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GeekSqueak

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Everything posted by GeekSqueak

  1. Anyone else having a bug where they can't post in any chat?
  2. We don't have 250 online at any one time... We have between 40 and 70 online tops.
  3. It's just an inconvenience. We're gonna be dividing up into subgroups after this, but it just makes communication slower. With the number of people playing, there are still opportunities for smaller clans. It's simply an inconvenience.
  4. A player called Scarface is being repeatedly toxic towards me, my clan, my clanmates, and many other players in the British community. Normally I would simply ignore it, but it is now getting to the point where his hate campaign against us is becoming effective, and people are accusing us of scamming and trolling. I know that many other British players are tired of Scarface's constant negativity, and it would be nice for something to be done about it.
  5. We have a large number of players who do come on teamspeak.
  6. With so many people playing the game, and so many being eager to join clans, we're running out of clan space. There is no realistic reason I can think of why we should be limited. Large clans will be necessary to carry out long-range engagements against other nations, not to mention organise and teach new players. The alternative is buying up a large number of smaller clans in-game just for one larger clan. It would be a great help to all of us if you could increase the clan size limit. Also, the clan online counter is broken. And a search function for people in the clan would be nice o.O Many thanks! Lord Admiral & Director Zak Pearce (British West Indies Trading Company)
  7. Sounds pretty god We need officers for PvP2 - you could be a valuable asset! If you want, you can contact me on steam at [bWITC] GeekSqueak - I won't be on TS today as it is currently broken.
  8. Hey there! The British West Indies company is a clan with a strong economic focus in service of the crown. We are led by profit, seizing ports and ships from anyone in our way. As a chartered corporation, we frequently exercise the right to act in the interests of the crown and seize territories. For wealth, prosperity, and strong shipping, register as a partner and join the British West Indies trading company today! You can find our teamspeak at 85.236.100.27:21607
  9. Hey there! We can teach you all these things within our teamspeak. You're more than welcome to join!
  10. British West Indies Trading Company The most powerful chartered shipping fleet in the Carribean! By Royal Appointment to His Majesty the King of Britain Seeks shipbuilders, captains, craftsmen, colonialists, and explorers to spread the reach of the Great Britishe Empire across the furthest reaches of the Weste Indies Our Teamspeak HeadQuarters is 85.236.100.27:21607 - feel free to come along! To be updated...
  11. William, when I said "There must be no non-economic or non-physical limitations on goods (eg, you must be at least rank admiral/level x to move these goods, or complete quest xyz, or unlock this). Perhaps allowing in-game users to invest in technological advances (updates) through gold or other capital would be useful." I meant that being a certain level/rank to buy the goods would be bad. This was an example of a limitation I didn't want to see. "(and after Portalus re-vamped the economy, making almost everything previous obsolete) " - don't revamp the economy. That will destroy everyone's progress. If the player base drops too low, have a base number of AI that start trading when there's x amount of captains, and keep scaling it. "While I like the idea of relying (and suspecting) others, I would ask that you take a short look into the game ArcheAge. In it, there is a mechanic of Trade packs: you craft a trade pack, and then bring it to any number of NPC traders across the world. The type of trade pack you make, and the distance you travel to trade it, all determine it's value (a trade pack that can only be crafted with materials found in area A will fetch a hefty amount of coin in area B, all the way across the map on the other continent, which also happens to be the enemy's home turf). Trade runs are dangerous due to the default enemy players from the other faction, "Reds". However, the player atmosphere there is very toxic (at least the EU server Kyprosia), to the point where no one even thinks of reaching out for help: it is far more uncommon for someone to help out; Team killing and stealing packs is the norm, and almost everyone just takes it as fact. So just be aware that things that look good and exciting on paper can go from bad to worse when trolls are introduced to the system." Well, if someone runs off with your cargo, they're disreputable. If ports have a system where you can check if someone is disreputable or not, then you can backcheck them. Reputable players will earn valuable commissions easily, disreputable ones risk being hunted down by bounty hunters? Premium ships would be an utter disaster. But I'd happily pay a membership fee for a decent simulation system, such as the one I envisage. The membership fee would almost certainly keep trolls out, too.
