Convoy battles

[FryerFly]

I just had a brilliant idea that would make players engage in pvp battles that's not port battles or screening fleets.

A convoy of NPC trading ships sail from port A to port B. This will come with an announcement in the OW like when a conquest flag is bought. Enemy nations can intercept them and capture them for a great deal of resources and materials. (Line-ship constructions worth of cargo). If the convoy reaches its destination safely there will be upgrade and money rewards for protecting ships. As well as a huge abundance of resources in said port. (Crafters rejoice!)

Cheers

Fry.

[TommyShelby]

How does this equal a PvP Battle if i may ask?  

[Æthlstan]

I proposed a similar idea however it was player driven, and it was european convoys that would come to a certain port, their presence and location would be announced 

[NorthernWolves]

I've proposed this in the past and while it does not equal pure pvp it is indeed must content to any age of sail game.

I think the port production and resource availability would need to be tied to these convoys as an incentive to attack and defend as well. Stop a large shipment carrying 100,000 Oak to a capital port and that port is low or out of that resource until the next convoy. (This will only work once resources are regionally accurate.)

 

The AI ships within the fleets would not engage in the battle (AI is annoying in battle anyway) but rather would run like traders do and the fight would be between the players. Players could screen ahead, shadow alongside, etc.

Defending team should get a heads up on the heading and time of departure.

 

Read or listen to the description of the cat and mouse of France attempting to escort a huge convoy of trade ships to France from the Caribbean and the British doing their best to catch them. Weeks of searching, feigning and dodging until they found them.
https://mobile.audible.com/pd/History/Broadsides-The-Age-of-Fighting-Sail-1775-1815-Audiobook/B00JJ5X8OW

Large convoys of trade ships should be a part of any age of sail. However it should happen just enough to be important but not become annoyingly frequent (Port battles) that people begrudgingly take part.
 

[FryerFly]

How does this equal a PvP Battle if i may ask?

Well strictly speaking it won't but I hope that the prospect of rewards and fully loaded traders would motivate piracy by pirates. (Or strategic acquisition of foreign assets, by the nationalities) and equal benefits for defending players. Just as the prospect for a "huge ass battle" is large enough motivation for many. But I believe this will be more rewarding than player hunting where you might come across a Indiaman that may or may not be empty...

[admin]

I just had a brilliant idea that would make players engage in pvp battles that's not port battles or screening fleets.

A convoy of NPC trading ships sail from port A to port B. This will come with an announcement in the OW like when a conquest flag is bought. Enemy nations can intercept them and capture them for a great deal of resources and materials. (Line-ship constructions worth of cargo). If the convoy reaches its destination safely there will be upgrade and money rewards for protecting ships. As well as a huge abundance of resources in said port. (Crafters rejoice!)

Cheers

Fry.

 

 

it would work wonders yes. but in a single player game with no instances.

in NA some player can just keep this convoy in battle while everyone else is waiting outside

also once battle closes you cannot help etc etc. 

[Captain Kibble]

Or just start escorting the traders from your own nations so they can stop complaining about being jumped by pirates all the time....?

 

I've been thinking for a while now that it's amazing how few traders ask (or are willing to pay for) escorts. Yet, they spam nation chat in a panic when they get jumped by pirates.

[VonVolks]

Or just start escorting the traders from your own nations so they can stop complaining about being jumped by pirates all the time....?

 

I've been thinking for a while now that it's amazing how few traders ask (or are willing to pay for) escorts. Yet, they spam nation chat in a panic when they get jumped by pirates.

 

Again thats just like real life.... Merchants had to be dragged kicking and screaming into convoys, from the Age of Sail through to the second world war....

 

Only when things got really bad did the begrudgingly submit to convoying....

[Captain Kibble]

Again thats just like real life.... Merchants had to be dragged kicking and screaming into convoys, from the Age of Sail through to the second world war....

 

Only when things got really bad did the begrudgingly submit to convoying....

 

Exactly. We are finally starting to see traders that understand the benefit of coughing up some of their gold for an escort (clans have been doing it for free for a while). Don't ruin that now by adding in other unnecessary AI crutches. The PvP potential is there, it just needs to be utilized.

