Power Play boring? (at least to me)

[peteuplink]

So I thought I'd join in with this power play stuff, having tested it during beta and not really liking it, and thought I'd have another go. I know some people are enjoying it, and this is just my opinion of it, I'm sure some of you will have other views. This post is not intended to try and change your mind of it, it's just my honest feedback.

I'm not oppsed to the idea of Power Play, I just don't like the way it's been implemented.

So, I chose Winters, because she was the closest to my area of space, and I decided to try preparation first. From Rhea I flew to a control system, picked up 10 (tons?) of propaganda and flew to the system I wanted to prepare, which in my ship was 4 jumps. I docked and dropped off the material. I then flew back the same 4 jumps to the control system, picked up some more, flew back the same 4 jumps, dropped off the material and thought "what the heck is the point?".

So, I thought I'd try some fortification. Since all Winters control systems are being undermined I decided to pick up the needed materials from the control system I started at, flew to Rhea (which just happened to be 4 jumps away again) and upon entering Rhea I was interdicted by one of Duval's Justice mob (which was a welcome intrusion for a few moments of action). I docked at Ito station and unloaded the meterial. I then flew to another control system, which this time was 2 jumps away, picked up the material, brought it back to Rhea, unloaded... Okay, I'm starting to see a pattern here...

The main bulk of the Power Play gameplay appears to just consist of taking stuff from one far away place and dropping it off at another far away place over, and over, and over, and over again... I don't know about anyone else, but going back and forth over and over again really isn't my idea of fun and I think it has to be the singular most boring gameplay mechanic I've ever seen in a game.

I'm sorry FDev, I mean no offence, and I'm sure some players will come in and flame me for my comments, but who thought this was a good idea?

Maybe I'm just missing the point, but at the moment it's about as much fun as counting marbles in the dark...

 

[peteuplink]

Thanks Ziggy. Might be worth a look to see if I can get more info as to what I'm meant to be doing, as currently I can't really enjoy it.

 

[Monk]

I just don't think it is really for everyone. I gave it a go and then instantly felt restricted.

I guess I'm just a free spirit that can't be tied down by the narrow scope of any one power...I've already left my pledge and am back to criss crossing empire space at will. Maybe I'll try again later but I'm having more fun staying above the fray. To each their own.

 

[Chaodiurn]

Space truckin' for politics! Can't let the fighters decide all the cool stuff.

 

[Bacon Sarnie]

I've un pledged and decided not to bother, I came to the same conclusions as you peteuplink.
Can have more fun and at least earn some credits doing my own thing.

 

[pdizzle]

I'm going to do this just to get the equipment I want from the factions, then I am going to go back to flying solo.

 

[furrycat]

Power Play is a turn-based strategy game for roleplayers where you have to carry out the turns in realtime in first-person mode. That just isn't going to appeal to everyone.

I think it's a very brave move on the part of Frontier and I applaud them for it. I do worry that this playerbase may not be the right audience.

 

[Comrade Napoleon]

It just does not appeal to me either
The whole thing is kind of unreal, and I cant fit it in with the lore, sorry but cant...
I dont feel there is any depth in it really, and as such then I would rather just enjoy flying around, doing this or that.
I am simply not engaged, and not convinced, they all seem like 3'rd rate thugs to me.

Cheers Cmdr's

 

[Senex VII]

... gameplay appears to just consist of taking stuff from one far away place and dropping it off at another far away place over, and over, and over, and over again... I don't know about anyone else, but going back and forth over and over again really isn't my idea of fun and I think it has to be the singular most boring gameplay mechanic I've ever seen in a game.

What you're describing is the daily life of any trader, whether in Powerplay or not. (I'm guessing you don't have a Type-9 in your hangar.) So... unless you're an explorer, whose tastes are really not catered for in Powerplay, that leaves combat. And I'm pretty sure there are plenty of combat opportunities in Powerplay, if you choose the right power.

 

[GriM_AoD]

I did hope we'd get some sort of bulletin board style missions as the trailer suggested in addition to what we have.
Not to mention character bios would be nice seeing as we pretty much get a picture, their age and how they do things.. then pledge

 

[Kayweg]

Power Play is a turn-based strategy game for roleplayers where you have to carry out the turns in realtime in first-person mode. That just isn't going to appeal to everyone.

I think it's a very brave move on the part of Frontier and I applaud them for it. I do worry that this playerbase may not be the right audience.

I think if it actually WAS in realtime, i could perhaps get interested in it.

As far as i understand it, it takes a week to complete just ONE move, the effect is calculated and applied and then the next move begins.

