Austrum

I agree totally. It isn't all about power in fact for me at least, the entire romance of the Age of Sail centers around how beautiful some of these ships are. Generally I would rather said something that is average in performance but beautiful verse the best ship in the game, if it didn't have as pleasing aesthetics. Also lets face facts, even a Trin can give a Connie a run for its money and I don't think there are many people who would not immediately recognize that the Connie is a better ship. Same will be for any of these older ships, they might not be as good as a say a Victory but they will probably be at least as good as a Bellona or maybe whatever 2nd rates they come up with which means they can still offer meaningful contributions to any fight despite not being the best ship of their rate.

Why does everyone get so hung up on having ships restricted by faction. Seriously, restrictions aren't fun and it would be a truly massive waste of all that beautiful modeling work by limiting each faction to only maybe 20% of the ships modeled and available in the game. Honestly just think of what we are going to get is a historical alternative universe where over years of conflicts, alliances, treaties and trade, the many different ships classes have made there way to all nations and interested parties. Maybe America bought Victory Class 1st rates. Perhaps as part of a trade agreement, Spain furnished France with several classes of Frigate. Perhaps as part of a treaty, Russia offered up a dozen Ingermanland Class 3rd rates to the Netherlands. Perhaps Denmark captured a Caribbean shipyard that had been building Leda class Frigates. They how or why doesn't matter just that ships and ship classes changed hands meaning you could find a Constitution in operation by the Russian Fleet or Victory being used by Spain. Simple, clean and a hell of alot more fun than being restricted from using your favorite ship just because your friends or player association (Clan, Guild or whatever) just had to be part of the Spanish Armada.

Yeah that is the one I mentioned in my post. That is a beautiful Ketch and I think it would make a great addition to our small ship line up. Hopefully they decide to go with it. Honestly I would love to see some Xebecs in the game. I know alot of the purists don't like them because they weren't used outside of the Mediterranean and it appears at least the initial setting will be the Caribbean but they add wonderful visual diversity which I think would be a overall plus for the game.

OMG!!! Yep that is my ship for sure and I haven't even seen the finished product. Don't even care if it isn't the most powerful because its going to be an amazingly beautiful ship. Lovin it.

Excellent. Nice to see great options from nations other than England, Spain or France.

Thanks for the links. Was hoping for a in game render but still it is nice to see the in progress pictures. Really looking forward to these ships. Cannot wait to get my hands on the Mercury and Ingermanland and the new Frigates are always welcome. Should be getting my Connie tonight so I should be in a good place to get access to all these ships rather quickly once them come out.

Well there are alot of awesome ideas that have been throw out there. There is a Swedish Privateer that got posted recently that would be a nice addition since it is a Ketch, something we don't already have. Also we have the Mercury Brig incoming though being armed with 18 24-lb guns, small is just a relative term. Then there is the HMS Pickle on the way as well and then there is the 20-gun Rattlesnake on its way too. This is in addition to the Lynx, Yacht, Cutter, Privateer, Brig, Navy Brig and Snow already in the game. The thing about these small ships though it that, depending strongly on how the economy and progression works in the Open World, it isn't likely most people will use them once they have progressed out of the newbie phase. I expect we will see alot of people using the Snow, Mercury Brig and the Rattlesnake or similar ships, mostly because they are going to be relatively powerful for their size and because they are smaller, should also be cheaper but by far I think the preferred ship class will be Frigates. That being the case, I am sure devoting alot time to modeling and adding a ton of small ships is really the best investment. Now I said, depending on the economy because it is entirely possible Games Labs will implement a fairly brutal economy where it is very, very tough to progress to, own and operate the larger ships. If that happens, then yes people will use the smaller ships but considering they eventually want to be be able to access the 1st rates they are spending alot of time and effort on adding, I can't see them making at least the smaller frigates relatively easy to access after just a few months of play or less.

Ingermanland which will be in game in a few months most likely was launched n 1715 so what is currently the case and what will shortly be the case is two very different things. Personally I am still really hoping that the HMS Mordaunt (1681) which is a beautiful, relatively undergunned (Compared to Frigates like the Trin or Connie) 46-gun 4th rate SoL, eventually makes it into the game as well. It is not going to be the most competitive PvP ship but I would sail her nonetheless, especially in the Open World if for no other reason that I like the way she looks. Same for Galleons. They might not be the most competitive PvP ship or even really take part in the death match game mode, but they will have a place in the open world. Also, keep in mind they voted in the Amsterdam in the last player poll which is at its core a civilian trader vessel. Despite the fact it carries quite a few guns, I honestly don't expect it to be very competitive in PvP either but it will be a great trader vessel in the Open World.

Is this pick still available somewhere? I would like to see what they have done with her, even if she is unfinished.

