Moria15

Heres a number of things I expected to see in a tutorial that I didn't see anywhere and would, I believe, help as part of a tutorial, and most of these come from watching the help channel in game for a little while. 1) What's the numbers underneath the guns on the ship UI, and why can't I fit 42pdrs to my snow. (explain the way gun l;imits work) 2) What are the wood types. (explain the various types of wood.. pro's and cons) 3) What are permanent mods. (explain books, enhancements and how to fit a ship) 4) What are perks and how do they work. (explain options) 5) What is the fish symbol for (obvious to most but NOT newbies) 6) What are buildings and how do they work. (explain the fact that you can do things other than fight to help produce fighting fleets) 7) The whole aspect of missions and attacking AI and why some battles close immediately and some don't. (a lot of experianced players would like to hear this as well) 8 What are reinforcements (explain safe zones and f8 usage) 9) Why cant I crew my snow as a midshipman. (explain ranks and crew numbers based on rank) 10) What is the meaning of the colour on a ship.. the grey/green/blue/purple (explain how ships in gam,e actually work) 11) How do I navigate the map (explain Open World and ports and regions and other nations) 12) What are the symbols on the map (Explain ports and ownership) 13) Explain missions.. combat, patrol, fleet etc. (explain some of the things you can do in game) These are tutorials to bring new players into the game... The existing tutorials (page 1) are also excellent, but I feel they miss some aspects of larger ship sailing) The examples are well done.. no issues there as they are all pretty much easy to do, although I see no reason to time limit things like dismasting. The exams.. endurance and final should NOT be part of the tutorials.. they are not tutorials.. they should be a seperate section within the game of exams allowing progression to certainb ranks.. and to some extent.. it might be that because of the way they are designed that they should "require" completion before that rank is granted in game even if you have amassed the experience level for that rank seperately. ie just because you HAVE the exp for master and Commander.. you still cannot be given the rank until you have passed the exam.. that way.. other players in the game know that if they see M&C or higher, that they didn't just do lots of cutter missions to get it.

actually, I like the three cancellations jobbie.. it's really helped my playstyle. Now.. I get on in the evening.. grab 3 combat missions.. cancel out till I have between 0-3 in the area I am in.. do them.. use some crafting hours and log off.. now I get my online addiction over in an hour or so, maybe two and don't just mindlessly keep playing and looking for other stuff My hours in the game have gone way down, but I am still having fun (my way) and getting some return on the game I spent money on.

IMO.. the words simplicity when added to MMO and sandbox don't exist in the same context. What we have now is NOT simple.. you only have to look at any newbie questions in the help channel to realise that.. and most of those questions, while extremely valid, were never touched on in the "tutorial". The tutorial was designed by a vet for what they think is a newbie and to my mind missed the mark in many ways although it was good in others. Trade capitals will form because traders like to have the maximum exposure... I hate to say it but look at EvE online.. each region has developed a trade capital on it's own.. the devs never set them up... and all the trade capitals are outside the main safe zones because thats where the traders get good stuff.. Local capitals have people selling things but again.. if you want a cheaper price, or better stuff then again, it's risk v reward. At the moment, all that is happening is devs playing with rules one by one.. I contend it needs a rethink, but.. and heres the but... I think theres 2 things going on here.. one is what do players want.. second is what does the dev want. Now. for example.. we have recently seen what the dev wants it was clearly posted.. and I don't think that is compatable with what a larger number of, can I say, more casual players would want.. so I truly believe that all these posts trying to suggest things like this will continue to be ignored where it matters most.

