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Gustavia will be like KPR

Is there any plan to make some DLC 7th or 6th?

Would be nice if we could use stern guns on the privateer, even 4 lb cannons the gun ports are already on the model

You know our pirates have nothing special about them in the game and they are just another nation. I thought wouldn't it be better to rename this ship since all can use it to Privateer Frigate? Than you can do this with other ships that you make refits for. Like the Le Gros Ventre Refit could be Caller Privateer Le Gros Ventre. This giving the ships more of a reason why they are modified version of the main ship. I just never could see the blueish Pirate Frigate really being a Pirate ship. It seems more a role you find a Privateer using it for. Than again what is a Pirate? Just a Privateer without a job.

OUTLINE Pirates should be unique I think everyone agrees on that. Basic vision of pirate nation is that pirates have no ships of the line, don’t conquer the land etc etc. However there are players who want to be pirates, but still experience SOL gameplay. For this to work Pirates needs to have such a mechanic that does not put them into disadvantage. Right now Pirates are a nation and must survive by nation means – expend their territories and protect their land and because of such must build SOLs and take part in conquest. Below is proposed detailed, simple to comprehend Pirate State mechanic that will sort out all pirate related issues and most importantly will keep nations less toxic towards pirates and give pirates the gameplay they are after. In short we remove pirate nation that has to compete with other nations in conquest of territories and introduce Pirate State that mainly lives off what it can catch. Pirates will no longer fight for conquest for themselves, but they will take participation in conquest as privateers for any nation they choose to privateer for. BELONGING Today pirates as we know it are a nation without identity. Any nation player can say I’m a Brit or Spanish or else. Pirates cannot do that as “Pirate” is not a nationality. However, all pirates did belong to some nation. There were British pirates, there were French pirates, Spanish etc. This means that all pirates needs to receive “nationality” and the Pirate nation become a State and be governed by the laws of the Brethren of the Coast. PIRATE’S NATIONALITY All pirates receive a nationality by their choice so all pirates become a mix of people of different nations, just as it was supposed to be. PIRATE TERRITORIES Pirates cannot own any land. To participate in any conquest they first must become a privateer for a nation to enter PBs on behalf of that nation. There are number of ports/places which are accessible to pirates. - National Free Towns - such as Nassau that belonged to Great Britain. Any British player OR a pirate may enter Nassau. Any French player OR a pirate may enter La Tortue and so on. All nations would have such towns that accessible by pirates and players of that nation; - Neutral Ports - Trade Hubs (3-4 on the map) can be entered by anyone including pirates. Their shops/markets are linked together, thus allowing access to the market of all of them so purchases, sales and contracts can be done distantly between them (note: the delivery is still done physically between any ports including hubs). - Pirate Dens - small hideouts like a secret harbour with a shop that has no NPC goods (only what is sold there by pirates themselves). Pirate Dens cannot be entered by any nation. Pirate Dens spread in large numbers across Caribbean and can be located on main lands and small islands in a distance from Nation towns. - Any Nation Town - can be entered by a pirate with a Smuggler tag. PIRATE PROFESSIONS Smuggler The smuggler tag is removed from all nations. Smuggler becomes exclusively a pirate’s profession and grants him entry into the nation's territory while in Outlaw state. While Privateering for a nation pirates may freely enter that nation ports. For nation players to trade or acquire goods that are not produced by their nation there should be global trade hubs - Neutral Ports (3-4 ports in various regions across the map that share shop information). Else they will have to deal with a pirate/smuggler to get them the goods. In order to become a smuggler and sell goods between nations a player have to become a pirate. Smuggler is a pirate trade profession equivalent to nation’s merchant profession. Privateering Pirate has to sail to a Nation Free Port (like Nassau for Brits) and acquire Letter of Marque. That grants him a temporary patent which means that he becomes that nation player for the duration period of the patent. In case if pirate becomes a privateer of his own nation the patent does not expire. During privateering pirate may take part in any nation’s activities such as conquest. Privateers are getting same PB and battle rewards as the nation players as a payment for their privateering work. Privateers can also participate and even conquer land solely as a privateer force, however the land becomes the nation's land they were serving under, thus each nation may have their own pirate forces working for them or with them. Privateers sail with two flags. The pirate flag and the flag of the nation they are privateering for. While privateering for the nation pirates technically become a player of that nation. They cannot attack players from that nation, neither they can be attacked by them in return. The patent can be canceled by the pirate at any time which will take 1 hours to take effect and 1 week cooldown before another one can be acquired from the same nation. Canceling privateering contract returns the pirate to the Outlaw state. Any one pirate can only have one privateering contract going on at any one time Pirate When pirates are not working for a nation as privateers they remain in the Outlaw state. This means that they are open targets for anyone and can attack any targets in return. While in the Outlaw state pirates may not participate in any conquest ports battles, however they may initiate a raid attack on any nation region. RAIDS Any group of pirates may initiate a raid attack on any nations regions and manually set time when the attack will happen (any time between 24 to 48 hours from the moment of declaration, except the time window blocked by Lord Protectors). If the raid PB won by the pirates the region is considered under Raid and blocked to a maximum of 3 days. It is still belongs to the nation (pirates can’t own regions), but all production buildings are stopped and no longer producing for the nation. Instead pirates automatically have access to the buildings that are producing in the region and they may gather resources while region is blocked. The resource gathering will become the most important reason for the pirates to raid any regions. Pirates do not need to build new building, they are raiding those that are owned by the nation and gather resources free of charge. Basically raiding them. The nation may retaliate and attempt to regain region earlier than the maximum 3 days blockade timer. They have to create PB in the same manner as pirates did when they attacked the region. The PB time also set between 24 and 48 hours. If nation wins the PB it takes the full control of the region. If nation loses the PB then the blockade runs until 3 day timer from the first pirate attack is expired.

