Cetric de Cornusiac

actually thread is about upgrades, so he must have missed that and named it a book.

Incendiary grenades made by workshop Effects: Not a canon amunition type, but equipment for boarding. and melee. Your crew uses grenades which have a good chance to ignite fire on the enemy ship (besides inflicting casualties) or increase an already existing fire during boarding. It is very important for your own survival that you disengage fast in case fire starts spreading, so combination with boarding axes is advised for speedy retreat, lest it results in an explosion and you are still on the ship or close. Blueprint needs: 10x Almeria gunpowder 5x Chilean saltpeter (trading good) 1x Treatise on Saltpeter Book

Bulk Cargo Vats made in Workshop Effects: All material which is bulk cargo, like iron, coal, but also lose grain types of food/merchandise (for example bavarian spice, ukrainian corn), can be stowed in a superior system in your hold, using vats which are fitted perfectly into your hull dimensions, and related loading gadgets like chutes and dredger buckets. Resulting in + 20 % storage room for such cargo, not affecting other cargo types (just a calculation modifier). Only on trader ships. Blueprint needs: 1x Art of Cargo Distribution book 1x Expert Carpentry Handbook 800 Doubloons 2 labour hour packages Clan: same

Congreve Cannon Master made by Academy and forge (in same port) Effects: turns (unpopular) Congreve cannons, when mounted on same ship, into almost Blomefields (stats-wise) in effect, thanks to genius modifications by this engineer Blueprint needs: 1x British Gunnery Sergeant 1x French Gunnery Sergeant 1x Sur le Cannonage Book 500 Doubloons Clan: same

Drill Instrructor made by Academy Effects: Melee attack + 0,02 Melee defense + 0.05 Musket Fire + 0.1 Morale + 4 Crew shifting stations to stations + 5 per sec Blueprint needs: 1x imperial Guards Manual (new book) 5 Nassau Boarders 5 Naval Graduates 1 Giant Ocean Manta Ray (they use them as prestigious trophy) 500 Doubloons Clan: MDRA (Framce)

Yes there is PvE RvR. Just indirectly. Also... you did not notice yet BR not only have been raised, but in some cases lowered? Carriacou has now 5000 instead of 10000 BR, at least on our map...

Or how about a port boni DLC in the style of the painter DLC? Meaning, it's redeemable with cooldown timer, say once a week, you chose a port bonus to redeem - and you can store them like permits and accumulate them - so with lots of patience you can add a package of several of them if you like to a ship you build later. Example: (first week) Hull bonus 1 + (2nd week) sailing bonus 1 + (3rd week) hull bonus 2 + (4th week) crew bonus 1 = combined for a ship with port boni hull 2, sailing 1, crew 1. It's no pay-to-win, as it takes too long time to collect seriously better accumulation, but then, you can craft a super ship without need of owning a developed port or bowing to some mafia clan in order to get access. A solace for small clans, while still no competition for the 'real thing' of developing a port.

Wonderful. Now imagine we would have missions in the future, with five of them super cargos plus decent escorts in the 4th rate genre, as group missions for players... sort of treasure convoy raid. With premium loot.

... and looks like two full battery decks plus quarterdeck. Pretty sure it's an East Indiaman.

I used the word "if" - meaning I don't know if Rotterdam Indiaman is, as I suspect she could be, an East Indiaman. The difference is size and amament between West and East Indiamen: <<East Indiamen were the largest merchant ships regularly built during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, generally measuring between 1100 and 1400 tons burthen (bm). >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Indiaman https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/15180.html https://www.soic.se/the-original-ship/en https://www.usna.edu/Users/oceano/pguth/website/shipwrecks/sailing_ships/Construction_lecture.htm <<sailing ship formerly running to the West Indies and the east coast of America and usually much smaller than East Indiamen>> https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/West Indiaman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Indiaman

If it is an East Indiaman (opposite to the West Indiaman we have in game), probably both advantages: more cargo *and* more guns.

Just wondering why they chose the title 'Armada' for this, as this leads to wrong associations. Obviously it is the movie about Dutch Admiral De Ruyter, while 'Armada' would make you think of the Spanish Armada attempting to invade England in the previous century. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2544766/

I think the defenders for minor ports have been changed to six random 1st rates. At least that is what we have met at Saint George. If that subsequently means defenders for major ports have been buffed in numbers I cannot comment, but would appear logical.

