ajffighter86

The only thing Jeheil is wrong on (not so much wrong but omitted a critical detail) is that he forgot to include the pirates against the Dutch. Pirates mysteriously appeared to blockade/harass dutch any time a flag was launched. I recall a few instances when you couldn't even get a ship out of Willemstad because of the blockades. They never seemed to attack the Spanish/Danes/French. They want to be a nation except when they don't want to be a nation and then they're not a nation anymore but they sort of are . . . I can't keep up with it. It was nearly impossible to do any fighting around Coquibacoa because of the pirates. When the British did manage to show up to help early in the war, the pirates tied up a British 1st rate screening fleet bound for Cojoro to assist the dutch. I guess they'll thump themselves on the back but, yeah, 5 on 1 against the dutch, Bravo and all that. British have gone into hiding until the port reset, currently losing ports in Jamaica of all places. USA is just far away, and might as well be the Chinese nation. I thought overall it was a pretty accurate LTTK episode this week.

During June/July the Dutch actually sailed up to Haiti, put down a port (the British let them use Port Antonio as a staging area) and then spread out from there. At least 1 dedicated dutch fleet could be seen screening for the British. Keep in mind, this was before alliances were officially implemented, so imagine tripling the effort to help an "ally" then, but nevertheless, the dutch did so. And it was a pain in the butt to try to get everyone to honor the unofficial alliances then, when anyone could be tagged by anyone from another nation. ---Fast forward to the Maracaibo campaign and it should have been OH SO VERY EASY for allies to set up an outpost in Willemstad, thanks to the new mechanics, but we let VP down. I warned during the Mexico campaign that the French/Spanish/Dane/Swedes were not using the alliance mechanic to its full potential, thus the reason why Spain was getting clobbered at the time. They seemed to make no focused efforts on specific regions and seemed to be allies just for the sake of exchanging love letters I suppose, but certainly not military support. Obviously, they adapted. —and yet, just as quickly, the Dutch/Brits/US seemed to have shunned that advice. And so is the story of NA, the 'ebb and flow', the glory days and the dog days.

Solo players unite!! err, wait.

There seemed to be a prevailing myth in brit alliance chat that these were 'empty' port battles. Most of them were empty on the outskirts of the dutch borders. As their enemies got closer to the capital, more determined efforts were made to defend those ports, but even those efforts ceased when the Dutch realized that the British weren't coming. I just wonder how the dutch feel that they sailed halfway across the map to help the with Haiti campaign during the summer, but could not get help in kind. I cannot blame them for the sentiment that an alliance with the British should be scrutinized in the future. It would not have taken much effort for the british or USA to dedicate an outpost in either fort zoutman or fort oranje where you know there will likely be a defense and likely a full (fun) port battle. Very little effort at all to teleport a ship there when it gets attacked and then you're ready for PVP action. The dutch are very capable allies who have proven themselves to be willing to help their friends in time of need. I even saw a few of them sail all the way to the Gulf of Mexico to help the British during the summer (now THAT was boring empty port battles). It would be a shame to have this abandonment of the dutch cost our coalition a dedicated group of players.

Awe. The war is over? I will tell the other half of the US navy to turn around then, I just need to send him a chat message.

It is frustrating when you intend to slightly adjust your sails and then auto-repowering gives you a boost of speed you don't need.

Don't forget the 600 stone block.

Today must have been somewhat of an accidental knock-out blow from the French nation then, lol. Anyway, all nations do it. Seems like people can't resist empty port battles. No need to fake claims that any of us are above it.

I'd be happy if the developers announced that there wasn't going to be a patch and that people might as well get back to playing the game because the game feels dead with all the waiting at the moment. Then one day you log in and . . . steam is updating naval action.

Two things I highly recommend: reinforced sails (any quality will do, but they cannot be crafted and I was personally lucky enough to get two exceptional reinforced sail mods during the bottle bonanza over the summer, and no, I will not sell them for any price, they mean more to me than marines), also, rigging specialist officer perk. The first thing the enemy will do if they catch your trader in battle is shoot at your sails with chain shot. The next thing they will do is shoot at your sails with chain shot. And finally, they will shoot at your sails with chain shot. Then they will attempt to dismast your vessel if they haven't already started by this point. Just when you think it is over, they will probably continue to shoot at your sails with chain shot and continue after the battle is over and you have been boarded, just because. On a trader, the extra crew penalty needed for reinforced sails is irrelevant, since you usually have extra crew anyway. And then after you have logged off and gone to bed and you think the nightmare is over, you will still continue to hear the ripping of cloth in your sleep.

