HMS Caledonia (1808)

[Platoon Crusher]

She is a beauty for sure. Seeing her in game would be awesome! You have my vote.

[Austrum]

I have to agree with Brigand despite the fact he claims he jumped the gun on replying.  I mean do we need another 1st rate?  Honestly I was a little put off they chose the Ocean class as the wildcard in the first place simply because 1st rates aren't where this game should be heading.  Yeah, Yeah I know, they are the biggest and baddest ships on the ocean and all that but seriously, 1st rates should be so rare that they are almost unseen in the open world game they are developing and A LOT of effort is going into these 1st rates when they should be working on just about anything but.  I mean even at the best, 1st rates are going to be late, late end game ships so aside from a very few just to have them available at launch, there is no point to having them.   Now Frigates, Merchant ships, Sloops, Schooners, Ketches, Corvettes, Brigs, etc, that is what is going to be needed at launch and lots of them, probably about 5x the amount we already have.  When you consider that they could probably add in two or three smaller ships for the efforts going into the Ocean class, well it seems a waste.

 

Only reason I can see a need for another 1st rate is IF they are really going to turn the Sea Trials into a World of Tanks like game where they need at least 3 nation based tech trees ranked tier 1-10.  If they are going that route then yes, it makes sense to add in the Ocean class since we have an English and Spanish 1st rate already, otherwise, just say no to 1st rates. 

[Sir. Cunningham]

Austrum, remember that in all possibility we will still have the arena match game mode in which we can practice with all the ships that are in the game, and as such these 1st rates will (and should) be used.

 

Would be a shame and a rather big waste (not to say massive) if all the work that went into modelling these mighty ships was only for a select few to experience, hence the need for an arena match game mode where people can enjoy sailing these vessels.

 

Let's not forget that for quite a few people the attraction of this game IS sailing these big ships.

 

Finally don't worry, there will be plenty of much smaller ships to sail

[Austrum]

Austrum, remember that in all possibility we will still have the arena match game mode in which we can practice with all the ships that are in the game, and as such these 1st rates will (and should) be used.

 

Would be a shame and a rather big waste (not to say massive) if all the work that went into modelling these mighty ships was only for a select few to experience, hence the need for an arena match game mode where people can enjoy sailing these vessels.

 

Let's not forget that for quite a few people the attraction of this game IS sailing these big ships.

 

Finally don't worry, there will be plenty of much smaller ships to sail

 

However, I have read that Sea Trials are only in place for testing and that the arena match will go away at some point as they focus more and more on the Open World.   Might be just rumor but I have heard this talked about fairly often.  Also even if they do keep the arena battle mode around and/or expand it, 1st rates are still end tier ships and much like WoT, it will take a long, long time to reach end tier.  The being the case even there, you can expect people to be spending alot more time in the mid tiers than at max tier, at least for the first year or so.  

 

Lastly, I will give you that some people are here because of the 1st rates but I would be more are here for smaller ships and I think Frigates will end up being the most popular by far in the end.

 

Anyway, I don't want to get into further debate about it as I (we) have probably derailed the thread way too much as is.  I just think way to much time is being devoted to 1st rates so aside from some of the unique Danish, Dutch or other minor countries designs, I can't support further 1st rates being added at this time.  

[Brigand]

However, I have read that Sea Trials are only in place for testing and that the arena match will go away at some point as they focus more and more on the Open World.   Might be just rumor but I have heard this talked about fairly often. (...)

Admin has said that the Sea Trial (battle arena) will be "dismanteld" after all early access testers have been moved to the Open World.

 

~Brigand

[Sir. Cunningham]

Admin has said that the Sea Trial (battle arena) will be "dismanteld" after all early access testers have been moved to the Open World.

 

~Brigand

 

Not sure how to translate that, but I hope we still retain an arena match type gamemode so that we can get to sail these big ships in matches.

[SuicidalTendencies]

Not sure how to translate that, but I hope we still retain an arena match type gamemode so that we can get to sail these big ships in matches.

Once everyone is in Open World the Arena shall cease to be... it will be no more.

[Sir. Cunningham]

Once everyone is in Open World the Arena shall cease to be... it will be no more.

 

I certainly hope not.

[Ishigami]

I’m not in favor of this ship.

Game Labs already choose the Ocean Class 118 Gun ship 1^st rate so I don’t see much of a point to offer a 120 gun SoL even more so that they are quite similar and tbh the Le Commerce de Marseille looks better to me.

Considering that it takes month to produce a high quality 3D model I think Game Labs should focus on a different size of ship.

We already have Victory 104 guns, Ocean 118 guns and Santisima Trinidad 140 guns in the 1^st rate line up. I believe that this is a solid and well spread selection.

Of course there is always room for improvement but before they flash out the already competent setup of 1^st rates I would like them to focus on the work horses of the navies at that time: 3^rd rates.

But even before that we also still completely lack 2^nd rates, so there is a huge gab to be filled.

So while a nice ship I think Game Labs should stop with 1^st rates after the Ocean Class and only come back to them once the 2^nd rate gab is filled and the 3^rd rate setup is flashed out.

[Ronan]

Austrum of course we need more 1st rates. Two is not enough especially when the santisma overall is a terrible ship for handling. I agree that they weren't common and were only really used during wartime since they were so expensive to maintain. But of course they must have at least 5 in the game to give more options other than the terrible santi and still nice to sail Victory.

[ragnar hairy trousers]

we need this ship... and with a seppings stern!!!

[Haratik]

I'm all for variety on ALL ends of the spectrum, but for now choosing between the Victory, the Commerce, and the Santisima is where it should be and should stay for now.  More in a year or so might be alright, but the lower levels need to be fleshed out more.  There's rumor of a new second rate under construction and we definitely need more representation by Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, and the Scandinavian countries at all levels.  But I'm sure the devs have a gameplan already, we just need to stay vocal about what we would like to see!

And that means no more British ships for a little while (though I do enjoy their lines)

[OTMatt]

Well, I would rather not see her making it into the game. She would only serve to stretch the balance in favour of the late, later, latest ship, thereby making all earlier ships obsolete. Right now, we have the Santisima, if you introduce this, both the Victory and the Santisima would be considered uninteresting. Having more guns is only interesting as long as you have the most. Introduce this, and tomorrow comes the bigger behemoth and so on and so forth.

 

~Brigand

 

Seeing as this is probably something that will come far far into the future. I have a feeling they will iron out the SOL issue before this comes onto the development line. There's no sense in restricting potential fun because of current issues imo.