Power Play - not working out for me....

[hoppingdeth]

ok so I've tried PP. I was starting to enjoy the community goal things, but they seemed to have been swallowed up by pp, so I've joined Pranav Antal, for no other reason than he seemed to have the least systems, and to try to get some community stuff going again.

I fly to his home planet and eagerly look at the missions available to me, and it appears all there is on offer is to be a courier of Utopian messages and to drop them off at various local systems. Being a vulture pilot with two cargo spaces, this quickly becomes about as fun as watching paint dry, so as a quick fix i buy myself a hauler to start moving more messages to see what happens, but i can only get 10 of these Utopian message things before they run out and i have to wait for more - or spend more than i just did on the hauler to have 10 more available to me each time....

Then when i take these 10 message things to a system i seem to be adding my 10 messages to be pile of 5647/100. What does this mean? Are there 5547 more messages there than are needed??!

Anyway i do this for a while, all along not seeing a single other human player (so much for community), and each time - return to base hoping there would be something else to do, but no. 10 more messages for 100k unless you want to go and have a tea break.

it's clear to me I'm missing something, as its clear to me I'm flying around in a hauler again after months of play, hundreds of millions of credits passing through my hands, flying some of the best spec ships in the game. I'm in a hauler again, and I'm still looking for a community - other than the odd idiot at a station sitting there broadcasting to everyone about his day is going.

Is there still a possibility to not be involved in PowerPlay and still have community goals, or have all the eggs been put in the PP basket by FD now, and this is it for community?

 

[SteveLaw]

Community Goals still exist. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=113495

But don't get me started on PP, I'd be late for work.

 

[Bidermann]

regarding the message things , the more you deliver increases your rank with in the power so you can then nominate a system to be taken over . But as the turns are calculated at the end of the week it takes awhile for things to move on . I also wonder how many have joined into PP ,

 

[Viajero]

Yes, PP (under its current design) seems meant to be used by players with deep pockets. It is a sort of an end game for millionaires. You can see it as today´s world large private donations to political parties, except in this instance the only real reward is the actual participation in the territorial game itself and being able to "direct" the decisions of your supported Power expansion etc. This is specially true in the larger Powers where you see lots of players "donating" millions in order to accelerate PP material production.

You can still play if you don´t have a large bank reserve but your impact will be very limited, and probably better served with the smaller Powers who probably do not have as many big donators, and where a Preparation of a few hundred points may actually mean something.

 

[Dbrn47]

Yes, PP (under its current design) seems meant to be used by players with deep pockets. It is a sort of an end game for millionaires. See it as today´s world large private donations to political parties, except in this instance the only real reward is the actual participation in the territorial game itself. This is specially true in the larger Powers where you see players "donating" millions in order to accelerate PP material production.

You can still play if you dont have a large bank reserve but your impact will be very limited, and probably better served with the smaller Powers who do not have big donators, and where a Preparation of a few hundred points may actually mean something.

I disagree, I have shallow pockets and have been contributing via undermining expansions and fortifications. Denying the opposition is just as important as expanding your alliance. After some hundreds of merits I take a break to do some kill missions or bounty hunting to earn some money.

 

[LordDread]

I do Cg's, im not joined to a faction, and i have no intention of, just doesnt remotely interest me .There were 4 CG's running the other day, currently, just keep an eye on that Thread Steve has kindly linked for you.

 

[Viajero]

I disagree, I have shallow pockets and have been contributing via undermining expansions and fortifications. Denying the opposition is just as important as expanding your alliance. After some hundreds of merits I take a break to do some kill missions or bounty hunting to earn some money.

True, fortifying/undermining or other PP activity based on direct kills for example can be done with little or no money. To have a meaningful impact when undermining for example you need high volume of players to cooperate though, i.e making a single A Lavigny Duval control system to cost the default ~35 CC instead of 0 CC when fortified, and when her net per week is well over 1000 CC, is a bit underwhelming though.

On the other hand a handful of commanders with enough millions Cr to spare can relatively easily expand into a few good CC yielding systems.

