Little things you'd like to see

[Ryan21]

thanks Brigand, haha, I took these clips so everyone could enjoy sailing ships   Seriously though that Tres Hombres in the last video, is a sweet little ship, She delivers rum and chocolate on the old Atlantic trade route to south America and the Caribbean and she has no engine at all, they call it carbon free transport!  Im trying to get a job on her for next year!

[BrutishVulgarian]

This probably isn't "little" but I would like to beam onto a friends ship and observe the battle.  It would be nice to have a rifle, also, and take some potshots at the enemy's quarterdeck, just for sport.

[BrutishVulgarian]

If a ship's wheel is shot away and relieving tackle is used to steer, the A and D keys no longer work and the player has to use two inconvenient keys, like T and P or something.

[SirThorne]

If a ship's wheel is shot away and relieving tackle is used to steer, the A and D keys no longer work and the player has to use two inconvenient keys, like T and P or something.

I'm not sure why I find this so thoroughly amusing.

[BrutishVulgarian]

If you come to a stop you have better quality repairs.   If an ally comes to a stop right next to you, you get even better repairs.

[echoco]

ship's name being shown as ID instead of captain name

[Popov]

Hi everyone!

 

Thx for develloping this so long waited game.

Can't wait to fight in real sailing navigation sim.

 

My question:

 

Have you planned in navigation phases to simulate occasional gusts, shift in wind angle and even more important the appearance of header and lift on the sailing area.

 

 

It seems to me that the presence of such elements and their proper use by the Skipper/Captain/Player could really enrich the simulation.
Careful play with such details could well keep you safe from stronger opponents, or put you in better position for fighting.

Moreover, it would reproduce the essence of the art of naval combat in 1vs1 which led to the development of the sailing type of regattas todays known as the match race.

 

One that best exploits the sailing area, and do the best maneuvers is in a strong position and won the battle .....

[Johny Reb]

When a ship sinks, I'd like it to sink according to where the ship was damaged. So if the stern armor was reduced to 0 then I'd like to see the ship go down by the stern. If the starboard armor was reduced to 0 then I'd like to see it list to the right as it sinks and if both the stern armor and starboard armor was 0 then I'd like to see it list to the right and go down by the stern.

[maturin]

Ships in this period (except Chinese junks) didn't have watertight compartments, so the flooding would even out in the bilge and rise from there. Theoretically, they would sink on an even keel, but in practice stability would go to pot and there would be plenty of wallowing depending on sea state and if there was sail set.

 

I don't like how sinking ships in this game put their sails away and stop moving in order to sink. Who would bother to furl sails in such a situation? 'Sailing under' is actually one of the top ways a vessel can founder.

[Alex Connor]

Ships shouldn't really be sinking at all, not unless there is a huge disparity in size and firepower. Even in fleet actions where you might end up with several ships firing on one for an extended period sinking would be very unlikely.

 

Battered into an immobile dismasted hulk with half the crew dead and most of the guns dismounted, yes, but not sunk.

 

To make this work in gameplay terms after a certain amount of punishment the captain (player) might be knocked out or wounded and the remaining officers haul down the flag and surrender.

[Johny Reb]

Ships in this period (except Chinese junks) didn't have watertight compartments, so the flooding would even out in the bilge and rise from there. Theoretically, they would sink on an even keel, but in practice stability would go to pot and there would be plenty of wallowing depending on sea state and if there was sail set.

 

I don't like how sinking ships in this game put their sails away and stop moving in order to sink. Who would bother to furl sails in such a situation? 'Sailing under' is actually one of the top ways a vessel can founder.

Maybe you have a point here. It sounds good from a logical standpoint but something tells me it wasn't so uniform in real life. Needless to say, maybe they did settle relatively flat. What sparked my thoughts was the way ships sink in the game. Way to mechanical looking. Absolutely straight down.

[Killick]

ship's name being shown as ID instead of captain name

 

Speaking of ID, how does this work? Do all ships have a big tag flying over them just as in POTBS? Or will players have to get close in order to identify the other? And what about sailing under false colors, will that be possible?

[Johny Reb]

All has been talked about on forums but no official decisions have been made. Devs focusing on combat now and the rest later.

[SirThorne]

I hope they implement custom ship names on the stern galleries, while we are on the subject...

Although some better way to determine player names would be nice, I'd like to be able to use my spyglass to read a ship's name while I give chase.