I'm looking for captains who enjoy the smaller ships in the game to join me and my mates. Since we enjoy sailing the smaller ships the most and low maintaining / upgrading cost making them even more attractive after the wipe, we will primarily be sailing 6th and 7th rates. We also plan on having ship and cannon production as well as a clan warehouse. New players are very welcome and we are willing to help wherever we can. The server will be PvP Global and we will only engage in PvE when no PvP is available. The nation of our choosing was initially pirates ( since we plan on raiding traders rather than trading ourselves and the fact that pirates in the Carribean mainly used fast and small sloops ) but given the fact that the pirates in game are very handicapped and a pseudo nation at the moment, this is subject to change. If you are interested send me a PM.

Is there any relation between what AI traders are carrying and the ports they are near? If not, @admin, there should be. AI traders seem to mainly be making short hauls. It would make sense if they were carrying goods consumed or produced at the nearby ports. I apologize if this is already in game and I just haven't noticed it.

This might only work in conjunction with a reputation system, but what if players could craft and trade Letters of Marque. They would temporarily assign the creating nation's flag (with its restrictions on who is an enemy) to the player holding the letter. There are a few options how this might be interesting: 1. Only Nats could make them and only Pirates could get them. 2. Or since alliances are being "turned off" perhaps one Nation could give it to another Nation's player. They would not be free to make and presumably whoever accepts the letter will want some sort of payment as well. A player could only hold one letter at a time I'm sure there are other ways this could play out but it seems like it would have positive impact for low pop nations while avoiding alliance entanglements and provide a mechanism for pirates to do some privateering. Please discuss.

HMS Halifax (formerly the Nova Soctia Packet) HMS Halifax began life as the Nova Scotia Packet, built by a group of Halifax-based merchants to establish a regular maritime mail and passenger service between Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Boston, Massachusetts. In July 1768 she was commissioned by Admiral Hood to carry dispatches to England. Hood also recommended that the vessel be purchased into service with the Royal Navy, the vessel duly being taken onto strength and refitted in Portsmouth. After its return to North America in January of 1769, Halifax captured the schooner Liberty and had an active service-life until being wrecked in 1775 on Foster Island, off of Maine. Later records include mention of a Halifax on the same lines as the original vessel, so the ship may have been salvaged and returned to service. A two-masted schooner, the Halifax/Nova Scotia Packet is a small vessel, with a deck length of 58 ft 3 in and a beam of 18 ft 3 in. At this size she is smaller than the Cutter, and would make a suitable replacement for the Trader's Cutter, possibly also the Trader's Lynx*, as an entry level trading vessel. As HMS Halifax the vessel carried 6x3-pdr cannon, 3 mounted upon each side, however I cannot find mention of whether the Nova Scotia Packet carried cannon or not. As the smallest cannon available to us in-game is a 4-pdr cannon, it could carry those as its armament as opposed to the 3-pdr, unless in future we'll get the 3-pdr. Regarding cargo capacity, the Halifax had a tonnage capability (burthen) of 83bm. As everything regarding cargo space is boosted, this could be increased to match the tonnage of the Trader's Cutter/Lynx. *It would probably be best to keep one small, fast, vessel suitable for smuggling work. Obligatory pictures of models:

