Little things you'd like to see

[Alex Connor]

- 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.

I like most of this but there is never an option for a naval officer to take your ship to another nation...

 

For a start, the officers and crew would prevent this. By force. Even if you contrived to get the ship captured, the nation responsible will take the ship and throw you in jail to rot. Very bad idea for any navy to promote switching sides, might start happening to them. Trying to get around this by trading ships between alts should be punished by losing both accounts...

 

Captains switching from one navy to another simply did not happen, the only exceptions being some of the smaller navies starting up would accept officers from friendly nations. Even then it would be the officer and not their ship.

 

Now a captain might be able to join another side as a Privateer, assuming  they don't have some huge reputation for attacking that nations shipping, but only privately owned (non-navy) ships and money could be transferred, and any assets left in the former nation would be seized as soon as word got out of the change in allegiance.

[Thomas Blackwell]

A night sky with stars and constellations. More so, a Polaris that points to North, and constellations mirrored from the real world to aid in night navigation.

[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.

I was thinking more about what I said here and I want to add something. If the game mechanic provides a way for us to capture another nations ship which would allow our shipbuilder to learn the design then I think that the captured ship should have to be donated to the shipyard in order to learn that design. This would provide a decision that must be made by the player who captured the ship which enhances game play. It probably wouldn't take long for your shipyard to learn the more common frigates but if a group of pvp'ers were able to cap a rare first rate than they would trully be torn between keeping it for themselves, selling, or donating to the society shipyard so it could be reproduced. This would maybe keep the proportion of shipyards that could build most or all of the other nations ships down to a minimum. This could be enhanced if they limited capping of ships to OS fights and not in Port Battles.

[Alan Lewrie]

I see something that as of yet hasn't been mentioned.

There is an omision in this shot of a ship ostensibly cleared for action. Hammocks in the nettings! I figure this is an early "in progress" shot, so I can see why they aren't there yet.

It was daily routine to stow the rolled up hammocks in the nets shown here in the morning, or certainly prior to going into battle.

Kind of stunk for the average sailor whose belongings and bedding got shot to bits in an action, but is served as an additional barrier to shot and would be a nice detail (as well as adding some protection to "crew" on deck).

For that matter, boarding netting and netting strung horizontally over the top deck to catch falling men and spars in action.

Ah yes, another detail I have seen.

The anchor cable isn't usually passing out the port and tied onto the anchor unless the ship is likely to need to anchor, or anchoring soon. Tough to do as you would have to issue an order an hour or two ahead of time in real world, but could be done in game with a command that automatically made the anchor cable appear when water depth reached a set value.

[Morgan]

If you consider add some quests or campaigns, scenarios etc, will be nice to see some fantasy and legendary myths involved. Like the Flying Dutchman per say.

Just an idea.

[maturin]

There is an omision in this shot of a ship ostensibly cleared for action. Hammocks in the nettings! I figure this is an early "in progress" shot, so I can see why they aren't there yet.

It's quite difficult to get visual references for that, I've found. Throw some links if you have them.

[Alan Lewrie]

From a painting of the moment Lord Admiral Nelson was shot,

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Fall_of_Nelson.jpg

 

They appear to be covered by a canvas.

 

Book cover,

 

http://www.hmssurprise.org/sites/default/files/pictures/covers/postcap2.jpg

 

Also covered in canvas. In this shot if you look carefully you can see the iron stanchion that forms the frame for the netting.

 

From a modeling forum, the discussion calls the exact form into question.

 

http://mediaharmonists.de/bilder/Victory-130725_8916.jpg

 

You are right, tough to find. I suppose it would be easier if cameras were common during the age of sail.... I'll keep poking around.

[Alex Connor]

Trincomalee is currently outfitted with hammocks in the nettings.

 

[BrutishVulgarian]

Ships boats on deck.

And usable boats for lifeboats and boarding and cutting out expeditions, although that's probably not a "little" thing.

[maturin]

Trincomalee is currently outfitted with hammocks in the nettings.

Or a simulation of them, it looks like.

 

Ships boats on deck.

