State of the game 250 online at 10pm cst

[Atomic Moose]

grapeshot hit the nail on the head if he pvper stop playing then what is the point and it seems with only 250 people playing sure can be more but when i play that is all there was, with no pvp no game more or less and with the pirate mechanics they way they are and the new damage model people have given up

 

i really like this game but with only 250 on what is the point sure you maybe working on everything but there will be no one left except the 100 or so fan bois and even they will get bored please make this game fun again the last patch with the new damage model i think have really driven what few people who still played away 

 

you changes maybe good but if one is playing who cares

[Ledinis]

As a fellow US-based player, I feel OP's pain.

 

Few months ago there were > 1,000 people online when I'd log on in the evening on PVP1, now it got down to ~170 last night around 10pm Pacific (California) time.

 

With that said, the people who are still there, are generally pretty cool and positive people, so that's good. I'd rather have less, but better sport/fun players, than more ****heads.

 

But I think back to the early days of the Spanish reconquista and the hundreds of player ships I saw all at one time, and it makes me a little sad.

 

I specialize in unrated and (recently) 6th rate vessels, so the recent changes to the damage model haven't really affected me. There are some new challenges but it's cool, my battles still take around the same amount of time and are still fun.

 

I feel like there is still so much opportunity and potential in this game engine. I've got 400hrs invested now, since Sea Trials, and I'm motivated to keep helping test things.

 

I do believe that my 3 friends who own NA will come back if they hear there are new things to do. The grind wall was just too steep for them, sailing took a long time, and they just didn't have the amount of time they realized would be needed to really progress in the game. It's fair feedback and they're hardly the first to share it.

Well you can also thank a certain part of the community trying to incite people to break the game in hopes the developers miraculously speeding up the development process, for reducing the US timezone player base. As for the grind its a double edged sword. People always cry about the grind, yet i have seen more people leaving the game after the grind has ended than because of the grind in most cases. Fine example - a friend was crying about how bad the grind is in WoT, and that only tier 10's are fun which require insane amounts of time invested to acquire. I asked for his account, grinded the tier 10 out in a month for him... he played exactly 11 games in that... So yeah from my perspective, most players that cry about the grind, usually are not interested in the game regardless and just use it as an excuse (not stating it applies to everyone). It should not be a limiting factor where you cant even participate in the game if you dont invest 3-4 hours a session (which was addressed by removing the teleport cool down), but there always needs to be a carrot on a stick for the major part of the player base to keep them going. 

[Kronans]

https://gyazo.com/2052be48250668a2d9a7b87aad5565cb

 

look at that ther you have players / day in a diagram 3 months back to today.

[Atomic Moose]

led then how do explain the success of dota which has no grinding at all sure different game but still if the game is fun people will play and right now game is not fun and people are not playing

 

games have to be fun to play not a job if they are not then people dont play 

 

also tier 10 tanks in wot were a for a purpose not a need total different we dont have clan wars here and now few few ports needs sol top tier is meaningless

 

in wot you had to have a t10 to play clan wars here you do not

 

kronans that is for all servers combined not pvp1 and as i have said maybe there is 1000 playing during the day i am working 

but in the prime time for north and south america which i would guess would be 25% of the worlds pop there was between 400-250 playing when i logged on that is not enough to have a good game

Edited May 27, 2016 by Atomic Moose

[Ledinis]

led then how do explain the success of dota which has no grinding at all sure different game but still if the game is fun people will play and right now game is not fun and people are not playing

 

games have to be fun to play not a job if they are not then people dont play 

 

also tier 10 tanks in wot were a for a purpose not a need total different we dont have clan wars here and now few few ports needs sol top tier is meaningless

 

in wot you had to have a t10 to play clan wars here you do not

 

kronans that is for all servers combined not pvp1 and as i have said maybe there is 1000 playing during the day i am working 

but in the prime time for north and south america which i would guess would be 25% of the worlds pop there was between 400-250 playing when i logged on that is not enough to have a good game

You are comparing a few different game types m8, though i haven't played dota/lol i do believe they are a genre of their own where everything is based of short pvp matches (correct me if im wrong). When they changed this game from Sea Trials to an open world mmorpg/sandbox, grinding became a part of it. Why do you think people do the same raids in world of Warcraft over and over each week after they cleared the dungeon? Heck even MMO's like Guild Wars that try to avoid gear advantages and make it all skill based have insane cosmetic grinds. 

As for WoT you can participate in clan wars with t6 t8 or t10 tanks for quite some time, so no the t10 aint just the only thing for clan wars.

[Nalyd]

As for the realism aspect, a lot of people actually like the new system, they just aren't as vocal in the forums, heck even one poll that was made by a "99.9% of my shots at 2 meters bounce" guy, was edited to remove the poll since its showed that like 15-20 percent both like and disliked the new system and the rest just wanted the new system with a bit of tweaking. And all the crying i hear from people, in regards to the new system i go test myself and find it to be bullshit 9 out of 10 times.