Privateer Ships by Fredrik Henrik af Chapman Index 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

NATION INFLUENCE MECHANICS Balancing the Conquest Hi Devs, First of all I would like to congratulate you on the astonishing achievement you have done so far! We have dreamed of this game, open world, naval battles and the era… Thank you! Your game is truly amazing! Please forgive me for the comments below as I’m not telling you how to make your game. But we are your players. We are here, playing and testing the unfinished game because we care. We want to help you to shape it in the perfect game blockbuster on par with those titles out there that have millions of player base. Speaking from MMO experience Alliance-War is too linear for player driven politics. You also have nations that right now mean very little, and you have player clans that mean even less. Voting: Forcing people to do something (like voting) is generally a bad idea and sooner or later you will walk away from this model. When you announced the voting system we have already start working on how to exploit this to our advantage. Democracy or voting will not work on public level. Nation’s clans will start working together and forming alliances behind the vote system. Clan leadership will decide who they are going to be allied with and tell their players to give their votes where its needed. This is what going to happen and if some players will disagree they will be kicked from the clan. Why not give the tools to clan leadership anyway? My proposal is (if you going to keep this system) if player is in the clan, then he has no vote - clan leader decides on their behalf, if player is without the clan then he votes personally. If clan leader is being a douchebag, set vote against the will of the majority and players of the clan disapprove they will leave the clan and form new one. It will sort itself out. However I’m all against this system and here is why... Food for thought on current politics system: IMO, you are working on politics way too early. We need more reasons what to fight for. There is really only one reason so far - the territory, but it's flawed because of its simplicity and lack of tools. There is no other reason really to control territory other than to annoy your enemy. Also The Caribbean is a very small territory. With current game mechanics its easily covered by 150 people that are online and its already feels tight. What is it going to be like when you have 5k people population on the server? Free Ports will be camped and become bottlenecks of the game life. Also the War on Nation level should last for months not days. The alternative: What about Nation influenced territory and Clan controlled ports that are driven by clan’s actions and Nation influence. Clans can only control ports that have enough of their nation’s influence. The Influence: All clans contribute to their Nation’s influence through their gameplay (wealth, production, conquered territory, but also by reducing your enemy influence in the area will increase your nation's influence in the area). Each Nation have capital and 2 other key ports (3 in total) with Influence level 5 (max), which means it can’t be caped. Those ports have everything they need to survive, craft and produce, but in limited numbers as its overpopulated.. The further away the territory from the capital the less influence point it has of that nation and harder to control, but the richer the resources and faster production and other boogie woogie bonuses you might think of. The lowest is 0 influence. No ports can be set there by the nation if it has 0 influence there and all ports will be lost if influence drops to 0. The higher the influence of the nation the higher NPC defence. Distant territories require lots of work to increase influence to setup let alone hold territory. NPC defence tools: Higher influence allows to build higher level port strength, have more powerful cannons, have larger amount and ship size of NPC ships that patrol the area. The further away from the capital the harder it is to keep the influencer level, which means less defence tools available. Those ports will mainly be protected by the players themselves. Best resources and production bonuses should be in those distant territories. If you are an enemy NPC port patrol will try to chase you and sink when seeing you on the horizon. Nation and Clan politics: On Developer level (Game Master - GM) you need to be able to influence politics to be able to keep balance in the game. The nation's relationship needs to be controlled by GM. The Governors of the New World of the Caribbean's did not decide whether they are at war or in alliance with other nations. They were simply told by the rulers in Europe. Situation in Europe decided for them. GMs needs to be those “rulers in Europe”. So, GM must be in control of the politics on the nation level. This also give you the ability to bring deeper storyline to the gameplay through monthly or quarterly patches that brings news story, new nation relationships etc. Nation standings (set by GM through the storyline and 3-4 month updates): 1. Alliance (nation) - as per above your post, can enter ports , attacking give gruesome consequences, can assist in battles as long as the enemy is not an ally or at peace. Attacking an ally will flag you as crim for 24 hours and give some crim points. Sinking, caping, stealing cargo will increase those crim points. Ports that have high enough influence of your nation will have NPC patrol of your own nation chasing you while you are marked as a crim for 24 hours or when you get enough crim points and become a proper crim. Must pay fine or NPC patrols will keep sinking you until you lose equivalent in ship costs etc. Being a crim makes you a fair target to anyone. 2. Peace (nation) - can enter ports, can’t attack, can’t assist. Attacking another player that is in peace with your nation will also mark as a crim for 3 hours and give crim points, but not as much as when attacking an ally. Free-trade rules applied in relationship of trading. 3. Neutral (nation) - to enter ports must buy trade licence for each specific port to enter (expires weekly). Can’t assist. Attacking neutral player will not mark as crim, but give same amount of crim points as attacking player at peace. Accumulating enough crim points will flag as a crim permanently until fines are paid or you’ve been sunk enough. 