William the Drake

Yes and no: while pirates would "operate" out of very few select ports, this did not mean they were restricted to them or the area around them. Pirates were known to simply operate out of shallow coves and inlets (usually shallow enough to ensure larger, deeper-draught ships couldn't pursue them) where they could perform (light) repairs and regroup. Basically, they set up wherever they could. A system of temporary and semi-permanent havens and camps could be a viable option to static pirate ports: Pirate Havens, etc. Bounty systems are always tricky as they are prone to being abused or gamed (be it via x-teaming or what have you). We must tread lightly when/if trying to implement a bounty system. Pirates capturing "small warships" may be a bit of a stretch, but yes, customization of ship's purpose should be allowed, but it should not be exclusive to pirates. We are already seeing different variants of the same ship: Brig-> Regular, trader, and Navy variant. historically, many merchant vessels could have been re-purposed for combat during wartime. Similarly, navy vessels may have reduced their armaments during peacetime. As such, almost everyone should have the option to change the focus of their ship: Ship Variants I must disagree with this: there shouldn't be any class/nation specific fittings/skills/ships to affect combat capabilities. In the end each player should have equal opportunity when it comes to armament, and that when the chips are down, skill wins the day, not fittings or ships that are only accessible to one nation or class Agreed, but again, I do not think it should be limited to just pirates. Privateering should be available to everyone. They should also serve as an avenue for pirates to join a nation (should they wish). Every now and then (or at the outset of a new war) Letters of Marque could be offered by the warring factions, but only a set number. After that, LoMs could be purchased by individuals or groups: Letters of Marque

If i recall correctly. "Razee"ing a ship is the act of reducing the number of serviceable decks on a ship. For example, changing a 3 deck 3rd/2nd rate into a 2-deck frigate. Things like up-gunned indiamen or the Queen Anne's Revenge (originally a Dutch-rigged slaver) are refits, rather than razees. Being able to adjust one's ship is noteworthy however, but it should not be limited to only adding more guns or the like: Variants and the Modular Ship

Agreed, Privateers/privateering does not need to be a class, rather one of many occupations that players can take part in. But here's the thing, privateering doesn't have to be just a one-person venture. Privateering can be a means for nationals to get in on harassing enemy trade while also benefiting from it. With admin talking about war and peace mechanics (especially the concept of "trade war") privateering may become more important. Most importantly, privateering and the instituting of letters of Marque should serve as a major avenue for pirates to return to Nations, as well as vica versa. Letters of Marque

The Brig The Brig is a two masted square-rigged vessel modeled after the Fair American. As far as the smaller vessels go, she is one of the largest in actual size, being quite larger than the snow and privateer, and being smaller than the Mercury, and barely so. She is rather wide as well as long, making her somewhat unwieldy and causing maneuvering to a bit more tricky than her smaller sisters. She does, however, carry a respectable complement of guns: 16 6-lb cannon ( or 12-lb carronades) as her main armament, making it a +4 gun increase from the Privateer/Cutter/Pickle, as well as 2 additional stern-chasers. As a brig she naturally has a shallow draft and sits rather low in the water, presenting a challenging target to hit from ling distances. However, her decks- and therefore her crew- are very much exposed, leaving them vulnerable to anti-personnel shot. Otherwise, the Brig serves as a general purpose vessel, and a decent upgrade from her smaller Fore-and-Aft predecessors. Her most notable feature is her square-rig setup, the Brig being the first vessel of this sort available to players. As such, the brig will serve as the training vessel upon which players can learn the "Manual Sails" mechanic for almost all future vessels. The brig will be the teacher for vital maneuvers which rely on manual sails. Her square rig means she sails best with the bind, most notably at 45° from the wind's direction (Broad reach). All-in-all, the Brig is a superb stepping stone to the mores specialized vessels like the Snow or Navy Brig and Mercury. Navy Brig The Navy variant of the Brig adds additional guns to her broadside (18 in total) and improves her planking dramatically. The Navy Brig can take impressive amounts of damage and still performing. A Live-Oak Naval Brig will prove to be an impressive and daunting foe to even larger vessels. She also carries a few more crew than the standard Brig, meaning she is ready to fend off boarders and is capable of leading boarding actions herself. In shallow-water engagements and Port Battles, the Navy Brig is a superb vessel to have amongst either an attacking or defending fleet. Both the Brig and Navy Brig serve valuable purposes as impressive vessels for their size as well as introducing the player to the square-rigged system. Check out my other short ship synopses The Snow - A Pirate's Best Friend Lynx/Privateer - The Pirate's Little Helper Coming Soon - The Pickle

