Boarding - Feels clunky - Isn't really fun

[Cpt. D. L]

I think this process needs to be more enjoyable, right now a menu based campaign is both unskillful and boring (And im not going to pretend I really get it).

I wouldn't mind either some first person experience or real time strategy type boarding process but it is currently for me the only large part of the experience that is a let down.

Just voicing my opinion :) 

[Gregory Rainsborough]

It's like chess.

[The Geth]

As someone who makes ~95% of their PvP kills through boarding, I must say that you have a point in that it's not exactly immersive. It's always felt like a stopgap minigame, but it's also rather unlikely to change. 

As Greg notes, it's a lot like chess. Once you understand it, you can throw some boarding mods on and roflstomp your opponents, both AI and players. Prep early, prep often, and have the crew advantage. Send false signals to enemy players with your focus whistles, have boarding focus on before the battle starts, etc. 

Don't beat yourself up if you're having trouble learning it. It's not easy. Cheat sheet here, if you're looking for one, but it'll take practice before it becomes second nature.

[Liq]

9 hours ago, Gregory Rainsborough said:

It's like chess.

Chess with a twist

Both make their move at the same time. More like rock paper scissors.

[Captain2Strong]

15 hours ago, Gregory Rainsborough said:

It's like chess.

except you can get triple the amount of pieces
and you can make moves at the same time and change the move in the last moment, which is not possible in chess

Edited January 12, 2020 by Captain2Strong

[Captain2Strong]

8 hours ago, The Geth said:

you can throw some boarding mods on and roflstomp your opponents, both AI and players

I attacked a skulled AI lately and boarded it with double the amount of crew and it killed more people than me(about 4 times as much) when I used attack against fire grenades

Edited January 12, 2020 by Captain2Strong

[Thonys]

1 hour ago, Captain2Strong said:

I attacked a skulled AI lately and boarded it with double the amount of crew and it killed more people than me(about 4 times as much) when I used attack against fire grenades

only board AI skull ships if you have double crew otherwise you suffer that decision 

also they have the upper hand what means you have to take care of your prep but also your ship knowledge slots for having the correct books, if you don't have those put in., you can not board ...even when you have double /triple crew. (you will be boarded with a " you lost message" instant. )

boarding a skully AI is very very very dangerous occupation . and always have support outside the boarding scene.

it's not::::   chess /skissors /brainless thinking and pushing buttons.

but a strategic game what begins by  de-crewing your AI

Edited January 12, 2020 by Thonys

[Captain2Strong]

1 hour ago, Thonys said:

only board AI skull ships if you have double crew otherwise you suffer that decision

even if you have double the crew it's a bad idea
my consti lost about 350 crew in that boarding before I won it because I was stubborn enough not to disengage, which would be a lot better because I could sink that little frig with like 3 broadside shots, or maybe 4
and it forced me to use 120 rum! if I didn't board I could just easily sink it without using any rum!
if you want to make it have equal loss of crew you should have at least triple the crew, and even in this case it's a very bad idea
I suggest not to even attempt unless you have 10 times as much crew

1 hour ago, Thonys said:

it's not::::   chess /skissors /brainless thinking and pushing buttons.

chess is not a brainless game

Edited January 12, 2020 by Captain2Strong

[Eyesore]

i don't even bother playing that piece of crap, get boarded=game over, it's just a waste of time, boring as hell, pretty much a reason not to sail out if you ask me. Calling this game chess ... hmmm, you must not have played a lot of chess i geuss.

Edited January 12, 2020 by Eyesore

[The Geth]

6 hours ago, Captain2Strong said:

I attacked a skulled AI lately and boarded it with double the amount of crew and it killed more people than me(about 4 times as much) when I used attack against fire grenades

Well I mean, yeah. Elite AI don't play by a lot of rules, we know that. In gunnery and sailing and durability, too. Boarding is no different; adjust your tactics accordingly. 

[Captain2Strong]

1 hour ago, Eyesore said:

hmmm, you must not have played a lot of chess i geuss.

who knows, maybe they do not even know how the chess board looks like!

2 minutes ago, The Geth said:

Well I mean, yeah. Elite AI don't play by a lot of rules, we know that. In gunnery and sailing and durability, too. Boarding is no different; adjust your tactics accordingly. 

in boarding, they kill more crew than I do when I use the best possible move and they use the worst possible move when I have double the crew

Edited January 12, 2020 by Captain2Strong

[The Geth]

1 hour ago, Eyesore said:

i don't even bother playing that piece of crap, get boarded=game over, it's just a waste of time, boring as hell, pretty much a reason not to sail out if you ask me. Calling this game chess ... hmmm, you must not have played a lot of chess i geuss.

That's quite alright, m'dear! You're precisely the kind of person that makes my combat mark grind so easy. 😉

[The Geth]

3 minutes ago, Captain2Strong said:

in boarding, they kill more crew than I do when I use the best possible move and they use the worst possible move when I have double the crew

You're repeating yourself, I'm afraid. If you have a problem with how Elite AI perform, that's for the devs to address. The boarding minigame is not at fault. 

[Captain2Strong]

1 minute ago, The Geth said:

that's for the devs to address

yes, that's true
too bad they would rather prefer to add some new DLC instead!

[The Geth]

3 hours ago, RepairyMcRepairous said:

It's rock paper scissors accept: once you know how to do it, you know what move everyone will make,

Every,

Single,

Time.

