David Braben AMA on frontier forum

Does this mean the existing missions are staying but there will be more, or are the existing missions getting a good scrub?

It"s a mixture of both. The core mission system has been completely overhauled to allow better support and extensibility – which means we can do more with it as we move forwards both now and beyond the Powerplay update. Two main examples for the Powerplay update is the ability to find mission ships in supercruise and ambient traffic - so not just in USSs. There"s also better integration of mission branching in the inbox.

Can you be aligned with more than one Power? Also will certain Powers be at conflict with another? ie you cant join both Power A & B because they are enemies?

I think it said this in the newsletter. You can be aligned with multiple Powers, but only one at the same time. Defections should be fun... and will have consequences.

So, on the subject of a real power play, when do we get our God-like powers David?

There has been a considerable discussion on the practicalities of what those God-like powers mean in the game. We see a path where the DDF (and perhaps other invited members of the community) have direct input into the Powers.

We are looking into ways we can make this work, but it will not be in Powerplay at day #1. Maybe even one of the powers could be driven directly by the DDF?

Will we be able to name a power is we get our ranks to the top?

No - the Power's names need to remain consistent; we can't have them changing all the time.

For ones that have risen from a minor local faction by player action, we might be able to do something there.

What's the rank requirement for the new Imperial ship in 1.3. Also is frontier alright with people modifying the HUD color in ED? I'v'e seen a lot of screenshots with the diffrent colors but never saw an offical stance on that matter.

"Master" I think.

Yes, we're OK with it.

How will supporting a "Power" influence my standings with the "Major Factions"?

The same actions that support a Power can have a knock on effect for your wider reputation with a major faction in the same way as working with a minor faction does currently.

Can you clarify the linkage between Factions and Powers? From what I understand now we have: A minor Faction is dependent (or not) to a major faction. A Power has influences on several minor factions and/or major factions. A minor faction can evolved (or split?) to a Power. Finally, is Power a "meta faction"?

You're very welcome. It is the great team here that do all the work, though!

Minor Factions are small, relating to local governance (like running stations), Powers are much wider entities, with Major Factions above them. Effectively it is a new, intervening layer.

Is PowerPlay system control built on top the minor faction system control mechanism?

Yes. There is quite a bit of interrelation between the two.

Will there be independant powers to back, and can player backed minor factions become powers if deemed important enough. E.g. The Crimson state

Yes and yes. Powers can be independently aligned and minor factions can become Powers if they are successful enough (although this is no easy task!). There"ll be a chance at this for an Old World resurgence around the time of the Powerplay launch – if the players should choose to back them.

What's stopping say a group of factions from forming a large alliance and dominating us all? SOMEONE GET MY TIN FOIL HAT.

There are escalating costs and supply line issues (based on the distance from the "capital"). Multiple Powers working together is possible, but it depends on the ethos of the Powers. I'm sure people will try this, and I'm sure others will attempt to sabotage it!

How do you plan to balance the player influence over different factions? Would it be acceptable for Frontier if by player choice one of the major factions (Alliance/Empire/Federation) is wiped out?

We will look at balance continuously, both during the beta and afterwards, but we want players to be changing the Galaxy.

It's possible a Major Faction gets brought down, but is very unlikely.

There"s already a player group trying to destroy the Alliance, for example.

Will there be an Exploration focused Faction in Powerplay?

There is no exploration oriented Power, but there is a Power with exploration-specific perks...

Will President Vidar Vondell from the corporate faction in Eta Draconis "Gold Vision Co." be part of the original 20 factions first included? We flipped the system, they expanded to eradicate pirates from BD+57 1692 and had a galnet article posted with him commenting on the capture of Eta Draconis. Just curious =)

For a minor faction to become a Power will be a major achievement, involving many systems.

Will Powerplay effectively replace the current Community Goals system?

Certainly not!

Community goals will still be used in game, and can connect with Powerplay – for example: a campaign of goals to elevate a minor faction to a Power.

How should we start for trying to get our independant faction in to the top 20 list of factions we can pledge with? Should be start now rapidly expanding them or will we be able to choose our faction out of the 20 you pick?

