Totally agree. I was really excited for power play when it was announced but the reality is a random mess which is hard to believe. I'd go into more detail but I'd just be repeating myself from other threads. Suffice to say i rate power play at 1/10. The 1 is for giving us faces to the games protaganists!
The fundamental problem with Power Play
- Thread starter Ziljan
- Start date
Totally agree. I was really excited for power play when it was announced but the reality is a random mess which is hard to believe. I'd go into more detail but I'd just be repeating myself from other threads. Suffice to say i rate power play at 1/10. The 1 is for giving us faces to the games protaganists!
I don't think it's quite that broken. It just has some fatal flaws that could be easily fixed to make it less of a grind and more of a growth experience. It should be more deeply tied to the economy. Growing in power should increase the economic strength of the systems under its influence. The more players there are in a faction, the smaller piece of the growth pie you get. The higher rank you are, the more protected you are by that faction. Your death results in a vengeance strike by NPCs against you killer. Etc. flesh it out. Give power real meaning. Let players grow when their faction grows. Reward players for being smaller factions.
what do you mean grinding defenseless npc's for hours on end to meet your merit requirements is not sandboxy?
To make PP more fun for me it would help if:
- there was a greater variety in merit earning options.
- there were also more personal missions. Example: I'd like a screen to pop up when I enter a station that addresses me personally by name and asks me to do a special mission.
- there was a better integration with the bulletin board mission system. For example I would like to see missions where I can bring 25 tonnes of a certain cargo to a distant system for a reasonable amount of merits and earn some cash too. Or I would like to kill 16 pirates for an amount of merits + cash.
- merit decay was implemented differently. The current system is too demotivating.
- there was a greater variety in merit earning options.
- there were also more personal missions. Example: I'd like a screen to pop up when I enter a station that addresses me personally by name and asks me to do a special mission.
- there was a better integration with the bulletin board mission system. For example I would like to see missions where I can bring 25 tonnes of a certain cargo to a distant system for a reasonable amount of merits and earn some cash too. Or I would like to kill 16 pirates for an amount of merits + cash.
- merit decay was implemented differently. The current system is too demotivating.
My thoughts on Power Play
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I don't really have a problem with the entire concept of Power Play, but I do think FD erred in the way they dovetailed it into the existing game. I think they made three fundamental errors:
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(1) It was introduced with no backstory. We suddenly went from three major powers and a multitude of minor factions. Then suddenly, these 10 power bases popped up, where were they before, and in reality, how it is effecting the universe as we know it. I think it would have been better, immersion wise, if it was between Federal, Empire and Alligence but at the faction level within the system.
(2) They didn't make it compulsory but they did make it vague. When it was first released, I had no idea what benefits it would give me, or what I was suppose to do. How do a chose what Faction to follow. It seemed very complicated to me and not well thought out by the Devs. It took players to develop guidelines to help those like me. Then I realised I didn't have to join, I could continue doing exactly what I had been doing for no penalty. Adding to this was letting the Solo players participate, effectively letting them get all the rewards as those playing in Open but with considerable less risk. Power Play would have been far better if it was Open only.
(3) Making it a grind. Having rep decay I think is one of the worst ideas going. Not everyone can maintain a set number of hours on a game each week, but if we don't we are penalised. I have never experienced that in the 35+ years of gaming. And as been said here in this thread, you can still grind away but not really achieve anything. All that will do is turn people away.
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I have no beef with those that enjoy Power Play, good luck to them and congratulations for being able to understand it and commit the time. But for all the effort expended by the Devs on this, only to have it that only a subset of the playing population will participate in, I think is time not wisely spent.
.
I don't really have a problem with the entire concept of Power Play, but I do think FD erred in the way they dovetailed it into the existing game. I think they made three fundamental errors:
.
(1) It was introduced with no backstory. We suddenly went from three major powers and a multitude of minor factions. Then suddenly, these 10 power bases popped up, where were they before, and in reality, how it is effecting the universe as we know it. I think it would have been better, immersion wise, if it was between Federal, Empire and Alligence but at the faction level within the system.
(2) They didn't make it compulsory but they did make it vague. When it was first released, I had no idea what benefits it would give me, or what I was suppose to do. How do a chose what Faction to follow. It seemed very complicated to me and not well thought out by the Devs. It took players to develop guidelines to help those like me. Then I realised I didn't have to join, I could continue doing exactly what I had been doing for no penalty. Adding to this was letting the Solo players participate, effectively letting them get all the rewards as those playing in Open but with considerable less risk. Power Play would have been far better if it was Open only.
(3) Making it a grind. Having rep decay I think is one of the worst ideas going. Not everyone can maintain a set number of hours on a game each week, but if we don't we are penalised. I have never experienced that in the 35+ years of gaming. And as been said here in this thread, you can still grind away but not really achieve anything. All that will do is turn people away.
.
I have no beef with those that enjoy Power Play, good luck to them and congratulations for being able to understand it and commit the time. But for all the effort expended by the Devs on this, only to have it that only a subset of the playing population will participate in, I think is time not wisely spent.
Cradle2Grave
Banned
Aren't 2 out of 3 PP methods simply collect 'n' deliver missions (the data and the supplies)? That is SOOOO dull.
That's the same as many of the non-PP missions.
That is so very, very dull for this lauded new "power-play".
Or am I misunderstanding Power Play and there is more to it than that (besides the shooty 3rd option of PP methods)?
That's the same as many of the non-PP missions.
That is so very, very dull for this lauded new "power-play".
Or am I misunderstanding Power Play and there is more to it than that (besides the shooty 3rd option of PP methods)?
OP makes a lot of sense. +rep
I totally agree with M00Ka, consideration has to be given to players who can’t do the hours; I like the real time though, if I’m not in the game my Commander must be doing side work in a station.
Another issue – like I mentioned before – is the backstory/simulation, where any given Power should be able to look after itself to a degree. It looks like the Power with the most players will take over the lot, but I may be wrong, as there may be a game mechanic that is already looking after this e.g. a power with a low number of pledged players in relation to the simulated population – at any given time – has lower targets to attain compared to other powers who have a high number of pledged players. Does anyone know if this is already the case???