Hethwill, the Red Duke

I know for certain this is not true. Oh, I believe this to be very true *chuckles*

+1

Hard. As a veteran I am full of vices already. But similar game - Exanima - I can tell you I welcomed the challenge and the harsh "tutorial". Else it would be impossible to even survive 5 minutes in the "real" world.

Honestly ?!... unsure if the final exam is hard or if so many players are actually "worse" than they thought themselves to be. Little difference from fighting a OW AI fleet of 2 cerbs using a player cerb, other than the knowledge and modules, which gives the human a definite advantage in the OW scenario. Will 100% agree with tips showing prior to the Final Exam for the player to remember the essentials - angle, ranging shots, ammo types, etc Also indication of the rewards on the Exams screens would be great - "If you pass the exams you will be awarded, this this and that" - give a bit of sugar coat.

I swear the AI is more dangerous than the majority of players Out of jokes, give suggestions to improve the Tutorial here: http://forum.game-labs.net/topic/25622-tutorial-feedback-2/

Daring, wind, positioning and a dose of luck. True in the real life accounts of age of sail as much as in game. That's all that is needed to win against the AI. Maybe the style of each veteran player is showing, but the Tutorial and Exams are primarily aimed at new players, which have no vices imbued. Maybe i'm biased but I see no difference from the exam AI and the OW AI. - there's not one way to pass the exam, but many - Just 2 cents about the fight. Definitely my privateer/raider style did help ( also Cerb being one of my favorite ). 1. Same as humans would do, the AI will try to bracket you and crossfire. Keep your angle straight at them, one at a time as they broadside the first volleys. 2. Best bet is to immediately charge them and then take the upwind from one of them. As they position themselves to bracket the player ship they can't both go the same way. One will drift far downwind. 3. Once you have windward keep it until the first enemy is done for, either by cannon fire or by boarding. My lucky star gave me three stern rakes on him. First as he tacked, blasted the stern away. Following suit ( and keeping distance not to be pulled into boarding ), graped twice for two crew shocks. Pulled to boarding while windward. The second ship couldn't shoot me during the boarding. I was windward of the first one and shielded. 4. Dealing with the second one is peanuts. Pretty much the same the payer did for the Endurance exam should work.

From our small group everyone passed the Final Exam in different ways. No one did the same. So there's room for a lot of outcomes. As Pada said - "It just shows how dynamic and complex the combat in NA is." Luck plays a part, as it usually does in warfare, but definitely positioning and aggressiveness was important. My luck was when I did the second crew shock on the 1st Cerb he tacked so my boarding position was on the far side. The other Cerb couldn't hit me during the boarding. Second Cerb was tricky at a point. Decided to extend to repair but he kept doing damage, so I decided it was better to stay on the wake while repairing so he couldn't bring the broadside into play. Eventually was just a matter of keeping above 100m and controling wind. A couple crew shocks and board. It is not different from facing OW AI. Only difference is that we cannot run away in the Exam.

Did sail her unperked and unequipped. No RNG refits, simple woods. She accelerates very fast. I'd say too fast. Especially with depowering and recovering from it she just picks up like a springboard. Even with the great jib sail plan it feels too much. Turning didn't feel strange, she has good control, very fine trim and can wear very tight. Tack is slow but she is a very heavy 6th rate. She can do a full 180º wear and back in a LGV length radius if finely trimmed by the captain. ( still that foremast...has something odd... ). Noticed something odd with the foremast authority compared to the aft mast but will try to record a video, hard to explain. The rudder authority feels delayed but could be that she was tested without any upgrade. Interesting enough the broadsides work better in Random as opposed to the rolling due to the main gun deck battery placement. Overall very pleased with the ship. Model looks fine, the amount of crew increase pays justice.

Just a UI suggestion regarding the Tutorial/Academy book layout Make the markers on the left different colours. Like Blue, Gold and burgundy type of thing. Easier to spot and not get lost on how to continue the tutorials to the next phase.

