Thomas Blackwell

I assume the picture of the ship above is one of a ship cleared for action? The bulkheads separating the gallery from the rest of the ship are missing. Edit: Nice model all the same, as you say it's low detail. I would also like to be able to move my camera about my ship, but I don't know if it's really worth it. I won't be using first person when I'm in battle, and seeing as open world isn't coming for a while, maybe it's not worth the time just yet? If we're going to walk about the deck, lets do it with an actual avatar. It may mean waiting a bit longer, but I think it's worth it.

have you opened this up on the Russian forums too?

I'm in

"Jack! You've debauched my sloth!"

Unfortunately *cough* *cough* *hack* ...it will never happen... which is a real shame *cough* *hack* *wheeze*

Nice to see you're still alive Brigand. I also have to entirely agree with you.

If it's just the writing side of things and not the programming, I'm sure there are a lot of people knowledgable in the life of Nelson here on the forums who would leap at the chance to help. I'd take a historian over a movie writer any day...

So long as it doesn't turn into a pay to win game, I'm in support. Having premium ships and weapons should not give players an unfair advantage over those players without.

I like the idea of semi-accurate maps. I also like the idea of having areas with no maps. Perhaps you could do it in stages? Instead of introducing Open World one day, introduce areas one by one with each expansion. Each time a new unexplored area is released, the previously released area is mapped out. It's just a thought.

I fear this post is a little off the general topic, but battles taking place on the open ocean, open for anyone to join and participate in, like two ships in EVE fighting off a jump-gate would be to me like presenting a dog with a lifetime supply of steak. Trying to get back on track, I think the world map should be discussed at length in it's own thread closer to the release of Open World.

No advertising intended. Merely to show a video example of an interesting idea. Unfortunately I think it is too complex. When I am at sea and want to check my map, I don't want to have to wait for it to load every time. I want a quick and instant area map for me to pull up and check my location on. Secondly, I don't want my map to tell me where player ships are. There's a huge support for fog of war in Naval Action, and I myself would prefer to rely on my lookout, rather than my electronic tracking map. For realism reasons mostly.

I like the idea of it changing with each faction, though perhaps nation may be better? Pirate being it's own entity.

When I first wrote my write up, I thought it would probably be interoperated differently to my initial meaning, though I didn't have time to rewrite it just then. Things that are old now, of course were new at some point in history. I completely agree with you that old, yellowing newspaper-like maps probably aren't the way to go. What I meant was that the old yellowing maps from that time be rejuvenated to look like new again. Bringing the period characteristics of maps from that time (fonts, doodles, distances, parchment, etc) without the aging.

I would like to see old maps and charts in game. Perhaps opening your world map resembles unrolling an old sea chart, with some period boarder decoration.

Naturally, I would have to have something like this.

I'd be okay with this micro transaction, so long as the initial naming of the vessel was free. Plus, I think a good game to look at when it comes to buying things with real money is Guns of Icarus. There isn't a single thing in the store that costs more than $4.00. Things like dyes to change the color of your clothes are $0.16 - $0.30 a piece. Though this seems like a minuscule amount of money, a lot more people will be more interested in buying in game items if they can keep their bill below $10. I bought $5 worth of stuff, then another $5, and then another $5. Before I knew it I was $15 out of pocket. If I had spent it all in one lump sum I would have felt pretty rotten, but because I spent it in small amounts and got a decent amount of stuff for it, I felt pretty good about my purchases. (You could maybe charge a little extra for some things, but no stupidly expensive stuff like EVE, WoT, and Star Trek Online try to flog off on their players.) If I was going to go a little overboard, I would write out a little price list of things I would feel comfortable paying for... oh look, just such a list has magically materialized on my desk. What a stroke of luck! Bucket of Paint - Used to repaint your ship (the bigger the ship, the more buckets you will need) = $.25 each bucket Sail Decals - Adds a personal touch to each sail - multiple designs to choose from = $.50 - $1.00 each design Sail Colors - Changes your sails to a different color = $1.00 each color Custom Banners - Let fly a touch of style = $0.25 each banner design Rename Your Ship - Scrape off the old paint = $0.50 This list can be expanded of course, but the point is this. If ships are destroyed forever, and these custom additions are only good for one ship (meaning you buy one of an item, you can use it on one ship only) then people will be more inclined to customize their ships because of the low price. Plus if capturing enemy vessels is added into NA, you will be able to capture a fully customized ship. Basically all I want to see, is Game Labs making money without breaking the banks of their players. The easiest way to do that, is to make sure everyone can afford to customize their ship and captain.

