Trader hunting...can this be more frustrating ?

[Wilson09]

After having tested the new features of the game after a few month absence, I was hoping that "TRADER hunting" would be an integral part of the game....

 

But, it is still more than frustrating.

 

Why? I cannot waste my time hunting an EMPTY trader. It is unrealistic.

Every real pirate KNOWS, if a trader is "full" or empty by watching the ship.

 

I understand, that it is hard to programme. But an indication of how much of the hold (in %) is used on the trader would be enough of an approximation.

 

It needs to be implemented, otherwise, hunting traders it useless.

Then it is only for the players who like to "annoy" others destroying their ships.

 

But this, is not what PIRATES did in the AGE of SAILS.

They were pirating for profit...and they did not waste their time, otherwise the crew would rebel.

 

My opinion.

 

Wilson

 

[Kanay]

haha, no thanks, it's easy enough like this in this game to hunt traders, and keep in mind that loot can be destroyed when you know you are getting screwed... Some traders delete all valuable cargo instead of giving it to the enemies

 

So what's next ? Known if a cargo have fish meat or gold inside it, coal or silver or how many notes and LH's weighting nothing a trader is hauling ? Add a x-ray scan perk on officers ? If anything there should be less infos in this game, like the exact crew number not displayed for enemies, for traders and warships ... and all this with silly free towns magical spawn points allowing enemies to dock and hunt in your National waters with no risks involved ... And traders getting the same speed despites being full, empty or loaded with one unit of hemp only ... when warships get infinite ammos and powder ... Plus the traders OW speed being really slow for all ( on purpose i guess) compared to a warship having the same speed always being faster in OW  ...No thanks

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

As a dedicated trade raider and hard toiling honest pirate I disagree OP.

A pirate crew can sort of see details like heel and buoyancy of the target vessel and make a bet that there's cargo but it is not always certain.

I like that gambling game and it doesn't really take much time to chase a trader... or if it does better let it go, after all piracy is a game about being effective in the less time possible.

 

Plenty of blunders happened back in the day. Actually crew has been massacred because there was no cargo and pirate captain went on a tantrum rage. and everyone was put to the sword ( technically not a pirate but a sanctioned raider ).

 

It is part of the game.

 

What is lacking is a full wash of Pirates to cleanse the black from the nation's refugees.

[Wilson09]

>>I like that gambling game

Even knowing the trader is 50% full, there is still a gamble about....what is in it? 

Fish meat or Gold coins??? 

 

>>it doesn't really take much time to chase a trader.

It does. Try hunting a Traders Lynx on a Privateer. 

A chase of 10 min and then a bad tag and then a chase another 30 min, try to board him 10 min?

 

1 hour is an hour. Just to find out he is empty.

 

Pirates of those day know about (f.i. Spanish) the Gold Galleons and when and where they sailed.

We don´t have the possibility to gather those valuable information to be more succesful.

 

Annoying, so let me get back on my fisherboat, gives me more income / hour doing afk fishing.

 

Okay, it is about fun....there is no FUN being involved if you boarded a TRADER the 5th consecutive time and then him being EMPTY !

 

The most dont hunt.

They do PBs or afk fishing.

 

As a PIRATE you should be able to make a fortune just RAIDING and this is not possible.

Too dangerous and no return.

 

I dont´ want to DESTROY ships, I want their cargo.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Wilson09

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

I think I like the trade raiding game more than you, as we don't have the same feedback from the playstyle

 

I have fun raiding trade. If it is empty, well, tough luck for me. Will try again. I never get upset by it, may try once or twice and if the pattern holds I just leave the game and return at another hour or another day.

 

Also I take mental notes of routes and times used in the different nations so it becomes easier to decide where to go at what time.

After a while, taking on the trader-fisherman difference, patterns start to show and it becomes easier to tell the difference between white fleet and cargo haulers.

And... Selling looted fish meat from the white fleets, at nice prices, has yielded close to 500k since it was introduced. I call that a good amount to share between a crew of 67

 

I know my ships and those of the prey, having played them all ( it helps !!!! ) and no matter the ships, initial relative positions, land and wind are the name of the game.

 

I'd say it is a half/half business. Half getting away, half getting caught. Half of that half has goodies. The other half has little. Still I do a  fair amount of a small fortune with raiding.

Takes time, takes dedication, takes a different approach to pvp, but if it is the playstyle you like then it is ultimate fun and the profits will by far, by faaaaaaaar, cover any expenses ... there isn't even a comparison.

 

But hell, every playstyle takes time, dedication and if it is really what a player likes then fun is assured and results will show.

 

Trade needs more raiders. Raiders need more trade.

[Mrdoomed]

I raid trade ships pretty much exclusively, unless i spot a undercrewed ship worth big money, and have gotten rich. Sure sometimes they have nothing, half the time they toss what they had overboard anyways but when ido get a score its very valuable.

The only issue i have with trade ships now is the stupid a.i ships that run into me shoot me ram me while boardin then force me to spend another 20 minutes sinking them if I want the cargo. Takea.i away and the time spent on empty trade ships isn't bad.

Once you learn trade routs you can almost tell when a ship has cargo and when she dont.

[squedage]

i was led to believe that if the ship said contraband goods it meant that it had cargo and if it said nothing then it was empty 

[Jean Ribault]

... Sure sometimes they have nothing, half the time they toss what they had overboard ...

