How will exploration work?

[Lymark]

 Will we actually able to get off the ship and walk on an unknown place and discover things? Something similar to UWO? Or is it gonna be a text screen like while in a harbour?

[admin]

 Will we actually able to get off the ship and walk on an unknown place and discover things? Something similar to UWO? Or is it gonna be a text screen like while in a harbour?

 

If exploration happens (the key word is IF). You will not be walking on land - you will be sending expeditions or something similar. 

[LeBoiteux]

If exploration happens (the key word is IF). You will not be walking on land - you will be sending expeditions or something similar. 

Does Exploration missions being ranked 4th in the Development plans prioritization Poll bode well or badly for transforming that "IF" in "WHEN ?

Edited January 5, 2016 by LeBoiteux

[SteelSandwich]

What i can see happen is a sprt of admirality mission which states: 'sail to the west and visit port x' once you have done that (and potentially sailed back) you will recieve some xp. That is an option that would require very low amount of resources to create. It however, is not the exploration most would have in mind.

[Captiva]

I believe that exploration should definitely be inplemented into the game. It could start out by being accessed in the "missions" tab.

 

The mission being to simply sail to a remote port that is, on average, a four to five days sailing distance from the starting port where the mission was accepted. The player receives a small monetary and xp reward for finding and entering that remote port.

 

If the mission requires the purchase and delivery of specific goods that are produced from this remote port, then the monetary and xp reward for the explorer is greater.

 

Also, if the remote port is an island port - farther and more isolated from larger land masses, thus making it more difficult to find - then the reward and xp to the explorer should also be greater.

 

This would seem to be an easy, first step, in having some kind of exploration option implemented into the game. 

[LeBoiteux]

It could also be an adaptation of the current Admiralty missions : "Search the vicinity of Santo Domingo and find 2 artefacts and 3 shipwrecks (or whatever)".

- An "Artefact" would be a given icon (like the crossed swords currently used for the fighting missions) randomly put somewhere over Santo Domingo on which you'd just have to click to get it

- A "Shipwreck" would be another icon floating over the sea off the coast of Santo Domingo to be clicked on to get this part of the mission done.

 

On the same principle, mission orders could vary :

- "Search there and find that"

- "A ship sunk on her way from X to Y. Find her"

- Etc.

Quite easy to find various formulations and type of things to find.

 

I know : it needs more ressources...

[GrapeShot]

I thought it was going to be that, as you dailed about exploring inlets and what-not, that you would find mineral deposits, new flora and fauna, native villages to trade with and the like.

Basically, just a means of giving players who just want to sail around a means of getting gold and xp.

Edited January 5, 2016 by GrapeShot

[admin]

All parts of the game should work together otherwise they become a waste of resources.

Exploration must support conquest and crafting. Same can be said about fishing or flora and fauna exploration expeditions.

[LeBoiteux]

All parts of the game should work together otherwise they become a waste of resources.

Exploration must support conquest and crafting. Same can be said about fishing or flora and fauna exploration expeditions.

In that case, Exploration has to help a Nation to create trading posts (small ports that could become bigger with time) in uninhabited but rich in ressources areas in order to create new trade routes, wealth and new PB spots. But that'd mean... Unknown territories.

Edited January 5, 2016 by LeBoiteux

[Lymark]

 I surprised that the game might not have exploration since this is what I've read before posting this thread.

http://www.navalaction.com/blog/2014/9/14/exploration-gameplay

 

I wonder what else(contents) will be in the future? With my one day experience of the game, I noticed it's all about trading from A to B, doing PVE missions and PVP. I enjoy it so far, but I feel like people will eventually get bored with it as it's the only thing to do. I know it's still in alpha, so I'm sure I am missing something,right? 

[admin]

 I surprised that the game might not have exploration since this is what I've read before posting this thread.

http://www.navalaction.com/blog/2014/9/14/exploration-gameplay

 

I wonder what else(contents) will be in the future? With my one day experience of the game, I noticed it's all about trading from A to B, doing PVE missions and PVP. I enjoy it so far, but I feel like people will eventually get bored with it as it's the only thing to do. I know it's still in alpha, so I'm sure I am missing something,right? 

 

Yes. Its like with movies.

You can theoretically watch Star Wars every day but eventually you will want to see something else. 

