Thomas Blackwell

Take warning, Decatur. If your ships should hunt me, I shall burn them to the waterline and their officers along with them. If your nation should threaten me, I shall dismantle it piece by piece until the threat is gone... I shall however leave your President's home for Mr. Caldwell and the Royal Navy.

I was born into a hell, it is no merry place. It took a lot of my blood to win my freedom, and if the final price should be to hang then so be it... but I shall not leave this world without a fight. And the very same to you captain! May fortune look kindly upon you and yours, and may your cannons fire with both haste and accuracy against your enemies.

A good post, say for one part. So long as freedom exists there will be those who fight for it. Threaten the freedom of men with nothing to lose and they will humour your 'navy' no longer. Take heed that the AoC is built by such men and you would do well to remember that.

"There are men upon these waves even devils fear to face." Awesome art though!

"Raise the Jacques Mr. Sandhope, for tonight we dine upon the kings food, and drink the Kings spirits! If free men are to be branded pirates, then we shall do well to act like pirates!"

Ahh that sweet, sweet Rattlesnake... 1) Danish Gunboat 2) Sultana 3) Rattlesnake 1) Wasa My vote distribution above with an emphasis on smaller, fore-and-aft vessels.

A friendly broadside to you fair captain. Greetings from a fellow free man. Good luck with your venture!

And the very same to you, good sir!

I would like to clarify that this isn't so much an organized group as it is a network of independent Captains. A place for captains to 'expand' their business... what ever that 'business' may be. As an independent captain, you are not obligated to do anything. That's the problem with pirates, they don't take orders and authority very well. Edit: The easiest way to look at it is like the bretherin court in Pirates of the Caribbean. They have power, but no one ever agrees so nothing gets done. Instead they just bicker among themselves and fight for the different positions. The court is for the most part, a way to try and encourage PVP.

These men are death incarnate. They are the tendrils of evil and the arms of chaos. If you play dice with the devil and lose, it is they he calls upon to collect what he is due. Captain! Arms of Chaos is a group of free men who refuse to bare the crushing obligations of authority, law, and civil obedience. We are not bound by the words of kings, men who would send a navy to fight in their place. Authority, respect, and loyalty are things to be earned, not blindly bestowed by rank, wealth, or social status. A man may only rule another man if the latter permits him. This mindset has been the cornerstone of AoC membership since the group was first founded. As free men residing on the very fringe of modern society, we still believe in a man's authority over his own person! No one ruler or board of rulers should have equal or greater power over a man or group of men than they themselves do. The AoC Court consists of eight seated captains who act as spokesmen for the AoC. If nations or fleets wish to engage the entire AoC in 'civil' negotiations they may do so through the Court. Seated captains have no more power, influence or sway over the AoC than a common member, and common members reserve the right to treat seated captains as they would any other equal. Seats do come with a few perks however... Each seat has a unique banner which serves as the seated captain's personal pennant in-game. (When custom pennants are added). and Each seat comes with certain bragging rights. Any common member may challenge a seated captain for his place in the Court. Once the seated captain has been made aware of the challenge he reserves the right to choose the class of ship the duel is to be fought in. If the defending captain loses the duel he gives up his seat and pennant to the challenger. The first eight Captains to join AoC will automatically be granted a seat in the Court. Challenging seated captains may begin immediately upon entry into AoC. The Black Mongoose is a forum dedicated to the under-class of Naval Action. Pirates, beggars, thieves, and black hearted privateers welcome. No Gurlz Navy Allowed! Come be a part of the oldest independent fleet in the New World and live a short, free life with the rest of us! Website BM "We are death incarnate, the tendrils of evil, and the arms of chaos. If you play dice with the devil and lose, it is us upon whom he calls to collect his dues." - Jacques Belerose, The Cursed Captain of Isle de Hispaniolia

Let me know when they come out with a program like this for my holodeck.

Middle Management Dino approves

I always remember the time Aubrey was attacked by a French privateer in the Sophie. The enemy captain took up a musket and aimed it at Jack. He shot, but the bullet went wide and missed it's mark. It was at that moment the battle became rather personal for Jack.

Some of these things will be added into future releases.

Peace is declaired, and the loser regains control of his ports (for a price). The winning nation could be granted new resources and income for a limited time, bolstering that nations economy. A reset doesn't necessarily mean things have to be completely erased and nations must start from scratch.

It is certainly an intriguing idea. - Would Naval Action employ things like fishing belts? (Asteroid belts, but filled with Mackinaw Mackerel instead of Veldspar). - If so would these fishing grounds move or would they be static? - Can other players use these grounds to find enemy fishing vessels easier? - What would the fish be used for? Would they be sold to towns and cities on the market? Would players buy them, or would NPC's have fixed prices that they buy fish at? Or both? I like any ideas that add diversity to Naval Action. Fishing could certainly be a part of this game if implemented correctly.

If my boarding party is unsuccessful and does not take the enemy ship, there is a percentage of crew remaining aboard my vessel. I may disengage and try to escape, or if the enemy is fast enough, he may try to engage with a boarding party of his own. In the real world it would take a defending crew some time to regroup and swap to the offensive. In this time the enemy ship may cut the grappling lines and maneuver out of range. In game, this should also (in my opinion) be the case. You are right. Each player should be given the chance to be the attacker. However to keep things both simple for the developers and semi-realistic, I think that simply re-initiating the boarding would suffice.

