How do you cope with friendlies, who are bad at positioning and field awareness?

[Gatsu]

For your own sake, don't do this.  The player group generally tolerates accidental ramming, but firing on a friendly ship is NEVER ACCEPTABLE and leads directly to the Tribunal where you will be called to explain your actions.   The above will not be a justifiable excuse and your progress is likely to be (at best) reset.  

 

Behave as you would in real life.

 

Thank you but I will take that reset when it comes then. I don't accept people excessively badmouthing me for nothing both in real as well as in game  It is NOT ACCEPTABLE in my life.

Edited February 22, 2015 by Gatsu

[ObiQuiet]

Thank you but I will take that reset when it comes then. I don't accept people excessively badmouthing me for nothing both in real as well as in game  It is NOT ACCEPTABLE in my life.

 

I agree with you, but there will be a much better solution soon: when Chat will have features for ignoring and banning bad-mouths.  Everyone is looking forward to that day.

 

In the meantime, you can take the other Captain to the Tribunal for bad language, without escalating the situation to the point where you've made the worse offense.

Edited February 22, 2015 by Lt. Obiquiet

[Gatsu]

It's would be really funny if they punished people for doing things in game which the games is designed to allow being done ^^

[ObiQuiet]

It's would be really funny if they punished people for doing things in game which the games is designed to allow being done ^^

 

People are punished in real life for doing things that real life allows to be done.  Behavior towards other people matters in both real and gaming realms, which is also why you were offended by the other Captain's language.

Edited February 22, 2015 by Lt. Obiquiet

[Crankey]

Only experience and awareness will reduce collisions and poor placement, the biggest and best warning system is voice comms, at least for friendlies warning fleetmembers. Ramming will occurr in even the most experienced fleets as concentrations shifts from placement and manouvring to laying your guns. And in a storm hell, its anyones guess if you will survive without multiple collisions never mind a single one.

 

I don't know if there is or even should be a fix. The minimap is a help, but I find it too small a scale to avoid some collisions especially if you are in a cumbersome SOL at full speed.  I would absolutely love my sailing master to give me occasional warning that my current heading may put me at risk of a collision (As this was his primary reason for being on a ship) However I have no idea if this could be considered or even coded.

 

As a player you have to keep an eye on many different aspects of the game and it is hard to keep enough concentration on everything when the action heats up.

[Praesus Lecti]

But a bigger ship must rely on the fact that everybody knows that a bigger ship has the right of way.

 

Just because you're in a bigger ship doesn't mean you do not need to let others know of your intended actions.  This "bigger ships have the right of way" mentality doesn't give you carte blanche to sail as you wish.  You have to be as considerate of your actions as you are expecting from others.

[Crankey]

The issue isn't that the big ship automatically has the right of way, but smaller ships have to consider the following.

 

1,  The bigger ship does more damage, don't block its shots by being in the way. Lost count of the number of frigs who dodge between my targets stern and my double shotted Santi and I have to swerve and withhold firing to the point it takes me another 5 minutes to manouvre to get another chance at firing again. You have to keep in mind bigger ships can put down more damage to win the match if you just let them do it and support them. If you can deduce roughly where the SOLs are likely to manouvre, give them the space to do it.

 

2, Whilst no SOL wants to ram a friendly smaller ship, it is never going to be able to swiftly dodge your smaller ship. Be aware and don't put yourself up close to a SOL to the point they cannot safely manouvre.

 

3, What happens if they lose their rudder ? A frequent occurrence. Double reason not to be in the way and assume they can sail around you.

 

4, Smaller ships are simply easier to manouvre with little or no cost to their momentum. 

 

My experience is that smaller ships will only be rammed and sunk by a friendly larger ship if the smaller ship isn't paying attention to the fleet around it. Stay alive and alert first, target and fire second.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Crankey

[Grim DeGrim]

I've made a personal commitment to not engage in forum PVP, trolling, or just plain old stirring up trouble.  This thread has been like that itch you just can't reach, that massive bowl of whip, that huge bag of chips... while dieting.  The question of the thread "How do you cope with friendlies who are bad at positioning and field awareness" deserves an answer.
 

