SyberSmoke

Yes, it is. it is a text change in a UI...something that would take at most a couple minutes. But in the end it is something that would help new players that may see this on steam and buy it cause sailing ships are cool. They may not have read anything, seen anything, then get frustrated as they sink. I know many people that post here are less casual, more experimental. But what about the future? This game will grow and get more complex...so why not change a trivial thing that is causing some issues now, huh?

That is true, but the point is that even though survival is an appropriate term for that period. Times change, society changes and the view of a word can change in it's use. Society is more familiar with damage control and what happens with it then with survival in that context. It is all still Survival to be sure, a fire raging out of control on a wooden ship is just as dangerous to a modern frigate or cruiser. But the term was coined for its descriptive nature, to control further damage. To me, after seeing post after post in the help and faction chat, I figure changing a couple words with out having to rework placement or function is the easiest change that can ever be done to make the function more transparent.

No one has any thoughts on this...

This is a suggestion from the perspective of a completely new player. Keep that in mind please. If you have been hanging around the faction or help chat any, you may see this post "CRAP...I have a leak and repair isn't fixing it." or may be "%#$@ $%#$@%^ #$@% I just sank to a leak I could not fix $@#!$##!!" Why, why is this so prevalent in new players? Simply put when your new in the game and you get a leak you think "repair". You have a leak, you want to repair it. The term "survival" means something different in many minds, it means to stay alive and is not directly related to repair. Sure repairing something could mean your surviving...but that is not the first thought that enters into the mind. I mean, when you replace a tire on your car do you think "I am going to survival my car!!" No...probably not. So to combat this ambiguity, I suggest a simple change to the wording of button eight. From Survival to Damage Control. Fire, leaks, and what may come all fall under the umbrella of Damage Control. And while Survival does work and may work in the context of the time period. This is a game and new players should understand that if you press eight, bad things will be fixed. Remember a new players first impressions will, for now, be made in combat. To feel helpless and to sink causing anger and frustration in your first fight because you do not know what button to press because it is not obvious leaves a bad impression. It is part of learning, but that curve can be lessened by a degree with just a small text change.

I am not that much of a fan of having to explore everywhere just to get the map. I do this a lot in other games and it is just....silly. I mean you have a place where people have been for a good long time, where they have put towns and stuff where ever they could...and you, the captain are going about redrawing a map that has been drawn a thousand times before instead of just buying a proper chart. It defies a certain amount of sense. I could see if this were a single player game where you are a lone explorer venturing into the unknown to return charts and treasure to a patron. But not really in the age we are in in the game.

I suppose a topographic approach could be used to find a place in the sea. Remember ships of the day would tak depth readings determining the number of fathoms deep and the content of the ocean floor (sandy, Sandy with shells, Muddy...dead fish). So if you also had the map have variable depths, you could let the player take a depth reading and have some idea of an area they are in from that reading. A thought.

Gunnery can be a pain. The ships is moving, your target is moving, the cannon shot is going all willy nilly...it is all just a very large best guess. This make it a challenge, and there is the fun. What I do not like though is that some how, you can not give an order to fire while using the Spyglass. To range a shot you need to fire, then quickly press Shift and hope you can spot where the round lands. What I propose is that the Spyglass and Gunnery sighting are integrated. While in gunnery mode, if you use the spyglass you get the same elevation indicator as without. By raising and lowering your spyglass for far off targets you can then press space and see the shot land with out having to exit. When you leave the spyglass the indicator is in the same place you left it. This would make ranging a little easier to do since it removes a step and ungags the commander of the ship. A different method would be that the player in spyglass mode could use keys to alter the elevation of the guns in the glass. So instead of having the the marker dead center of the glass. We could use keys to increase the elevation pushing the marker higher in our view. It would still be a judgement call and in no way would make it easier. But it would alter the chance of having to raise the glass so high you loose sight of the target altogether. I find it hard to believe that when using this aid, the character can not order the ships guns to fire. It seems a little silly doesn't it? Please note dispersion, chance to hit something far off and so on would not be hampered...they would still be a fat chance past a point unless someone gets really good at gun by gun aiming. To them I say...good for you, congratz.

I am some one that dislikes a single level based experience system, something this game is using. The problem with levels is there is no tuning and at the end of the day it is limiting...you limit progress, you limit endgame, Once you get to the top...what is the point. That said I do not think an economic system would also be the best. Since it forces the player to focus on a single goal...money. Do I have enough gold to buy shot, powder, replacement crew, better crew, repairs, provisions. It is messy and a lot of mental overhead that is not needed in a game. I mean that is why ships like this had Quartermasters...It was their job to balance the books so other could get shot. My personal proclivity would be an experience system treating you as a character. You gain experience in a core set of skills (Gunnery, Navigation, Command, Buisness [Crafting], and so on. Keep it simple and to the point. If you fight more, you increase your skills in those areas. If you trade a lot, may be you get better offers and deals from ports, things only you can see (say by slipping the ports quarter master or a warehouse manager some gold coin). Then you toss crew skill and officer skills. Crews could be green to elite in rank...more of one, better you do. Officers could be specialized to accent your own skills...so hiring a crack navigator lets you get closer to the wind and more speed. There are many ways to do it with out resorting to a single playstyle mentality.

I Like the idea to a degree. Though first a pirate should have to work for their amnesty. I suggest that Pirates may not be as...unloyal as some would think. You combine piracy with a reputation system using your punishment system. But a pirate can shop around a little. If say you have been plundering wartime enemies of a ration, they may see you as a good investment. You would still loose ranks, but not as much if you have helped their cause. This can also be the method the faction change. If your tired of say the British, you attack them and loose rep becoming a pirate (in their eyes). But a free agent in the eyes of other nations. You will take a hit to your rank, but if you prove yourself to a specific nation of interest you can buy your way in. Being a pirate is a choice. But even in history many Pirates had their loyalties.

Depending the time period this is set, you could have to buy a Chronometer. Remember the invention of the chronometer was the defining point in navigation that allowed the navigators to find Longitude. They would be new and shiny tech in this games time.

It would be very hard to create any navigational aid without defining a starting position relative or otherwise. After all, to find a course, you need a destination and a starting point. And yes a circle can indicate. And as for 1...heh. I can barely navigate a three block radius around where I live I think your expectations are highly optimistic.

As a new player I like the idea proposed by the moderator, with one exception, the guns. Instead of limiting then to their 10th class guns, allow the basic to have access to 9th class also. May be adding in a 8lb Carronade. Then it could be renamed to the "Training Cutter". This would give new players to marginally better firepower and range options from the 10th Class weapons without causing the ship to be a dominating zerg. This would separate it from the Cutter (allowed better guns) but still give the players in them a chance to defend themselves if they are set upon by a player in a 7th rate looking for an easy kill.

As my first post I have a suggestion. I request an inkling of where I am on the map. To be clear, I am not after a laser perfect GPS pointer...nope. But navigation in that time was also not as hit and miss as their charts, compass, speed measurements, and other navigational aids were accurate enough to allow ships to cross the oceans and build great trade empires. What I suggest is a circle, an area indication of where the Navigator believes the ship is. As the ship travels and spends more time traveling, the circle gets bigger indicating the growing inaccuracy that occurs, to a limit. The point is that the player is somewhere inside the circle. This way those that are navigationally challenged (waves hello) can have some reference point, based on the science of the day, for finding our way around. I know that the developers are wary of putting a marker on the map. But if done right, the marker need not be precise, just an indication that we may need to adjust course to make our destination. Especially since sometimes the fastest route is not the direct one. Ok, first post done...now I will saunter off and see if I can figure out where my ship is.