derekticus

Many items are available in Port Shops - I often see Hemp at 99, Iron ore at 105, Coal at various prices - 7 may have been the lowest. I also have seen Fir, Oak, and Lig Vit. None of these were under a "Sell Contract", so IF Player generated, they were items dumped by a Player and therefore available for purchase.

Here is another possible feature DLC: The ability 1x a Day to attempt to enlist a friendly AI Fleet you encounter to follow your Ship(s) until you enter a Port. The "following Fleet" would still move at its own speed. The percentage chance that the AI Fleet would respond to your hails might be effected by the size and make-up of the Fleet, or maybe by your rank as well. This fleet would vanish if the "controlling Player" initiated combat or entered any Port. After you attempt to influence a Fleet, then your Cooldown timer would start for you next attempt.

Or fleet it to a Shallow Ship and sail out

Merry X-mas! And Happy New Year!

@Admin By changing Muskets to an all powerful element in Boarding actions, you are breaking your game. Boarding actions in this game were supposedly to be a tactical battle between Players, using a "Rock, Paper, Scissors" style mechanic. In this way Boarding actions had elements of fun: Players battled using tactical strategy and their wits to "out-maneuver" or "trick" their fellow Player to gain an advantage. BUT, by suddenly changing the mechanic to "Muskets ALWAYS win especially if you have a Musket Upgrade", you have effectively destroyed this part of the game. Anyone who has a Musket Upgrade suddenly WILL win the boarding action REGARDLESS of what their opponent does. In a beautiful game like this one, you want SKILL to be the factor that allows one Player to prevail over another. When you remove skill and replace it with luck, then you game is weakened and less people will be interested in playing. As the game stands now, the lucky Players who find and use Musket Upgrades WIN. The higher skilled Player will lose if he/she does not have a Musket Upgrade. Additionally, by doing so you are weakening the other great part of the game: the 1 v 1 sailing duel; for if I have a Musket Upgrade, then I have little interest in actually battling and beating my opponent through normal Combat. Instead, in Combat, I will merely want to ram and initiate a boarding action between us, knowing that I have an Ace in the hole. Best to either completely remove the Musket Upgrades from the game, or give them a HUGE down-grading in power, or have them drop frequently as the most common item so that ALL players who want to can have them. In any case, you once again need to restore balance to your game. Playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors" is no fun if your opponent holds "Super Rock" that crushes ALL. The more you increase the chances of a new Player getting nuked by an experienced Player the very first time they sail out of their Nations Capitol, the less returning "Second Day" Players you will have.

Thx!!

@admin question, will our Ship redeemables come with the permanent Upgrades/Modules we have already placed on our Ships? p

I think the current system is good. No need to gives koltes any more advantages in his gank attempts.

@adminIn an earlier iteration of the game, a Trader Ship under Smuggler's Flag could stealth into a foreign Port and place a Contract to buy or sell a Resource / Material. This has been removed and takes with it Realism, Potential PvP engagements and "Come-back" ability of the non-owning Nation. I advocate for this feature to be re-introduced into the game. When a Nation does not have access to a Resource, they can be severely handicapped; and if they a smaller Nation, their chance of gaining said Resource through Conquest maybe rather limited, meaning their chances of "making a comeback" are hampered. By allowing Contracts in foreign Ports, enemies are encouraged to "take a chance" and risk PvP encounters both going in to establish these contracts AND returning later to collect whatever resources they have managed to acquire. Also, I would argue that realism is at stake, as often in human affairs the "highest bidder" has won out over National Pride/Loyalty. A prime example were the US oil tankers in the mid-Atlantic who regularly sold oil to German U-Boats because it was a lucrative business. As I have argued before, and will continue to advocate for, this game is a RICH one, having MANY paths to "victory," and multiple ways to provide the individual Player with a sense of accomplishment; and it is always disappointing when one gets turned off or shut-down. There is "smash-mouth" PvP and Conquest; but also stealth, shadows and alternative routes to the same end. I think the alternate "fix" of having Contracts expire is the correct route to take - it forces the Contracting player to return to the danger-zone to collect, AND, it eliminates the "trolling" type Contracts that might cripple a Port out of malice or neglect, such as ones set by a player who then stops playing. This game is the best I have ever played, please keep up the good work!

With the newish "No Area Captures For First 5 Minutes" it seems the Attackers now have a huge advantage in Shallow Water Port Battles. This is partly due to the speed of the Ships and that the attacker can be spread out and grab the outer 2 Areas before the defense can set themselves. In a recent shallow water PB, the battle was declared over (1,000 pts achieved) extremely shortly after the Ships of the two Nations fully engaged each other. Only one or two Ships were sunk/captured prior to victory being achieved.

@admin I am VERY happy with the addition of the Protractor Tool! It is one of the best enhancements I have seen. Is there any chance you will be adding a "noon reading" indicator on the map? A small red dot in the approximate location of the Ship each noon? Maybe there could also be a 3 day "history" saved to the map.