Mine is both "Because of History of Nation/Historical/Fictional characters from books/movies/etc make me want to play it" and "My gaming community (not exclusive to NA) chose the play it" Let me preface with: Messengers of Death started on Pirates of the Burning Sea where we play pirate. We expanded to ArcheAge and now Naval Action. We intended to turn pirate on ArcheAge, but the choice seemed too detrimental to the soc's wellbeing (going pirate would have meant losing a lot of members and hard work). But pirate is still our main identifier. However, I myself am not one of the original founders of MoD; I joined on PotBS and was later promoted to one of 3 leaders. On PotBS, I joined pirates because I study the age of sail (among other topics) and absolutely loved the actual history surrounding the pirates. Of course the fanciful/romantic version of pirates also had a little bit to do with it, but all-in-all it's the historical idea of the underdog that is the pirate that I like. If Pirates weren't in NA, my second choice would be plit between Britain (rich naval history, plus having "Royal" in your name is always nice.) or the U.S. (of which I am a citizen and also has a decent amount of Naval history)

Gents, Lasses, Pirates, when it comes to rum, at this particular time in my life (a poor, broke college students) only one type of rum suites me: the cheapest. Alas, I must agree that Captain Morgan is a fine. However other, less seasoned rums I find better for mixing and for relaxing. Captain to me is the "Party Rum." Other rums such as Don Q and a local fair 'Old New Orleans" are better for those relaxing days when ye just want to sit back, sip, and have a calm cigar or pipe. If'n ye fancy yerself a rum enthusiast, then I highly recommend And a Bottle of Rum by Wayne Curtis. He tells the story of America's history as well as some Caribbean history through the glass of a rum bottle. In concluding his book, he offers some suggestions for his favorite rums, prefacing with "I will not be listing any spiced rums here, for I assume you want to drink rum, not candied liquor."

Bloody brilliant. I don't think the HM has that type of jurisdiction or power. At most he can simply have a ship not chartered/logged towed away and/or scuttled. Maybe. Sending a captured ship to a port is already a stretch (it really should be personally towed), and I don't like the idea of a HM picking some random lubber of the docks to sail my lovely ship to me, only to abandon her at the first sight of trouble. I wouldn't think the HM as the person to go for gossip. Ship logs of who has recently visited the port yes, but not operating routes. That, I think, is something the Barkeep has more information on stuff like that. What with all the lips loosened by his lovely drinks. As for # 3, just have it exactly like is shown in the clip: pay extra and the HM puts down a fake name.

As stated before, this was something that was only a preliminary mechanic that would eventually lead to a more fleshed out "Going Pirate" mechanic, such as the one in ArcheAge. Before Early Access (when I wrote this topic) simply turning off the pirates as a starting option would have been easier than trying to implement a completely new mechanic, however it would have started the ball rolling: pirates would have been, at least in some way, viewed as different from Nationals from the very outset of the game. Furthermore, I stand by my secondary reasoning:

It could be a bot more useful, showing instead trade routes and heavily trafficked channels. this of course would be focused mostly on NPC routes. Player Routes could be a bit more tricky, but I guess kind like if enough people walk the same path in the grass long enough in makes an impression. The same could be done on a chart with player traffic.

Update: Added recent Polygon article.

Trying to bribe one's way in should only be needed after other means have not been successful. This should, however, be an option for all players, not just pirates. For pirates this does seem like a rather common sense tactic, but for nationals it should carry more weight. I think the first option should be an attempt to sneak into a port. If you are caught, you can attempt to bribe the guard/magistrate/whomever. Also, the size/importance of the town you are trying to sneak into should also have an effect on the price asked. If you are at war with the port you are trying to enter, bribery may not be an option, that or the price will be substantially increased. However I do believe everyone shoul at least first have the option to attempt to first sneak into ports. If they are caught, they can try a bribe. Both can carry significant ramifications, perhaps attempting a bribe from the get-go can save time and risk of sneaking in: Pirate Havens, Port Security, and Trade Regulations

Could/will there be an option for mitigating nations to offer different ports for peace? Example: England and France have been at war. Most of the fighting has been around Hispaniola. England Captures Port-de-Paix and Leogane. France sues for peace. France really wants paix and Leogane back. France offers to give England holdings in Louisiana (3 or 4 ports, and maybe some gold) in exchange for return control of Leogane and Paix. If no agreement can be made, England keeps Leo and Paix OR war continues?

I like the historical premise, I really do, but I fear a system that is taken over by a zerg or similar power. Would it be possible to have a failsafe system where, if needed, certain actions could be overruled by the "Ruling Monarch" (i.e. devs/head moderator of a server)? This sounds very interesting; is this the ability of large/multiple guilds being able to create their own factions. Furthermore, will clans wishing to do this have to first win their independence in some way? (Capture a specific/x number of ports or sink x number of ships from their mother country?) Would parliaments be able to insight things such as trade embargoes and taxes on goods from certain nations? Or perhaps tariffs to be implemented by Lord Protectors for their individual port?

Don't just write him off as comedy relief. The man is hilarious as a comedian, but he also has a very impressive control of his voice, and I would not be surprised in the slightest if he could provide a more serious toned sound. Also, I was looking at some Let's Plays for Blood and Gold: Caribbean (a Caribbean version of Mount & Blade) and came across ReformistTM and I rather enjoyed his voice. I think he would be suitable for the English. Furthermore, Gideon Emery (Assassin's Creed 3) sounds like he could do America quite well.