What makes a ship look great is down to personal preference. As for the Revenant's three year life, it may have been short but it was filled with action. Naval action to be precise. Some vessels had been in service for decades without seeing battle, only to be broken up and forgotten about. No, the Revenant may not have had time to make a full name for herself, but the name she carries is weighted enough with battle to warrent her place here.

Evening gents. First off I would like to apologize for this long post. As someone who intends to do a lot of boarding in the fully released game for, ehem... reasons, I have taken a big interest in how crew will perform in the future. Things like how your crew are obtained, trained, participate in boarding action and handle the ship are all going to be touched upon in this topic. Obtaining Your Crew First things first, there is little point in owning a ship if one does not have a crew to sail her. I would like to think there will be multiple ways to obtain your crew, but for the time being, I will narrow it down to two possibilities. If you are in a navy and are looking for officers and crew to man your kings ship, you may report to the admiralty and they will sort you out with officers who's attributes are selected at random, and a crew who' skills and experiences are ranged. If you are looking for a crew to sail an independent ship, say a privateer or a merchant, you may apply to the NPC Guilds. The larger the NPC Guild, the more men they may have to crew your ship. Again, once you have found a Guild with a crew to spare, your officers will be given to you with randomly selected attributes, and your crew will be a mixture of new hands and experienced sailors. Training Your Officers I would like to think that you may train your officers with a make-shift skill tree. As the officer progresses and gains more experience with your ship, he opens up new paths to gain experience in. Things like 'Crew Management' could shorten the time it takes to swap from 'Survival' to 'Gunnery' or 'Gunnery' to 'Sailing' Other skills may give small bonuses to things like morale, reloading times, and navigation. You cannot buy your officers levels, or use things like free XP. The only way to fully train your officers is over time. Training Your Crew Crew are slightly different from Officers. When you buy your crew, you may get a free 'Basic' crew, or start spending gold to persuade more experienced sailors to join. The rating could go something like this: One quarter skilled sailors, three quarters landsmen = Free Two quarters skilled sailors, two quarters landsmen = One Hundred Gold Three quarters skilled sailors, one quarter landsmen = Three Hundred Gold Over time as the crew gets used to their ship, officers, and captain, their skills begin to improve and their morale starts to increase. With better skills, things like 'Sailing' 'Gunnery' and 'Survival' are made slightly more effective. Morale, Effects, And Their Importance in Battle In the fully released game, I would like to think that crew morale is going to be tied in with things like the size, type, quality, and sailing attributes of each ship. If a ship is small, cramped, and built of poor materials, the crew morale will be negatively impacted. Whereas if a ship is large, with more space for crew to live, and is made of quality materials, Their overall morale will be impacted in a positive way. The higher the Morale, the more effective the crew is at their job. 'Sailing' 'Gunnery' and 'Survival' are more (or less) effective depending on a crews morale. Morale will also play a large part in boarding. The Mechanics of Boarding Each ship starts out with x number of sailors and officers, who in turn start out with x amount of morale. As the boarding action begins, total annihilation of the enemy crew is not the only goal of the boarding party. Although crew and officers will die, it is the overall morale of the opposing crew you wish to destroy. A Mock Boarding Action I have pulled up alongside a crippled enemy and intend to board. Slowing my ship, I initiate the action by successfully pulling the enemy vessel. A windowed interface opens. As I was the one to initiate the boarding action, I am automatically the attacker, and my enemy is automatically the defender. I have by default sent 75% of my crew to attack the enemy. You may choose from 25% 50% 75% and 90% before the battle begins. He as the defender gets to use 100% of his crew to defend his ship. I now get to choose where to attack my enemy. I have three options. The fore section, the mid section or waist, and the aft section. I may click on one, two or three of these sections, and my crew will split into equal parties to board at the locations I have indicated. My enemy also gets to decide where he wishes to station his defenses along the same three options I was given. Fore, Mid, and Aft. His crew will split into equal parties to defend the positions he has indicated. I for the sake of this mock battle shall split my boarding party into two and engage at the fore and aft sections. Depending on where my enemy has stationed his defense, my crew may be attacking his entire crew, or meet little to no resistance. As soon as the two parties have chosen their positions, the battle begins. As the battle rages, crew morale begins to fall. Captains may use experienced officers to help boost the morale of their crew. Much like the three repairs given to us during battle to repair parts of our ship, our officers may also 'repair' our crew's morale. If the officers all die or are not experienced enough, they can not boost morale. The more experienced the officer, the bigger the boost, and the more experienced the crew, the better they are in combat. The victor is the crew with morale remaining. The loser is decided once his morale reaches x amount. Probably zero. If my boarding part is unsuccessful and does not take the enemy ship, there is a percentage of crew remaining aboard my vessel. I may disengage and try to escape, or if the enemy is fast enough, he may try to engage with a boarding party of his own. --- Let me know what you lads think in the section below, discuss, and put forward any ideas of your own. Cheers! Tom

I would like to add a ship of my own to the pile, even if I do love the Rattlesnake. Either ship would fill the space between Snow and Surprise quite nicely. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Victor_(1808) This is a French ship, the Revenant - a 20 gun corvette. Copper bottomed and originally designed as a commerce raider, she could be the first corvette in game.

May your sails always be full, your decks cleared and ready for action, your spyglass polished and in hand, and your guns primed. Have a great 2015 lads, and see you all on the waves next year!

James T Kirk is a Time Lord.

My vote is for the Rattlesnake. A cut throat little vessel. Perfect American ship to fill the gap between the two English vessels, Snow and Surprise.

Awesome song. That wasn't you singing was it?

Topic moved to 'Tavern' - Sorry for any inconveniences.