 

So yeah hopefully you dont get forced into rushed content by these few whining players and make an awesome game in the end.

 

And I could also say that a lot of people actually dislike the new system, and they just aren't as vocal in the forums either, because they simply leave.

But neither you and I have the actual statistics to confirm or deny both those statement do we ?, your point and mine are therefore null of sense.

[Babble]

Also an idea to look into might be Admiralty points from ship captures, pvp, pb's and so forth, these points can be cashed in at the capital for rewards.

1.) Ship deeds to craft SoL's

2.) Items needed to craft the SoL's

3.) Ship BP's

4.) Ship Naval refits's increase little aspects to make them better

5.) Modules

6.) Crafting books

7.) Materials

8.) Trained Crew

9.) Officers

The possibilities are endless that could add an extra grind factor to help players achieve items they are after.

Please see section 8

 

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/12696-the-road-map-table-of-contents/?hl=roadmap

[Anne Wildcat]

IMO, if people are complaining about length of battles, get out of SOLs. It's completely idiotic to see so many SOLs sailing around. I would love to see more use of shallow water ships.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Anne Wildcat

[Ledinis]

And I could also say that a lot of people actually dislike the new system, and they just aren't as vocal in the forums either, because they simply leave.

But neither you and I have the actual statistics to confirm or deny both those statement do we ?, your point and mine are therefore null of sense.

A dissatisfied crowd is in most cases a lot more vocal that the content one But yeah unless the developers implement an in game poll for each patch a definitive answer can not be acquired. The only statistics from a small part of the community i saw was on this forum post : http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/14150-pettion-against-the-new-good-combat-system/. It showed an equal amount of people liking and disliking the new damage model and a wast majority of them thinking it was better but needed tweaking (witch the developers are currently doing), unfortunately the poster that disapproves of the new system deleted the pools after the results were clear.

 

So yes definitive answer neither me nor you can give, but all of the negative posts about the new system are so over exaggerated that i simply cant leave them without posting a counter argument. Literally : "ahh the new damage system is impossible it took us 1:5 hours to kill a Bellona with 2 connies and 2 ingers..." I go out and test it and what do you know killed it in 29 minutes with 1 Connie. 

 

OMG 90% of the shots from my Santisima bounce of a Vic from 250 metters... You take out a Santisima against a Vic and see half of the 12 pounders bounce at that distance and everything else going though like a hot knife through butter.

[Isink A Lot]

The reason I have not been on in the last week is:

1. Most of my clan is waiting on the PvP2 merger so they can get most of their stuff (which they have not yet resupplied themselves with on PvP1, read grind of ships, BPs, and resources)

2. Most made new characters on PvP1 in different nations, and moving what they have to a non-pirate nation is a royal pain in the you no what! So they are waiting for merger and then deciding on what nation to go to.

3. Since they are waiting and this game is loads more fun in a group I haven't really been on to do solo stuff.

4. And again the complete pain it is to lose all your BP's and need to re get them though rng crafting BS is disheartening and not fun, and I want to do it only one more time until the finial wipe before release. If it was as easy to retain all my stuff to switch to another nation as it is to switch to the overpopulated pirates then I would make the switch now and still grind out my last level and my crafting, but since it is not I will wait until the merger and the nation we decide to go to. I am not the only one in my clan who feels this same way.

[surfimp]

grind wall?

A euphemism for the amount of XP required to level up between ranks. I know it has been adjusted various times and my characterization as a "grind wall" is not meant as a criticism. I understand that relative to other MMOs, NA's progression is not necessarily excessively hard. On the flipside, many people want to get to the "cool" (i.e. bigger) ships sooner, and when they realize that it will take a lot of real world time and effort, they just give up.

[admin]

A euphemism for the amount of XP required to level up between ranks. I know it has been adjusted various times and my characterization as a "grind wall" is not meant as a criticism. I understand that relative to other MMOs, NA's progression is not necessarily excessively hard. On the flipside, many people want to get to the "cool" (i.e. bigger) ships sooner, and when they realize that it will take a lot of real world time and effort, they just give up.

 

we thought we fixed it

[Hethwill]

I'd go further and say many players just rush through without giving any concern to the ships or learning the game for good and then understanding the differences as updates hit us. What became better, what became worse. What makes more sense or not so much.

 

It always hits me that most folks jumped directly from cutter to Snow and then carry undercrewing what they can after that.

 

But no one but the "clans" to blame. The way they teach newcomers is atrocious.

 

- "yeah yeah you can sail it undercrew no problem!" - "forget that ! get a snow instead " - "insert more crap advice here"

 

Surely makes me smile.

[Slamz]

People buy this game "because ships"

 

This is like saying people buy Total War Warhammer "because orks".

