Jump to content
Game-Labs Forum

Repair mode / Long term repairs


Recommended Posts

I think that we should have a "long term repair" option that does not have a limit, but is very slow. The inspiration for this was a very frustrating Trafalgar battle in the surprise, I got heavily damaged, my sails pretty torn up and slowly taking on water. I managed to break from the action to recover, but realized I was out of repair kits. I had to spend the rest of the battle half full (and slowly filling) with water and on low sails, unable to catch up to the action and do anything. It just felt silly that I was out of the battle, not being fired at, but still could not repair my hull by probably 10% that was necessary to stop the little bit of flooding, or that my sails were now totally irreparable and even the entire crew working together could not fix them at all.

 

I would like there to be a way to repair once out of the action and not being fired upon that does not have limited uses, but is much slower than a standard repair. It would slowly repair whatever you told it to (sails, hull (hull could be broken down into exactly what quadrant you want to repair.)Rudder, pump,) Slowly repairing them over a few minutes. The idea is to let players who have escaped the battle but are damaged and cannot catch up/move repair enough to be able to get back to the battle and be of some use there.

 

Some limitations I think would be useful are: (1. It may only be used at least 45 seconds after last being shot or taking any damage. (2. It cannot be used in close proximity with enemies. and (3. It cannot repair absolutely massive damage, (masts destroyed etc) (4. And it will only bring the health of hull armor up to 50% of the original, undamaged, maximum. (It will be able to repair as much as it needs until reaching 50% of the original strength) This last limitation is because I don't want to encourage people to immediately drop out of battle and repair once they take the slightest bit of damage. When it comes to sails I don't think it matters as much, let it repair to 100%

 

I think it would probably be good to also include some kind of penalty while using it, for instance much slower reloads and sail management. (again this is for repairing while not in combat, not for extending the life of your ship while fighting.)

 

Thoughts?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10x slower reload

2x slower turning + sail management

 

should be enough to make the nay sayers agree to this.

and on a wooden ship there should be enough timber to stuff some holes in the hull.

or using the tablecover or the Flag as Sail would be another option.

 

another sugestion would be that after repairing the sails with or without rep kits  the sails would be smaller and of lesser performance until fixed on the Open sea map or the next habour

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would definately make the battles even more longer than they currently are. Instead of allowing a ship independently repair itself after repairs are depleted, I would see an allied ship sending out his own repair from the storage on a smaller boat (with the option to sink these too), forcing them out of the combat aswell for a period of time (limited range to send help?), to prevent specially faster ships to forever sail away and repair themselves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As the game has more details added to it a repair resource (patches, extra sails, etc) could be a part of the economy - Buying and managing tons(?) of repair materials could be part of the resources that players need to purchase and keep a stock of. The larger ships would be able to haul more tons of repair resources. These could be used in a percentage capability; wooden patches for armor and rudder, extra sails for damaged sails, tar and rope to patch leaks. etc. As their player orders his crew to repair the ship he would see his supply of repair resources dwindle and have to manage this as well. Maybe having a carpenter and/or sailmaker on board would help speed repairs as well as make repairs more efficiently (trade off between paying the specialists for faster, better repairs or stocking more repair resources).

 

A "ton" of repair resource could be as simple as a generic amount or repair points or complex as a number of points of wooden patches, extra sails and sail patches, and tar and rope.

 

Three patching opportunities seem simplistic for a game that should be balanced through economic, reputation, as well as other mechanics (crews, etc) posted in this subforum.

 

This would give the players options such as only stocking a minimal amount and leaving room for more cargo or taking more because they are going pirate hunting and will need very little room, if any, for cargo.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm afraid this could contribute to endless fights as ships one by one peal off the main group to repair and one by one return to the line. We have also discussed in length the idea of surrendering in other threads and I think this idea would reduce greatly the amount of surrendered ships. Having this ability would allow a ship that should either sink or surrender to run off far away from battle so that the enemy would have no chance to catch him within the time allowance for the fight after they had demolished the rest of the fleet.