  12. Very true! I suppose national politics could be managed by moderators. But lower down the scales, different trading companies would naturally have differing relations with each other. And people within those trading companies will have internal relations too. The trading companies will have their dirty fights. It should be up to authorities within the nations to prevent restrictions on trade being broken - with outlawed cargo being confiscated by navy ships controlled by players. And as for sugar demand, perhaps have an artificial "Europe demand" feature for goods like sugar?
  13. Age of Sail Assessment The primary reason I look forward to this game is realism. I run a gaming clan, and we're also looking forward to the realism. One of the things we discussed was that it'd be great to see a player with a first rate and have to flee. Or to lose everything because you didn't check your instruments and sailed into a storm. If you look at the most popular open-world multiplayer realism games in the PC gaming market, they are all incredibly challenging and require significant amounts of time and effort to progress in. Case studies Case one: DayZ. I spent six hours with my clan looting and gathering equipment. Then we ran out of food. Two died from starvation, and one shot the three remaining of us and took our food. This was neither a rewarding nor an enjoyable experience, but the fact that I could lose everything because my friend wanted my beans was incredibly attractive. The adrenaline in a firefight is real, and the reward of passing through a town unscathed is what makes people become addicted to the game. The game is almost entirely PvP oriented, as the only AI threat are the zombies (which are trivial at best). DayZ is one of Steam's biggest sellers. Lesson learnt from DayZ: The player needs to be able to lose everything. All of it. Trading in the Caribbean was a risky venture, and that should be reflected in the game. The goals must also be player defined, and there should be no artificial restrictions on people. If that guy wants to turn his expensive first rate into a fireball and sail it into a port (destroying a load of people's hard work in the process by sinking their ships and cargos) they should be able to. The risks should be real and the limitations not imposed by leveling systems and artificial scripts, but by actual mechanics. It’s something I call dynamic progression – the player can go back as well as forwards. Implementation: I can attack anyone at any time. Things that require licences can be bought and trafficked, and laws are enforced by players. I will concede an artificial guild for something like the British Empire, or France, but a human must run it and people must be able to politic their way to the top. There must be no non-economic or non-physical limitations on goods (eg, you must be at least rank admiral/level x to move these goods, or complete quest xyz, or unlock this). Perhaps allowing in-game users to invest in technological advances (updates) through gold or other capital would be useful. The game must have a fully functioning and responsive economy based around supply and demand. If my trading consortium is big enough, I should legitimately be able to manipulate the price of wood. Case two: ArmA II and III. Some of the most popular PC shooting games. The first thing the community did with ArmA? Make it more realistic. For ArmA II, there was the ACE and ACRE modpack. This added things like backblast, bullet & wind dynamics, overheating guns, blackouts, deafening. It also removed the ability to be shot and survive. Observe now ArmA III. AGM (advanced gameplay modification) and CSE (combat space environment) added bleeding out, along with wind ballistics and realistic body armour that made most guns a one-hit kill. Lesson learnt from ArmA: Gamers are sticklers for detail. We love things like dry rot in the masts or damp sails interfering with gameplay. Implementation: Fevers, dry rot, a need for appropriate paint jobs, other advanced mechanics. Users should have the opportunity to make daft mistakes or plan ahead and run risks. If I want to skimp on the waterproof wax because I reckon we’ll have good weather on the voyage, I should be allowed to make that choice and run that risk. To make it easier for new players, you could spend some money hiring a skipper or dockhand to make the decisions for you (AI). Case three: Skyrim. One word: Immersion. Mods like FrostFall and "Realistic Needs and Diseases" make that game a struggle to survive in, and are still some of the most popular mods. Being overpowered is boring. Aside from boobs and butt physics (yeah, Chesko, I'm looking at you), realism mods are the most popular. There is a reason for this. If everyone is a special magical warrior destined for greatness, then the greatness is significant. If there's one thing people love more than winning, it's winning when there’s a challenge. Lesson Learnt from Skyrim (modding community especially): Achieving an arbitrary rank that gives you nothing more than a new decal or skill is terribly dull after a while. Surviving against the odds to rise to the top, however, is great fun. Implementation: If my ship gets lost and my crew die or mutiny, it should be clear that I did something wrong and must try better next time. This will add an actual value to in-game skills such as inventory management, cartography and navigation. People love using their skills and learning new ones. Case four: Elder Scrolls Online. Behold! Open world game with guilds and vast player interaction, bringing every previous map from gaming's