zolfo

first let me very clear I AM NOT SAYING WE MUST CHANGE HOW PIRATES WORK OR TO CHANGE MECHANICS ENTIRELY, these are suggestions in an attempt to tackle some of the issues ive seen with reguards to how pirates work and how some people and nationals view the faction. all are thought suggestions and not requests. 1. the pirate faction itself: historically pirates we nothing more then a group of criminals, some became famous others simply died in obscurity. being a pirate in game is alot of fun but the faction itself shouldnt exist as it is. they also should not have a home port (mortimer town), i will talk about this soon. 2a. pirate ports and other ports to use: pirate ports are great however pirates should be able to lose ALL ports, including mortimer town. Why? well its simple really pirates are criminals and criminals can run a criminal operation but rarely should have control over a large town/organisation, at least not for long. this also is especially important for both netral towns and national towns. netral towns should act as a pirate town for pirates and provide teleporting as with normal towns as well as allowing outposts, buildings, and proper resources for pirates. pirates should be the only ones with this access in neutral towns, other nats can still trade and all but not be able to teleport or use buildings in them or have outposts. this would be the second biggest benefit here. 2b. other ports (national ports: british, spanish, etc..) these ports should be fully accessible to pirates and also allow pirates to have buildings and outpost and gather resources from them. "BUT ZOLFO THIS WILL GIVE THE PIRATES TO MUCH RESOURCE POWER!" now now hold on before you get mad at me hear me out. I considered this already and i had a idea to help balance this. while neutral ports work for pirates as normal pirate ports and pirates also have access to thier own ports giving them access to national ports might seam like to much HOWEVER this can easily be balanced by forcing the pirates to pay MORE for the resources and outposts in a national port, say 4 times the normal cost for example. so if a normal port outpost costs a pirate 150k then a national port for a pirate would cost 500k. and gathering resources from them would also be increased. and couple this with the idea that ALL pirate ports can be lost then pirates would essentially be forced to live out of neutral ports causing the pirates to spread out over the map. making them a world-wide threat and better promoting pirate fights and faction/pirate alliances\ why did i think of this? well in every city during the age of sail, including even now in modern times, there are criminal organizations. these organizations dont own whole cities nor did they back then. they used warehouses, seedy bars, underground facilities, hidden exchanges, the list goes on. but one truth always remained, criminals and pirates where everywhere. this is why i thought of this. allow pirates to hide and use national ports. it would be up to the nationals to try to stop the pirates from going into or out of the ports. being succesfull in this would lessen pirate presence and cause pirates to go to easier waters to hunt. 3. how to become a pirate: being a pirate should not be a "option" when making a character. turning into a pirate should be a action where one attacks members of his own faction (as it was pre-wipe and earlier, i wasnt here when it was changed to the forged papers) the forged papers should only be used to either stop being a pirate or change from one nation to another, not to pirate. becoming a pirate should be easy but leaving pirate should be hard. TL/DR allow pirates to use ALL ports on the map at increased cost, make the pirate ports able to be completely taken post your thoughts below and any ideas to expand mine are welcome, and yes SORRY this includes you.

I forgot to add let us do the same with the sail.perhaps that could be the location of the guild crest instead of the large flag on the back

so I couldnt find the post ive seen in the past in regards to this (honestly i was to lazy to look, why? because f**k you thats why) custom flags and sails. "zolfo what do you mean by this" well its simple (and mostly self explanatory) let us use custom flags that we can make for our ships. for pirates it would be 2 flags to customize. the clan flag which would be the large flag on the back of the ship. this would be created and editable by the clan leader only (unless we get the ability to create and edit clan ranks with permissions then mabe certain ranks can have access). the main mast flag (its the smaller flag at the top that more resembles a hemorroid) this one should be a personal flag. one that could be edited to represent the player that owns the account and potentially unique. now here is where it gets sketchy, non- pirate national flags. obviously you need to be able to see a nation by its flag in battle as its not always easy to see the players name. with the pirate flag its all black with a custom icon to represent the clan (with some restrictions so its still a pirate flag). so other nationals still need the faction flag BUT could potentially have a second flag to represent their clan. perhaps it could sit under the faction flag. the main mast flag should still belong to the character or account. if this isnt acceptable then allow clans to at least make a custom flag that goes onto the main mast and is larger then the hemmerroid flag that currently sits there. "but Zolfo there wasnt many different flags in reality!" oh ya? flag flown by Edward Low one of the flags flown by Blackbeard and many more https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_Roger https://www.google.com/search?q=british+flags+in+history&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0qtDOvMPUAhUG9GMKHV84CBQQsAQIUQ&biw=1920&bih=916 the flag designer dont have to be crazy stupid with a ton of options just basic shapes so we can make our own (im refering to all clans across all factions not just pirates). and to avoid any racist or "graphic" flags (yes i fully expect someone to fly a cock n' balls) set up a submission program where you (the devs) can review and accept any or all creations for use in game. yes this may be slow but would be the best way to ensure the EULA isnt broken (in reguards to obscene materials)

i like it and i hate it. its a good incentive to get people into port battles BUT it caters to large clan the most. even if my clan was a large one i would say the same thing.

