Information about location of rare resources

[van Veen]

Objective is to inform players about the location of rare resources without the need to search all hostile harbors. Ports dropping rare resources are a valuable target for RVR activities, but this requires that information about the location is available. Without this information, there will be no war for resources, but this was the main for implementing the system in the first place. 

In the current state, players can obtain this information by exploring enemy ports for rare resources. But this is practically not possible considering the number of ports (>350) and the number of players in small nations. Big nations are more likely to have these resources anyway, so in order to drive RVR, the information needs to get through to low population nations somehow. 

Here is my proposal:

Information is contained in "Message" objects.

• Messages can be stored in hold or in warehouse.
• Messages can be traded and bought.
• Messages can be "opened" revealing their content.

Messages drop randomly

• when opening a sealed bottle, 
• after completing passenger missions, 
• after completing delivery missions. 

Opening messages to be delivered should NOT drop this kind of information at the moment, because this could be abused too easily. To prevent abuse, opening a message should be sanctioned heavily, e.g. by loss of reputation or rank. 

Edited March 15, 2019 by van Veen

[SirAlatriste]

I think the secret of the paradise must not be released.

[Hullabaloo]

26 minutes ago, SirAlatriste said:

I think the secret of the paradise must not be released.

Don't be mean!

@van Veen    

That was actually a really good idea! except we already have this:

https://na-map.netlify.com/

Unless you mean: exactly where a resource is in the shop at any given moment? In which case it is unlikely it will still be there by the time you even receive the message let alone sail there.

(I hope I have understood all this correctly? perhaps not)

Edited March 15, 2019 by Hullabaloo

[Cetric de Cornusiac]

Time to remind of my suggestion about a message board in every port, where also such messages could pop up.

AND:

they could very well be combined with my recent suggestion about fleshing out the letter/passenger delivery missions. Add to each of them a random incident where the letter or passenger reveals a secret spawned rare wood location to you...

[van Veen]

30 minutes ago, Hullabaloo said:

Don't be mean!

@van Veen    

That was actually a really good idea! except we already have this:

https://na-map.netlify.com/

Unless you mean: exactly where a resource is in the shop at any given moment? In which case it is unlikely it will still be there by the time you even receive the message let alone sail there.

(I hope I have understood all this correctly? perhaps not)

Not quite the point. I want to address the rare resources that drop in one random port, see patch notes:

Quote

Port importance for clans and rare resource spawns

• Changes to rare woods spawns and access
  • Rare woods resources now only have limited trading spawns in the Carribean.
  • Rare woods forests can now randomly spawn somewhere in the Caribbean in limited quantities. (can be fully exhausted)
  • These rare woods now can be received by clans using delivery missions
  • Сlans and clans on their allies list have access to these missions
  • Getting rare woods by using missions reduces their supply. One supply is fully cut down the forest will spawn elsewhere in another port. 
  • Rare woods are: Live oak, white oak, bermuda cedar, teak, mahogany, caguarian, sabicu.

These are not listed on na-map.netlify.com. 

[Hullabaloo]

I'm confused. Netlify says White Oak is in New Orleans and Teak is in Bridgetown. Are these not the actual locations of the Delivery Missions then?

I like the idea. Having it so that the messages identify the location of a limited qty of rare wood which becomes available for the recipient of the message would work.

I think this is what @Cetric de Cornusiac means

Edited March 15, 2019 by Hullabaloo

[van Veen]

5 minutes ago, Hullabaloo said:

I'm confused. Netlify says White Oak is in New Orleans and Teak is in Bridgetown. Are these not the actual locations of the Delivery Missions then?

I like the idea. Having it so that the messages identify the location of a limited qty of rare wood which becomes available for the recipient of the message would work.

I think this is what @Cetric de Cornusiac means

There is one fixed port for each rare wood which are shown on the map. They work exactly like the previous rare wood system: woods just drop into the shop and you can place buy contracts to obtain woods. 

Now there is a second type of rare wood ports. Some refer to it as the "wandering forests". A forest of one kind of rare wood spawns in a random port with a fixed number of woods logs. The logs can be harvested by fulfilling clan missions (you need to pay doubloons) until the forest is depleted. The ports with the wandering forests are not shown on the map. 

[van Veen]

20 minutes ago, Cetric de Cornusiac said:

Time to remind of my suggestion about a message board in every port, where also such messages could pop up.

AND:

they could very well be combined with my recent suggestion about fleshing out the letter/passenger delivery missions. Add to each of them a random incident where the letter or passenger reveals a secret spawned rare wood location to you...

+1

[van Veen]

14 minutes ago, Hullabaloo said:

I'm confused. Netlify says White Oak is in New Orleans and Teak is in Bridgetown. Are these not the actual locations of the Delivery Missions then?