Firstly there won't be twenty to start with. It is likely to be ten when Powerplay first goes out. This gives room for more to come in later.

Currently there are no minor factions anywhere near being promoted to being a Power.

Are there plans to give people reasons to venture into dangerous anarchies and enemy held space in trade ships? My friends would love to do the whole "trade ship and escorts" convoy, but there aren't really many reasons for us to do that at the moment.

Yes. Powerplay should do this.

Can i go pledge for the independant faction in Jotunheim and expand them with a group to become a major power? Can we start planning and working towards this before 1.3 or not?

You could start doing this now. We are not resetting the Galaxy or anything, and the current minor factions will carry over.

There is a slight wrinkle in that we are renaming some minor factions to ensure they have unique names. For the most part this is just adding the system name to make it unambiguous.

What is in it for pilot's who would prefer not to pledge allegiance to any of these galactic powers? Both in terms of gameplay opportunities, and in terms of perks and rewards, because the newsletter makes it seem like you miss out on everything if you remain neutral.

Joining powers is optional and you can continue to play the game as you do now if you don"t want to get involved. You do need to join a power to gain the perks, but changes to systems from being controlled by a power apply to anyone in that system.

In other words the markets and laws can change when the system Power changes.

Will players be able to change factions? If they can will there be some kind of cooldown or will they be able to switch constantly?

Players can defect from a power to join another at any time, but if they're highly ranked within the power then there could be repercussions. So if you chop and change a good deal you will end up with a lot of repercussions!

Are there any plans for 1.3 to have any new/improved/balanced weapon modules? Many of us are curious at to the future of weaponry in Elite: Dangerous

For some of the Powers we are looking at Power-specific modules and weapons. More info to come. <<< Announcement. ;-)

Will new characters come into the game (i.e. new senators and politicians) and to what scale?

Yes. Powers, and their associated characters will come and go. The 'go' will often be due to them dying...

Can you give us precision on the incoming Imperial Courier, will it be a pure Fighter ? Or Multi-role like the Cobra ? What are your opinion on Imperial Slavery ? Can a power decide to make it Illegal and have others deep changing decisions like that ?

The Imperial Courier is a shiny fast multi-role ship. Of course you can use it as a fighter, but it is not a specialist.

Imperial slavery is not unlike signing up to the army. You do what they say for a fixed period of time - and how acceptable this is, is very much the equivalent of the particular army you sign up to.

And yes, Powers can change what is illegal. I think Aisling Duval is trying to do this right now.

If we can declare allegiance to a Faction, and system.. Then Might we have the opportunity to Register Our 'Ships' name within that system, much liek Boats are registered to a port.

If you scan another ship, it will show the Power you are aligned to. This isn't quite the same as player bases as the Powers are regional - but it is close.

Do you envisage Powerplay as a tool to raise the amount of PvP currently happening? It seems that you are giving carte blanche to attack anyone from a different faction to you, regardless if they are wanted or not. Is there not a danger that the inhabited parts of the galaxy end up as one big warzone?

The carte blanche only exists within systems controlled by your Power and only apply against ships that are aligned with a Power of a different major faction to your Power. Powers interact with each other in different ways and combat is but one of those methods. How the Power is structured geographically will also guide which areas are potential hotspots. In some case Powers could provide a safety zone within their borders by their actions.

The Empire have a couple of great ships that adds to the empirical identity. The mighty federation also have ships to call their own. I really love the Alliance, yet I feel they have been very neglected by the defs. Currently, there is no real reason to rank up in their systems, for there is no real reward. With Powerplay, will there be some content for the Alliance faction?

The Alliance is a relative newcomer on the galactic stage, but we know the Alliance is a favourite with many players.

The Federation and Empire have both had hundreds of years to evolve their traditions and identity. For the Alliance this is little different from the Independent ships already available in game. That"s not to say that an Alliance ship building project might happen in the future, along with recruitment for the Alliance Navy. The trouble is Prime Minister Mahon finds it hard to get his members to agree...

Source: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=140036