Challenge

Then hunt the little twerps down and give them a little PvP as spice... (He, he, he.) There should be very little bot activity away from the population centers so they need to be near those to get the points they need.. I just think some of the "skills" should actually BE upgrades. Magazine access, for example, is about cutting wider hatchways and clearing -- possibly widening -- the companionways. It has nothing to do with experience. Powder Monkey on the other hand is learning (xp) to take the time to see that the boy gets trained in the details of the job. So there are things I think need to be upgrades you can build in or add on later. Adding on should take the ship out of service for a time.

Not really easy. I want to test new things, maybe. So do I give up my Global or PvE character?

For the record, I would like to state this is one of the most disruptive plans I've seen to date. Anyone not active in game or on the forum is going to lose everything, including rank levels and post even more bad revues on their way out the door. Syncing through a master server just isn't that complicated.

NO, putting a bow chaser in where it wasn't is not simply a matter of moving a cannon or two from one place to another. You need a secure post to mount tackle to so you can move the cannon forward after reloading, and to keep the cannon from careening down the length of the deck when it fires. You need space to put spare shot/ball cartridges for faster reloading. The gunnels may be built too high for the guns elevation adjustment preventing accurate ranging. Gun positions are thought of and designed in while the ship is in the planning stage. Moving a couple of guns (about 1100 - 1200 pounds for 9 lb guns IIRC) without making adjustments to the load balance will put the ship out of trim seriously affecting both maneuvering and speed. This isn't something normally done on the fly. If this escape problem is something you have a consistent issue with, perhaps you should change to a ship with chasers or match your tagging tactics to the ship you're using. Adaptability is the key to successful tactics.

If I don't have an exiting character on other servers, do I still need to do this? On test server I had xp and money redemables: is this what I should have?

@JobaSet Turning into the wind is the way it was done in RL. Once the target escaped, it was pretty much gone and never to be seen again. Unlike the game, repeated attempts to catch the same ship were pretty much futile. If you tag ships that can do this -- I'd say you need to rethink your tactics and get to windward before you tag.

No, Zoky, my cookies are fine -- it was my ice cream cone. 1) Free Ports have no player resource buildings. National ports do. And yes, that means I don't think you should have pirates producing resources -- as I said they plundered. If you want to call yourself a pirate: Be a bloody Pirate. 2) Cool, we agree on something. 3) I do not think all pirates are cowards who must hunt in packs to feel superior. And I don't think it should be done by anyone else either. I'm not referring to small groups occasionally teaming up to fight as ganking -- I'm referring to sitting out of reach or view with a few scouts waiting to have a hoard show up to attack an unarmed trade ships. Yes, if you sail in the OW with an unescorted, unarmed trade ship you deserve to be dinner -- but not by people unviewable in the OW. Since pirates are rarely unarmed, being jumped by two or three Nats should be expected as well. Against all flags was more than a movie title. 4) Let me start by saying... All ships should be 1 dura. I'm not fond of arcade games. DiD! Actually, that's all I have to say on this point. 5) I wasn't sure about that one so yeah, it going to be difficult to work out, but LOS is my guide here. If you can see it you should have the chance to reach the fight. Suck in everything to the "horizon" with relational positioning. Run whichever way you want. If you aren't at sea, and in a position to view the start -- you are out. 6) I don't #tag. 7) No, Eggs with bacon. I fully agree they need to do more than say: "Okay, let's see what you think of this one." And finally... Which server are you on. I started on PvP 1 and some bullies smashed my ice cream cone. I tried PvP 2, and more bullies ... well let's just say they ruined my cornflakes. Almost quit, but went to PvE to learn to sail better. I'll be back on 2; I just need to get up enough for a decent ship on that server. Then we should find a place I can tell you to your pirate face. (I love a challenge )

It isn't a question of harder. As described the alleged changes allows actually ship design. Now it's just cookie cutter. I craft all my ships as gold with a handful of things to select from. All ships with the same selections are exactly the same. Wood/trim/build end with the same set of ships every time. This new style allows actual design.

What I see are people wanting to be called pirates who also want the benefits of having a nation. You really should be willing to take a hard course if you want the freedoms of total independence. I agree with this. There are a lot of benefits to being a pirate. Sailing 4th and 5th rates isn't one of them. Rarely were pirate groups large enough to crew one, let alone have the facilities to maintain them. As late as the mid 1800s this was allowable for all nations under the accepted rules of engagement. You needed to change to your nations own flag before you started firing, but approaching under even your enemy's flag was acceptable. I you pirates actually earn a PvP reputation instead on depending on overwhelming numbers, you'll have that on your own. Who going to be afraid of someone who isn't hunting alone: you're just another ganker that way. I have to agree. This is just bad form. But then so is gathering large numbers of pirates to take on one small trade ship. If you're going to game the game expect others to do the same. I see no reason to change this. Every one has the same issue -- why do you want to have an advantage just for pirates? One set should suffice for everyone. I couldn't tell if you were complaining that there were differences or that there weren't. So all that said, simply put, being a pirate should have limitations brought on by the nature of the occupation. There was never a viable pirate nation and to make one is breaking the expectation made when the devs originally said this was a "historic" based game. They never had shipyards, they never built ships. Rarely, if ever, did they sail anything a 5th rate or larger. They did have friendly governors and ports, Port Royal, Tortuga, Galveston and others, but they only worked until the Royal Navie started cleaning up the Caribbean. Pirates weren't builders, they were plunderers. They didn't take and hold cities, the left them minute they heard the real war ships were coming with marines. Why are so many player "pirate" afraid to actually play the role? You want to be a pirate, then act like one. P.S. Kidd's Island, by the way, would be the perfect spot for centering the pirate "nation" we are getting saddled with. Although I'm sure it will be said it's too far away from the action.