That is a very odd system for a supposedly dynamic online universe. Same thing with the 24 hours turns in other game mechanics.

I agree with you that it's probably most appealing to roleplayers, sadly i'm not one of those.

To me, none of the PP protagonists, and the powers they represent, have any importance or any impact in the overall context of the game.

I would have to make myself believe that they do. For that to happen, i would need much more narrative than what's currently present.

Call me unimaginative, it just doesn't work for me...fortunately, it does for the people currently enjoying PP.

 

[peteuplink]

As I said, I don't have a problem with the idea of Power Play, I just don't think it works in it's current form.

I think it's an excellent idea to add factions that the players can get behind and fight for, but the way it's done, with it's back and forth design just doesn't work.

I really don't understand why they chose this game play idea instead of making it mission based.

They could have had a similar set up where you pledged to a power, select systems for preparation/expansion/control from the map, and then, instead of dropping off boxes of leaflets, you have to complete power play specific missions (which only appear to pledged members) which you get a power play score for. If the number scored during a weekly cycle (if they want to keep this weekly cycle, personally I'd prefer it if it was daily) is enough to prepare, secure or expand the system, then the system is yours.

The types of missions could be: Assassinate an enemy general, deliver stolen strategic documents to your capital, destroy supply convoys, smuggle weapons into a space station to increase the level of unrest, protect one of your own generals, etc. YOU could also have the delivery of propaganda and other non-aggressive missions if the system isn't in a war zone.

Completion of the missions will strengthen your factions hold, but another factions players can also complete their own missions to weaker your factions hold.

I think it would be a much better system than we have now.

What you're describing is the daily life of any trader, whether in Powerplay or not. (I'm guessing you don't have a Type-9 in your hangar.) So... unless you're an explorer, whose tastes are really not catered for in Powerplay, that leaves combat. And I'm pretty sure there are plenty of combat opportunities in Powerplay, if you choose the right power.

I trade, well I do delivery runs from the bulletin boards. I just have a Cobra Mk 3 and I usually take as many trade missions as my ship can carry and make my own way from system to system as I like, picking up new delivery missions if they're avilable. Yes, I am just travelling and docking and undocking, like in Power Play, but sometimes my route takes me into a low security system where I get attacked by pirates, sometimes I meet other players who are either friendly or unfriendly, it's always different... Sometimes I may visit the same system a couple of times, but usually, because I'm choosing my own progress though my list of deliveries, I'm often seeing new systems and having new encounters...

With power play I'm just flying back and forth to and from the same system, over and over and over again until my eyeballs bleed...

 

[callahan44]

Missions feel very generic are the moment, and I'm not that impressed with the combat missions available (Winters)

There are "destroy supply convoy" type combat missions, (to counter another faction expanding).. but they don't even show as Enemy, and you just end up with massive bounties on you head.

I just do what I normally do, till I have hoarded 80-100t of their stuff, then go off and complete the mission.


Edit: Most of my gameplay has been law-abiding (except for a couple of smuggler runs), gaining murder bounties doesn't float my boat.

 

[unicron]

It kind of is like the community goals, with more parties involved, not just a pro and an against action.
So it gets to shape the universe a bit, okay fine.

But delivering 10 stacks of random stuff isn't very exciting indeed, neither is supplying bases with the same materials over and over again. Same issue with the community goals. It does however give you a sense of purpose I guess, if you are not sure what to do. However, in the current state, it's just going to be a grind. I honestly wonder who enjoys bringing 10 stacks of propaganda to a base and then repeating it for 100 (!!!) times to rank up. Surely, you can go kill some ships in other factions, but shouldn't there be more ways to earn favors?

I love the idea that space is empty and hostile for the most part, and that you don't get a lot of *any_resource* with ease, but currently, the risk-reward balance is still broken.

I'd want to defend my pledged power in a space armada assault and if I survive, get 300 merrit for it. (and 15 if you do die) I want to ferry out a one time offered cargo, and be hunted down. Even an escort mission would sound exciting and man I detest those in other space dogfighting games.

PowerPlay is like a lot of other stuff in Elite, just too grindy!

This game needs a bit more randomization, a few more events, unexpected ways to make a lucky big stack of Cr, mission impossible kind of missions to earn loads of merrits, etc.

 

[peteuplink]

Edit: Most of my gameplay has been law-abiding (except for a couple of smuggler runs), gaining murder bounties doesn't float my boat.

I agree that if Power Play was missions based it would need a wide range of missions to cater for different player tastes.

People that like to trade could help out with delivery missions, like delivering a vaccine to an infected planet or delivering weapons and supplies.

