Reviving the game

[Simon Cadete]

The game is almost at the point of no return to be saved. 

It doesn't matter what changes they make if the player base doesn't increase. When a patch gets released, players come back then leave again and the retention of new players is extremely low.

The only solution for the time being is to shrink the size of the map considerably so that we're all close together in a small area. The map is WAY too big for the player base.

Make the map 8 times smaller for now and increase it's size as population grows. So many of the issues with the game go away with a big population. I've played this game with over 2000 players online in pvp1 and it was a lot of fun even with all the issues and bugs had before.

Maybe it's time for a random map and not an historical map.

I think this is the only solution for the time being

[Archaos]

People will come back if they get the game mechanics right and people start enjoying the game more. Like every game you get an influx of players (usually returners) who appear just after a major patch. They play for a while and then leave again if it does not hold their attention. The same will happen again with the new proposed RvR mechanics and that is why I feel they have to get them right to keep the players this time.

I can understand your reasoning behind a smaller or fictional map but I think that too would drive away a certain portion of the player base who enjoy the historical setting of the game.

[C R E W]

AGREE 100% shrink the map for now..8-10 times smaller, what kills the player base is the hours of wasted time to PvP or trade, as the pop grows then add more. until we either get the 1000s of players back OR the map gets smaller to not waste so much time..the game will die. might last a month if we lucky at this rate

[Rychu Karas]

Most of ppl want to play and enjoy it. but the game in most cases says NO. GTFO!!!1

[Macjimm]

The open ocean, various islands, coast lines and the feeling of sailing is appealing.  The Carribean is but a small portion of the Atlantic and a tiny spot on the globe.  Having a little room to roam is important.

Reducing open world to a lake and clumping us together like bunch of angry rats in a barrel would not improve the game.

And if the population increases a pond sized map would be insufficient.

For all those who want a tiny world where everyone is forced into pvp battles, all of the time, over and over , just be patient.  Naval Action Legends is coming.

[Christendom]

oh look, another BLACK clan trying to improve the game while being apart of a clan that probably has caused more people to quit global than the devs.  

[Simon Cadete]

14 minutes ago, Christendom said:

oh look, another BLACK clan trying to improve the game while being apart of a clan that probably has caused more people to quit global than the devs.  

But comparing to how many people you caused to quit GB, we're just amateurs. 

You should be working on your manual sailing instead of posting in the forums. I watched your stream and it didn't look too promising 

[Christendom]

38 minutes ago, Simon Cadete said:

But comparing to how many people you caused to quit GB, we're just amateurs. 

You should be working on your manual sailing instead of posting in the forums. I watched your stream and it didn't look too promising 

tsk tsk.  We both know that's not true.  Actually trying to grape down a santi and an indefat while having both sides of my poor pirate frigate at 70% gone was an impressive feat of sailing my friend.  Don't lie.  I was however surprised to see you come out during the revenge fleets after we got that santi, all 25 of you.  I thought all you guys did was farm fleets, flip empty ports, hide from King of Crowns and read everyone's nation chat on NAspy.  Who knew!  

Edited August 9, 2017 by Christendom

[Simon Cadete]

We do all that and crush you in port battles. Where do we find the time? Anyway, the purpose of this thread is to talk about shrinking the map size not argue with you

[HMLoxus]

1 hour ago, Simon Cadete said:

We do all that and crush you in port battles. Where do we find the time? Anyway, the purpose of this thread is to talk about shrinking the map size not argue with you

You say this, However you start firing crap at people such as Macjimm for simply opposing your idea with some valid points

>  Mainly : "The open ocean, various islands, coast lines and the feeling of sailing is appealing.  The Carribean is but a small portion of the Atlantic and a tiny spot on the globe.  Having a little room to roam is important."

>  Now you see, You stated that you wanted to talk about shrinking the map meanwhile all you have done was stated your idea and then simply complained towards any constructed criticism / opposing opinions that you recieved as a reply.
>  Okay, Of all the things that you stated in your starting post, The point that i find quite pointless is this " Maybe it's time for a random map and not an historical map." Now you see, That would potentially ruin the game for the people that play it currently in the sense that the current players ( the several thousand of them ) are used to the sailing mechanics and worldly navigation currently implimented into the game. But most importantly the carribbean is the pinnacle of the golden age of piracy.