However, today is "Opposites Day", so I will give you my answer with that in mind.  I like to:

 

• Drink copious amounts of alcohol both before and after matches, lamenting how foolish some players can be, that they dare block my shots.
• Yell and curse in matches.  Calling them "noobs" and instructing them to "learn to sail".
• Next level of elevation, I give a good RAM just to let them know, that "Hey, I'm here".
• Should that fail, another round is order.  I keep the bottle close by.
• Then I let them have it.  Full broadside until they're no longer in my way.  I mean, after all...if I walk forward making a punching motion, and you don't move out of the way, it is your fault...
• More name calling is in order by this point.  The LESS polite I can be about the matter, the better.
• And in NO WAY POSSIBLE, will I give in and try to maneuver otherwise, because those folks are wrong and will never learn without me pointing out the errors of their ways in this manner.

REMEMBER:  Opposites day.

 

Overall, the above is quite effective.  I find that everyone leaves happy after that

 

GRIM

 

*Finally reaches that itch....eats the pudding....AND the bag of chips*

[Aussie_Fox]

i'm the smaller ship in PVP atm. so i just stay the fk out of everyones way lol. shoot when i can and position myself so the bigger ships can do as they please

[Ghroznak]

Not much to be done when people sail infront of your gun ports. I generally just lower sails and/or set yards to neutral to slow down. No point in going full sails and trying to race infront of them. It is a bit annoying, but on the bright side if the enemy is firing at you then you have a nice wooden shield between you and the enemy

 

As for accidentally ramming or bumping into eachother I wish I could command my bellboy to ring that bell louder and more frantically to make whoever it is actually look around them to see why the bell is ringing.

 

Seriously, they should just increase the volume of the bell and make it more clear... wouldn't hurt with some voice command shouting "Ship on collision course!" or simply "Brace for impact".

 

The absolutely best solution would be a giant air-horn which only the ship on collision course can hear, overriding all his volume settings to max with a massive "AWWOOOOOOGGGAAAAAH !! AWWOOOOOOGGGAAAAAH !!" sounding off until his head is vibrating and he actually stops tunnel-visioning in gunnery mode and actually does something to avoid collisions.

[Thalion]

I didn't read this whole thread but often it is simply a matter of non sufficient communication. We fret often about blocking a broadside, but often we didn't even talked to the ones who are doing it. Everytime i asked: "Will you please slow down or overtake me, so i'm able to get my broadside out." they'll comply. Playing with other people has definately much to do with communication. One cannot expect that everyone knows what to do everytime - we are more like a bunch of amateurs who are trying to stay in formation and not a trained navy for life.

 

As a conclusion: Talk to each other everytime, best done via Voice Chat.

[RAMJB]

I warn him.

 

I warn him again, if he doesn't do anything.

 

Third warning is a broadside of iron balls zooming avobe his decks on their way to the enemy target . They usually take the hint before it happens, however, but when they don't, there's never a chance for a fourth warning .

[Kngsbrg]

Unfortunatly, most people are on very different levels in terms of understanding the aspects of the metagame and, to be honest, righteously so, since they can play this game whichever way they want. Common sense would dictate for a single player to communicate with the others, to play as a team and to achieve victory, but this is not how this works. People playing this game can have very different backgrounds, some may be banker, who just want to fire some broadsides for giggles, some might have a lot more free time on their hands and have taken playing this game as their holy crusade in the name of whatever entity they believe in to raze the earth of any infidel they encounter and that do not share their state of mind on how this game should be played. You see, both worlds are tough to match and you will notice this with any multiplayer game with a somewhat broad audience.

 

Learn to play around this, learn to fight a losing battle and accept things for what they are. At the end of the day, you should be able to look in the mirror and say, you did the best you could do. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Modern Major General]

I find a good team on TS does wonders than typing while playing to communicate position, intent co-ordination, etc.  Organise your friendlies, jump all into the same event at the same time and then chat away on TS manages "right of way" and  anything else quite easily. 

 

Another thing I have noticed is self entitled players, the "unfriendly friendlies" who seem to think they are entitled to some sort of "share" of the enemy and try to order people about or put them down in chat if they have somehow broken some sort of unwritten rule that these so called self entitled folk make up to try and bully their way into the game play. 

 

This is the worst kind of player, even the actions of cutting across fire lines and bows are creeping in causing heated issues.  I think any "friendly" behaving like that needs to be reported. I've definitely got my list (like the Lord High Executioner!) for my Ignore button.  

