Crew management update - discussion

[Sharden]

In general I like the ideas presented here, although i am a bit dubious about not being able to teleport ships anymore. I know, it is unrealistic and allt hat, but it will consume way too much time to sail every ship to where it is supposed to be, taking away time you can use now for pvp or trading or pve or whatever. I dont think that it is a good idea to force players to sail around their ships that much all the time.

Please do not eliminate the possibility to get ships to outpost without sailing them there yourself. It might very well kill the game.

 

I dont know if someone already suggested it:

Maybe there should be an option that you can send your ship to another port by crewing it and setting a destination. The Ship then sails there like the AI Fleets we have right now, being attackable for other players and acting like any NPC ship.

You could even add the possibility for people/clans to create AI fleets, sending their ships to a port together, thereby creating an AI fleet which sails on the OW just like any other AI right now.

It would kind of reduce the time you have to spent yourself sailing around and you still would have to pay for the crew u use to get the ship to sail to its new Port, it would create content and there would be the risk to lose your ship to another player while it is in transit.

If you dont want to pay for it or dont want to take that risk, you could still sail it yourself. But at least one would have the possibility to do it automated, without an outright, risk-free "teleport" option.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Sharden

[Long Beard]

 Summer approaches.

Tis a good point. Any MMO I've ever played, clan activity has plummeted during summer. We saw numbers fall sharply after leakgate, and nocapgate.  Hopefully the devs will take heed of the overwhelming lack of support for crewgate and steer a different course.

[Blackbeard787]

Continuing the discussion started here

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/13601-19-mln-vs-60-thousand-the-cost-of-crew-moderated/

 

We would like to describe the forthcoming change to the crew system in Naval Action

 

Crew will have to be hired for certain price for the sailor

Crew will be lost if you sink or blow up

Crew will become persistent between battles

Players will be provided with 40 free sailors at the start of the game which cannot be lost (to support new players), this number could go up with rank up to a certain limit

Crew will be available for hire in all ports that you can enter

Crew will have to be assigned to ships that you capture to be able to use them

 

Ships that you capture will have to have crew to be transported back to port

There will be only two options for the ship you capture:

• Add to fleet (assigning crew)
• Sink

Ships will have minimum possible crew - you won't be able to add a ship to fleet or transfer yourself to you if your crew is lower than that ship minimum for sailing

 

Examples of how the system works

 

1) If you captured a Trincomalee in a Constitution you will have to assign crew to Trincomalee and sail back under crewed in both ships. Once you arrive to port you will hire the crew again. 

2) If your group lost a good amount of crew during heavy battle - you become more vulnerable for the next battle

3) You sail a cutter and your friend captures a Santisima for you. If you claim it you will not be able to sail a Santisima if its minimum crew is above 40. You will have to sink her.

 

What this means for you

• This means that fleets could come back, but they will be based on your crew that you can manage and you will actually have to hire that crew paying for them 
• This means that ship capture could come back (with limitations)
• This also means that ships no longer will be teleported to outposts and players will have to get their captures to ports themselves
• This also means that maintenance for heavy ships will go up dramatically as it should be
• This also means that losing a first rate will cost you

Discuss

dont like the ability to not be able to tp captured ships

you could be 90 min away from friendly port or other situations etc   and since it already takes so damn long to sail some where it waste players time even more

Edited June 5, 2016 by Blackbeard787

[Jomppeli]

dont like the ability to not be able to tp captured ships

you could be 90 min away from friendly port or other situations etc   and since it already takes so damn long to sail some where it waste players time even more

You don't have to capture every ship in the other side of the map...

[Chimera]

You will most likely have an outpost somewhere in the area.

If you were 90 minutes away without an OP you would have to sail your ship anyways. You are just doing it at greater risk now.

I like that thought a lot! No risk free magical teleport after you capped a first rate.

[HarryButpain]

Do not sail alone sail go in a fleet, Clan escort, wait till people/friends are available to escort.

 

Back in WW2 and nowadays navies of the world build their fleets around the carrier which you can compare to 1st rates back then if we consider the so often emphasized time, effort and upkeep it takes to build a ship like the victory.. Hence, it seems reasonable to protect something as expensive as a vic would I say..

Edited June 5, 2016 by BACk ALLEY ShENANiGANS

[HeadTrauma]

I'll ask again;

The folks that want to PvP, but have limited time, whats wrong with the small/large battle options under missions tab?

