As promised (threatened), all are now obligated to read:
Power Play is in need of an overhaul. Here is my proposal to overhaul it:
1. Participation
The way we participate in Power Play, the basis and meaning of it, lies at the foundation of an overhaul, and should be changed as follows:
To begin on the path to Power Play, we first need to understand what it is we are doing. By pledging to support a particular Power, we are embracing the ideals and values of that power. Currently we simply pick a face and pledge fealty to that face. This is rubbish. To join Power Play under this revised system, you will first need to pick a particular faction that is aligned to that Power, and put in some work to demonstrate to those higher up the ladder that you do, indeed, embrace their values and ideals. This means working yourself up to Allied status with that faction. Once you have achieved Allied status, you then receive a Mission to pledge to continue to support that Power. This gives you a vested interest in seeing that Power prosper. This mission is simple: You accept the invitation, fly to that Power’s Capital system, and are then pledged to that Power. This replaces the current Pick a Face and Pledge mechanism.
The logic of it: By doing this, you are demonstrating that you actually want to be a part of this power. That you adhere to their values and ideals. You are proving yourself a loyal minion. At least, you’re going through the motions of demonstrating yourself as a loyal minion. After all, what Government or Corporate Entity would take in just any random person who says “Sure, I’ll support you.” This is an invitation to disaster and makes no sense whatsoever.
2. Supporting Your Power
This already takes a number of forms, be it hauling Power-specific commodities to maintain a Power’s influence in systems they already control, or hauling subversive materials to prospective new systems to prepare them for takeover. This can also include the wholesale slaughter of other players or NPC’s to enforce a Power’s hold, or prevent others from destabilizing a system. There are a vast number of other mechanics that can be added to this as well, to create diversity, enhance the fun factors, as well as give people other means to support their chosen power. Let’s look at this a little closer:
Your Power abhors slavery. You can support this power by hauling anti-slavery propaganda to another system. This campaign makes people start to go “You know, maybe they’re right, and slavery is bad.”, which primes that system for a takeover. However… it’s words, lacking any action. It could be enhanced by Power-Specific Missions, such as “Free Slaves from Somestation”, which would entail picking up a cargo-load of Mission Slaves, to deliver to a location in a “Free” system, where those slaves could be released from servitude. Think “Underground Railroad” here. This same type of mission could also be run by NPC’s, and as such, those NPC’s (along with Players engaging in this particular mission type) would be valid targets for operatives of the controlling Power, and offered as counter-missions (Stop Abolitionist Transports).
3. Points and Values
As it stands, we currently receive special Power-specific vouchers for opposing Power ships destroyed. A slight modification here would improve this aspect of Power Play greatly. Let’s just throw out some arbitrary numbers so we have something we can talk about here. If you destroy a ship of an opposing Power, you get 1 point. This corresponds to the current voucher value we get now. Now, let’s up those stakes. Under this new proposal, if you destroy an opposing power NPC ship, you get 1 point. If you destroy an opposing Power Player Ship, you get 2 points. If you are the Player of the Opposing Power who’s ship is destroyed, you LOSE two points. If you are destroyed BY a player of an Opposing Power, you also LOSE two points, and the other player GAINS two points. Everyone has good cause to stay alive now. Let’s sharpen this edge a bit more: if you are engaged in combat with a ship of an Opposing Power, and you disconnect, either by your action, or because you’ve opted to Power Play with Can-and-String Net, You LOSE two points, just as if you were destroyed. Now you have a real reason not to Combat Log – it will be held against you. You also have a good reason to make sure you’re connection is stable – it will be held against you.
These points and values are why we engage in Power Play related combat – either because we’re blowing up System Authority Ships or other Players to destabilize a system, or because we’re defending our own systems against the same. This proposed change will allow us to continue to do this, as well as give meaning to both PvP and PvE engagements, with all the same sort of benefits, plus a little more for the PvP side of the equation, which encourages play in Open, but also encourages the same play in Private Groups, and by including NPC targets in this, it also ensures Solo players can engage in a meaningful experience as well. Cross-modal play is maintained. Yes, there is a benefit for Human on Human play – but it is not mandatory or exclusive.