- did all of it it at 1st attempt, even final exam, did capture both enemy ships http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198184764970/screenshot/2421124703734021470 saw nothing out of the ordinary, in a veteran point of view, other than the player ship is not equipped nor perked as we always do with our own ships. They are all the same AI as ever in the OW. Final exam is hard for the new players but it teaches a lot by attempting several times and trying different things. Not different from fighting AI in the OW in similar conditions. They felt absolutely the same if you ever fought AI with a non equipped, non perked, store bought ship. - maybe post some tips remembering player of trying demast, grape, etc - combat is highly dynamic and complex and can be overwhelming for a start. I think after the third attempt anyone will start to get the hang of the battle flow. What is lacking in the Tutorial series: - Crew management - numbers and transfer crew from stations and blocking the reloads - Tutorial One before anything else should be a Battle Interface overview showing where the compass is, what the yard lines are, etc - advanced - Tactics - wind management

OVerall a good writing with the exception of the judgemental tone towards GL What I liked most back then was the no teleports, only the one back to capital which one had to keep at hand for emergencies. Funny how there were way more traders sailing around due to hoarding of resources in outposts, but only the contracted quantities which had to be picked up and sailed back

Back to the era with no missions ? Without production buildings ? No outposts ? Without teleports ? A third of the ships models we have today ? I guess the 5 / 2 / 1 duras would payoff the absence of those, right ? Do not deny that progress is visible in the last 2,5 years, let alone the closed pre-EA development. We shall always disagree with many things implemented, I know I do. .

Indeed ! And the game progressed a lot, thankfully. That's why the entire "Welcome Newcomer!" Tutorial system, that a newcomer can play in single player, without interference, and ranking up to Master & Commander and rewards was introduced - one of the most requested feature was a tutorial.

Victor, Sorry if it is confusing but one thing that is certain - I am not attached to the XP, rank and ships I obtain. True that, I love a good sortie with its own story. Very simulator type of thing. I think everytime any of us posts anything we should make clear we talk for ourselves only and not for the crowd. So claiming newcomers this or veterans that is moot. You are either a newcomer or a veteran, not both.

If you barely move out? Definitely empty.

While this is true there's always AI if you are the only player in a spot. Tested it to exhaustion. There was always AI, traders and warship fleets. Maybe not the easy peasy type of warships but enough to keep anyone entertained.

I don't get you wrong Edmund sir I spend time in hobbies, one of them being games in all types of media including computer ones. Some games are a sprint, others a marathon. It really depends on ourselves and what we look for in a hobby and not what the others look in a hobby. Or else... "Wood ships models should be very easy to do. Poor newcomers will have a very hard time!"

Solution for new comers and veterans alike. Hard wipe on release. Solomon's law never fails. Cannot think of anything better. Any mechanics changed will be explored by veterans in a blink of an eye and we will get back to yard zero.

In truth the question one should ask is: Do I ? Why play games...why indeed...

Keep playing. Even putting aside my tester mindset ( until release that is ) of hardwiping my account at every major upgrade, the feeling of starting a "new world" is one of the big attractions in gaming overall. In NA it is represented by a new naval career. In a flight sim is a new plane to learn and a new career to survive, in a wargame is to represent the what-if scenario and try as many of them as possible ( would love a literal prussian original kriegspiel in computer format ), in a rpg to explore and learn a new world created, in a mil sim fps to do the mission. Maybe if too much meta then it gets thin, but fortunately I don't dwell in that so novelty is always a factor. There's no grind for me, evolution of slots and character/ships just happen naturally as I go do stuff which I like and...ermm... I must say some of that stuff is actually getting in the way of a fat trader with my schooner *shrugs*

Excellent !

Do the tutorials and finish the exams. Reap rewards and officer station with befitting ship. That's the big step towards new players in the new upgrade. Ain't hard to click "delete" and test the new changes fresh

Absolutely agree with you. I think there's a big mix up between QoL and "let me do my own thing without interference". I might be prone to misinterpretations but one doesn't necessarily mean the other. Unless we specify the PvE server, in which there's no PvP whatsoever. In sum, when you want pvp only when you want pvp you are blocking the game to the other 99,9999999% of captains. Think about that.

Read carefully. It is a game. A leisure activity for free time.

Oh. okay. My bad then, I was indeed referring to the Caribbean server and not the PVE server.