[LeBoiteux]

 I surprised that the game might not have exploration since this is what I've read before posting this thread.

http://www.navalaction.com/blog/2014/9/14/exploration-gameplay

I might be wrong but I think Exploration in NA has never been a promise, just a prospective feature to be explored...  

Edited January 5, 2016 by LeBoiteux

[Nash]

actually, I think we could increase exploration by giving people their  nation ports on the map only.

 

If they want to have more port on their map, they will need to sail around and look for it.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Nashandra

[LeBoiteux]

actually, I think we could increase exploration by giving people their  nation ports on the map only.

 

If they want to have more port on their map, they will need to sail around and look for it.

 

or they could google map the Caribbean...

(or use NA posters' map)

Edited January 5, 2016 by LeBoiteux

[GrapeShot]

If the resources in national ports depended on resources found and exploited this would be a full game, instead of a 'Star Wars movie' we watch a couple of times before we move on.

I'll say it again -- I think trade and economics should be the rational that drives wars and battles. Right now yhey just seem underdeveloped and bolted on.

Edited January 5, 2016 by GrapeShot

[Sella]

It would be sad if exploration gameplay eventually wont get implemented.It will actually make this game unique instead of being another sugarcoated PvP MMO.

[JJWolf]

actually, I think we could increase exploration by giving people their  nation ports on the map only.

 

If they want to have more port on their map, they will need to sail around and look for it.

 

When one has played at least 10 different pirate games based in the Caribbean, one can hazard a guess to almost the exact spot for any of the moderate to major ports and even some of the lesser well known ones including their alternate names. This isn't exactly going to lend itself to being exciting and different to other games that do this (Like PR1,2, & 3)

 

I think the exploration feature is a great concept and the suggestion of going to search coastlines between two ports for resources or a shipwreck of a merchantman/patrol fits squarely into the trading and conquest style of the game. Finding a shipwreck should yield survivors (if any) and some of the goods carried, finding natural resources would yield additional gold as a finders fee.

Edited January 5, 2016 by JJWolf

[Captiva]

Another plus to having Exploration missions, and the rewards for completing them, is that it will give cause for many players to actually sail the entire map, getting them out of their comfort zone of their Nation capital or outpost.

[LeBoiteux]

All parts of the game should work together otherwise they become a waste of resources.

Exploration must support conquest and crafting. Same can be said about fishing or flora and fauna exploration expeditions.

 

As "All parts of the game should work together", here are some ideas about Exploration Devs / testers have certainly already thought of. I guess they may be developed in an interesting way :

Exploration supporting Economy :

Missions of exploration for ressources that have become rare and expensive in a port are given to Explorers in the form of contracts by crafters, traders, guilds and Admiralty.

Example of mission : « Bring back to my port : 50 gold ». 

The location of trade of that given ressource with say Natives (villages, fishermen...) may take the form of an icon over land or sea, such as the current sword Mission / Battle icon (but different of course).

 

Exploration supporting Crafting :

In order to get an exploration mission, one has to own a ship that has been refitted by a crafter as a survey ship (with additional crafting parts) or originally built for exploration purposes (with particular crafting parts) (ship requirements). 

 

Exploration supporting Naval Combat :

The location of the exploration ship is given to the (nearby ?) enemies a number of times over the course of the exploration mission.

(spy mechanism)

 

Exploration supporting Port Battles and Conquest :

The discovery by a Nation of a ressource mine or of arable lands that can be exploited allows it to exploit the resource if and only if it owns the nearby port. If not, that Nation has to conquer the port before being able to exploit the mine or the field its Explorers had found (« activation of the ressource »). As soon as the port is conquered, the new ressources appears in the port and is available from that time on. 

Edited January 23, 2016 by LeBoiteux

[Ligatorswe]

I think exploration should be ike this.

You add the options enter lifeboat and some options like, explore area and capture goods and plunder.

At the beaches there are different "gems" that you can find if you sail close to land. Like small houses, shipwrecks, resources. Even missions like "Help this shipwrecked poor bastard home to his hometown" etc. There could be diamonds to find or gold or useful goods. And all this is spawned in different places all the time. And not too close to a harbour. There could even be ghostships and lifeboats out in the ocean to find

[LeBoiteux]

An additional activity for Explorers : Spying.

