I did take my time to evaluate the new mechanics, and while I still consider them a good way to put something interesting in the game; sadly I start to see the flaws.
Overall, there is no power per se...things happen only if players actually do one of the 3 phases. There is no intervention that are beyond the control of the player, from what I can tell.
This is fundamentally a community goal stretched on the corners, to give it a plausible lifting as if the universe is in fact alive, and not at the mercy of what players want to do.
On one side; this is Elite...freedom is so dear to this franchise that it would put to shame any tea party member, that knows the Constitution by heart. This makes people happy: we can shape the universe. Too bad that real life isn't like that...so the freedom to shape your own world is not really true freedom.
On the opposing side; there are the ones that love the game but want something that justify the hefty price paid for the game, beyond the nice graphics and ships. These are sadly left out of the equation, since for them, the game results basically unscripted and left to the will of the majority to change. Considering how much fun it was to play games like Evochron, Freespace 2 and X-wing alliance; because there was a story to follow; these people will be left with a lot on their stomach to digest.
Independently from the side on which you lean on; the powerplay is fun. For how long...it depends from which side you lean on. If you want the structured universe, where designers and programmers paid by Frontier, are free to put in the universe, all the wonderful events and situations that makes any RPG or MMO interesting to play, then you will fall on the short period of time. Power switch is based on players; if there was a theoretical assembly of all players, and the majority would coordinate to go on one power, that power will be the strongest; making absolutely useless your contribution, either if you go to the strongest faction of the majority, or if you plan to cheer for the underdog.
I was hoping that the powers would have their own life events and situations that would put them against each other, like in real life; so your missions would change slightly things on one side, making you somehow needed; you could be the hero of a specific battle, that everyone may remember. Instead, you will be grinding rep basically; the more you get, the more you go up, and if you don't grind enough, you get stuck or loose it. The faction that you decide to support, will gain points and all is totally under your eyes; you can see how many players pledged to that faction and have a clear idea of what to expect.
This is the most anti climatic premise for a game mode that I have ever seen; unless you are playing counterstrike or battlefield; which is exactly what happens here: choose a faction; hop in your flying saucer, and complete activities that are not that different from capture the flag or defuse the bomb.
If you love such approach; then the mode is great; but if you were hoping that someone actually decided to read all the fiction that was written, and to make interesting quest chain; variations during missions that were random; introduce NPC to interact with, and give the universe a sort of AI that is able to run on its own; beyond the interdiction while in SC, or moving goods from A to B so it seems that the economy is actually working.
Overall it is the best update since launch; but once again, it fall short on many aspects, and I don't even go in the topic of reputation loss if you don't play frequently enough...others already made the point very clearly. How many tries it takes, before that a game move away from being average, to "one of a kind"? I hope not more than 5 at this point. People are already selling accounts; and as far as Frontier discourage this; once that you get the money, you care very little about the pain of the guy that got your account....after all it is similar to what companies do, when they ask you to pledge for a game and then abandon you, once they got the money.
Hope is the only thing left at this point
Overall, there is no power per se...things happen only if players actually do one of the 3 phases. There is no intervention that are beyond the control of the player, from what I can tell.
This is fundamentally a community goal stretched on the corners, to give it a plausible lifting as if the universe is in fact alive, and not at the mercy of what players want to do.
On one side; this is Elite...freedom is so dear to this franchise that it would put to shame any tea party member, that knows the Constitution by heart. This makes people happy: we can shape the universe. Too bad that real life isn't like that...so the freedom to shape your own world is not really true freedom.
On the opposing side; there are the ones that love the game but want something that justify the hefty price paid for the game, beyond the nice graphics and ships. These are sadly left out of the equation, since for them, the game results basically unscripted and left to the will of the majority to change. Considering how much fun it was to play games like Evochron, Freespace 2 and X-wing alliance; because there was a story to follow; these people will be left with a lot on their stomach to digest.
Independently from the side on which you lean on; the powerplay is fun. For how long...it depends from which side you lean on. If you want the structured universe, where designers and programmers paid by Frontier, are free to put in the universe, all the wonderful events and situations that makes any RPG or MMO interesting to play, then you will fall on the short period of time. Power switch is based on players; if there was a theoretical assembly of all players, and the majority would coordinate to go on one power, that power will be the strongest; making absolutely useless your contribution, either if you go to the strongest faction of the majority, or if you plan to cheer for the underdog.
I was hoping that the powers would have their own life events and situations that would put them against each other, like in real life; so your missions would change slightly things on one side, making you somehow needed; you could be the hero of a specific battle, that everyone may remember. Instead, you will be grinding rep basically; the more you get, the more you go up, and if you don't grind enough, you get stuck or loose it. The faction that you decide to support, will gain points and all is totally under your eyes; you can see how many players pledged to that faction and have a clear idea of what to expect.
This is the most anti climatic premise for a game mode that I have ever seen; unless you are playing counterstrike or battlefield; which is exactly what happens here: choose a faction; hop in your flying saucer, and complete activities that are not that different from capture the flag or defuse the bomb.
If you love such approach; then the mode is great; but if you were hoping that someone actually decided to read all the fiction that was written, and to make interesting quest chain; variations during missions that were random; introduce NPC to interact with, and give the universe a sort of AI that is able to run on its own; beyond the interdiction while in SC, or moving goods from A to B so it seems that the economy is actually working.
Overall it is the best update since launch; but once again, it fall short on many aspects, and I don't even go in the topic of reputation loss if you don't play frequently enough...others already made the point very clearly. How many tries it takes, before that a game move away from being average, to "one of a kind"? I hope not more than 5 at this point. People are already selling accounts; and as far as Frontier discourage this; once that you get the money, you care very little about the pain of the guy that got your account....after all it is similar to what companies do, when they ask you to pledge for a game and then abandon you, once they got the money.
Hope is the only thing left at this point
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