NavalActionPlayer

yawn

Disagree on use of BCs being restricted to low rank players. Many I time I have needed (as a R Adm) to sail somewhere to open an outpost or collect a ship or whatever. Also, one's rank does not guarantee that one has a stash of Reals/Doubloons so there is always the possibility that the only ship one can get and use is a BC so you could end up with players being stuck somewhere with no way to do anything including fishing! Sure, look at the ROE for the BC in terms of tagging/being tagged etc but don't forget that the BC is the ultimate backstop in the event of losing everything - no matter your rank.

You have started to identify a problem statement - 'new players do not have sufficient information to play the game'. So let's fix that. Most of the proposed 'solution' from admin does not address that basic issue. In fact forcing new players through hoops without the resources for them to learn 'how to go through the hoops' is pointless and does not address the root cause (new players lack of knowledge of how to play the game).

@admin What is the point of all this, except to make things even more difficult for players? What is the malfunction you are trying to fix because I just don't see what the problem is that needs this draconian 'solution'? In other words - state in plain English what the problem is and then let's debate if it is actually a problem before diving into complicated 'solutions'. On what you have said so far: What if I don't want an outpost in a Freetown? What if I don't want to join a clan (and why does it have to be on the leaderboard - that just means the big clans will get bigger and the small clans get fecked)? What if I am already in clan but it is not on the leaderboard? What if I just want to sail and fight and not build stuff or trade? What if I only want to trade? Why oh fecking why do you insist on forcing players to do things your way? Why cant you let players play their way?

Changing the name of a vessel after she has been launched. Getting married. Watching your wife give birth. Killing an albatross. Looking back and waving to your family as you leave home to go to war. Only one of those I really believe in.

@admin Concerns: Solo players are not welcomed - no opportunities for them, no roles or 'career paths', forced into clans even if they don't want to join No RVR - before everything was driven through clans (and before the great wipe) RVR flourished, players felt part of their nations and there were national efforts; that sense of national belonging is dead now. Either reduce the role of clans or remove nations from the game. Make this a clan based game or make it a nation based game - what we have now is both and neither.....so 'falls between two stools'.

It should be rank dependent.....as it stands new players are penalised.

Timber coming from plantations? You mean like how it used to be, when smuggling and trading and crafting were part of the game? When RVR meant something? When players could feel part of a nation and make a contribution, large or small? You must be smoking some funny baccy my friend

Context: I speak from 3 long years experience since the end of the Sea Trials. I (and many others) have raised many times across the development life cycle the need for there to be 'content' for traders, crafters and non clan players just as much as for the PVPers and RVRers. Yet, here we are with young Jim T and others raising exactly the same concerns. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating."

A belated welcome to the game Jim! Your views and feedback are reasonable, sane and sensible. Alas, you are not the first to make the points you make, particularly regarding trading and crafting not feeling like valued careers.....nor about the shrinking player base. Sadly, the devs have made plain by their actions, over several years, the game is being optimised for clan based players (only) fighting port battles (mainly) with some PVP (either in support of a PB or conducted by a few 'ace' PVPers who do little else than that but have some influence with the devs). Solo (non clan) players, traders and crafters are (at best) tolerated but devs make no investment in those areas.

You are right of course. These sorts of ideas have been talked about over the years and even sort of used to happen way back when....but Devs have moved in a different direction....maybe they will change direction again.

I like the concept. I think the order of precedence make sense in many ways.....the best (skilled) captain can drive his ship better than a poor (unskilled) captain but the major influence on ship performance (speed/turning/strength etc) is how well it is designed/built and out of what materials. Maybe swap officer perks and skill slots. A captain with a lot of sea time on a particular ship should be a bit more effective than a captain sailing it for the first time, even if the latter is a good captain. That would sort of address Maturin's point. In any case, I like the idea and commend it to the Devs.

PB and timer discussions are boring and show how badly broken they are as mechanics. #nomoretimers

The answer is simple. Don't have PBs and don't have timers. e.g. Hostility has to be raised sufficiently before a port can be taken....but it should take days of effort not an hour or so to raise.....which gives notice and time for the defenders to respond..... the attacker gets the port if hostility hits 100%. Taking a port should not be easy, it should need concerted and concentrated effort over time by an attacker to take it and an equally strong effort by the defender to keep it. Or if you still want PBs - then let the RNG gods decide the timing of the PB. If the time is not good for you.....well that is just tough....better luck next time. Of course, given there is so much salt about timers and PBs then maybe, just maybe, someone, somewhere might get the message that they are failing mechanisms and need to be changed.

and the answer is........?