Automatic AI shipping of goods

[VonBarb]

Hello,

 

In my current situation, crafting and procuring the ressources to sustain my crafting by capping traders, are about the only two things I have time for most days. I would love to be able to spend hours hunting enemies around Jamaica like I used to, but I simply cannot anymore, and probably won't be able to for a while yet.

 

Since the vicinity of main ports is unpractical for trader hunting due to high player activity, I've relocated this particular activity to a remote port where player numbers are lower, offering better opportunities for productive hunting. This system worked really well when I could hop back to capital with the fruits of my plundering, but this particular outpost is located over an hour's sailing from my capital. I quite simply do not have time for a trip like this. Not that I cannot be a**ed to do it, I simply almost never have a 60mn+ solid playing window. 

 

Although I understand the reasons behind removing the ability to teleport to capital with goods in your hold, (from the point of view of gankers that is...) this will effectively kill my hunting activity, which will overtime kill my crafting, as the ongoing inflation will make it completely unprofitable if I have to buy all the ressources and materials in my capital port. And since those are the two things keeping me in this game right now, well...

 

So my suggestion is this : How about being able to hire AI merchants to ship your goods to one of your outpost, for a fee scaling with cargo weight. Shipping would take time depending on the distance. This would allow transfer of goods without it being free or instantaneous - which I understand doesn't fit well on a competitive server - and spare the players with less playing time those long trips they simply don't have time for. 

 

Or at least make it possible to send ships to outposts with cargo.

 

Thanks,

[jodgi]

First off, you won't be able to sustain your crafting with trader hunting very long. Traders only drop tiddlywinks of cargo.

I hope you have some friends, or can make some friends, because without it crafting will be an increasing frustration. You don't have to join the big crafting chains, a handful of guys working together is enough. Then you can set up own production of the most important stuff and put up contracts for other things.

I suspect we will be forced to sail with stuff in our hold to some extent. There is still a push for traders being at risk for capture. It's all make-believe because players will make sure to minimize the risk or simply move away from risk. Player trader captures happen but at a statistically insignificant rate. In practice it's just a time-tax chore with no impact on anything.

It is, however, better now than it has ever been with easy TP and free port deliveries so use that to save time.

I'd also love to have AI shipping to and from any port. There will be resistance to this by the "vulnerable trader" romantics. It would be like deliveries and not actual NPC ships in the OW due to technology limitations (at least now).

[Tyrant]

You can already ship cargo via AI.  Get a freetown outpost near your captiol, then when you cap your traders and bring it to your remote freeport... go to deliveries (just above the warehouse) and select your freetown that is near your capitol and load up the ship... it takes time depending on the distance.  Once the goods arrive, you can easily pick them up and hop them over to your capitol with a short sail.

[surfimp]

I'd also love to have AI shipping to and from any port. There will be resistance to this by the "vulnerable trader" romantics. It would be like deliveries and not actual NPC ships in the OW due to technology limitations (at least now).

I respect all that you have done with speed trials & whatnot but your constant negative attitude towards people who chose to play in a manner that is representative of the *vast majority* of age of sail ship engagements is kind of wearing thin.

Port Battles just don't appeal to me, but I don't take every opportunity to slag them or the people who enjoy them. Maybe try being a bit more open minded and realizing that there's room in this for all, and that privateering was, for hundreds of years, one of, if not the, most significant seaborne combat activities during times of conflict during the age of sail. It's completely appropriate that it is represented here, and leads to all kinds of fun gameplay between traders, privateers and escorts.

[jodgi]

Don't take offense at my forum politics, sanson. I sometimes tease a bit but can take return fire without going full retard.

I'm an easy target too because I feel strongly for certain parts of this game.

I'm not out to kill the privateer role or gameplay. Pragmatically, though, I don't really see it happening at any significant level because of player psychology. I'm simply opposed to having time-sinks forced on every player in the name of something that almost never happens.

Heck! I could even be wrong.

When I'm wearing the crafter hat I'm avoiding risk like a champ. Several guys have tried, noone has ever gotten to my stuff. I've even afk sailed from Spanish region multiple times.

Vulnerable traders are fine if you can find guys who are OK with losing stuff.

[surfimp]

I am just happy that these changes make trader hunting take on a bit more RVR importance. Not in the sense of cargo captures, which - I completely agree with you - is a very low odds proposition at best, and in a world where production buildings exist, a minor/insignificant setback at best.

But because putting pressure, even if mostly ineffective, encourages players in smaller / faster ships to come out and protect the traders. This leads to lots of opportunities for PVP of the 1v1 variety, where - also very in keeping with historical outcomes - the escort and raider would engage in a duel while the convoy escaped.

Example of same: last night, the last night of compass wood magic money, myself and a number of other Spanish players headed over to try and capture Brit compass wood and silver traders operating between KPR and Pedro Cay.

I got a few good chases in and very nearly capped one Traders Cutter while directly under the guns of two player escorts in Snows, but alas, he got away with 2 crew left alive.

I then had to extract myself from the Snows, which was a bit challenging as my Lynx had been shot to pieces (I had very little armor left) and my sails were around 80%. My compatriot in his Mercury was not so lucky, and got sunk by the Snows.

The entire engagement was around 30-40min and was some of the most fun I've had in Naval Action recently. And it was only the *first* engagement of a 4hr session in which I had all kinds of fun adventures, run-ins with escorts, and similar.

I didn't cap a single trader the entire time, but the point is that it was FUN. I don't even need any of the stuff they're carrying, I just want the challenge of the hunt - while dealing with the defenders, too.

And of course, by drawing in players to defend traders, we potentially pull away Brit attackers from the Spanish ports, buying the Spanish defenders a bit of relief.

All in all I think it is a fun mode of play. I totally respect where you're coming from, I just feel like this is far less like "ganking" and far more like "fighting for a purpose." But that's just my opinion and I understand that other people have differing views.

o7

EDIT: spelling & typos

Edited May 19, 2016 by Sansón Carrasco

[surfimp]

Wraith, you get me and where I'm coming from. Privateering, if the gains from patch 9.8 can be built upon, could become a new and fun game mode for people who don't have / don't want to participate in port battles. It could supplement or possibly replace mission grinding to help newer players level up. It could and should lead to a lot more PVP.

I respect the way the devs are proceeding - the SOLs and port battles are the "carrot" encouraging the grinding up through levels and consequent testing of the larger ships. But now that we've got those mechanics pretty sorted out but for some finish polishing, I think it's time to re-focus on the economy and ensure that it, more than anything else, is the primary driving force behind the conquest, alliance & other high level mechanics. Privateering historically was, and in game should be, an important part of that. I look forward to seeing what they come up with, but patch 9.8 is a tremendously good step in the right direction IMHO.

[CaptVonGunn]

Free Port Delievery system is your friend now