Ok, so the first part, i don't see how it can make PvP relevant without removing the PvE component from it. As long as there is a PvE option to advance your power, it will be the easiest way to work the system.
Consider the scenarios we have with PP (if open only)
Two combat fitted players: neither of which is giving up cargo (propoganda materials), and fights tend to either result in one running quickly if outmatched, possibly being destroyed, or as is often the case, a 15 minute long battle while people chug SCBs or run and recharge etc. Merit gain is slow unless tweaked to give really high value for PvP kills.
Two haulers: Will probably just ignore each other.
Hauler vs combat fitted: Combat fitted will try and stop the hauler. I know there is a mechanic for PP piracy that can get you merits, i don't envision that happens much. So what happens, probably either gank, if the hauler is not competent, or the hauler escapes if competent (presumably flying something fast or strongly armoured/shielded). Its not hard to imagine in the open only scenario, people will either git gud or quit right? Alternately, chain interdictions are a thing, and if combat opposition is high, it might simply be too frustrating to even bother with.
Ok, so depending on how the mechanics actually play out, and what tweaks FD make to things, it probably means hauling is still going to be thet major part of PP, not PvP, and assuming that, the main part of PP would be combat ships trying to blow up haulers.
Now, call me old fashioned if you like, but that to me is not what I consider to be PvP. Its more like a game of stop the pidgeon.
If the aim is to make PvP relevant, then actually add a feature which makes PvP relevant. A gameplay mechanic that brings people together, in their combat fitted ships, with some sort of rewards for beating other players. A chance to show off your skill, to be crowned a king of PvP. Not just to show off how easily you can gank haulers. That's not PvP, its just a mindless grind to get easy kills.
As for your second point, maybe there are people like that. I'm not like that. I have nothing against PvP being a cool and valid part of the game. I think PvP as it stands in the game, especially since FD added all the modules and engineering, is currently in a very bad place. What I don't think makes PvP valid is gameplay which focused on combat fitted shooting at haulers. I'd much rather see gameplay that encourages combat fitted to go up against combat fitted. It would also quickly weed out the gankers and griefers, rather than encouraging them.
Just my 2 cents of course.
As of right now, Powerplay is pretty much alt-BGS.
Unlike the BGS, it is a mechanic designed specifically to pit groups of players against one another, and the success or failure of such rests entirely upon the group's collective efforts. What's more, PvP
can and absolutely has made a difference. Entire cycles have hinged on last-minute pewpews, though incidences of such are admittedly rare.
Of all the dogs in the game that need to be thrown a bone, Powerplay is the one that's barking the loudest (as opposed to CQC, which in my view needs to be taken out behind the barn and shot). PP in its current iteration has all the makings of a min-max grind, and the only thing saving it from being such is when the individual players choose for it not to be. Even so, there's nothing to stop legions of cargo Cutters from hauling endlessly hauling merits from point A to point B in the safety of PG or solo. Such an approach is valid within the rules of the game but hardly in the spirit of what I am charitably assuming was the developers' intent.
Open-only powerplay would be to the BGS as fighting Thargoids is to regular human NPCs. It would be similar but by design more challenging. It would force (yes,
force, the boogieman word of the PvE crowd) the players of such to both outfit their ships strategically and engage in the cooperation of their fellow teammates. One might say that in order to engage in OOPP, gitting gud would be required to a degree, in the same way that such is needed if one is endeavoring to engage Thargoids.
This dynamic would improve PP immeasurably by adding in the element of uncertainty to one's play. Instead of a brain-dead truck-driving route or endlessly blasting NPCs, one
must plan ahead. Is there a hostile wing in the destination system? Am I, the player, prepared to engage that wing if there is? What is the best balance between cargo capacity and survivability? Are there any friendlies nearby I can call upon for help? How badly will it hurt my power if I, and the merits I'm hauling, are destroyed. How badly can
I hurt the other power by tracking down and destroying their own players?
These are the organic, human-driven dynamics of how OOPP will turn a stagnant, grindy mechanic into something that resembles a sub-game worth one's time. I don't know if PP can ever be revolutionized to be anything except token-pushing, but I
do know that it's PvP's best chance at impacting the game in a meaningful way.
And in regards to those players who simply can't stomach the idea of human adversity? Who can't be bothered to learn evasive skills or outfit their ship appropriately?
Not every little aspect of every game is going to be for everyone. Watering down an exciting, competitive dynamic to hold the hands of those who can't handle said dynamic does no favors to anyone. As callous as that may sound, it's the bare truth.
If every dog has its day, then let Frontier throw the PvP community this one bone.
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