Devante del Nero

I've been scoping SC for a while and it looks amazing but the version out now is utter pay to win even if the fanbase won't admit it. The devs promise the final game won't be that way. The plan is remarkably like PotBS in that stuff you can buy out of game will still be available in game if you spend the time... and that's a great system in my opinion, I never spent a cent on PotBS but sailed some of the largest most expensive ships and usually had the best gear for pvp. I like it because people with money can spend it to make their lives easier and people who don't want to don't have to just to experience the game fully. I'm also in love with their living universe concept -- having different servers handle different levels of one universe instead of different servers for completely separate universes -- is genius and could be revolutionary to MMO gaming. I wish NA could do that but the only reason it will work for SC is because of hyper speed travel xP we'd be sailing around for weeks to find stuff in an open sea version of their world concept. And that they don't plan on being subscription based is pretty shweet... but yeah, the p2w is what's kept me from spending anything on it yet. If it truly turns out different when the final game is released I may be on board.

It was a show called "Crossbones", that was cancelled probably because it wasn't as popular as Black Sails. Shame too, Black Sails' visual effects are rather lacking :/

Haven't watched any season 2 yet, but everyone says it's better. I thought the first season was heavy on fan service and lighter on naval combat/life than I'd have preferred but was definitely watchable. I was hoping for something more the quality of the History Channel show Vikings but it came closer than I was expecting.

I voted for it. I found in PotBS that explosive shot was more effective than mixed bronze/grape for disabling crew and damaging ship.. but, I think it would be a potentially powerful tool in this game. But you have to be able to fire your different load-outs independently, so you can aim your upper and bottom decks accordingly. For example: firing your upper deck high with chain to take out sails and then firing your lower ball decks low to damage hull. It would be difficult or impossible to do this if you have to fire the entire broadside at once -- at least the first time, then you would have to time your shots as your decks reloaded which is difficult with ranging shots mixed in.

One or two of these type would be nice, and one or two polacres/xebecs to catch em >=)

I've had this happen to me. Waiting on my new comp to continue playing though. Should've been here by now but was delayed ><

Couple more flags.

I can understand where the devs are coming from with Whaling. ...So... where are we at with seal clubbing...?

I noticed a brief mention of whaling in another thread somewhere, and searched the forum but didn't find anything. Do you think whaling would be a good option to have for economy players? This last fall I found an old gem of a book entitled "The Story of Yankee Whaling" at a yard sale. Apparently it was popular during the NA time and potentially very profitable but high risk. It gives examples of whaling ships, and details the equipment a whaling vessel required including the row boats for chasing, harpoons, spear-like cutting implements for cutting them up, huge vats for boiling the oil (in Master and Commander when the Surprise is posing as a whaler, they create smoke to imitate smoke from oil vats). And lots and lots and lots and LOTS of barrels. Some very cool examples of scrimshaw with whale teeth and bones. (Fun fact: whalemen called ships carrying a woman "hen frigates") Apparently whalers could also be sealers... but I don't know if seal clubbing should be an upgradeable crew skill :/ then again, not as hot button a topic as women's rights or slavery, both of which I've seen discussed rather passionately on these forums so far. I'd like to share an excerpt from "The Story of Yankee Whaling", a journal entry from a mate on the whaling ship "Gazelle" regarding the captain's wife: "'Capt.'s wife got sick and so we made all sail for home. I wish she would have a sick time every day if that would only hurry us. She is the meanest, most hoggish and greediest female that ever existed. Her looks is despised by everyone on board and the whistle of a gale of wind through the rigging is much more musical than . . . her voice.'"