[Bart Smith]

Hi all

Staying on topic i want to see:

Real world map (or based on real) 

Good economy&crafting system 

Guilds, societies, allies, and nations

Customization of flags and sails

Strictly "no-gank" mechanics (equal numbers in fight)

Some political aspects as governors or society leaders 

 

Cheers

Bart

[Månis]

Guns we not sure yet. You can change gun types on each deck and will be able to pick the number of guns on it. But inside that deck they will need to be similar (technology and ui limitations).

 

Naval Powers

here is a sneak peek into our national plans - these are not all of them - but well keep it for future posts.

 

SECTION OF FLAGS.

 

In addition to flags we will have an extensive system of authentic banners and ensigns that can show many things to your friends or enemies.

some examples (all are hand drawn by artists)

 

 

Gosh we need to update the website!

 

 

Looks nice, i hope thou that you use the real naval flags for Sweden and Denmark during this period in time.  Sweden had a three-tounged flag and didnt had the modern smaller coat of arms on it.

 

Denmark sailed with a two-tounged flag.   

 

Example on Swedish flags during that time http://www.flaggskeppet.com/shop/19667/art67/h5999/6765999-origpic-fc617a.jpg

Example on Danish flags during that time:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_in_k%C3%B8ge_bay-claus_moinichen_1686.jpg

 

 

Keep up the good work!

[Thomas Blackwell]

I would like to see two warring Nations attempt to stifle the others trade not only by hunting that Nations shipping, but neutral shipping bound to and from the opposing Nations ports.

 

How this could be accomplished without it being viewed as piracy, I'm not sure. Perhaps some form of papers each captain must obtain before setting out to sea. A naval captain has orders from his Admiralty, while privateers must have a Letter of Marque. Traders must obtain papers showing which port they intend to travel to and which port they are traveling from. What stops them from falsifying these papers I do not know. In my mind however I envision a form of interaction between the trader who's papers are being checked and the checking captain be much like Papers Please. If a trader does not have these papers, that trader is a smuggler.

[Lord Hood]

I would really like to see realism with Captains and crew, in that ladies are not captains or crew in that time period.

Other games (PotBS) do include ladies on board, and it bugs me to no end! It was a strategy not based on history, but to allow a female to play a female character. There were a FEW females that played, but I have to say, I saw about 90% MORE MEN playing females in order to look at their graphical curves, and hiked up skirts... nothing to DO with historical accuracy at all.

Here's why I have a problem with female characters and crew in a game like this:

- Firstly, most games make the ladies very busty, hooker-looking gals with little-to-nothing on, when in fact that culture was very much of a 'Puritan culture' in terms of Naval conduct with regard to ladies. So, no respect for ladies as a whole.

- Secondly, the other games ignore the historical fact that there were NO women on board, unless docked for a long time, or unless transporting them from point A to B.

- Thirdly, I don't like hacking at ladies when fighting. Call me a gentleman here, but I'd like to see a lady treated with the respect and dignity they deserve, both in-game and out of game; not some mis-represented wishful and lustful-thinking 'compromises' in order to please the few players who like that sort of thing. I like Historical accuracy. Please give me that!

At the end of the day, you, the developers of the game, will have the choice to bring in female characters into the game. If or when this happens, it will be historically inaccurate. However, if that is your choice then I ask that you please keep the clothing articles decent as per the time period, such as a naval uniform would look on a female officer nowadays. [salutes]

Thanks

You are actually wrong, there were women on board warships. The admiralty frowned upon it however the majority of warships had women on board. Important members of the ship were allowed to bring their wives on board and many women actually participated in the heat of action. There may not have been any female officers however in terms of crew on board any decent historian author will include that multiple women were aboard. The current exhibit at Greenwich "Nelson, Navy, Nation" also elaborates on this.

[Topgumby]

Some stuff from films, books and games that would add some flavor:

 

Heated shot from shore batteries.  Fire ships.  Ships on fire.

 

Wardroom issues.  What if the brilliant tactician you signed on as First Officer is a tyrant that lowers the morale of the whole crew?  What about the Lord's nephew who is a worthless poltroon?  

 

Prize money. 

 

Marines.

 

Admiralty orders...sometimes not the ones you want.

 

The pain of seeing the crew you've picked and trained killed or maimed in battle, and dealing with the raw replacements you get.

 

Individual heroism...maybe tied to the above.  Do you chance losing a skilled officer by using him for a "boost" in an important action?

 

Do your actions in regard to prizes, discipline and battle effect your ability to recruit crew?  Your relations with other captains?

[Alan Lewrie]

I'm not sure if all of these would be considered "little things" but here's what comes to mind. Many have been mentioned and discussed already. Consider this me liking the original suggestion.