I've been thinking about boats. It's a huge complication because boats were towed astern when a ship cleared for action (you don't want an expensive shrapnel generator sitting in the waist). Having each ship in the game actually tow 3-6 boats would be an enormous pain in the ass. If the game gives us the chance to sail around while not in combat, then sticking them on deck would be nice.

[BrutishVulgarian]

Or a simulation of them, it looks like.

 

 

 

I've been thinking about boats. It's a huge complication because boats were towed astern when a ship cleared for action (you don't want an expensive shrapnel generator sitting in the waist). Having each ship in the game actually tow 3-6 boats would be an enormous pain in the ass. If the game gives us the chance to sail around while not in combat, then sticking them on deck would be nice.

I also thought they were towed astern in battle, but then looking at Alan Lewrie's paintings above, I saw marines standing the boats on deck shooting muskets.

[maturin]

That is probably dramatic license, although it's possible there are certain situations where you wouldn't want the boats towed. Possibly at Trafalgar they were already going three knots in the light airs and didn't want any more drag astern.

[Alan Lewrie]

Boats could be towed astern or dropped with a sea anchor to drift and be picked up by the victor later. Very unusual to clear for action and leave the boats on the tiers.

[maturin]

I suppose they could be passed off to the frigates as well. A rather inglorious duty, that.

[BrutishVulgarian]

I think a real simple thing that would add depth to battles would be, to occasionally add high winds that make using full sail a dangerous gamble.

[Bob_Deligny]

Just a thought for economy / open sea PvP combat missions. Escorting an AI merchant convoy. The departure of the convoy can be communicated in game and captains sign up. An opposing nation can intercept the convoy and PvP ensues. Escort are rewarded for successful protection and enemy get the merchant loot if they carry the day.

[Weed]

I think the game is looking fantastic so far. Here are a few things I was thinking about.

 

1. More complex sail plans, or at least the option to have more than 3 options, FULL, BATTLE, NONE. If each ship will be different it would be great to see each one sail differently. Sail handling and configurations should be unique to each. like customizing a race car. Some form of leeway might be nice to see, but might be too much to model and might take away from the fun. Leeway is hard to perceive even when on a real ship.

 

2. Timing. There is a real trade off between reload times and fun, and sail plans (hoisting and lowering sails) and fun. Too slow and the game becomes to much of a simulation (boring), too fast and it becomes arcade. So far the reload times and sail changes and turn rates (especially into the wind) seem much too fast. There is definitely a fine balance here. But in general, unless you were going to tack, turning into the wind without enough speed was a deadly mistake.

 

3. Smoke. More of it. The guns shown so far do not give off enough smoke. Smoke was a real force to reckon with especially in those calm water, slow wind scenarios in the videos. Plus the smoke seems to always go aft, as opposed to with the wind. Square rigged ships really like the wind from the beam and aft, making the smoke almost always go forward.

 

4. A crew system, and they gain experience. I am not sure if this aspect is even in the scope of this project or planned for it, but some sort of officers crew would be a lot of fun. It would be great to have them gain experience and have more and more abilities, adding advantages to your ship's qualities of sailing, firing, repairing, morale, health, etc. I am thinking of some sort of blend between Silent Hunter 3 and XCOM. If as a Captain, the player has abilities that help his ship, then maybe grooming your officers so that one can take over the ship when the Captain is killed, and thus becomes your new avatar.

 

5. Wounded officers would take so many days, weeks to come back to full strength. Crew or officers maimed or killed would have to be dismissed. 

 

6. I think ship name as an ID is great, but would be nice to also see player ID under it or in smaller letters.

 

7. A PVP system than allows escape or running away if someone can sail better or get their ship to sail faster. If there is a complex sailing plan and weather/water modeling, well, this alone could be very interesting. As someone said, racing could be it's own game type.

 

8. Melee servers with Capture points (islands or even buoys) on a map large enough to have end runs. It may be difficult to imagine a ocean or sea like a map layout in BF2 or TF2, but you get the idea. A way to have shifting priorities so that teams of players/ships could coordinate to take control of an area and either have to defend it or move on to the next objective.