[delaine]

It might be on a dual screen PC where you can play something else while your sailing for no apparent reason.

 

There is a reason the phrase "AFK Sailing" is commonly used.   the AFK doesn't stand for "awesomely Fing Keen"

afk sailing is somthing i quite often commonly do when heading to say pr or plymoth because sailing for who knows how long is plain out boring just to get to say cuba from cton im honestly hesitent about this crew system but ill log in try it then more than likely leave for a wile

[Magnum]

I'll ask again;

The folks that want to PvP, but have limited time, whats wrong with the small/large battle options under missions tab?

 

The gank squads don't like it - they want "their PvP" to be 4v1 or 6v1 (sarcasm on) "Now THAT'S PvP" (sarcasm off).

[Glazo]

I'll ask again;

The folks that want to PvP, but have limited time, whats wrong with the small/large battle options under missions tab?

 

This no pvp, this is training

[HeadTrauma]

This no pvp, this is training

If it's training, then why do you get XP/Gold/lose Dura/cap ship? The PvP in those battles are exactly the same as you'll get in OW, just balanced in terms of team size/BR

Either Magnum^ is correct, or people are just generally whining / want the game dumbed down to World of Sailing Warships levels.

[Ojibwa_Wind]

This is going to ruin the game for a lot of player's. Look what you lost already w/the game. Numbers are down from 2000 + when you first open to like today 913 and it drops as the day goes on.  Nice.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Ojibwa_Wind

[Ojibwa_Wind]

Another idea, not every crew fought to the death. A lot were captured crew. If we are force to have to hire crew and even hire our own crew back once we put them on a captured ship when it hit's port. Then the crew should be aloud to be captured too. When the battle was going bad captain's knew their crew's had enough. So we should be aloud to use the captured crew to help man a ship. The captured one as well as the ship that just won the battle. Damage to ship would have to be part of decision when the ship is boarded and the fight on board is going bad. PvE, PvP.

 

But as I read it now, I see a exit of player's from the game. Sometimes you can over dev a game. 

[Long Beard]

I'll ask again;

The folks that want to PvP, but have limited time, whats wrong with the small/large battle options under missions tab?

 

It's not the same mate. There's a circle that prevents proper OW tactics, and you are sure to be up against 3x basic cutters if you go in anything larger yourself. It's not the same as catching or being caught in open world. 

[Long Beard]

Back OT, devs, I hope you see from feedback that the majority don't want these proposed barriers to PVP. We want PVP, and the ability to get back into the fight as quickly as possible. Right now we all fight on the same playing field. We are either at the positive side of instant recrew or the negative. Doesn't matter which side you are on, it works both ways. We do NOT want to have to sail back to the nearest free port before we are effective in PVP again. This is just an unwanted time sink. Please rethink this.

[Anne Wildcat]

I'll ask again;

The folks that want to PvP, but have limited time, whats wrong with the small/large battle options under missions tab?

You do not have any idea of the ships you are facing.

Unless you go with a group, you do not know who you will be fighting with and if they will communicate

There is no way to escape early, you must be in the battle the whole 30 min, for small battles. (Never did a large one)

And the numbers themselves for small battles are fading, last time I did it, it was a 1v1

Not to mention the number of cutters in there if the numbers are larger

I like open world PVP better, even if I get ganked.

[Anne Wildcat]

We do NOT want to have to sail back to the nearest free port before we are effective in PVP again. This is just an unwanted time sink. Please rethink this.

Agreed.

I know this is super unrealistic, so it will not be liked, but maybe a midpoint would be being able to replenish crew via health kits, just like there are repair kits? Still require having to sail captured ships back and so if you have a fleet, your crew is divided.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Anne Wildcat

[Ratline]

Another idea, not every crew fought to the death. A lot were captured crew. If we are force to have to hire crew and even hire our own crew back once we put them on a captured ship when it hit's port. Then the crew should be aloud to be captured too. When the battle was going bad captain's knew their crew's had enough. So we should be aloud to use the captured crew to help man a ship. The captured one as well as the ship that just won the battle. Damage to ship would have to be part of decision when the ship is boarded and the fight on board is going bad. PvE, PvP.

 

But as I read it now, I see a exit of player's from the game. Sometimes you can over dev a game. 

 

Just as many people, if not more, complain because every time they try to undock and do a mission, or a trade run there's a gank squad deep in their territory waiting to attack them, and even if they fight that squad off they'll just repair and be back in a few minutes unless they sink every one. Going deep into enemy waters should be hard. It's what will make frontlines matter.. which will condense pvp... giving more fights without needing to teleport all over the goddam map.. and will allow traders and pve players some measure of security in their own waters. Try thinking beyond your own play style.