 

Proper signalling (in the absence of a visible crew on deck a voice saying 'signal from the flag' or 'she's making the private signal' etc... would work)

 

Period correct style of navigation (including vague charts, the need for soundings and celestial navigation). Obviously the player can't be expected to master all of these. Having a button or key to order it to be done  would be sufficient. In the case of taking a sighting of the sun, this was an integral part of the Naval day, and was automatically done at mid-day anytime the sun was visible. A ship's master was responsible for navigation and audio or visual reports could provide more depth of information without the player having to pick up a set of dividers, do some spherical geometry and prick the map indicating the ship's supposed position.

 

Being rowed over to the flagship or ashore in the gig

 

Being pipped aboard (again the sounds would do until a visible crew were available)

 

Reading yourself in when given a new ship (the prose of the standard Royal Navy commission makes the hairs on the back if my neck stand up whenever I imagine or hear it being read... "nor you nor any of you may fail as you will answer to the contrary at your peril")

 

Shore emplacements such as batteries, semaphore or signalling towers, and the ability to chose to attack them. I've seen lighthouses mentioned and I will point out that at the outbreak of war all channel markings, obstruction markers, lighthouses etc were shut down, removed or otherwise rendered incapable of aiding the enemy in navagating through dangerous waters.

 

The ability to fortify small islands (when able and appropriate) in support of orders... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Rock

 

I like the idea of only seeing the ship name in the looking glass. Navies kept books of their own, and sometimes enemy ships, with detailed information including structural measurements, armaments and Captains when known. Perhaps once the name was known a key could bring up the page of a book with this info on it.

 

Hails from the lookout (and there should not be a "crow's nest" as mentioned earlier... the lookouts either positioned themselves in the tops or sat on the yard during the day, or were positioned around the ship by night)

 

Proper night glass (low magnification I think, large optics for gathering as much light as possible and image was seen upside down)

 

Clearing for action, including a snazzy drum riff to call everyone's attention to the order.

 

I've seen discussion about yelling and noise, and in one video from another game there was quite a bit of vocal chaos going on. I believe this is historically inaccurate. The ability for orders to be passed from deck to deck, division to division necessitated quiet (excepting the horrific din of cannons firing of course) order. Many captains were known to have total silence on deck included in their standing orders for daily operations.

 

Standing orders. Perhaps you could select 6 or 10 from a long list. This could tie into general ship's morale as well as your character's strengths and weaknesses. Leveling up could allow you to add new orders.

 

Minor ship customisation (paintwork, cabin decorations etc...). That said major changes were frequently prohibited by Admiralty. Certainly changing the length of yards or masts was frowned upon. Swapping out light cannons for heavier ones could have dire consequences relating to stability and structural integrity.

 

Realistic ageing and damage to hull and sails from time and the elements. The need to lay your ship up for repairs after a few 'years' of service, never-mind if you've been in action.

 

That's about all I can think of at the moment. I earnestly hope that you (the developers) work to create a game that captures some of the nuances and minutia of everyday life. Also I would like to see less importance placed on, and influence given to guilds, clans or other real world organisations in guiding the game-play. A great many people who will be drawn to the game dislike the commercial aspects of mmo games where people who setup training macros or have unlimited hours to spend in front of the computer can capitalise from it. Let's keep this game about commanding a ship in the age of sail and *not* about real world profiteering.

[Morgan]

I would like to tell you a small list of things I DON'T want to see in the game. Maybe i'm a bit out of topic here, but i believe we all have faced those situations in PotBS.

Of course the game will be different, but doesn't hurt to remember some poor elements of PotBS and keep them in mind.

 

- A Latin-restricted chat, not allowing players writing in whatever keyboard language they like. Official Language of game: English (At least main/general chat).

I really want to be able and read what people say. My former experience in PotBS (especially after server merge) was like living in the tower of Babel.

I do know that some people don't speak English well or at all. But since this is a game that adress to everybody and English is the world's main language, is the right thing to do.

If some players want to speak their native language, they can always make a society and feel free to speak whatever language they want in their society tab.

- Choice of Nicknames in Latin character set only. For the same reasons as above, plus: I believe everybody who played PotBS is familiar with situations like the following:

    During PVP or PB's...

                - What's the target?

                - That guy with the Russian name.

                - Which one??? There are 10 of them!

                - The one with Heavy Herc.

                - I see 4 with Cyrillic names and Heavy Hercs!

                - The one with red sails.

                - The are 2 with red sails!

                - Ummmm... Kaeers Zoebvskiersdearetergsds (leader tries pronounce the name)

                - Never mind (....glub glub glub....)