 

- Explorers would have the ability to spy enemy ports when approaching them close enough, then being able to automatically create reports about the given port that could be sent to Admiralty, Clans or any captains via chat against Gold and XP. 

 

- The content of the report : everything about the wealth of the port (Ressources, number of stored ships by enemy captains, sum-up of the traders' stocks and gold...)  and the involved forces (number of captains/crafter/trader logged in port, fleets sailing nearby...).

 

- The spying ability would only be activated when sailing a given type of ships that may be small or medium unarmed or lightly-armed ships via a given officer (crew), upgrade, craft parts or built-in version (e. g. the spying version of the Pickle). Fleet of frigates or Sols wouldn't have spying information without the help of small/medium ships. That would give an additional usefulness to these ships. Moreover, the spying ability would be counterbalanced by the lack of firepower. Stealth and sneaking would be a strategy for spy. Nations would have to organize coast patrolling to counter the spying threat. Another use of shallow draught ships. Another kind of missions.

 

- Spying missions could be given (and rewarded) by Admiralty or Clans depending on their expansion strategies.

 

PS : some exploration missions back in those days were also made for spying enemies,

e. g. Jacques Gouin de Beauchêne spied on the Spanish forces during a trading/exploration cruise along the coast of Chile and Peru in 1701.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Gouin_de_Beauchêne

[LeBoiteux]

There are several threads about exploration open in parallel now. It might be interesting to merge them all in one (or not)   :

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/9058-trade-and-exploration/

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8875-explorer-experience

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8658-alternate-forms-of-xp-gains/

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8136-how-will-exploration-work/

???

[Lefort]

If exploration happens (the key word is IF). You will not be walking on land - you will be sending expeditions or something similar. 

sounds like expansion material to me, I do hope you guys take classical expansions as an idea as to support long term development.

[LeBoiteux]

Another way to integrate Exploration to Economy and War :

What about reducing the current number of in-game ports (eg. in the Gulf of Mexico) and giving Nations/Clans the ability to create settlements in empty areas depending on what ressources can be produced/collected there and what crafters/traders need at a given time. Exploration would tell what ressources are available in a given area (and in what quantity and for how long). Those available goods in  an area would change from time to time.

 

Settlement missions would imply Explorers (with survey upgrade or abilities) to choose the most valuable spot, Traders to bring needed ressources to build the colony and warships for escort.

 

Enemy settlements could be destroyed after PB leaving a new area for a new colony with say a new random set of available ressources.

Trade routes would be created that'd have to be attacked/protected.

[Roche Brasiliano]

All parts of the game should work together otherwise they become a waste of resources.

Exploration must support conquest and crafting. Same can be said about fishing or flora and fauna exploration expeditions.

Well, the trading effect it obvious to see. Even, some kind of rare goods can be implemented to affect in crafting (e.g new types of woods);

 

Supporting at conquest maybe can implicate more complexit, but not too hard to introduce. Some kind of ships can be implemented to sail without a nation flag to "spy" ports and other places, colecting information for future port battles and invasions. These special ships, eventually, can enter any ports (including neutrals and from other nations). To work, that kind of mission can be acessed thru mission tab and must be too hard (and pehaps needing a parcilar rank) to achieve, but, by other hand, can give great amount of XP and gold;

 

In other way, by implementing some kind of "nation status" that can affect port battles and policital situation too. The nation status can work the same way the BR (battle rate) and can be linked to the territory ocupied by the nation, its achievements in exploration new territories, finding new ports and new NPC natives to trade (all that giving XP and gold to the player). The nation status can be linked to the treaties and contracts with other nations and the penalties to broken this treaties. The NS can be affect port battles the same way BR affect battles, given or reducing (e.g handcaps) while that particular nation is at war with others and/or port battles;

 

To this changes, it is clear that pirate "nation" need to be reformulated. I think, by example, the player of one nation that broken the peace treaty of that nation with other, can be expulse from his country and starting to be a pirate, or even can be based on the historical facts, adding privateers and filibusters (working for a particular country against other- corso letters) or bucaneers and pirates (no rules at all).

 

Sorry for my english, but i think you can understand...

Edited April 11, 2016 by wollef