TheStarSlayer

Thanks for the heads up.

Not sure I follow, do you mean just the gundeck strakes will be varnished wood or the entire ship? While I like the idea of some scheme customization I'm not sure I like the idea of ships having to look like an unfinished model kit unless you RNG'd a paint job.

Seems like it has a shallow draft from the plans, was it meant to operate close to home?

It certainly would not be remiss if the guns were stored inboard and lids closed during Open World travel then run out when battle commences.

It is my understanding that port lids were not closed during reloads, once the guns were run out they were kept open for the duration of engagement. When not in combat the guns were kept housed inboard and the lids closed for sea-keeping purposes not as additional armor. If you look at two deckers they often did not even bother adding them on the upper decks.

Looks like Health and Safety got a hold of the plans and demanded hand rails be added to the whole thing when they went to build it.

Will there be an option to vote "no alliance" and/or a minimum percentage of votes required to ratify one? For example if the majority of a faction's players were not available for a voting cycle or perhaps were disinclined towards any alliance without either of the above foreign policy could be changed or created by a very small minority.

Will there be an "alliance" chat to facilitate communications between partner nations? EDIT>> Will there also been an option to vote for "no alliance" during these polls and/or a minimum vote percentage to ratify an alliance?

I think having a method to enter the "battle interface" in order to practice ship handling and exercise the great guns would be a useful feature for folks that are transitioning to manual sails or simply getting the feel for a new ship. Learning the ropes in square rigged vessels is arguably one of the most demanding lessons in the game and having to do so against active hostiles can be a bit unwieldy at times. Being able to simply practice the manual sails with some raft targets available to engage would soften that learning curve. Depending on how crew and XP mechanics eventually shake out a small crew XP gain for gunnery practice might be a nice touch as well from a historical fluff perspective. Restricting it to only the protected waters of the faction capital maybe a method of keeping this from being exploited, either avoid action or setup ambushes in the open world. Cheers, JB

Sorry that wasn't meant to be a complaint, I want to make sure I understand the mechanic.

Just to clarify, does this mean that all "hits" now guarantee a minimum of one casualty or just that specific shot strikes that would have caused a crew casualty are guaranteed to do so.

The 1743 Le Tonnant of 80 guns has nice lines as well.

I think that Renommée is going to test positive for doping. Also that's going to need a lot of Furnishings to craft...

"Killick, Killick there! Extra grog rations for this man." The sample crew noises sound very good and certainly add to the immersion. As others have mentioned if the new sounds are dynamic and contextual it will be a great addition to the game. Though I will probably keep my custom playlist of baroque and historical chanties as background music.

Much obliged. Cheers, JB