 

- A well-designed pvp system that won't give the chance to players grumble in the game or forums. Main issue of PotBS was always the pvp system and changed many times...

( - Ohhhh we were only 2 and you were 6 qq   - Three bad pirates ganged me in the red when i was hauling qq   - He was 50 with a BIG ship, i was only 20 with my little ship qq   etc etc)

 

- A system that will encourage the dedication of a player to a specific nation and won't allow running multiple clients at the same time. Last days i remember in PotBS was like:

                - Hey dude, what you doing now?

                - Running Eco.

                - Oh ok, where?

                - All over. I'm getting stuff with my Englishman, trading to my Frenchie. Then my Rat will give to my Spanish and then..,

                - How many characters do you have???

                - Oh, let me see.. 4 Rats, 5 English, 4 French, 5 Spanish...

                - ............

 

- Ships that can be used by everyone in game, no matter nation/class (if exist). Maybe a huge ship needs some kind of permission so you can use it? Fair enough.

Or needs first you have done several steps to be able to build it? Fine too. But those rules stand for eveybody. I wouldn't like see things again like:

               - Did you read the patch? A new ship will be added.

               - Oh nice.

               - You can't use it. Is Naval Officer only.

               - Yeah, got it. Maybe is been constructed on Jupiter, and is well-known that only Naval Officers have been on Jupiter........

 

Some other things too that can't remember right now , but i guess you got an idea what i'm talking about.

[Thomas Blackwell]

You strike some interesting points, and I would be inclined to agree with you one some. 

 

-  Personally speaking I have no gripe with encountering different languages in chat, and don't really see a benefit to discriminating. There are those who cannot speak English just like I cannot speak Russian or French or Chinese, but by allowing people to communicate in their own languages in a 'World' or 'Nation' chat will help them find others who understand them. And on a realism side, those at sea often encountered different ethnic languages during their travels, and I doubt they understood them all.

 

- Regarding the names, I have to agree for the sake of pronunciation and identification.

 

- Again, I agree. In a perfect world there would be no cross-teaming on multiple characters. Changing your captains allegiance through National reputation should be an option though publicly recorded and non repeatable. How we can stop or at least discourage people from having multiple characters remains the challenge.

 

- On this I have to disagree for the most part. Any captain should be allowed to sail any vessel yes, but obtaining the vessel depends greatly on the nationality of the vessel in question and your captain. For example, the HMS Victory should never be allowed to be built in any shipyard that does not belong to the British. The same goes for the famous vessels of the other respected Nations. If the HMS Victory is captured in battle, the victorious captain should be allowed to sail it no matter his nationality. If the HMS Victory is under the command of a British Naval Officer who then decides to ally himself with the French, he should be allowed to continue sailing his vessel. Line ships in general no matter their nationality should not be allowed to be sold on an open market or Auction House. Those who are in bad standing of the Admiralty should not be allowed to buy the plans to build a line ship. Frigates and below, that is still debatable. In short, a more realistic approach to the acquisition and distribution of vessels.

[Morgan]

On the fourth part, was misunderstanding. I don't point on specific vessels like the HMS Victory you mentioned. I agree is a British ship. I speak about general types fo ships.

For example, a 3rd rate ship in PotBS wasn't allowed for Privateers or Freetrades. Was only available for Naval Officers. Same was for Achilles (Privateer only)...

On one hand, yes this is historical correct.

On the other hand.,this is a game.

And a different class than Naval Oficcer still belongs to the specific nation. Therefore, those also should be allowed to command such ships when have good standing with Admiralty (as you mentioned).

If we stick 100% in history and reality, then we should consider have only one (unique) of those ships and only one player (Naval Officer) can command one.

And if we continue be absolutely accurate with history and facts, then every ship in game should be unique!

That would be amazing but i doubt is possible. The database would be enormous and developers should get a life time golden award in "MMO Hall of Fame" if accomplish such a thing!

That's why i speak general for classes and types of ships and who will be able to command them.

[Johny Reb]

I'm in agreement with Morgan about nation specific ships. I like the idea as long as there is balance. If the Brits have first rates than the other nations need to have them as well. So what would you do then with Colonial America. Do you limit that nation to only the Constitution?

 

Other options:

You can capture an opposing nations ships and make them your own.

 

Once you capture a ship you can give it to your shipwright so he can "learn" the model therefore unlocking the ability to build it.

[Samuel Adams]

Maybe under pvp only you could cap a ship and take it to your ship builder and then you could build that boat if it's a french boat you could build it if you cap it and take it to your shipbuilder.