Offline Travel

[Æthlstan]

The developers really want to keep the long sail times in effect. I searched for this idea and was surprised I didnt find it mentioned before.

 

What if it were possible to set a destination to sail to upon log off? There are several ways that this could be implemented

 

1) Upon log off, the ship (and captain) sails on the OW to its destination. It is fully visible and can be attacked by other players. Standard AI will manage combat. The player can give standing orders on whether he wants the ship to try to run, or to stand and fight. Perhaps he can set a BR threshold at which the ship will run, or a preset BR threshold will determine this (Ex: Up to 1 level BR higher, AI stays and fights. Any BR higher than that, the ship will run). When the captain logs back on, he will enter his ship at whatever point the ship is at in its travels. If a ship is sunk, it will respawn at closest free port and continue sailing until it reaches its destination or it runs out of durabilities. This mimics Real Life in that the ship could continue to travel if its captain had to sleep. The AI acts as the XO who takes command when the captain is indisposed. 

 

2) Upon log off, the ship does not go on the open world, rather, a travel map is generated which calculates where the ship would be given the time elapsed. Or something. I don't code, lol. When the player logs back in, his ship appears in the location appropriate to the time elapsed, or at the destination, if it was reached. The ship cannot be attacked en route without the captain online.

 

3) The player can create Convoys, filled with ships out of his fleet. These ships can be trader ships with cargo, or military ships, or both. On the open world, these ships act like AI fleets, with the exception of having a player name attached to them and a player created destination. This works the same way as 1) but on a larger scale and allows movement of cargo. 

 

 

 

As a clan leader, trying to get some players to move 6-8 hours across the map to distant ports was like trying to pull a tooth out from a bull during the Run of the Bulls. The ability to sail to any port in real time while offline would encourage more exploration, and allow those with more demanding schedules to fully enjoy the world map.

 

The convoy option would allow for more OW targets and more international trading, especially after the Diplomacy feature is added. It would help stimulate economic play greatly.

 

This could cost money. It would not give you XP. 

 

Thoughts?

[e1mo]

I think that the first and third proposals are quite interesting, but given the current priorities, we can wait a long time for a fast/offline travel (if they implement it).

[mirror452]

We had a discussion about deliveries once, that deliveries could be made by AI ships transporting the cargo. The problem is that these deliveries would almost never reach their destination. Because it's easy to spot such an AI controlled player ship, and the AI is easy to beat. Even if your ship is too small, it's easy to call in friend who then feast on your AI controlled ship.
That means, it will probably never be implemented, or it will be implemented and noone will use it anymore after 1 or 2 weeks.

[Æthlstan]

Yeah, i agree with the danger and ease of attack. But, even when trading in enemy territory, I dont see that many hostiles.

If a player could plot a course they wanted their ship to travel, they could mostly avoid occupied waters.

With the Convoy option, I feel it would be less about stuffing it with 1-3 rates and more about incorporating the right mix of ships to intercept attackers and let cargo ships get away. Perhaps the player could control the formations somewhat and attach standing orders to the fleet in how to fight.

[Jean Ribault]

I sure would've liked to have had some form of this implemented yesterday.....I had over a half millions worth of cargo yesterday, and had to sail thru enemy waters.  I got to a "safe" (<---never) location, pointed my ship in the right direction, and then let it go while I started to browse the internet.  Unfortunately I was so tired I dozed off.  Ok so I'm getting old.  When I awoke, I realized I was still sailing in the game with my cargo, and had actually overshot my destination port by quite a bit.  In all that time I could've lost the whole shipment.  (Thank you enemies for not noticing, lol).

 

In that case it would've been really nice to have been able to hire an escort of AI ships at whatever price I deemed worth it for that cargo run.  Then I could've.....well, gone to sleep   ....and then only been at risk to the extent I gambled on the escort size.  I am certainly not looking for teleport with cargo to come back, but if lots of sailing time is required for deliveries why not add some tools to make it more fun and a lot easier?

[Æthlstan]

I like the option to use your own ships as escorts for the convoy. Hiring ships could be done, but unless the market allows you to still make a profit after going through that expense, we would run into the same issue that I have with freeport-freeport trading, which is the expense makes it not worth the conveinience.

Perhaps clans, as well as individuals, could create convoys to destinations. This would allow a trading clan the ability to move lots more cargo to market from more distant markets.

Yes, OW travel can result in easy captures, but perhaps there can be a "Convoy" page as part of the clan interface, that would allow clan members to see an itinerary of active convoys, when they will be where, etc, so they can move to possible trouble spots to help escort. Perhaps clans could select from a list other clans that can see their convoy itineraries so that clans from different time zones can protect each other.

This would promote intra-faction teamwork and provide people with stuff to do if their playtime does not occur during "prime time"

Edited May 24, 2016 by Æthlstan

[Jean Ribault]

I like the option to use your own ships as escorts for the convoy. Hiring ships could be done, but unless the market allows you to still make a profit after going through that expense, we would run into the same issue that I have with freeport-freeport trading, which is the expense makes it not worth the conveinience.

 

That won't solve the problem you mention.  What if you send 4 of your ships, and you are attacked by an organized clan?  Then you lose your cargo PLUS 4 ships.

[Æthlstan]

Yeah I had an idea and edited the post before you posted. See above. Sorry.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Æthlstan

[Jean Ribault]

Haha, no problem. 

 

No matter how you implement a ship escort though, it will still remain functionally akin to something like homeowners insurance.  You might never need it, but it makes you feel good to have it.  The higher premium you pay for it, the more coverage you will get for that greater cost.  And in the end it usually doesn't completely guarantee your losses, only partially.

[Æthlstan]

Thats true. What if the game rewarded teamwork with "admiralty rewards"?

Example, a friendly clan notices that there are a few convoys operating tonight. They decide to go out and pull escort duty. They sail to the location the convoy is at, and when it comes into view, they click the "join escort" button. This attaches them to the convoy similar to how groups work currently. If the convoy is attacked, all friendly vessels in the area who joined the escort would enter the combat.

When the convoy reaches each successive point on the itinerary, the escorting players get an XP/gold bonus, thus providing continued incentive to escort the convoy.

People have been asking for this type of mission to be added.. What if it isnt a mission, but actually protecting player cargo and ships?

[Jean Ribault]

That has been suggested before too, and certainly has merit.  I think the current drawback is that there aren't enough players in the game to make this interactive enough, or risky enough of a venture, translated most likely boring.  With high player quantities I think that would be a nice feature.

[Æthlstan]

If Convoys can be attacked by AI privateers as well (AI fleets of roughly equal size to the convoy) when there are escorts attached, this would provide people with fights if no players are out hunting convoys. 

[Jean Ribault]

That's a good suggestion and would make it livelier.  Certainly don't want to rain on your parade, but it makes me wonder if the AI intelligence within a battle (ahem, I mean lack thereof) is any sign of how they would conduct themselves in this upgrade you just suggested.

[Æthlstan]

Perhaps the ships in your convoy could be based on how you fight, and you can give them certain directives, ie, "run away" "protect" "attack"

 

similar to ghost races in Forza. Then your convoy AI would reflect your skill in the game.

[Jean Ribault]

... Then your convoy AI would reflect your skill in the game.

 

 

God no, then they would really suck ! 

[Æthlstan]

Ha, motivation to get better, perhaps?