Greetings and Salutations!
I am not a frequent forum poster, generally much preferring to spend my time playing your marvelous game or lurk the forums for guides. However, an idea conceived 12 years ago during a brainstorming session in a game studio that no longer exists may be of value to you, hence this little writeup.
The Problem Addressed
Government by consensus has never really worked on a large scale in the history of mankind. The closest we have come to it is democracy, where a small group of individuals are elected by the masses and trusted to govern. Hence, it is no surprise that the attempt to do so in Powerplay via voting has been frustrating for all. It has also given rise to "5th Column" voters supporting bad strategic or tactical decisions, whether from ignorance or malice. This has resulted in Powerplay being devalued to either a non-committal grab for powerplay weapons and other perks, or a huge exercise conducted out of game via discord and forums in an attempt to organise the masses.
The Idea in a Nutshell
I am not a frequent forum poster, generally much preferring to spend my time playing your marvelous game or lurk the forums for guides. However, an idea conceived 12 years ago during a brainstorming session in a game studio that no longer exists may be of value to you, hence this little writeup.
The Problem Addressed
Government by consensus has never really worked on a large scale in the history of mankind. The closest we have come to it is democracy, where a small group of individuals are elected by the masses and trusted to govern. Hence, it is no surprise that the attempt to do so in Powerplay via voting has been frustrating for all. It has also given rise to "5th Column" voters supporting bad strategic or tactical decisions, whether from ignorance or malice. This has resulted in Powerplay being devalued to either a non-committal grab for powerplay weapons and other perks, or a huge exercise conducted out of game via discord and forums in an attempt to organise the masses.
The Idea in a Nutshell
- Each player may pledge fealty to one and only one person their friends list.
- Each player may have at most 8 players (that are not above him in the pledge chain) pledged to him.
- At the end of each powerplay cycle, each player is given an influence score which is the sum total of all the merits they, their pledgees, their pledgees' pledgees and so forth... have for that power.
- Only preparation targets/consolidation voted for by the single player with the highest influence score will be executed for the next cycle. If that player has not voted at all (everybody needs holidays), the player with the next-highest influence is used, and so on and so forth...
- 5th Column influence is mostly eliminated. The only way to pull this off is via a huge effort in fortification/undermining rivaling that of the incumbent, in which case they totally deserve it.
- Merits become more than just a means to maintain rank and reap marginal benefits.
- Emergent politics as players vie for control over the powers. Loyalty shifts, coups, backstabbing and all that delicious stuff. (This is the reason for the 8 pledgee limit - makes it more volatile)
- Powerplayers will be encouraged to reach out to new players in order to boost their own influence, bonding the player base which in turn increases retention.
- Minimal changes to the existing system, meaning less cost to implement and lower risk of bugs.
- Works in tandem with other planned powerplay changes in https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/426940-Powerplay-Proposal , other than possibly making some redundant.
- If things go badly for a power, everybody can blame that one Cmdr instead of the developers for a change!
- Small entry on the friends list or galactic powers screen to show which pledgees are contributing the most cumulative merits. Everybody needs their KPIs!
- Extension to Player Minor Faction system, to determine government type or which systems they expand to.
- Monetization. Sell decals and other shop items related to prolific Cmdrs (now that you have a way to identify them).
- Monetization. Sell billboard space in stations, bases and outposts to political parties that want your pledge.