Wall of text alert!
Powerplay is all about people (us) who support a leader who appeals to our sense of moral (im)purity and values (or lack of them!). We support them outside of the law, in essence we are paramilitary groups fighting over who is 'right'.
Powerplay is always seen as an illogical layer over the top of players > factions / PMFs / superpowers- it makes no sense. This idea removes us from this illogical premise.
Currently Powerplay is also redundant because what does it offer above BGS manipulation? Nothing. Its not a unique experience.
What is Powerplay v.2 about? Power. Dominance. It is not about governing because we have superpowers (Alliance, Feds and Imps) overseeing local factions for that. Powerplay has become a staid construct because of human nature and design- everything seeks equilibrium and due to Powerplay not having a 'fail' state (collapse). It has gone into a 'heat death' where all useable space is taken and large scale turmoils and collapses are absent. This trench warfare is miles away from its intention of brutal punchy conflict. Unintentionally its design currently allows saboteurs to ruin powers from within, and the activities are boring and slow.
The big idea:
Powers are groups of players who band together who impose their views on occupied systems. You are like a giant unsanctioned group who 'represents' a figurehead. The leader does not condone your actions....but at the same time is not dismissing them. Your power group is like a shadowy violent arm of government.
There is no CC, odd coloured bubbles or spacing. This is all about power- whoever has the most systems controlled is the best. No odd calculations, black box Voodoo stuff. Highest wins each week. Simple.
There are no control systems! Instead control of a system is based on a megaship.
The game loop is this.
The preparation phase
Players scan the system they want to own using a Powerplay specific scan and return to any megaship- by cashing in the data you 'vote'. Each scan overwrites the last so only one system is held at a time.
It does not matter where this system is: it can be unpopulated or even have another power in it. You could do Beagle Point, Sag A... anywhere.
The highest amount of votes wins, and goes onto the expansion phase.
Note! Several powers can choose the same system.
The Expansion Phase
A megaship from your faction will arrive at your winning system. Well done, you 'own' it. Your powers bonuses are active from this ship only. No other powers pledges can dock or use it; filthy undecideds can dock but repair / refuelling is x10 the normal cost.
If several powers have gone to the same system, thats fine! It may be that PMFs want this, as it allows combinations of bonuses for them. However, it might not....
Maintaining presence
Each ship uses fuel. It has an arbitrary sized tank of 1000 and depletes 1 unit each tick. If a ship runs out of fuel, it must retreat from that system and you lose control. You can keep topping it up or leave it, however the further out the ships are, the harder this is to keep going. So that Beagle Point ship might not be such a great idea...
Players can hack fuel storage, causing the tanks to leak fuel.
The Combat phase:
A Powers 'life' is based on the amount of megaships it has in systems. Some may be welcome, others not. Ships can be attacked and damaged over a cycle but can also be repaired at the same time in a tug of war. At the end of a cycle, if a ships integrity reaches critical it must retreat. As its health goes down, services it provides also stop. So, at 50% health outfitting may become inactive. At 20% bonuses stop being effective (for example). In this way PMFs, ordinary citizens etc can free themselves of that powers influence, or help keep it. If a megaships health reaches 0 before the cycle ends, it is doomed and no repairs can save it.
Powerplay megaships are tough. Very tough. To damage one directly requires wings of ships. Killing turrets and other structures lowers integrity and this is deducted instantly from a ships pool of health. Snipes don't exist because instead you have massed attacks, the more people together the easier it is to do damage. Lone wolves can damage ships, but would be under constant attack from the ship itself and its defending NPCs. With wings you can have dedicated hackers, torpedo bombers etc.
Each megaship has a hangar that can spawn defending fighters, and turrets can regenerate. However this costs material- if a ship runs out then it can't spawn more defences. So, a defender can either help repel an attack force or resupply a ship. Players can hack datapoints to disable defences, allowing other players in that instance to attack with impunity.
The system map will show the status of megaships.
So, the more ships a power has the higher in the rankings it will be because it influences more space. The only limit to the number is supply lines. Each ship must be kept fuelled and healthy. Like spinning plates you have to keep them all spinning! But, you can neglect some for a while if you are pushed. The choice is yours!
Death
However- if your power loses its last megaship, it collapses. Aggghhh! Remember the Power figure is not dead, since you fight in their name. They disown your actions.
Rally point- as your last ship goes boom, you get a secret message that details a random station. If enough players drop scans of a system in a cycle that power can be revived. If no-one helps, it stays dead until revived.