"Unless, of course, I wanted you not to believe the truth, even if I told it to you."

Think of it more like Liar's Dice: a game of deception. But that assumes you have enough crew and prep; if you don't, you're as good as sunk already.

[Captain2Strong]

1 hour ago, RepairyMcRepairous said:

Only when playing against people who are really good with 100 prep each and full boarding mods

no
skulled AI would crush that in boarding

Edited January 12, 2020 by Captain2Strong

[The Geth]

2 hours ago, RepairyMcRepairous said:

Only when playing against people who are really good with 100 prep each and full boarding mods which will never happen; unless you start on top of each other in battle.

Any of the above missing,

Every,

Single,

Time.

Yeah, no. Try boarding combat between players in lineships that both have marines 15 and you'll see differently.

[Mad Dog Morgan]

Problem with Boarding is that currently it's a key part of the game which is Ping dependent. Unless you have a good advantage going into the boarding, if all other factors are roughly equal including captains relative skill level,  with a high ping you are at a significant disadvantage vs someone with a sub 100 ping since they have time to respond to any final second change made,  you don't have that advantage with a high ping as you have to commit to the turn about 2 or more seconds before the clock runs out.

 

Edited January 13, 2020 by Mad Dog Morgan

[The Geth]

30 minutes ago, Mad Dog Morgan said:

Problem with Boarding is that currently it's a key part of the game which is Ping dependent. Unless you have a good advantage going into the boarding, if all other factors are roughly equal including captains relative skill level,  with a high ping you are at a significant disadvantage vs someone with a sub 100 ping since they have time to respond to any final second change made,  you don't have that advantage with a high ping as you have to commit to the turn about 2 or more seconds before the clock runs out.

 

This really is not how you win a round of boarding combat. If you're relying on changing your selection at the last second, you're already doing something wrong.

And tactics aside, everything in the game is ping-dependent to varying degrees. We can never hope to fully balance gunnery or sailing for players with poor connections. It's not the dev's responsibility to make up for a player's connection being awful.

[Mad Dog Morgan]

59 minutes ago, The Geth said:

This really is not how you win a round of boarding combat. If you're relying on changing your selection at the last second, you're already doing something wrong.

And tactics aside, everything in the game is ping-dependent to varying degrees. We can never hope to fully balance gunnery or sailing for players with poor connections. It's not the dev's responsibility to make up for a player's connection being awful.

So from your comment I expect you are blessed with a sub 100 ping. Connect via a VPN from the other side of the world and see how much you enjoy boarding. No I'm not doing anything else wrong I know the boarding game as well as anyone right down to the last man if needed most often vs players with more crew to start with.

Sailing and Gunnery isn't that ping dependent, this isn't a FPS .

Edited January 13, 2020 by Mad Dog Morgan

[The Geth]

3 minutes ago, Mad Dog Morgan said:

So from your comment I expect you are blessed with a sub 100 ping. Connect via a VPN from the other side of the world and see how much you enjoy boarding. No I'm not doing anything else wrong I know the boarding game as much as anyone right down to the last man if needed most often vs players with more crew to start with.

Sailing and Gunnery isn't that ping dependent, this isn't a FPS .

128 constant, boi.

And when my ping spikes (which it does quite often), I have issues alright, but it's in sailing and gunnery, not with boarding.

Again, if you're relying on the last-second switch, newsflash: you're doing it wrong, son.

[Mad Dog Morgan]

24 minutes ago, The Geth said:

128 constant, boi.

And when my ping spikes (which it does quite often), I have issues alright, but it's in sailing and gunnery, not with boarding.

Again, if you're relying on the last-second switch, newsflash: you're doing it wrong, son.

128 what a huge difference,  but I guessed right.  Again try via a VPN get your ping up around 350 and then see how much you think the last-second switch as you put it isn't important. And once again, no I'm not doing anything wrong.

Edited January 13, 2020 by Mad Dog Morgan

[The Geth]

10 minutes ago, Mad Dog Morgan said:

128 what a huge difference,  but I guessed right.  Again try via a VPN get your ping up around 350 and then see how much you think the last-second switch as you put it isn't important. And once again, no I'm not doing anything wrong.

If you're at 350, you shouldn't be gaming. End of story. Kindly consider dredging your connection out of the shitter before you attempt anything further.

Also, in what world is 128<100?

Edited January 13, 2020 by The Geth

[Mad Dog Morgan]

21 minutes ago, The Geth said:

If you're at 350, you shouldn't be gaming. End of story. Kindly consider dredging your connection out of the shitter before you attempt anything further.

Also, in what world is 128<100?

Actually my connection is Fiber nothing shitty about it,  but even that has limits when it comes to distance from server. Shouldn't be gaming? As I said NA isn't ping dependent like a FPS and this isn't a FPS, only boarding is impacted but as I said originally, only when skill level and other factors are near equal then you're at a disadvantage.  

Ping > 300  Australasia for one.

[The Geth]

5 minutes ago, Mad Dog Morgan said:

Actually my connection is Fiber nothing shitty about it,  but even that has limits when it comes to distance from server. Shouldn't be gaming? As I said NA isn't ping dependent like a FPS and this isn't a FPS, only boarding is impacted but as I said originally, only when skill level and other factors are near equal then you're at a disadvantage.  

Ping > 300  Australasia for one.

I fail to see your point, then. Unless you're actively making a case against living down under, which, I mean... well honestly, I'd agree with you there. 😂