 

Maaayyybbbeee as a compromise, only a surrendered ship can use this repair and only 1/4 or less of the ship could be fixed. This could work imo if a ship had to actually take possesion of a surrendered ship in someway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm afraid this could contribute to endless fights as ships one by one peal off the main group to repair and one by one return to the line. We have also discussed in length the idea of surrendering in other threads and I think this idea would reduce greatly the amount of surrendered ships. Having this ability would allow a ship that should either sink or surrender to run off far away from battle so that the enemy would have no chance to catch him within the time allowance for the fight after they had demolished the rest of the fleet.

 

Maaayyybbbeee as a compromise, only a surrendered ship can use this repair and only 1/4 or less of the ship could be fixed. This could work imo if a ship had to actually take possesion of a surrendered ship in someway.

 

Well of course a capturing ship would need to send over their carpenters etc. to get the hulk able to limp to port.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think that at this stage in developtment this is something we really should push for, because we do not know how ship repairs will be handled later on when we go open world. Usually you can't just fix your ship to full functionality without having access to plentyful resources and a dock. Especially not a very large vssel like the Constitution. Patchwork repairs are the best you should be able to do at sea during a fight.

 

What could be implemented as of now, is maybe a greater gain from repair kits when your crew is in survival mode.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like to see this feature added in some manner.

 

As higher post suggests we don't know what economy will bring into the game that will effect repairs. for the moment 3 repairs is a usable system which allows us some repair benefit and keeps us in battle longer to report bugs, however a depth and finality of the 3x and you are out system, is too simple for such a grand game.

 

I believe we have to have a few extra crew management features, which could be led by an officer recruited perhaps for particular skills. All conjecture until we see what the Devs have in mind.

 

Strike

All officers and hands stop fighting the ship in order to save her from sinking.

Enemy boarding is auto capture.

Not fired upon for 15 minutes allows withdrawal from fight or return to combat.

 

 

Survival Mode

Fighting and sailing qualities are much reduced due to manpower shifting to repairing ship

 

Repair Crew

A standard predetermined group of warrent officers (Carpenter etc) with some crew helpers repair slowly all damaged areas of the ship throughout the game not needing orders. Progress is slow perhaps improving when not under fire for longer periods. There may be a limit that these will be effective, say 75% maximum without other options being used (repair materials etc)

 

Anyway all just fluff but certainly a more robust and detailed system of repair would be nice to see in end game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I semi agree with this only I think it should be Survival mode as Balsafer mentioned. Maybe while in survival mode if you haven't fired your cannons for a certain amount of time (something short but reasonable) your crew would very slowly repair hull and sails up to maybe 30% of their total health/armor.. Players could peel off and buy themselves some time while not becoming too unreasonable. But at the same time, I am ok with the current system. If you've had to use 3 repair kits, and are still getting pummeled, you've already suffered a huge amount of damage, which in the real world would most likely be beyond further repair at sea. The repair kits are meant to represent those additional materials and makeshift sails/hull.. I am not against a very slow repair while in survival mode or something, but if it doesn't get added it's still not that big of a deal. I think they allow players enough of a chance to repair themselves and stay in the fight already.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I semi agree with this only I think it should be Survival mode as Balsafer mentioned. Maybe while in survival mode if you haven't fired your cannons for a certain amount of time (something short but reasonable) your crew would very slowly repair hull and sails up to maybe 30% of their total health/armor.. Players could peel off and buy themselves some time while not becoming too unreasonable. But at the same time, I am ok with the current system. If you've had to use 3 repair kits, and are still getting pummeled, you've already suffered a huge amount of damage, which in the real world would most likely be beyond further repair at sea. The repair kits are meant to represent those additional materials and makeshift sails/hull.. I am not against a very slow repair while in survival mode or something, but if it doesn't get added it's still not that big of a deal. I think they allow players enough of a chance to repair themselves and stay in the fight already.

