Mobius Faction?

[Batavier]

Great news, our own faction. Was just about done with PP. It's too much of a grind (come on, one merit per ship), but let's not go into that.

As for the name, Mobius is now a well known name within Elite, so why not stick to that. With or without the Order in front of it. But please, not 'The Order', sounds like that other game. The Order 18something. Which I didn't like very much anyway.

And, as Mobius mentioned, we should not forget Unity. Our First Great Expedition brothers (of which I'm also part, although not very actively).

[Jack Schitt]

I don't think it's good idea to name faction by some person (with all respect to Mobius and his great work he done for all of us). Lot of players will have a problem to identify with that faction, as it is person-centered.

I would agree in principle, except in this case I think we've been lucky in that Mobius is a fairly general name with mathematical/historical relevance that fits well into a future SF world. We all know its origins lie in Liam's commander name and the way ED handles groups, but that's out-of-game information. It doesn't have to impact on its use as a faction name, or any fiction the group comes up with to explain it.

I'll have to have a think about possible names, but "The Order of Mobius" isn't objectionable as far as I'm concerned. It has a sort of "Dark Wheel" vibe to it that sits quite well with Elite lore.

Imagine the names like "The knights of John" or "The great George's Alliance".

Exactly. It's fortunate that Mobius didn't use his real name as his primary commander name, as so many of us did. "The Liam Rafferty Group" sounds like a dodgy prog-rock combo, terrorising the galaxy with its extended synthesiser riffs and unexpected time signature changes.

Also, as there are stations containing this name, it will lead to confusion.

Possibly, but there are also numerous "Emperor's Grace" minor factions that have no connection to the player group of the same name. I don't think it would be an insurmountable problem.

I'm certainly intrigued by what I've read here. Powerplay has so far failed to grip me; after a brief pledge to Antal that led to nothing significant I unpledged and haven't really bothered with it since. I thought about getting back in when I noticed that my original "home system", where my named space station sits, is currently contested by Patreus and likely to be exploited before long, but I could find no obvious clue as to the best way to attempt to delay that. Maybe I have to wait until he actually tries to expand into it?

Anyhoo, the idea of an eventual Mobius faction is something that might draw me back in to Powerplay. I just wonder how the group's ethos will sit with the rest of the Powerplay enthusiasts. We've already seen the forums lit up with complaints from Open players when large chunks of opposing powers choose to play in Solo or Groups where they can't be directly attacked. I wonder what the reaction would be if a 10,000+ strong potential power emerged whose players are almost exclusively not in Open? I don't think it would be pretty at all. And it will definitely lead to an increase in sock puppet accounts trying to "infiltrate" Mobius and damage it from within. The ban-hammer will be seeing more action than Mjolnir.

(In previewing this post I notice that Loriath has also raised and elaborated upon these concerns. I won't change anything I've written here because Loriath has done such a good job of articulating it. Just read the post above, and assume I totally agree with it).

Still, that's one of a number of future bridges to cross. If we're going to have player-influenced factions, something that generally makes me quite nervous about the direction in which ED might ultimately head, having one based around a very large group of like-minded players certainly helps to allay some of that concern. Bring it on!

[Xebeth]

. . . you can opt to join a union, but laws in many countries state that if a workplace votes for a union, you MUST join the union.

True, but for every example of compulsion there is another to counter it. Best forgotten in this context, but is still a good example of expectations being modified by interpretations.

Mottos are just words, it is how we behave that defines us.

True, so why bother with mottoes if the words have no meaning, or like the so-called mission statements of many organisations, just a rectation of the bleedin' obvious?
And you didn't address my point: if we are all for one etc, what happens if we adopt opposing propositions within the Mobius bubble? As far as I can see (and I might be wrong; like the majority of players - see: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=169171 - I'm not particularly interested in PP), the politics of the minor factions takes little part in Power struggles. Would you and I - could you and I - play our usual roles from opposite sides flipping/defending systems under the modified Mobius aegis?
Within a single political organisation (PP is defined as politics in violent action) schism eventually leads to split. There is a fundamental difference between a loose association with a few underlying aims and a political party with common objectives. Do we all become Independents/Empire-builders/Federalists to achieve commonality?
There will be inevitable changes; I suppose I'm really asking what will need to change most, Mobius or Powerplay.

Think I'll have to start on the blue tablets.

I think in reality Mobius as a power is probably getting ahead of ourselves at the moment, when you look at the size of the powers it'll take an age to grow to a power without some considerable effort and focus. Given the number of players in the private group vs. the number of forum members vs. the number of regular contributors, it probably not something that'll happen any time soon.

The faction however is a different matter (IMHO), in the case of Mobius I feel our faction stands for an ethos, much like the wider Pilot's Federation, as such when we (eventually) run missions for the faction we are defending the base of that ethos. Our 'home' system or station is somewhere safe for our members to return to, in the knowledge that they are amongst friends.

