Powerplay player factions is a bad idea.

[Jmanis]

Diamond Frogs, Null, Communism Interstellar, all of these have had to move systems because of PowerPlay.
It's a common story.

you're still not getting to any real meat of the problem here.

Either PP activity has a bad effect on their BGS operations,

It's not meant to. If it is, that's a bug which got reported, and if it's still going on it should be re raised. Killing pp ships for merits and other pp specific activities not directly associated with a bgs faction aren't meant to affect bgs in that system.

Or the government of the factions they are growing goes against the dominant PP faction in their area.

CI have grown a Communist Bubble - not just the Workers of Manite. That would not work for a lot of Powers.

Again, why is this a problem? It's meant to make it harder (though I've never actually seen any difference in effects tbh) but that hasn't stopped me and my group (no more than 6 people) taking control of systems to date.

None of these 'issues' are yet to seem to be a by product of pp.

It's also worth pointing out fd's 'background sim, but a foreground sim'comment here.

Edit: Here's the crux of my issue. If my small player group of six can go happily about our business, expanding into and securing control of systems regardless of which of the four powers currently have a power exploiting it (there's fed and imperial powers currently affecting the systems my faction holds), i can't understand how large player groups are struggling under the same circumstances.

 

[_Flin_]

Exploited systems arent an issue, control systems are.

But indeed it seems that some groups manage quite fine with powerplay (Lugh...) while others dont.

 

[Ripbudd]

You can't blaze your own trail in elite. Heck not even your SRV can make trail. This game is set in static sterile roller coaster ride universe where you can watch and wow at any sight you want, but DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!

That being said, arguing about Elite being new EVE is pointless. I would love to see this to become new EVE because there is nothing going on or interresting happening.

System blockades and checkpoints in Elite? Laughing stock!
System security level? Just the flavor text.
NPC? Cheating punks that break every game mechanics possible.
Traders/Miners? A -> despawn
Player influence in warzone? 100 - 15 = 100
Game is about blazing your own trail and having freedom to do stuff, it's not about the credits! Hull armor upgrade 999 999 999cr. You died? Too bad, now pay up 19 999 999cr!

 

[Urbanski101]

Deadspin & Flin - thanks for your answers - it does genuinely help to understand your reasons for wanting player factions in PP.

I'm still not a supporter of it, I think if I asked those questions to everyone who supports the idea or has a vested interest in seeing their coalition/union/group placed into PP I would get a whole raft of different responses, some like yours would be perfectly reasonable and largely benign, others I'm sure would be more nefarious.

Your answers to questions 3 & 4 are quite different and Flin has slightly more ambitious ideas about tools and controls. Now times that by all of those who want this in game and you have a tonne of ideas, requests, demands, suggestions about expanding player faction controls and influence over their territory, members, stations, security, alignment etc...

The problem is that over time I think FD are likely to cave to player pressure as they have done in the past, especially as I don't think they have a clear idea about how it's going to work. As for Mr. Braben's insistence that it won't become like EVE, this is not something that would happen overnight, it's a slow creep thing, bit by bit, and it's already started. He has also said and promised things in the past (including in the kick starter pledge) that have not happened as stated so with the greatest of respect for him, I'm aware that things change.

 

[Zeta Legion]

Adding new PP factions regardless of their origin isn't going to suddenly make PP less of an unbearably pointless sideshow.

 

[Daffan]

I disagree with the notion that this game is 'becoming EVE'. In EVE, the only way to expand is through violence; in ED, the BGS is a lot more arcane and driven by its own workings, only influenced to some degree by player action. In EVE, you can freely create player groups (or even band those together into larger alliances) and hold territory for those groups within the game mechanics; in ED, you can ask Frontier to name a minor faction after you, and there's a possibility it can become a power player through a massive CG, but you personally never make decisions for your adopted faction or are able to choose who can participated or not.

I mean, if you choose right now, you can flip between power player factions pretty darn rapidly, prep random systems, and in general wreak havoc and nobody can stop you. Likewise, you could find a player group's adopted minor faction and potentially wipe it from the face of the galaxy by accepting missions that actually lower its local influence or giving it bad trade deals, and again nobody can stop you unless you choose to let them. This is not the kind of system that can sustain EVE-style faction-based mass PvP, and actually makes it pretty hard to attempt such a thing as players can just decide to go play in solo and wreck your chosen factions with zero possibility of retribution if they're dedicated enough. And there's simply not enough agency at the moment for any single player to dictate how two groups relate to one another; for example, the Kumo Crew can't stop wingless Delaine backers from prepping Mikunn if they happen to decide they should do it, while the Dukes can't really stop their faction from expanding into Wadir and potentially taking over if players randomly decide to give the Dukes good trades. So the peace deal between these two groups could break down at any point without either side's members actually violating the terms of the agreement. Can you possibly see EVE-style player groups competing with one another in a much less friendly way then we do here now under such circumstances?

So yeah, I don't think even if there's occasionally a player-backed minor faction that rises to power status we'll ever see ED become EVE.

Your right.

In Elite you can netflix grind your way in solo to victory with no chance of repurcussions or any real effort.