What Wobbly said. And a "political" system that actually makes sense. Ally/Friend/Neutral/Enemy/War makes more sense than Ally or Enemy with nothing in between. Edit: Friend people other than those in you own nation. I have trade partners who aren't in my nation.

A more aggressive AI for PvE server would be a big plus. With no penalty for doing it, just about everyone leaves the smuggler flag on. Problem is, with the political system declaring anyone not allied is an enemy, killing the flag would also kill trade. As it is, deals between players are dependent on free ports and being able to slink into enemy ports. End that and trade flow stops; that stops crafting. Non allied friends and neutrals did exist during the time period. That would make it less necessary for the flag. Having something like it raise the AI awareness -- put a price on your head? -- could set the mark for the nation"s AI fleets to start attacking you.

Since the next thing we get with the next wipe is a complete overhaul of ships, and ship crafting, I'd say wait until we see what we get.

I did that once. The cargo didn't fit in the ship I capped.

^^ This.

That, sir, should be left to the gentlemen in question.

I'd like ships I cap to have cargo that would actually fit in the hold so I don't have to toss half the loot overboard myself and you want to hide more? Doesn't seem useful with the current model.

Add a Bulletin board at each port so people could list material, ships or goods they want to exchange; player missions (example: I want to hire an escort, or cargo hauler for a run). I wanted to give a ship away, but since there is no way to leave a message someone could check without me being on line I'm finding it hard to do so.

Thanks. Do I have to have opponents set in advance? Do I push buttoms and wait hours for someone to show up?

How does this work? I'm on the PvE server atm and someone suggested I and someone I was chatting with click on Small Battle in this screen when we were looking to hunt pirates for combat practice. I haven't found any description here or on the Wiki.

Then why have open world at all?

Look like you are just reverting to a tactical combat simulator and not a persistent word strategy. I thought this could have the depth of something like Eve. Guess not.

Maybe not, but for the most part I wouldn't exactly call it constructive feed-back either. The current system for crafting ships makes it too easy to build gold ships and supports the dev's comment that pretty much mastercraft and gold were the only two worth having. It also made 2nd and 1st rates way too easy to find. Why is it so hard to accept that the system we are giving up was there to make those ships readily available to test the effect on battles and the game in general and isn't balanced nor equitable. Unfortunately it also meant that you don't stand a chance in a fight unless you can pay outrageous amounts of gold, or spend hours chasing around to find the materials to build them. People complain that some of the changes hurt the casual player: how do you think this situation effects it? Reducing the difference between the basic ship and the top end in the same class makes it better for the casual player and the beginner alike. Instead of overwhelming someone with gold ships, you have to out sail and out fight them. Sorry if that makes it too difficult for some. More historic regional location of goods was part of the list of things the dev's mentioned a long time ago: why the surprise when it was done? It should take time to craft a 3rd rate or bigger. Months is about right IMO. Considering how long some of these ships actually took and the amount of wood (1000 mature oak trees for Victory IIRC), the resource limits and time to build make perfect sense -- I guess having to work to get a decent ship of the line is too much to ask of some people. The changes as I understand them will do more to even the playing field for battles, reduce the number of high-quality heavies, and make the game more appealing to casual players. All you folks who have thousands of hours should quit thinking you know what us casual players want. With only 174 hours, I think I qualify as casual, and what I want is nothing like what I keep reading here says I want. I want to compete with an opposing captain, not the same class/name ship that someone built "gold". The system outlined in the OP will go a long way toward that. That is what will keep people in the game after they try it. Getting crushed by people with massively superior stats will chase them away and, in my opinion, is one reason player numbers have dropped. @Redii I think your a bit off-topic, but... I don't see those timesink things as much of a problem (except ship delivery... like to see that one, but I think it would make this a game for shipping management, not sailing). I already have outposts in free ports. And OW speeds are fine for me. I understand some people just want to fight, but if that's all this came had, it would be very boring (and there are games doing that already).

Some of these comments seem to want rewards for nothing. No gain should come with out risk. You want to get coin for the damage you do, then expect risk of loss. Take out all rewards if you want to keep the dura if you sink.

I like the idea to RNG wind direction, but it should take into account that the trade winds are prevalently easterlies -- That's why Columbus took that latitude in the first place. The current continually rotating direction is nice for "balance" but frankly, I'm tired of the "must be balanced for game purposes" mind set. It's the age of sail -- the wind is the wind; learn how to deal with it. Just for the record, I am currently sailing under the US flag -- so predominately easterly winds work against me.

Yes. So want this.