4. Free Trade (nation) - same as Neutral, but no trade licence is needed and no ports fees paid. 5. De Facto or Pre-War (nation) - state that reflects relationship between the two states in practice, but not necessarily ordained by law. Can attack, Can’t assist. Can’t enter ports - has trade embargo on trade goods delivered from ports of Nation in Pre-war state unless flagged as contraband. Attacking will not flag as crim or give crim points. Taking cargo from Pre-War nation doesn’t flag it as stolen and can be traded without discounts to NPC. 6. War (nation) - can’t enter, can’t assist. Attacking and sinking gives glory points to player, reduce influence points of the enemy and gives influence points to your own state. Caped cargo traded normally as Pre-War. This system, controlled by GM will control player behavior in general and naturally influence gameplay balance where its needed through continues game progression and further relationships built or destroyed. Clan politics: Players must be in control of their clan diplomacy against other clans (not nations). Clan standings against each other are also driven by Nation’s Diplomatic standings, but in some cases can be overruled by clan’s standings. For example the fight between two clans from different allied nations over a territory is still possible if clans declare war. Declaring war is like buying a flag and lasts for 7 days making clans at war a fair target to each other. Example: France and England are allies, but French clan A declares war on English clan B and despite that two nations are allies in general these two clans can freely attack each other for 7 days and are treated as if they would have been at war on nation level. Clan standings are set by clan’s diplomats and used as a diplomacy tool only, while Nation standing still apply. Example: France and Holland are at war, however diplomats from French clan A and Dutch clan C decided not to attack each other despite that their nations are currently at war. They both have set their standings against each other’s clan as a Peace. This makes their clan members to see Peace flag on their ships when they meet out in sea. Attacking them will have normal consequences designed by politics mechanics and current political state between France and Holland (War), however this might bring a tension between the two clans or maybe even punishment from your own clan for attacking an ally. This system has multiple flows, which can easily be flowed by having enough alts in the opposite faction allowing significant influence on voting in favor of one faction and on GM level you can’t even control this. Pirates Because pirates are not a nation, a pirate character (born or made through gameplay) should have nationality. Pirates is a faction that has various pirate professions or types of activity. Profession is picked at any free port much like current smuggler tag and gives specific to this profession bonuses and has 24 hour cooldown before another profession can be picked. Filibusters - in service of no one they free roaming the sea. True to their name they hunt lone traders, trade caravans and even military fleets. You can become a pirate or born a pirate (same as now). Picking up this profession flags you as fair target to everyone. Filibuster gets bonuses in exploration, ship speed and maneuverability in the open and in battle. Corsair or privateer - in the service of a specific nation. Letter of Marque gives them license to kill a particular enemy nation. His black flag will be accompanied with the flag of nation he serves. For each player ship sunk corsair receives payment from the crown. Corsairs can also be hired by player clans to help them fight other clan. Corsair is treated as a member of the nation where he received the Letter of Marque until it’s expired. Note: This profession can also be picked by a member of any nation without becoming an actual pirate. Head hunter - if there is a bounty on someone’s head Headhunter can take the job and claim the prize. This does not apply when the prize is for another pirate’s head. Headhunter is able to track his target down, pinpointing his location on the map Raider - a pirate who is set to attack and plunder settlements. Receives extra rewards in successful capture. The are no Neutral ports. There are only Free Settlements that claimed freedom from the crown and answer to no other nation. Because of that they are a welcome refuge for any pirate. Because Pirates are not a nation, but a faction they cannot claim any ports. Instead they have access to any free port that cannot be captured. Pirates make leaving through combat in the open sea, capturing traders and raiding ports for plunder. They also have easier access to rare “treasures” such as Pearls, lost Crowns etc. All that allows them to buy necessary resources to cover their ship expenses. Using a network of smugglers they are able to secretly trade with all nations. Pirate faction also has their own influence just like the other nations. Higher level of influence allow them to enter more Free Settlements and have there better prices. The Map Right now travel is done in two phases. Long and annoying sail to a destination, then a “save” of location through creation of outpost and fast travel. Sooner or later we have a nation or a faction that covers the entire map and can zip around real fast. Massive sea space becomes very little as life is now based around those Free Ports. Access is everything. It determines the value of the ports. Those ports that are closest to the free ports are valued more than the others. With the proposed Influence System there will be a zones that are harder to conquer, but have better resources and productions. This will make larger points of interest that attracts players so you don’t have to roam around for hours to find targets or any other p2p activities. ---------------- Other little things that would make this game a real pearl. 1. F2P will always attract more player base, but we do understand that you need to make revenue. Game could sell things that don’t have impact on the combat efficiency, so players who spends lots real money won't be in advantage. Instead Naval Action Store (NAS) could sell customization items for the ship and your character. Needless to say that all customization needs to be within the spirit of time. You can sell for real money even ship customization slots for each ship. For example one slot can allow you to customize sails, another name of the ship. All customization is bound to a specific ship and gets destroyed when the ship losses last dura. 2. Identification in the open sea. Simply clicking on the target is easy… too easy. Would be nice to have a spyglass that gives you the information of the ship you are looking at. The information received and the maximum distance is determined by the quality of the spyglass. Besides you could sell in the NAS componentry for decent spyglass. Among the current information we get from selecting the target the good spyglass should tell the speed of the ship and the quality. While looking at the ship through spyglass the assessment bar is filling in. It could take some time for the bar to fill in completely and to “assess” the ship. Once done you should be able to see more details such as how many dura left, upgrades installed etc. At the end of the day those things would have been visible in RL. Maybe even create Assessment Perk that will allow you to assess ships faster. Lots of cool food for thought 3. NPC trade caravans as mission for Pirates. Takes cooperation and lots of pirates to take on fully protected caravan, but rewards are also great. 4. Port battles done vs actual forts on land 5. One of a must have customization is a ship name and various designs of the carving that can be applied to display given name 6. Nation flag on the ship in the open sea. It is much better to look through spyglass and try to recognise the flag of the ship that is chasing you instead of simply clicking on the ship and get the lazy info. 7. Trader’s Network (TN) aka auction house. If you really want to drive player economy this is a must have. Make it more interesting. In order to get the info player needs to buy and maintain pigeon post. TN does allow you to buy remotely and place delivery contract so other players can pick it up and deliver anywhere you required. This promotes player trading, smuggling, and of course piracy. I can probably think of another 2-3 dozen of things but you get my drift. ------------------ More than happy to discuss in private all of the above if you decide you want to use any of these ideas. Im off to hunt me some traders. Yarrr! [bLACK] Koltes

