Powerplay Appeal to developers

[kapter]

I'm sorry for my English.

Dear developers of our favorite game Elite Dangerous. The big request. To restrict the trigger 100%. Without exceeding it. Once reached, the players would receive the merits.

Example. Now we can strengthen or weaken the system by 200%. After this change, only 100%. No more. The players are treading water on the spot.

 

[CMDR_Amanath]

I agree, give a small leeway still, but end the rediculous over farming of fortification and undermining.

 

[Bacalao]

That's a little unfair for people who can't play until Sunday. By the time they get on all that are left are the backwater systems, they have to put in much more work for the same reward. I won't say that's good justification for the current system, just highlighting the can of worms you'd open with a change like this.

 

[Infidel Deity]

I think this is a very good idea.
Actually; to change the system of having to wait 30 minutes for stuff, would be great.
Also have more ways to obtain merits.

 

[znôrt]

look at it like this: players overfarming are not really your faction mates. they are not playing the same powerplay as you, they are just grinding merits for credits or weapons which is totally ok (and one of the points of the grinding game that pp is after all!). don't count on them except in that they allow you to not have to worry about the easy targets. you can ignore them and the surplus they generate, it doesn't hurt anyone.

that said, i like your suggestion, but cannot be bothered with pp anymore anyway. i could like the politics and the roleplay involved, i would love if it allowed some real conflict, but the senseless grind ... *rolleyes*

 

[Tataboj]

Though brainless preparing horrible systems hurts everyone.

 

[Martin Schou]

Scenario:

Player A arrives in control system B, 100 light years from HQ, and sees that B is 400 merits short of being fortified. With 2 hours left before cycle, A decides to spend 4 million credits on fast tracking 400 merits.

Player A flies back to HQ only to discover that B has been fortified in the mean time and has now wasted 4 million credits.

This scenario is one that applies to Archon Delaine, Edmund Mahon, Pranav Antal and Zemina Torval, as these powers all fortify by bringing fortification merits from their control systems to the HQ. Please explain why players who choose to pledge to these powers should be penalised for the stupid behaviours of pledges to other powers.

 

[znôrt]

Though brainless preparing horrible systems hurts everyone.

yes, expansion is the weak spot. however, i don't think the suggested change would fix that, since the problem is already at 100%.

it's the dilemma of frontier not wanting players to be in control and proposing games that somehow are based on players being in control.

 

[EUS]

That's a little unfair for people who can't play until Sunday. By the time they get on all that are left are the backwater systems, they have to put in much more work for the same reward. I won't say that's good justification for the current system, just highlighting the can of worms you'd open with a change like this.

Agreed.
I do the long runs that no one wants to do, because the 30LY runs are already done, even the loss systems. I do not over fortify the 30LY runs on principal.
BUT, I need the choice for when it comes down to the wire.
When it's Wed night and I need some merits, i'm going wherever I can.
It doesn't hurt anyone.
Quit trying to micro-manage everyone.

 

[Tataboj]

And look at Aisling. We have ONE single system we can prepare, everybody is working as much as they can to prepare ONE particular, and yet the horrible system Chnumar is peddling between first and second position, it's an enormous prep war. How many of these 5Cers are there?!

 

[Bigglesof206]

I agree with EUS,
I undermine for most of my merits, but will put some fortification runs in too - 1000 this week for example. I always look at the PP info on the reddit and in game to decide where I ought to go for both activities. However, not everyone has the time for that, and some people are just trying to get the rank as fast as they can.... it isn't the game I'm playing, but who says you have to play the game I do?

Like many here I grind my teeth at the things unthinking players (or those who just don't care) do - but if they are happy with what they are doing, who am I to ask for their enjoyment to be curtailed by making them become more useful? I figure that the waste, and downright unhelpful activities of a sizeable number of players is common across all powers - so it's not like any power is suffering more than others, and while it all roughly balances out then I should just concentrate on doing what I want to do in a way that will actually help my power whilst ignoring the unwashed horde flying in circles.

Dave

(Short version - I wish you luck programming stupidity out of the user base, let me know how that goes for you).

Edit to add for tataboy - it's not 5C, it's just people who want the merits without working harder than they need.

 

[Bacalao]

Agreed.I do the long runs that no one wants to do, because the 30LY runs are already done, even the loss systems. I do not over fortify the 30LY runs on principal.BUT, I need the choice for when it comes down to the wire.When it's Wed night and I need some merits, i'm going wherever I can.It doesn't hurt anyone.Quit trying to micro-manage everyone.

I think a good solution would be to incentivize the further systems, merits/ton increase the further you go (dropping back tot he "standard rate" when it reaches it's trigger). Not only is it beneficial to players to get more merits for going further, it makes sense, the power wants those systems fortified so they would likely give more credit to CMDRs who went the extra mile to take the goods further.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Same with preparation, giving more merits to prepare better systems (higher voted) makes preparing those systems more attractive to players and lets the power get done what it needs to get done, without punishing players for when they are able to play the game.The opposite also works, dis-incentivizing poor systems (less merits/ton for preparing systems with a CC loss) for preparation would make 5th columning more painful, as they'd have to do a lot more prep to get their rank up. Wouldn't matter for some, but at least the power would look like more than a mindless fool willing to give equal credit to any pledge regardless of the actual value of their input. That small deterrence and the attractiveness of profitable systems for prep to unorganized players would put a serious dent in the effectiveness of 5th columns.