 

9. One more on sailing. Being to windward was everything. It's like having a height advantage in air dogfight. Red Baron 3D anyone? To turn into the wind to dramatically slow your speed or allow your enemy to get to windward of you was something to be avoided at all costs unless you had some specific plan in mind.

 

Thanks for reading!

[HarryButpain]

 

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

 

 

Just make sure that there's an option to place numbers above ships! I agree with Morgan that voice coms were hilarious back then, hehe...

[Alex Connor]

Just make sure that there's an option to place numbers above ships! I agree with Morgan that voice coms were hilarious back then, hehe...

Rather no names displayed at all (and no ship types either).

 

Easy enough to call out targets, "third frigate in line" "2 decker missing its foremast" etc.

[Thomas Blackwell]

Rather no names displayed at all (and no ship types either).

 

Easy enough to call out targets, "third frigate in line" "2 decker missing its foremast" etc.

 

If custom ship names are painted on the stern of each ship, I'd be happy. As for captain names, I don't need to know who I'm fighting until the fight is over.

[balazs1]

Im old fun in Pirates game! I do not know what kind of game it will be, but I want to see my character(capitan) on  the deck of ship or  on the   dock allow him to can  move for a short time or even dress. A ship without a captain bit empty to me in this game ,so  why it would be a much better game than similar WoT and Warthunder etc. So this  game need to see our capitans anyway:P

[Ned Loe]

If custom ship names are painted on the stern of each ship, I'd be happy. As for captain names, I don't need to know who I'm fighting until the fight is over.

and you have to remember, naming/renaming can make devs some nice money! Players can rename ships for in-store currency. Why not? 

[Thomas Blackwell]

and you have to remember, naming/renaming can make devs some nice money! Players can rename ships for in-store currency. Why not? 

 

I'd be okay with this micro transaction, so long as the initial naming of the vessel was free. Plus, I think a good game to look at when it comes to buying things with real money is Guns of Icarus. There isn't a single thing in the store that costs more than $4.00. Things like dyes to change the color of your clothes are $0.16 - $0.30 a piece. Though this seems like a minuscule amount of money, a lot more people will be more interested in buying in game items if they can keep their bill below $10. I bought $5 worth of stuff, then another $5, and then another $5. Before I knew it I was $15 out of pocket. If I had spent it all in one lump sum I would have felt pretty rotten, but because I spent it in small amounts and got a decent amount of stuff for it, I felt pretty good about my purchases. (You could maybe charge a little extra for some things, but no stupidly expensive stuff like EVE, WoT, and Star Trek Online try to flog off on their players.)

 

If I was going to go a little overboard, I would write out a little price list of things I would feel comfortable paying for... oh look, just such a list has magically materialized on my desk. What a stroke of luck!

 

Bucket of Paint - Used to repaint your ship (the bigger the ship, the more buckets you will need) = $.25 each bucket

Sail Decals - Adds a personal touch to each sail - multiple designs to choose from = $.50 - $1.00 each design

Sail Colors - Changes your sails to a different color = $1.00 each color

Custom Banners - Let fly a touch of style = $0.25 each banner design

Rename Your Ship - Scrape off the old paint = $0.50

 

This list can be expanded of course, but the point is this. If ships are destroyed forever, and these custom additions are only good for one ship (meaning you buy one of an item, you can use it on one ship only) then people will be more inclined to customize their ships because of the low price. Plus if capturing enemy vessels is added into NA, you will be able to capture a fully customized ship. Basically all I want to see, is Game Labs making money without breaking the banks of their players. The easiest way to do that, is to make sure everyone can afford to customize their ship and captain.

[akd]

I think custom sail colors and decals would really ruin the look of the game. Flags, banners and pennants are the perfect avenue for personal expression. Hull paints are also a great idea, if kept within a reasonable norm. Not sure how flexible the 3D ship models are, but "prestige" figureheads would be another great thing to spend some real cash on.

[Ned Loe]

Colors feature like in other games is a must have feature here. Also, certain ship parts can be unlocked and painted and you lvl up would be nice. I know many people who will buy a game just because they can design flags and sails as they like. 

 

Example colors: