Defection

[poison]

As I mentioned in this topic: http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8160-going-on-the-record/?p=153898, I come from a game with a different look on piracy. While typing up my reply in the topic, I realized something. There isn't currently a defection mechanic in the game.

Say you start English, but soon realize you want to get away from Her Majesty and fight alongside, say, Spaniards in the armada. Currently you'd have to make a new character. If a system is introduced, like it seems it may be in the future, where wars and truces between nations are formed and broken, why not allow people to defect too? During a war between two nations, attacking one nation's ships and especially their forts would merit infamy from the side being attacked, and a reputation boost with the other side. So you, a Brit, start attacking British fleets and ports, turning you pirate. But wait, Spain is at war with Britain...so Spain will start liking you more! Repeat this enough, perhaps perform a few missions or donate some ships, and surely Spain will forgive your offenses and accept you into her armada during a period of pirate amnesty (these could be offered at random or predetermined intervals).

If nothing else, the relationships formed would give a more diverse gameplay. Perhaps if you're reviled enough by a nation, her warships may attack on sight, and her trade ships could steer away from you.

I believe this is a mechanic not many people would use, so feel free to shoot it down solely based off of dev cost/reward. And if it's not historically accurate enough, I do apologize; my knowledge of period politics in general is limited.

[Sella]

The number of times you can do it will have to be limited somehow though.Because everybody will start using that option to lets say avoid a fight or whatever.

[Nathaniel]

I agree. This game is already more a game of guilds than nations. And that's good since any attempts to balance factions are bound to fail, whereas clans are bound to balance themselves out in the longterm. I'm not a big fan of EVE but the autobalancing by clans works well there.

 

So i would agree, make defections costly, limit them in time, maybe even completely forbid defections into the most populated factions, but allow them as a means to balance forces out.

[Arnaud Arpes]

I would say put a time limit on the defections. For example, once every 30 days or something. Also, you should lose anything stored in warehouses, your ships, % of your gold, but retain your XP.

[Scorpio Shirica]

I would say put a time limit on the defections. For example, once every 30 days or something. Also, you should lose anything stored in warehouses, your ships, % of your gold, but retain your XP.

 

That would be good, would stop people from say... manipulating their way into a guild just to defect with one of their ships of the line. At least, it would cost them a bit more to do so.

 

I suppose people could just as easily drive their ship of the line to an enemy and let them win a boarding.

 

Interesting idea to prevent abuse, in any case. 

[SKurj.]

i like this idea 30 day limitation and losing stuff left in prior nations ports makes sense.

[Doschichis]

I dont think % of your current gold will work, people can avoid it easily by reducing their gold in the main account. Get a fix number of gold for example 1 million with a big ship or some amount of resources. By doing this and 30 days or maybe even longer cooldown, people cant work around it.

[Fluffy Fishy]

I'd be happy just to see defection with a monthly block, would be good to see pirating pardons too.

[Ian2492]

I'd be ok with defecting but you should be left with the ship you're sailing at the time and what's on it. Everything else should get seized. There could be a gold cost to simulate having all your properties seized too and having to buy a new house etc in your new capital.

Eventually I'd like to see a reputation/bounty system where defecting could put a bounty on your head.

[SKurj.]

I'd be ok with defecting but you should be left with the ship you're sailing at the time and what's on it. Everything else should get seized. There could be a gold cost to simulate having all your properties seized too and having to buy a new house etc in your new capital.

Eventually I'd like to see a reputation/bounty system where defecting could put a bounty on your head.

 

Kinda works, the sneaky player will plan ahead and move everything to a free port, but yes the reputations system needs to take this into account.

[Ian2492]

Kinda works, the sneaky player will plan ahead and move everything to a free port, but yes the reputations system needs to take this into account.

 

I'd say seize stuff in free ports too but that might just be me.

[Puchu]

seizing stuff wont matter, since you can just trade everything beforehand and then just trade it back. it's totally pointless. If you want to make it more painful, you have to put an actual cost on it. Money, or exp.

[Nathaniel]

Puchu is correct. If i remember correctly the young Napoleon was offered to join the Russian service and only declined because he had to suffer a one step lowering of his military rank. That would be the way then, substract a rank from everyone flag-captain and higher and two ranks from everyone lower, add a heavy gold fee and let the defections run their course (i still think in addition to that you should disable forcefully defection to the numerically most powerfull nation (maybe excluding pirates from this calculation) so that defection will actually work to mount an opposition, not to make one side invincible).

Edited January 11, 2016 by Nathaniel

[SKurj.]

Puchu is correct. If i remember correctly the young Napoleon was offered to join the Russian service and only declined because he had to suffer a one step lowering of his military rank. That would be the way then, substract a rank from everyone flag-captain and higher and two ranks from everyone lower, add a heavy gold fee and let the defections run their course (i still think in addition to that you should disable forcefully defection to the numerically most powerfull nation (maybe excluding pirates from this calculation) so that defection will actually work to mount an opposition, not to make one side invincible).

 

Just to stir the pot...    and offer incentives for players to defect to the underdog(s)