Your Questions Needed - Join the Elite Tutorial Livestream - Everything You Need to Know About Powerplay

Edward Lewis

Edward Lewis
Your Questions Needed - Join the Elite Tutorial Livestream - Everything You Need to Know About Powerplay

Hello everyone,

Stream is tomorrow 7PM BST

Continuing our tutorial-style deep-dive livestream series, tomorrow we're going to talk with Sandro Sammarco about Powerplay.

Got any questions about Powerplay? Put them in the thread and we'll pull out as many as we can to be answered and discussed tomorrow.

This is a discussion point that Sandro is passionate about, so I recommend jumping on over to watch this one :)

https://www.youtube.com/user/FrontierDevelopments/live


7PM BST! See you there.
 

Bran Tse Mallory

Bran Tse Mallory
My home system is Frey. When I moved there back in June of last year the Frey Conservative Party was in control, I had great fun working for Free Frey and saw there influence rise a few points...

Then one day I logged in only to find that Frey was now inside the big red bubble as Bhotho had been taken over by the red faction. Problem is that the Frey Conservatives were now a minor faction reduced to a few points and an new faction, some mining company, was now in control... How the F word can this happen?

There was no war, nothing! The faction that took over were not even in the system to begin with. Nor were they any thing to do with any of the other systems anywhere near Frey.

Are we supposed to think that all the people in the system suddenly changed how they feel overnight with absolutely no warning or signs?

In short it made absolutely no sense at all from any perspective.

I can only liken it to waking up tomorrow and find the UK is now ruled by North Korea.

So my question is this - (Changed given new information) I now understand that you give new player factions a low percentage that they have to build up - why has this not also been done to those factions that were just given a station with full faction control?


EDIT 2: Thanks to the brilliant community we have I have been told that Frey was taken over by a one man band. I suppose all I can do is try to do 'stuff' to make them loose control of the system.
 
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Kietrax

Volunteer Moderator
Kietrax
Bran Tse Mallory said:
My home system is Frey. When I moved there back in June of last year the Frey Conservative Party was in control, I had great fun working for Free Frey and saw there influence rise a few points...

Then one day I logged in only to find that Frey was now inside the big red bubble as Bhotho had been taken over by the red faction. Problem is that the Frey Conservatives were now a minor faction reduced to a few points and an new faction, some mining company, was now in control... How the F word can this happen?

There was no war, nothing! The faction that took over were not even in the system to begin with. Nor were they any thing to do with any of the other systems anywhere near Frey.

Are we supposed to think that all the people in the system suddenly changed how they feel overnight with absolutely no warning or signs?

In short it made absolutely no sense at all from any perspective.

I can only liken it to waking up tomorrow and find the UK is now ruled by North Korea.

So my question is this - given that such stupid, nonsensical changes can happen at anytime what is the point of powerplay, the major factions and the minor ones too when the game just seems to invent new minor factions as and when it chooses which it then places in power while disregarding what is actually happening?

EDIT: If anyone can tell me why this happens and make it seem logical I would appreciate it as I doubt I will get to see the live stream - real world stuff to be done instead.
Click to expand...

At a guess, the faction that took over is a player faction that asked for and was given that system as a home system. The way that works (worked?) is that they went in as the controlling faction in the main station so could cause what you saw to happen. As for the powerplay stuff - if Bhotho was flipped to a control system for the power, all other systems within 15 Ly (I think) become exploited and part of that power's territory as well - this is separate from the faction changes in Frey but may have simply happened at the same time.
 

Retrograde

Retrograde
Good topic!

Since I'm not pledged to a power, I tend to forget they exist. What plans are there to make their presence more palpably felt across inhabited space?

You're probably not looking for suggestions, but here's a few anyway:
  • CGs and missions associated with powers instead of major factions (but still open to all players)
  • Advertising in stations occasionally showing power leaders, as with planetary settlements
  • Effects of powerplay spelled out in system map, e.g. trade goods banned or security lowered
  • Local Galnet mentioning all changes and effects in local system caused by powerplay
 

Bran Tse Mallory

Bran Tse Mallory
Kietrax said:
At a guess, the faction that took over is a player faction that asked for and was given that system as a home system. The way that works (worked?) is that they went in as the controlling faction in the main station so could cause what you saw to happen. As for the powerplay stuff - if Bhotho was flipped to a control system for the power, all other systems within 15 Ly (I think) become exploited and part of that power's territory as well - this is separate from the faction changes in Frey but may have simply happened at the same time.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure this happened before the player factions started to get added but thanks for the heads up about that happening - another bit that makes no-sense!
 