Totally agree with this one. I am not hugely disappointed in the fact they chose the Ocean Class because it is quite honestly about the only 1st Rate I might be interested in sailing. I guess I am just being a bit selfish because I am a huge fan of 4th rate SOLs from an aesthetics point of view and it is a classification totally lacking in the game and unfortunately seemingly unpopular both historically and by the game community. On the other hand, I will have the Ingermanland soon enough so guess I will have to be happy with that hehe.

Fully agree here. America had a few great Frigates and the Razee's plus a few privateers and such from the Revolutionary war but a Naval Power they were not, not until around the Civil War anyway and that is out of our time line.

I think 2nd rates are important for 2 reasons. One, for progression. Doesn't really matter that in real life they weren't efficient due to being almost as costly as a 1st rate while not providing the same level of firepower, this is a game and they are needed for progress purposes. Also since they were built, you kind of need them for completion. secondly, there is no best when it comes to games like this, not really. For example one of my favorite ships is the HMS Mordaunt and I would love to sail her in game despite the fact that overall she would be generally weaker than most of the more modern frigates currently in game despite being rated as a 4th rate SoL. Someone will just prefer the way a 2nd rate looks or because of some historical significance or because it happens to be a specific nationality and they will play it exclusively. Happens every game. Also not worrying. I mean I know they are going to be adding tons and tons more ships to the game so eventually 2nd rate ships will show up. I guess what I was getting at was we already had two 1st rate SOLs in game so it just seems like there were so many much more interesting ships they could have chosen. I mean I was sincerely rooting for the Wasa with its unique Swedish nationality, not to mention I was intrigued by its description as being a SOL designed with a shallow draft so it could operate in shallow coastal waters. This would could be an amazing ship in the open world of example and it would have added in a interesting 4th rate SOL which is currently a classification lacking in game. That would have been a better choice for a wildcard in my opinion. But....like I said, of the 1st rates I have seen, the Ocean class is the best looking in my opinion and while I didn't have much interest in the Victory or Santi, I might be able to climb into an Ocean. Can't really say why, it just seems to have better, more sleek lines than the other first rates.

Yeah I was just thinking today that it seemed odd we didn't have a ketch at least planned to be released yet. This is especially true since it was a pretty memorable ship from PoTBS, at least for me. It ended up being one of the first good ships you could acquire, at least as a pirate.

Thought the finalized the time frame to be like 1670 to 1830?? Honestly while I love quite a few ships built from 1670-1700, anything older just seems out of place in a game where you have advanced Frigates like the Constitution. 1670-1700 kind of seems to be a big transition period where ships still had lots of character but each and every one of them had modern lines that are very recognizable even in the early 1800s. Before than there were just alot of oddly shaped ships that didn't even appear to be all that seaworthy. However, from what little research I have done, it does appear Galleons were actually active throughout the 1700s so I guess they could technically add some in. Maybe some of the latest build models wouldn't look too out of place.

Yep Ocean is in. Not sure how I feel about that since we already have two other 1st rates and no 2nd rates but I guess it does round out the big 3 nations. Victory for England, Santi for Spain and now Ocean for France. On a side note, of all the 1st rates, I think I like the Ocean Class the best. It has great lines, very sleek and deadly looking so there are alot worse choices that could have been selected.

While I am a big fan of many of the late 1600s designed ships, many of which look very modern and not too dissimilar to ships designed in the early to mid 1700s, this ship, while beautiful would look freakish in a battle line next to a Connie or other modern ship. 1630s is just too old in a game where many if not most designs will be 150-200 years newer.

I with you on this one. I really am not a fan of 1st and 2nd rate SOLs. What I am a fan of is Frigates and other 4th rates. I really want to see tons and tons of them, especially two-deckers with 50-60 odd guns as I think these are the most beautiful ships during the age of sail. 74-gun ships are the biggest I have any interest in playing, especially in Open World.

I have to agree here. Nothing stops the players from doing this and it can be extremely effective when someone does a Nelson and cuts the enemy line of battle however, most players prefer longer range battles so that is what we typically have.

Actually on the surface maybe but the Evstafiy here has a much leaner, sleeker, less rounded look to me plus a much more unique and beautiful stern in my opinion. It also appears longer than the Ingermanland when I look the the pictures side by side. Part of that is because of the different shaped, longer prow that the Estafiy has. Basically Estafiy seems more graceful and fast to me.

Love it. Edit: The more I look at this ship, the more I love it. This one definitely needs to make the next pool or hell really the devs just make a command decision and add it in.....soon

Well it appears it is back down. Got logged in for a brief second or two then it dropped me back to the connection screen. Now all I get is a connection error.

Very nice and somewhat unique privateer/pirate vessel. Bring it on.

Another Awesome one.

Love double deck 4th rates so the more the merrier. Bring in on Game Labs

Just got my Key so looks like this batch has been sent. Thanks all.