BGS manipulation is much more effective if conflict is avoided (apart from CZ's! Even then - not having other players on the side of the opposition ensures that the zone can be won in the most efficient manner) - and efficiency is the key word... PvP conflict reduces efficiency (ignore if it is more fun for now) as the time spent doing pew-pew is not normally productive
This is true, wish it were otherwise honestly but not sure how to make it so and stay fair ro those that didn't buy 'that other game'. A PvP war can rage on and on and absolutely nothing is changed in the BGS you're supposedly 'waring' over. All the activities involved in determining the outcome, PvP is detrimental to getting them done. A fun distraction, but not really doing anything for ya.
You should have been in Carcosa last year, 3 wars, all with no visible opposition as those who 'forced' the wars never - ever - appeared in open... They lost all 3 conclusively, but that is irrelevent...
Well, not
all never appeared in open, I 'sploded several times over those few weeks, and escaped a charming fellow in his Chief and a couple others which sorta required me to be in open to happen, but yes, LR won those rather decisively even though the bulk of all opposition action was in PG. (Don't get me started... Ray Charles could have seen what was up with that last station... ugghhhhh.)
Anyway, I'd actually be willing to see some of the Power Play stuff tied to open (and that's surprising to even me) as long as there is a way for the new player to get in and contribute without that, even if the impact is dampened. The normal BGS should be for everyone in whatever mode they want to play since just about all the missions and trade opportunity turns those gears. Doesn't matter though, I like this game just fine too as it is. Players in open just have to accept it takes time to get better at it. During the conflict you mention... I wasn't really anything but a cat-toy to be batted around and killed. These days I can usually hold my own, and fight back a bit, but I don't fly the meta tanks so I'm still not competitive against serious killers.
Geez, that's a lot of rambling :/