That's actually not a bad idea, especially with all the hush-hush over when the patch will be released, if ever. Personal opinion: I think the next patch is over-rated. Granted, I haven't seen it yet. I just don't think it will do enough to change the fact that 3/4ths of the players on the server can't seem to be bothered to sail more than 10 minutes away from their capitals. Maybe they will prove me wrong. I seriously doubt, though, that the fighting lines on the map will change much. It goes to show that it is not the 'size of the dog in the fight, it is the size of the fight in the dog' and I have to admire the fighting spirit of the French/Spanish/Danes, who seem content to keep fighting even up until the very minute the next patch releases. In stark contrast, you have the British, with the most populated nation on the server, who unfortunately have 90% of their players sailing back and forth across Kingston/Port Royal bay. England expects that every man will do his duty? -- Not on this server, apparently. It's just really, really sad that a general carebear attitude has taken a firm grip on the server. EDIT: Please note that I do not excuse the US from said attitude either. In fact, I think we have it the worst. Of the few players we do have, most (not all) of them see a pirate cutter at Sunbury and go into a frenzy, as if that is the highlight of the game for them. I think if we are ever to see any action on the server, it will have to come to us. Very few will actively seek it out.

Case in point, I was actually tagged while reading these forums, lol. Also can we get some ambient tavern music and glass bottles breaking in the background when we are in port? Something to make the ports feel a bit more lively.

I have removed the video, yes it was a bit loud, hopefully everyone here has seen enough movies to know what happened when ships were sighted and crews rushed to their stations. Somewhat agree with alertness. By the time they apply the tag, you won't have had much warning. This is simply an auditory cue that you need to get your butt back to the computer, lol. I've been attacked just in the short amount of time it takes to go make a cup of joe in the kitchen. Not a ship in sight when I left the room. Imagine me walking briskly back to my computer spilling coffee all over the carpet while trying to pour the creamer in. I think it would be epic, to be honest, and add something to the game that makes it a bit more interesting. Not to mention all the wives yelling at you to 'turn down those damned drums!!!' Besides, I don't think a crew would let captain sleep if enemy ships were engaging them. I also see this as somewhat of a compromise for the people who argue that it takes too long to sail anywhere, without breaking the game by speeding things up. They can go on about their business knowing that at least they won't be stealth-boarded.

Simple suggestion: When someone initiates a tag against your vessel, drummers begin 'beat to quarters' cadence that lets players know they are being attacked. This would be fairly useful if players are AFK sailing or if tags are being thrown left and right amidst the chaos of two fleets meeting in open world. You might also imagine someone hearing this and running back through the house to their computer as they rush to take up battle stations. We already have things like bagpipes in the game which are immersive enhancements (though I'm not sure how commonly they were used on Spanish warships), but I'm trying to think of a way we can introduce simple sound additions to the game that have a real purpose. Before a battle commences, the open world and the combat loading screen is awfully quiet in the game as it is now. It feels more like: whisper: "shhhh . . . we're being attacked." /whisper "Shampooing the herring" when someone tags you. Drums had been used for centuries to give battle commands. Why are they not in game?

The next patch can't come soon enough. Not because I think it will drastically change anything, or because I think some nations need to be 'saved' by a wipe, but because so many players have stopped playing or can't be motivated to do anything more than hoard resources. I've noticed a STEEP decline of player activity on the US/Dutch/British side when it comes to actively seeking out enemies. However, the Danes/Spanish/French are probably more active than ever. Kudos to you guys for keeping a high interest in fighting even with a wipe looming over our heads. Also this seems to be the case with the pirate/swede war. Where have the Swedes gone? Why is half the server not wanting to fight while the other keeps playing regardless? I even joke that there is no patch coming, it was just a ploy by the developers to get the US/Brit/Dutch to stop giving a damn while our enemies grab all the ports, lol.

Fill your hold with bacon and try again. I've heard Americans go crazy for the stuff, but you know, it might only be urban legend.

And let me assure you, the 3 Americans in the south thank you for keeping things interesting in Carebearleston. We try our hardest to get them to explore the fact that there's more to the game than dumping live oak logs in the next port over. I'm hoping the new conquest system will get us a little more action in our area of the map, but perhaps I should be careful what I wish for.