People that play as mercs or assassins could have mission to kill an enemy commander, or someone important to them in the sector, hunt down a knwn criminal who's supporting the enemy... That sort of thing.

There could also be combat missions to destroy a certain amount of enemy ships to weaken their position.

Also, we could have diplomatic missions where a player has to carry an ambassador to a meeting in order to broker a peace deal to end hostilities in a system.

There could be missions to deliver stolen plans or strategic documents to your home base, but you'll be hunted by enemy ships en-route.

With thought it could be fleshed out into a really good system.

 

[Rubellen]

It just does not appeal to me either
The whole thing is kind of unreal, and I cant fit it in with the lore, sorry but cant...
I dont feel there is any depth in it really, and as such then I would rather just enjoy flying around, doing this or that.
I am simply not engaged, and not convinced, they all seem like 3'rd rate thugs to me.

Cheers Cmdr's

Same here Commander, feels not natural and I am not motivated to carry stuff from A to B and wait half an hour and then carry it again... We need weapon transports and mean stuff to transport and interdictions from the intruders and protectors against the interdictors and and ...

 

[Smugallo]

Haven't dabbled with it yet as my bindings have been reset again. sigh. Galnet feed looks shiny, and I do like the portraits. Powerplay itself I doubt I'll even look at it.

 

[AtheosisX]

Just more of the same. Only now you get your money weekly rather than immediately. FD are one of the least creative game designers I've ever seen. They just keep trying to repackage space trucking a million different ways. It's sad really.

 

[KaitainCPS]

instead of dropping off boxes of leaflets, you have to complete power play specific missions (which only appear to pledged members) which you get a power play score for.

Yes, exactly. Or at least augment the leaflet-dropping with more exciting and dangerous missions.

In particular I would like to see missions where you agree to try to maintain superiority/control over a certain zone in a specified system for e.g. 15 mins at a specified in-game time. Such a mission could also be assigned to other players of both your faction and rival factions. So you turn up at the specified time (or before) along with allied PCs, some allied NPCs and (most likely) a bunch of enemies, and proceed to have a big dust-up in which you can play a part (or run if you're chicken and things are going badly).

Surely THAT kind of thing would really engage people. And it would start to give a big motivation for building up more powerful ships with the everyday grinding stuff you do. We want to feel like big-shots (or at least medium shots) when we turn up for an arranged territorial scrap.

- - - Updated - - -

With thought it could be fleshed out into a really good system.

Yes to all of these ideas. Smuggling missions too...I want to play as a Bothan spy. Or maybe as Clint Eastwood in Firefox, stealing tech from an enemy and trying to leg it back home while being pursued.

 

[Ian Skippy]

So I thought I'd join in with this power play stuff, having tested it during beta and not really liking it, and thought I'd have another go. I know some people are enjoying it, and this is just my opinion of it, I'm sure some of you will have other views. This post is not intended to try and change your mind of it, it's just my honest feedback.

I'm not oppsed to the idea of Power Play, I just don't like the way it's been implemented.

So, I chose Winters, because she was the closest to my area of space, and I decided to try preparation first. From Rhea I flew to a control system, picked up 10 (tons?) of propaganda and flew to the system I wanted to prepare, which in my ship was 4 jumps. I docked and dropped off the material. I then flew back the same 4 jumps to the control system, picked up some more, flew back the same 4 jumps, dropped off the material and thought "what the heck is the point?".

So, I thought I'd try some fortification. Since all Winters control systems are being undermined I decided to pick up the needed materials from the control system I started at, flew to Rhea (which just happened to be 4 jumps away again) and upon entering Rhea I was interdicted by one of Duval's Justice mob (which was a welcome intrusion for a few moments of action). I docked at Ito station and unloaded the meterial. I then flew to another control system, which this time was 2 jumps away, picked up the material, brought it back to Rhea, unloaded... Okay, I'm starting to see a pattern here...

The main bulk of the Power Play gameplay appears to just consist of taking stuff from one far away place and dropping it off at another far away place over, and over, and over, and over again... I don't know about anyone else, but going back and forth over and over again really isn't my idea of fun and I think it has to be the singular most boring gameplay mechanic I've ever seen in a game.

I'm sorry FDev, I mean no offence, and I'm sure some players will come in and flame me for my comments, but who thought this was a good idea?

Maybe I'm just missing the point, but at the moment it's about as much fun as counting marbles in the dark...

Going into Archon Delain's space and freeing slaves has been the best adventure I've had so far, seamlessly mergin RP, PvE, and PvP. If you do something you consider to be a grind, just stop doing that. It is way easier than complaining....