 

Self-entitled players simply are a version of bully boy griefers who must sorely tempt and cause a lot of friendly fire exchanges and intentional ramming.  I have witnessed quite a few so far.

[BusterGut]

So, we've all had situations, where smaller friendly vessels block your aim, or your manuverabilty where you have to choose between ramming them or taking a full boardside from the enemy santisima. Even if you lead or try to keep communication, bad positioning always seems to happen. We also might have blocked a friendly here and there, without even realizing it. 

Truth is, this can decide if you win the game or not. It can get very frustrating and people often lose their nerves. 

 

I may swear at home when such things happen, but so far, my most rude line in chat was "why did you block my manuever <username>? All you had to do is turn with me : (" then I just refrain myself from continuing to argue as I know it won't bring to anything good.

How do you guys cope with these situations, when you start to lose your nerves? : )

 

 

I make enough mistakes without thinking about other people who act like me. TBO I don't get angry, I just try to get alongside the enemy, its the best way to win a fight.

As for the Santisima, I doubt it could even hit one of my ships its a slow and ungainly cow (Moo) of a ship.

[Noobdelux]

Well would it be an idea to invite them to your teamspeak server?

Shameless plug: stormcloud armada is recruting : p

[-KM-]

A way to deal with it. Friendly advice. Meaning. Educate your fellow players. Not all will listen but some will and when they do a lot is won. You will not have them in your way in the future and also a better teammate next time they end up on your team.

 

Someone blocking you broadside. Cutting you off in a smaller ship resulting in a ram or put you out of position.

 

You write: Hey m8, some advice. Keep a bit distance to bigger ships since they dont turn fast. Also good strategy in a small ship is to keep your big fellows inbetween yourself and opponents. That way you wont block thier broadside but also be protected from enemy fire. 

 

Option A:

They write: fk off. 

 

You: will never bother to help that player again, and just ignore him in the future

 

Option B:

They write: ty m8, will keep that in mind

 

You: Have gotten a better teammate and saved yourself trouble in the future.

Edited February 25, 2015 by -KM-

[Outsurgent]

I've had a Victory just turn randomly without warning in front of me (I was a Surprise), fully assuming that i'd slow down or move. Unfortunately I was aiming and didn't realise until too late, so I went bowspirit first into him, had to use up 2 repairs and was pretty crippled for the rest of the game, this happened 10 minutes in. I'm pretty sure he thought it was my fault and I sure as hell thought it was reckless and pretty stupid of him. I didn't say anything, he didn't say anything, just carried on with the match.  While Bigger ships have the right of way, they themselves need to be aware of their own manoeuvring limitations and announce when turning, if the team is in close formation.

 

I think pre set messages like those in WoT should be added, just as a quick way in battle to say 'I'm turning left/right' etc. 

 

Is there any way to know if a friendly is aiming or looking through their telescope? Might make things easier if they was a little icon or other indicator that friendlies are 'distracted'.

[-KM-]

Nope. U cant see if someone is aiming. I allwasy try to write in chat before making a sharp turn if  Im close to other ships, or watch out + name in case someone is on colition course with me. Hopefully they read chat and If they dont then I can at least take comfort in the fact that I ve done what I could to avoid an accidental ram.

 

Sometimes it goes down like this thought.

 

ME: [insert player name] watch out!

ME: [insert player name] u r on collition course, pls turn

ME: [insert player name] turn pls, I cant

 

CRASH....!!!!!!

 

ME: sight....

 

Problem is that not paying attention to the chat is correlated with not paying attention to the surroundings... that is while aiming....

Edited February 25, 2015 by -KM-

[BrutishVulgarian]

How do you cope with friendlies, who are bad at positioning and field awareness?

 

If your small, avoid them, if your big run over them.

[Austrum]

I think it is everyone responsibility.  One thing people have to keep in mind that progression is tied to damage currently and with no negative consequences for losing a match currently implemented each player is out to maximize the damage they are doing.  That being the case, everyone just has to forgive everyone else for overaly aggressive moves or poor positioning.  