Since none of us were alive in 1790, this applies to all of our thoughts As for my statement that a majority of pirates were privateers... I suppose I formed that idea by reading Pirates of the Americas, Vol. 2. It's really just an exhaustive list of accounts and seemed like over 80% of its examples were privateers who entered legal grey areas. Of course it is a century back from our frame, and for the sake of discussing this game I've tried to keep my examples on the forum time relevant but if piracy was so rare by the late 18th century then there being less examples doesn't invalidate my claim... I'm not saying most privateers were pirates, I'm saying most pirates were at some point privateers -- it didn't come with the territory necessarily, but was a much shorter jump. I see you're named for Stephen Maturin. A lot of my ideas about the period come from those novels though I haven't finished the series yet. And while fictional I believe Patrick O'Brien fervently used historical accounts for his books. I guess I'm not sure where the modernist view thing came from o_o but I do like to read historical accounts from the times, and am particularly interested in how people talked so like to pay attention to private journals and the like. I suppose it's close as we can get.

Let's not forget about the ships of the Barbary Corsairs! They were a particular nuisance to American trade in the Mediterranean after the US declared independence and could no longer depend on British protection on the sea. Enough so that the US offered tribute to the Barbary states though apparently Algiers kept harassing them anyway. Polacres and Xebecs were especially potent pirate vessels because they carried a lot of crew for handling the large lateens and were some of the fastest vessels around. Though they had difficulty with oceanic voyages.

Well, there are at least two books full of examples I know of: "Pirates of the Americas" Vol. 1 and 2. Though they don't come up to NA time frame for the most part. But those examples exist as well, a few in my two last posts -- including the one you just quoted... :/ As for your second point... yeah, exactly.

Exactly. There is a legal difference between a pirate and a privateer. But privateers were never terribly far from being called up for piracy. A benefactor could withdraw their commission while the privateer is still at sea without them ever knowing -- as in the case of Luke Ryan. An entity could choose not to recognize the privateer's benefactor as having the authority to issue privateer commissions -- as in the case of the United States navy before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or the ship Savannah during the American Civil War. There were very few pirates who meant to be pirates. And most sailors that hanged for piracy or smuggling had some kind of papers that didn't hold up for one reason or another. Maybe they became invalid without their knowing. Maybe they knew but kept plundering anyway thinking they wouldn't get caught. Maybe they had to steal a ship before they could become bonded as Privateers. There was a distinction... but it was technical. Privateers could easily flirt with that line. Even Naval Officers weren't always shining examples of loyalty and conduct. Look at the career of Thomas Cochrane -- he committed investment and voter fraud, and served in several navies. It shouldn't be like... you start the game in a faction/career and that's what you're stuck with forever. Maybe you're a knighted officer in the British Navy, but are disgraced and join the Chilean Navy! Maybe you start off by stealing a ship and use that to advertise your skills to become bonded as a privateer. Perhaps you're an infamous pirate hunted by all countries, but offer your services to a nation in exchange for clemency. All of these thing happened -- around our time frame.

I stole my name from the Pirates constructable card game, along with my avatar o_o