Context: Privateers were historically contracted (carrying a Letter of Marque) by a Nation to pursue and capture/destroy the ships of hostile nations. They were in a sense mercenaries of the seas, however they were still employed and thus required to fly the flag of a Nation (lest they be deemed Pirates). Idea: As part of the Orders section, the option for "Obtain Letter of Marque" is available from the Admiralty. This can only be purchased for a tidy sum at the Capital Port (perhaps at a price that is 50% of ship value). It can only be applied to ships up to Fifth Rate (even then perhaps only up to Frigate). The result of application of a Letter of Marque is threefold: 1. The owner of a Letter of Marque receives slightly less financial reward on capture of enemy ships (reflecting the Nation's cut of the return) but secures all cargoes for themselves. Sinkings generate even less financial reward. 2. The owner of a Letter of Marque boosts "hostility" scores by X% at nearby Enemy ports when operating. 3. A modest XP boost to OW battles. To switch to a ship other than the one carrying the Letter of Marque results in a expiration of the Letter of Marque and a new one will be need to be purchased. (a warning notification would be needed to prevent accidental switching) Purpose: Letters of Marque are a financial commitment by the Privateer. The price is not small and so the commitment must be there to pursue that path of a Privateer. By restricting the use of ship type while a Letter of Marque is active it should hopefully discourage spamming of "LoM" as a step before a port battle as it would be a financially impractical and the restriction to up to Fifth Rates would enable a group of dedicated Defenders to rally a fleet to engage Privateers. The modest XP boost would encourage lower level players to range out on the OW stage to rank up faster, while the hostility boost encourages National returns on the Diplomatic front. Doubtless there are some nuances I am missing or considerations but this is what I've got so far. Thoughts?

