WIP really, but this is fleshing out a seed of an idea:
This is a Powerplay proposal that uses existing POI mechanics and mission style templates to provide graded Powerplay NPC opposition (which is currently lacking). It hopefully demonstrates a better PvE Powerplay game without being overtly radical and working with current mechanics. Also outlined are changes to make attack easier, and defence costlier (to make the feature more dynamic).
General
Modes stay unchanged- access is the same.
All Powerplay perks that reward in cash are quadrupled in value- so bounties and data are x4 and not x2. BGS effects stay the same. Weekly wages are quadrupled- so rank 5 = 200 million per cycle. Successful mission delivery (see Fortification and preparation) pays cash based on difficulty. Also, position 1/2/3/ bonuses are changed to a % based on standing position as outlined here:
FD said Powerplay love is coming*, but to give people a reason to pledge should Powers bonuses scale to where they are on the Galactic Standing leaderboard? This idea is not about the bonuses themselves (for now) but a way to make powers more evenly desirable. All powers have passive, rank and...
forums.frontier.co.uk
Powerplay C+P is changed so that you are attacked on sight from non allied Power NPCs.
All voting rights are the same as now across modes.
Vote strength is based on Rank ( starting at Rank 3) each week: so, Rank 3 = 1 vote Rank 4 = 2 votes Rank 5 = 3 votes. This hopefully rewards pledges who really wish to get involved and ensures alt accounts don't have easy access to voting.
Powerplay modules: Are
duplicated in human tech brokers to allow unlocking via a power as well as via other means. Outlined here>
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threa...owerplay-modules-now-too.565101/#post-8947974
Sandros suggestion of 'Vote to Withdraw' / anti 5C voting / Ethos override / Profitability modifier applied to votes and preparation successes is used (see here)
Consolidation bonus and Undermining
Voting to consolidate
increases the required undermining value as now- but it also
reduces the amount of CC each system generates. This means its harder to undermine directly, but the defender has to pay a CC deficit and / or fortify extra systems to make up the CC shortfall by generating CC. With each position the cost per system of CC increases.
Undermining is uncapped. Highest % wins once both totals are past 100%. Below 100% normal rules apply.
Combat expansions
Use the
new CZ style (i.e. you can win a CZ and it ends) but rank and file has non bullet sponge ships (since this is for farming really). This makes CZs less vulnerable to AFK (away from keyboard) turretboats that can generate hundreds of thousands of merits in PG currently.
Combat expansions are now conducted by missions analogous to massacre missions and assassination missions.
Powerplay Massacre missions act as normal (kill x get y) but reward with merits
and cash. These are fought in Powrplay themed CZs like currently.
Powerplay assassination missions are analogous to 'kill general' missions and always involve high end NPCs. Each NPC here is worth x 4 in value (40 rather than 10) with the target worth 150.
Combat expansion missions are offered in the same way as Fortification missions (see below).
Wing merits act as normal (i.e. x 4).
Fortification and preparation + Hauling expansions
All preparations and expansions are weighted to potential income- so a negative CC system is weighted to be very hard to prep or expand (i.e. it takes exponentially more effort), while good systems are much easier (encouraging 'good' moves). This also makes 5C (who intentionally prepare or expand bad systems) more difficult.
All fortification is inbound. All preparation is outbound.
Prep materials can be collected from any control system and are free (via misisons (see below)).
You collect fort materials via missions (see below) as normal from control systems and are free.
This proposal uses the hidden trader POI mechanic. You must scan the nav point (so you drop into a potentially dangerous spot and exposed to NPCs -see later) to find your contact to transfer your cargo (which you do by proximity). Each location is different based on RNG (within reason), so it means more variation against bots, allows for more danger (you don't have the protection of a stations guns or no fire zone for NPCs / players). This also gets around pad blocking since...there are no pads. This fits the 'shadow war' premise of Powerplay in that you are fighting a clandestine war. Your contact will be defended by your own power, but any rival PP NPC can drop in to attack- these rival NPCs will depend on the difficulty of your 'run' (see next).
Fortification missions:
Rather than a straight allocation of fort merits and an A to B flight between stations (like now), you have a set of small missions that has a difficulty rating and set opposition for that run.
This solves the issue in solo Powerplay of facing no NPC oppostion- in effect you scale the challenge to the reward and the fortification cargo.
These missions would be 'take x fortification materials to our contact in the capital y' and the harder they are, the more merits you are awarded for that run. So, a basic run might move 50 fort merits and have no opposition, whereas an Elite run may involve strong NPCs chasing you but be for 500. This allows players to choose the level they want to engage at.
Note: you can stack merit delivery missions, but the enemies stack as well (just as with missions today)- and since self defined allocations (i.e. click + to load more) no longer exists, its the only way to fill your ship.
Note: each board of missions is
fixed- so you will only be offered a set amount at a time (which you can stack or not) but the choice does not refresh until the mission(s) you take are complete. Hauling missions are not subject to any BGS- its a straight choice of escalating difficulty roughly based on Elite Ranks.
Preparation missions are the same, but the difficulty is scaled to the potential CC of the system. So if you wish to prepare a poor CC system the only possible missions are high difficulty coupled with low preparation merit amounts, but good CC systems are the reverse, with lower difficulty and higher amounts.
Hauling expansion missions: powers that expand by hauling use similar mission mechanics as to the above (i.e. they choose defined missions). More rewarding missions brings more opposition.
Powerplay NPC difficulty: basic missions have NPCs that are like the ones currently in game (unengineered. low power). Each tier above adds the corresponding engineering- so it would be:
Basic - no engineering - low cargo value
L2
- G1
L3 - G2
L4 - G3
L5 - G4
Max - G5 - highest cargo value
Thus, opposition is scaled to effort.
PvP
In Open Powerplay, rival pledges of similar rank instanced with are highlighted as objectives to kill. Depending on where they are killed, they count as a substantial boost to fortification (if killed in your territory), undermining (if in a rivals territory), and respective boost if in a preparation or expansion site.