 

 

Yeah can think of survivor mode as the crews last ditch effort to keep her a float. Could also add if your ship is like 50% full of water you are just not going to make it back to harbor.  My thoughts on this in battles some ships manage to escape in the real world I'm sure. For those that worry about capturing,surrender or boarding that is all up to you and your skill to board and capture the person's ship, like it is the other person to try and get a way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Hi All,

 

So currently we can repair 3 times in a battle picking Armour,Sails, Rudder or Pump as the repair item.

 

My suggestion is this;

 

Replace the "On use" repairs with a Repair Resource for the moment lets call it "Provisions"

 

Everyone gets 100 and when you enter Survival mode your crew start to use these provisions to repair the ship, allow the player to Focus the repairs as it does currently.

 

That's basically it how much and how fast etc is down to balancing but basically it would be slower than current repairs but last longer, so more like you drop back in the line fight your mates cover you and you repair or you might disengage and repair. doing so in Combat should put you at a disadvantage which is does currently when your plugging leaks in survival this just ties the 2 more closely together.

 

Why;

 

The reason for this is that as we transition into the open world and MMO parts of the game Ammo, Provisisons (including food for crew) etc will become a consideration. Going on a local Patrol? load up on ammo and repairs(spare planks, extra sail, robe etc). Exploring well probably Food and Repairs all with their own weights etc.

 

Bigger ships can carry a more Provisions but that will scale as obviously bigger ships more crew using more Provisions to repair the bigger ship.

 

Simple and allows for tie in with ship resources in the future.

 

Thoughts Team?

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I kinda like this actually. So repair is a resource and once you run out, you're in trouble.

I'd like to iterate on it and say that your ship can be faster, if you take less resources (in this case repair resources). The trade-off being of course that, if you do need repairs, you probably don't have enough.

I'd like to see the same for Food, Ammo and Trade. Maybe when you are in a port, you can decide how much you want of any of these 3 resources (food, ammo, repair). The amount of any of these, alter your ships speed maneuverability.

If you would an explorer you would take:
- lots of food

- almost no ammunition

- not a lot of crew (to preserve food)

- maybe a bit of Trade to trade with newly discovered natives.

If you would be a trader:
- lots of 'trade' obviously

- medium ammo and crew (for defending purposes)

If you would be part of a navy:
- lots of crew

- lots of ammo

- medium food (you're not making long voyages, per se)

- no trade

Although, I doubt that all of this is a very new idea. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What and why:

 

It is what it sounds like, a 4th mode for your crew to be in. I'm strongly convinced this is a needed feature currently missing. At the present state of the game, you are allowed 3 "repair kits" for a quick in combat patch up and that is it, after that you have to prepare yourself for imminent death. Not only does this feel unrealistic, but this kind of mechanic is in my opinion also unsuitable for the open world game Naval Action is aiming to become. Hence I propose the introduction of the repair mode.

 

Rough draft of the features:

 

1. While in this mode, the sails are rolled up and the cannons brought back in (with the lack of animation, that would mean unloaded) the ship cannot move nor fire.

2. If the ship takes a hit while in this mode, the crew immediately goes into the classic survival mode and readies for action. The repair mode is disabled for 30 seconds. (I hope this would render abuse in combat impossible.)

3. While in the repair mode the ship and all it's components are slowly being fixed at about 30 percent of the speed of the repair kit. However only up to a certain deggree, let's say the armor only gets knocked up back to 40-50 percent, only backup small masts are erected, all leaks are plugged, all still manageable fires extinguished etc...

4. The speed of the repairs is dependant on your current crew, the less crew you have, the slower the repairs. I believe this can be done percentually.

 

Possible additions:

 

1. An option to combine a repair kit and the repair mode to do a full repair could be implented, however while this is something that would have it's place in the open world (perhaps with a specialized repair kit even), in the current state of the game it might be game breaking. As of now I'd be against implementing this feature.