_________________________
This idea makes Powerplay much more dynamic, and gives it a place in the galaxy. Think of it as Squadrons +, in that powers can force multiply PMFs who are aligned to them. It rewards co-operation and that players can support a megaship, 'adopting' it.
Groups can use megaships as bases to help explorers and build networks, just as jealous rivals can destroy them. Megaships can pop up anywhere....would a ALD megaship be welcomed in Sol? Or would it be wiped off the map? What about Newton's Fusiliers attacking Patreus in Coma?
5C sabotage is self limiting, as you get one vote each. You cannot 'buy' a preparation, and you have to earn it (see below).
There is no merit decay because there are no merits! Get in.
Instead of 'ranks', you have ranks! Eh?
With each Power you have status, not unlike faction reputation. In PP V.2 the more you do (cash in kills, data etc) the more you get rewarded and you go up the ranks. Each rank has proper rewards for pilots, so the more senior you are the better it gets. Maybe you get premium ammo when you restock at rank 5? Maybe at rank 1 you get better fuel that gives you better jump range? Bottom line is that good actions that benefit the power are rewarded. So 5C cannot ruin a power. This reputation does decay, but is topped up with every good deed you do. In addition you have to be friendly to that power to vote for expansions. That right is not automatic.
Since other powers cannot use your ship, it means that any rival power is up to no good in that instance. A megaship will record any rival powers players who are scanned and discovered in its presence, allowing you proper information as to who is most popular. It might be that the enemy might simply get scanned and cause mischief. But this rewards stealth in a players actions- make use of that silent running DBS!
Power megaships also offer missions:
Kill x defending NPCs
Hack fueltanks to leak x amount of fuel
Scan databanks to steal plans
Deliver VIP officers to other ships
Assassinate VIP officers from other powers
Powers still have unique modules- however they are only available from megaships.
Random ideas:
Playing battleships:
Also, other powers do not know where your ships are! They have to find them, scan them directly and report that data to one of their ships like exploration data. You cannot flick through another powers tab; you only have access to your power. Multiboxers might cheat this, but can you own 12 copies at once?
You might hide a megaship somewhere for insurance- but then you have to keep it a secret and keep it fuelled.
Spies
5C is a pain. But spying is fun. Players can have two pledges if they wish; an overt one and a covert one. You can swap them at will to spy but if you are scanned and caught by the rival pledge you are in trouble and killed on the spot.
Powerplay is all about people (us) who support a leader who appeals to our sense of moral (im)purity and values (or lack of them!). We support them outside of the law, in essence we are paramilitary groups fighting over who is 'right'.
Powerplay is always seen as an illogical layer over the top of players > factions / PMFs / superpowers- it makes no sense. This idea removes us from this illogical premise.
Currently Powerplay is also redundant because what does it offer above BGS manipulation? Nothing. Its not a unique experience.
What is Powerplay v.2 about? Power. Dominance. It is not about governing because we have superpowers (Alliance, Feds and Imps) overseeing local factions for that. Powerplay has become a staid construct because of human nature and design- everything seeks equilibrium and due to Powerplay not having a 'fail' state (collapse). It has gone into a 'heat death' where all useable space is taken and large scale turmoils and collapses are absent. This trench warfare is miles away from its intention of brutal punchy conflict. Unintentionally its design currently allows saboteurs to ruin powers from within, and the activities are boring and slow.
The big idea:
Powers are groups of players who band together who impose their views on occupied systems. You are like a giant unsanctioned group who 'represents' a figurehead. The leader does not condone your actions....but at the same time is not dismissing them. Your power group is like a shadowy violent arm of government.
There is no CC, odd coloured bubbles or spacing. This is all about power- whoever has the most systems controlled is the best. No odd calculations, black box Voodoo stuff. Highest wins each week. Simple.
There are no control systems! Instead control of a system is based on a megaship.
The game loop is this.
The preparation phase
Players scan the system they want to own using a Powerplay specific scan and return to any megaship- by cashing in the data you 'vote'. Each scan overwrites the last so only one system is held at a time.
It does not matter where this system is: it can be unpopulated or even have another power in it. You could do Beagle Point, Sag A... anywhere.
The highest amount of votes wins, and goes onto the expansion phase.
Note! Several powers can choose the same system.
The Expansion Phase
A megaship from your faction will arrive at your winning system. Well done, you 'own' it. Your powers bonuses are active from this ship only. No other powers pledges can dock or use it; filthy undecideds can dock but repair / refuelling is x10 the normal cost.
If several powers have gone to the same system, thats fine! It may be that PMFs want this, as it allows combinations of bonuses for them. However, it might not....