I have to say, I am very glad I moved from the PvP USA (now Global) to PvE! Makes the game refreshing and new all over again!!! Enjoying the new stuff, and was happy to see Midshipman Missions not put a Player up against 2 superior enemies! But, I sure could use some Coal...

L Last time I checked testbed offered neither the LGV nor the Indiaman BP - so, NO, unless the Indiaman gets re-instated, @admin has mis-spoken in regards to traders using 3 Indiamen as Fleeted Ships.

I remember sailing into George Town (Caymans) for the first time: it is a BEAUTIFUL atoll!!! And, re-writing my first piece, after playing "Naval Action" for the first time: "2, January, 1786 Naval Gazette: A Commission! “Port Royal?” I stammered, stumbling out of The Admiralty’s home office, “Where in the devil is that?!?” I, Sir F Drake, had just been handed my first Admiralty Orders! As a Midshipman I was to command the mighty, “HMS Wroughtenboughtham,” of His Majesty’s Royal Navy, and was to proceed, “with all due haste,” to some, “Port Royal.” My head was swimming with delight and I tore off towards what I thought was my appointed post. But, as luck would have it, Port Royal is NOT the royal docks near Buckingham Palace, as some rather derisive gate-keepers let me know with more than an adequate level of humiliating back-chat; but rather a rather remote Outpost across the Atlantic Ocean in the bloody Caribbean! And, before I could say, “Bob is your uncle,” I was hastily whisked away on the first available tide in a Royal Navy packet bound for the island of Jamaica… (Narrator: The author has just purchased the game, “Naval Action,” on Steam and is just beginning to explore its workings. Firstly, a player chooses a name for their character, then they choose which nationality they will be affiliated with: Great Britain, France, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, the USA, the Pirates or to play as a “Neutral.” Any Player who signs up as a British Captain is given an Outpost with a Warehouse in Kingston/Port Royal, limited storage space within said Warehouse, a dock space for up to six Ships, and a “Basic Cutter” as their only Ship. This Ship is an 8th Rate with fore-and-aft rigging which also comes equipped with 10th Rated Four Pounder Cannons; which are the weakest Cannons in the game.) My name is, Sir F Drake. Upon hearing my name many assume that I am no other than, Sir FRANCIS Drake, the rather infamous Captain and Privateer in His Majesty’s Royal Navy. This error on their parts has served me quite well in life so far, and may well have been the key factor in my landing this sweet commission. However, in actuality I am merely, Sir FREDERICK Drake, a MUCH, MUCH younger brother of the legendary “Francis;” with the “Frederick” shrunk down to an unassuming “F” for the sake of allowing an element of confusion to slip in… Upon my arrival in Port Royal, Jamaica (known as, “Kingston,” by the locals) I inquired as to where I would find the HMS Wroughtenboughtham. With a few odd smirks and smiles on the side, I was directed to the docks and shown my first command: A “Basic Cutter”… The wind came right out of my sails, and the term, “major disappointment,” was not strong enough to truly describe my initial emotions towards her; for my glorious command was an aging, and very heavily weathered, 8th Rate of a Ship!! Being flat broke, I was advised that the best path forward was to go into the local Office of The Admiralty and request a Mission; so as to both gain experience, Rank and get some lucrative government pay-outs. When I did so, the Official handed me some orders to: “Sail ‘round Jamaica to a Port called Saint Ann, and rid the seas there of a troublesome pirate!” (Narrator: In the game, “Naval Action,” there are MANY, MANY Ports scattered all around the greater Caribbean area; which, for the purposes of this game, extends from southern Carolina, clear down to the northern part of South America, being bordered to the west by Mexico and extending eastward enough to include Bermuda, as well as the Lesser and Greater Antillies. All of these Ports are in play, though only the owning Nation’s Ships may enter them, save the Free Towns, which are available for all to utilize. Initially, all seven of the Ports in Jamaica were under British control, so sailing around to Saint Ann was a low-risk undertaking. The game starts each player in their Nation’s home Port where they can access many different parts of the game: · One may press “M” to view the map, and the map can be zoomed way in or way out depending on one’s specific needs at the time. · There is a Shop in every Port for buying and selling of Materials, Upgrades, Cannons, Consumables and Resources. · One may Craft Resources into Materials, Upgrades and/or Ships. · There is a Missions tab for selecting various types of missions. · Or, one may click on the “Sail” icon and proceed out of Port and into the “Open World:” a beautifully rendered three-dimensional world consisting of mountains, trees, shores, towns, docks, rocks, water, waves, clouds, stars, sun, and, of course, one’s fantastically modelled Ship. Currently, movement in the Open World is both simplified and accelerated, such that less time is required to merely sail between Ports. “Missions,” which YouTubers recommend as the best way for beginners to earn money and advance in experience and Rank, are easy to undertake: Creating a Mission means choosing a difficulty level, accepting it, and then, using the Map to locate it. Then, one must sail out into the Open World and find the mission icon, and click on “Enter” to begin the mission. Entering a Mission places one’s Ship within the “Combat Module,” wherein a pirate or pirates are to be engaged. This “Combat Module” features much more detailed and robust graphics, and herein the options are to sink the enemy, be sunk by the enemy, or, disengage if one both needs to AND is able to do so.) Sailing from Port Royal to Saint Ann was a straight forward affair, and once there locating the pirate was rather easy, as she had become VERY bold and made no attempt to run from us. But upon engaging her, our troubles began in earnest… The weather turned ugly in a hurry, as it is prone to do in this region, and our battle commenced with wind and wave seemingly joining in league with the bloody pirate! My first action was to gain the weather-gauge, and then I commenced firing, catching her smartly on her hull with our initial broadside!! Huzzah!!! But, from there on out, the encounter turned against us: Numerous times my gun crews were both unresponsive to commands to “fire,” and my “able” rated sailors proved themselves to be quite otherwise; being rather “unable” to get us out of Irons, what with the horrendous wind and waves. In addition, this pirate was no Ensign, and knew his way around a quarterdeck. At the end of the encounter, it was the pirate holding the weather-gauge, switching tacks expertly, and raking us repeatedly with both of her broadsides; one after the other. The HMS Wroughtenboughtham was sunk, both literally and figuratively. It was both horrific and embarrassing, I thoroughly expect to be “flogged around the fleet” for this wretched performance! (Narrator: The game, “Naval Action,” initially would not function on the author’s PC; this due to the weak specifications of the computer’s factory-installed graphics card - read: no graphic card present! So, a new graphics card was quickly ordered, and the author borrowed his son's PC in order to give the game a try. Firstly, the game’s graphics are AMAZING, from the Ship models, the blues of the water, to the beaches, the sand and rocks in the shallows - at times you can even see belts of sea-weed and kelp! Unfortunately, the borrowed PC is only attached to the inter-web via a less-than-stellar wifi connection, and the game demands much more for anywhere near optimal performance; or at least there lies a convenient excuse for the author’s sub-par initial foray into the game’s “Combat Module.” It turns out the game ain’t as easy as all the YouTubers make it out to be!) The Admiralty had ordered me to sail around Jamaica in my 8th Rate, HMS Wroughtenboughtham w/ 10th Rate Cannons to deal w/ an experienced pirate, promising 5,000 “coin of the realm” if I successfully dealt with her. My failure to sink the pirate negated the promised pay-out, though I did receive a minor compensation in both coin of the realm and experience for putting a few holes in her hull. Unfortunately, I now found myself without a Ship and shamefully re-assigned to the back-water Port of Saint Ann's ... Sign Me: Embarrassed and Ashamed, But Still Commissioned As Of Now, Midshipman; Sir F Drake."

