Naval Lobby Event

[Corona Lisa]

Hi,

one of the biggest problems of Naval Action is undeniable the long time needed to get anything done ingame. If you want to do some PvP and dont have 3 or more hours its arguably not even worth setting sails. The time to gather a group, to find a fight and possible fights afterwards which you cant avoid are the main reasons for this.

We had small battle lobbies for a long time and barely anyone used them, except when the game was on a low due to fine woods and @Fellvred organised daily small battles. Each day more and more joined, sometimes we had 2 lobbies because more than 50 people joined. At this time playernumbers were down to 400 at prime time, with a big climb at the event. People like me logged in just to participate in the small battles and logged out afterwards.

I think the main reason because it was so rarley used was because games start every 10 minutes. If you queue up, chances are that noone else was in there. The implementation was just poor.

Here my suggestion:

2 daily events, announced as a global text message to every player. You dont use your own ship, you automatically get one when joining the lobby. You can choose wood type, crafting bonuses, permanent upgrades, shipknowledge and cannontype via a point system. That means you cannot take all the good stuff, you have to choose some at the costs of other.

This could look like this:

 

Event 1: full groups only

Event 2: solo players only

Each week the settings will change, for example:

setting 1: 2 3rd rates, 4 4th rates, 75th rates

setting 2: 4 5th rates

There can also be other changes to keep the event interesting, like double cannon damage, leaks are stronger, cannons have more/less penetration, game times is only 30 mins but ships are faster etc. There are so many possiblities.

If you play solo mode you can choose your preferred ship class. If you dont get it, the chances are higher that you will get it next time.

 

There dont need to be any rewards, just better advertising is all it needs to get players interested.

And before the "OW is empty" guys cry: Yes, it will take people from the OW for these 1,5 hours max, but it will also teach people how to PvP and keep more players in the game. As a result more players play the game and more players are in OW in the long run.

 

TLDR:

Promote lobby matchmaking to give us the chance for some quick PvP, where you know exactly when it ends for people who dont have 3 hours+ to do PvP. it also opens up a lot of chances for events like "stronger leaks" or historic fights fleet compositions like Trafalgar or smth.

Edited April 23, 2018 by Jon Snow lets go

[jodgi]

What if there were two patrol missions each day? One intended for solo players with continual BR limits to equalize sides and one like we have now with ganking enabled.

That way you'll partially deflect the "but that's not OW how I want it" complaints because the true OW heroes can be told to impose their OW gameplay on people using OW to get to and fro.

You have to avoid anything that looks like a lobby or the sandbox fundamentalists will raise their sacred OW book and cry "Heresy!".

Btw, I love you!

[Corona Lisa]

1 minute ago, jodgi said:

You have to avoid anything that looks like a lobby or the sandbox fundamentalists will raise their sacred OW book and cry

...while telling "PvPers just want to gank newbs in front of capitals"

6 minutes ago, jodgi said:

What if there were two patrol missions each day? One intended for solo players with continual BR limits to equalize sides and one like we have now with ganking enabled.

That way you'll partially deflect the "but that's not OW how I want it" complaints because the true OW heroes can be told to impose their OW gameplay on people using OW to get to and fro.

You are basically right. I want some way of fast (=sub 30 minutes) matchmaking for a fair and good fight and eliminate the biggest problem in Fellvreds event: some groups stomp every opposition (X clan, Rubli at that time) because they are too good.

In the end I dont care who they implemement it as long as they do something "fast paced" and somewhat balanced (without any PvE plz). But I think lobbies just make things easier both for devs and for players.

[Christendom]

the tutorial made me realize how nice it was to click a button and instantly be put into a ship and out there fighting something, even if it was AI.  It was new content that gave new stuff and it seems that even despite the difficulty to some, it's been a universal success.  

I'm not sure this would have the same effect.  As much as I dislike the patrol zones, people at least need to use reps and build new ships/store bought stuff and thus creating some sort of economic stimulus if you will.  Give people an event where people just log on once or twice a day for an hour to PVP and it will soon turn into the ONLY time they log on.  They won't need to craft or haul repairs.....just log on, click and collect marks....then back off to PUBG.  Even back when we had the PVP event twice a day it seemed people only bothered to log on for it then too.  If this game had 2500 players on, sure I could see this actually being helpful.  But we don't and while we've had an uptick this weekend and even cracked the 600 mark on saturday.....we still need as many captains out there sailing on the water as possible.  

