Hodo

Very true.. But one problem most people look at is they compare the cost vs PVE mission payouts which is wrong. I have always gone cost vs prize rewards. PVP and PVE Trade hunting can easily pay for a ship of a 5th rate or less in class in 5-10 captures. Some ships pay for themselves extremely fast, like the Lynx or Privateer. Others like the Trincomalee take longer or you need to hunt bigger game, like Indiamen.

IF there is a population on that server for that nation. And there is no amazing peace agreement. But that is a player problem not a game mechanics problem.

While off topic, I will explain briefly why it wont work. Player made nations are a bad idea in a game like this, you end up with over 100 different individual nations, all with less than a half dozen people in them only to get stomped by the first zerg that comes along. I can go further into details on this, but this is not the place to discuss it.

As a lone British privateer, I will respect the sovereignty of the Iroquois Confederacy. I will not attack your shipping on the seas unless a Letter of Marque is issued by the Governor of Kingston/Port Royal.

Ahh good point sir.

(( Does this mean you have gone Spanish?))

From KPR to Texas isnt hours. If you sail a T-Brig or a T-Lynx maybe an hour and a half. Also White Oak is available at other ports closer to KPR. You just have to look. Lastly so you expected to teleport back with the white oak? Or did you plan on leaving it because you found it. Honestly it isnt as bad as you make it out to be. I sailed from Charleston SC, to Key West, to La Tortue Haiti, to Atwood, back to Savannah GA in about 2 hours in a privateer hunting a couple a days ago. If you choose the right ship for the job it isnt that bad.

We have to remember that the map is compressed compared to real life scales.

You would still get them, just at a slower rate because you would always have your capital region. Ideally it would work at map reset. Every nation starts fresh except for your money and ships. You keep those. But that would be another map wipe, and I dont think anyone is ready for that.

CMs shouldnt be a trade item... it should be a nation only item. I would rename them to National Marks, each nation has its own, British Marks, VP Marks, Swedish Marks, US Marks, Spanish Marks, and so on. These marks are only good in your nations admiralty store no one elses.

The Essex is incorrect in game.. but mainly because of game engine limitations. The real USS Essex had "Saddle" guns on the bow. These guns would be turned to fire as bow chasers when needed, or fired as part of the broadside. It also had 2 9lb guns on the forecastle as chasers. The only thing the Essex has over any other 5th rate, is it is the most maneuverable 5th rate for the weight of firepower. It can easily turn inside a Leda, or the Endy, or even the Indafat. It has decent armor, and great points of sail giving it the most flexibility out of all of the 5th rates of its class. While the Leda is faster, it also heels FAR more, average heel on the Leda is around 4-6deg, exposing its much thinner underside. If the Essex ends up on the inside line it can easily point all of its guns at the waterline of the Leda and sink it without even a second thought. The Essex brings one thing to the table that no other heavy 5th rate has. Handling. The Essex sails like a corvette, it can out turn the Trincomalee, Indefatigable, and the Endymoin with ease. It is only marginally slower than the Trincomalee, and faster than the Indefatigable by a far amount. The only thing that handles better is the Pirate Frigate, and that is slower and has less firepower. Not to mention the Essex has a better all around sailing profile than any of the other heavy 5th rates. So when you are looking for a Jack of All Trades, the Essex is the ship you need, but it is also the master of none. There is no one thing the Essex does great, or any one thing it doesnt do well at.

They would still be expensive and hard to make.

Currently Conquest Marks are a hotly debated topic. If we go and change it to a system where it awards CM to all the players in that nation based on the number of regions controlled and the importance of those regions. For example each player in a nation will get 1 CM for ever 3 regions they control, Capitals will give 2pts instead of automatically. So no nation can ever drop below 2CM per day. Some regions will award 2pts based on value, like New Orleans would be one, Nassau another. Lastly Trade Manifests should make a return but as Trader Marks, they are awarded to players who deliver war supplies to regions to either raise or lower the hostility in that region, you will get 1 TM per 5% hostility you gain from war supplies. You will most likely have to make these war supplies instead of buying them on the Admiralty/Den, as it wouldnt be cost effective, but you could if you wanted to blow 200PVE marks just to get 5 PVP marks. (it is 50 war supplies for 200PVE marks right? and they will only raise the hostility up 25% with 50 supplies correct?) This way the players who want to be traders, or gun runners or even smugglers can feel like they are involved in the RVR of their nation without getting into fights. This is just a suggestion and I think it would be a good addition to the game without rewriting the entire RVR system. You have a good baseline for the system but it needs tweeking and I feel this would be the best fit for all.

If you were that good before you should be that good now. I know I have won fights I should have lost, and lost fights I should have won. So again it comes down to your tag, and your skill in your ship. It isnt as breaking as you make it out to be. I would be more worried about how I can over come the obstacle instead of bitching about it.

Again there is a hardcap on speed, max is still 15kn. And a good LGV captain will know when he is defeated before the battle starts, if he is tagged and is in a bad position then it is over before the first shot is fired. But if he is smart and defensive tags first and puts the Surpises out of position he can get away LONG before they ever get a chance to hit him. You could say it is OP if a Privateer and a Rattlesnake jump the same LGV. Both can run him down no matter WHAT point of sail he takes and both can easily stern camp him. Fact is a Surprise is a hunting Frigate, just like the Trincomalee, they both are pure built hunters and VERY good at that.

If a player in a LGV gets jumped by 2 surprises run by players then he shouldnt have been sailing through there. Sorry but cargo ships should not be trying to out run anything if they are loaded with cargo.. they should play smart and avoid hotly contested or high traffic areas.

They have some pretty major disadvantages. -15% main sail force on the pirate refit... that makes them pretty slow when heading anywhere down wind. Same with Spanish refit, stay sail reduction. This would kill any chance at heading into the wind, and turning through the wind. Those balance each other out, that and a good captain who knows his ship can easily overcome most of these issues.