Nautical Suggestions

[Drayden Pareldon]

😶 

I thought we might have a topic where those who have had extensive time sailing in real life might suggest some nautical goals the game developers might look at.

Here are a few.

1. In Open world, the fact that all ships of whatever make can make headway even directly into the wind hits sailors as very artificial. Perhaps the game needs that, but I'd like to suggest that being forced to tack even while making long voyages would be a fun challenge. 

2. Rankings only go as high as Rear Admiral. Thats a fine achievement but after a while the majority of your players will all be admirals, given time with no where to go but jostling perhaps to lead the largest clan. I think a lack of further non political goals such as Vice Admiral and Admiral might cause some of your veterans to leave the game after a while. So perhaps add those two very senior ranks to be achieved after not just a doubling but quadrupling of exp. points and perhaps Victory and PVP points as well. And once achieved perk points expanded to allow for extensive AI fleets.  I think AI ships are coming along in ability and intelligence and that this could be done with some really amazing experiences for long time players.

3. I'd like to see more foul weather variety in that in world and in battle ships have to carry less canvas to avoid having rigging carried away or sails blown. Taking precautions for weather is a part of any sea captain's concerns. Also In world the wind is always the same velocity. Could a variety of wind strengths be added to go with the occasional rain squalls that are a part of the game now. I can see where utter calm would be a bad thing for game play, but between a light breeze and near gale force winds there could be a great deal of fun.

4. I've noticed that some of the ship classes can make headway closer to the wind that even modern sloops can today. In the days of fighting sail, ships commonly had to beat across the wind and made very little headway even tacking. This made lee shores all the more dangerous. Some of the smaller classes and of course the lateen sailed Raqs. are able to point up closer then is really realistic. 

5. Last and perhaps least important, in Open World while sailing no matter the weather conditions all ships sail straight up as if incredibly ballasted and "stiff." There is no heel effect at all. Thats a pity for anyone who has sailed in real life. 

[Thonys]

 like jour input 

5. especially healing is a thingy , waves do funny things with ships

2.they said there will be more ranks

3.the overall weather is fine, although it might be some brighter wheater sometimes the overall look is a bit on the dark side during the day

4. raqs still have to much upwind speed for escaping everything

1. its a game no need for that kind of time-consuming  behavior

 

Edited September 23, 2018 by Thonys

[Licinio Chiavari]

6 hours ago, Drayden Pareldon said:

I thought we might have a topic where those who have had extensive time sailing in real life might suggest some nautical goals the game developers might look at.

Plenty pixel sailors in game indeed, without a clue of real sailing around.

6 hours ago, Drayden Pareldon said:

1. In Open world, the fact that all ships of whatever make can make headway even directly into the wind hits sailors as very artificial. Perhaps the game needs that, but I'd like to suggest that being forced to tack even while making long voyages would be a fun challenge. 

Correct. Still it's a game: OW movement is a necessary evil and we can suppose the ship is doing the necessary tacks. What should matter are combat speeds.
BTW... let them "run" head on wind, and let yourself catching them making two close haul sides.

6 hours ago, Drayden Pareldon said:

2. Rankings only go as high as Rear Admiral. Thats a fine achievement but after a while the majority of your players will all be admirals, given time with no where to go but jostling perhaps to lead the largest clan. I think a lack of further non political goals such as Vice Admiral and Admiral might cause some of your veterans to leave the game after a while. So perhaps add those two very senior ranks to be achieved after not just a doubling but quadrupling of exp. points and perhaps Victory and PVP points as well. And once achieved perk points expanded to allow for extensive AI fleets.  I think AI ships are coming along in ability and intelligence and that this could be done with some really amazing experiences for long time players.

Interesting. Still to be evaluated as it's implemented.

6 hours ago, Drayden Pareldon said:

3. I'd like to see more foul weather variety in that in world and in battle ships have to carry less canvas to avoid having rigging carried away or sails blown. Taking precautions for weather is a part of any sea captain's concerns. Also In world the wind is always the same velocity. Could a variety of wind strengths be added to go with the occasional rain squalls that are a part of the game now. I can see where utter calm would be a bad thing for game play, but between a light breeze and near gale force winds there could be a great deal of fun.

There were battles in rough seas. And people complained being unable to aim...
The premise (pixel sailors) works.

IMO Gales should me like tagging AIs: if you get close (so better running around it), you end up in a combat "against" the gale: getting out fast and with limited damage.
BUT I already imagine the whining of people losing a 10+ mil ship being unable to properly hand her in a gale.

6 hours ago, Drayden Pareldon said:

4. I've noticed that some of the ship classes can make headway closer to the wind that even modern sloops can today. In the days of fighting sail, ships commonly had to beat across the wind and made very little headway even tacking. This made lee shores all the more dangerous. Some of the smaller classes and of course the lateen sailed Raqs. are able to point up closer then is really realistic. 

I repeat by long time that our sailing profiles are out of reality (especially for square rigged ships). Still it's a game and I can understand that being unable to close to the wind even at 80° and/or having a tack lasting like 5+ minutes (if properly done) could be a very hard blow to playability for mosts. I'd like, but I understand.

The real problem with sailing profiles is another: ships able to get higher speed at beam-close haul than at broad reach. This is a no-sense.
That leads to privateer running 15+ at close haul... and 12 at broad reach... for balance. Wrong. Realism would call the Privateer going 14 at broadreach and still 7+ at close haul... while a frigate would run 14 at broad reach... and not going at all close haul, may be right doing 7-8 at beam.

 

[Drayden Pareldon]

Great replies. However, I should have probably made it clearer that those suggestions I put out were actually more about In world weather and its effects on ships then In battle effects.

The in battle effects on this game are for the most part excellent, and other then perhaps playing with some variation in wind force and its effects on the speed of ships in battle, ((such as having enough wind force to make skippers take in sail while in battle, rather then say making waves still larger, )) all the other points I suggested were actually about in world. In world, the interaction between chasers and those chased and those hiding, or using weather to escape, if they could, THOSE are the effects that I think would make the game more interesting.

((One more point about In battle weather. Really as most battles happen around or near ports the seas even in harsh weather don't need to get larger making aim so much more difficult. I am really just interested in seeing us have to adjust our rigging to fit wind conditions  in battle. ))

If IN WORLD ships could not move or actually went into IN IRONS when the wind was against them... that would force us all to tack around the map, and make the strategies of getting there that much more challenging. The Heal of your ship IN WORLD needs to happen depending on what tack the ship is on and again wind power. Wind power should variate IN world. 

And as long as I am on this subject someone suggested to me a while back, "Wouldn't it be interesting if instead of the constantly cycling wind clock, our weather reflected actual weather patterns as have occurred in the area of the Naval Action map in the last say twenty years of accurate recording. Wouldn't that be extraordinary if that could data could be part of IN WORLD use? Modified of course, but still, then strategies would have to take in the fact that wind might be blowing a certain way for days on end, or the prevailing realities of wind currents in the West Indies. Just a thought.

On all this, I recognize a black and white all or nothing approach probably won't work. But perhaps a nudge here and there toward something a bit more real would be very satisfying for all those drawn to this game because we have had nautical experiences in real life.

Anyway thanks for giving these ideas thought. 

 

[Capn Rocko]

I support the suggestion for more weather, more specifically, bigger waves. Navigating stormy seas was one of the most intense experiences, often more than an engagement with a ship of the line. The weather is very underwhelming in this game and it's a shame that it is "impossible" to implement bigger waves (according to admin). 

[Raf Van Boom]

#4 - I definitely hope they will not make that realistic, it would kill the game for a lot of people. There needs to be some wiggle room for the game to be fun.