The Powerplay discussion thread.

[kilvenny]

For me PP is a huge game changer. Rather than the shadowy rather nebulous allegiances of Federation/Alliance/Empire, we now have powers that have a leader identified and an ethos. Furthermore those powers can expand and contract their control of the systems of the galaxy. Suddenly our galaxy is no longer a sterile world where travelling from A to B will always be the same. It's going to take a while for the full impact to be felt. This is also important when the Thargoids arrive because they can become a power.

At the moment most of us are trying to work out the mechanisms of if and how we personally play PP. Yes, some of the elements are grindy, but there is a framework in place for FD to add more variety and interest.

 

[Vladimar Rubicon]

Yes, yes you did. Mindboggling, no?

It's like when you see someone using "nerd" as an insult, when they're arguing on an internet forum about an online game.

.............................................................

 

[Mortiferus]

What I still cannot grasp is how can Powerplay characters have so prominent power compared to the 3 super factions? For example, how is it possible that they can kill a pilot allied with the super power that is in the charge of the system??

And I am far more concerned about this: how are we supposed to do (rare) trade runs once we pledge ourselves to some faction???? It means we will be hostile in many systems and if we want just a normal job for bit then we need to stand down...

It would be OK, IF it actually paid off. But it does NOT! To get to the final rank is an awful grind. No casual player can ever reach it, although a causal player can still do his trade runs/ bounty hunting/ etc, if he does not pledge. Even if I reach the final rank, is 50 000 000 really that profitable? Isn't it better to just play without powerplay??

It seems like this patch is not for casuals at all.. And probably not even for hardcore players who need to save money. It seems like it is just for people who already have everything they ever wanted and now they play this weird grindy game (powerplay).

 

[CaptainSodom]

Thing is, I'm not really sure how strategic any of this is. We might have a very small effect as part of the larger community, but it's not like we can individually plan huge galaxy-conquering strategies. We just do fetch quests. It's harder to understand than something like CIV and yet has barely any tactical interest at all.

I also think it's a bad for "immersion" (sorry) as it doesn't really reflect how I imagine dealing with factions/powers would actually be. Han Solo doesn't look at a screen on the Millennium Falcon that tells him how many CC points the Rebellion has, he interacts with colourful characters with their own agendas and a rich backstory emerges from that.

I like the mechanics of Powerplay, but I don't think the player should be aware of all the numbers going up and down. We should be interacting with NPCs and other players.

That is entirely unfeasible: FD would need to hire dozens of writers to do all the writing for ten factions and all the potential varied interactions.

Possibly the worst game genre I know are the ones where you have to choose the "right" option from dialogue drop downs to advance. I know a lot of people like those kinds of games, but E: D is not and hopefully never will be one of those games.

I'll take numbers any day over that, and the warm and fuzzies for being part of a bigger whole when I read about my Power expanding.

 

[Vandal71]

I've watched all the Powerplay videos and I still have no idea what to do.

 

[Elgered]

Powerplay is something like another game within Elite.
PP Politics has nothing in common with the known politics (major/minor factions) and our options to manipulate them. E.g. The president of the Federation could control an imperial system. It also doesn't have a connection to the mission system or the commodities markets (only in one direction). So you can neither do bulletin board missions for your PP-faction nor can you help them by trading. Just by being the delivery-boy every 30 minutes or by bending to the dark side and killing innocents.

No, PP doesn't seem to have any other benefits for the gameplay success than the weekly cash bonus from the ranking (that won't help you with your elite-ranking). To intensively take part in PP, you need to spend more money than it brings.

So it is interesting, but not really integrated to the game. You can really leave it alone and ignore it, wherever possible^^

 

[Mortiferus]

seems like I will .... pledging was just a bad idea Nevermind... hopefully Frontier will realize their mistakes and make it more user-friendly and truly integrated into the game...I dont want to play a game within a game

 

[CaptainSodom]

nevermind

 

[Mortiferus]

I meant pledging my allegiance with one of the powerplay charaters, lol .

 

[CaptainSodom]

I meant pledging my allegiance with one of the powerplay charaters, lol .

lol I'm an idiot

 

[Matt]

i'd prefer planets instead, I want FE2

I'm with you on that one. The updates so far have been really disappointing. 1.1 added a new mission type (community goals), 1.2 added new multiplayer chat options (wings), 1.3 added powerplay that appears to be some sort of spreadsheet/dungeons & dragons card game tacked-on to Elite.