4. Defection
Modular tourists do it all the time, but there also comes a time where our own perceptions and values can change. You want something new, or the Kool-Aid has worn off, and you no longer see your old Power as The Place You Want to Be. You want to defect, and take half your current Merits with you, just as you do now. But it requires a bit more. You have to prove yourself to someone else. You have to prove you want nothing more to do with your old “friends”. You may even be called on to Kill Them to prove your loyalties have changed. This means reaching Allied status with a new faction aligned to the Power you are seeking to defect to, and undertaking missions to prove yourself. This might mean it takes a bit longer, and your merits may drop a bit more (perhaps your were a 5-merit when you wanted to leave, and were happy knowing you’d be a 2.5 merit when you switched, but now, it might take you longer and you might only be a 1-merit when you defect). This also makes sense. If Vladimir Putin’s most Trusted Advisor decided he’s had enough of Vladimir and came to your country’s Leaders and said “I want to work for you, I’ve had enough of them.”, do you really think they’d wrap open arms around him and say “Sure, come right in, here’s a Top Secret clearance for you.”? Same thing here. See #1 above. This also affords time for your old “friends” to perhaps change your mind. You are, after all, betraying your oath to them, and they may not take so kindly to that.
5. Get Out Of Here, You [insert appropriate slur] Scum! Aka Politics and Diplomacy
Right now, the only time stations of Opposing Powers are ill-disposed to you is if you’re carrying Power Vouchers. This is fine, to a point. There should come a point, however, where you are recognized for your actions, and Opposing Power stations should turn you away, denying docking. This would have an impact on both any botting, real or imagined, as these automated craft would be prohibited from delivering their propaganda endlessly. It would also introduce a measure of realism. The US would not welcome North Korea’s Secretary of Anti-Western Propaganda to simply wander the streets here. Why would also Power-Aligned station do the same? By limiting the number of times in a given time-span, the same ship can deliver the same materials to the same station, we introduce both a measure of realism as well as a measure of security. It also doesn’t make sense to win over influence of an entire system if only one of, let’s say, seven stations in that system is subject to such a campaign. What the threshold is before a Commander is turned away should be a variable range, say +/- 10%, as this will make it much harder to write any automation to do, and stop existing automation, when a request is denied, but the ship continues on and is reduced to rebuy ash.
That leaves the other avenue of Diplomacy we do not have – Forging Alliances. As it happens now, we do see a rating for Powers – Hostile, Neutral and Friendly, but we don’t have any real bearing on this. This opens up a whole new avenue of Power Play potential, by creating missions to allow us to forge these sorts of bonds. There would be a great deal of work to be done to make this a satisfying experience, as well as something that would span beyond just a single Power Play cycle – it could and should take several cycles to bring a Hostile Power to Neutral, or make a Neutral Power Friendly. It would require coordination between the players especially, and would not, and should not, be applicable to all Powers. Powers whose core values are diametrically opposed should never reach a Friendly status. Neutral would be as far as they get. What’s the purpose of this? For one, it would be far easier to win influence in a system of a Neutral Power than that of a Hostile one, if a Power is looking to expand into someone else’s territory. Of course, this same action could also lead to the degermation of those relations, making a Neutral Power turn Hostile. This is where things like Votes start to take on a new meaning. A vote might be held to Concede a territory to another Power, or exchange control of territories to benefit both Powers. Again, this would require a great deal of work, but would make the whole experience much more meaningful overall. It would also make the Galaxy feel more alive, and give the players more involvement with the overall shape of the galaxy – which is, at the end of the day, what Power Play should have always been about in the first place.
Commentary Welcomed – Please Discuss!