A Server dedicated to Exploration

[LeBoiteux]

My main idea is to make a server provide a totally new Age of Sail experience, almost a new game with nearly the same mechanics and features that have already been or will be developed in a near future in NA : exploring the Unknown.

 

 
Currently, the PvP servers are set-up in the Caribbean for conquest and AW-fight and the PvE server is simply designed to be a PvP-like server with the same features but port battles and bots replacing players.
 
But an Exploration server could be more than that. It could be about a « Player Versus his Environment » place  where players would actually fight against each element of their environment (navigational and weather hazards) : weather conditions that may cause ship damage (storms), uncharted territories to explore, fog and rain hiding the presence of very aggressive Pirate bots (or players) or of safe ports, sandbanks and shallows that may cause shipwrecks, unruly crew to manage (because of provision shortage…), etc.
 
Exploration could be instanced as battles currently are (real-time sailing). Explorers would search something in a given landscape while the instance could remain opened to some pirate bots (or players).  
 
Captain’s goal would be to explore an unknown and dangerous environment in order e. g. to map those lands, establish trading settlements and search for artefacts or new species. Thus the setting-up of this adventure would be an unmapped fictional territory (Terra Incognita) that’d have to periodically change. 
 
There would be no conquest, no crafting on this map, no ports except one starting port per nations as a start point and few Pirate ports. Traders could trade from the settlements to national port. No OW-fight but Pirates vs. Explorers / Traders / AI Escort.
 
The only feature that would really need to be developed is procedural maps. Because, most of all the others are/will be in NA :

- storms, 

- crew management and provision,

- instances, 

- Bots and AI agressivness,

- AI escort fleets, 

- damage model, 

- ship lineup, 

- land in instances,

- Servers : a PvE-server may be more adapted for Exploration,

- Etc.

 
It would definitely need some investment and development ressources, but, with two different types of gameplay, the Exploration Server and the current ones (that are more RvR and conquest-oriented) would be complementary, providing two different experiences.
 
PS 1 : current PvE on PvP servers would stay the same as it is, ie OW and mission fightings against AI with some added features (new missions, AI aggressiveness…).
 
PS 2 : Economy on the Exploration server and on the PvP/E servers might even be interconnected (in a positive way !) as :

- PvP/E server ports could consume and buy goods and ressources collected in explored settlements that have been created by the Explorers on the Exploration server.

- Explorers could buy player-crafted ships from the PvP servers.

- Colonization quests could be ordered by PvP clans/nations from Explorers.

 

Discuss.
 
Sources :
http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/1534-exploration-gameplay/
http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/9058-trade-and-exploration/
http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8875-explorer-experience
http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8658-alternate-forms-of-xp-gains/
http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8136-how-will-exploration-work/
http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/7768-exploration-and-survey-ships/

[maturin]

 

 

almost a new game

I think you hit the nail on the head there.

 

You would need quite a few new features. I can't imagine finding too much enjoyment in exploration without giving navigational hazards some real teeth. Storm gameplay, lethal shoals, currents, leeway, etc.

[Sella]

To be fair storms were already in the game in a way. But it could be turned into something like this:

 

[LeBoiteux]

I think you hit the nail on the head there.

 

You would need quite a few new features. I can't imagine finding too much enjoyment in exploration without giving navigational hazards some real teeth. Storm gameplay, lethal shoals, currents, leeway, etc.

 

Ship damage and new navigational hazards would be a plus but are by no means essential.

We have fog that hides the OW. Hard weather conditions are there (rain, storm, fog). We have pirate bots/players.

Give us just an unknown map to discover and things to search for / missions to accomplish.

And fun will be there.

[Roche Brasiliano]

Exploration is the word. Dont matter how it can be implemented, just needs to. It will fill the gap between PVP and PVE and the boring to sail in a huge map with few things to do on it.

[Sella]

If exploration is implemented and a generated map as well that could also open the door for settling. Giving you a true pioneering feeling that you create something from scratch. But those settlements shouldn't be buildable on islands that are going to get wiped after a short time. Well they could be if the wipes weren't so often. Or there could be lets say about 5 that will serve as "hubs" and will be always in place

 

This has so much potential to go unnoticed. I'm pretty sure that it is going to be unique in the gaming industry as well.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Sella22

[Macjimm]

Exploration would be great. Definitely integrated with instances. I would also like to see PvP available in any virtual world. The risk of attack raises the excitement.. But ships should always spawn on the far edge of an exploration instance.

I think that a potential option is to allow exploration and combat on the same server but separate them by instance type. What would help is to allow port development in specific areas and have variable combat XP/gold in designated locations. The Caribbean could be a high pay out area and thus encourage players seeking warriors to hunt in amonst the ports there. Other areas could have almost no payout for combat XP/gold and thus discourage players from seeking PvP there but allow explorers to look for discoveries that are hidden there.

Once resources or discoveries are found it should be an option to use NPCs to transport them to the high population Caribbean (at risk of interception).

I agree that damage (from storms and running aground) would be a valuable factor for exploration instances. The mechanic of harmlessly bouncing off of rocky coastlines and playing in a gale with zero risk tends to diminsh the experience ... having no damage is not a complete show stopper but adding it would definitely change the gameplay immensely. Including risk increases the excitement and replayability. It gives players something thing to do.

I would love to see exploration added to Naval Action.

[Jan van Santen]

This game misses a lot of chances atm: No reason to explore the map and go on long distance sailing, outposts and buildings can simply be bought instead of earning them thru activities/reputation.

 

Not all the good things other games had should be ignored in this one.

 

Lots of games have already been mentioned here, but the one the devs should actually look at for PvE content is the "Patrician" series.

[LeBoiteux]

Lots of games have already been mentioned here, but the one the devs should actually look at for PvE content is the "Patrician" series.

 

I don't know the Patrician. Which features among theirs would be interesting in NA ?

[Wilson09]

Tse, tse, You don´t know? Check the "let´s plays".

Trading, trading, music, "feel"...

 

[codyproxy]

'procedural'.... the magic word nowadays. The problem is, it's not magic, and the longer you play with it, the more you see a pattern. First you discover town X, which is kinda cool, that you discover ship A, which is also cool. However there can be only so many different things, there will ALWAYS become a pattern in it - and quickly it'll become boring. Just my opinion of course.