We keep trying to come up with ideas on how to stimulate PVP on a server that was designed for more people than we currently have.  It's like we're trying to stare into a almost empty glass and think of ways to make it satisfy our thirst...when really need more water.  We need more people in this game.  Period.  More people playing will magically fix our PVP problem. 

One big takeaway from the tutorial is that people are desperate for new content.  I'd love to see the final exam turned into a weekly quest/mission or something that yields rewards.  

[Corona Lisa]

50 minutes ago, Christendom said:

I'm not sure this would have the same effect.  As much as I dislike the patrol zones, people at least need to use reps and build new ships/store bought stuff and thus creating some sort of economic stimulus if you will.  Give people an event where people just log on once or twice a day for an hour to PVP and it will soon turn into the ONLY time they log on.

One big takeaway from the tutorial is that people are desperate for new content.  I'd love to see the final exam turned into a weekly quest/mission or something that yields rewards.  

Isnt this totally contradicting? I think more options to play means more people will stay with the game and ultimately fill the OW. And right now there is no chance for PvP if you have to leave in 2 hours or so which probably kills off a big part of the players (same for low amount of PvE content ofc, but this topic is about PvP).

[Christendom]

6 minutes ago, Jon Snow lets go said:

Isnt this totally contradicting? I think more options to play means more people will stay with the game and ultimately fill the OW. And right now there is no chance for PvP if you have to leave in 2 hours or so which probably kills off a big part of the players (same for low amount of PvE content ofc, but this topic is about PvP).

But we've already had a taste of what PVP events do to the OW.  Back before our exile to the phantom zone (global) we had the PVP event circles that were like 2/3x a day.  People only logged on for those and then logged off.  After a while they even stopped bothering.    

 

[Corona Lisa]

11 minutes ago, Christendom said:

But we've already had a taste of what PVP events do to the OW.  Back before our exile to the phantom zone (global) we had the PVP event circles that were like 2/3x a day.  People only logged on for those and then logged off.  After a while they even stopped bothering.

At the fine wood patch where noone sailed out anyways because ships were too expensive.

[Cmdr RideZ]

I have sailed too many times 4 hours in OW without seeing anyone. I am sure I am not the only one.  2 hours per day should be enough to play Naval Action, it is not. There are probably at least thousand times more players who can play 2 hours per day.

OW and Lobby PvP could be somehow joined. All content could be somehow joined to OW so that player base is not divided.

/follow command would be nice.

Traders have AI escorts which clan mates can play in case trader gets attacked.

Maybe ability to provide you and your ship as reinforcements for port that your clan owns.

Is the map huge enough that it has room for some ports with lobby port battles?

What if clan leader could say: "Tomorrow be online 20:00 - 22:00. We have battle against XX clan. Good night and see you tomorrow".

HC players who are able to play 24 hours per day can organize ships, economy, politics, etc.

Today we have a clan of 10 active players, maybe even HC players. What if on top of that they had 50 players who play 2 hours per day?

[Archaos]

Most of what you are asking for here was provided in Legends, so why was it not more popular and why did it fail? Personally I did more PvP in Legends than I do in OW game and I managed to unlock up to 3rd rate, but most of that was against AI as there was not enough human opposition.

[Barbancourt]

26 minutes ago, Archaos said:

Most of what you are asking for here was provided in Legends, so why was it not more popular and why did it fail?

Most of the players that might have been interested in the "Legends" style setup right after the Sea Trials period were long gone by the time "Legends" arrived after a couple years of everything being Open World. 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2018 by Barbancourt (rownd)

[Archaos]

6 minutes ago, Barbancourt (rownd) said:

Most of the players that might have been interested in the "Legends" style setup right after the Sea Trials period were long gone by the time "Legends" arrived after a couple years of everything being Open World. 

 

 

Yet people are still asking for something similar, yet Legends failed to attract sufficient players.

[Corona Lisa]

2 minutes ago, Archaos said:

Yet people are still asking for something similar, yet Legends failed to attract sufficient players.

Got a quote for this? For all I know admin stated that the player retention was higher in NAL but the development needed for NAL was too much to support both games at the same time and thats why they focussed on the core game only and bringing some good features from NAL over to NA.

