Powerplay I wish that working the background sim could earn you merits

[drhay53]

This still just totally boggles my mind. The controlling faction type in a system has a relatively strong effect on that system in powerplay. And yet, trying to work the background sim in a system in order to benefit or undermine the controlling power has absolutely no effect on your standing in your pledged power.

Since I started playing the game (long before powerplay), working and experimenting with the background sim has been my primary goal while in inhabited space. The fact that the BGS interacts with PP and yet working the BGS does not help you gain rank with your power even in the slightest sense is just so, so frustrating. And after a year of powerplay, I simply cannot believe that this is still the case.

At the very least, completing missions for government types preferred by your pledged power should in some way reward you with merits. It has to be balanced with other ways of earning merits of course, but I just cannot understand how this has been overlooked after a year of powerplay. It's just one reason I continue to lack trust in FD to provide well-designed game systems.

 

[CMDR Endincite]

This is exactly what myself and my group (Chapterhouse of Inquisition) do as our primary aim, and hell yeah it would be nice!

For myself, it's always been about the people. I've met a few hundred fortifiers since joining my Power day one and the thought that I'm helping to save them real time fortifying, in a semi-permanent sense, keeps me going. Fundamentally Powerplay is just like sports - the team that has the most people concerned more about the team/their teammates than themselves will "win" to whatever degree is possible. That's a fully intended balance each Power will struggle with, by design - we've been told as much by FDev. Powers with huge bonuses have seen enormous numbers of self-centred grinders. Powers with less/not lucrative bonuses get a lesser number of team-centred people. The most extreme examples of both sides have done well at different times in the course of Powerplay.

I'll let this be before I wax philosophical...

 

[drhay53]

This is exactly what myself and my group (Chapterhouse of Inquisition) do as our primary aim, and hell yeah it would be nice!

For myself, it's always been about the people. I've met a few hundred fortifiers since joining my Power day one and the thought that I'm helping to save them real time fortifying, in a semi-permanent sense, keeps me going. Fundamentally Powerplay is just like sports - the team that has the most people concerned more about the team/their teammates than themselves will "win" to whatever degree is possible.

Yes I am pledged to ALD and have been following the chapterhouse from afar for some time (and running missions for feudal and patronage governments in various systems throughout ALD space). It just really irks me that something that brings such a large benefit to the efficiency of a power is completely unrecognized by the system itself. I'm not trying to be a martyr and "take one for the team". I want to feel like the way I'm playing the game is recognized and rewarded by the system that I'm trying to participate in.

 

[CMDR Endincite]

Agreed. The small number of merit-relevant actions is a critical issue, and one which has driven more than a few away. The intent to expand this number has been mentioned several times (as far back as July), but no one expected it to go on this long without significant changes. I only hope the teams don't evaporate before they get around to fixing the league.

 

[drhay53]

Agreed. The small number of merit-relevant actions is a critical issue, and one which has driven more than a few away. The intent to expand this number has been mentioned several times (as far back as July), but no one expected it to go on this long without significant changes. I only hope the teams don't evaporate before they get around to fixing the league.

To be honest, I don't have much faith in FD to do anything about this. The BGS has long been neglected and frequently quite terribly bugged. The fraction of people who are interested in it seems to be too small for it to rise to the level of their consciousness in terms of actually doing anything about these issues. I just needed to vent my frustration after another major update goes by with no improved integration between PP and the BGS.

 

[CMDR Endincite]

To be honest, I don't have much faith in FD to do anything about this. The BGS has long been neglected and frequently quite terribly bugged. The fraction of people who are interested in it seems to be too small for it to rise to the level of their consciousness in terms of actually doing anything about these issues.

I have to disagree rather strongly with part of this.

1. The BGS is frequently quite bugged, but it has seen very significant changes and attention this year. By the end of 2.0 (i.e. last week), we were in a very good place in terms of being able to get what we wanted done, done, reliably and quickly. It takes a group's trial and error capacity to figure it out, which is why to many individual players it seems so obscure. The huge threads on the subject don't contain every single thing/strategy we - and I assume the other BGS groups - know about, and these include some strikingly efficient influence-levers.

