Time Sink Called Naval Action

[Cmdr RideZ]

I believe before launch something should be done for this time sink called Naval Action.

 

I like the game when I have time to play, but...

 

2 hours = A quick session, maybe fight or 2.  Will easily slip to 3 hours.  If not at Jamaica, you may not even see an enemy.

4 hours = Minimum time to enjoy and relax.  You will have time to find a fight, maybe 1-2 good battles, or 1 good and then some smaller ones.  IF and only IF you sail at Jamaica.

8 hours = Reasonable amount to have a GG.  And pretty much ONLY when you sail at Jamaica.

 

 

My opinion is that the game has a high change to fail.  Yes, probably the biggest fans will stay with the game, I am probably going to have weekend sailing etc.  But I have a feeling that the game will have hard time to reach decent numbers.

 

Jamaica, I have seen increasing amount of different nationalities and players around it.  This is, because that is the only place where you can find a fight in a decent amount of time.  This is a huge issue.

 

Dont understand me wrong.  I really like the game, I have sometimes good amount of time to play it as well.  But I know that most, well, they do not have time to play it.  The forum is full of big fans of Naval Action, so not assuming that everyone would even think this as an issue.  But if I start to think about the game, I really think this is the biggest issue the game has atm.

 

Yes, I would like to see the game to succeed.  I am just a bit afraid that we are narrowing down the target group too much.

 

I kinda hate the teleportation, but I have to admit, that without it, the game would be even bigger time sink.  So even tho I hate it, I think it has its reasons.  This is just one example from a feature that makes you to hate it but still accept it.  I think we may have to do more sacrifices like this.

 

edit...

 

As it is very difficult for some to understand "my" english, I will explicitly state here, about this post and from the posts I wrote later...

1. I like the game

2. I am not speaking from myself

3. I speak from other people who have quit

4. I asked what are the issues

5. I think the market sector the game is targeted to, will be too narrow

6. May cause issues to the player base, it may not stay healthy long enough

7. Harder for game to get money, and keep it in development

8. I think some amount of compromises maybe needed to reach broader audience

9. Later in other posts I wrote some of the reasons that made some people to quit, those are some, not all the reasons I have heard

10. I have everything in the game that I want to have, which means ~everything + more

11. I have heard issues from players who are new to game.  The fun factor has radically decreased from time when I was in their boots

12. I try to understand and speak for guys who quit the game already, and I think devs should as well

Edited October 5, 2016 by Cmdr RideZ

[Nikodemus]

Try setting up ports at Key West/ Plymouth and darn can't recall the name but the one up by Mortimer town the Pirate Capital. or any other free port near a nations Capital. Much easier to find fights that way. But yes this game is not a game you can jump on for a half hour to get some action. Also try small battles or duels quick way to get a fight.

[Fluffy Fishy]

I feel like one way you could solve this issue is having a teleport on a very long cooldown (at least 8 hours) where you can instantly tp with your chosen ship (no cargo) to any regional capital in the world entirely controlled by your nation, This would allow for a more expanded and interesting world while also letting more people into the game, I personally cannot commit enough time to efficiently play the game and I find it very sad because its a game I really enjoy, and want to spend more time with, there is always the free port option its not quite the same. While this solution is far from perfect it could add a lot of accessibility for a lot of people. You could make it more balanced by making it impossible to teleport in or out of a region that currently has a blockaded port. You could also potentially add some kind of national notification for when a fleet is amassing near a port when enough people teleport there within a time period.

We have lost a lot of players over time to the lack of features during earlier builds but I would reckon the majority of people have left because there is such a time commitment to be able to play properly which is such a shame because the game is fantastic and it should be available for more people to experience and enjoy properly.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Fluffy Fishy

[James Cornelius]

Try setting up ports at Key West/ Plymouth and darn can't recall the name but the one up by Mortimer town the Pirate Capital. or any other free port near a nations Capital. Much easier to find fights that way. But yes this game is not a game you can jump on for a half hour to get some action. Also try small battles or duels quick way to get a fight.

 

La Tortue is where you are thinking of, I believe.

[Jean LaPointe]

We have lost a lot of players TESTERS over time to the lack of features during earlier builds but I would reckon the majority of people have left because there is such a time commitment to be able to play properly (your definition of PLAY may be different from others) which is such a shame because the game is fantastic and it should be available for more people to experience and enjoy properly.