[Archaos]

41 minutes ago, Jon Snow lets go said:

Got a quote for this? For all I know admin stated that the player retention was higher in NAL but the development needed for NAL was too much to support both games at the same time and thats why they focussed on the core game only and bringing some good features from NAL over to NA.

The numbers spoke for themselves, at peak times you were lucky to get 14 people online. Yes they said they were looking to bring the good bits across to OW game, but not a lobby game.

In one of the replies in the above thread Admin mentions how numbers were dropping. If NAL had huge numbers then they would not have shut it down.

Edited April 23, 2018 by Archaos

[jodgi]

7 minutes ago, Archaos said:

Yet people are still asking for something similar, yet Legends failed to attract sufficient players.

Some may have lost faith in Legends, some other people wanted it to fail. The player retention of Legends in the form we had can be picked apart like there's no tomorrow.

As to your quote; Legends was never allowed to attract players.

What admin said to the effect about being spread too thin makes sense to me and the discussion can stop there.

I actually like the NA community and Legends could have split us rather painfully. Why would I ever spend even a minute in OW after full release of Legends? I know people told themselves that legends would provide recruitment for OW and I've never had the heart to interrupt that.

I mean it when I say I'm glad for those who find so much meaning or depth in OW. I like you and NA so much I'm willing to endure some boredom if it's really that important to you (No, fuck that! I'm not distracted by PVE content). I'll help populate the OW, but please, throw me a frikkin' bone, here! Is it so bad if there's one tiny area where idiots and shortsighted fools like me can go and find close to equal (=fun) fights simply because we value that above all else?

Maybe it's as easy as flicking a switch? Instead of bemoaning the way we want to enjoy the game, you can accommodate us and be glad we're here and not in COD or whatever game you think is the Devil incarnate.

(Open arms rant spurred by Arch but not directed at him)

[Archaos]

3 minutes ago, jodgi said:

Some may have lost faith in Legends, some other people wanted it to fail. The player retention of Legends in the form we had can be picked apart like there's no tomorrow.

As to your quote; Legends was never allowed to attract players.

What admin said to the effect about being spread too thin makes sense to me and the discussion can stop there.

I actually like the NA community and Legends could have split us rather painfully. Why would I ever spend even a minute in OW after full release of Legends? I know people told themselves that legends would provide recruitment for OW and I've never had the heart to interrupt that.

I mean it when I say I'm glad for those who find so much meaning or depth in OW. I like you and NA so much I'm willing to endure some boredom if it's really that important to you (No, fuck that! I'm not distracted by PVE content). I'll help populate the OW, but please, throw me a frikkin' bone, here! Is it so bad if there's one tiny area where idiots and shortsighted fools like me can go and find close to equal (=fun) fights simply because we value that above all else?

Maybe it's as easy as flicking a switch? Instead of bemoaning the way we want to enjoy the game, you can accommodate us and be glad we're here and not in COD or whatever game you think is the Devil incarnate.

(Open arms rant spurred by Arch but not directed at him)

Sorry, I did not mean to set you off on a rant, I know this topic is not about why Legends failed but I was just pointing out that the suggestion is very similar to what we had in Legends and that could not retain the numbers to make it viable. I enjoyed Legends more than I thought I would even with the grind and as I said I managed to unlock up to 3rd rate, but due to the lack of numbers most of my time there was spent doing PvE.

I agree that a lobby system for quick PvP would give some people the fix they require, but the small battle lobbies they used to have were hardly used until the game was at a very low point and I do not see it being much different now.

Personally I would like a lobby system where battles could be setup in certain scenarios, much like was possible many years ago in the LAN version of Age of Sail II. Battles could be setup in advance and people could join to captain various ships in the battle. That way you could start various historical battles with the ships laid out as they were at the start of the engagement rather than random battles with the wind and positioning balanced for both teams.

[Jean Ribault]

1 hour ago, Archaos said:

...I agree that a lobby system for quick PvP would give some people the fix they require, but the small battle lobbies they used to have were hardly used until the game was at a very low point and I do not see it being much different now...

To me, just IMHO mind you, but that Legends failure is just indicative of the few numbers of players that are hardcore pvp-only types.  To me it shows how pve content is so necessary to make this game thrive.