 

[edgar]

I disagree, I have shallow pockets and have been contributing via undermining expansions and fortifications. Denying the opposition is just as important as expanding your alliance. After some hundreds of merits I take a break to do some kill missions or bounty hunting to earn some money.

^ This. You don't need to be credit wealthy to take part in tasks like Undermining and Opposing other Power's Expansions. In fact the best way to get merits is to attack the NPC convoys of rival Powers in their Control Systems. You gain 15 merits per kills as opposed to the 1 merit per Power Commodity you get when making Preparation deliveries.

However you will get bounties on your head by attacking enemies in their territory. I've rather enjoyed the thrill of having a big bounty for a week, and also for bragging rights with fellow members of your Power.

 

[Dbrn47]

True, fortifying/undermining or other PP activity based on direct kills for example can be done with little or no money. To have a meaningful impact when undermining for example you need high volume of players to cooperate though, i.e making a single A Lavigny Duval control system to cost the default ~35 CC instead of 0 CC when fortified, and when her net per week is well over 1000 CC, is a bit underwhelming though.

On the other hand a handful of commanders with enough millions Cr to spare can relatively easily expand into a few good CC yielding systems.

Fair enough. We have yet to see the effects of growing too big too fast. It's conceivable that undermining a fortification will be a big deal at some point in a powers growth. Undermining the bottom 3 will certainly keep them there as they will have a much slower expansion due to not being able to take advantage of 0 upkeep for the cycle. Same would be true of someone growing too big, perhaps there is a breaking point where the growth will stagnate and begin to collapse due to these efforts done every cycle. There are things like Turmoil that we've yet to see in action.

 

[Mikey2305]

and you can do whatever you like... ive been out exploring for the sirius CG. now im top 5% i will deliver some prep deliveries alongside some trade goods

 

[Ozmodion]

Yea, i sort of agree with you, i had a go, realised that what i was doing didnt really effect the price of fish at all. so i gave up with it and carried on doing what i was doing before pp arrived.

 

[Viajero]

^ This. You don't need to be credit wealthy to take part in tasks like Undermining and Opposing other Power's Expansions. In fact the best way to get merits is to attack the NPC convoys of rival Powers in their Control Systems. You gain 15 merits per kills as opposed to the 1 merit per Power Commodity you get when making Preparation deliveries.

However you will get bounties on your head by attacking enemies in their territory. I've rather enjoyed the thrill of having a big bounty for a week, and also for bragging rights with fellow members of your Power.

Yes. Do we know if attacking those convoys (as per Undermining or Expansion Opposition) does actually Undermine or Oppose anything at all for those cases where the action requires to bring back material of some kind? Or is this just generating merits for the killer with no other effect in the actual Undermining or Opposition efforts?

It would be great to have a full list of the Prep, Exp, Undermine and Fortify action descriptions for every Power so to see which ones require material haulage and which ones are just based on kills.

 

[Dirk D]

As a Vulture pilot you might consider undermining other powers.

Fly to a system that is controlled by another power (like Archon) and start interdicting and destroying the support vessels (for Archon it is something like the Kumo Trading Crew). That will get you 15 PP for each kill.

Any you might see more player doing either the same or trying to prevent you from doing this. More so in more popular powers like Hudson, Winters.

 

[hoppingdeth]

As a Vulture pilot you might consider undermining other powers.

Fly to a system that is controlled by another power (like Archon) and start interdicting and destroying the support vessels (for Archon it is something like the Kumo Trading Crew). That will get you 15 PP for each kill.

Any you might see more player doing either the same or trying to prevent you from doing this. More so in more popular powers like Hudson, Winters.

OK so that sounds more like it - thanks!

Why do I have to come to a forum to get this info though? :/

 

[TinyBigJacko]

ok so I've tried PP. I was starting to enjoy the community goal things, but they seemed to have been swallowed up by pp, so I've joined Pranav Antal, for no other reason than he seemed to have the least systems, and to try to get some community stuff going again.

Just FYI, some - perhaps many, but by no means all - of Pranav Antal's supporters have started to organise on www.reddit.com/r/EliteAntal - and it can be useful to follow the community's ideas and potential goals there. At the very least, it does take away some of the vacuum of PP loneliness!

