Content plans for the first half of 2017

[kumisz]

6 minutes ago, van der Decken said:

Indeed, as I do, but I don't think my PvE XP should count toward OW XP (PvP and PBs)

But say me, as mainly a PvE guy, have an itch for PvP and decide to sail out to enemy waters, do not want to do so with a basic cutter, or a 6th rate.

 

Or if a PvE-guy trader wants to sail to a far away port to bring some expensive stuff to trade, needs to be able to crew his indiaman without forcing him to do PvP to be able to do so.

Edited January 19, 2017 by kumisz

[Henry d'Esterre Darby]

5 minutes ago, fremen said:

The traslation of that is in the future will we pay for new ships added to game? Just for clarification.

I can't say yes or no to that question at this time (the moderators don't know the answer to that question). I think the results of this first Kickstarter will be used to establish the answer to that question.

[Sir Texas Sir]

59 minutes ago, Serk said:

I just find pirates as a nation to be redundant with other nationals. If you  are into regular RVR, just join a regular nation. If you  are a lone wolf type into privateering, then pirate it is.

It is just a suggestion, but it could be worth a try to give them one region as capital (kidd's harbour, that could be the only place to craft Pirate Refit ships, giving pirates an alternative source of income by selling those ships to nationals) and let them operate from free towns.

If this make it too difficult to gather resources, they could be allowed to raid nation owned regions for ressources but not conquer them?

This would surely have a negative impact on the numbers of players choosing so sail under the black flag, but those staying would be remembered by their real name, fame, and feared  (allow them to design they own personal ensign from different presets if need be!)

Food for thought.

I still think it would work better if they made them Privateers instead of Pirates for the nation tag.  Than give them voting like the nations do but that voting is for which nation they work for as Privateers.   Clans member votes will be tally up and for that cycle the clan is Privateers for that nation.  This way they can change out and help different nations depending on the current war and politics.  While you are a privateer you can us that nations resources, but none of there alliances.     This will give you one nation that can be the swing in the fight as it's members can join and help any other nation so they fill in the void that is left open by the smaller nations.

I agree Kidd's should be the capital.  Make Mort like how Pitt's was and a neutral town/region for all nations since it's so central.  This way no matter what all nations have a few ports they can do some basic econ out of.  

"OUTLAWS" Will be any one that doesn't want to join a nation as a privateer and these will be a traditional Pirate per say since most pirates where just privateers without a job/contract cause there was no wars going on.

[Fluffy Fishy]

7 hours ago, admin said:

• American ship pack Kickstarter event.

   

  • We constantly receive requests to improve USS Constitution to the level of new ships like Endymion. Constitution was the second ship we built in NA. To make it happen we will arrange a Kickstarter to fund this project. The Kickstarter will also contain additional US based ships on stretch goals. If this event is successful we will set up such events for other underrepresented national vessels too.

 

While I like the sound of the remodelling of the USS constitution is it really necessary that we have even more US ships? this game almost has a far over representation of the US navy and it would be a shame to focus time and effort on this project while there are so many other totally unrepresented nations and ship types currently lacking from the game. I would much rather see campaigns to see a much broader scope of ships than more from the USA, before long this game will end up having the entire early US fleet modelled, which seems a bit crazy judging how small and, and apart from their 6 super frigates, pretty insignificant the US navy was. I hope others agree but I would much prefer to see some more ships for Denmark Norway, The Dutch, Portugal and the Italian states see entry into the game than too many more US ships, while you can never have enough ships, comparatively we should really focus on the unrepresented nations a little more.

[Ned Loe]

8 minutes ago, Fluffy Fishy said:

While I like the sound of the remodelling of the USS constitution is it really necessary that we have even more US ships? this game almost has a far over representation of the US navy and it would be a shame to focus time and effort on this project while there are so many other totally unrepresented nations and ship types currently lacking from the game. I would much rather see campaigns to see a much broader scope of ships than more from the USA, before long this game will end up having the entire early US fleet modelled, which seems a bit crazy judging how small and, and apart from their 6 super frigates, pretty insignificant the US navy was. I hope others agree but I would much prefer to see some more ships for Denmark Norway, The Dutch, Portugal and the Italian states see entry into the game than too many more US ships, while you can never have enough ships, comparatively we should really focus on the unrepresented nations a little more.

Then prepare your wallet. 

[Cmdr RideZ]

They could skip kickstart.

Those ships that are not going to get in before launch, will come later.

