It would force the bots into the open, at least in theory. Still amazed anyone went to those lengths.
Powerplay 2.0 deep dive - Frontier Live 27th March
- Thread starter londonx
- Start date
All you need is variation and complexity- bots were possible because the hauling was 2015 era and the PP UI was automation friendly (i.e. no comprehension required like selecting a mission).
You assume that ALL players have fully engineered ship prepared to slaughter all NPC's before them ? I have been playing in Solo happily for many years. I have ZERO engineered ships. My ship of choice is a Keelback ( hardly a ship to strike fear) and I get grief and challenging runs from NPC's constantly. There is an assumption that ALL ED players are lethal killing machines . That simply isn't true. Telling me I have no risk or jeopardy playing in Solo simply isn't true.
Yes I can upgrade, or engineer. But I don't feel I need too because I can accomplish what I do, with risk, playing how I do. It keeps the game fun.
I will never stress enough about a couple of concepts:
I think that if Powerplay will really be Open Only at some point people that do not like that kind of game mode could simply ignore that little part of the game and have fun by every other mechanic the game has to offer.
The real question is: can Open Play be something that is actually GOOD for Powerplay? And can Open Only Powerplay be good for the game? How many players that quitted the game because of Open being deserted and Powerplay being the most grindy game mechanic would come back? How many players that in the past considered buying Elite Dangerous and simply decided that it was not the right game for them because of Private/Solo would reconsider their past choice? How many new players would the game get? How much content more interesting than the usual solitary game in Elite Dangerous could be streamed on Twitch to attract even more players?
Honestly making Open Play work should be the main goal for FDev, that's what would make the game far more successful.
Of course "pushing" on Open Play comes with some critical points that hey should address very soon: balancement as a first, then how the manage black lists and instancing. It's not easy, but it's always been the main route to make the game really successful.
- I thik we should think about Powerplay 2.0 as "just Powerplay", as a new feature and just that, old Powerplay is dead (or at least it's gonna be very soon hopefully), so every argument about how people used to play it should be invalid
- EVERY single feature in the game is completely optional: if Powerplay is being redesigned as an Open Only - PvP oriented feature then nobody will be "forced" to play it, shouting that somebody would be forced to play Open is the same as if you'd say that you are forced to play the Thargoid War because you want the rewards and/or you want to contribute in the same mechanic, another invalid argument in my opinion
- and the "Elite Dangerous has always been..." or "The Kickstarter campaign was..." arguments are invalid too, after almost 10 years the game CAN and SHOULD change to make it more successful and financially solid
I think that if Powerplay will really be Open Only at some point people that do not like that kind of game mode could simply ignore that little part of the game and have fun by every other mechanic the game has to offer.
The real question is: can Open Play be something that is actually GOOD for Powerplay? And can Open Only Powerplay be good for the game? How many players that quitted the game because of Open being deserted and Powerplay being the most grindy game mechanic would come back? How many players that in the past considered buying Elite Dangerous and simply decided that it was not the right game for them because of Private/Solo would reconsider their past choice? How many new players would the game get? How much content more interesting than the usual solitary game in Elite Dangerous could be streamed on Twitch to attract even more players?
Honestly making Open Play work should be the main goal for FDev, that's what would make the game far more successful.
Of course "pushing" on Open Play comes with some critical points that hey should address very soon: balancement as a first, then how the manage black lists and instancing. It's not easy, but it's always been the main route to make the game really successful.
So are you saying then after seven years (from 2.1 released) in a feature (Powerplay) that has opposition there exists a large group that still go about with no engineering?
If you choose to hobble yourself thats fine, its your choice but its an artificial one.
And I'm not just talking about 'killing machines'. What about haulers with more powerful drives? Better heatsinks? Better jump range? Better armour, better protected powerplants?
Are there any news about changing powerplay weapons/modules on Powerplay 2.0?
I related how I play ED ... that is all. Forge your OWN path .... a lot of players seem to struggle with this concept.
Nothing as of yet.
And thats fine, but its an artificial constraint you imposed on yourself.
Its like an average guy taking his family car into an F1 race and demanding others respect his choice. Yes you can race, yes you will come last.
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That is a facile analogy. I wouldn't be in the race ... because solo ... But I'd still be able to rack on the same track .... soooooooo
With all due respect, like it or not, engineering is a huge part of the game now—no way this genie gets stuffed back into the bottle now
But more importantly, you have the right to not engineer your ships, you just have to accept that some parts of the game will be less accessible that way: high RES-s, medium+ CZ-s, AX combat and others are tough endeavours without souping up your ride.
Anyway, even if PP 2.0 is open only, players can't be everywhere every time. Since decentralization is on the menu, you can choose an area of operations where no players are present. In all my roaming around in different PP spaces in Open—pledged or not—I've only ever seen a handful of other players around. The most PvP action I've ever seen was in 2020 in Cubeo when there was some sort of fed vs. imp shenanigans going on, and as I was just an unpledged tourist there the powerplayers left me completely alone
The only other time I've been involved in tangentially PP related PvP was during a bounty hunting CG in a RES where one of my pledged wingmates was attacked by an opposing player—and we scared him off in about 15 seconds
Open only or not, PP NPC-s need to be buffed up and leveled according to the combat rank and ship of the player they spawn to interfere with, and according to the location—PP carrier groups should have a bunch of tough specops NPC-s guarding them if no opposing players are in the instance. Messing with these assets should never be a walk in the park.
But still you want to compete anyway.
That's the discriminant factor in this situation, imho.Everybody is free to "blaze their own trail", that's for sure. You can have fun the way it suits you the most. But it's a different matter to make your trail blaze with other people's.
Especially considering that Powerplay 2.0 will have an internal competition that will reward ARX, which are real currency.
OkBut still you want to compete anyway.
Everybody is free to "blaze their own trail", that's for sure. You can have fun the way it suits you the most. But it's a different matter to make your trail blaze with other people's.
Especially considering that Powerplay 2.0 will have an internal competition that will reward ARX, which are real currency.
Well I didn't have any engineering to speak of when I did it. I was unlocking Broo simultaneously as getting the Cytoscramblers. I hadn't unlocked Selene. I probably had unlocked Todd, but that was about it.
What you are suggesting is that new players aren't welcome. Surprising from someone high up in a power and not what I think Fdev would be going for. My Alt also generally lacks engineering though this is more of a choice.
Considering that unlocking Felicity just happens during normal gameplay from the very moment you make your first FSD jump as long as you remember to visit Universal Cartographics from time to time, and offers pretty decent boost for thrusters and shields along with FSD, I don't think saying "You should do some engineering" is driving off noobs
New players with zero experience and level 0 equipment are generally not welcome to late game activities that usually require more skill and better gear. That's literally how it works in most games and ED has never really been an exception.
In an alternate reality, I believe that the best way you could manage a game as vast as Elite Dangerous would have been by having a single player campaign that could guide you though all the different activities in the game and THEN an Open Only where you could go with your CMDR bred in the single player campaign. But I'm probably going too much OT anyway.
You are on the same track. Another analogy is a hurdle race where only one lane has hurdles- how many extra laps can you do without obstacles?
Powerplay is a race against time. Its why when people say slowing and disrupting others is important they mean it.
? By your own analogy new players are not welcome in Goid gameplay either.
I'm all for graded difficulty, what I'm not in favour of is every activity resulting in the same rewards when one mode requires much more effort and skill.
Why do u think that?
How does that work?
Yes so if someone completes tasks in PVE mode (private group, solo) it could be counted differently than PVP (open).
What kind of missions?