/sell their ores. Add a bulletin board where miners can post their (mis)information: "There's gold in them there rings!" etc.
- add some chatter love: player-postable bulletin boards at stations and outposts recruiting for groups, wings, missions, information. Add chat rooms at stations where players can discuss deals, exchange credits (later with players walking around ships and stations, these can be turned into actual pub environments). Get players to create the world-building background!
.
This is the stuff you should focus on. Not PP.
-

 

[Brimstone]

Now that people know which power play modules are the better ones and which ones are absolutely pointless, we've seen many people begin defecting for the good ones, some of my friends included. I believe Aisling's shields has pushed her to the top of the powerplay list now. Why not make the specific modules "power agnostic," or make them all available at a certain teir? This way, people won't be choosing powers for these modules.

The up/down vote system sounds nice, though it isn't identical to my proposal. I suggested the ability to down vote ONLY if the system would be detrimental to the overal stability of the power. We might end up with down votes all over the place now.

Choosing when you can fly your"powerplay flag" while still being pledged doesn't really seem like a very sound idea to me. I can't really explain why exactly I feel this way, but it just seems silly.

Favors is an interesting concept, but I'd prefer a change in merit decay in general, as well as a change to the amount needed for the two highest ratings. Well, just a change to rating 5.

Freedom fighters would basically choose one system to work for, or undermine/fortify, with-out the need to full on pledge?


Either way, thanks for sharing the ideas.

 

[rckstr]

Hello Commanders!

The second point, I'm not completely sure I agree with. My case would be that as long as all benefits were stopped whilst not visible for Powerplay, why should we dictate how a Commander wanted to spend their time? Especially if having this feature increases the likelihood of someone pledging to a power. I'm open to debate on this.

Also, I'll have a munch on the suggestions raised for this flag (attacking turning the flag on, etc.) I get the vibe of having the flag decrease the risk rather than eliminate it altogether.

Also, when toggling the Powerplay flag off, you would not get NPC Powerplay ships interacting with you, either. And you would not lose favour, though you would be prevented from spending it.

On the second point, having a flag system would reduce barriers to entry to PP no doubt, so you could have more commanders playing PP. But I guess the decision comes down to how much more aggregated downtime can be expected from players switching off PP with the flag from time to time, compared to how much more aggregated uptime there will be due to the new added players.

If the aggregated downtime outstrips the aggregated uptime I d say the flag system would be counterproductive overall to the PP experience. If that was the case then no matter how many more additional commanders join in the eventually lower activity levels may also lead into a negative feedback loop.

Personally I dont think the flag will motivate many more additional players to join PP since there are already many ways a player can avoid or minimize PP conflict currently if he/she so wish. The galaxy is BIG, we have solo mode, leaving a power is very easy etc. There is no need to lower barriers to entry, the barriers are already super low. What I think we need is to up the incentives...

This explains what i described in my post in a better way.


Please do us all a favor and change the things that people are complaining about first. Lessen the grind, tweak the mechanics and then thing again if you want to add such things as flags. If you leave it as it is now you'll just add new things but those the people are complaining about and that drove them off PP still remain.

I have the impression you are asking the wrong questions and suggesting the wrong solutions for the problems in PP.

Just for the fun- add a poll to you OP. Do you like the proposed changes- Yes or no. You can even extend this to the subtopics in your OP.
Hell, maybe you should do this every time you suggest changes. Lock it from comments, wait what the poll says and after that we'll discuss the things.