After launch, add subscription for +X% of gold/xp from everything.  Depending from popularity, this could be enough to fund the game.  If it is not, then make kickstart.

[Tac]

8 hours ago, admin said:

Bots will change and will start changing from January. Privateers will be added to the OW attacking players and traders in enemy waters. Elite NPC captains will also sail around and join battles from time to time (like before release

I seem to remember this in the past and I also remember it messing up well planned battles for ports and also messing up OW battles on a regular basis infuriating the community.

Almost every time I've screened at Trinidad there is a few big first rate AI fleets getting in the way, god only knows the shitstorm it would cause if they could initiate a battle. 

Please proceed with caution on this one. Generally they just get in the bloody way for no apparent gain. 

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

Overall solid roadmap considering what the developers want, for sure, with a bit of our suggestions.

It has it all and shows a move away from the established comfort.

Very pleased on the Admiralty  news ( it is probably one of the oldest ideas tied to OW ) and on the AI specials roaming about aggressively and acting upon players.

Conquest will ease down to a manageable system after we went to zenith which, for certain, would require way more participation and less exploitation so a step back to friendly zone is a good move. .

If we look also to the crafting changes listed on the November 2nd thread we are onto a good first half of 2017

 

[Sir Texas Sir]

9 minutes ago, Hethwill said:

Overall solid roadmap considering what the developers want, for sure, with a bit of our suggestions.

It has it all and shows a move away from the established comfort.

Very pleased on the Admiralty  news ( it is probably one of the oldest ideas tied to OW ) and on the AI specials roaming about aggressively and acting upon players.

Conquest will ease down to a manageable system after we went to zenith which, for certain, would require way more participation and less exploitation so a step back to friendly zone is a good move. .

If we look also to the crafting changes listed on the November 2nd thread we are onto a good first half of 2017

 

Speaking of which would be nice to know the update on this patch as it was what Dec/Jan and now we are nearing end of Jan.

[D.Devil]

Quote

We constantly receive requests to improve USS Constitution to the level of new ships like Endymion. Constitution was the second ship we built in NA. To make it happen we will arrange a Kickstarter to fund this project. The Kickstarter will also contain additional US based ships on stretch goals. If this event is successful we will set up such events for other underrepresented national vessels too.[/*]

 
*pays to play the game, has to pay to get ship tweaks/rebalanced and new ships added to the game* lmao, theyve lost their mind.

Edited January 19, 2017 by D.Devil

[Kiithnaras]

Regarding Assault Flags - Bad news bears.

I for one need either more clarification on how this is going to be implemented "without the exploitation", or my interest in the game will wane drastically. I much prefer the hostility system as-is to the old assault flags as previously-implemented. So much so that I think I'll write up a suggestion thread about how to improve and adjust the current system right [here - coming soon]. The general premise, however, is that (assuming missions go away, see below) attacking NPCs on the OW should still count toward Hostility gains/reduction (just as it does with players), and to add a blockade mechanic that, after a certain time being dead-stopped within ship-sight of a county capital, will begin building/dropping hostility slowly over time with the intent that it will draw players to that area to defend it. Having specific, two-hour port timer windows is quite stupid, but battle windows should be adjusted closer to prime times for EU and US servers (ideally 1700-0500 for US, 1200-00:00 for EU, 12-hour windows from 12pm to 12am).

Regarding Missions - Mixed Feelings.

On one hand, I side with the individuals stating that just going out to plink at some NPCs in a nearby mission for a half hour or so when time is limited is a good thing, and missions should not go away. On the other hand, I also agree that the current hostility missions are crap for "Promoting PvP" as originally-advertised because they've lost the element of PvP-promotion that was pitched - long open battle timers. In fact, I would say double the visible range of hostility mission markers and keep them open indefinitely until the battle itself ends. 

Raids sound pretty sweet and could easily be a replacement for the old assault flag system. A successful raid on a county capital might make hostility jump by 20-25% and double the normal gains for hostility for the next 24 hours (or until the next raid).

Regarding pirate mechanics - Pretty neat overall

Totally okay with the proposed changes here, with the potential exceptions of smugglers. Take a look at my politics system suggestion in "End Alliances" for some details on how this could work and still encourage trade with neutral/peaceful non-allied nations while not preventing fighting between those same nations on the OW.

Regarding Officers - Fair and makes sense

Perhaps the Captain would be used for battle-related perks, while the Officer would handle crafting/trading/hauling-related perks?