'Oliver Cromwell' This vessel, 80 feet keel, 27 feet beam, 12 feet depth of hold, was ordered built at Saybrook (Essex) by the General Assembly January 81st, 1776, and was the largest full-rigged ship constructed for the State under the general direction of the Governor and Council of Safety. Uriah Hayden, ship builder, was chosen to do the work under the supervision of Capt. Seth Harding, who was paid £32.6.9 for his services, according to voucher dated Jan. 30, 1776, on file, and various payments were made beginning April 2,1776, and continuing to October 23, 1776, as the work progressed, during which time £1750 had been paid, according to orders on the Committee of the Pay Table drawn by Benjamin Huntington, Clerk of the Council. These payments included provision for rigging which was furnished by Ephraim Bill; Wm. Lax for making the gun carriages; Nathaniel Wales for muskets and gun locks, and Capt.. Benj. Williams for iron and blacksmith work. The Cromwell was launched at Saybrook on Thursday, June 13, 1776. On Thursday night, August 1, 1776, she was struck by lightning, which did considerable damage to her main and mizzen masts, but repairs were quickly made, and on Sunday, August 18th, the new ship of war Oliver Cromwell, commanded by William Coit, Esq., sailed out of Connecticut River and arrived at New London on Tuesday, August 20th, 1776, the largest craft that had ever come over Saybrook bar, and piloted by James Harris. On Oct. 22, 1776, Titus Hosmer, a member of the Council, gave an order to Mr. Buell for 40 firearms to be delivered to Captain Coit for the use of the ship. The next day James Tilly of Saybrook was allowed £400 for cordage, and Levi Young was appointed Master and warrant as such issued by the Governor. Captain Coit also received two months cruising orders and Nathaniel Shaw of New London was directed to supply the ship with whatever it needed. On Nov. 15th, Captain Colt was allowed £1,000 for the use of the ship and Mr. Shaw £2,000 for public use. Dr. Samuel Lee of Windham was appointed Surgeon of the Cromwell on the same day. On Dec. 14, 1776, Nathl. Shaw was authorized to draw a letter of credit in favor of Captain Coit, for use when necessary, for repairs or supplies while in any foreign port, and Dr. Albigence Waldo was appointed Chief Surgeon of the ship, as evidently Dr. Lee resigned...

