I haven't watched the last PP2.0 video in-detail (largely because what I saw wasn't grabbing me)... can you elaborate more?
Powerplay 2.0 deep dive - Frontier Live 27th March
- Thread starter londonx
- Start date
Because the modules are still a reward and carrot for PP.
Why should everyone have access to them? ED is a game about choices and tradeoffs. Its the same old "why do I have to play" arguement.
And I disagree.
Regardless of the quality of instancing rules, I'd much rather have a small group who are fun to play with, PvP wise, than a large group who aren't. I already will never play with 99% of the potential population anyways, between time zones, game versions, and instancing rules. What does it matter if the remaining 1% are split 80/20?
In stronghold systems you have FCs with a flock of support vessels which are hackable (and count for UM). The FC defences are tuned for play around them, and the devs described PvP around them. What I'm suggesting is that specific action (along with others so tailored) has its power influence muted, since solo and PG remove 'the other side'. FD also described how noticing how things go offline in that instance might clue you in.
You also have a 'twin axis' of activity in V2 (this is me thinking out loud a bit- not FD).
You have a horizontal axis where powers improve systems and a vertical one where there is a tug of war (UM wise). The former axis is (I assume) regular activity and should be all modes- its just activity in the vertical axis which falls apart in all modes and muted in solo /PG (muted as in, the INF is not counted but the personal rewards are).
As a contrast... in EVE I had a lot of fun going into nullsec to do (it's version of) exploration. But the difference there is EVE has a more robust array of non-dual-use defensive fittings.
That is, you can have a fitting that lets you achieve your (PvE goal) and evade PvP through skill and planning (i.e don't uppercut yourself)... by completely nixing your ability to fight back. I would definitely go in Open if that were the case.... instead... people think a % modifier is an incentive. It is not. Removing the ability to contribute is also seen as an "incentive"... it is not. That just drops my interest even more in the game.
In Elite, that spells disaster. You increase survivability by decreasing your ability to achieve goals... but you'll never be able to avoid PvP, only endure it. It's always lacked nuance towards that end.
Last edited:
That sounds... problematic.
The problem being thats incompatible with how Open is conceptually, especially in a feature like Powerplay where its an 'us v them' loose group.
You might also have issue with time zones, but the bulk of players are in either America or Europe. Even in the mornings when I would log on I'd always have people either chasing me or me waving at Bard doing some last minute fortifying.
How so? The open centric activity is rewarded seamlessly but does not stop anyone else from doing it for personal reasons.
It does to me, as well. My normal play window is well outside local prime time, but frequently during the prime time in Europe, which also happens to be global prime time as well. I've literally flown BGS missions in the control system of an opposing power, and never seen anyone, and hot spots like Shinrarta Dezhra, Deciat, and CGs are void of players during those times. I could see from system chat there were many others, but I was in an Open instance of one.
I fully expect to be unopposed most of the time if I decide to hack a Stronghold ship to do some undermining... if the current instancing rules remain in place.
edit:
I have no doubts that the PvP community regularly sees others, but that's because they're probably on each other's friends list, regardless of whether they're antagonistic to each other, PowerPlay wise. But if PowerPlay 2.0 attracts numerous new players, they're going to be like me: instancable only during local prime time, and only if those players are also local. Which is less than ideal if the goal is to increase PvP activity.
Because without prismatic shields your ship is simply not competitive in totally PP-unrelated fights like organized PvP, for example.
Nonsense. PvPers who participate in organized wingfights and organic PvP absolutely do play the game. What they usually do is 'playing the game' for them, not some unrelated grind.
That said, most PvPers I know will most probably participate in PP2 if the implementation is good, but they 100% won't like it if they are forced to keep some number at a certain level if they don't want to lose their modules they need elsewhere. That would not be good even if PP2 turned out to be awesome, but for all we know, it's entirely possible that it's gonna be meh. Even if it were good, there are returning players from time to time who join a wingfight or two, and they totally won't be happy if they cannot do that because 'sorry CMDR, you haven't been active lately, you need do the grind first to get back your shiny green shields'.
I must have had the best of luck then. While I do have people friended at the same time I've never had an issue with randoms.
For example- once we had a suspected 5C guy doing strange things in Antal-land. From the UI I could see the guy was there so I flew out hoping to find him- I did, and convinced him to join the group. Other times catching guys UMing (again using information from the UI). Bck when collusion was a thing I would often hook up with rival pilots when it was used as an efficient SCRAP anti 5C each week.
So for me in France I never have these issues- the only time instancing is funny is when its around missions. I spent one morning trying to drop into a wing based POI but after would easily see and interact with others in plain combat.
The only really janky time where its been terrible is multicrew. I once sat as a passenger in a silly build as a chum flew about in Shin Dhez.
Its better than nothing, and for the majority I feel that would be fine.
Given the choice of 'modules are reward and carrot for PP' or Open Only PP, which would you vote for?
I'm in the US, where broadband access, much like every other public service in this country, are simulataneously both more expensive and of lesser quality when compared to their European counterparts.
plays a small violin
Then engage in PP to get the module.
Considering that V2 seems to involve nearly everything registering, they'll be fine.
In the livestream the devs stated all unlocks and perks are permanent (I assume if you keep pledged). There is no decay and there is no waiting- you play, earn and unlock as fast or as slow as you like.
Have you seen rural French broadband? If a duck sits on my fence the wrong way its curtains.I'm in the US, where broadband access, much like every other public service in this country, are simulataneously both more expensive and of lesser quality when compared to their European counterparts.
And it's probably still better than US urban broadband, and you don't pay a small fortune for it.
Is your broadband supplier ironically Frontier?And it's probably still better than US urban broadband, and you don't pay a small fortune for it.
Nope. They're just the only provider in town that isn't satellite or dialup, and thus have an effective monopoly. Which means they have no real incentive to either improve service or lower prices.
Which would mean that, assuming PvP kills count for more than any PvE activity, the new balance would be "how many collusion kills can we organise", or if that's lessened (for instance, with diminishing returns), then the new balance would be "how many more players do we have". There'd be snowballing, as players will tend to flock to the winning side, and in the end you'd have one or two powers that have multiple times as many players as the others do. For all the other powers, well, try to have fun while always being grossly outnumbered I guess.
Things could be made to work if it were a "classic" three-way fight instead, like if players could pledge to the Alliance, the Empire or the Federation - and that's it. But scrapping all the existing Powers would be a widely unpopular move.
Meanwhile the only provider in a tiny village in rural Hungary:
