worst2first

I too joined the Swedes but I haven't been able to play in a about a week. I find these accusations of collusion with pirate scum quite concerning.

Pirates need unique game play mechanics that are completely different from those of the other nations. Pirates should not be engaged in empire building. That is simply absurd. Pirates should be a prestige class that present a unique experience. Playing a pirate should be more difficult than playing for a legitimate nation but should also have unique rewards. One suggestion I've made is that pirates should have the ability to develop ports (havens) that players of the other nations cannot see on the main map. In order to discover them, national players would have to get very close. Pirate havens should not be subject to capture but could be destroyed by national forces. Pirates could also move their haven with all of its resources but this would take some time to accomplish. This could lead to an interesting cat and mouse dynamic where the nations scout and search for pirate havens and the pirates consider whether to stay and fight or relocate. I think this would be fun and more in line with how pirates historically functioned.

I would have no problems with nations being restricted to ships they actually used but think about how many ship models the devs would have to create. I'm not sure that's realistic. I suggested some mechanics that would allow pirates to have interesting but different game play mechanics from the other nations. You do realize this is an alpha and many parts of the game are nothing more than placeholders right?

I found the following short article interesting while researching the role of Sweden in the Caribbean. I thought some of you that are also interested in history might find it worthwhile too. I have to admit that despite a degree in history I was ignorant of the brief Swedish presence at St. Bartholomew before playing NA. http://www.sjohistoriskasamfundet.se/fn_split/fn57_a03.pdf

I am a new player but I want the game to be as close to historical reality as possible while still being fun. I support Blackie's suggestions. While there were Pirate settlements they were rare and were often in disputed / unclaimed territory or in areas unknown to the national navies. Perhaps a mechanic could be developed where pirates are able to establish secret havens that aren't visible on the map to other players. They could be discoverable and once found, the pirates would either have to relocate or risk the destruction of their haven. This could lead to a fun game of cat and mouse with national navies hunting out pirate havens only to have them pop up somewhere else. I don't know if that would work but I do not want to see the pirate faction just a renamed faction that functions exactly the same as the others. I also don't think pirates should be building 1st and 2nd rate ships. Pirates relied on speed, cunning, and ruthlessness. I'd like to see the game find ways to allow pirates to play in a style similar to real pirates. In my opinion, the pirate faction should kind of be a prestige class that is very challenging but fun with unique game play mechanics.

I've only been playing two days but I'm willing to switch nations if I can do so without losing my current progress. I am also looking for a good clan to play with during the evening hours CST.

I like the suggestion to change it from clan.