Making Ports FFA Should Not Be Free

[Severus Snape]

While I'm ordinarily a simple potions professor....I feel like something needs to change in the ability to make ports FFA with little to no consequence.  

So I present a fairly simple solution.  Make opening a port FFA cost the same as putting a timer on the port.

Presumably a FFA port will get more traffic and more tax revenue to supplement the costs.  In reality they are just being opened by Rogue/Disgruntled clans to cause disharmony within the nation.  Case and point - The gulf by Vera Cruz.  Not 1, but 5 ports owned by a different clan than the clan that actual owns and pays for the region with zero ability to change this.  A clan should not have the ability to hold others hostage in this fashion with zero cost.  

A better ability would that the owner of the region has to approve all timer/port entry options, but that might be too elaborate of a change. 

If a clan wants to go rogue or be dicks, fine....but they shouldn't be able to do it for free while the owner of the region shoulders the burden of paying for it.

 

Thoughts?

[Severus Snape]

1 hour ago, Intrepido said:

If the owner of those ports want to be dick they will find also another way with that behaviour. 

The idea of civil wars is tempting.

Also FFA ports have been used also as providing a base to make easier to an allied nation to repair/buy crew so it is not always a negative thing. I believe we have seen more times a good use of the feature than dick moves from clans.

And my suggestion does not prevent this from happening.... it just shouldn’t be free.

As it stands currently a clan can capture one of the lesser ports, turn it FFA and then quit the game for months and the maintenance will be zero.  Meanwhile the clan paying the bill to keep the region has to deal with the consequences.  This should not be the case.  

[Raekur]

2 hours ago, Intrepido said:

Also FFA ports have been used also as providing a base to make easier to an allied nation to repair/buy crew so it is not always a negative thing. I believe we have seen more times a good use of the feature than dick moves from clans.

While I understand your point, I have witnessed the opposite quite a few times with the excuse that it opens it up for trade. The thing is that a trader can always enter a port regardless of this setting. This setting is to permit warships to dock and make repairs and that can be accomplished using one port, no need for 5. That is just sending a clear message to come raid the area and harass vera cruz since it is constantly generating a large amount of taxes.

I still see no reason as to why the nations do not have the same ability the pirates do in being able to attack vessels and/or ports of your same nation in order to resolve petty little moves like the one Severus has pointed out. This is not a new occurrence.

[Eyesore]

If you want controle ... go capture that FFA-port (with help from a foreign (alt)clan) then?

[Angus MacDuff]

2 hours ago, Intrepido said:

I still see no reason as to why the nations do not have the same ability the pirates do in being able to attack vessels and/or ports of your same nation in order to resolve petty little moves like the one Severus has pointed out.

Pirates do not have this ability.  It's certainly on many player's wish list

[Severus Snape]

1 hour ago, Eyesore said:

If you want controle ... go capture that FFA-port (with help from a foreign (alt)clan) then?

Too difficult now with the current front lines system.  Also if it’s a developed region the swapping will destroy some of the upgrades in the transition.  

[Hethwill]

FFA ports should lose Conquest timer and go default.

 

[Raekur]

9 hours ago, Angus MacDuff said:

Pirates do not have this ability.  It's certainly on many player's wish list

So when did pirates lose the ability to attack other pirates, they certainly have the ability to join both sides of an ongoing battle, nations dont.

[Farrago]

17 minutes ago, Raekur said:

So when did pirates lose the ability to attack other pirates, they certainly have the ability to join both sides of an ongoing battle, nations dont.

Let’s say the ongoing battle is Dutch vs Russia... Pirates can join either side. While I understand the theory behind this, it causes more problems than it is worth because Pirates in all other ways  operate like a regular nation.

If the battle is Pirates vs Another Nation, Pirates can only join the Pirate side.

Pirates have not been able to attack other Pirates in OW for what? A year or more?

[Aster]

Admin already posted a solution to this with ffa ports being able to be attacked by their own nation to change the clan. This seems like a fine solution. If a rouge clan goes against what the many wants and is unable to defend itself fairly likely with a alt clan then the other clans in the nation can take it back. Also on the flip side this could be used as a way for a nation to fight with itself if they wanted to.

[Archaos]

8 hours ago, Hethwill said:

FFA ports should lose Conquest timer and go default.

 

I do not think the conquest timer is the issue as most of the ports in question are not regional capitals and hence they do not need port timers for protection as the regional capital would need to be captured first.

[Sir Texas Sir]

18 hours ago, Intrepido said:

To counter inactivity the way could be that the port go neutral if all officers from the clan havent logged in for X days.

I also think sub region ports since they don't h ave to have a timer should pay half there tax (5% of the norm 10%) towards the Region Capital owner, that how tax's worked back than you paid to the governor of the region you where in and than they paid to the kings or lords above them.   If that port isn't making enough than it should fall neutral if no one pays the bill or the Region Capital owner (Governor Clan) should be able to allow it go Neutral or have another clan take it.  Give us more control over regions we own.  

9 hours ago, Hethwill said:

FFA ports should lose Conquest timer and go default.

 

As mention later by @Aster it should mean that any of that zone can attack it or trade it....I like that it can't hold a timer too.   

6 hours ago, Raekur said:

So when did pirates lose the ability to attack other pirates, they certainly have the ability to join both sides of an ongoing battle, nations dont.

This was removed before the servers where even merged.  Other nations where using there alts to tag pirates so they can all jump in and kill the pirates around the Safe zones/Capital waters or Mort so it was removed.  We asked for it back as it was never the pirates that had issues with it and abused it.   We have also asked for many other hard core mechanics to make pirates more pirates but yet to see anything. If they did such I'll admit I would go back to being a pirate (other than the one solo alt that is one).  

3 hours ago, Aster said:

Admin already posted a solution to this with ffa ports being able to be attacked by their own nation to change the clan. This seems like a fine solution. If a rouge clan goes against what the many wants and is unable to defend itself fairly likely with a alt clan then the other clans in the nation can take it back. Also on the flip side this could be used as a way for a nation to fight with itself if they wanted to.

He's hinted at a few things that we have mention over time as being solutions, than he's gone and done something totally opposite.....It would be nice to have some sort of solution for trouble clans or dead clans that don't play nice or is not active to be take care of.

[Hethwill]

6 hours ago, Archaos said:

I do not think the conquest timer is the issue as most of the ports in question are not regional capitals and hence they do not need port timers for protection as the regional capital would need to be captured first.

Then capture them first. I suggested something regarding ports open to all without any concern for specific wants&needs. That's on the players if they want or need to attack something.

[Aster]

Unfortunately due to "round" earth theory some people become active later then others. This leads to anyone who is earlier on that cycle to get to the port first. Clearly the better suggestion would be to adopt the flat earth model.

[Sella]

As soon as a port is set FFA, it should be available to gain hostility by any nation.

[Raekur]

5 hours ago, Intrepido said:

Your proposal will just contribute to f.uck even more the frontline system.

An alt clan or a rogue clan will hurt much more the nation if every nation can make hostility directly at that port.

Then just make it where the owning nation is the only ones that can take missions from the CC to attack the port.