Jon flint

Jon flint
Philip Coutts said:
I'm hoping this will be a good stream, I really need to get to grips with powerplay as at the moment in time I'm pretty clueless!
Click to expand...

Same here, it's all Greek to me. But I'd love to get into Powerplay, I just have little clue what it's all about or what I actually have to do! Or indeed how it would affect my other chosen careers in game.

+ same as the above poster, have some rep for that sig ;)

We really need some Ed's hair product rare goods in game!
 

Agony_Aunt

Agony_Aunt
QUESTION: At what point in time can we expect powerplay to become more dynamic in terms of powers failing and new powers arising? Do you have some sort of timetable for this? Or have the initially stated criteria changed, and powers now have to be wiped out before they will be dropped?

I feel this to be an important point, because for the moment, its like a never ending game of Risk, but where nobody can ever lose.
 
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Martin Schou

Martin Schou
Where to start ...

Why is so much of PowerPlay, a turn-based, strategic game element, still a black-box? We're left playing a guessing game, which makes no sense:

  • We're now 43 weeks into PowerPlay, and no one has figured out how the galactic scores are calculated - all we have is speculation. For the love of sanity, would you kindly explain exactly how it's calculated?
  • How do you calculate the default triggers for any given system? We know that it's down to distance from headquarters, but what is the exact formula for the fortification and undermining triggers?
  • Please explain exactly how to change the fortification triggers. This particular point seems to be a point of contention, as quite a few powers seem to think their areas or powers are bugged.
  • Please explain the logic behind a power losing multiple systems to revolt in the same tick as they managed to expand into new systems.
  • Please explain exactly how we figure out the end result for a Power in turmoil. As in which systems are lost to turmoil, which order are they lost, when do you get expansions etc. Is there a chance that you will provide us with a tool to figure this out (i.e. a spreadsheet with an example power where we can play around with the end of cycle fortification and expansion results and see the expected end result)?


Questions about design choices:

  • Why is there an Ethos associated with preparations, when there is no actual benefit? Surely, if power A and power B gets into a preparation race for a system, and that system and its bubble is favourable to A, B should have to move twice as many preparation merits, but this doesn't seem to be the case - so why bother with a preparation ethos?
  • Why did you choose to put in choke points for some powers but not for others? Inbound fortification powers are much more vulnerable when playing in open, as their fortifiers carry merits into their HQ, whereas outbound fortification powers have no such choke point. Choke points exist for outbound preparations as well.
  • Why did you choose to make certain powers far more effective at moving merits than others? Outbound fortification powers can massively reduce their fortification waste, as fortifiers can drop off 1 merit to see how much is left; inbound fortifiers risk finding an entire shipload of merits being wasted upon arrival at their HQ.
    I understand that not all powers are created equal, but giving powers such advantages/disadvantages in terms of game mechanics seems like you're stacking the deck and playing favourites.
  • Can we please have a way to organize in game? It is downright stupid that the only way to organize your power is outside of the game. I realise that we, the players, are not the power character, but since that character does absolutely nothing at all to direct anything, it's utterly moronic that we're actively prevented from organizing within the game itself.
  • Why are cycle ticks on Thursday mornings? When there inevitably ends up being issues with a PowerPlay cycle, it takes time for the powers to figure it out, and by the time that it's been figured out and bug reported, it is typically the weekend, and by the time anyone can have a closer look at it, the cycle is typically more than halfway done, at which point the bug has forced powers to do stupid things.

Other, more indepth questions:
  • Is PowerPlay politics or is it war?
    If it is politics, how does a Federation power manage to become the most influential politician in a bubble with no Federation factions? Surely they should install a friendly faction into the control system bubble.
    If it is war, why did the Emperor invite both the President and Vice President of the Federation to his wedding?
    If PowerPlay is politics, then it shouldn't be easy to get rid of systems, but if it is war then it should be easy (strategic retreat).
  • Obviously it is difficult to know beforehand, if certain design choices are good or not, but it seems like you've been completely oblivious to the massive discrepancies between powers even though we're now three quarters of a year into PowerPlay. For example, the monetary values of each powers' rank 2 bonus is massively skewed. Some get no monetary value while others end up with far better results at galactic rank 10 (20% increase on bounties) than others do at rank 1 (20% increase on trade profit). Similarly the rank 5 bonuses vary from downright insulting (90% discount on ammunition? Seriously? Who honestly thought that was a worthwhile reward?) to pretty much useless (50% increased profit on rare goods) to being useful only for the power itself (increased faction reputation bonus) to extremely valuable (100% increase on bounty payouts). Are you ever going to revisit and change some of these bonuses.
  • Is there a chance that you will assign a dedicated PowerPlay community manager? Ed, Zac and Brett do a good job in general, but with things like PowerPlay and the BGS, they are understandably lacking in terms of indepth knowledge and very likely already flooded in terms of other responsibilities. Given how popular Sandro's threads on the PowerPlay forum typically ends up being, having a 'specialized' community manager will likely make for a better understanding between Frontier and the players.
 