Endyminion 4th slot needed to unlock Constitution 3rd.

The sad news today was the re-introduction of "The Sister of Fine Woods" on TestBed server... "White Oak" and "?Sabico?" (unsure of the spelling). These give Players more Trim options in Crafting Ships, but as of yet they are unexplained and UnCraftable; as currently only "Oak Planks" can be Crafted...

One important thing to remember with all this "Balancing" the Nations in the new "Global" server talk, is that there are two elements to consider in balancing: One is a Nation's Quantity of players, and the other is their Quality of players. On PvP2, Great Britain may be the largest Nation by Quantity of players, but MANY are casual / Non-Port Battle players. I would argue that IF indeed the Pirates are a less numerous Nation, then their population is heavier in High Quality / Serious / Port Battle players. The proof can be seen in the way that last year the Pirates went on an Anti-Great Britain vendetta, and one Ported Great Britain. The reason USA and Great Britain formed their Alliance is because alone neither Nation could stand up to the Pirates. To me the idea of an unwritten rule disallowing an Alliance between Great Britain and the USA may just kill off the server by making it an All Pirate play-ground... What might be a better system is to try to urge ALL Nations NOT to engage in a Vendetta campaigns, in which they only attack / harass one single Nation. I think the idea of having an unwritten rule that no Nation will ever be taken down below 5-7 Ports would also be advisable. In any case, the Wipe should prove interesting, and hopefully enough players will either return or join fresh, and all of the "Re-Balancing" talk will be moot.

I would like to see a change made to the accrual of Crafting Hours: It would be an improvement if Crafting Hours accrued at a faster rate at the beginning, then slowing down over time. And to balance it out, have the Maximum number of hours a player can accumulate be reduced from the current formula. This would encourage more Crafting play and reward the frequent player, while penalizing the "occasional" player who maybe is logging in once in a great while to do some Crafting. Maybe at first Crafting Hours would accrue at 30 per half hour for the first few periods; then 28, then 26, etc. Or the number could vary based on the Crafting Level of the player. - Derek