Blackie

You haven't mentioned it so far, but do you intend to include independent pirates and pirate factions into the game? If not, I think it would add a great deal to the game's appeal, and after all pirates, privateers, and smugglers played important roles in the Age of Sail. If you are interested I have uploaded a number of pirate flags used by real Caribbean pirates who where terrors of the high seas. Here's a link to my flag gallery. Also, if players could create, customize, or upload their own flags, it would give players something that was very unique to identify their ships. Being able to choose paint combinations for wooden ships and sails could also offer further customizations for players' creativity.