Great Suggestions Collection

[Barbarosa]

Ahoy captains,

There were many great ideas and suggestions which got lost in senseless discussions.

It would be great to create a collection of them to serve the naval gaming community.

The suggestions can be yours or one that you read and liked a lot. Don't hesitate to post others ideas as they might not be playing, active in the forums anymore. Put a disclaimer that you are sharing somebody else's idea and put their name if you remember.

Keep it short, brief and follow the following  format:

1. Problem: 
2. Cause:
3. Solution:

Please,

• Do not post any kind of reply like "great idea", "bad idea", "won't work", +1 ect. THIS IS ONLY FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.
• If you want to support a suggestion simply LIKE them.
• If you want to improve/change your own suggestion prefer to edit your original one. It would be great if we manege to keep it compact.
• If you want to improve an idea, DON'T do that by adding on another, do not quote anything. Write your own recommendation and put a disclaimer that is based on certain suggestion by somebody. Avoid everything to turn this into a discussion thread.
• This is only for sharing, not for discussion. If you want to discuss suggestions go to the appropriate forum section.
• Do not move this thread to suggestions. It is not intended for developers, it is for the community!

Remember,

• Everyone has right to have an opinion and express them.
• Sometimes you won't like those opinions, the people expressing them might be assholes. Leave them alone to not be a bigger asshole.
• You are not supposed to understand everything. Everyone is writing from their own perspective, which might be completely out of your experience and knowledge sphere.

Thanks. 

 

Edited April 2, 2019 by Barbarosa

[Hullabaloo]

I remember when Admin posted about 'little things you'd like to see'. None were ever implemented I don't think , but there were some good ideas on there. I wrote some of them as I saw them, I have no idea which were other people's and which were mine (if any), and some of them are not so 'little'. no particular order:

In Port compass and Wind Indicator

Ability to draw on map that other members of a battle group can see

Kill marks on ships

Nameable ships (even if its only you that sees it)

Run with lights off at night (incurs slight OW speed penalty perhaps?)

Flares (for night time and storms to spot enemy shipping and mission/battle x's) but makes you more visible.

Mirror (light flash) signalling

Lights in Forts and Towers and to mark port entrances in bad weather/night.

Fog banks in battle instance (when suitable OW weather applies)

Clan Logos/Colours on sails

Currents - shipping gets from A2B faster by following currents (creates concentration of targets on routes)

Curvature of the earth (animation of sails seen on horizon before hull, instead of freeze and disappear or suddenly appear).

Player AI ships: ability to transport player owned goods and ships from Port to port but not teleport/tow. Operated instead by AI fleets that conducts the journey on the players behalf even when player is offline and behaves in exactly the same way as an AI ie (enemy player AI).

AI shipping instead of port drops, so goods are actually transported to and from ports by AI trading ships instead of just appearing. (unless the port actually produces it).

Those sticking out elephant ear sails out on the sides. Have those optional for OW to give some extra OW straight line speed but have a heavy penalty like turning and a long cool down to put up and down in battle instance? (110% sail)

Openworld flag signalling (simple): Different colour on top mast perhaps?
I wish an honourable duel
I am peaceful
No quarter given etc.

Naming the Crafting Ranks (new one)

Edited April 2, 2019 by Hullabaloo

[Angus MacDuff]

An age of sail appropriate compass rose.

When clicking on an enemy player, type of ship and BR is given (especially with all the paint schemes now).

Ability to chat with enemy players (as we do now with friendlies).  May be switched off.

Change the Pirate ranks.  Maybe allow each pirate to use another nations ranks (I HATE the Pirate ranks...."Scoundrel"??!!!)

[Barbarosa]

I remember reading a great idea about circle of engagement. Don't remember whose idea it was though.