Don't know how you look upon it today, after a whole year passed, but the detailed ship crafting system we had was, in my humble opinion as shipwright, just great. I belonged to the part of community which felt sorry for shipbuilding to become "swift and easy". minus all those sub-parts which taught us about the complexity of ship design (somehow). And as you have read from posts, there existed whole networks in clans with specialized manufacturing of sub parts, which let them make money and collect crafting experiences alike in their niche. They felt like cog wheels in a larger machinery producing large ships for their clan, which could provide a feeling of being important to anyone involved, if even he just did the iron fittings. Or you could just find ready sub parts in shops and buy them. True, it took longer for the result but that also increased your anticipation and let me add, immersive it was as well. When those times are remembered today in global chat, rare as it happens (because you need to be a veteran to remember it after more than a year, and have been into crafting back then), I see nostalgia ruling and get the impression I was not the only one who liked that "complicated" system better. I don't know what the reason of game-labs was to abolish the ship crafting in full glory, probably because it was called a nuisance and "clickfest" by its critics who wanted to get quickly into combat. But they still could use their DLC ships or convert notes, while leaving the process of ship crafting to those who enjoy it as it gives a feeling of personal accomplishment especially with some kind of superior result (purple, golden). How great it was if we had this and could implement port boni notes we bought/produced in port/captured from elite NPC in any combination we see fit (idea about this is on the forum). It is true, the main achievement of NA visible to potential customers is beautiful ships, their handling and combat performance, as you stressed. But how much better it is, when customers find out later there are more great things to discover, if even not advertised, like trade (I like it as it is now), port development (if they find ever access to one), and crafting ships. You can satisfy many more than just the ones who like combat and admire your ships and their behavior. We can offer a home to all of them. If we don't sacrifice them "alternative playstyle clients" as fodder to the PvP heroes. That was and is the main problem, on War Server.

In answering that nonsense I quote you from game chat: "Why you play with others and not with us". The typical patronizing style of yours, telling people not in your clan what to do and how. This quote however shows I do play with other people, but I chose myself who it is. Also, if I don't get invited (never was), why it should it be me begging you boss types to accept my humble participation for whatever you're up to do? I came to a number of hostilites and port battles, including for them about your darling acquisition Nouvelle Orléans, without being invited, that was actually enough "playing with other people" - no hellykittying need to learn anything. I have seen enough backstabbing in the French nation already. With such people there is no 'nation' or 'common interests' or 'ressources to share', not at their terms. Smaller clans meanwhile mean democratization and loss of power to Monsieur Bigclanleader. Nobody wants the map of PvE P.S. to look in the future like the one of PvP W.S. does today. Which is the logical consequence of supersized clan domination and nations driven by them, killing off diversity in port ownership and accumulation of power in the hands of the few.

It is. As I wrote, you can still ask another 10 member clan to unite for a port battle defense or what. Just chose your members better. People who are dedicated to the cause and show up when being called will be prefered over casuals who cannot be relied on. But finally those casuals will find themselves in clans full of people of their own playing style, that is, a bunch of casuals... Maybe they don't care about RvR and port ownership at all. To each their own.

Soon those sub clans will develop a life of their own. Why they should follow big boss of old CLAN1? Freedom feels much better. So CLAN1A has ties with CLAN1C while CLAN1B allies with CLAN 1D, or CLAN1B wants only to support CLAN1A if CLAN1C isn't involved... many many possibilities. Not to speak of relations with CLAN2, 3, 4... and then the relations to various foreign captains, clans, nations...

