Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
What I believe could save PotBS - and bring people back....
burdock2
Member UncommonPosts: 420
Ok, if Pirates wanted to be ship combat and trading only, with NO avatar combat, then it would most probably be a very successful MMO. However, since they added the avatar combat, which although not immersive, does add another element to the game. It effectivly makes this game like all the other MMO's out there (ie - a third person semi-fantasy 3D MMO). However, once it did that, people started the comparison war (WoW, EQ2, ect). This ultimatly let the game down. (again, there arnt that many ship building/combat MMO's out there from day 1)
To rectify this, FLS need to rectify the immersive nature of the avatar combat (which I know people have been screaming for) - but here is the idea. which may require it's own expansion pack.
Leave the core game as is, and give players the option of jumping straight in just as it is now, if they dont care for the 3D RPG immersive qualities. For the other RP's amoungt us, they get the "Destiny Shores" epic campaign.
Heres what it is,
The player selects the characters race to begin with at character creation and makes the char the way he/she wants to look when they become of age.
They start then on three different islands, depending on thier race (english, spanish, french) as a boy/girl. The game begins at thier village when they are only young, and something happens to thier parents, or not, branching story and NPC quests abount (think fable) where the young lad/lass goes out into the 'non-instanced" surrounding country side completing quests and killing creatures to level up. Each level gained is 1 year of the chars life for the first say 10 levels (if we start the char at age 10, they would be age 20 at this point). This is the point where they have come of age and are about to set out to the big wide world, and when they actually pick thier career, including pirate. Since, is there any seperation, as in English Pirate or French Pirate atm?
So at this point they come across their first port town, and might have to do some quests, starting off with a rowboat, or possibly very small ship which was quested for, or appropiatly awarded to for coming of age.
Anyway, I hope you are getting the gist of what is happeneing, the core game is still there, and could be considered an endgame to the campaign - but by doing this , would create immersion and instead of striaght away players get a ship, they woudl really appreciate having to have "earned" it.
Perhaps the new game the FLS is working on is just this, a full blown (almost considered Single Player) campaign with new Avatar combat and graphics and a more in depth character expeirence. I know for one, if it was a paid expansion, I would buy it!
Heres hoping....
Comments
Yup, I can see where FLS is already working on making POTBS into a single player game.....
Unfortunately, they are the developers and as such know more than you, the player base. Don't expect them to stear around the icebergs.
Why bother?
You can go buy a copy of Sid Meier's PIRATES off the cheap rack for about $10 now and play a better game.
Oh wait....
They should just make it F2P with item mall... really, what's holding them back?
The SOE Station Pass contract.
Nothing says irony like spelling ideot wrong.
Here is what did SWG in and what does in a lot of MMO's:
THEY ARE TOO BUSY ADDING "NEW" THINGS THE MAJORITY DOESN'T WANT RATHER THAN FIXING PROBLEMS OR WORKING ON WHAT THEY SAID WOULD BE THERE.
i.e whatever happened to fixing the borked economy? What happened to player governance of ports? These sorta things were in the pipeline long before the "new face of pvp" which has been overwhelmingly rejected by the playerbase. They then want to implement an even bigger change with the 5 sided battles, which will simply turn into an even bigger gank and drive people away. (Not to mention drive down the amount of bubbles, which they state isn't what they want.)
Meanwhile outside of JOMT for the Brits, there are precious little ways to make real money. However since the farming is on such a wide scale (since people don't want to PvP right now) inflation is getting even worse. Fix the problems you have before creating new ones, solidify the base before "branching out."
I lead a fairly large guild, that was already there in POTBS closed beta. I've never seen an attrition rate as high as in that game. And none of the issues my members had with Pirates has been addressed, not a single one. In stead they heaped unwanted changes on us that made even more people quit. Effectively, what remained of the guild in that game has now ragequit en masse because of this and other FLS stupidities.
Linna
I lead a fairly large guild, that was already there in POTBS closed beta. I've never seen an attrition rate as high as in that game. And none of the issues my members had with Pirates has been addressed, not a single one. In stead they heaped unwanted changes on us that made even more people quit. Effectively, what remained of the guild in that game has now ragequit en masse because of this and other FLS stupidities.
Linna
I stopped trying to rationalize FLS's decisions a long time ago. It's their money to waste if they choose to.
As someone else pointed out, however, it's very amazing that with people from various positions (casual PvP, hardcore PvP, RvR, economic, PvE) making several suggestions, FLS managed to avoid all of them and aim instead for who knows what. I think the vision is sorely lacking -- I wish they could come up with one before it is too late.
We should be settled by the end of the year.