 

What I hope this would achieve:

 

A slight increase in ship survivability, giving the players a chance to do make-shift repairs and rejoin even the longest of battles, rather than slowly sink to the depths after a victorious skirmish with no enemy miles around. And as I mentioned earlier, I believe a feature like this is neccessary especially for the open world game where the player will spend prolonged periods at sea, far away from any harbour, something that would allow you to crawl into the nearest port for repairs rather than sink in sight of it. Sure I would like to see something like player help and towing as well, but i think we all know that relying on help from other players isn't always an option in on-line gaming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am against repair kits and hope they are replaced by simple survival / repair mode in the future, that takes into account the amount of planks, cloth and such you have on board.

 

I am against making it "well, you cannot do anything now" kind of deal. It just sounds so boring! I see no point for it being that way, and neither do I see any need for "stop repairs when shot" stuff. It would just turn to be an epic pain in the bottoms, both during a fight and on the open seas.

 

Taking player agency away is almost always bad.

 

I know why you proposed it like that, so how about this:

 

- Repair mode not only consumes your stuff to work (as in - uses the "repair kits" you bought in harbors) but it also debuffs everything else - like survival mode. Slower reloads, slower sails and so on.

- Repair speed is balanced against another ship of same class, with all cannons available and loaded with cannon balls, in sailing mode. If you start repairs at 100% (as in - you're repairing everything they throw at you) you'll survive for X more 75% accurate broadsides.

- Repair mode debuffs are balanced against another ship in repair mode. The debuffs should be such, that with repair speed decided in last point you can repair X% of the damage by a 75% accurate broadside before the next one hits.

 

This allows you to keep repair mode in check and decide upon it exact performance in the most interesting cases. Obviously I didn't try to fill in the numbers, as my proposition is of a process more than a result ;) Still, if balanced based on these scenarios, I do believe it could be kept in check (so that it behaves perfectly as planned) and NOT take away all the agency from player.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

...

 

Well I was trying to avoid the creation of super tank ships. Imagine a first rate sitting tight in a repair mode still able to fire back and wreck things in one broadside, and two smaller frigates being unable to damage it or taking an unbearably long time to do so. In my opinion that wouldn't be balanced and would put all the smaller and more manouvreable ships at a severe disadvanatge.

 

I do like your idea of supply though. I think that's a nice way of replacing the repair kit in the open world. You simply have to buy and carry linen, planks and masts in your cargo hold and when you run out you have to be ressuplied otherwise you cannot conduct any larger repairs. That's a nice way of handling it.

 

This mode I'm proposing is not so much meant for repairs, it's sort of a stop gap measure. When your ship is inevitably going down you'd do one last effort to keep it afloat and then crawl into the nearest port for actual repairs. Or, taking into account the current state of the game, rejoin the fight and go out guns blazing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why would the sails roll up? As Maturin says, a ship without sails is a fish out of water. Also, in the open world, we are going to have to pay for repairs.

People mash s the stop too much as it is, and if we add this in, it really is going to look like Boston harbor on the open seas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This has been discussed at length before. I am not a fan of repair kits either. I would rather see a repair mode that requires repair supplies to be carried. If those supplies run out, that's it. That seems reasonable and realistic enough for my taste. Mostly agree with the op. The implementation would obviously need to be tuned up for good gameplay etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also find the 'pop a repair' to be just too gamey for my taste, especially having 3 of them.  Too much like WoT... Perhaps the 'Repair Kits'  we currently have are just a simple stand-in mechanic during play testing/development in the 'arena mode', and I hope so. 

 

With improved physics, I believe I heard mention shot will bounce if it hits surfaces at an angle, so damage will be reduced in the future anyways.

 

The Repair mode suggested here might as well simply be combined into an expanded 'Survival' mode we already have.

 

I agree with follow up posts that it is not appropriate/necessary to furl sails during repair, unless specific sails, or masts, are being repaired.  Sails can hold wind all by themselves, the ship can still move BUT any maneuvering and cannon fire/reloading should be at some significant performance penalty though.

 

Let's hope the Repair Kits disappear after play testing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...