Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
The BGS provides a persistent varying backdrop to every player's gameplay - that they can also choose to affect.A counter question to you- what is the BGS for, and what is PP for, as of today? What roles do they fill?
Powerplay offers something somewhat similar - with fewer "teams" and perks for participation.
E: D is a game where everyone engages in PvE (as it is pretty much unavoidable) and where playing among other players (and therefore PvP) is an optional extra.ED is eventually a game of hamster wheels- after a while it becomes a job to do the BGS, Powerplay, anything that requires conflict with others you never see, with FD seemingly incapable of making content that will make that any less dull after a while. The only way that Powerplay could be unlocked without a major overhaul is by player interactions, which would give MC, FC, wings and squadrons some sort of purpose other than being a folder for name lists. As I've written extensively before, only players make emergent content and Powerplay with its simplistic tasks would allow this to happen.
IMO at least, FD need to bite the bullet and at least push Powerplay into the Open only bracket, just as CQC is, and then adjust block rules and see how it goes. It can't be any worse than the decay we have now with no updates on the horizon.
Whether Frontier want to place an existing game feature (which forms part of the base game that every player bought) behind a PvP-gate, or not, is ultimately up to them. If they did so then it would no longer be accessible by console players without premium platform access - and would probably be ignored by players who don't enjoy PvP (which might further reduce the number of participants).
PvP is not the only form of emergent content in this game - as the Fuel Rats, Rock Rats, etc. have amply demonstrated.