> So making a map with Hubba-Bubba Brac and Port Tinky-Winky all located next to each other would reduce the game of its feel of actually sailing like Pirates and Privateers sailed long ago, Initially this game would transform into "Windward" or "Tempest" which although they both have excellent mechanics and are a blast to play, They have zero realism and authenticity in comparrison to this game.

>  The long sailing adds a layer of depth and realism into the game, making it somewhat more authentic. Also sailing in someones backyard would be a constant pvp so new players would hop in against people who are more experienced in the game and in PVP resulting in them getting instantly D!&%ed on by the veterans

>  Also the new players would realise that the endless PVP just doesnt stop and thus *bam* they quit. Now picture how annoying trading would be in this game is it took 2 minutes to get from KPR to Mortimer Town. Think how predictable the trade routes would be. Which to an extent would ruin any potential fun for the new players. Meanwhile currently they can join the game, Be analytical and figure out the best possible trade routes for themselves. Lose a couple ships, naturally and learn that way, then they can join a clan which can help them and refine them both as PVPers and Traders. Meanwhile in pretty much a free for all that wouldn't really work that much. Just imagine how many big changes would have to take place for this kind of update to make sense.
>  Honestly, I dont think this could possibly happen for the previous reasons and also the many players who play right now and love the way the game is right now or atleast the sailing and map size, they could potentially just say F*&% it and move to EVE Online. (I wouldn't do that ) + (Can't afford the monthly costs )

>  Now listen mate, I don't know you, i don't have any grudge or beef against you alright, but by the way you are getting on makes you look like a bit of a cock, maybe i'm right or maybe i'm wrong. Don't take this reply the wrong way mate I tried pretty hard to make it as constructed as possible. Don't reply with crap please as you created a discussion not a fight so tell me what you think about my points.

Edited August 9, 2017 by HMLoxus

[Prater]

Point of no return?  I remember a time in mid 2015 when Open World got down to 10 people on at US prime time.  New update, population came back.

Edited August 9, 2017 by Prater

[Bach]

6 hours ago, Simon Cadete said:

We do all that and crush you in port battles. Where do we find the time? Anyway, the purpose of this thread is to talk about shrinking the map size not argue with you

Yes and just today one of your clan mates was using his French alt to entice newbie French to escort his cargo ship into his pirate main character and trap. Players don't find this sort of thing sporting. Some consider it cheating and the refuse to play.  Player choices and actions have as much or more to do with player retention as any rules or more.

The RvR game isn't forcing anyone to one port nations. That is a player choice. If you left each nation one port near the center of the map you would essentially have your shrunken Carribean.

[Rikard Frederiksen]

My suggestion would  be halving the map. Ish. In that the map goes from the Lesser Antilles to somewhere around the Greater Antilles. This would give a significant amount of land, ports and sea space, whilst bringing everyone closer together. Ahistorical divisions of territory would be required to start with, but if mechanics were sorted and the number of people playing grew then the map could be 'unrolled', as it were, to bring more territory and sea space into the game world.

This may be a rose-tinted view, but when I first entered the Open World when it was released, as I hung around English Harbour in my Royal Navy days, it felt like there was always something going on close by. Of course this was pre-port battles, so it was mostly gank fleets or my being shown how bad a player I was compared to others. The French and Pirates were close by and we could sail out and engage others, and I knew that the Dutch were nearby, and so on and so forth. Sailing felt like it took little time because my in-game world felt tiny; I didn't bother exploring to the west because I didn't need to. Perhaps by reducing the current playing area it would help to concentrate the numbers of people, but reducing it by such an amount as the OP would not help, in my eyes. 50% reduction, yes. More than that would probably be too tight.

Edited August 9, 2017 by Rikard Frederiksen

[Prater]

In those early days, we still had the same world.  Maybe the solution is simple as changing capital locations, but the world itself doesn't need to be touched.  Also, fitting 500 people in the area you describe will be way, way, way, way, way too crowded.

Edited August 9, 2017 by Prater

[Prater]

54 minutes ago, Bach said:

Yes and just today one of your clan mates was using his French alt to entice newbie French to escort his cargo ship into his pirate main character and trap. Players don't find this sort of thing sporting. Some consider it cheating and the refuse to play.  Player choices and actions have as much or more to do with player retention as any rules or more.