I MEAN, REALLY, DOES ANYONE ON PVP 1 EVEN KNOW WE EXIST? All day, every day, the half-dozen American players on PVP 1 server spend their time fleeting bots out of Charleston, ripe for the picking, just a mere 1,020,253,623,876,120 kilometers away from the rest of the world. I mean, if you could find a fleet of 10 players willing to sail for 3 weeks real time to form an invasion fleet, we could be wiped out instantly, but fear perhaps keeps our enemies away. Do they even know they are our enemies? One day the entire server will feel the wrath of both of us. We almost have enough players in our nation to form a full group. You should be afraid. The Spanish will not dare fight us. We have shown that Florida and namely, Disneyworld, are rightfully American possessions. Meanwhile, McDonalds are opened in Spain. How many Spanish restaurant chains do you see in America? none. WE ARE WINNING!! Trust me, this makes complete sense. Every day, 3 American players representing more than 25% of our entire naval power arrive to help our allies in port battles in the southern areas of the map. Our enemies must surely assume they are seeing ghosts. How did these Americans get here? Was this an accident? WAIT. . . There are USA players on this server!!?!?!?!?! The shock is too much for them to handle, and that is why we are clearly overpowered. Even our allies do not realize that they are our allies. Again, this is overpowered. I hear them asking "Who are the Americans? Does anyone know if they speak English? Is that some sort of early-access playable faction? Let's offer them trinkets and see if they come out of hiding. This is better than spotting Bigfoot." The disbelief is profound. This post has been primarily created to promote humor, enhance the RVR experience, and to create awareness that there are indeed USA players on this server. We are like the elusive pokemon, and there is no reason why, just as in that game, every nation on the server shouldn't be walking out in the busy streets staring at their smart phones trying to find us.

I'd be a bit mad if I gave someone a 2nd rate to get them started and the first thing they did was take it out solo and get captured.

Bot whisperer: Officer with this perk convinces AI fleets to turn hostile on their masters.

It is I who caused the misunderstanding. The second paragraph of that post was more a reply in general than to you. I think you and I are basically on the same page here. We need fresh ideas, not just simply returning to longer timers. So I wasn't the only one who refused to fall for the tricks.

z4ys has another thread in suggestions which mentions that prize ship captures be split between all players in the 'gank' fleet, which at some point you'd have to measure out whether having 'too many players' in your 'gank' fleet is really going to be worth the reward. That is an example of a fresh idea which would limit the ganking WITHOUT going back to longer timers which was tried ultimately voted against. Let us at least evaluate new ideas rather than rehashing old ones.

Sounds like a successful raid to me. They sailed for probably what, 30 minutes to pull that off, from the nearest free town? They put in the effort, gathered a fleet, coordinated, found a target, spent the time sailing together, and got a vic out of the whole ordeal. And you want to balance all that effort that they put into it by allowing every yokel on the other side of Jamaica to just pour into the fight so that the end result is that they just stop coming into your waters? And we are to believe that this will promote PVP? And how will players fight each other when you do not sail into their territory, and they no longer see the benefit of sailing into yours?

I've already explained why that won't work, lol. If it's 3 minutes, you arrive at 3:01 and it still doesn't help you, and then we have to have all these arguments about doing away with the 3-minute timer instead of the argument over the 2-minute timer. It's really not about timers, it's about the players. The enemy fleet sailed together. You did not. They're going to have an advantage. Get over it. And again, we can barely find enough USA players on PVP1 to even form a 'gank' fleet, and I'd rather not be swarmed by every monkey's uncle for taking my merc into enemy trading lanes simply because their friends can respond from hundreds of miles away.

Maybe it's just the contradictions in your posts that are throwing me off. On the one hand, I see you saying, "I'm a proud solo player . . . yadda yadda yadda." Then in the very same post: "I'm having trouble finding fun 10v10 fights." U wot m8? So, um, which is it? Either you want to play with other people or you don't, but speak plainly man! I'm trying to figure out what the 'longer timer' advocates really want. So far all I can really tell is that they seem to want a system that protects them from their own foolish risks. And, I seriously doubt that the people advocating for longer timers to 'bring back PVP' are all that inclined to actually do any PVP'ing, or they might actually spend more time AWAY from their capitals and taking the fight to the enemy. But, alas, that's 'too much effort' or something.