It is available for a lot of people to play, its a sand box, and as such every person will approach this game just a little different from the next. Yes it takes time to learn, you then discover what it is you want out of it and you move in that direction. As I assume the thought here would be toward the infamous Port battle and RvR type playing, then yes you may have a valid point. Not everyone is into the Port Battle so this could explain the lack of battles for some people. Others are seeing trading or crafting as exciting as you may see a port battle. Whatever features you feel are lacking may have disappeared to make way for a better playing arena. Changes have been made to test theories of game play, to make it more real and not like an arcade. If you want arcade then there are other games out there that should fill that need. 

[Mrdoomed]

I believe before launch something should be done for this time sink called Naval Action.

I like the game when I have time to play, but...

2 hours = A quick session, maybe fight or 2. Will easily slip to 3 hours. If not at Jamaica, you may not even see an enemy.

4 hours = Minimum time to enjoy and relax. You will have time to find a fight, maybe 1-2 good battles, or 1 good and then some smaller ones. IF and only IF you sail at Jamaica.

8 hours = Reasonable amount to have a GG. And pretty much ONLY when you sail at Jamaica.

My opinion is that the game has a high change to fail. Yes, probably the biggest fans will stay with the game, I am probably going to have weekend sailing etc. But I have a feeling that the game will have hard time to reach decent numbers.

Jamaica, I have seen increasing amount of different nationalities and players around it. This is, because that is the only place where you can find a fight in a decent amount of time. This is a huge issue.

Dont understand me wrong. I really like the game, I have sometimes good amount of time to play it as well. But I know that most, well, they do not have time to play it. The forum is full of big fans of Naval Action, so not assuming that everyone would even think this as an issue. But if I start to think about the game, I really think this is the biggest issue the game has atm.

Yes, I would like to see the game to succeed. I am just a bit afraid that we are narrowing down the target group too much.

I kinda hate the teleportation, but I have to admit, that without it, the game would be even bigger time sink. So even tho I hate it, I think it has its reasons. This is just one example from a feature that makes you to hate it but still accept it. I think we may have to do more sacrifices like this.

In your mind it takes 8 hours in order to be considered a good game play ? For once i am completely at a loss for words.

[Jack Jones]

I have been brought up around Jamaica and thought that the whole map was like that.

I opened some posts in freeports not busy ones and go there because but they are so quiet and there is almost no trade but it can be very rewarding.

It's sometimes nice to escape the battle grind and just lose a couple of hours exploring and when you do meet an enemy it's BOOM! fight or run with no help from your own side or a friendly port to run to. It's awesome when running far from home...

Edited October 4, 2016 by Blue Tooth

[The Spud]

I get what you are trying to say, but I don't realy know if it is an issue. The game is very unpredictable when it comes to battles, sometimes you just seem to have no trouble finding fun battles, and other times its like nothings happening and you spend 6 hours of gametime having only like 3-4 fights, and they might not be fun at all. Its the randomness that kinda makes it fun too.

 

Sometimes after several nights of not having a good fight, you are tempted to play something else for a while. But then you randomly get caught in just one epic battle, and you kinda get addicted all over again.

 

I hope the new conquest system will give more nights of epic battles, maybe if we get allot more players back in the game we can all get more fun. I'm curious for what the next patches will bring...

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

It is not the type of game where everything can be done at once, that is correct.

 

It requires a bit of - plotting a course for today.

[SheepDip]

I have been waiting for "This type of Game" my entire life !  

[Cmdr RideZ]

Notice, that I am not trying to say what would be nice thing for me.  I am not saying that everyone has to do that 8 hours of sailing.  But to really get some good fights, burn hours to evade revenge gank fleets, and still get some good games...  Unfortunately yes, it takes lot of time.  Like the whole revenge gank fleet is just big waste of time, it is a broken feature that sucks easily hours from your evening.  It is not the only issue, but sure is a TIME SINK.

 

But that was not the point in the end.  I think the game has to get more casual friendly.  If not casual friendly, then casual++ friendly at least.

 

I did not start this topic because I do not like the game, I started it because I know casuals wont be able to really play to enjoy from it.  This means that the game will get less money, less development, and that is not a bright picture.  So when you, with your rainbow fanglasses are exited just from seeing Naval Action logo, think about is the game really going to succeed with all the HC stuff you are asking, or agree with?  Will those ideas make the game to succeed?  Have you ever heard about "snowball's chance in hell"?