I fly to his home planet and eagerly look at the missions available to me, and it appears all there is on offer is to be a courier of Utopian messages and to drop them off at various local systems. Being a vulture pilot with two cargo spaces, this quickly becomes about as fun as watching paint dry, so as a quick fix i buy myself a hauler to start moving more messages to see what happens, but i can only get 10 of these Utopian message things before they run out and i have to wait for more - or spend more than i just did on the hauler to have 10 more available to me each time....

Horses for courses - the Vulture is perhaps not the ideal vessel for this particular sub-task. It's a paper-ferrying mission; propaganda-spreading. You're attempting to spread the word of truth, two speeches at a time! It's going to be an uber-grind like that. Even with a larger cargo hold, at first, you'll be limited to 10 papers per half-hour (and yes, it is possible to lurk in a station researching other viable cargo for that half-hour's time, get another lot, and then make the run with 20 papers, or whatever). As you increased in Power Rating, you'll get a larger allocation of units (Power Commodities) per half-hour, but it is a bit of a grind, especially at first.

Then when i take these 10 message things to a system i seem to be adding my 10 messages to be pile of 5647/100. What does this mean? Are there 5547 more messages there than are needed??!

Quite possibly, yes. It depends on whether another Power is attempting to prepare that same system - check the Galaxy map in PP mode to see whether someone else is targeting that system, or just stroll through the rival Powers' Prep pages on the main Power Top Ten section of PP. If nobody else is pushing for that location as a prep-target, then frankly yes, anything above the trigger threshold is a waste of effort. But if it turns out that another Power is aiming to prepare that system, the trigger thresholds become secondary; the real deal will be decided on totals - the Power with the highest number will win that star system (providing they have the Command Capital available to pay for the next phase) and be able to attempt Expansion missions in it, next round. So - it's only worth pumping a Prep system above the trigger level if a rival is vying for it too. Otherwise, the bare minimum will do.

Anyway i do this for a while, all along not seeing a single other human player (so much for community), and each time - return to base hoping there would be something else to do, but no. 10 more messages for 100k unless you want to go and have a tea break.

it's clear to me I'm missing something, as its clear to me I'm flying around in a hauler again after months of play, hundreds of millions of credits passing through my hands, flying some of the best spec ships in the game. I'm in a hauler again, and I'm still looking for a community - other than the odd idiot at a station sitting there broadcasting to everyone about his day is going.

Is there still a possibility to not be involved in PowerPlay and still have community goals, or have all the eggs been put in the PP basket by FD now, and this is it for community?

It's perfectly feasible to ignore PP entirely, and I agree that finding a community within PP is no easier than finding viable friends in the galaxy already... but there is an emerging set of sub-communities 'out there' for the finding. From little acorns, etc. Having the common goals is the catalyst, I guess, and those goals are a little more complex and inter-related than the CGs, so there is more scope for discussion, I think.

The thing is you've chosen the toughest Power to align with (and I mean toughest in terms of the most difficult, not the most aggressive! Far from it!), and unfortunately, the game at the moment is biased against him. Sokn (our only Expansion target, which we fought hard to win as a Prep-target during that phase) is bugged, and we are not currently able to do the work necessary to turn that system into a Control system in the next phase. It sucks, but I guess it fits with the whole 'underdog' theme quite well. Takes a bit of moral character to stick with it, though, in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. But maybe that's what is making it fun for me? I haven't decided yet!

There are times when it all gets a bit grindy, and then I switch focus to undermining a rival power in a bit of battle, or simply ferrying some metal into Antal for the Community Goal boost that's going on there already (2 weeks left to run). Worst case, I'll try and work out a route that'll enable me to ship the Antal propaganda or dissendents whilst carrying something profitable in my other cargo-spaces, so at least it doesn't feel quite so much like 'charity', and I get some personal growth from it too. But that's the thing - PP is entirely optional, and it's quite feasible to drop in and drop out of it at will. You don't even need to Leave the Power - in many places, we're not attacked on sight just for being Antal supporters (though I'm sure it must happen somewhere). We're not yet considered a threat... which is fine by me, for now!

