Iroquois Confederacy

I've been thinking of the fairly unused "scrap ship" feature. Essentially, scrap a ship, get a few logs, maybe an iron ore or two, and that's it. It is, by my understanding, never worthwhile to scrap a ship - it is in all cases better to sell it to the admiralty for some reals instead. What I propose is a multi-faceted approach to scrapping ships. 1. Increase the amount of resources gained by scrapping to some percentage of what it would take to make that vessel. To use a number, 25% of the materials it would take to make that ship would be recovered in scrapping. (This is subject to whatever makes for best gameplay, without overcoming more typical econ players.) 2. Include a percent chance to recover a permit to make that vessel. 3. Include a percent chance to recover one random, permanent module. What this accomplishes is that it adds a method for more combat oriented players to gather resources, if a bit more slowly - and in particular another path, though again, a bit more slowly, to gathering "rare" woods. For example, if someone were to scrap a Mahogany/Crew Space Frigate and scrap it, they would get 25% of the materials (or whatever number might be settled upon) to make that same vessel - including the Mahogany Logs. This is not outside of the realm of history, either. Plenty of ships have been scrapped, and their materials have gone into new vessels. I would take this a step further and add two more bullet pointed ideas: 4. Add in a perk to increase the amount of materials gathered from scrapping a vessel. This allows for a slightly more specialized player. 5. Add in a port improvement for scrapping vessels, which would also increase those same materials. Those ports that are so improved would of course have higher maintenance costs to them, however, they would also serve as hubs, gathering players, and of course, PvPers, adding another dynamic layer to the game.

I feel personally attacked.

You try to understand me. All nations are at war. Full stop.

When you select a player, it tells you. If you are in the same faction, it tells you their name. If you are not, it says "Enemy Player." I do not know how it could be more clear.

I like the idea of the lookout perk identifying the primary vessel, and the primary vessel only. This means those who do not learn their OW vessels can take a perk to ease that skill gap, without giving them any information that isn't already available through regular gameplay.

We often see posts complaining about how hard this game is, and how difficult it is to play - on analysis, each time it seems to come down to people sailing solo, not joining up with someone, and not coordinating with faction or clan. And so, as someone who does sail solo routinely, I thought I might do a quick guide. And so, I present: The Free Tribes Guide to Solo Sailing The first thing I can suggest is simply this: Don't. You might think that's me being cheeky. It's not. Sailing solo is its own play style and its own reward. However, maybe you want some insight into it. Maybe you want to learn my tricks so you can counter them. So, if you suck at following directions, and insist on reading on, I continue: 1. Be patient. Most players tend to clump up into groups. That might be around Capital Zones, it might be around major trade hubs, but other players tend to clump up. Clumps of players make for fast action, but they also make for a press of numbers and a variety of ships that you cannot counter. You can try sailing fast, and this often works, but the more people there are, the more likely there are those laying in wait for you afterwards. Remember, the more often you get away, the more badly people want you. In other words: The faster you are to meet combat, the faster combat is going to meet you. 2. Plan your trips ahead of time. The goal of a solo player is to catch someone else alone and unaware. Alone is good. Unaware is better. The way to get someone alone is to get someone who has "a quiet spot." Someone who just so happens to be doing some PvE or some trading out in the middle of the Gulf, or down by South America, or someone similarly out in the middle of nowhere. The more people there are online, the further out you need to get to find someone alone. Unaware is good too. If you know that a certain spot is frequented, just like one would a deer, you can stake out their position from the lee of an island. Most players think they are safe once they hit their "main tack" and focus on other things. That is, of course, the perfect time to strike. Unaware players mean you get to choose the engagement, and you already have half the fight won. The way you do this is you examine trade patterns. You can see a lot of it in taxes earned in various ports. You can try to determine what ports are main "crafting hubs" for nations with tools like the online Naval Action map. Where are clans investing? Those are probably important trade hubs, which probably means players to and from. The map of the Caribbean is big. You should know it well. If a patrol turns up empty - that's not a waste - it was merely a reconnaissance that tells you where (and when) people are not. 3. You are going to be poor. Get used to it. You are not going to run around with millions of reals playing solo. For a long time, I kept only about 100K on hand - before the currency deflation. AI captures are your friend. You can throw it away and not feel the loss. You can earn money selling cannons and rum if you wish to do econ. I cannot speak to selling trade goods en masse, as I just hock whatever I take off of other merchants. The reward is intrinsic to hunting other players. Again - you will have to be patient. 4. You are not going to have a lot of fair fights. You will lose those. You are going to get called a ganker. That's OK. You are working hard for those ganks. 5. Have an escape plan. People are going to want to sink you. You will need to refit your vessel with repairs. Be well aware of shallows - they can stop you, or stop a chaser if well used. Be prepared to jettison cargo, or any prizes taken along the way. Always be ready to lose your ship. In a fight, be ready to break off the engagement if they start getting the upper hand. Typically, advantages in this game compound over the course of a battle, which should drive your in-battle actions. That really sums it up. Be patient. Think out your sails - why you are sailing somewhere, what you expect to find when you get there. Have an egress plan in mind. Don't be afraid to lose, but always be ready to hop in an AI vessel to keep going. Lower your expectations. The path of a solo sailor, especially one of middling skill such as myself (and probably yourself too, if you're reading this) is a quiet one. But the quiet allows for deeper reflection in and on action.