 

Last night I wanted to scream at this Bellona because each and every time I tried to line up my Trin for a shot at the enemy, he would move in a way that would either block my shot or force me into bad positions that basically required me to sail away from the action or set myself up to be broadsided by the enemy Santi.   His whole position on it was that since he was in a Bellona he had the right away at all times because he was bigger and it was up to me to move rather than him doing anything at all to try to respect my attempts to line up shots, do damage and progress in the game.  Also he seemed to feel that if his maneuvers happened to put me into a position that brought me into any danger of collision with him, then I was in the wrong.

 

In the end I didn't rant or rave at him even though he was really annoying me because I realized he is just trying to do the same thing as me, get damage and progress, however it was obvious that he didn't respect my desire to do the same thing.  In any case, this is why I say everyone has to take responsibility.  Lines don't mater, real naval tactics don't matter, ship size doesn't matter.  Respecting each other and having fun, that is what matters.

[K1lbane]

There are 2 main issues to this :

 

1/ There are too many captains who believe they have right of way no matter what the situation.  This is something I see on a regular basis.  Having the biggest ship in a fleet does not make it your command and arrogance often goes hand in hand with ignorance.

 

2/ 2 types of players in the game.  One type is there for the team work and simulation aspect (I would like to think I fit into that section).  The other type is the typical lone wolf player who wants to get all the kills and damage, these will often just sail in any direction in the hope of more points in battle.

 

There is no universal "Fix the idiot" solution.  As with all MMO games, and to be fair RL, there will always be at least 1 idiot to ruin the game for someone.  The only real hope i can see for this is an upgrade to the chat system that allows some form of "Nudge" feature to bring someone's attention to what is being said in the chat window.  I have been just as guilty for ignoring the chat and missing command instructions due to ranging shots or just looking at the pretty scenery!

 

As many of you have said, just respecting each other and watching your radar is the best way forward.

[ThePandanator2]

Back in my newbie days, I remember all too well approaching a friendly and hitting them with my side, kinda scraping both of our broadsides. Always realized all too late for both of us.

 

I was on the receiving end of some not too jolly sailors. So my advice is, be kind, especially to the newbies in little ships. Most of the time, we're still learning.

 

What I always do is give them a bit of advice if they ram me before I get a chance to skedaddle our of their way. I'll tell them "Hey, check out your mini map for friendlies" or "Hey, don't get tunnel visioned guys. Keep an eye out."

[Sarogus]

How do I cope with it...doesn't really bother me. Winning or losing is not how I approach matches. I play with a 'personal win' mind set. I sail as best as I can under the circumstances and hopefully perform to something I can look at and say, 'yea, that was awesome'. This way, irrespective if my team wins or loses, I more often then not am pleased with my performance. I find this quite helpful because as we all know, there is a portion of the community that is lacking in positioning, etc etc. Friendlies ram me, they also mistake me for enemies and give me a broadside, it doesn't really matter. To me it simply falls under the circumstances of the battle, nothing more nothing less. We all have to remember though, some people are new to the game and don't understand these things. Patience and education are key for improving the overall experience of the community and the more experienced players are responsible for this.

What does annoy me are the intentional rams of the enemy. On numerous occasions I've had enemies ram me, more often then not I have the upper hand and have dealt more damage and I see this as the 'cheap mans' attack. Not only do they ram me but they keep turning into me, eventually doing quite severe damage. I've had entire matches blown because of this and as much as I try to ignore how annoying it is, I can't. I often ask them to stop turning into me, most simply say no. So a sarcastic response and a broadside or two later I move on and leave them to sink. Friendlies, meh, enemies however, not much I can do about that but try to sink them.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Sarogus

[BungeeLemming]

I seriously wonder why this discussion is so big.

 

What you do? Think of you beeing on the roads. You never want to put yourself in a situation where your car gets damaged, right?

Why cant we translate this behaviorinto gaming? Because we are online and noone knows us? Because we can do whatever we want? The internet is a social place where social rules apply.

 

So what to do with players wo are out of position and maybe are about to ram you?

Try to avoid immdiately. Get your sails down or backened, steer clear or try to get him alongside instead of snipping bowsprits.

If you see it coming shout a warning to the player. Do it in caps if you like and do it repeatedly.

Never ever text in chat the moment the ram happens. Your hands better are at the steering wheel. And command the crew to the pumps. Thats what you do to survive.

 

If you fire at him you are the offender. If you type bad language you offend, too.

Dont be the offender. Avoid everything that can bring you to the Tribunal. Simple as that.