If we wanted to put a fiction/lore spin on it, it could be said that our 'home' contains some sort our council where issues affecting the faction are discussed and decisions are taken, you could even argue that this forum is the basis of that council.

Whilst we remain just a faction, there is in theory no reason why members couldn't consider themselves members of the Empire, Federation, or Alliance, as long as their actions do not break the basic ethos, much in the same way as you can be aligned to a major faction and still be in the Pilot's Federation. When or if the time comes to become a Power, then there would be an inevitable debate, do Commanders have to leave the faction if they don't align to the power, can you remain part of the faction and not align to the power, is the power the same as the faction, etc...? These I think are debates for a later date. Players choosing to side with our power, or to go their own way, would add some interest to the background lore of the game.

As for the Motto, when used correctly these can be powerful things, for most organisations they are just words (unfortunately), but they can and should be the basis for directional discussion. When we discuss the direction of the faction or power we should ask the question "does this decision support or go against our ethos?".

Well that's what I think, maybe I need some of your pills

[Xebeth]

I'm certainly intrigued by what I've read here. Powerplay has so far failed to grip me; after a brief pledge to Antal that led to nothing significant I unpledged and haven't really bothered with it since. I thought about getting back in when I noticed that my original "home system", where my named space station sits, is currently contested by Patreus and likely to be exploited before long, but I could find no obvious clue as to the best way to attempt to delay that. Maybe I have to wait until he actually tries to expand into it?

FD are talking about improving minor faction interaction, and have even mooted the concept of 'Freedom Fighters' which allow players to align to a minor faction against a power, it'll be interesting to see how that pans out.

Anyhoo, the idea of an eventual Mobius faction is something that might draw me back in to Powerplay. I just wonder how the group's ethos will sit with the rest of the Powerplay enthusiasts. We've already seen the forums lit up with complaints from Open players when large chunks of opposing powers choose to play in Solo or Groups where they can't be directly attacked. I wonder what the reaction would be if a 10,000+ strong potential power emerged whose players are almost exclusively not in Open? I don't think it would be pretty at all. And it will definitely lead to an increase in sock puppet accounts trying to "infiltrate" Mobius and damage it from within. The ban-hammer will be seeing more action than Mjolnir.

Given that the main forum would light up with complaints if DB sneezed without excusing himself, this is only to be expected. But FD have made it very clear on numerous occasions that they see no difference between the playing modes, and that each is as valid as the other, so 'sod em'

[Walter]

I really don't see how things will change inside the group while playing in Mobius Group.

So what are the advantages of becoming a Power?

[pargyrak]

I really don't see how things will change inside the group while playing in Mobius Group.

So what are the advantages of becoming a Power?

You will have the power

Exploiting systems, get some easy millions of credits (on the bright side)
On the other side yo will have to protect these systems against the other powers which will cost you a hefty part of the above easy credits

[Xebeth]

I really don't see how things will change inside the group while playing in Mobius Group.

So what are the advantages of becoming a Power?

When you get to Rank 4 who can purchase 'Rafferty's Ray Gun'?

In reality there is no advantage, it's just a 'thing' to do in the game. Rather than running missions for a faceless computer generated faction, that couldn't give two hoots about you and is at the beck and call of thousands of other players, who you don't know and will probably never meet, you can run missions for faction that you can genuinely feel a part of, with people you know, who share the same goal and ideals.

[Arbanax]

I thought this might happen, though I've little or no interesting in PP, I am keen to see this happen as this might be a reason to get involved on some level. I'm a casual player at best anyway, but be glad to support the team.

Order of sounds fine, and I make Shinrarta Dezhra my base to, but unless your a founder or elite you can't get there which would rather exclude new folk from joining in, so perhaps best plant our flag somewhere outside of current contested space. I imagine if all 10k of us worked at it we'd see some difference pretty soon, as many other factions do not have such a co-ordinated front.

Ab

[Artie]

By the way, talking about Powerplay - with a potential to turn minor faction to power, which character should represent that power? It is thinking ahead, but it should be also respected when selecting the faction name.

...
Exactly. It's fortunate that Mobius didn't use his real name as his primary commander name, as so many of us did. "The Liam Rafferty Group" sounds like a dodgy prog-rock combo, terrorising the galaxy with its extended synthesiser riffs and unexpected time signature changes....

Excellent idea!

But, I agree that Mobius name has a historical roots and may be taken somehow neutral without context, but safer solution is always to choose fictional in-game character. It safely avoid real world person-centered connotation, which may be also taken as egoistic self-promotion. And it may drive players off...

[Walter]

I really don't see how things will change inside the group while playing in Mobius Group.

So what are the advantages of becoming a Power?

You will have the power

Exploiting systems, get some easy millions of credits (on the bright side)
On the other side yo will have to protect these systems against the other powers which will cost you a hefty part of the above easy credits

Yes, but what are the advantages?