[Cecil Selous]

The crew members you lost in battle should mostly be injured and not dead. Like 70 - 80 % of all casulties are injured and back after the battle ends. That way you will probably undercrew your ship a bit but aren't entirely helpless if you sail alone.

[Poyraz]

Terrible damage to game.

Seriously, we made regular raids deep into enemy territory, sailing where takes about 20-30 min. We should go back to our ports after every battle? No kidding?

 

• Crew will be available for hire in all ports that you can enter

 

Smuggler flag, anyone?

[HeadTrauma]

You do not have any idea of the ships you are facing.

Unless you go with a group, you do not know who you will be fighting with and if they will communicate

There is no way to escape early, you must be in the battle the whole 30 min, for small battles. (Never did a large one)

And the numbers themselves for small battles are fading, last time I did it, it was a 1v1

Not to mention the number of cutters in there if the numbers are larger

I like open world PVP better, even if I get ganked.

Then maybe the solution is to improve the quick battles format for those that want instant / lots of PvP, rather than dumbing down OW mechanics for those that want immersion and depth?

Infinite crew setup in a 4 port arena?

I keep harking on about this because this issue is prevalent through all  threads  pertaining to mechanics vis-a-vis realism and playability. Arcade vs Simulation.

Edited June 5, 2016 by HeadTrauma

[Balsafer]

I do recall you have to return to a port to get a new mission anyways right? So no problem with this issue. If you have two missions cap a ship on last mission.

[Fastidius]

Agreed.

I know this is super unrealistic, so it will not be liked, but maybe a midpoint would be being able to replenish crew via health kits, just like there are repair kits? Still require having to sail captured ships back and so if you have a fleet, your crew is divided.

 

Why have it at all if the net change is people spam the same repair kits they do already.....you cant nerf repair kits with a cooldown because then people wont go into danger zones to fight and risk chain battles.

 

 

What you want is a buff to people who sail into enemy waters and win battles.   make them actually stronger so that the enemy has to bring multiple ships to combat them.

[Captain]

It took me five hours, loooong ago, to half circumvent the map, along the coast, from Dutch Capital to Key West. I visited all Free towns along the way, had a chat with a pirate, ran from another, found some US guys and had a nice talk. Five hours of exploration and sight seeing, while listening to TS port battles in the Dutch-French war of long ago.

 

I did, back then establish 2 outposts in that half world trip, 1 at Great Corn, another at Key West.

 

I do not believe for a second anyone travels more than 1 hours to go to ANY frontline. It takes that much time AT most to Setup an outpost in a free town.

 

Unless you have all your outposts clustered in on place - I bet you do for you craters greediness - it is no issue and I think it is highly rewarding to go one, ONE, session on exploration and circumvent the map and Setup outposts where you need them, especially...ESPECIALLY if you crave pvp so much.

 

From those forward bases you can hit and effectively capture, if you like capturing ships so much, enemy ships and bring them back to your forward base.

 

No one is messing with the game. But surely it messes with some players Comfort. Time to adapt.

 

Same thing happened last big patch. Traders had to adapt. No more cargo teleport. Now it is time for the "troopers" to adapt.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[Blackjack Morgan]

Then maybe the solution is to improve the quick battles format for those that want instant / lots of PvP, rather than dumbing down OW mechanics for those that want immersion and depth?

Infinite crew setup in a 4 port arena?

I keep harking on about this because this issue is prevalent through all  threads  pertaining to mechanics vis-a-vis realism and playability. Arcade vs Simulation.

 

Well I'm not so sure you want a simulation mmo because by the very nature of what those two genres mean NA will be an epic financial failure. You will never get enough of a population to achieve the first "M". Beyond that though this is not even close to a "simulator". People like to pick and choose what they consider realistic and what they don't. Real captains didn't build ships or decide whom they were at war with...pirates didn't sail around in SOL's...naval officers didn't haul cargo around in their trader ship they kept at the dock....a port battle for some backwater Caribbean port never included 50 1st and 2nd rates. I've read through these posts and I simply see zero benefit to the crew loss mechanic outside of what it would bring to a PVE game. If that is what is to become the new focus of NA then it might be a very good idea....I won't disparage it if that is in fact what the devs shift the focus to....it just won't be for me is all.