 

This is poor sportsmanship IMO, and it is clearly taking advantage of an alpha-stage missing game mechanic.  I personally do a lot of trading and would never throw my cargo OB to deny someone the spoils of their earned victory.  There are also other forum threads here about preventing that, or alternatives to it.  Hey if I was trading and planned poorly and you were actually able to find and take over my ship, then you have earned the right to keep the loot.  It's a cat and mouse game, but why be a sore loser whether you are the cat or the mouse?

 

Anecdotally, I was quite careless about this a few times but was able to get away.  (I'm just that good, LOL)  Nonetheless if I had been caught I wouldn't have destroyed the cargo.  That's being a poor sport.

[Jean Ribault]

i was led to believe that if the ship said contraband goods it meant that it had cargo and if it said nothing then it was empty 

 

If I leave a port with the smuggler flag checked, I will be listed with contraband goods, whether I am carrying anything or not.

 

Also, when trading you are going to be empty probably 3 or 4 times out of 10 anyway, since eventually you are planning to sell your cargo.  If I only do Pt A to Pt B all the time and then back, well I am going to have an empty hold 50% of the time, fishing excluded.

[Mrdoomed]

This is poor sportsmanship IMO, and it is clearly taking advantage of an alpha-stage missing game mechanic. I personally do a lot of trading and would never throw my cargo OB to deny someone the spoils of their earned victory. There are also other forum threads here about preventing that, or alternatives to it. Hey if I was trading and planned poorly and you were actually able to find and take over my ship, then you have earned the right to keep the loot. It's a cat and mouse game, but why be a sore loser whether you are the cat or the mouse?

Anecdotally, I was quite careless about this a few times but was able to get away. (I'm just that good, LOL) Nonetheless if I had been caught I wouldn't have destroyed the cargo. That's being a poor sport.

Im going to double my efforts to find you sir cuz i wants your stuffs. Lol Edited July 19, 2016 by Mrdoomed

[Jean Ribault]

Im going to double my efforts to find you sir cuz i wants your stuffs. Lol

 

 

You won't.  But I do run loaded most of the time.

[Vernon Merrill]

I play as a trade raider when there's no other mates on or if theres no PB screening I can help with...  I have just as much fun getting angry that my privateer cant quite catch a traders lynx as I do driving a huge barge looking for other huge barges...

[Wilson09]

Sail HO (....the daily grind got me sick...)

[mouse of war]

How about text in the telescope saying 'dumping' when a trader throws stuff overboard?

[Wilson09]

To prevent players to get rid of the hold, only 1 thing needs to be implemented:

"Raiders" should be able to massacre the crew..."

 

and during boarding, a trader shoul be able to surrender / drop weapons....

 

After the succesful board....feature for the Raider to massacre....somehow, or release crew for payment.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Wilson09

[Bach]

To prevent players to get rid of the hold, only 1 thing needs to be implemented:

"Raiders" should be able to massacre the crew..."

and during boarding, a trader shoul be able to surrender / drop weapons....

After the succesful board....feature for the Raider to massacre....somehow, or release crew for payment.

I'll put this out this once but the trade secrets of Commerce Raiders shouldn't be discussed in a public forum available to them targets.

I mainly hunt traders. This past weekend I capped 6million gold in British goods, 500k in Dutch goods, 600k in USA goods. No Spanish or French as I'm giving then a pass for the time being.

Now how do I know empty from loaded? Simple, I use the smuggler feature to Pre-scout the markets inside the enemy ports I'm hunting. If the port A produces tobacco (example) and port B to east buys tobacco at top dollar I just wait in the path and the ships coming from the west will be loaded with Tobacco. If raiding fishing hunters is your thing you just notice that all bottles opened in certain Zones always lead to wrecks in corresponding zones. Example: bottles opened on the east coast of Florida always lead to wrecks SW of Jamaica. Considering this constraint ALL USA player treasure hunters will be using Cayman Brac as a base. So you just hunt Cayman Brac and the ones coming back to port will be loaded with loot. FYI if your going after Trader Lynxs you need a gold Lynx. Privateers are to slow and the back and forth through the wind buys them time and distance for coward escapes. The Privateer needs one bow gun to be a useful ship in the game. Anyway, all the clues you need are out there. But you have to solve the puzzles.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Bach

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

To prevent players to get rid of the hold, only 1 thing needs to be implemented:

"Raiders" should be able to massacre the crew..."

 

and during boarding, a trader shoul be able to surrender / drop weapons....

 

After the succesful board....feature for the Raider to massacre....somehow, or release crew for payment.

 

Yarr they have all the time in the world to surrender before the inevitable.

 

( I agree a surrender option should be available in the mini game )

[Skully]

How about text in the telescope saying 'dumping' when a trader throws stuff overboard?

If you capture a trader and it is empty, then something fishy has been going on...

[Bach]

I had one Trader Cutter tell me "Ha Ha I dumped the cargo before you tagged me". So I switched to grape shot and killed his entire crew before he could hit surrender. Normally I let them surrender to keep crew and officer. It's a real eye opener when they realize you CAN kill the entire 20 man crew in one good broadside grape.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Bach

[Skully]

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/13914-throwing-all-the-materials-just-before-been-attacked/?p=271351