James Cornelius
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Posts posted by James Cornelius
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Hello all,
My sincere apologies if this has already been discussed but I was not able to locate it.
I suggest that another form of cannon fire pattern should exist, based upon the command "fire as she bears". I will not explain the mechanics of the actual command, purpose, and procedure, as I am sure we are all familiar.
Obviously, within the confines of the game it is not practical to have an "automatic" fire that fires each cannon as it passes a target. However, given that there is already a rolling front, rolling rear, and random fire pattern I think there should be one more: a succession fire from front (though I suppose one from stern could also be utilized) that simulates firing as the ship bears.
Thus, for example, raking would be far more effective if the cannons fired in the correct order as you pass a stern, or you would be able to fire into a ship as you pass it along one side.
Thank you.
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Hello everyone,
I wanted to pose a couple suggestions on ways to create a firm distinction between the Pirate "faction" and those of traditional nations. This is not meant as an exhaustive list, but should provide suitable fodder for discussion, and one that I hope the developers of Naval Action will consider if not in whole, then at least in part.
First off, I find it highly annoying when someone posits that the game, or some facet thereof, is "broken". However, I think many would agree that the implementation of piracy as nothing more than another national interest is ahistorical, to say the least (brief historical attempts at a pirate "free state" notwithstanding). So, in light of that, I have considered ways that would make for the pirate faction to be very different from the national factions, yet still rewarding and interesting for the players who fly the black flag.
I wish to offer as a disclaimer that I have not played as a pirate, but I have tried to be as objective as possible.
1) Pirates should not have ownership of ports, with the exception of a capital port, which, like any other cannot be captured. Instead, pirates should operate under a permanent "smuggler flag" and be able to enter any national port except a national capital. This means that pirates will not be able to capture ports, but a mechanism should be in place so that they could still "raid" a national port which would result in the same reward system as a current port battle, so as not to prevent pirate players from being able to receive port battle-type rewards. However, even in the event of a victory, they would not gain possession of the port - they would simply be doing it for the "loot", a much more traditional pirate motivation than control of territory. I would also suggest as an option that pirates be only able to set up an outpost in a free port - while they could enter national ports as smugglers, they could not have outposts there. This last is something I suggest as a consideration, as I am myself of two minds about the issue.
2) I have elsewhere suggested that in lieu of marine upgrades being the only way for a ship to have marines, that all national men of war should have a minimum number of marines as part of the normal complement. This number might be slightly increased by the marine upgrade, but the upgrade should affect RNG quality (perhaps in a constant percentage of close range ship to ship musket fire, or failing that, in a morale of other buff for boarding actions). However, as a pirate would generally not have access to national marines, pirate ships would not have this addition. Two factors would therefore change: first, that any ship to ship musket fire that might be introduced would have a much lower RNG for a pirate vessel firing on another - their sailors might be very good, but they would generally not be well trained (or well armed) for musket fire. Conversely, in actual boarding, particularly when attacking, a pirate crew would have a higher morale and RNG for damage given that boarding an enemy ship is exactly what a pirate crew would be trained to do.
Thank you, and I offer this to the community for feed back.
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Funny you should mention Trafalgar, since many of the French and Spanish ships had enormous proportions of regular infantry on board. Of course, this was desperation, not an advantage.
Indeed, and that is, in my opinion, the exception that proves the rule.
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Yes, but it's not realistic for a ship to be overloaded with marines. At Trafalgar, for example, the Victory had a crew of 821 and 135 marines. Considering its normal complement was about 850, that doesn't square with how marines would make up over 400 crewmembers under the current system with the exceptional quality upgrade.
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Speaking of figuring out things for ourselves, has anyone discovered what the ingame praying does yet?
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Short answer. Britain made a deal with our enemy whilst allied with us. So that was seen as a act of war and the war will continue till GB comes for a chat.
Did all of Britain do this, or just one clan?
I say this because I oppose effectively killing of any nation. I was one of the few Americans who argued against the annihilation of Spain in the beginning on PVP2, and I think it is unfortunate what has happened to the Dutch, Swedes, and French as well.
All it does is drive players away, which is no good for any of us who want a vibrant community in game.
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I would propose several officers, with their historic roles. You have a first lieutenant, a boatswain, a doctor, and perhaps a purser.
Then, as mentioned, perhaps 5-7 perks per officer, of which you can only choose 2 or 3, and perhaps not even that many (maybe that number for the lieutenant, but you only get one perk for the others.).
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Haha you guys make me laugh.