Maintaining presence
Each ship uses fuel. It has an arbitrary sized tank of 1000 and depletes 1 unit each tick. If a ship runs out of fuel, it must retreat from that system and you lose control. You can keep topping it up or leave it, however the further out the ships are, the harder this is to keep going. So that Beagle Point ship might not be such a great idea...
Players can hack fuel storage, causing the tanks to leak fuel.
The Combat phase:
A Powers 'life' is based on the amount of megaships it has in systems. Some may be welcome, others not. Ships can be attacked and damaged over a cycle but can also be repaired at the same time in a tug of war. At the end of a cycle, if a ships integrity reaches critical it must retreat. As its health goes down, services it provides also stop. So, at 50% health outfitting may become inactive. At 20% bonuses stop being effective (for example). In this way PMFs, ordinary citizens etc can free themselves of that powers influence, or help keep it. If a megaships health reaches 0 before the cycle ends, it is doomed and no repairs can save it.
Powerplay megaships are tough. Very tough. To damage one directly requires wings of ships. Killing turrets and other structures lowers integrity and this is deducted instantly from a ships pool of health. Snipes don't exist because instead you have massed attacks, the more people together the easier it is to do damage. Lone wolves can damage ships, but would be under constant attack from the ship itself and its defending NPCs. With wings you can have dedicated hackers, torpedo bombers etc.
Each megaship has a hangar that can spawn defending fighters, and turrets can regenerate. However this costs material- if a ship runs out then it can't spawn more defences. So, a defender can either help repel an attack force or resupply a ship. Players can hack datapoints to disable defences, allowing other players in that instance to attack with impunity.
The system map will show the status of megaships.
So, the more ships a power has the higher in the rankings it will be because it influences more space. The only limit to the number is supply lines. Each ship must be kept fuelled and healthy. Like spinning plates you have to keep them all spinning! But, you can neglect some for a while if you are pushed. The choice is yours!
Death
However- if your power loses its last megaship, it collapses. Aggghhh! Remember the Power figure is not dead, since you fight in their name. They disown your actions.
Rally point- as your last ship goes boom, you get a secret message that details a random station. If enough players drop scans of a system in a cycle that power can be revived. If no-one helps, it stays dead until revived.
_________________________
This idea makes Powerplay much more dynamic, and gives it a place in the galaxy. Think of it as Squadrons +, in that powers can force multiply PMFs who are aligned to them. It rewards co-operation and that players can support a megaship, 'adopting' it.
Groups can use megaships as bases to help explorers and build networks, just as jealous rivals can destroy them. Megaships can pop up anywhere....would a ALD megaship be welcomed in Sol? Or would it be wiped off the map? What about Newton's Fusiliers attacking Patreus in Coma?
5C sabotage is self limiting, as you get one vote each. You cannot 'buy' a preparation, and you have to earn it (see below).
There is no merit decay because there are no merits! Get in.
Instead of 'ranks', you have ranks! Eh?
With each Power you have status, not unlike faction reputation. In PP V.2 the more you do (cash in kills, data etc) the more you get rewarded and you go up the ranks. Each rank has proper rewards for pilots, so the more senior you are the better it gets. Maybe you get premium ammo when you restock at rank 5? Maybe at rank 1 you get better fuel that gives you better jump range? Bottom line is that good actions that benefit the power are rewarded. So 5C cannot ruin a power. This reputation does decay, but is topped up with every good deed you do. In addition you have to be friendly to that power to vote for expansions. That right is not automatic.
Since other powers cannot use your ship, it means that any rival power is up to no good in that instance. A megaship will record any rival powers players who are scanned and discovered in its presence, allowing you proper information as to who is most popular. It might be that the enemy might simply get scanned and cause mischief. But this rewards stealth in a players actions- make use of that silent running DBS!
Power megaships also offer missions:
Kill x defending NPCs
Hack fueltanks to leak x amount of fuel
Scan databanks to steal plans
Deliver VIP officers to other ships
Assassinate VIP officers from other powers
Powers still have unique modules- however they are only available from megaships.
Random ideas:
Playing battleships:
Also, other powers do not know where your ships are! They have to find them, scan them directly and report that data to one of their ships like exploration data. You cannot flick through another powers tab; you only have access to your power. Multiboxers might cheat this, but can you own 12 copies at once?
You might hide a megaship somewhere for insurance- but then you have to keep it a secret and keep it fuelled.
Spies
5C is a pain. But spying is fun. Players can have two pledges if they wish; an overt one and a covert one. You can swap them at will to spy but if you are scanned and caught by the rival pledge you are in trouble and killed on the spot.