 

I btw. "voted" against teleportation without CD.  I was wrong, I admit.  It would be really nice without teleportation, but it would be unplayable for most.

 

Right now the best thing is to logout at Jamaica from the BRS.

A. You do not have to waste your time with the revenge gank fleet.

B. The next evening, if you have 2 hours to play, you have a pretty good change to find one fight, before you have to logout again.

 

Indeed, lot of Jamaica.  I would say that should already indicate that we have serious issue here.

 

I probably should be a Brit, so I have to sail just 1 minute and I am fishing, fishing PvP.

[Fluffy Fishy]

It is available for a lot of people to play, its a sand box, and as such every person will approach this game just a little different from the next. Yes it takes time to learn, you then discover what it is you want out of it and you move in that direction. As I assume the thought here would be toward the infamous Port battle and RvR type playing, then yes you may have a valid point. Not everyone is into the Port Battle so this could explain the lack of battles for some people. Others are seeing trading or crafting as exciting as you may see a port battle. Whatever features you feel are lacking may have disappeared to make way for a better playing arena. Changes have been made to test theories of game play, to make it more real and not like an arcade. If you want arcade then there are other games out there that should fill that need. 

I think you entirely missed the point I was making, there is no point in making a big deal about people testing not playing, you are doing both and they are interchangeable, I never made a point about it taking time to learn, more that it takes a huge chunk of time to enjoy properly, its a long time commitment to go from one place to another battles can also last between 45 mins and an hour, once you have waited for a group to form then sailed possibly over an hour to get to a fight thats a huge time commitment, I'm not calling for some kind of arcade black flag sailing game but it just makes little sense to limit the audience when it comes to accessibility, the warehouse teleportation was a very positive thing for the game and has improved things quite a lot but there still needs to be a bit more done to open the game up to people who don't have a lot of convenient chunks of a solid 4-6 hours to invest, I can think of too many times where I have sailed for over 2 hours for nothing to happen and it doesn't encourage you to play more, I don't want to stop people sailing on the OW because the OW is beautifully crafted but its a game not a simulation, you need to be able to play it and for the record my definition of play is quite open, I do a bit of everything depending on what time and attention I can pay.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Fluffy Fishy

[fox2run]

Its spot on. The target group is getting more and more narrow as the gameplay focus lesser on the action part in each patch driven by the hard core players that has plenty of time to sail around in a empty world.

 

Discussions on joining timers, port battles, acquisition of first rates etc. all reflects that. I love the age of sail but now I'm playing other games more that give me some more fun in less time that being warplanes or formula one cars.

 

In february this game was so much more fun than it is now. There where more players, the joining times where longer so battles where easy to find. Now it takes hours. Life is too short for a game like this....

Edited October 4, 2016 by fox2run

[Jean LaPointe]

I think you entirely missed the point I was making, there is no point in making a big deal about people testing not playing, you are doing both and they are interchangeable, I never made a point about it taking time to learn, more that it takes a huge chunk of time to enjoy properly, its a long time commitment to go from one place to another battles can also last between 45 mins and an hour, once you have waited for a group to form then sailed possibly over an hour to get to a fight thats a huge time commitment, I'm not calling for some kind of arcade black flag sailing game but it just makes little sense to limit the audience when it comes to accessibility, the warehouse teleportation was a very positive thing for the game and has improved things quite a lot but there still needs to be a bit more done to open the game up to people who don't have a lot of convenient chunks of a solid 4-6 hours to invest, I can think of too many times where I have sailed for over 2 hours for nothing to happen and it doesn't encourage you to play more, I don't want to stop people sailing on the OW because the OW is beautifully crafted but its a game not a simulation, you need to be able to play it and for the record my definition of play is quite open, I do a bit of everything depending on what time and attention I can pay.

thanks for that clarification

Although the teleports of anything except you as a player overseeing your business is too Stars Wars for a game like this (as a business owner you would have communication with you outposts). This why you can hire a trader to ship goods. I can understand the "home button" for those who get lost. But since the map has coordinates now, even that is a useless tool.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Jean LaPointe

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

How does a one life 2 hours mission on a air combat sim is any different to a 2 hour cruise on Naval Action ? In both you might or not see any spectacular action, especially if no one intercepts your flights. ( Forget arena mode, we have it in NA as well and it Works, it is just not "the NA game mode". )

 

I can even point out that NA ganking = ACS airfield vulture

 

It's everywhere fox

[LtCasey]

Some might forget, that this game Is not entirely focused on pvp, since other so called arenagames.