I blame the Brits lol. Because we are so close to wiping them out they broke the server so they can still have ports. Blah blah blah.
Out of curiosity, why are you wiping out the British?
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Why has USS closed it's doors? Are you looking to join a new fleet?
The tale of USS is a long and sad one, which I will not bore people with now. But, after losing members for various reasons (mostly the normal clan drama and hurt feelings) it eventually came down to just a handful of us left. TheGindisReal, who was the only active member besides me, joined WATCH - I haven't seen him since.
I considered reforming the clan yet again for the purpose which I have committed myself to: to be a haven for captains who are not interested in clan politics and who are only interested in serving the US cause. After talking to some others who share my desire, I realized that while I would be committed to keeping the drama out of a clan, it would still end up self defeating.
So I have been solo since then. I am completely dedicated to helping all US players regardless of clan - I am tired of people putting clan before nation. So, if you need assistance at any time and see me online, I'll be happy to try to help.
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USS has ceased to exist, but I'm still around.
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Werwolf,
Thank you for filling in the blanks! Between the two of us I felt like I was reliving the battle all over again. I wish every fight I had - win or lose - was this epic! I knew I had injured your ship gravely, but never knew the extent. You and your allies fought bravely and fought well.
My hat is off to you, sir, for your handling of your vessel and while I certainly wished I could have finished you off, given the nature of this battle, it does not grieve me for you to have made it out of this one alive.
Til we meet again!
o7
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Indeed. Thank you for this.
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Is that asset move completely accurate? Will it be a straight move or as redeemables? For example, at Cabo Canaveral I have several ships, each with upgrades on them. I have a trader ship that I use as additional warehouse space - are the items on the ship in the cargo hold safe during the move? What about extra warehouse space I have purchased at that outpost?
And, I believe I saw it already mentioned that while buildings will not be transferred, the cash value of those buildings will? Getting to a level 3 shipyard wasn't cheap as I recall.
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I have a suggestion to build upon this, as I agree with the OP. My suggestion is the effect marines have on this, and a proposal to solve the current issue of ahistorical marine/crew percentages.
Currently, higher grade marines yield a larger portion of the crew is classified as marines, up to 50% for the gold level. When used on, say, a Victory or equivalent, the result is 500 or so of your crew are marines - hardly historical. But, compare this to other "crew" type perks such as powder monkeys or charismatic bosun - this does not give you more (or less) crew, but rather indicates the quality of the crew. I propose the same with marines.
Therefore, I would suggest higher tier marines yield two improvements: first, an increase to morale in boarding operations. Having a squad of marines on board would certainly have an effect on the morale of the sailors in question, in addition to the raw improvement in numbers.
Second, in line with the OP: higher grade marines would have an improvement on the RNG effect of ship to ship musket fire. Better marines yield more hits and greater likelihood of killing the enemy crew.
As far as the numbers are concerned, I would suggest all men of war carry a certain minimum number - it was unheard of for any respectable man-o-war of the time to not carry any marines. Having the marine upgrade onboard would perhaps slightly increase the numbers of marines, but they would not become an excessive portion of the ship's crew like they do now.
This has several advantages that I think negates the current desire to have some "negative" balancing aspect associated with having the marine upgrade.
First, it lends historical accuracy: nearly every engagement of the time had the ultimate goal to capture instead of sink an adversary wherever possible. This promotes this, as where it stands currently if you do not have a boarding load out, you avoid a boarding action even if you outnumber an enemy because of the fear they are using this loadout.
Second, it provides a clear and better advantage in standard practice for higher grade marines. Right now, many captains find grey marines more useful as a general rule because you are still protected, but don't have to sacrifice half your crew to be idle numbers until a boarding commences.
Third, it eliminates the gross inaccuracy of the current marine system, where they make up a portion of the crew that does little else.
Note that this does not necessarily relate to the numbers of muskets as the OP did - for boarding involving the regular ship's crew it would still be dependent upon the muskets and pistols upgrade, and this would only essentially affect the effectiveness of the marines: so grey marines might be basic soldiers with little training and experience, who might have difficulty hitting enemies on a ship moving next to them, but gold marines would be crack troops and very effective.
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Fellow captains,
I wanted to share the tale of an excellent battle I participated in tonight. First, I want to heartily commend and thank my fellow American captains who joined me: Flag Captain Abraham Knight and Commodore Pug Henry. I also want to recognize the pirates we fought: Werwolf, Locked on, and especially Yooper Loon. I regret not having any screenshots, as for the majority of the battle I was focused only on one thing: survival. Others joined us in the chase, and I thank them as well and my apologies if I overlook anyone's contributions in that time.