 

[Ant_Solo]

This idea just won't die off will it? As well as the problem that Schou brings up about how insanely unfair this will be for half of the powers this idea also ignores the obvious consequences of making fortification more efficient.

If you cap merits at 100% it will force Cmdrs that want to maintan rank to move on to the next system.

This will cause the powers to fortify more systems.

What happens after that is debatable. I can see 2 ways it will go:

1. All the powers are always safe from turmoil due to effecient fortification so FDev, who want to keep things interesting, increase of fortification triggers again. Doubling them, or more, will make the system work again.

2. All powers end each cycle with lots of CC so expand in to a hug amount of unprofitable systems, trashing everyones (maybe even Mahon) default ecconmomy until things settle down and maybe hitting scenario 1.

Neither of these sounds like fun.

Grinders are going to grind. Get over it and plan around it.

 

[Lily from anim.o.v.e]

I agree with EUS,
I undermine for most of my merits, but will put some fortification runs in too - 1000 this week for example. I always look at the PP info on the reddit and in game to decide where I ought to go for both activities. However, not everyone has the time for that, and some people are just trying to get the rank as fast as they can.... it isn't the game I'm playing, but who says you have to play the game I do?

Like many here I grind my teeth at the things unthinking players (or those who just don't care) do - but if they are happy with what they are doing, who am I to ask for their enjoyment to be curtailed by making them become more useful? I figure that the waste, and downright unhelpful activities of a sizeable number of players is common across all powers - so it's not like any power is suffering more than others, and while it all roughly balances out then I should just concentrate on doing what I want to do in a way that will actually help my power whilst ignoring the unwashed horde flying in circles.

Dave

(Short version - I wish you luck programming stupidity out of the user base, let me know how that goes for you).

Edit to add for tataboy - it's not 5C, it's just people who want the merits without working harder than they need.

I wonder how many people ingame properly understand the PP. I think there may be many participang not knowing how it works. It was never properly described INGAME. Those casuals not havign much time to play will spent even less of their freetiem roaming forums and reddit. The game needs these things ingame. There should exist a chat or comm to sepcific commanders of charge for PP characters that can set coordination targets and a small text why and why not to claim spcific systems. PP should simulate the actions of a power acting political, while in fact its a chaotic anarchistic random soup.

 

[Ant_Solo]

Not many, and they all hang out on the power sub-reddits.

I wonder how many people ingame properly understand the PP.

 

[Etherimp]

Not many, and they all hang out on the power sub-reddits.

And even those are few and far between in my experience.

Basically, the "leadership" of most of the powers. And I don't think anybody has 100% understanding. I mean, perhaps we have 100% understanding of how it SHOULD work, but not how it actually does. (See: Prep problems with Winters recently, current problem ALD is having with an exploited system being prepped, etc.)

When you take bugs and broken mechanics into account, I think all of us (Even Martin) still get surprised from time to time.

 

[aspiringexpatriate]

That's a little unfair for people who can't play until Sunday. By the time they get on all that are left are the backwater systems, they have to put in much more work for the same reward. I won't say that's good justification for the current system, just highlighting the can of worms you'd open with a change like this.

There are many problems with the current system and this proposed change. Forcing late-comers to fly a little further out is not one of them. Yes, every player with every arbitrary amount of time to play should be allowed to play the same game as everyone else. That does not mean they should have the same "ease" of game as everyone else, or that achieving/maintaining Rating 5 should ever be considered "standard".

look at it like this: players overfarming are not really your faction mates. they are not playing the same powerplay as you, they are just grinding merits for credits or weapons which is totally ok (and one of the points of the grinding game that pp is after all!). don't count on them except in that they allow you to not have to worry about the easy targets. you can ignore them and the surplus they generate, it doesn't hurt anyone.

that said, i like your suggestion, but cannot be bothered with pp anymore anyway. i could like the politics and the roleplay involved, i would love if it allowed some real conflict, but the senseless grind ... *rolleyes*

If Fortifying Guathiti stopped awarding merits after 100%, there would be 300,000 corruption reports delivered to the closest system to Kamadhenu every single week. So, yes, that's one problem with this proposed solution. It wouldn't stop the self-interested maintenence grinders.

Scenario:

Player A arrives in control system B, 100 light years from HQ, and sees that B is 400 merits short of being fortified. With 2 hours left before cycle, A decides to spend 4 million credits on fast tracking 400 merits.

Player A flies back to HQ only to discover that B has been fortified in the mean time and has now wasted 4 million credits.

This scenario is one that applies to Archon Delaine, Edmund Mahon, Pranav Antal and Zemina Torval, as these powers all fortify by bringing fortification merits from their control systems to the HQ. Please explain why players who choose to pledge to these powers should be penalised for the stupid behaviours of pledges to other powers.

Indeed. In bound Fortification necessitates the ability to earn the merits from delivering the fortification supplies over 100%. Outbound fortifiers can just fly to another system, but inbound truckers would instantly lose any fast-tracking money they spent.

I wonder how many people ingame properly understand the PP. I think there may be many participang not knowing how it works. It was never properly described INGAME. Those casuals not havign much time to play will spent even less of their freetiem roaming forums and reddit. The game needs these things ingame. There should exist a chat or comm to sepcific commanders of charge for PP characters that can set coordination targets and a small text why and why not to claim spcific systems. PP should simulate the actions of a power acting political, while in fact its a chaotic anarchistic random soup.

If the game cannot take the time to explain the rules, formulae, and mathematical double-think required to work towards the betterment of the Power, it should stop going out of its way to incentivize recruitment as much as it does.