I disagree.

If money were easily printed, it would undercut the whole reason for Navies: Commerce. The simple truth is that not all are cut out for the vagaries of a life at sea.

Some merchant or another. Called it a miracle or something, tried to convert us off some pointy part of Guatemala or Mexico... somewhere in that general part of the world. It all blurs together...

Concur. People whine too much when they get hit. Though I did have one brief, shining moment of good RP with a Brit a month or so back. Alas, this does not level the odds in favor of keeping it.

And because I'm full of (what I think are) good ideas today - a perk suggestion as well: "Master Contractor" - Perk: Increase labor hours gained from labor contracts by 20%. (From 500 LH to 600LH)

I have noticed how we have all sorts of combat modules, and thought it might be good to add in some modules for economy type players as well. If there are any other suggestions as well, I'd encourage people to add them - however, I do request this thread not get off topic. Ideas: "Load the Gundecks" - Increase cargo capacity of a vessel by 20%. Reduce cannon reload speed by 20% "Skeleton Crew" - Increase cargo capacity 20%. Reduce max crew 50% "Fishing Poles" - Increase drop rate while fishing. "Cargo Master" - Reduce speed penalties for cargo by 50% And, this is really useful for both, but with AI getting ready to attack players: "False Flags" - Reduce distance Open World AI will engage a player by 50%

If nothing else comes from this conversation, you make an excellent point. There's no reason for names to not be visible on the PvE server.

I thought that was implied.

That's literally the point. You would have to either mentally keep track, or look. If a ship is coming at you bows on... is it an enemy or an ally? In the heat of battle, it could easily be mistaken, as it was with me.

? I think you misread. I'd want names taken off over the ships. Names off of the tab screen would be good to, but is a distant second priority that many people seem distracted by.

This is based on a bad assumption. This idea came to mind after Sir John, in a 1st Rate, blasted me with a full broadside - "Wrong Endymion." I think that should happen more often.

With all these new flags in game, and the confusion they could cause if players didn't have so much information, I would like to propose that player names are taken off from above ships. Essentially, you would need to identify your enemy based on the flag it flies, and your own situational awareness. This would increase the dynamism of larger battles, as the fog of war would become much more real. I further recommend not knowing who your opponents are until after the match finishes, though this would increase coding requirements. Ideally, those situations would simply list them as "Player 1, Player 2, Player 2's NPC" etc.; and reveal all once Battle is Over (so any reports needing to be made due to chat violations could be addressed). This might be a further flung idea, however.

I believe this is how goods are arriving now, however, many ships still get through. (If it's not how it's done now, the forthcoming econ changes sound like they're moving that direction, or so I read them.) Really, all I'm looking to do is see some way for ports that do end up getting those materials to actually have some for people willing to sail to them. I want to see active playing encouraged over passive playing. In regards to Anolytic above, the buy contract could set the minimum price, but I don't see a reason to charge double it except as a means to discourage players from sailing. That is counter to the spirit of this idea. (A minimum price set at contract price could open up a new econ perk: "Friends at the Docks" or something like that that might discount the in-person price to 80% of the current max buy contract.) Also regarding contracts - it used to be the case that your faction had to own the port, or it had to be open, to place contracts. Is that still the case?

After talking with the US Faction about where to get different woods, I would like to make a recommendation to change the way "Buy" Contracts work. Currently, as soon as a material is supplied at a port (by AI, typically), it is bought by people with the highest contract price. This actually reduces the amount of open world merchant traffic, because sailing to and from these ports is not rewarded - there will never be anything there, as those with deeper pockets will have a contract placed already. My suggestion is this: Buy Contracts only buy AI supplied goods at server maintenance. Whatever is left at the end of the day, those contracts will be filled from. That way, those players who are willing to actually travel to ports and buy goods "in person" will be able to get some of the resources that are currently out of reach for them. I recommend this be split off from players selling goods, as those individuals should also be rewarded for transporting "live." So, in sum: Player places buy contract: If another player sells goods in port, buy contract is immediately filled. If AI fills goods in port, buy contract only takes effect at server maintenance. Risks: Bid sniping at the last minute before server maintenance. Will tend to favor later players. Might be resolved by having buy contracts resolve periodically, instead of once a day.

I myself was once an advocate of no safe zones - but over time I have come to believe that safe zones should be more safe. I think this patch did an excellent job about moving people out of protected zones, which was always my big complaint. Now I think the next step should be something like allowing any player, attacker or defender, initiator or someone who joined in later, who is part of the reinforcement zone faction, to call reinforcements. It simplifies complicated ROE for players who already have a lot to take in.

People would be even more afraid to lose ships, and rage even harder when they do.

Those interested, please PM me so I can add you to:

Junior Officers are all the better! Fewer bad habits to unlearn, willing to try new things, and unfettered to the lumbering ships of the line. Give me a score of such Junior Officers!