Lets Look at it like openworld with free pvp. Pvp is not the reason to play this game.

Explore, trade, sail, .....and fight.

Btw.... Try yourself as a blockade runner or interupt trade routes, you will find more pvp than you can handle.

[fox2run]

How does a one life 2 hours mission on a air combat sim is any different to a 2 hour cruise on Naval Action ? In both you might or not see any spectacular action, especially if no one intercepts your flights. ( Forget arena mode, we have it in NA as well and it Works, it is just not "the NA game mode". )

 

I can even point out that NA ganking = ACS airfield vulture

 

It's everywhere fox

 

February: 2000 online

Now: 400-600 online

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

In all seriousness, we were discussing a other subject other than numbers. Thanks for changing subject

 

You dislike to be shown that games... are games and every game has issues which belong to the realm of human assholery and not to bits and code.

[fox2run]

In all seriousness, we were discussin any other subject other than numbers. Thanks for changing subject

 

And I was saying: the game had a lot more FUN in it in february. Battles where exciting. Players fought to the end. It was easier to get into a battle as the joining timers where longer.

 

Fun equals numbers usually.

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

There was no land in battles in February !

 

Maybe we have a very different opinion on the game for sure but the game just took a massive leap toward combat fun in March.

[fox2run]

There was no land in battles in February !

 

Maybe we have a very different opinion on the game for sure but the game just took a massive leap toward combat fun in March.

 

Eeh. No.

[maturin]

The internet is just a giant nursing home, filled with geriatrics reminiscing about their golden age. That cherished two-week span when the grass was greener, men were men, and the digital children were well-behaved.

 

There's little point trying to interfere with their own private nostalgia.

[fox2run]

The internet is just a giant nursing home, filled with geriatrics reminiscing about their golden age. That cherished two-week span when the grass was greener, men were men, and the digital children were well-behaved.

 

There's little point trying to interfere with their own private nostalgia.

 

Another option is to stay on topic: how do we make this game great again? How do we balance it between easy-to-get-plenty-of-action-in-big-battles and the lonely pirate-riders that use hours hunting traders? 

 

One big warning sign for this game is that I was a hardcore PvP player. Now I has become a shipbuilder and log on for crafting as no action can be found within reasnoble time. I use the hours, craft ships and stock them. Now I have like 28-30 ships but no use for them anymore. Big, tactical battles are rare to get unless you have many hours to spend. Hence I begin to loose interest in the game and find other games. You will loose another ship in OW becourse of this. Many old, dedicated players have left as the OW is getting empty.

 

We have lost 3/4 of player base since february. Thats bad. Now we need to rethink the project in order to suceed. Mark my words!

Edited October 4, 2016 by fox2run

[fox2run]

So true.

 

I see people complain all the time in other sandbox games that are FAR more grindy than this one.  Like Wurm Online, where it can take HOURS to get skilled enough just to get food without starving to death.  Or weeks of 12hour days grinding just to be able to build a house that doesn't fall over in a couple of hours.   God help you if you want to PVP, it can take MONTHS to get to a skill level where you wont get killed in a few hits, and that's if you have people helping you grind. 

 

You do what many do right now. And that is to equal action with arcade. The biggest mistake on these forums!

 

This is not the same. Lets take a ww2 flight sim like Warthunder or IL4 or similar. It comes in different variations. One shoot em up furball-level for beginners. Then a medium level and the a sim level. The sim level is not depicting reality. If it did, that would have been VERY, VERY, VERY boring. Some pilots flew for 5 years without a dogfight. Others saw action maybe a handfull of days in a year. Imagine this in a pc-game. That would be a bore.

 

Now it is still a flight-sim - you need a joystick, the knowledge of rudders, torque, etc. in order to stay alive. But you get into the game and see action right away. No flying around for hours on end...

 

My point is that even if you have a simulator you need to have FUN as well.

 

 

NAVAL ACTION! pls

[Jack Jones]

If you want pvp qiickly open an outpost in enemy waters and harrass their capitals you will get very good or sink a lot.

If you want pvp qiickly open an outpost in enemy waters and harrass their capitals you will get very good or sink a lot.

But if its just PvP you want then I would say get another game there are hundreds out there.

This game is so much more than pvp, which is a bonus.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Blue Tooth