[Ned Loe]

13 minutes ago, D.Devil said:

 
*pays to play the game, has to pay to get ship tweaks/rebalanced and new ships added to the game* lmao, theyve lost their mind.

Listen to yourself. No one is forcing you to pay anything. lol

[D.Devil]

Just now, Ned Loe said:

Listen to yourself. No one is forcing you to pay anything. lol

never said anyone is forcing me/us to pay, however, to get shit tweaked and rebalanced they want to start a kickstarter to fund the project or else it doesnt happen. outrageous i say

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

@D.Devil

Sir,

That is not a correct informed interpretation of what is written.

There are ships that need attention from modelers and other artists, to be in game. I can see that the Kickstarter is more of a "crowdfunding" of extra content seeing that we are always eager to have more ship models in game.

Kickstarter option asks you.... Do you want more ship models !?

As far as it goes the game is solid with the models we have. Truth be told the USS Constitution needs attention, a lot of it.

[Ned Loe]

3 minutes ago, D.Devil said:

never said anyone is forcing me/us to pay, however, to get shit tweaked and rebalanced they want to start a kickstarter to fund the project or else it doesnt happen. outrageous i say

Show me where you see it?

[D.Devil]

3 minutes ago, Ned Loe said:

Show me where you see it?

9 hours ago, admin said:

• We constantly receive requests to improve USS Constitution to the level of new ships like Endymion. Constitution was the second ship we built in NA. To make it happen we will arrange a Kickstarter to fund this project. The Kickstarter will also contain additional US based ships on stretch goals. If this event is successful we will set up such events for other underrepresented national vessels too.

doesnt that say to get the connie rebalanced to compete with the endy they need the project funded through kickstarter? doesnt that say to get new ships added of a particulair nation we will have to reach said goal to get them added to the game? so basically if we choose not to fund the project the tweaks, rebalancing and ships we'd like see added to the game doesnt get added/changed? to me it very much seems like thats wat theyre saying

 

[z4ys]

11 minutes ago, D.Devil said:

doesnt that say to get the connie rebalanced to compete with the endy they need the project funded through kickstarter? doesnt that say to get new ships added of a particulair nation we will have to reach said goal to get them added to the game? so basically if we choose not to fund the project the tweaks, rebalancing and ships we'd like see added to the game doesnt get added/changed? to me it very much seems like thats wat theyre saying

 

Its all about adding new ships or changing the visiual lvl of detail of old ships to the new standard which the endymion has.

(compare the rigging of the constitution with the endymion and you will see that the consti could need some love)

Balancing and tweaks are not bound to kickstarter.

Edited January 19, 2017 by z4ys

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

It says to bring the looks up to high standard visual levels

Quote

We constantly receive requests to improve USS Constitution to the level of new ships like Endymion. Constitution was the second ship we built in NA. To make it happen we will arrange a Kickstarter to fund this project. The Kickstarter will also contain additional US based ships on stretch goals. If this event is successful we will set up such events for other underrepresented national vessels too.

EDIT: Thanks Z4ys

 

Seems all is clear

[DeRuyter]

10 minutes ago, D.Devil said:

doesnt that say to get the connie rebalanced to compete with the endy they need the project funded through kickstarter? doesnt that say to get new ships added of a particulair nation we will have to reach said goal to get them added to the game? so basically if we choose not to fund the project the tweaks, rebalancing and ships we'd like see added to the game doesnt get added/changed? to me it very much seems like thats wat theyre saying

 

It is about rebuilding the 3d model to the level of the newer models. Some people will pay extra for that, you don't have to.

[Salty Dog.]

9 hours ago, admin said:

Content plans for 1H of 2017

 

 

We will keep it short and only focus on new features or important points

 

 

• Admiralty

   

  • Certain activities will provide marks of victory, honor, conquest that you will be able to convert to exclusive content or buy other activities. Hostility system will get dropped and port battles will be arranged by purchasing them in the admiralty (simliar to the old assault flag system but without exploitation). Lord protectors might return to provide some clarity for port battle timers. 

     

• Mission changes

   

  • We believe the game was actually better before missions existed. As a result missions might turn into dailies. Hopefully we have enough time to tie them to admiralty orders and admiralty related organizations which will provide their own missions. 

     

• Raids

   

  • Raids will be implemented.

     

• Pirate mechanics reversals

   

  • Pirates will be able to attack each other again. We found the way to eliminate exploits in levelling or hiding. Implementation of rookie zones and later admiralty events now allows us to do it. Pirates attacking pirates will create a unique FFA instanced battle.

