Rithal

Slavery is in all of our backgrounds for the most part. Not just those whose great great great great great grandparents were slaves, but also those who grew up where slavery existed. It haunts us just as much as those who had slaves farther up their family tree.

The developers have already told us that there are no plans for slave trade at the moment, however, I would like to continue this discussion to show how the points you made are flawed. The media seems to be ok with games like Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row right? Bob also plays a game called Grand Theft Auto 4, where he plays as a veteran of a (presumably Yugoslavian) army that committed war crimes and atrocities during the duration of the conflict. Bob's character now is involved in multiple crime rings in a fictional New York city, where he kills rival gangs, cops, and random civilians at will. Bob also plays a game called Mafia II, where he plays as Vito Scaletta who makes a living working for mobsters killing anyone and everyone he is asked to kill for money. With this money, Bob buys cars clothes, and more weapons to kill even more people. Virtual slavery isn't any worse than virtual murder. It's just that casual gamers have become "hardened" to games like this. Slavery in a game is just so "edgy" that most people are turned off to the idea for historical value and authenticity. On second thought, you are right. I kind of feel bad for the virtual slaves....

No whale hunting. But you can hunt whales in AC Black Flag. WTF. HYPOCRISY ECT. JK I respect your decision Mr. Developer.

Or............. I think slave trading should be in the game due to it's historical significance of this time period, and the fact that entire economies were centered on slave labor during this era. I said "but virtual transportation of slaves from Africa to the Americas is not worse than killing virtual people in games like GTA and Call of Duty in my honest opinion." to try and combat the argument that slaves shouldn't be in the game because IRL slavery is wrong. It doesn't make sense. I'm pretty sure that most people conclude that killing people IRL is wrong, yet their are games centered around killing people. I originally intended on this being purely based on what is best for the game, in terms of how it works, yet it's people like you that have blown it out of proportion, and have gone all keyboard warrior on us. It's just a game. It's not real.

The goods you trade, how you trade them, and the affects of said trade is definitely a game mechanic. I don't know how else I can explain this. It's not a morale issue. No one cares about playing MW2 where you can play ass terrorists groups in multiplayer and kill virtual U.S marines do they? It's just that slavery has been drilled into our heads so much as children that it's wrong. Yes, slavery is wrong. I don't condone it, but virtual transportation of slaves from Africa to the Americas is not worse than killing virtual people in games like GTA and Call of Duty in my honest opinion.

... I don't understand what you are trying to say. Are you equating minimum wage jobs and illegal prostitution to slavery?

^ This

You are really taking this a little too far... This isn't a college ethics and morality class. This is an internet forum. I don't think including slavery in the game is at all condoning it. But yeah, you are seriously going overboard here. You suggest that those who would like the ability to trade slaves to be included (Myself) should be "categorized as slaves" and should be "free to be captured by anyone and have their game freedoms terminated." I'm trying to figure out if you are the best troll on the internet or if you are just insane. You go on to say that we remind you of the uneducated south. This in itself is very offensive to southern people, implying that just because they had slaves once upon a time, ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD, they are uneducated. Do yourself a favor and stop.

I don't think developers should be worried about the players "developing and attitude that devalues human life" from a video game. Have you ever played Grand Theft Auto? Hehe. You also mentioned "unfair press". Underline unfair. Any bad press that this game gets for keeping historical accuracy is unfair and should be held in high regard when developing a critique of the game imo. There are slaves in all sorts of games. Rome Total War 2 features the ability to enslave entire populations, yet it definitely has its repercussions. This is not any different.

Seeing that my last thread about the slave trade presented a large variety of opinions, I think it would be appropriate to poll the community to get an overall preference. Link to my original thread on slave trading. There are some good points brought up here. http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/3106-triangle-trade/

I was thinking that if the game takes place after Britain's Slave Trade Act of 1807, then players can take jobs to deliver a set amount of slaves to a port or something in America by a given date. It's high risk due to British ships (both AI and players in the British army) but also high reward. I was also wondering what could be done in regards of AI randomly inspecting your ship looking for smuggles cargo or other things like slaves. I was also wondering what the community thought in terms of taking goods that were due to be delivered and selling them on some sort of black market. This can make you some quick dough but also can tarnish your reputation and can decrease cargo amounts and payments in the future. What do you guys think?

I see both of your points, but I think it could be fine if the developers handled it properly. Then again, I'm not sure. Maybe make it have a much higher payout but increase the chance that you will be attacked on the voyage or something like that. I mean, it is history :/ The game is meant to be as historical as possible.

I was wondering what kind of influence the triangle trade will have on the trade patterns of the open world. I was also wondering whether slaves will be available to transport to the Americas. I know it's a touchy subject but it is historical. What do you think?