Well there is, you can play the game right now and see it in action. Powers fortify the most valuable systems first, and in doing so they are pretty much safe for that cycle.
The fundamental problem with making Powerplay Open-Only.
- Thread starter DemiserofD
- Start date
Well there is, you can play the game right now and see it in action. Powers fortify the most valuable systems first, and in doing so they are pretty much safe for that cycle.
Lol, no you can't. You have no rational reason to believe that the presence of oopp would make any difference in the fact that fortification always has the advantage over undermining.
I'm talking about how UM and fortifying work right now.
And I've explained to you four times how uncapped UM, open and unified fort direction would make fortification much harder (making supporting a large power more difficult).
Except none of your arguments require oopp in any regard. Just uncapping UMing would have exactly the same effect.
Well I have- open provides the opposition.
Since NPCs can't do it (and be equipped to be dangerous) players fill in.
Unified fort direction sends players to one spot for all defence.
Uncapped UM places high value systems in danger, and keeps them there until either one side or the other prevails.
If the attacker has several uncapped UM attacks going on, the defender has to keep them all topped up to save them, or they have to choose which one to sacrifice.
Direct combat opposition isn't necessary to fix the problem of UMing being capped. All you need to do is uncap UMing.
It is, because otherwise haulers just haul point to point in total safety with nothing to stop them. Plus, it just makes for more grinding and restricts actual group play down to wing grinding. Without open there is no need to plan for defence, because there is no enemy to repel who can pressure you to slip up.
So what?
Its that gameplay that made Powerplay so popular. Its so riveting you can automate it and count the 50 identical keypresses each flight.
Forget modes. Time zones, block lists, platform, team play of moving FC with a few dozen ships to and from these systems and leaving 20 second SC windows, and the rather willy nilly instancing this game has, will keep pew pew from having a significant moderating effect. The game was not designed around PvP and it shows, badly. OOPP would just not have the effect proponents think it will. A shooting gallery, that will be little more than a short term nuisance to dedicated PP haulers until they populate their block lists, or change when they haul, and change how module shoppers afflict PP since they will likely avoid contested systems for their merits.
Uncapping UM would lead to botting I suspect.
Uncapping UM would lead to botting I suspect.
Well, since people complain its a grind why repeat past mistakes? Similar activities in the BGS are immensely repetitive at powerplay scales, so why not try something different?
That doesn't have anything to do with oopp.
Well it does. The level of engagement required to work in a team in Open is magnitudes more than in solo. It makes mundane tasks much more involving.
So? If you like to play in Open, play in Open. If you don't, then don't.
And we come full circle. It would not matter if NPCs provided a consistent challenge, if they did and fortifying was less then 100% certain.
The simplest compromise between the two positions is that Open is weighted because of its inherent risk really.
Why is consistent challenge a requirement?
Any outcome can't be 100% risk free like it is in solo and PG. Hauling in Powerplay as it stands (unless you fly into the side of a station) is free of risk. You take off in total safety, fly in near safety and drop into station instances in safety- point to point has no opposition that can harm or slow you. UM is safe as houses, as well as prep and combat expansions which use old mechanics.
Unlike NPCs, players intelligently seek out places of strategic importance, making that area more dangerous. You could link CC value with NPC difficulty (i.e. engineering, rank etc) but you are still left with the insufficient NPC underpinnings (point to point safety).
Why not?
Because 100%, never failing fortifying leads to rapid, easy defence, leading to territory being easy to acquire and hard to force out of a power. It has to be a difficult task, so that this chain can break and a power become vulnerable.