Making All Ports Valuable -An expansion of the map

[Slim McSauce]

Starting off, lets address the not so clear problem that keeps the game focused around free-ports and nation capitals, and not being a goal of expanding territories and fighting to reach new areas of the map. There's been a common assumption if you wanted to find PVP, you either had to sail out from a free-port, or you had to travel all the ways to an enemies capital port.This has been known to be the case for as long as I've been playing coming on 3/12, maybe 4 years now. It's not new that we've been discussing how to facilitate pvp on and around the map, and why it is that the game is so focused down onto these two very specifics points that the rest of the map goes unnoticed and largely uncontested, many without even an economy despite being owned by a clan.

So what's the cause of this island-stagnation of player traffic and combat? I believe it's an inherit limitation placed on the game by locking the player's use of ports to 8. Meaning no matter what your nation/clan does RVR wise, you will only ever be able to use 8 ports on the map either to store goods, store ships, create and craft and stage pvp from. You need an outpost to store ships and items, you also need an outpost to build a building. Once you run out of outposts, you're stuck. You cannot advance further into or around the map, you've lost the fuction of using ports, even if they're owned by your very own nation which you are likely a high ranking member in, heck not even clans get access to their own ports unless they build outposts there.

This I think is where the limitation is started, and it permeates to all of the map. Heavily limited outpost, heavily limited traffic. A port that can not be used, goes unused. It's not by mere choice someone doesn't start enterprise somewhere in the gulf, or lower south/middle central america. It's that from a gameplay perspective. Say you, your clan and your nation owned the upper end of the Gulf and wanted to push down S either down Florida or Mexico. Assuming you already had a few outpost slots taken from capitals, freeports and resource areas, after taking just a few ports on your campaign, you would already be at the limit of expansion. The game ends for you there, there is no advancing. You've reached the artificial limit of port ownership.

The solution? Make every port owned by your nation, and by your clan usable to store items and ships, leaving outpost for production buildings, freeports, and insurance from port capture.
How will it work? Each port captured by your nations grants you 3 dock slots, and 10-20 warehouse slots. These can be expanded regularly, a enemy capture would negate this effect and remove your items from the port, an outpost being in limited supply would counter that which would make it useful for dangerous, high risk areas. Otherwise all ports can be used and made valuable. More traffic would bring more tax to the clans who own these ports bringing more business and pvp opporunities to the more remote or out of the way areas of the map. No longer will only a handful of the 300 something ports on the map be used and fought for, this would make every port valuable, as each port captured is tangible reward in itself granted in more dock space, more warehouse space, and more staging for eco and combat for not just you, but your nation and clan as well.

Thanks for reading.

[Aerospace]

There is a group who does not like clan members having advantage. Not like your idea, but a member offered more clan warehouse and dockspace for clans even in expanse of members donating warehouse slots on that port and dockspaces, trying not to put solo players at disadvantage but...

Of course being in clan or guild and owning ports means you are powerfull, if you have money and power, if you can afford, why not having more warehouse etc. ? If it is some engine limitation at least maximum numbers can increase a bit.

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2019 by Aerospace

[Slim McSauce]

12 minutes ago, Aerospace said:

There is a group who does not like clan members having advantage. Not like your idea, but a member offered more clan warehouse and dockspace for clans even in expanse of members donating warehouse slots on that port and dockspaces, trying not to put solo players at disadvantage but...

Of course being in clan or guild and owning ports means you are powerfull, if you have money and power, if you can afford, why not having more warehouse etc. ? If it is some engine limitation at least maximum numbers can increase a bit.

It's not clan based though, clans already get a full warehouse and they (should) get dockspaces of their own. This is for the nation, why is it that you or I of the same nation cannot access a port that we ourselves captured. Maybe in the future when clan wars are added they can bar others from the port, and fight to open access but first we need to fix the limit on ports that makes them go unused. It makes no sense that outpost are required to use a port that your clan/nation owns. What exactly is the point of that? Someone, anyone show me the benefit.  I've already laid out my case, in theory it works, in practice it will too if you give it a chance.

Edited March 12, 2019 by Slim McSauce

[Le Cru]

Good suggestion. It would strengthen finally the meaning of nations in this game. Since I am not a fan of OP clans, it could suit solo players as well. And finally people would take care about there ports.

Plus, I would include that neglected ports turn neutral/pirate 

[LIONOFWALES]

This is an interesting subject...

I like your ideas.

And perhaps with this could come alliances again.

[Meraun]

A very good Idea. We just dont have enough Outpostslots. @admin