Please explain it to me

[Shunziji]

Greetings captains,

 

i don't play the game very much because i don't have enough time to play a game in this state, but i keep an eye on it and the forum since it has been announced a while ago. I love the genre, i have been playing POTBS a lot. I know i bought a work in progress, the game is not finished... really, far, from, finished. By playing the game and reading the forum i have a question that burns my brain.

 

 How come is it called a sandbox ?

 

There is zero kind of freedom in this game. You have to grind your way up to the rank you need for a specific ship, you better pray you earned the money needed to buy the said ship. The price of that ship is set by a player, you personally have no power over the price of the ship. Craft your own you tell me ? Of course, let me buy the materials from ... a player that sets the price. Since there is nothing that even smell like a creative mode, not a sandbox. 

 

The impression of freedom is given by the huge amount of things you can do, ships you can sail, places you can go. Let's be honest, if your own game and progression is 100% influenced by the community and the rules created by the players/guilds/nations to ensure a control over the chaos ... this is not what i thought sandbox meant.

 

According to that, if we look how the real world works. Economic crisis all over the planet, entire countries controlled, drained and abused by more powerful nations, wars all over the place... Can we really expect a player driven video game to go smooth and lead to something else than .. a painful end ? Let's face it, people ( or at least me ) play video games to relax, change their mind and have fun. I think the game is too much player driven, if we can still talk of players driving anything... last time i logged in PvP 1 i found 252 players ... player driven to nowhere.

 

I think the word people are trying so hard to use is Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.

 

Now before the hell gates open, i want to say that the game has an amazing potential. I love the idea of having to group up, as a nation and defend assets that can be used in a domination. I like the fact that you can fight hard and win or loose. I understand the game is unfinished and has a lot of things to be implemented. 

 

But from where i sit, i feel like i am looking at a kid learning how to ski heading straight to a cliff. And the instructors are arguing which color his suite should be and that the new wax version implemented does not glide fast enough...

 

It turned out to be more of a statement than a question.... but i had to get it out of my system. Please feel free to react to this.

[Bommel]

In my opinion Sandbox means that you are not forced to do specific actions.

You can start the game and just sail around in a basic cutter exploring the world, or sit in port and chat all day.

Freedom of choice = sandbox.

[HarryButpain]

I agree that the term 'sandbox' is an odd choice. You either become a pvper, crafter or trader or variations of that.. I don't understand your problem with a player driven economy though. It worked out perfectly fine in POTBS and I see no reason why it shouldn't in NA. The only kinda unanswered big issue we both see is what happens when one nation loses too much territory.. You can read up on that topic here.

 

Maybe add sandbox servers where players have unlimited money and max levels to mess around and test things?

Edited May 26, 2016 by BACk ALLEY ShENANiGANS

[Long Beard]

You hit the nail on the head in your first sentence. It's not finished. It's in development. What we have now will most likely be completely different when it's finally released.

Now that's out of the way, and TBH, it's not a trivial thing to be swept under the carpet, because it is a game in development, but I digress!

 

Sandbox.  Yes. Here's something I picked up from the inter webs that I think sums up NA.

Sandbox MMOs offer the freedom of choice. Characters explore the game on their own terms, and for the most part enjoy open-ended goals that allow them to explore all the sandbox MMO has to offer at their own pace. Whether a low-level tradesman or a high-ranking combatant, people-pleasing politician or eager explorer, all characters fit a social niche within the community. Encouraging players to live and work with each other in a sandbox MMO provides goals that involve interacting with the community. Sure it's possible for players to grind their characters to the highest attainable levels, but those who do miss the point of the game. Roleplay is paramount to the success of a sandbox MMO.

 

In NA you have complete choice as to what you want to do. Want to be a Pirate and shoot everything in sight? You can. Wan't to be a trader? You can. Want to be a Pirate & a trader? You can. Want to be a Pirate, a Treader and a Crafter? You can.  

Sand box generally means you can do what ever the hell you like to achieve your goal, and NA does that nicely.

[Flagg]

You hit the nail on the head in your first sentence. It's not finished. It's in development. What we have now will most likely be completely different when it's finally released.

Now that's out of the way, and TBH, it's not a trivial thing to be swept under the carpet, because it is a game in development, but I digress!

Sandbox. Yes. Here's something I picked up from the inter webs that I think sums up NA.

Sandbox MMOs offer the freedom of choice. Characters explore the game on their own terms, and for the most part enjoy open-ended goals that allow them to explore all the sandbox MMO has to offer at their own pace. Whether a low-level tradesman or a high-ranking combatant, people-pleasing politician or eager explorer, all characters fit a social niche within the community. Encouraging players to live and work with each other in a sandbox MMO provides goals that involve interacting with the community. Sure it's possible for players to grind their characters to the highest attainable levels, but those who do miss the point of the game. Roleplay is paramount to the success of a sandbox MMO.

