Brigand

We should first flash out the idea some more, there is plenty of room for additional thoughts and refinements. ~Brigand

Updated, added the winners from the Player-selected ships 2015 poll. ~Brigand

Admin replied to me in private. His advice is to use the old key. Cheers, Brigand

(I for one would rather not have it automated.) I don't think that drawing the lines yourself is too hard for people. I think that judging if a cliff you see through your telescope is this or that one on a map is the hard part. It could be difficult for people to recognize natural terrain features or even lighthouses if the 3D models are re-used. It may lead to frustration on the side of the player, even more so if the make a series of mistakes and end up somewhere they did not expect, while they where 'absolutely sure' they had it all correct. In the real world, you can only blame yourself for such mistakes, in a game world, you can blame it on external factors, such as bad game design, buggy tools, unintuitive UI, unfair feature, unreasonable hard, you name it. This is why I proposed automating part of the human error away, and replace it by artificially created error of judgement instead. I'm not saying it is a better idea, I just thought I would toss up another point of view. Cheers, Brigand

Very interesting and informed read. Thanks for sharing, Brigand

I like the idea proposed in the OP. Yet, I'm not sure it is compatible with the expectations of a lot of players ('I can't figure out where I am, this game sucks'). I would love to work with the uncertainty of not being 100% sure I got the right geographical feature, but it may not work well for everybody. I think if this process was to be made partly automated (let's say the lines are drawn on you map automatically) it would have far better chance of being accepted. This would of course eliminate a lot of the uncertainty. However, some of the uncertainty could very well be brought into the automated process, by having the readings be more accurate on more detailed maps. This would have an added bonus of making detailed maps a sought after commodity: you surely want to buy a good map of your home seas, yet, if you venture out further from home (and you did not buy the best maps yet), you encounter a lot more uncertainty about where you are (are there any shallows I don't know about?), which add to the feeling of adventure and ties in really nicely with the announced exploration gameplay. A think this is definitely an idea that is worth exploring, it could add a major feature to shape the feel of the game! Cheers, Brigand

... and ... Due to popular demand, I've renamed 'ship' into 'ship of the line'. A bit of confusion seems to be around indeed. If you dig into the material from the period, you will find that sailors of the time where quite lax with how they described things, but at the same time it was all very clear to them, with little to no margin for misinterpretation. This lax use of words confused early 20th century writers, and their misinterpretation is now typically build upon by modern authors. A Brig is a vessel with two masts (but the reverse is not necessarily true), as is a brig-sloop, where the sloop part refers to the hull lines. The same goes for a ship-sloop: a ship with the hull lines of a sloop. The sloop also indeed is a type of rig for single masted vessels, not unlike the majority of modern sailing yachts. Yet, it is not the same as a cutter: the cutter has a bowsprit and possibly jib boom on which she flies additional head sails. Cheers, Brigand

I have to ask: Why do people not want to look at the list of moderators and developers already available to them? ~Brigand

This could be a very good idea. I'm not sure on the actual historic limits, but it the historic Lynx at least used carronades to overcome the limited broadside weight she would have had when equipped with regular cannons. The change you propose change may well result in players making the same choice as they did back in the days of sail, which -in my opinion- should be seen as a good thing to achieve in the game. ~Brigand

Nice to see you back Ryan! I think the Niagara should not be included in the game. The lineup of ships is etching ever closer to the age of the clippers while there is a considerable demand for the earlier 17th century ships (based on looks). So instead of giving the 'we want more guns, faster ships, etc' demands what they want, the crowd should realise that while historic ships are not modern racing yachts, they can be really effectively manoeuvred, if you take the time to learn how. This last part is exactly what give a game long term interesting gameplay, the need to actually invest some time to learn and play it effectively. ~Brigand

Since it is Saturday by now: ~Brigand

You mean something like the post Forum and Sea Trials Rules in the News and announcements section of the forums? It has been there since 19 December 2014. ~Brigand

I was looking for the historic broadside weight for the List of vessels in the game as well, but it is hard to find any good data. If you have some, please share it. ~Brigand

Nice work. The image of the snow is missing its trysail mast; right now she is depicted as a brig instead of a snow. ~Brigand

Thanks for the answer. So, I bought the game and I will presumably receive a second key next Friday. Should I stop using the old key and use the new key instead? Or should I just continue using the old key and ignore the new key? Cheers, Brigand

Hello admin, I have not pre-ordered the game yet. But, since I'm one of the old (pre-steam) testers, I do have a steam key which I used to download the game. So, all is fine during alpha/beta testing. However, I would like to still have access to the 'preorder yacht', after the testing phase. My question is: will I get the yacht because I'm an old tester? or should I pre-order the game to have access to it? (I ask because, for the foreseeable future, I am stuck on a computer which cannot run the game(netbook) and low on cash, so I would rather wait till I have a proper computer again before spending the money. On the other hand, you guys deserve to get paid.) Thanks for your time, Brigand

"You have reached your quota of positive votes for the day." ~Brigand

I believe you've got the numbers for the jib and flying jib mixed up (I know you know the names, but let's not add confusion). ~Brigand

Updated, the cutter complement was my fault. I didn't want to put up Privateer schooner as American, because it is essentially a fantasy edition, as opposed to the historic ones. ~Brigand

Updated. Yeah, the Chapman yacht is Swedish, or at least, Chapman was Swedish and the yacht in the game is based on his plans in his Architectura Navalis (plan 44, vessel nr. 3). ~Brigand

Done, although I'm not sure my current layout is the most helpful. Cheers, Brigand

Yeah, that would be a good idea. I may need a little help with that though and I'm not sure on how to list the nation for vessels that where captured and recommissioned? Well, no, far from it. A brig is not a ship, not even ship rigged. A frigate is a ship rigged vessel, but they differ from a ship in hull lines, so they are not a 'ship' in the 17th and 18th century sense of the word either. Also, a 'ship' is by definition 'fully rigged' the introduction of the term 'fully rigged ship' did not emerge until the widespread introduction of 'steam ships'. The term was used to differentiate between the opposed 'tall ships' (which also included barks and barkentines). I'm not making up this terminology, instead I apply the terminology as used in the age of sail. ~Brigand

For a discussion on payment models, I kindly refer you to the topic: What would you be willing to pay for Naval Action MMO? Cheers, Brigand

Looking at the beautiful painting in the Ship Paintings (art-collection) thread, I noticed one painting in particular, which has far more realistic sail damage than what we have now: I realise this is a low priority thing, but it would be so nice if the sail damage in Naval Action actually showed tears and loose flaps like in this painting, instead of cut out holes so common in games. Cheers, Brigand

@admin has said: "payment model will be similar to Guild Wars 2." (link | blogpost of Guild Wars 2 payment model). "We are going to sell copies and sell premium content (ships) in the store." (link) ~Brigand