What happened to the cool gameplay features that were discussed during the kickstarter? Planetary Landings are one that has been touched on - fine I can understand the delay there to generate the content etc. I am hoping that future updates bring some actual *gameplay* enhancements that were discussed, e.g. getting out of the pilot's seat and fighting off pirates who have boarded your ship or more meaningful exploration come to mind, rather than any more non-gameplay enhancements like wings or powerplay.

 

[Cosmo]

I think they should simplify the mechanics of Powerplay so people can better understand it. Increase the monetary rewards for PP missions too.

I'm with you on that one. The updates so far have been really disappointing. 1.1 added a new mission type (community goals), 1.2 added new multiplayer chat options (wings), 1.3 added powerplay that appears to be some sort of spreadsheet/dungeons & dragons card game tacked-on to Elite.

Wings improved the multiplayer immensely, because prior to that you couldn't really play in a Wing, stay together and share bonuses. We do need missions for wings.

What happened to the cool gameplay features that were discussed during the kickstarter? Planetary Landings are one that has been touched on - fine I can understand the delay there to generate the content etc. I am hoping that future updates bring some actual *gameplay* enhancements that were discussed, e.g. getting out of the pilot's seat and fighting off pirates who have boarded your ship or more meaningful exploration come to mind, rather than any more non-gameplay enhancements like wings or powerplay.

Planetary landing and walking around will be expansions.

 

[Matt]

Planetary landing and walking around will be expansions.

Expansions/updates - whatever you want to call it, I'd like to see those sooner. What we're seeing at the moment sadly just feels like paddling around at the edges of the game without actually adding anything significant to the gameplay.

 

[Shemuev]

I read hundred of post and manuals about power play, and none clearly explains which are the preparation nominations, somebody knows?

 

[Aegis I]

Powerplay = Maintenance of rating?

I think I may have confused myself. I have been rereading this description at the rating page, and it seems that the sentence could be interpreted differently:

To maintain your rating you must earn enough Merits to unlock it again next week



My current earned merit this week is 0. Does that mean, in order for me to unlock rating 5 again this week, I must earn another 10,000 merits?

Hoping someone can clarify. Thanks.

 

[Innigo]

Don't think it means you have to rearn your ranking, but that's definitely how it reads. AFAIK there's some decay in your merits (1/7th per week - maybe) and if that drops your ranking then you have earn back up again. "I think".

Info is sketchy. And there was a mistake in this week's tick, which is why many of us didn't see any merit decay.

 

[Obsidian Ant]

You need to earn 10,000 merits each week to maintain Rank 5. At least that is how it reads. The decay probably works differently to that?

 

[RingoD123]

it means earnings this cycle plus merits carried over after decay.

Don't think it means you have to rearn your ranking, but that's definitely how it reads. AFAIK there's some decay in your merits (1/7th per week - maybe) and if that drops your ranking then you have earn back up again. "I think".

Info is sketchy. And there was a mistake in this week's tick, which is why many of us didn't see any merit decay.

your merits decay at 50% per week, so merits earned in week one will be worth 100%, then 50% in week 2, then 25% in week 3, then 12.5% in week 4.

 

[Aegis I]

Don't think it means you have to rearn your ranking, but that's definitely how it reads. AFAIK there's some decay in your merits (1/7th per week - maybe) and if that drops your ranking then you have earn back up again. "I think".

Info is sketchy. And there was a mistake in this week's tick, which is why many of us didn't see any merit decay.

That was what I have always thought, until now.

You need to earn 10,000 merits each week to maintain Rank 5. At least that is how it reads. The decay probably works differently to that?

And this is what hits me when I reread it today. And what I am worried about too.

 

[MVP_Bluntman]

Powerplay, RES Sites, and the plagued Reward System

I understand there are bugs but I had hopes for powerplay, and i knew stuff was going to change. Currently the reward system wasn't really designed around fixed numbers, so now we have ratings that are too far apart, and not enough ranks for a proper system. Plus the rewards are the same way, with 5 ranks its too small scale for fixed numbers ( which was why the scaled system made sense, but not going to argue about that) especially with 0-100-750-1500-10000 respectively. Plus, the problem with the RES sites makes the bonuses for some powers, like Hudson, not efficient enough to properly make your money back for obtaining the merits, which is only obtainable in large numbers by buying them. So really we will have to wait to see these fixed, along with the AI spawn system, and the lack of proper combat ranking due to the spawn issue for proper bounties. So the combat aspect of the game is heavily affected by the bug and isn't profitable in the long run compared to mining, and trading.

So yes, after beta after the various amount of whining and major overhauls, I can certainly say powerplay is a mess.