The Game Then, and Now

[Quiet Assassin]

I used to enjoy the excitement of trading, finding a great deal on expensive goods, & sneaking through the enemy back to port & making a nice profit.

Now, the return on resource trading is not there. Stores are empty & stagnant, except in home ports. Free, no-risk cargo has killed resource trading. Too easy & boring.

I used to enjoy building ships.

Now, to have a level playing field, I must belong to a particular clan, or "friend list", which could end anytime on their whim or in-fighting. Clan-based super-ships have ruined independent ship-crafting.

I used to enjoy crafting various items.

Now, I get no crafting XP except ships.

I used to enjoy hunting PvP traders, sinking them, and maybe taking loot. Also, PvP points were gained...well-earned if you attacked a fleet of Indiamen, etc.

Now, I get no PvP credit for killing traders, and the loot is some "no-risk barrel" that I can't use. What's the point?

Trading, ship-building, crafting, and hunting traders were all fun aspects of the game.

Naval action was more fun when it wasn't just about clans & PvP warships. We need to get back to having many ways to have fun.

[Vernon Merrill]

Clan-focused everything was a bad idea...  IMHO...

[Papillon]

5 hours ago, Vernon Merrill said:

Clan-focused everything was a bad idea...  IMHO...

+1

x infinity

[Macjimm]

8 hours ago, Quiet Assassin said:

Free, no-risk cargo has killed resource trading.

The Economic Missions didn't kill anything.  They allow for players to make easy profits.   Then the profits are used to buy ships, and those players can quickly replace lost ships.  There are still other ways to accumulate Reals and Doubloons.  Crafting & selling;  cannon, repairs, mods and/or resources,  to players is viable.

I would prefer to have the complexity that we used to have.  I miss my barrel making business.  Shipwrights needed the barrels and I could sustain myself crafting them.  I agree with you that we should receive progress production from crafting and it should not be exclusively from shipbuilding.   I suspect we have lost lots of players because the game has been oversimplified.  

I sympathize with the Devs though.  There was; such a roar of complaints demanding easy wealth accumulation, and constant whining that the trading and crafting was hardcore and only suited to players who were unemployed or retired.   The hoard raged that trading and crafting must be easy.  The shop trading, shipbuilding and crafting was been dumbed down long before the Econ Missions were added.

I disagree that free, no-risk cargo killed resource trading.  Trading for resources and goods can be improved AND we can keep the Econ Missions.  Those who chose to buy and sell goods from the port shops could enjoy the challenge of finding inexpensive items and selling them for a profit.  Differing weights could be reintroduced.  Prices could vary depending on the quantity available and sales volumes.  There could be options for various interests and play styles, but I'm not sure that Devs can stand the outrage from players who insist on only having one option.  Any addition to easy mode seems to confuse some players.

 Perhaps some day the Devs will add more interesting features to the economy and trading.  They should also keep the Econ Missions though, killing them won't improve the game..

 

[Papillon]

Resource trading was killed whether you wish to admit it or not.

IMHO it was done deliberately to eliminate that type of player from the pvp server.  If not, then you would see some discussion of recovery of that game-type by devs.  Instead you get pretty much silence, which I personally interpret as a shrug.

OK, if that's the development philosophy then so be it.  BUT, it should not apply to the PVE server.  Resource trading on that server at least should be a real and viable playstyle.

Edited September 29, 2019 by Papillon

[Macjimm]

24 minutes ago, Papillon said:

Resource trading was killed

I agree.  Resource trading from shop to shop is now boring.

[Oli Garchy]

7 hours ago, Vernon Merrill said:

Clan-focused everything was a bad idea...  IMHO...

WRONG, the half assed clan focused  approach was a bad idea

[Vernon Merrill]

Whatever you say...,

[Quiet Assassin]

19 hours ago, Macjimm said:

 

 Perhaps some day the Devs will add more interesting features to the economy and trading.  They should also keep the Econ Missions though, killing them won't improve the game..

 

I agree with your summary statement. I actually sent a message to the Devs to nerf, or limit, the risk-free cargo a bit, but beef up the resources side of trading. Profit-making should be fairly quick, just more varied. There's no adrenaline rush from the new economy. A good balance makes sense

[John Page]

On 9/28/2019 at 11:37 AM, Quiet Assassin said:

I used to enjoy building ships.

Now, to have a level playing field, I must belong to a particular clan, or "friend list", which could end anytime on their whim or in-fighting. Clan-based super-ships have ruined independent ship-crafting.

This is part of the reason I suggested changing how port bonus investments work here: https://forum.game-labs.net/topic/31540-observations-on-the-state-of-the-game-and-possible-solutions/