Now, allow me to report the battle from my perspective.
Upon arriving at the local naval office in Charleston, I was informed that there were reports of a large pirate raiding force just offshore. Unfortunately, all I had at my disposal were two ships: a brand new Surprise-class frigate, outfitted for trade interdiction, and an aged Bellona-class 74 - slated to be sold out of the service to a particular friend of mine, who was on the cusp of achieving flag captain rank and it was my desire to present him this elderly line ship as a gift. She was built of live oak, outfitted with additional crew quarters and modifications for speed. I'd added mastercraft level copper plating and extra planking - but as she was to be removed from active service, the had only common level other upgrades: rum rations for the men, survival handbooks, toolboxes, and powder monkeys.
But, with the nearby threat, I decided to take her out.
Upon leaving Charleston, I immediately fell in with Flag Captain Abraham Knight saliing a Constitution-class frigate; he was well ahead of me, so I alerted him to my presence. After hastily assembling what forces we had, mostly light ships such as snows and brigs, but with a handful of frigates such as the Constitution, an Essex under Commodore Pug Henry, and lighter frigates. As we moved to engage the pirate fleet, which had previously outgunned us significantly (at least one Constitution, several Renommes, and several frigates), our swelling fleet - now with another standard 74 and an Ingermanland-class 4th rate - proved more than they wished to battle...so the pirate force ran south.
As the senior-most officer in the heaviest ship, I took command of the American forces and led us south in chase. As we chased, they gradually pulled away in their lighter and faster ships, leading us toward Sunbury. The opinion was soon voiced, by experienced officers, that we were being led into a trap. Our force dissipated as quickly as it had grown, and soon there were only four of us off Sunbury, with a fifth inside the port. At various times, pirates Werwolf in a Belle Poule, or Yooper Loon in a Constitution, sat just outside Sunbury, eyeing us at a distance.
Within our own fleet, we discussed what to do. Some continued to believe we were being baited, but we all wanted a fight. I finally told my fellow captains we had only two choices: withdraw, or stay and force an engagement, no matter the odds. Within moments, Locked On sped out of Sunbury in a Renomme with another Renomme in escort. As we moved to intercept, Werwolf passed by me in a Bucentaure-class 2nd rate. When it appeared we were to be engaged regardless, I moved to put my ship in an advantageous position and initiate combat myself. One of our fleet members felt the odds too great, and was able to escape. Two other Americans, the noble Abraham Knight and the intrepid Pug Henry, followed me into the battle.The pirates who joined were those above, so the contest was a pirate Bucentaure, Constitution, and Renomme (with a Renomme escort) against an American Bellona, Constitution, and Essex; a BR of 1150 vs 1050. The odds were against us, but I felt we had a fighting chance.
The battle proved chaotic. I am not sure at times how Knight and Henry fared - they dueled mostly with the two Renommes, but at various times we all were entangled. As the heaviest ship in the fleet, despite being outgunned and out armored by the enemy Bucentaure, I knew I was the only one with even a remote chance to take it on. With that aged Bellona - headed for private service, veteran of countless victories and a few defeats - I bore down on the Werwolf's Bucentaure.
By using the relative maneuverability of that old ship, I delivered rake after rake to the 2nd rate, killing a hundred men or more. When necessary, we went broadside to broadside. As Werwolf sustained more and more damage, and I sustained comparatively much less, he no doubt called for aid. At one point, I found myself with Werwolf on one side or the other, while Yooper Loon's Constitution tried to rake my stern, and Locked On's Renomme escort shooting chain at my sails. Still, I fought on - at one point delivering a devastating heeled broadside to the Buc inflicting 14 leaks. Not all was roses, of course: an early collision with the Buc destroyed my bowsprit as I was already nearly faced into the wind. I had no choice but to repair my sails far earlier than I otherwise would have.
But despite the efforts of the pirate ships, we gradually gained the upper hand. First, Locked On ordered his escort to withdraw. Despite our damage, this made the numerical odds even. By this time, Werwolf's Buc was down to less than 25% on his starboard side, with his stern totally destroyed and perhaps 250 men killed, owing to my decision to switch to grape for a handful of rakes. I had lost 100 or more. With him a (relatively) lesser threat, I tried to turn some attention to Locked On, who piloted his Renomme with uncommon skill. I knew one or two good broadsides could put him out of the fight and allow Knight and Henry to come to my aid. Due to his speed, I never landed the knockout broadside I wanted, but in this short lull, Werwolf - who I believe I would otherwise have sunk - was able to escape. I was very disappointed, but knew at that point that the battle was now won.