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Apos

Apos
Will PP be transcended to be actually connected with the lore progression as it was advertised?

We've had Mahon in #1 for ages and not only has nothing come out of it, we've barely been mentioned, let alone rewarded for it.

Patreus was in the brink of extinction, not having expanded for a total of 3 months. According to the guidelines set by FD themselves, the collapse mechanic takes into account for how long a power doesn't expand when it the bottom 3. Not only that didn't matter for Patreus, but he also got promoted to the head of the Imperial Navy as well. It is quite obvious that the background plans for story progression gave him complete immunity to the consequences of his position.

And then there's the whole thing about how and what really influenced the throne race, with most people thinking: Nothing, Arissa was going to get it anyway.

Are there plans to make story telling more fluid so that PP can be incorporated within it? This is a grander problem, with many players having their story submissions denied because they step on too many toes of what you guys have planned, but it becomes much more obvious in PP.
 

Brimstone

Brimstone
I don't really have much of a question, more of a request:

Please elaborate on your idea about a bonus for Powerplay players in Open, and your reasons behind it. Maybe... A timeframe for when it may or may not be implemented?

Thanks Sandro :)
 

Rubbernuke

Rubbernuke
As others have said, who influences what? Do the players influence the story, or does the story adapt to what we do?

Was Pranav Antal influenced by David Brabens thoughts on VR as seen here: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-07/07/david-braben-vr-caution

Collapse: will it happen, and what is the process? Is it automatic, or manual (in that FD decide).

Will the Galaxy get more inhabited worlds? Space is running out in a game which forces you to expand.

When will we see Powerplay improvements? Is it with 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 or 2.4, or is it considered an increment patch (like 2.0.7)?

What is the criteria for new powers?

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

Will we have a beta period for the Powerplay changes, or will they go live as is?

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

Will the leader portraits be replaced with the face tech used for the engineers?

When will we get leader bobbleheads?
 
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Phil^

P
Do you ever plan to do a full balancing pass across the powerplay factions, regarding inherent advantages/disadvantages from initial factional placement, factional bonuses, factional ethos balance, number of factions to each major power and the powerplay-specific modules, and how would that work with regards to game lore?

Should factional collapse/replacement ever happen - would those factions start from "day one" status or would they assume the existing territory of the failed faction.
Would they be assigned systems from neighbouring factions (given that if a faction failed then its systems could not support it). If they start from day one, then they will of course remain at the bottom of the rankings - what would stop them from being picked for removal immediately?


Is there ever going to be a way of investing in the improvement of poor systems (lowering upkeep costs / boosting CC income) that cannot be shed due to mechanics stacking the odds very much against it ( starting ones in particular ) so that they are not such a drain on resources? Alternatively, allowing for them to be removed by the faction itself through a new mechanic instead of trying to hope an enemy power assists you by pushing it into turmoil.


Will the response time for design/implementation problems identified and raised with powerplay mechanics be improved to "at some point within a month or two"?


What is the ultimate purpose of powerplay, given that the community goals seem to have greater impact on the game itself than powerplay does.


How do you plan to carefully balance any "open play boosts" so that it does not become disproportionate to the actual risk players have undergone. After all - risk from opposition is in the hands of the instancing gods and the skill of the players themselves - and not something easily quantifiable. Does a sidewinder fortifying a system undergo more risk than a combat anaconda does when facing an enemy player in a cobra?


Will player-politics in factions be reflected in game?
For example - all of the factions for the federation and empire have more or less banded together (in defiance of anticipated rivalries) to target each other. Do you plan to allow for factions to work together without harming each other in terms of system overlaps or will you make it harder for them to work together and intensify the competition between them. How will you balance this against the likes of Mahon who as a extremely large faction has no alliance rivals and extremely profitable starting systems.


Its been suggested in the past that the tier system for rewards is a bit stifling, have you considered making rewards more dynamic based on individual performance for their faction rather than one-size-fits-all thresholds


Have you considered factions having a public list of defectors in the last week built into powerplay, with PP rewards for players exacting retribution on such traitors / defending their new recruits from other players? It could double as a way to monitor player movement within 5c


Will horizons be integrated with powerplay - allowing for factions to raid / defend surface bases and so on to assist their power?
 
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