Admiral Heart. I have a few things I'd like to say to him.

If custom ship names are painted on the stern of each ship, I'd be happy. As for captain names, I don't need to know who I'm fighting until the fight is over.

This is more of a question than an answer, but will Bermuda and gaff rigged vessels be able to sail closer to the wind with less penalty to speed than ship rigged vessels? I'm hoping this is a sailing quality you can add into the game as it will give these kinds of ships their place among pirates, smugglers and captains like me who love these ships. (cough* Yarr! cough*)

Well, neither merchant men nor fishers were pressed, while sailors in the navy were. If you are taken from your life ashore and placed aboard a wooden tub for the next two-six years, you either run when you next make port, or try and make the best of it (to a point.) Keeping humans happy, no matter where they are or what they are doing is about striking a balance. A smaller crew with more room to sling hammocks will rest easier. A well rested crew will haul on lines and fight with more strength. Things like fair officers and decent crewmates coupled with some decent 'of the times' propaganda will motivate the crew to fight. Training, leadership and daily routine will hone the crew into a more effective body of men. Discipline on ceremony will also provide a sense of 'knowing where one stands.' If you break the law on a kings ship, you will be punished. For those who have been wronged, it adds a sense of satisfaction to see the wrongdoer punished for his crime. If there should be too much of one thing, and not enough of the other, it will cause unrest. An officer is too quick to bring out the cat, the captain is too cowardly to fight and bring in prize money. A string of bad winds keep the crew from port and the grog dries up. The crew is trained relentlessly on an overcrowded ship. Crew will grow less cooperative and may even start talks of mutiny. If they get it into their minds to hate one of the officers, it will be next to impossible for that officer to do the right thing in their eyes. I don't think there is a simple way to accurately represent morale, as there are so many factors that come into play. Many of them out of mortal control. The most simple thing I can imagine, is a 'Prison Architect' approach, and create a day plan for your crew to follow. Monday to Saturday with Sunday being their day off weather and service permitting. A time for breakfast, a time for training on the guns, a time for school for the younger officers, a time for the changing of the watch. A two watch ship or a three watch ship would also effect morale. The morale system could be the next big thing for Naval Action next to the combat. Something that makes the game unique. Or, it could just be another bar in the top left corner of your screen.

Having community moderators keep the forums clean shouldn't be too hard if there are enough of us for each section (Russian, English, etc.) Spam that we have to deal with still finds it's way onto the forums despite the filter, however with the current number of moderators and admins it is often dealt with in an hour or two of it's being posted. It is also pretty easy for us to copy-paste a warning message to the spammer. 'One more strike and you're outta here' sort of thing. At least it would be slightly better than not letting people sign up because their email seems suspicious, you may be losing a lot of interest in the games. With enough of the right people, you wont need the filter. You will have your own online task force constantly on the lookout for evil-dooers.

Perhaps a bar. A fire that goes unchecked raises the bar. If the bar gets too high, kablewie is immanent. This is off topic however as it is not a part of the 3.0 updated model (but still something to ponder) as far as 3.0 is concerned, I think it is a good step in the right direction.

If ships only go boom when the powder explodes, people will go "Woah, cool!" Instead of "Sigh..."

What parts of POTBS did you enjoy the most during its golden period? (Open question to all)