French Frigate L'Hermione But yes, please post the plans over there as well, as this is a beautiful ship and absolutely needs to be added to the game. She was absolutely gorgeous in person when I saw her; easily love at first sight.

So here's the real question, what separates those players who have the game, are testing it (sending in bug reports) participating in the discussion (here on the forums or Steam), from those considered "Testers" who are, at the most basic, doing the same thing? Is it a time thing; only players who have been here since Sea trials or before or some such? Do those with the "Tester" tag get preference when posting in the suggestion forum? What does it all mean Basil?!

In no way trying to be derisive here, but isn't that kind of what we do already here on the forums? I've seen a lot of suggestion posts make their rounds. Some extensively detailed and thought out, some less so. Some get picked up and discussed, some don't. Admin/devs reply to some, and don't on many. all of this regardless of length or thought (from what I've seen). This is the case for a lot of people who post suggestions here, including myself. In fact, it is probably the majority. You can'r expect the one guy to sift through every single solitary suggestion and reply immediately on it (due to what is and is not being worked on at the time) I figured it was just the nature of the beast.

If a captain believed he was in an unwinable situation and felt he could save his crew (and possibly cargo) surrender would be a viable option. This may be a little less the case with more headstrong naval captains, but civilian and trader vessels would rather surrender than fight to the death

Currently on PvP 1 EU, the most populous of the servers, the Pirates are very much one of the largest factions by numbers, the second largest faction on the server by my recollection. I'm very curious to hear what you think of those who play pirates that advocate for pirate reform. There are quite a few of us as a matter of fact. If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times: currently pirates are playing far too much like a nation, and that is a problem. Don't condemn pirate in Naval Action to the same fate of mediocrity as they were in PotBS; a laughably restricted and under-powered copy of the other Nations. Pirates need to be unique: have unique goals and unique mechanics. Otherwise, yes, you are simply "A [national], too proud to call yourself one"

Some factions would be pretty easy/obvious: Spain: San Juan + Havana Britain: Kingston + Barbados France: Fort Royal + Leogane (Or New Orleans?) After that I think it gets a bit iffy, only because the remaining nations are very isolated (historically speaking as well as from initial port assignments) For example, even for America which isn't the smallest faction, what would be a suitable 2nd Capitol if they only have the upper East coast of North America?

It's definitely an interesting concept: play it patient and fight a war of attrition rather than gamble on full fledged Port battle on a heavily defended position. The direct affect of destroying player facilities may be a bit much. Having a port that has recently or constantly attacked in this way have higher costs to use these structures instead may be a better way about it. But I think a raid should be much more, as should the security level of each port. Personally speaking, I would believe raiding was something mostly unique to Pirates: As a national, if you intend to capture a port yourself and use it, why would you destroy valuable industry? Destroying and raiding goods would directly affect you once the port came under your control, and thus lessen the payoff of capturing a port Port Raid: The Pirate End-gameThe idea that ports can affect and dictate their level of defense is definitely something that should be present, however it should also reflect the level of productivity of a port, not simply a well supplied Lord-protector who can throw money at defense spending. Pirate Havens, Port Security, and Trade Regulations

If we're speaking strictly of a "Royal Navy" voice, I think Stewart is more suited (although I wouldn't much object to Stephen Fry either) Now, if there was a separate voice for English companies/traders, Fry would definitely fit the bill there

Tcheky Karyo (French officer from The Patriot) is the first to come to mind.

A old clanmate and friend of mine posed a rather interesting and amusing question the other evening on TS: "Ok, so who would you pick to be the narrator for the English nation (for missions, tutorials, etc.?), Brian Blessed(narrated War of the Roses, among other things), or Sir Patrick Stewart?" Oh was I split. But I came up with a compromise: Why not both! Sir Patrick Stewart would definitely embody the Royal Navy, no question, but I feel that Brian Blessed would sound very good as the Pirate narrator! (If I had to pick one for just England it would probably Blessed, but when choosing one for pirate and one for England, Stewart definitely has a more authoritarian air about his sound.) So who would you pick as the voice of each respective nation? Here are my votes so far: England: Sir Patrick Stewart Pirate: Brian Blessed -more serious. David Wenham (300/Deadliest Warrior) -less serious/smuggler. U.S.A.: Gary Sinise (would have loved Edward Herrmann for this but, alas, he is no longer with us.) French: Tcheky Karyo

Prater in no manner attacked you or insulted you. In fact, it appears he genuinely was hoping to direct you to something that make the game more enjoyable for you. He gave you a recommendation, and then gave a reason as to why he thinks you should do so. No attacks, no insults, no flame. (Honestly this is very nice to see considering the National News just next door.) Furthermore he's right: half the fun I have had was engaging in PvP/RvR with fellow players. It's a whole new gaming experience beyond harassing NPCs. Coordinating with and having to adapt to a live, thinking enemy really is a thrill.