     

  • We are not sure yet if we want to split pirates into two groups The Pirate Republic of Nassau under black flag acting as nation and Outlaws – real pirates under red flag of Moody with no Capital.

  • Smugglers might get disabled. Initial goal of smugglers was to provide risky trading with enemy nations, but exploit fixes made this feature something else. 

• Officers

   

  • Officers will be removed and will perks will moved to the Captain him/herself. Officers might return in the future in a more traditional role and implementation.
  • We are also considering a reset/retire option for veterans who will be able to retire, and start a-fresh continuing a dynasty.

     

• NPC changes

   

  • Bots will change and will start changing from January. Privateers will be added to the OW attacking players and traders in enemy waters. Elite NPC captains will also sail around and join battles from time to time (like before release)

     

• User Interface changes

   

  • Self-explanatory

     

• Localization into main European and Asian languages

   

  • Self-explanatory

     

• Final player ship voting event - previous voting can be found in the shipyard.
• American ship pack Kickstarter event.

   

  • We constantly receive requests to improve USS Constitution to the level of new ships like Endymion. Constitution was the second ship we built in NA. To make it happen we will arrange a Kickstarter to fund this project. The Kickstarter will also contain additional US based ships on stretch goals. If this event is successful we will set up such events for other underrepresented national vessels too.
• Content tuning, fixes, improvements of current features
• Community relations heads up
  • In 2016 we have been very active on the forums, responded to you multiple times a day, participated in the discussions, argued with you and sometimes fought with you. We found that our openness/directness started to be used against us, sometimes because of us. We will be doing some changes in the way we talk and discuss things with the community. 

2 Half of 2016 development list is here

Once we get more clarity on the estimated time to code everything in we might provide the list split into monthly patch plans. 

Do we really need another NEW system, can't the current or previous dropped mechanics be adjusted to work better?  A whole lot of design work, testing and proposed changes get tossed out without trying to simply fix mechanics that aren't perfect the first time.  I'm beginning to have a real fear this game will not be completed because the core game design keeps changing.  Could I suggest that mechanics are adjusted to work better instead of simply throwing out all the work and effort put into the design?

[Chustler]

Oh boy, I hope pirates finally become REAL pirates, I would be very excited to see that!

[Hethwill, the Red Duke]

Just now, Chustler said:

Oh boy, I hope pirates finally become REAL pirates, I would be very excited to see that!

That is indeed one of my most higher hopes. Have the buccaneer side with their organized Brotherhood nation and the outlaws, which I would expect to be a very hard option with challenging high stakes to play.

To a point ti gives both sea rover extreme their faction. The beginning of timeline with organized "nation" and the end of the timeline with the "a ship crew versus the world" type of pyrate.

[Sir Texas Sir]

13 minutes ago, DeRuyter said:

It is about rebuilding the 3d model to the level of the newer models. Some people will pay extra for that, you don't have to.

Now that I think of it it's not to bad, but makes me wonder how much would they need to get these ships modelded I guess by some third party?   That and will any of the kick starters that tribute get anything special?   I think that is what a lot of folks are wondering.

5 minutes ago, Chustler said:

Oh boy, I hope pirates finally become REAL pirates, I would be very excited to see that!

At least something.  I'm so tired of folks saying they aren't a nation.  Well we are until the dvs say other wise so they need to deal with it, but if we get some love they can't say antyhing cause than we know exactly what the devs plan for pirates.

[DeRuyter]

2 minutes ago, Sir Texas Sir said:

Now that I think of it it's not to bad, but makes me wonder how much would they need to get these ships modelded I guess by some third party?   That and will any of the kick starters that tribute get anything special?   I think that is what a lot of folks are wondering.

 

Yeah certainly when you think of a kickstarter the backers usually get rewards that others don't get. I would hope that all the ships acquired by this method are available to everyone who has the game regardless of whether they backed it. Maybe give backers paint or a redeemable ship, etc.

[Sir Texas Sir]

8 minutes ago, DeRuyter said:

Yeah certainly when you think of a kickstarter the backers usually get rewards that others don't get. I would hope that all the ships acquired by this method are available to everyone who has the game regardless of whether they backed it. Maybe give backers paint or a redeemable ship, etc.

I can see backers get a special paint/Skin for there ships.  Maybe a perm redemabel like the yacht is for paypal buyers of the game but do it for paint/skins for the ships in the package.  That way it doesn't effect any actual in game stats.  I would say they get first dibs at the BP's which might be also gained in game.