Unfortunately, Locked On, continuing to demonstrate his mastery of his ship, was able to swing around my stern rapidly and after firing a harmful broadside, turn through the wind in a way my battered ship could not follow. My companions were still further ahead and could not re-engage him. He too escaped.
That left Yooper Loon, who was attempting to maneuver into a more favorable position where he might be able to flee, nonetheless continued to fight despite the hopeless odds. His ship, which I had the honor to officially receive credit for destroying, went down with sails unfurled and guns still blazing.
In the end, we could only credit a single ship sunk, but that was far ahead of what some others believed would be the outcome. What began as a contest that was surely weighted in favor of the Black Flag, had turned into a decisive, if incomplete, victory for the Stars and Stripes. It was my honor to lead such fine fighting captains as Abraham Knight and Pug Henry in this battle, and without their aid it surely could not have been a victory.
I only hope my words here can do justice to the exhilaration and thrill of the fight - first as we approached a daunting task, and through the increasing joy and exultation as I delivered such damage to a superior ship, causing it to flee, and finally in triumph as I joined my fellows in hunting down the last enemy ship. And I did it all in that old battleship, which I was going to give away because of its age and infirmities...the old girl still had some fight left!
Once again, I wish to thank Captains Knight and Henry - I will sail with you fine gentlemen again any time, and any where. And to my gallant foes, I should be willing to fight a rematch (on reasonable terms of course, ha ha!) any time.
In this spirit, I would welcome any other recent tales, and if any of my fellows from the battle see this and wish to add their accounts I would most heartily like to hear them.
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I will say this about badbenny, he is a fun guy to play with but man is he bad news for britain. badbenny is for badbenny i called him out on his shenanigans early on and protested cordova cozzying up to him. At the end of the day i am only one player, one diplomat so cordova got his way and britain went to bed with the dutch (badbenny abandoned britain to play dutch) yet cordova loves badbenny and im a spy... funny how that works.
I related a story on another thread of how I was attacked by a Royal Navy Constitution and Essex when I was in a Constitution. In one of my greatest victories, I managed to rake and destroy the stern of the British Const killing about 25 men, and blew up the Essex - all while sustaining about 7% damage to my sails and no hull damage whatsoever. The British Constitution ran shortly after.
Badbenny was the Essex.
(After coming out of the battle I was set upon by a much larger British fleet which chased me down and eventually dismasted and captured me, but it was worth it.
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Good luck to our friends in the Royal Navy!
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USS is basically defunct, but I'm still out there serving the American cause as best I can.
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Good luck to Sweden. I am happy to see yet more life breathed into PVP2.
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On PVP 2 the smaller nations (France, Dutch, Spain) definitely need an influx of players, but I think even the US and the British have been depleted as captains have raised the black flag and thrown off their former national allegiances.
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There are a LOT of clan drama and politics...gotta love the internet. I am totally sympathetic to your plight - I was one of three who founded USS on the PVP2 server in the beginning, and we were one of the big dogs.
But, people's feelings got hurt and they left to either go pirate or create their own clan. I wonder how that worked out for them...!
So, I've come to the conclusion that while there are some benefits to being in a clan, it's fine to just be a lone wolf and work with everyone. I find much more fulfillment out of being loyal to the nation than just a clan with its petty politics anyway.
Smooth sailing and maybe I'll see you out there.
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As of 10:15 AM, GMT-10, on 29 Aug. I can't log in to PVP2. Anyone else having this problem?
edit: nevermind, it's working now...Mods feel free to delete.
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Thank you, very kindly done.
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I think if we're debating the merits of bringing a trader ship along with you to a port battle, that proves that reward system is seriously flawed.
"Fire as she bears", or firing in succession
in Current Feature Improvement Suggestions
Posted
I tend to agree with this and disagree with any argument that it would be overpowered. To suggest so is to say that raking is overpowered, which is precisely the point. Raking should be devastating. And if a captain is skilled enough to get behind his opponent, when both are aware of the danger, he or she is rewarded for it. It's dangerous in game, but that's not even really my point.
My point is to give us more control over our ships and their behavior in a completely historical and realistic way. One of the greatest things about this game is its attention to historical detail and realism. I think this is a valuable tool to add to that area.