When it comes to competitive game design, there are basically two approaches you can take.
1. Players are gradually eliminated until only one player remains. That player is the winner, and after they win, the game is over. This is how most modern video games work.
2. Players are not eliminated, but instead fight over a series of objectives. There may or may not be a championship at the end of the season. This is how most sports work.
Powerplay struggles to remain interesting, because it behaves more like a sport than a video game(powers can't be eliminated, there is no permanent win condition) but the game plays more like a video game than a sport(the objective is to take as much territory as possible and secure 'victory').
(Some might propose that powerplay collapse is a way to fix this problem, but it wouldn't actually do so, unless ALL powers but the final winner could collapse, at which point the 'game' would be over, and would need to be restarted.)
Instead, I think a neat way to keep Powerplay moving and interesting would be to introduce randomly-generated Powerplay Objectives. In sports terminology, this would be roughly akin to a tournament or race.
Here's how it would go.
Every two to eight weeks(semi-randomly), a dice roll would be carried out to randomly select a system in the bubble. This system would experience an Event. This event would make it extremely valuable for a randomly-determined reason.
For example:
This change alone will add substantial strategy and diplomacy to Powerplay. For example, there might be a bonus that one Power wants, but a neutral Power doesn't need or care about, or is poorly positioned to acquire.
So they conspire; the uninterested Power agrees to attack a different power - who DOES want the current bonus system - in exchange for the favor being returned at a later date.
Or alternatively, two powers might agree to share a bonus, one side for one week, the other side for another week, with both sides driving off interlopers.
At the same time, this gives something for powerplayers to focus on regularly, relegating the more bland merit hauling and such to the background.
1. Players are gradually eliminated until only one player remains. That player is the winner, and after they win, the game is over. This is how most modern video games work.
2. Players are not eliminated, but instead fight over a series of objectives. There may or may not be a championship at the end of the season. This is how most sports work.
Powerplay struggles to remain interesting, because it behaves more like a sport than a video game(powers can't be eliminated, there is no permanent win condition) but the game plays more like a video game than a sport(the objective is to take as much territory as possible and secure 'victory').
(Some might propose that powerplay collapse is a way to fix this problem, but it wouldn't actually do so, unless ALL powers but the final winner could collapse, at which point the 'game' would be over, and would need to be restarted.)
Instead, I think a neat way to keep Powerplay moving and interesting would be to introduce randomly-generated Powerplay Objectives. In sports terminology, this would be roughly akin to a tournament or race.
Here's how it would go.
Every two to eight weeks(semi-randomly), a dice roll would be carried out to randomly select a system in the bubble. This system would experience an Event. This event would make it extremely valuable for a randomly-determined reason.
For example:
- A Motherlode Asteroid is discovered carrying trillions of credits of easily-accessible minerals. Whichever Power can claim this asteroid will gain a HUGE trove of that resource, only accessible to members of that power, at greatly reduced prices.
- A Technological Leap has been made in the system; a scientific installation has developed a new limpet targeting system to increase limpet movement speed by 50%. Whoever claims this system will get a significant increase in limpet movement speed. However, rumors indicate this leap was made using illegal Artificial Intelligence, so it will only last until the AI Regulation Authorities come to shut them down, and the firmware patches get rolled back.
This change alone will add substantial strategy and diplomacy to Powerplay. For example, there might be a bonus that one Power wants, but a neutral Power doesn't need or care about, or is poorly positioned to acquire.
So they conspire; the uninterested Power agrees to attack a different power - who DOES want the current bonus system - in exchange for the favor being returned at a later date.
Or alternatively, two powers might agree to share a bonus, one side for one week, the other side for another week, with both sides driving off interlopers.
At the same time, this gives something for powerplayers to focus on regularly, relegating the more bland merit hauling and such to the background.