most iconic continent together in the series' most iconic era. This may be the most important case study for this game. On paper, this game looked like a godsend to Bethesda. It bombed. More people play with Skyrim RN&D or Frostfall than actually bought TESO. There's a very good reason for this, and that is there was mechanical rank progression (meaning that skill was less important than simply grinding your way to the top), a lack of unique leveling, and artificial guilds. Sure, you could be a mystical warrior travelling the world with heroic armour and battling giants with your friends, but receiving XP and arbitrary rewards (such as a special cloak or "unique" dagger) killed that game. The thing was, there was no risk. If you died, what did you lose? Nothing, you'd just have to endure a long and boring walk back to your friends whilst contemplating failure in your long and boring challenge to reach an arbitrary level. This means that the goals the game set were meaningless. Lesson learnt: Arbitrary levels kill games. Goals must depend on actual physical mechanics, not linear progression. If my friend is an admiral in a large navy, it makes sense he might fast-track me onto a first-rate. I shouldn’t have to wait until level 20. Quests must be player-set and goals player-defined. Implementation: Allow players to make the decision about investment, ranks, and progression within clans. I’d like to be able to buy ten tonnes of iron and pay a player’s cargo ship to take it from port in New Guinea to my factory in Jamaica. I’d also like this player to be able to decide to disappear with the goods. This mechanic shouldn’t be guided by quest markers, and the player shouldn’t be forced to sell it to the factory in Jamaica. The element of risk and trust, as well as possible retribution from other clans, should be enough. Case five: Mount and blade. The community there is self-sustaining. They buy servers, and in order to pay for the servers recruit individuals. It is not unknown for people to spend large amounts of money buying copies of the game in order to bring new recruits in. This is a fantastic business model. The reason it works is because the game has no artificial leveling systems. If a player wants to have a line of infantry to command in an event, the task is simple. He must recruit, train and provide for every single real human. There are no artificial structures, because everything is based around in-game and interpersonal skill. If we replace Mount & Blade regiments with ships or fleets, we will see the same patterns reflected. Clans will die, go bankrupt, overthrow their managers, and the in-game politics and feuding will be real. Lesson Learnt: You can’t simulate real-world interactions through scripts and user interfaces. So don’t try. Implementation: Provide a visual mechanic for clans, such as a unique flag. Allow clans to form strong identities by giving them powerful tools to do so. The Economy Economy concept: The majority of goods required in the game are mineable by players. Resources should be limited or difficult to obtain. EG, a list of resources for a cannon: Iron (for the cannon itself, and cannonballs) Wood (maybe oak or teak) Black Powder (made from sulphates, saltpeter, and charcoal) All of the ingredients named should be part of the wider economy. These resources should be mineable, and sold on wider stock exchanges. See the Runescape stock exchange for a proof of concept of functioning in-game economies. Supply and demand should and must be at the core of any game set in the golden age of free market capitalism. Say my cannon foundry in Cuba is running low on iron, I could increase the buying price of iron. Players will naturally go and find more iron to sell to me. This will be reflected in the cost of cannons. Further economy ideas Shipbuilding yards must also exist. These will take resources and produce ships over a given time. At first, these could be run by a moderator, but over time players may start to use them. Concept resource list: · Stone (maybe different varieties later on) · Glass (windows etc) · Metals (and their ores) · Cloth (and the raw materials behind it) · Woods (eg, teak, mahogany, oak, pine) · Foods (of various types) A chemical industry could prove valuable, especially since this would allow players to control the production of waxes, paints, gunpowder, and various other things. Investment in companies and consortiums through a virtual stock exchange might be a great way to earn profit and encourage divestment of funds. For complicated industries such as gunpowder factories or shipyards, the barriers of entry and costs will be high, but profits significant. Therefore, players may invest in someone’s shipbuilding enterprise by buying shares for certain values. This era was the birth of the modern stock market for a reason. Economies are useful because they encourage players to regularly play the game. They add immersion, dynamic progression, risks, rewards, and a goal for many players that will allow communities and consortiums to stick together. Of course, many players may not wish to risk everything to deliver that expensive cargo though pirate-infested seas. This is perfectly acceptable and understandable, and actually benefits the game. As the owner of a consortium, I can simply pay ten people to carry a cargo with their ships. They do their job, I do mine. I’m working on a more detailed concept as I find out more about the game and read into planned features. I’m also working on a concept for a community hub, if people are interested.
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