Close Free Towns for battleships

[Slamz]

The ocean doesn't have any lines on it. Water isn't territory.

 

I never understood why people always talk about front lines in this game.

 

You need supplies, repairs, replacement crew, especially if you expect to conduct multiple battles back to back.

 

Plus it would help concentrate players and improve gameplay.

 

In fact, we basically have front lines now, but they mostly center around free towns, because that's where people can store ships and get repairs near fight zones.

[ObiQuiet]

What is the purpose of this suggestion ? I could understand the limit to 1 ship, plus the one you are sailing, but closing a free port to all non trader ships ? For what purpose ?

I think the issue is that something isn't right when fleets base themselves out of free ports instead of ports they control.

[Augustus Charles Hobart H]

I don't mind frigate packs operating out of free towns or shallow ships, what annoys me is that you can hide a whole first rate fleet in there and its at no risk.  I would support no SOL's in free ports, bur I'm iffy on no warships. 

[maturin]

Front line isn't the right word, but areas of control and supply routes are factors in naval warfare. Hence the fights over remote Atlantic islands in real life...

The scale of warfare in NA is tiny, though. IRL the French would be perfectly comfortable launching an assault from Martinique to retake Louisiana, and no one would run short of supplies even after crossing the Caribbean Sea thrice.

 

So the only thing that determines 'front lines' and critical areas is player laziness. Well, that and short-lived assault flags.

[Cragger]

Yeah, free towns are supposed to the sorts of lawless frontier places like pirate ports were in reality. (Pirates never tried to stop anyone from docking at Nassau.)

 

Alternately, it could be impossible to leave large warships docked at an outpost there without the player's presence. Someone will just steal it.

 

Because it would have been self defeating for them. Captured ships and cargo only have value when you can sell them. Preventing buyers from coming to Nassau would be akin to walmart mugging customers at the door. 

[Cragger]

Ultimately we need to find ways to create practical battlefields along front-lines between nations.

 

Currently the front-lines are often dead zones, so we end up creating PvP hot-spots via Free Towns deep in enemy territory (where we can actually find people to fight).

 

It's a pretty fundamental flaw in the game right now. So I'm tentatively in favor of a change like this, if it's part of a plan to get people fighting on frontlines.

 

I agree, I understand the purpose and reason for free towns for cross national trade and access for cornered nations. But I don't think they really serve their intended purpose and instead make it rather time inefficient to harrass and raid in hostile water compared to just sitting at a free town in the middle of hostile zones. 

[MassimoSud]

a simple tip! When you capture a ship AI will create a real ship of the same class and with a small crew, and sets the shortest route to the destination port selected with reduced speed. This ship behaves as an NPC and it is possible to capture it and keep it from other players. So you have to risk a ship being intercepted and captured in unless accompanied or sent to a safe port. that would Increase the role of more small ships that intercept on routes on which you can probably find ships returning to safe ports. sorry for my bad english!

[Parias]

I agree. Any port should show the amount of ships in it and what type whether visually or with text.

Also, open world battles should show how many AI ships are in the battle and what side they are on, so you don't waste your time joining a battle to help out a fellow countrymen only to see he's tangling with a trader

[tatannn]

I agree with this idea, free ports shouldn't be base for ganiking purpose.

Currently you can have a full fleet in a freeport in a ennemy waters. you can repair, respawn, gank as you want without being warm by some guys telling that a ennemy fleet is roaming.

 

Never you will be able to crush this treat. Teleport + outpost + uncapturable.

 

my sudgestion for freetown

 

- impossible to teleport there. ( force player to go sailing to get there )

- impossible to store / dock warships, only traders 

[thp]

In my opinion, I like to be attacked anywhere I can go, it just spicy my gameplay, the game will be boring for me if there are too many safe zone. May I suggest that people that dont like to PvP just go to PvE server maybe it will be safer for them.

In many pvp game I play, the safe zone is where people stay there and keep trashing talk to each other insteed of fighting.

it s not pvp game anymore but pve game or trash talking game.

[Lisa-Azra]

What about the countless crafters that have shipyards in free ports. If they loose their holdings how many more players will leave the game?

[Diggled]

What about the countless crafters that have shipyards in free ports. If they loose their holdings how many more players will leave the game?

Honestly thats not a concern at all.  This game is in alpha, its going to change and evolve.  Devs just need to give a few weeks notice to a larger change like this.

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

I think the issue is that something isn't right when fleets base themselves out of free ports instead of ports they control.

 

Right'o, then I understand and nod in approval.

 

What put me off laughing was that the conversation when from the Conquest fleets to corsairs fleets menace in what is perceived as safe zones, lol just lol.

 

Carry on.

[Slamz]

What about the countless crafters that have shipyards in free ports. If they loose their holdings how many more players will leave the game?

 

I imagine a change like this would be part of a general reset anyway.

[Anne Wildcat]

As posted before, if you are in enemy waters there is no place to sell goods you've captured, but repair kits, or port if you need a break other than free towns. Keep free towns, keep outposts there (especially if pirate mechanics are reworked). I'm for what Babble, I believe, suggested, have free towns have a ship manifest of all online players docked there. Although this could possibly cause other problems.

[Rabbi-Marshall Sanderberg]

Where do I fit in?

 

I'm enamored with the idea of being attackable anywhere at any time. I'm down with keeping a safezone around national capital for "fresh on the boat" (ayyyy) players.

 

But I have problems with the teleporting mechanic!

 

I certainly don't want to sail for 45 minutes or more to shoot at some REAL HUMAN BEANS, but I don't want "meta-gamey" teleports to Free Towns that are balls-deep in enemy territory to facilitate PvP, either.

 

I also can't come up with a solution to facilitate PvP that doesn't involve teleporting or other things of that ilk.

 

send help pls

[SaintGordon]

As posted before, if you are in enemy waters there is no place to sell goods you've captured, but repair kits, or port if you need a break other than free towns. Keep free towns, keep outposts there (especially if pirate mechanics are reworked). I'm for what Babble, I believe, suggested, have free towns have a ship manifest of all online players docked there. Although this could possibly cause other problems.

 

Without an outpost: you can sell goods, you can buy repairkits and you can repair your ships, and you can stay in free towns for rest. you even can log off there

 

So no deed for an outpost for that.

 

when the pirate mecanic will change, maybe the pirates should be the only one to get outposts in free towns. but only with 1 or 2 slots. to prevent a massive assult fleet.

On this point i agree

[Aposky]

At the moment any fleet can sail deep into enemy territory or even hang out outside other nations main capital without consequences anyway.

 

If Free Ports will be there to only buy/sell goods, enemy nations will need to capture enemy ports to have bases for combat operations closer to faction that they want to fight, which is a good change. I also hope to see that after introduction of politics into the game, nation AI fleets will chase and engage players ships that are at war.