You being confused just means that you just don't know this new feature and this is not your fault. This just proves my point. The explicit intention was to drive RVR, but this purpose is failed when players don't know about it. 

[Hullabaloo]

Ahh I see! I did know about the new feature but I assumed the location shown on Netlify was the current 'wandering forest' location. I didn't realise there was also a permanent location. Thanks for clearing that up. 

Sounds like a good idea then

[Cetric de Cornusiac]

You guys heard the 'wandering forest' phenomenon can be influenced by feeding a port with 'local goods' from other places? I just don't have details about it, how much, how it influences spawning probability (probably by increasing the percentage per day) and if the 'exotic' /far away character of local goods has a varying effect...

Meanwhile, the good side of all this mystery is, once depreciated wood sorts (like sabicu, caguairan) see a new value now. As you help yourself with them while you don't have the premium sorts.

[van Veen]

10 minutes ago, Cetric de Cornusiac said:

You guys heard the 'wandering forest' phenomenon can be influenced by feeding a port with 'local goods' from other places?

I think it was mentioned that food trade goods improve drop rate of trade goods. Never heard about a connection with the wandering forests. 

I asked @admin about forest spawn details, but did not receive an answer. 

[mikawa]

Considering the sailing time in this game up to 2 hours it would simply be fair to tell players where the resources are directly in the ingame map and in my opinion it is necessary even to display the amount of a resource availiable and the price too.

This would make trading runs a lot of easier. No one wants to sail such a distance (with the risk of getting caught by an enemy!) only to find out that the resource is exhausted. This is a very important point before release: flatten all the entry barriers to this game and we will finally (!) get new players.

[Teutonic]

From the informatiom I have seen, and what other players have said.

I think the density of rare woods and resources randomly in ports is actually not bad - although I think we could do with more.

I would make a good guess there is currently upwards of 60 ports that have clan delivery missions for woods and resources. That's not a bad amount.

[van Veen]

Just now, Teutonic said:

From the informatiom I have seen, and what other players have said.

I think the density of rare woods and resources randomly in ports is actually not bad - although I think we could do with more.

I would make a good guess there is currently upwards of 60 ports that have clan delivery missions for woods and resources. That's not a bad amount.

I have not seen a single wandering forest and have not heard of one to be honest. Alas, I am in one of those unhappy small nations and therefore will probably never see a wandering teak forest...

This is due to the RNG which favors those nations which are already large. 80% of all players or more sit in the large nations and they just don't see the problem. But this is not the issue. I could live with that. 

The issue is that information is the key. If foreign nation players knew about a wandering forest, there would perhaps be a war about it. No information means no war, that is guaranteed. Driving RVR and PVP was the whole purpose behind the idea in the first place, so the information should be provided somehow. 

[Teutonic]

Further review and updated on a list.

It is more like 30-40 Ports with limited supply caches. I am not in a position to show the list and do not have permission to do so - so I only ask that you take my word.

It seems the only Non Wood resources that have limited supply ports are the following (of what we have found out):
1. Copper Ingots

It seems based on a couple weeks of updated Data the following:
1. Wood supplies are huge, we haven't even dented 5% of some caches - this is even with the "meta woods."

I believe this is mostly due to many of us having a supply of ships left and no need to make more, yet. I also firmly believe this is due to the cost of Doubloons. Most people I have talked to believe the Fee to redeem all the resources is about twice as expensive as it should be. everything should be 50% less than the current cost.

2. Less desirable wood caches in some places are literally untouched

 

Further feedback:

1. The Huge Supply count (1 million) seems too high
2. I was hoping for more ports to have "other rare resources" instead we only get copper ingots
3. There should be more ports with rare resources, and it seems the density of where these woods are makes some interesting dynamics of "rich" and "poor" areas (again).
4. Because doubloons are used to redeem these resources, the Clan that owns the port gets no tax or cut of the fees - personally I think the clans should get a portion or something.
5. I still firmly believe a portion (like 20-30%) of the total supply should be publicly available period. That way a clan still can "hold" the majority, but anyone can find and take some if they need/want it.

 

Edited March 26, 2019 by Teutonic

[Dibbler (Retired)]

 May i ask how you access these supply places that take dubloons?

Is it a clan thing, as shop only takes reals?

[Teutonic]

12 minutes ago, Dibbler said:

 May i ask how you access these supply places that take dubloons?

Is it a clan thing, as shop only takes reals?

They show up in the Mission UI window (I believe Economy at the bottom IIRC)- If you are the owning clan or a clan on the owner's friend list that's where you check.

Anyone in a clan can take the mission if the above rules apply. 

You wait 24 hours after you pay the doubloon fee - then after the 24hrs you can "redeem" the reward at any time you go back to that port.