Powerplay as it stands is half complete, and as such has mutated into something else. Without the fabled /feared 'Collapse' mechanic Powerplay has turned into trench warfare- from my understanding it was supposed to be quick and punchy. Now it has a different focus, and one which has a charm of its own as Powers jostle but from a new players perspective this will look 'dead'.
The short term changes mooted will alleviate the immediate problems most powers (excluding Yuri Grom) currently face in that with low pledge numbers, 5c sabotage becomes magnified. They will not draw new players in. It could have been that if PP took off and thousands of players were pledged, we would never see 5c as they would have been drowned out.
To draw more people in, most, if not all the rank requirements and decay need to go- Martin along with many people have made some excellent suggestions and Sandro has them on board too.
The other question is, 'why invest time at all?' Mechanically PP at its heart is repetitive to someone who never engages in the politics or roleplay of it. Most people will wait for the 4th week to get the unique module and leave. Aside from four of the listed Powers, very few have lore attached to them. This needs to change as this gives reasons to follow someone and devote time to them. We can see the beginnings of this in the system faction heads who smile or frown at us as we grow relationships with them, we just need more of it.
Not also trying to sound petulant, but the original powers need some love. Small things like decals and bobbleheads of leaders are there (two are real and have been seen), quite a number of PP veterans were puzzled and annoyed when the Rise to Power teams suddenly had airtime, decals etc while those who have stuck through PP (in some pretty dark times, it needs to be said) have had nothing. The original Powerplay players feel like extended beta testers- if more Powers are added by Rise to Power methods this only reinforces this observation- for the smaller original powers this robs players of any reason to go on as they have no lore to find /enjoy and have to work hard to keep the power going.
So Powerplay is at an awkward crossroads; it needs time invested in it to make it great, but without player numbers that cannot happen. It needs a plethora of improvements ranging from gameplay to lore as it permeates every area of the game. Its not dead, but its not alive, either.