The RvR game isn't forcing anyone to one port nations. That is a player choice. If you left each nation one port near the center of the map you would essentially have your shrunken Carribean.

This should be a reportable and banable offense.  Alts aren't supposed to talk in nation.

If you are caught funneling players to be ganged up on by using their nation chat, a rule should be made that you get a severe punishment.

[Slim McSauce]

add fugging content. There is no big saving move that will fix the game. Just keep updating regularly and give players new stuff stuff to do, and eventually the game will be good enough to hold its own

[Barbancourt]

I like the big map, and enjoy sailing around the Carribean and Gulf.  It's no mystery where to find quick action if that's what you want. 

 

[Macjimm]

1 minute ago, Barbancourt (rownd) said:

I like the big map, and enjoy sailing around the Carribean and Gulf.  It's no mystery where to find quick action if that's what you want. 

That's the spirit lad.

 

But for those that are having a lot of difficulty finding action.   The solution of shrinking the OW to increase PvP is short sighted.

1)      You will alienate all of the players that like the open ocean, islands and option for longer sails.
2)      It will require adding more size to the OW if the population increases.

The solution is a player problem not a map problem.  It’s an MMO players can create a hot spot where they can find fighting.  Use the forums and chat to advise players where the conflict can be found.  Work together to create battles in a focused area.

The other option would be for the devs to create areas that offer more incentive for PvP.  Higher rewards in identified areas for PvP.  Dynamic resource sites that players can fight over. 

Or restructure  the ports so there are more of them in a smaller area.  These areas could be the hot spots with increased player traffic and congestion.  Scatter some ports in the outlying areas to provide content for those of us who value navigating and some sailing..

These may be a stupid suggestions, I know very little about the complex balance in competitive sandbox gaming.  So many ideas sound great to me but I’m told they are exploitable.

Explore options to encourage PvP, rather than forcing it, by shrinking the little world we have now.  It's really small as it is.

[BallsOfSteel]

The safe zones need to be enlarged around every capitol to increase areas for new players to develop skills including missions, how to sail, crafting and trading for those inclined and learn the ropes without the harassment of ongoing attacks.

Raids need to be implemented ASAP.

clan mechanics and war companies is a good idea and we will sew how it works

Limited AI production of some resources to make traders go looking.

Exploration and benefits.

The Ability of a nation to construct  secret temporary assault ports would be a great idea

 

 

[Rebel Witch]

shrinking the map will not save this game. you cannot cure cancer by chopping off someones head, meaning what ills this game is not the map size, it is the limitations players have within the given map.

This game needs an EVE Online revolution, it needs a high security area thats small, kind of like your circle above, thats where the carebears can do their thing but at much lower profits. its also where defeated players can go to rebuild. Then the rest of the map needs to be for owned by players, not by npc countries. this way players can create their own port empires, fight over them in a dog eat dog environment. that is just the beginning of changes that need to be made to save this game as an open world sand box...dont have time to list the others.

[Blackjack Morgan]

Next time I read EVE and NA together in the same sentence I'm going to vomit. This game took a major turn toward the toilet bowl when some genius decided to start trying to make it more EVE like. Look EVE caters to unemployed mouth breathers who live in their parents basement and think a date means a bottle of lotion and their non dominant hand. NA had been doing fine in it's development course for years. Every time it got derailed it had more to do with trying to make the game more hardcore....going back to the fine woods fiasco. What you have now is a niche game that wants to be even more niche by appealing to unemployed gamers I guess. Brilliant strategy for long term growth and success. People who like EVE are already playing EVE...everyone else who isn't playing EVE isn't playing it for a reason! They want to save this game it's simple. Roll back 90% of the crap that was patch 10....sure there are a few good things in the patch but most of it just sucks.

[Simon Cadete]

I didn't say the map should be smaller forever. Increase it as population grows. Trade runs can still be done. Organize an escort to do it. This is not a trading simulator. The main focus is combat so escorts fighting attackers would be nice pvp and the chance to see other players in ow being a lot higher, it would make the game more exciting. The only spots for pvp nowadays is to camp a capital and kill mostly new players all day.

The majority of players that are unhappy with the game and could potentially agree with me don't visit the forums so it's hard to get a feel for what the community as a whole really thinks ( most of them quit already!)