2. Some of the most BGS oriented groups are some of the largest and most well known in the game. The Mercs, Communism Interstellar, AEDC and Diamond Frogs are all at the forefront of the race to become a Power, and all are equally at the forefront of BGS discussions and initiatives.

Edit: And yeah, I had my usual post-patch vent-fest too

 

[drhay53]

I have to disagree rather strongly with part of this.

1. The BGS is frequently quite bugged, but it has seen very significant changes and attention this year. By the end of 2.0 (i.e. last week), we were in a very good place in terms of being able to get what we wanted done, done, reliably and quickly. It takes a group's trial and error capacity to figure it out, which is why to many individual players it seems so obscure. The huge threads on the subject don't contain every single thing/strategy we - and I assume the other BGS groups - know about, and these include some strikingly efficient influence-levers.

2. Some of the most BGS oriented groups are some of the largest and most well known in the game. The Mercs, Communism Interstellar, AEDC and Diamond Frogs are all at the forefront of the race to become a Power, and all are equally at the forefront of BGS discussions and initiatives.

Edit: And yeah, I had my usual post-patch vent-fest too

I do admit that I've not played regularly for several months, and the last time I was active there was a crippling influence nuke bug that basically had the chapterhouse seemingly not doing anything. In the meantime I've had a baby and had surgery and basically not been around much... maybe I should pledge and get more involved, lack of merits be damned!

 

[CMDR Endincite]

Indeed, things changed quite a lot. The "nuke" you're referring to was dealt with in more than one way, so that's out.

Additionally, part of what you perceived as "not doing anything" was merely us being quieter about what we do. Up until this patch at least (we're still experimenting and getting acclimatized to 2.1) any opposition to a BGS effort had an advantage. ALD has enemies and so do we, and they were using our public info against us.

Recently we've seen quite a resurgence.

 

[drhay53]

Indeed, things changed quite a lot. The "nuke" you're referring to was dealt with in more than one way, so that's out.

Additionally, part of what you perceived as "not doing anything" was merely us being quieter about what we do. Up until this patch at least (we're still experimenting and getting acclimatized to 2.1) any opposition to a BGS effort had an advantage. ALD has enemies and so do we, and they were using our public info against us.

Recently we've seen quite a resurgence.

Yes, I figured that some of the research was being pulled out of the public domain due to the ease of other powers taking advantage of it. It's particularly noticeable on the google doc spreadsheet where all of the CC info has now been hidden. I used to use that quite a bit to decide where to spend my time messing with the BGS.

Right now I feel as if I don't really know where my work would be useful.

If I want to further this conversation I suppose we should do it away from here, as it's gotten off-topic from my original intent with the thread.... although, there doesn't seem to be much interest from people on the whole, which is likely the problem in the first place...most people don't really care much about messing with the minor factions beyond whatever they need to do for navy rank and such.

 

[CMDR Endincite]

Indeed, most people probably don't - but that's rather a selling point to some of us
Mining, for example, isn't popular either, but that doesn't take any of the joy away from those who love doing it.

Clearly you're familiar with the sub, so if you'd like to get on the linked ALD Discord, I can give you Inquisitor access and you'll a) know where to spend your time, and b) have a whole slew of like-minded people to talk to. We're having a pretty exciting time figuring out what "working the BGS" entails in 2.1.

Let me know.

 

[drhay53]

Indeed, most people probably don't - but that's rather a selling point to some of us
Mining, for example, isn't popular either, but that doesn't take any of the joy away from those who love doing it.

Clearly you're familiar with the sub, so if you'd like to get on the linked ALD Discord, I can give you Inquisitor access and you'll a) know where to spend your time, and b) have a whole slew of like-minded people to talk to. We're having a pretty exciting time figuring out what "working the BGS" entails in 2.1.

Let me know.

I made a declaration post on the chapterhouse sub. Same username as the forums here. Get in touch with me at either place, and I look forward to meeting up with folks!

 

[Dibble]

I agree a better reward system for powerplay

I have posted my views on it, points 5 that I numbered summed this up.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=257772&page=7&p=4003156#post4003156