I lead a fairly large guild, that was already there in POTBS closed beta. I've never seen an attrition rate as high as in that game. And none of the issues my members had with Pirates has been addressed, not a single one. In stead they heaped unwanted changes on us that made even more people quit. Effectively, what remained of the guild in that game has now ragequit en masse because of this and other FLS stupidities.
Linna
I stopped trying to rationalize FLS's decisions a long time ago. It's their money to waste if they choose to.
As someone else pointed out, however, it's very amazing that with people from various positions (casual PvP, hardcore PvP, RvR, economic, PvE) making several suggestions, FLS managed to avoid all of them and aim instead for who knows what. I think the vision is sorely lacking -- I wish they could come up with one before it is too late.
We should be settled by the end of the year.
I think the game is dead, frankly. And after the way they've treated me personally, I frankly don't care anymore.
Linna
I still believe it's downfall was and still is to some extent the vocal minority which are the hardcore full bore PvPer's. They spouted their mantra non-stop effectively chasing casuals out and to a greater degree set a precedence for for anyone happening to want to try the game out.
Kind of like having a walnut sized brain, you run around killing off your sole food source without a care in the world, eventually the food source is killed off and the walnut brains become extinct. Ufortunately so did the game.
Would love to know their (FLS) thoughts on what they would do if they had a chance to do it all over again.
As one of those hardcore PVPers, I thank you for your impartial whine. Want some cheese with that?
Seriously, we 'hardcore walnutbrains' have been identifying serious problems since beta, like the population imbalance. the fact that it took hours of PVE to even get PVP, the fact that LSBs and the lowered dubloon drops made pvp too punishing, and the fact that a group skirmish system was needed so people could learn the ropes before being thrown off the deep end, and so much more. We warned it would be trouble, and lo and behold, it was and is.
Also how the hell is it our fault if we want to PVP in what is advertised as a PVP game??
Linna
As one of those hardcore PVPers, I thank you for your impartial whine. Want some cheese with that?
Seriously, we 'hardcore walnutbrains' have been identifying serious problems since beta, like the population imbalance. the fact that it took hours of PVE to even get PVP, the fact that LSBs and the lowered dubloon drops made pvp too punishing, and the fact that a group skirmish system was needed so people could learn the ropes before being thrown off the deep end, and so much more. We warned it would be trouble, and lo and behold, it was and is.
Also how the hell is it our fault if we want to PVP in what is advertised as a PVP game??
Linna
Most of the whining on the official forums from so-called hardcore PvPers was due to not having enough people to gank and grief. I've found that most people that self-identify as hardcore PvPers don't want PvP...they want to gank noobs.
As one of those hardcore PVPers, I thank you for your impartial whine. Want some cheese with that?
Seriously, we 'hardcore walnutbrains' have been identifying serious problems since beta, like the population imbalance. the fact that it took hours of PVE to even get PVP, the fact that LSBs and the lowered dubloon drops made pvp too punishing, and the fact that a group skirmish system was needed so people could learn the ropes before being thrown off the deep end, and so much more. We warned it would be trouble, and lo and behold, it was and is.
Also how the hell is it our fault if we want to PVP in what is advertised as a PVP game??
Linna
Most of the whining on the official forums from so-called hardcore PvPers was due to not having enough people to gank and grief. I've found that most people that self-identify as hardcore PvPers don't want PvP...they want to gank noobs.
I'm sorry, but you're talking out of your rear orifice. Or you've met some really sad wannabes. Either way, most of the true hardcore look for challenge, not for easy wins, although I WILL kill any idiot who comes sailing into a PVP zone all happy-go-lucky thinking that the fact they're lower level than me means they get a free pass. 30 and lower get off with a warning, the rest can go sink.
Linna
game with nothing else to do but pvp are never popular and do not last long. they should have made more to explore and more pve content. made ships alot more affordable. They have magic in the game so its not as historical as they say so they should have made some better looking ships also. I would mind having a 1000 gun pirate frigate
So with you here. I played for 3 months because I loved the ship combat but I was immediately disappointed with the lack of exploration and adventure. I bought the game thinking it was a 'new world' and players could sail for hours and go off hunting. I never though for a second it would be in such a small play zone. It doesnt take much to create exploration either. e.g. coming across a small barrel on the open ocean and it has a map to a location on the shore etc. I always feel that games with avatars in the this genre or fantasy settings need to have player housing or deep crafting process or exploration. PotBS have none of these so like most people I played until I got a big ship and quit.
Certainly you would expect FLS to know more than their player base but they have time & time again showed they don't by only doing what they can or want & letting the majority of their players leave.
The waiting list of full Potbs mmorpg features that even FLS would like to introduce has proved to be a task too far for an inexperienced company in a market where players have high expectations.