 

[Dbrn47]

Yes. Do we know if attacking those convoys (as per Undermining or Expansion Opposition) does actually Undermine or Oppose anything at all for those cases where the action requires to bring back material of some kind? Or is this just generating merits for the killer with no other effect in the actual Undermining or Opposition efforts?

It would be great to have a full list of the Prep, Exp, Undermine and Fortify action descriptions for every Power so to see which ones require material haulage and which ones are just based on kills.

This is how I understand it.

All prep missions involve hauling. All expansions involve killing except for Mahon, Winters, Aisling and possibly Antal. (This is AFAIK, it's possible that more may also involve hauling instead for expansions, it's conceivable that if you are killing transport ships instead of fighting in a pocket, the opposing side is hauling for expansion) All fortify involves hauling. Undermining usually involves killing in a "pocket" of an expansion, a control system, or stealing cargo. Stealing cargo is guaranteed if the power you are undermining is within the same Major Faction since killing within the same Major Faction reduces your merits.

I hope this helps and I hope it's correct.

 

[hoppingdeth]

Just FYI, some - perhaps many, but by no means all - of Pranav Antal's supporters have started to organise on www.reddit.com/r/EliteAntal - and it can be useful to follow the community's ideas and potential goals there. At the very least, it does take away some of the vacuum of PP loneliness!


Horses for courses - the Vulture is perhaps not the ideal vessel for this particular sub-task. It's a paper-ferrying mission; propaganda-spreading. You're attempting to spread the word of truth, two speeches at a time! It's going to be an uber-grind like that. Even with a larger cargo hold, at first, you'll be limited to 10 papers per half-hour (and yes, it is possible to lurk in a station researching other viable cargo for that half-hour's time, get another lot, and then make the run with 20 papers, or whatever). As you increased in Power Rating, you'll get a larger allocation of units (Power Commodities) per half-hour, but it is a bit of a grind, especially at first.


Quite possibly, yes. It depends on whether another Power is attempting to prepare that same system - check the Galaxy map in PP mode to see whether someone else is targeting that system, or just stroll through the rival Powers' Prep pages on the main Power Top Ten section of PP. If nobody else is pushing for that location as a prep-target, then frankly yes, anything above the trigger threshold is a waste of effort. But if it turns out that another Power is aiming to prepare that system, the trigger thresholds become secondary; the real deal will be decided on totals - the Power with the highest number will win that star system (providing they have the Command Capital available to pay for the next phase) and be able to attempt Expansion missions in it, next round. So - it's only worth pumping a Prep system above the trigger level if a rival is vying for it too. Otherwise, the bare minimum will do.



It's perfectly feasible to ignore PP entirely, and I agree that finding a community within PP is no easier than finding viable friends in the galaxy already... but there is an emerging set of sub-communities 'out there' for the finding. From little acorns, etc. Having the common goals is the catalyst, I guess, and those goals are a little more complex and inter-related than the CGs, so there is more scope for discussion, I think.

The thing is you've chosen the toughest Power to align with (and I mean toughest in terms of the most difficult, not the most aggressive! Far from it!), and unfortunately, the game at the moment is biased against him. Sokn (our only Expansion target, which we fought hard to win as a Prep-target during that phase) is bugged, and we are not currently able to do the work necessary to turn that system into a Control system in the next phase. It sucks, but I guess it fits with the whole 'underdog' theme quite well. Takes a bit of moral character to stick with it, though, in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. But maybe that's what is making it fun for me? I haven't decided yet!

There are times when it all gets a bit grindy, and then I switch focus to undermining a rival power in a bit of battle, or simply ferrying some metal into Antal for the Community Goal boost that's going on there already (2 weeks left to run). Worst case, I'll try and work out a route that'll enable me to ship the Antal propaganda or dissendents whilst carrying something profitable in my other cargo-spaces, so at least it doesn't feel quite so much like 'charity', and I get some personal growth from it too. But that's the thing - PP is entirely optional, and it's quite feasible to drop in and drop out of it at will. You don't even need to Leave the Power - in many places, we're not attacked on sight just for being Antal supporters (though I'm sure it must happen somewhere). We're not yet considered a threat... which is fine by me, for now!

Thanks for taking the time man. +1