Privateers and privateering should be more than just a career choice, and Naval Action offers up a perfect opportunity to flesh out what has otherwise been a rather simple mechanic in other games (PotBS) Privateer ventures were more than just going out and hunting anything around you, there were rules and regulations, and if you broke these rules, you were deemed a pirate (whether it was your fault or not, a la William Kidd) Privateers were also major investments, often times being funded by members of the monarchy or powerful magistrates. In short they were major gambles: Anyone who sponsored a Privateer expedition would receive a cut of the spoils. If the privateer was unsuccessful, then the investors lost money. So I suggest that a Letter of Marque System be implemented, allowing any independently operating captain (basically anyone not serving in a Navy) to become a privateer. Here, I will be describing the two methods of being considered for privateering, as well as the process of getting an LoM Privateer: Individual vs. Expedition First you have to decide if you will pour your own resources (and gold) into becoming a privateer, or will you seek out sponsors for an expedition? Individual LoMs are easier to come by, are somewhat expensive, and are the most risky concerning the player: the player provides their own ship, crew, and repairs, but all commissions are split between only the Crown and himself at the end of the contract. Expeditions are a bit loftier: the player is provided a ship and crew for the duration of the contract, but they will split all earnings between themselves, the crown AND all investors at the conclusion of the contract. These contracts are usually longer, and the ship tends to be larger than a normal, individual privateer, and an expedition will have a larger operating area. Lastly, any investors can either be default NPC investors (available 24/7) or players looking to invest in expeditions, ideally at a lower commission price than the NPCs (and you thought speculating on markets was nerve-racking) Obtaining a Letter of Marque Getting one's hands on a Letter of Marque should be a rather simple endeavor; a player will simply need to speak with a local magistrate about a LoM, and will recieve one if available: Availability of LoMs will be based on Quota for overall active LoMs in a Nation Status of war Individual player's level/rank/notoriety Enemy activity in area where LoM is being issued Now, LoMs are not free; an initial buy-in will be required first, and then you will only receive a percentage of pay from your spoils. (individual LoMs are cheaper than Expeditions, and expeditions rely on sponsors to purchase) EDIT: Free LoMs may be offered by belligerent Governments immediately following an outbreak of war. these will be limited however, and it will be first-come-first-serve. Once you get an LoM, you are ready to sail and make your [legitimate] fortune... But there's some limitations: "There are a few provisos, a couple of quid pro quos" -Genie Regulations of an LoM Each LoM is somewhat unique as to what it does and does not allow: Historically, an LoM was valid only for attacking explicitly stated Factions. For example, if England was at war with both France and Spain, but a LoM only stated the attacking of French ships, then attacking a Spanish ship would be considered out of the bindings of the LoM (and could even be construed as Piracy). So LoMs will only allow the attacking of specific factions, and there are limitations on who can be included on an LoM: A nation must be at war with the host nation to be eligible as a target. if peace is declared between the two nations on the LoM, the LoM is declared null and void. Multiple nations can be listed on an LoM The more possible target nations are listed on the LoM, the more expensive it become (so a LoM listing only french targets is cheaper than an LoM listing both French and Pirate targets) Yes, pirates must be listed on an LoM if they are to be legitimately targeted and counted for commissions. If you attack a pirate without listing them on the LoM, you will not be penalized, but you will not receive a commission for defeating them. In the event that war is declared, a new LoM or updated LoM is needed Example:English LoM lists French targets. Spain now at war with England. Player must add Spanish targets to LoM, otherwise they will be penalized for attacking Spanish targets. Privateering Time to go out and seize prizes. As a Privateer, you want the cargo and ships of the enemy. Sinking ships will get you a fraction of the commission, while capturing a ship will give you the full commission + commission of any cargo seized. All prizes and cargo will be sent to the Prize court where, upon completion of a contract, the court will divvy up the spoils based on the LoM and Sponsors. The more plunder, the more the privateer (and everyone else) gets at the end.

Despite the advantage in maneuverability, the Basic Cutter is more appealing due to being free and performing better than the Lynx (which is much more expensive) in combat. We already have a couple of ports in the stern of the schooner models for a couple cannons, let's give them a couple small cannons in the stern to make them more appealing. Would definitely help them to be better privateering ships.

Current system for gaining new ships is completely random in learning to build the specialty ships down the line, either by breaking them up or by building the base ship (i.e. break up a Privateer or build a Lynx or Trader Lynx for a chance to learn to build a Privateer). Having it purely luck based isn't very immersive: Trader Joe has built 100 Brigs but still can't build a Navy Brig, but Trader Jeff broke one up once and can build it just fine. Joe is frustrated (no gains from the huge amounts of resources) while Jeff is getting rich just from being lucky. So lets change it from a lottery system to one of hard work and investment paying off! Two different approaches that are much less "gamey" and add to immersion: Simulate Gained Experience: Have the chance of a ship note dropping increase for each ship built/broken up. Simulate Shipwright's School: At key crafting levels players gain the ability to "craft" courses in building specialty ships. For example: At crafter level 3, under Craft/Ships, you gain a new BP called "Course: Privateer Design". It costs 1000 labour hours and 100 gold coins. It produces a Privateer Note. At crafter level 10, "Course: Navy Brig Design" It costs 1,200 labour hours, and 120 gold coins. Produces a Navy Brig Note.