 

It could have just been a game of battle scenarios, lovingly rendered units and most people would have rated it poorly and gotten bored after a few battles. What makes the game worth playing (and worth the money) is the war campaign that gives meaning to all those battles.

 

I knew about Naval Action for many months before I bought it. I only bought it because it looked like the open world / war / RvR portion was making progress and might turn out to be interesting. A game of ships fighting arena-style fights with no backdrop would be boring and I would not have bought it.

 

 

So I hope the world world / war / RvR portion continues to be an important part of the game and its development. That's where the game's longevity will come from (assuming you want it to have longevity, I guess!)

[Ledinis]

A euphemism for the amount of XP required to level up between ranks. I know it has been adjusted various times and my characterization as a "grind wall" is not meant as a criticism. I understand that relative to other MMOs, NA's progression is not necessarily excessively hard. On the flipside, many people want to get to the "cool" (i.e. bigger) ships sooner, and when they realize that it will take a lot of real world time and effort, they just give up.

Tell me honestly though, do you believe that those friends of your would have stayed and played if they got instant gratification, or still get bored and leave after a week or two ?

[HarryButpain]

Well, I still rather see more ppl doing pvp than ppl grinding.. Eventually, we will all be max lvl what exposes the 'grind' as only a temporary barrier to differentiate new and old players from each other.. Rank in a game like NA where 99% is pvp makes me wonder why rank shouldn't reflect the accomplishments in pvp rather than xp.. Let's just say the learning period is a little stretched out xD

Edited May 27, 2016 by BACk ALLEY ShENANiGANS

[Lytse Pier]

Sorry, was busy creating a Dutch baby boom in nine months around that time yesterday. Will be online this evening again, mkay? ????????

Edited May 27, 2016 by Lytse Pier

[Hugo van Grojt]

Intent on making their enemies "not want to log on"  Clearly it has made a dent in the player base as as well.   

 

This right here is one of the major problems. I have also taken a break because I cannot motivate myself to do RvR anymore, when everyone is just exploiting the broken mechanics left and right. I took part in too many wars of atttrition that could only be "won" by demotivating the opposing team to not bother logging in anymore. Really really bad for morale and the community, I would say.

 

And recent events around the SORRY clan and the US faction have just made this dilemma even more obvious. People being proud of "driving a playerbase from the server" and such. Every player leaving is hurting the community as a whole.

 

I would say, expect even further declining numbers until the introduction of a meaningful (no more 25 port battles per day) conquest and nation system.

 

See you again when things improve I guess. I'm off to play something else for a while.

 

Sincerely Yours,

 

Hugo

[Fuzzyhead12]

guys, its with everygame, they have their up and downs, people do sometimes play one month NA like madman, then play other games because they burned themself out, then comeback to NA again

 

there is nothing scary about 230 plebs after downtime, i get 1000 plebs in the evening and still cant find an player who is fighting me on the map, iam probelly looking in the wrong area, so i move my pvp ship somewhere elso, atm the bananabay (fort royal and around) seems like a nice pvp zone. and if i cant find a player ill kill some npcs

[Nash]

Lets face this, American in general dont really in time this kind of game but European do.  So you cannot say because of the game has less player during US time then it's a dead game.

[Horror]

Love the game. Love the direction. Its damn refreshing really.

 

But have to have player driven economy no matter how small and grow the game organically. eve was touch and go in the early days like this too.

 

I'd dump all NPC production and ship selling today. Steepen the grade of ship costs alot. A frigate should be a really big deal and a SOL should be a huge deal, it is a capital ship, unobtainable by many. Oh, and wipe the server (popular i know)

[Shrez]

Remove insta ship and captain teleporting without any cooldown it's a joke and this is not realistic!

This makes ravaging and ganking to easy without any effort do to this.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Shrez

[Captain]

Lot of people are losing interest because of the invulnerable ships / invincible masts / naval action boarding minigame online meta from 9.8. Combat used to be polished and fun, more than making up for any issues with the early days 'mmo' part of the game, then it wasn't anymore

 

The stupid change to port battles making 1st/2nd/3rd rates into exclusively PVE ships also turned people I know off who had spent a lot of time getting a ship of the line. 

 

Frustrating/disappointing to see these bad changes and fewer clan mates / friends on each day.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Captain

[Pugwis]

if we wanted motorboats we would make them from the start

lobby based no hassle wind of luck tried it - the result its obvious

 

Yeah hope you will never balance the game to this point.

If i have choose NA over all the other naval game, it is for the realism, don't listen to peoples that want this game to become more arcade, they have already paid for NA, so just direct them to the other arcade naval game and keep NA like it should be.

[Hethwill]

Yeah hope you will never balance the game to this point.

If i have choose NA over all the other naval game, it is for the realism, don't listen to peoples that want this game to become more arcade, they have already paid for NA, so just direct them to the other arcade naval game and keep NA like it should be.

 

+40k