[Obi-Heed Kenobi]

I had just started writing a similar suggestion. My thoughts:

1. Is it possible to tie AI traders into the broader game somehow? It sounds like this may be happening in the port battle changes, with hostilities. But, would it be possible to make AI traders have an impact on the economy? For instance, if a cargo of hemp going to a town gets captured, could we have the supply of hemp in that town go down, and/or the price go up?

2. If we can tie AI traders into the game, why not add an Admiralty mission of "convoy escort?" If you take this nission, you get assigned to protect a convoy, and you get gold and XP if you meet whatever the victory conditions are. That could promote PvP in a very realistic fashion, give new players an opportunity to farm XP/gold while sailing the OW rather than just grinding the existing missions, and overall add some variety for all of us.

3. I'd also consider a "trader escort flag," similar to the smuggler flag. When you're flying that flag, you've got the option of clicking on friendly player-traders and, so long as you remain within some set distance of them, the Admiralty pays you on safe arrival at the next town based on distance. I suggest this as an alternative to the trader paying the escort. In my eyes, why should I pay someone to escort me, when that escort will get the XP, gold, and possible capture of mods/ships that come with being an escort in a PvP fight?

What do y'all think?

Edited August 10, 2016 by Obi-Heed Kenobi

[EL LOCO]

Major trade routes already exist.    For British   its ill a vache to Port Royal.    For Spain.   it is Key west to La Habana.   For Sweden .  it is Plymouth to Gustavia.

 

For France .  It is Carricou to Fort Royal.     For Dutch It is  ??  there are 2 freetowns..so  ??   For Danes/norge it is Vieques to Fredrickstad. 

 

 

Good idea.   

[Tief N Tote]

along these lines i would like to see. if i send mats from one free port to another because i'm to lazy to do it my self, a trade fleet should form to deliver these goods.  i should have to decide how well it's defended to ensure it reaches it's destination

[Captain Kibble]

along these lines i would like to see. if i send mats from one free port to another because i'm to lazy to do it my self, a trade fleet should form to deliver these goods.  i should have to decide how well it's defended to ensure it reaches it's destination

 

This I'm ok with, there should be some risk to trusting an AI captain with delivery of your goods.

 

What I do not want to see are more PvE opportunities, such as these random mega-convoys, on the PvP server. 

[Sir Texas Sir]

Or just start escorting the traders from your own nations so they can stop complaining about being jumped by pirates all the time....?

 

I've been thinking for a while now that it's amazing how few traders ask (or are willing to pay for) escorts. Yet, they spam nation chat in a panic when they get jumped by pirates.

Yep today we had one of our lower rank guys needing an escort from one port.  So we all got out and helped him. Some one asked us when he passed, "WHAT THE HELL IS IN THAT TRADER?"  We had about 6 Trinc/Connies around a Snow Trader.  Than we pulled away when he ported in to do missions once he popped back out in his little combat ship.  We where heading to help him grind up his level any way.  Just thought it be handy to make sure no one hit his trader too.  That and it was loaded with a lot of goodies lol

 

 

Before anything like this happens and I like the concept they need to fix the end of battle screen where you can trade goods with other players from the win of a battle.   Shouldn't I be able to get part of the spoils of the cargo if I help you take that trader down?  This would also give reason to bring in a fleet with your own trader like the LVG or Indiaman when your fleeting.  Say you find a Spanish GOLD fleet leaving the new world to head back to the old world.  It's going to be fat loot, but well guarded too.   Yah I can cap the ship and keep that one for myself, but what if we want to keep hitting ships?  We just load our prize on one ship and we can keep on going.  That way we can sink the ships we don't want or give option to send back to port with a slight prize crew.  This takes away from your total crew and will make press gang even more important for the multie battles.

[elvismolotov]

it would work wonders yes. but in a single player game with no instances.

in NA some player can just keep this convoy in battle while everyone else is waiting outside

also once battle closes you cannot help etc etc. 

 

be more creative.

 

let the npc eventfleet sail around as intended .....but exclude thoose npc ships from any battle .....any "interceptor" grp  that tags one of the fleetships "opens" a battle (like flagplacing in pb) and all grp members join this battle ....battle remains open ie. 15 min ,during this time "defenders" can join this battle until an even battleranking is reached...

and abracadaba ,you will have muliple,fair, pvp battles all over the map ....