first impressions can and do change peoples minds. I have one friend that says the game looks like fun and he would likely enjoy it BUT he cant stand the UI and so refuses to play untill its updated. im sure hes not the only one

so let me get this straight, you dont like me in game so you decide it would be a good idea to come onto the forums and spout racism at me in the forums? and in a post that has nothing to do with you and everything to do with trying to make the game better? how grown up are you

THANK YOU!

i did, just thought id do it here to just to be sure

isnt there a rule against personal attacks??

unfortunately yes, but that is just how some people are. but in that defense it seams to be the game style these days where no game ever leave early access/alpha

ok first off the UI. yes I know its not the original reason for this post but bear with me. The UI is terrible and has driven off many players, I know a few who like the game but refuse to deal with the UI. I understand you have been pushing it back in favor of content and bug smashing. however I know it would only take a few minutes of your time to take a screenshot of a port and paste it into the background of the relevant port. I did go to school for game design and I know it's possible. "but zolfo if its so easy why dont you do it?" because its not my game or my job but I can still complain about it because im bored ok now that that is out of the way let me get to the suggestions i have to help make the game better. ANIMATIONS Ive noticed a few things first is the crew visible on the ships. Don't get me wrong i love em and i find myself watching them alot however some variety in them relevant to the situation would be cool. example a dude throwing water when there is a fire. or a guy repairing the mast or hull accordingly simple things like that (maybe not so simple but you get the idea) second: sail damage, id like to see some ropes flinging about and especially when a chain shops rips through it should cut some of said ropes. I think it would also be acceptable if the animation was temporary, it would just add to the game and make it much cooler. also on a side note getting tangled in a fallen mast or tangling up your mast with that of another ship would be fun, if a bit scary. third: wildlife on the sea, i think this has been mentioned before in other posts but here it is anyway. Whales (even if not intractable) would be cool to see them surfacing to breath or even jump breaching. seal's and other mammals. even sharks just to add ambience would be fun. you added birds why not various finned creatures and last but not least the storms. the storm you have are nice but they dont feel like a storm, its more like a sprinkler system thats been left on to long. add larger weaves to the storm, especially in battle. "but zolfo that might block people from shooting at each other" well ya duh, do you think sailors in real life could cry and the waves would shrink until the fight was over? no! this is supposed to be a sort of sim isnt it? as an added bonus add a rogue wave that can damage but not sink a ship. of course it should be a rare thing and relegated to the map and in a random location.

yes! this is badly needed (to strong a word? maybe) its so hard for the clan shipbuilders to get ships to the one who requested it and this (with possibility to expand it) would be very helpful

owning the regional capital provides the benefit for a clan to "advance" its strength. even a small clan can take a port and hold it to gain such benefits. in port battle ive seen as few as 10 players take a port, its not easy dont get me wrong but it is doable. i cant make any excuses for a smaller faction as no matter what there will always be one when it really comes down to it its all about what players and factions are willing to work together and benefit from said ports. that aside the port conquest mechanic needs a huge overhaul but that a discussion for a separate post.

well the taxes would go to the clan bank as i would imagin. as far as other non-clan players i would not expect them to benefit from the tax however maybe add a building that the clan and build/upgrade to create discounts for the shop for other non-clan players. there are several potential ways for "forward" the tax saving to others such as the forementioned discounts, and other ways the clan can produce good for said players. Eve online had a tax feature that came only from a clans members and it was all well and good but easily abused and often became an main selling point when recruiting. its possible to do the same thing in this game if the idea of a port tax is not preffered. but some way to allow a clan to aquire more funds for use by the clan without begging its members for "donations" would be a must for this game as ships and upgrades can get very expensive especially when constantly fighting port battles and replacing ships. for non-clan member incentives another function that could be implemented along with clans could be a sort of "bounty" board allowing other players to contract themselves with said clan to take part in port battles or by filling out buy and sell contracts. these bounties would pay the player upon success using money from the clans bank where their tax benefits are stored. this means the clan who pays other players the best may have the best defense fleets in order to stop the enemy from taking the port.

ya the relocation of things should be handled as it already is. meaning you lose access to all things in said port and maybe even potentially lose the buildings themselves as only 1 clan can have clan buildings there so the structures would be Razed to the ground. this would create a money sink and make it that much more important to hold the port. for the tax idea its not that the clan gathers taxes from players but instead the port gains taxes from towns in the region and is the clan who ownes the regional capital also own the other ports in that region they gain taxes from those ports as things are bought or sold