I posted this on another thread to ringing silence, but I will post a precis here as well as I agree with OP big time and it mirrors my thinking as well. The issue with NA is that you don't have zones to work with like other MMO's the whole world is one zone so you have to be inventive. In addition, what we are talking about is not a rule system or a player system.. it's an Ecology of the game, so every time you change a rule.. you are threatening the ecology of the game and as such every rule change has knock on effects (usually unwanted).. however, changing the ecology is never possible if you just change one rule at a time to see what the effects are without changing all the others round it. So the following suggestions, for me would be all or nothing.. each one relies on the others to provide the experience. 1) Safe Zones... Safe Areas.. Reinforcement Areas call it what you will... Most games of the traditional type work on providing a risk v rewards system to encourage players to get out there and interact and meet other people in a staged way. They have Newbie areas which lead into more risk areas which lead into rougher areas which lead to the full experience of the game.. which lead to end game (bosses.. major instances etc etc). NA has two of these.. being in port is the safe area and OW is the full experience of the game. Changes I would offer.... The current safe zone is a start in some respects, but it's not safe and it's a misnomer. If you tag an AI then you are open to and will be attacked.. which is not really safe and as such it's referred to as a reinforcement zone (or in the game.. gank central). The only thing safe about the safe zone is it's a safe zone for PvP'ers that want easy PvP marks by killing newbies. How could this change... First.. I would have a radiating range from the coastline of the starting areas.. example around the British starting area of Jamaica.. This would be a line around jamaica set at (for sake of argument) 5/10/15/20km km from the coastline. These areas would be the reinforcement zone. ALL battles initiated in this zone would close immediately no matter who initiated them. Now.. if the Battle was initiated by a British player in his RZ (Reinforcement Zone) all good and done. If it was initiated by a non British player against a British Player then in the 5km (first zone) Reinforcements would be provided automatically and instantly to the british player to a value of 120% BR of the attackers at close range to the British player(s). If in the 10km (second zone) Reinforcements would be provided automatically and instantly to the British player to a value of 100% BR of the attackers at short range to the british players(s). If in the 15km (third zone) Reinforcements would be provided automatically and instantly to the British player to a value of 80% BR of the attackers at medium range to the british players(s) and at 20km Reinforcements would be available ON Request to the British player to a value of 70% of the attacking BR at medium range. In all the above if it's non British players fighting each other.. it's a normal battle but should still close immediately to prevent griefing of adding british players to either side.. if your British and want hard core get outside your own RZ. If you are not British and want hardcore.. get out of the easy zones. In addition... the rewards would need to increase by range as well for BOTH sides (where british players are involved).... both exp/gold and PvP marks should scale based on the zone the combat is in with attackers of the home nation not being eligable for PvP marks in those zones. 2) Now.. thats all very well.. but it has a major problem.. on it's own.. those rules turned the game into almost a PvE server (or could do) and that's not what all people want.. some want a full on hardcore PvP game and that is fine.. there should be options for all... so my comment about ecology of rules.. not individual ones. Safe players.. (or any other semi insulting term you want to use) should be able to play safe and hardcore (or any other semi insulting term you want to use) should be able to play hardcore BUT and here is the huge BUT.. they should be playing at that level together.. there should not be a case of one type of player having it easy over another type.. you want safe.. play safe but don't expect as many rewards.. you want hardcore.. great go play hardcore.. but not at the expense of players who don't want to play hardcore. And this is where the importance of an economy comes in.. because it is the economy in games that DRIVE the need to get out of the safe areas.... OK some may never do so but so what.. if they are there.. present in the game having FUN they will write good reviews and they will help the game just with chat and being around. So let's look at the economy.. In the same way as there is diminishing risk from staying close to home, there has to be diminishing rewards in all aspects in that same area... so some suggestions :-. Only the most basic items for trade should be in home areas so for example.. you should be able to learn to craft in those areas but ONLY the very basics... so production buildings in the reinforcement/home areas should be max level 1.. the supplies available should be the simplest.. ie a level 1 shipyard in an RZ can only build a fir/fir ship and it should never be more than a green ship. Level 1 shipyards outside the RZ operate as now.. and can be expanded to level 2/3. Same with resources buildings.. some of these should not be permissable in RZ areas and if they are they should be max lvl 1. There should be no huge fortunes ammased in RZ areas.. but there should be basics for people to learn from and enough to keep them happy(ish). The further you get from the various nations RZ's then the more valuabe stuff is available. So if you want to build great PvP ships then your shipyard and all your resources will be outside and coming from outside the RZ's. 3) Teleport sorry I mean Tow to port should ONLY be to national capital, never to outpost and if we want real hardcore should not exist (although I do see the need for it in a game). OK this is becoming an essay and if I add some of my other ideas regarding balance etc, this wont fit the post limit, but let me finish by re-itterating there should be an ecology of rules all of which intertwine and not the individual ones we have now. This ecology gives a risk-reward at all levels.. you decide your risk and get an appropriate reward. You want to stay safe.. fine.. then you have limited options but you do have options... you want to be hardcore.. then fine be hardcore.. but with like minded people and reap the rewards that only hardcore can give you. This way you cater for all types of players and retain them and the world gets used and lots of people fill up the game and are all happy. (well mostly.. some will always be unhappy)

I believe you are referring to the type used as far back as the Templars To make the most of this idea.. the reality was that interest/conversion rates were based on the standing of the particular captain/merchant in that port. This would open up that whole area, long asked for, of having a mechanism for improving status in a port for individual captains... not clans, but individuals so that they could get the best return on their "notes". It could also open up the possibility of loans with interest rates if you have sufficient standing in a port. However, this also opens up the possibility (which may need to be stopped) of trading letters of credit, otherwise i see loopholes in the system whereby getting and exchanging letters of credit could be used to grief the system especially within clans.

now theres a good design for a skill book... Experienced lookout.. gives notice of any player controlled ships coming within range x of ship using it.