Technically all naval activity by the US was piratical until the Declaration of Independence. The game takes place is a few years after that correct? I've never seen the exact date. Here are a few abbreviated examples from various sources of piracy occurring within, after, or closer to NA's time frame (and an example or two of how earlier piracy influenced the NA era as well) including privateers charged with piracy. Mostly wikipedia: -- "Piracy against American merchant shipping had not been a problem when under the protection of the British Empire prior to the Revolution, but after the Revolutionary War the "Barbary States" of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis felt they could harass American merchant ships without penalty." -- Luke Ryan (fascinating story, I recommend looking into him): "The Irish revenue defined both Ryan and his first cousin Wilde of Rush as piratical smugglers." - "Later, Wilde and some other members of the Friendship crew broke out of Black Dog Prison at Ringsend and boarded armed wherries which had arrived from Skerries. They took the Friendship, the revenue guard cut the anchor line, and they sailed back to Rush. Here, they collected Ryan and more men and sailed south-easterly..." - "Later Benjamin Franklin through Torris had commissioned the Black Prince as an American privateer" - "In September, the Black Prince sailed along the west coast of Britain as far as the Hebrides and returned to France with thirty-four prizes. Marchant resigned and returned to the United States after this voyage." - "Ryan had seized thirteen prizes and had considered himself safe from British prosecution as he had acquired French citizenship, and held both an American commission and an American letter of marque. Little did he know that the commission had been withdrawn by Franklin." - "On the 31 October 1781 they appeared before the infamous Admiralty justice Sir James Marriott at the High Court of the Admiralty in the Old Bailey and were formally charged by a Grand Jury for piracy and treason." -- "Historically, the distinction between a privateer and a pirate has been subjective, often depending on the source as to which label was correct in a particular circumstance." - "Unlike traditional Western societies of the time, many Caribbean pirate crews of European descent operated as limited democracies. Pirate communities were some of the first to instate a system of checks and balances similar to the one used by the present-day United States and many other countries." -- Jean Lafitte: "...a French-American pirate and privateer in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century." "...brought two letters in his packet for Lafitte: one, under the seal of King George III, offered Lafitte and his forces British citizenship and land grants in the British colonies in the Americas if they promised to assist in the naval fight against the United States." "In mid-December, Jackson met with Lafitte, who offered to serve if the US would pardon those of his men who agreed to defend the city. Jackson agreed to do so." "In the early 19th century, piracy along the East and Gulf Coasts of North America as well as in the Caribbean increased again. Jean Lafitte was just one of hundreds of pirates operating in American and Caribbean waters between the years of 1820 and 1835." -- "Beginning, in the late 1790s, the island became associated with river pirates and counterfeiting. Outlaws associated with Stack Island include; Samuel Mason, Little Harpe, and father and son counterfeiters, Philip and Peter Alston.[1] -- "...during the American Civil War, the Union charged officers and crew of the Confederate privateer Savannah with piracy, calling their letter of marque invalid since the Union refused to acknowledge the breakaway Confederacy as a sovereign nation." -- "Great Lakes piracy occurred, from 1900–1930, on Lake Michigan, through the exploits of "Roaring" Dan Seavey." (Way after I know but for some reason I thought it was funny xP)

Apparently (and this just from listening to the Aubrey/Martin series on audio book) xebecs and lateen rigged vessels still had the option of raising square sails to sail with the wind -- but it was a much lengthier and more involved project to do so than on a square rigged vessel. I think a xebec would be a great addition to the current ship rotation -- add some interesting dynamics... mainly grief-boating upwind I suppose... but still

Voted for the Chapman's, right now all the larger ships are pretty much your straight-forward square rigs. Would add some interesting dynamics to have a 32 gun xebec in the rotation.

Site update: added info list including links and TS info.

I'm with the ship customization for identification, there should be customizable sails and/or hulls -- not necessarily to the extent of user content, but, at least a preset sail color/design in battle for each nation, such as the cross of Burgundy for Spain. English and French for now. After all didn't Nelson have his fleet's sails altered for easy identification for the real Trafalgar? Later on user created flags would be great for identifying ourselves or choosing to remain anonymous in battle due to reputation. Until these options are available though... I don't want to lose the names honestly.

Nyone in Montana?

Capitan Devante del Nero was once a respected officer and one of the finest marksmen in the Spanish Royal Navy -- that is, until he lost his eye in a firefight with a British Man-O-War... The pursuit of his vengeance led him outside the confines of his orders, even into a Court Marshall -- an event the enraged Capitan never managed to attend, having taken his ship and men (the majority by their solitary nature more loyal to captain than country, and the remainder... discharged...) to the waters of the Americas, seeking a path free from the incessant politics of the service. He still seeks revenge for the loss of his eye, and hears there are elements of the freshly forming new world governments that are... flexible in their alliances.

Good read! If anyone wants their own custom flag design let me know! I'm doing the designs for AoC but would be happy to aid fellow free captains! If it works we might even make an animated .gif like this one

I really like the Navio, it looks sleek and powerful.

I feel like the current system is harder than the one you're suggesting, since it would provide a way of calculating our ship's angle a way we don't currently have, but you're saying the current system is too easy and this would make it more realistic? I like the idea of representing the ship's pitching on the aiming bar somehow though, either by having it move up and down with the ship or like you're suggesting having a second bar that represents rolling/angle. But I think the devs want to avoid adding UI elements like the plague, they seem very focused on minimalism.