In NA you have complete choice as to what you want to do. Want to be a Pirate and shoot everything in sight? You can. Wan't to be a trader? You can. Want to be a Pirate & a trader? You can. Want to be a Pirate, a Treader and a Crafter? You can.

Sand box generally means you can do what ever the hell you like to achieve your goal, and NA does that nicely.

Explained.

[Captain]

Who cares?

[dull]

It's called a sandbox because there is no linear, forced progression.

 

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

[Jean LaPointe]

There are many levels of play and things you can do. I like to relax at the end of the day and not get too tied up in large battles. Crafting is a fun part, as long as youre not in a hurry for anything.

Personally I enjoy sailing in frigates or corvettes. I love the speed and manouverability of these ships. This is the right mix for me as a solo player.

I bounce back and forth between the PvE and PvP servers, depending on what challenges I am in the mood for. I have used the PvE world to better my ability to survived in the PvP world.

And yes, I am one of those people you have seen complaints about not getting involved with a battle and would appear to be "running away". I know the limitaions of my ship, and if I feel that limitation will not provide a fair fight, then I will do what I can to preserve myself for a later date.

I build what I can, sell what I can and explore as much of the world as possible.This is a great game/simulation. After 5 months of playing I have finally made it to the rank to fully operate a 3rd rate. I have finally gotten my 3rd rate and it is more for some fun sailing and keeping the dock warm at my wharehouse/dock. She is a pig in the water, that is why I prefer the wourld of a frigate captain.

But, sir, you get what you want from this game/simulation. If you are desiring to be an admiral and sail a 1st rate, right now and connot wait to be there, you will find the entire game to be a big grind. If you take the time to enjoy every level of advancement, and trust me I have been experimenting with this, it will take a long time to be able to fully captain a 1st rate ship (and after over 5 months at this I am still not there yet) - but the journey to this level is uncompairable.

Enjoy what is being offered, see the world you are in, be patient.

[Sir Cloudsley-Shovell]

Greetings captains,

 

i don't play the game very much because i don't have enough time to play a game in this state, but i keep an eye on it and the forum since it has been announced a while ago. I love the genre, i have been playing POTBS a lot. I know i bought a work in progress, the game is not finished... really, far, from, finished. By playing the game and reading the forum i have a question that burns my brain.

 

 How come is it called a sandbox ?

 

There is zero kind of freedom in this game. You have to grind your way up to the rank you need for a specific ship, you better pray you earned the money needed to buy the said ship. The price of that ship is set by a player, you personally have no power over the price of the ship. Craft your own you tell me ? Of course, let me buy the materials from ... a player that sets the price. Since there is nothing that even smell like a creative mode, not a sandbox. 

 

The impression of freedom is given by the huge amount of things you can do, ships you can sail, places you can go. Let's be honest, if your own game and progression is 100% influenced by the community and the rules created by the players/guilds/nations to ensure a control over the chaos ... this is not what i thought sandbox meant.

 

According to that, if we look how the real world works. Economic crisis all over the planet, entire countries controlled, drained and abused by more powerful nations, wars all over the place... Can we really expect a player driven video game to go smooth and lead to something else than .. a painful end ? Let's face it, people ( or at least me ) play video games to relax, change their mind and have fun. I think the game is too much player driven, if we can still talk of players driving anything... last time i logged in PvP 1 i found 252 players ... player driven to nowhere.

 

I think the word people are trying so hard to use is Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.

 

Now before the hell gates open, i want to say that the game has an amazing potential. I love the idea of having to group up, as a nation and defend assets that can be used in a domination. I like the fact that you can fight hard and win or loose. I understand the game is unfinished and has a lot of things to be implemented. 

 

But from where i sit, i feel like i am looking at a kid learning how to ski heading straight to a cliff. And the instructors are arguing which color his suite should be and that the new wax version implemented does not glide fast enough...

 

It turned out to be more of a statement than a question.... but i had to get it out of my system. Please feel free to react to this.

Try the PVE server then.

[FieryCross]

Being new to the game just feeling round at the moment.

 

For just now, I have been working to a lvl that gives me an advantage in missions etc for progression as well as crafting, end goal no idea, which to me is sandbox as I may end up using crafting and trading to fund a better ship, while missions allow me to tick along funding the afore mentioned.

 

At the moment I am a solo Brit, haven't actively sought out clan membership really yet as I see there is a predominance for the need for team speak, which i am not keen on venturing down that route again at present.

 

But I will chat to anybody, as i am used to a corp and alliance arrangement and busy chats, so a bit lonely out on the briney

 

Oh in game Im Robert Harvey, made in haste and at times now repent.