I am seeing a trend on PvE P.S. which could lead to the same trouble as seen on PvP W.S. if not getting addressed, and that is the domination by some super-sized clans, first establishing a vassal system within their nation and on base on that, probably a domination by the nation they "represent" over others, with less successful super-sized clans. For each nation so far we see one super-sized clan taking the lead: CLAW for the US, ERP for France, FPM for Britain, SKULL for Spain, HLF for Pirates. All of them except Pirates have entered in a dominance race of expansion by conquest so far. That isn't bad and is intended, but their size is already allowing them to push aside smaller clans of their respective nations, who cannot compete with them, because super-sized clans will easily field enough ships for any hostility mission and PB they fancy while small clans are struggling to do the same. Often they will depend on mercy by the big clans, by having to accept help from them on conditions dictated by super-sized clans which lead to their submission. Thus the super-sized clans have a mechanism to establish dominance over small clans and demand conditions for their help which can easily surpasss the level of extortion. We end up there with undesirable "quid pro quo" as a weapon like in current politics. Not to mention this causes toxicity to enter into each nation which we were proud to have shut off this server prior to port battle update. PvE P.S. has some tendency to regulate the more brute conflicts by their discord channel set up for regulating mainly the distribution of most desired 55pts ports. But there are no means to enforce any given agreement, nor does the channel deal with trouble within nations caused by a super-sized clan establishing itself as the ruler of the nation and bringing other clans into submission. The solution in my opinion is a limit of member numbers to all clans, like maximum 10 members to each clan. This will curb monopoly expansion by a clan and open up room for others for map conquest, but more important, will curb their powers to dominate other clans of same nation. They can still ally with whom they want, but the limit will make it much harder to make vassals and exploit a relative weakness of smaller clans. Like overriding their aspirations for port acquisition and intriguing against others. For that they would have to depend on a larger number of other captains not under their direct rule. Result will most likely see several lose alliances of clans within a larger nation instead of a monopolist block with super-sized clan as dictator. Make it so that existing clans are forced to split up until entities of 10 players each are created, and new creations have that limit as default.

Boarding bug? So NPC playing clever is a bug? You just relied too much on your dusted schemata. Actually I think devs could perfect their AI behavior even more so, for teaching guys a lesson about not underestimating AI. Reminds me there were times when people thought chess computers were bound to lose as well, because of the "superiority" of the human mind per se.

Composition of NE Raider fleets could be randomized, so people don't know too well in advance what is expecting them. Could range from less attackers to far more attackers than usual, additional Indiamen... Brings (unpleasant) surprises and attacks are taken more serious. From my experience in this game, one of the best talents of devs is in programming random events. So clueless community still has no golden rule how to anticipate what they want to see. Hence no exploit found in that field. So this entertaining unpredictability could be applied to NE Raider attacks too.

Also it's a good idea if the time span between an annoucement of port getting targeted by NE Raiders and the actual event would be larger. Just for organizing something. Say three full days inbetween. Or defender would be given the opportunity to influence that attack event timing by paying (bribe/ransom?) to NE Raiders. Say, 100000 reals for each day the attack is postponed, top ports 1 million for each day's worth in delay.

Exactly. For this it would be necessary the NE Raiders would come to PB over OW, which isn't happening. Don't know if you witnessed yet a NE Raider port attack so let me tell you they spawn right into battle instance at the appointed time (the way they also do it against AI governed ports on PvE Server). So no way to intercept them unless devs change the mechanic to an OW neutral fleet spawning at some distance and sailing to port. Or even two of them, as they attack in two columns. Would introduce a new nice task for scout ships to discover them and the attack direction as early as possible.

True. And sad at the same time. Exploits being the first and last thing we have to consider whenever healthy ideas seem necessary for regulating excesses.

Theoretically correct. If you are really having friends. Turned out my allies, primarily the biggest clan in France on PvE, are none of it but backstabbers when the opportunity arises and small clan isn't obedient. They sabotaged my calls for recapture on same afternoon, after maintenance when Carriacou had turned into neutral, so almost nobody showed up for hostility missions, and clandestinely prepared for taking port for themselves. End of friendship of course. And last thing I did was destroying my expensive whiteoak plantation so it does not fall into their hands. So much liberty I reserve to myself when treated like this.

PvE: I advise also to make NE Raiders chose target ports according to clan size of defending side. Big clans usually have several ports and does not matter much if they get challenged. Make them prime targets. Small clans may have just one port and get utterly destroyed when for any reason (time of NE raiders attack, attitude of big clan extorting small clan into obedience "open your investing rights to us or we take your port ourselves after it went neutral" ^^) defenses don't get massed out. A workaround would have been international combined PB defense forces, but you did not listen to any argumentation in that direction.