1. Problem:  Circle of engagement do not represent simulation perfectly and leaves options for different types of abuses.
2. Cause: Time spend and distance traveled in battle is different/not synchronized than in open world. 
3. Solution: 

• With each passing second you can add distance to join position depending on OW scale/speed vs Battle instance scale/speed. 
• You can keep battles open for 10 minutes as they are now, since the joining distance will increase drastically, the time you join will matter a lot
• Give immunity and speed boost (edited: invisibility is bad) timer to players based on time spend in battle to replicate OW map scale/speed

Edited April 2, 2019 by Barbarosa

[Tom Farseer]

1. Problem: Small battles overall don't last long enough and starting position can (especially for small ships) decide the whole battle, which is bad because of the desynchronisation issues in OW, making tagging depend on luck more than skill.
2. Cause:
   Desync in OW (hard to fix, very technical issue)
   Gun damage overall is too high
   Gun accuracy is too good
3. Solution:

• fix server-client desynchronisation (difficult, I know), maybe enhance server tick-rate?
• slightly decrease gun damage overall (5-10%) to make battles last longer and be more tactically challenging and without giving frigates the ability to tank SoL broadsides
• increase dispersion for all guns, especially carronades and stern chasers (no more magic laserguns in the stern, please)

[Tom Farseer]

1. Problem: Frigates can currently tag anything bigger with impunity, knowing they can kite for 20 minutes, while heavy reinforcements arrive.
2. Cause: 20 minutes Br-based join timer for attackers.
3. Solution: 20 minutes Br-based join timer only for defenders.

@Barbarosa's suggestion right above could work fine as well!

[Tom Farseer]

1. Problem: New players get slaughtered by the dozens right outside their capitals
   
   
2. Cause: No reinforcement zones. Toxic sealclubbing community. Veterans that have gotten tired of trying to fight those fleets and being mor hindered than helped by said newbies joining in light frigates against SoLs, without being on comms etc.
3. Solution:

• change the communities behaviour (not really feasible, I guess...)
• reinstate R-zones (the latest iteration (spawn 2 AI, same ships as attacker but buffed) hit the sweet spot in my opinion. Very good players had the chance to maybe snatch a trader and get out, but it mainly kept newbies safe from sealclubbers.
• to counter R-Zone-only Rear-Admirals, make reinforcements based on ingame rank. For example 2 reinforcement ships are granted for anything below Master & Commander equivalent rank, only one ship for M&C and post Captain, no reinforcements for Flag Captain and above. Also make missions for 4th rates and higher unavailable within R-zone ports.

Edited April 2, 2019 by Tom Farseer

[Barbarosa]

1. Problem: New players get slaughtered by the dozens right outside their capitals. (Thanks to @Tom Farseer ) The game doesn't give proper chance to new players to experience and learn the game to help increasing player base numbers.
2. Cause: Toxic sealclubbing community. Veterans that have gotten tired of trying to fight those fleets and being more hindered than helped by said newbies joining in light frigates against SoLs, without being on comms etc. (Thanks to @Tom Farseer )
3. Solution:
   • Map is way too big even for 2k population playing at same time.
   • Designate part of the map as a starter zone.
     • New players start as mercenaries without nation. (Neutral Nation)
     • Starter zone should be %100 safe with option to duel in OW. (We want them to be safe and able to learn at the same time with their initiative.)
     • All resource extraction in starter zone should have 1/4 efficiency. No strategic resource should be available in starter zone.
     • Kill missions should only give basic chests and rewards. Delivery missions only for in zone destinations.
     • Good combination of AI fleets in the zone from different nations, all attackable. XP gain and post battle rewards should be 1/4 to prevent abuse and encourage players to sail in PvP open zone.
   • Let players test, learn, gain confidence and experience the game in their own leisure. Eventually they will go out if it when they feel is right.
   • You will give them chance to gain friends which helps a lot with retention before being sealclubbed.
   • Let them choose the correct nation that suits them after experiencing the game to certain extent.
   • Create a hunting mission to prove yourself worthy to join a nation to add to immersion and story.

Edited April 6, 2019 by Barbarosa