I cracked the final on both servers but I still don't think it was PvP training as such as I didn't fire a single shot against either of the cerbs. I just exploited the AI.. Right at the start.. set to boarding and switched off gunnery so I was fully prepped and ready to board. Rammed the first.. did the attack/fire deck guns brace brace brace rinse and repeat.. took the ai cerb and ran away.. used rum twice (ie 40/50 minutes whilst running away and playing another game on the other monitor), then rammed and boarded the second cerb and completed the second board with about 30 minutes left. Not sure how any of that is PvP training, it's just AI exploitation. I certainly don't see how it prepares you for fighting an actual player in any way shape or form.

To get back on topic.. why do battles close anyway outside the green zones... shouldn't they stay always open as in real life, or does that not fit in with the "gank" mentallity that protects the person that calles simple ganking PvP?

and that is the whole point in a nutshell.. you ONLY want PvP but you fail to see why, without the things other players want, that without those other players, there can be no real PvP except between the few left on the server in very specific areas. When we had 2000 a night on the server, there was ALWAYS OW PvP, but due to the screams of the single minded "PvP is the only god there is and nothing else matters".. you have lost what you wanted most, true open world PvP. Your statement just reinforces the fact that now to get your PvP you have to congregate in small defined areas which were never designed for that, but since there are so few players that is all that is left and even that is dying. We are noiw seeing PB reports of 4 or 5 ships a side.. really? thats just so sad. Still you have what you wanted, so enjoy it.

I played both on the Caribean server and I now play on the PvE server. Why you may ask? The last time I played on the Caribean server, as a Rear Admiral, I was setting out from KPR with three Indiamen loaded doing a run to the Old providence area taking some supplies to a clan I know in that area who were prepping for a PB. They were sending an escort up to meet me about half way. I left KPR and headed towards Port Morant and turned SW'ish to miss the shallows near Pedro Cay. It's a run I have done many times before.. theres some risk but it's generally an OK route when you know it, especially the first part of the run at night. I've lost a couple of ships on it but made more than I have lost. As I turned SW, I saw in global chat the following... "British Three Indiaman fleet setting out from Port Morant heading SW.. another f^&*ing trader player.. anyone wants him.. take him cause I can't". That was from a British captain sailing a 5th rate as a rear admiral. I logged off and went to the PvE server leaving my fleet in the ocean somewhere and never went back to the Caribean server. BTW I just checked.. on the Caribean server theres 210 people on and 0 yes 0 battles taking place. On the PvE server theres 120 on and 45 battles taking place. Have fun all. M

Maths basics state that at a mast height of 62 meters above the water, maximum horizon would be 16.5 miles (assuming she had topmasts rigged and the observer was standing on the top of the topmast.) More reasonable "visible" horizon would be 11-12 miles except in calm seas in good light. From the deck of a frigate used for spotting your visibility would be about 6 miles, from the masthead around 12. M

Eve Online hasn't required a subscription for 2 years now for 90% of the content.. it's basically a F2P with money for speeding things up and some bits and bobs like skill injectors. M

You're missing 3 vital facts in you're comparison. 1) There are degrees of High sec in Eve, and depending on the level, will also depend on the reinforcements you get and how quickly. In fact in High sec, it is almost quaranteed that the ganker will loose their ship as well to Concorde. Now a well organised Gank fleet will still go ahead on the off-chance that they can loot the ship "ganked" before other friendlies come by. but the only guarantee is that the initial attacking player WILL loose their ship as well. You want to be the "oh look at me I can gank a trader.. I'm so wonderful and such a hard-core player" population of much of Naval Action actually also has to decide risk v reward in both high and low sec zones. 2) Trading is worth doing in Eve because there is an economy.. you can trade in high sec for lower value trades, or low sec for the really good stuff, but you CAN exist, if you want to in pure high sec space relatively safely. 8 years into Eve and I have only lost a ship in High sec a couple of times and that includes flying fully loaded high value cargo ships to the main trading hubs. (Not gonna talk about the number I have lost in Low sec or killed in Low sec), 3) Theres a population in Eve that makes it worth doing anything, whether it's trading, port battles (system takeovers and station fights), or just OW PvP. Eve online is a true OW PvP environment that is set up for all to play and has casuals through to serious hard-core PvP'ers.. against which most of the players in the PvP server here wouldn't stand a chance against and thats why it is still played 14 years after launch as opposed to dying before it's even out of Alpha. Final comparison.. Eve online 175,000 unique players a day and as a F2P game now.. it still made $86 million and change in 2016. Compare that against whatever you want. M