Buying ship supplies

@angrycoconut16 I'm sorry it's taken so long to respond. RL got hold of me today.

I think Galleons already have more supplies and if not, a four man crew stocking from the outpost could make quick time of it. I like your one hour cool down idea so that it can't be spammed.

My family goes through a fair amount of cannonballs doing OoS voyages. (Remember me saying I'm no good with a cannon?) I do get some practice in though, but restocking can be harder than we'd like. That said, my family would use some sort of feature like this.

I was talking to my husband about these ideas and we came up with this:

You can buy supplies only on game start.

Each crew member can purchase 2x what they can carry: 10 bananas, 20 cannonballs, 10 planks not all crew members need to buy supplies

These supplies go into the ship stores.

They cost at least 1000g

Again, this is only at game start so once your ship leaves dock it is no longer available.

A lot of these are my husband's ideas after I brought up the concerns that have been posted here. He did give me permission to share them.

@angrycoconut16 Love the part about being transferred to another server. It would fix the attack, repeat, defend, repeat. Good thought out post.

@kondrites Thanks :) I am tempted to make a thread discussing this. The only disadvantage I can think of is people who want revenge but I think the benefits outweigh this personally... and I have been in the position of being sunk by players who are quite rude and then afterwards they have hunted down my ship again even though it was clear we had no loot or anything, purely to grief us.. this would help that.

On the other hand though, with the new AI threats coming into the game soon, people might be a bit disappointed if they die from these bosses and then can't sail back to try again? But then maybe they just need to accept that loss and move on? Hmmm.

@trickrtreat01 To be honest, I don't think 'running out of supplies' is really a strategy... it takes a hell of a lot more strategy during a fight, as opposed to 'oh yea the fight is essentially over because someone ran out of supplies'... I do think fully stocking the shop is a no-go as people have said, but buying small amounts of stock could be ok, and I would much rather have an opponent who has supplies and gives a far more interesting fight, then someone who has to flee because they are low on supplies... I mean either way this will still happen, but at least if you can purchase stock it may not happen so frequently? And restocking by way of an outpost when you know a fight is imminent is more feasible.

Plus, think for instance, if the kraken spawns... you have some cannon balls but not a huge amount, as you have been using some for PvE (perhaps killing skeletons on PvE voyages), and you'd like some more, but you know you don't really have the time to sail around to different islands to grab more as then the kraken will be almost dead, it will take some of the fun away, and something like the kraken is spontaenous! I think having the option to buy stock from an outpost would be good, 'quick lets turn in our loot, buy some stock and then we can help that galleon out who is being attacked by the kraken!'

@pumpkinkangaroo That's an interesting idea for sure! I would say one thing, this kinda removes the freedom of when to buy the stock. I think at least 1000g is a good idea, my prices were way too low, but if you don't want to buy them at the beginning then see an opportunity to later on I think that should be an option, but maybe it's an option you have on a timer as I suggested earlier.

The reason I say this is I think it would be fun to have the freedom to do that if you suddenly see something you want to do and want to boost your stock for it.. voyages you don't tend to need a huge amount of stock, but if an AI threat spawns (the kraken, we have no idea how the new AI threats would function.. perhaps they need quests, or perhaps they are spontaneous like the kraken!) and you need more stock then you can do this... I think this would also go hand-in-hand with the fact that people are asking for unique rewards from the Kraken. If you wanted kraken-related cosmetics, titles or whatever the reward is, there would be incentive to spend that 1000g if you needed more stock..?

Likewise if a fort becomes active but you have just sailed away from your outpost, you could think 'ah actually, lets stock up the ship and then go and have a go at this fort!', then after your purchase the 'restock' button is unavailable for an hour or so.

I like your husband's suggestion regarding the price, and the amount of stock which can be purchased though. Perhaps there could be additional restock options to choose from which cost the same and ALL are on a 1 hour timer (so for instance, you have 4 options, you can choose 1 of these options each hour.. per crew member)

The options could be:

A bit of everything: 10 bananas, 20 Cbs, 10 planks

Bananas: 35
Cbs: 40
Planks: 30

Just random figures I plucked out, but the idea being if you know you are fine with bananas you have the option to just buy cbs, or just buy planks etc :)

@angrycoconut16 I do happen to agree with the 1 hour cool down. He felt it was ok but was more with the only once. I think you can run through a lot of supplies in an hour and the option to restock would be very nice!

I do like your idea of picking the items, Bananas and/or Cbs and/or planks.

As you mentioned, the new AI threats may make this a more desired option to have as well! I know I've limped away from the Kraken with only a handful of cannonballs and those would have been gone if he hadn't plucked me off the ship. This thread may get a lot more traffic once we find out what we are up against!

@pumpkinkangaroo The trouble with the once only which I've just thought of, could a crew member just log off, leave the crew, then rejoin, and suddenly be able to purchase it again?

I like this suggestion much more so when I get a chance I'll update the OP and we can see what other people think :)

@AngryCoconut16 There are things like that to consider. It is one of the reasons we want a cool down. I don't know if it would be possible but perhaps the cool down timer be placed on the player? This brings other issues like switching servers. Since this is a convenience and not a necessity I would think tying it to the player would work best if possible.

@pumpkinkangaroo I've updated the OP, along with some ideas we came up with. I've also included the part about essentially tying that timer to a player. Please do have a check that I haven't made any stupid typos haha :)

@angrycoconut16 It looks good! I have also completely left out the NPCs! I also would love to add the iron monger and when they do add different types of cannonballs perhaps they could tell the lore of each type? This would be especially helpful for those that don't scour the internet looking for information.

I do love the shipwright repairing our ships and if it is possible to switch from Galleon to sloop or vice versa that would be a great way to keep the feel of the game! I know that if it was possible my family would love to be able to change ships as one member is only available for an hour or one has to leave early. Right now we lose any progress in our current voyages, log out of the game, then regroup. It works, but being able to do that in game would be far more convenient.

@angrycoconut16

I wouldn't mind the idea of some kind of gold sink, the shipwright idea about repairing ships has been mentioned elsewhere and I agree that it would be a solid idea, since storms will pop planks off your ship and sink your boat.

In terms of buying supplies though, it's really not all that hard to be stocked up on supplies. On the way to every voyage destination my crew always shoots people off to nearby islands along the way who collect supplies and then mermaid back.

We have a fully stocked galleon by the time we finish pretty much any voyage.

@subaqueousreach I do agree, restocking a ship by buying would not be in any way mandatory, purely for convenience, and perhaps only here and there, not by any means something players need to do every time they log on.. for instance if you do realise you are getting low on stock and see an AI threat, or if you have only just logged on and want to participate in something like a PvP fight, a fort, an AI threat, when you have been logged on 10 minutes looking at items in the shop and thus haven't had time to do a voyage + get stocked up like that.

It would purely be an additional option for players, but I think it could be one which comes in quite handy at certain times, and is yet another way gold can be used if players find inflation to be an issue.

@nabberwar said in Buying ship supplies:

@angrycoconut16 Simply go to another outpost? A good amount of times after completing a Skull Fort did we rarely go to the closest one. If we saw a boat parked we skipped over it. There is many options on where to sell loot.

For me at least, it's not about needing to purchase the supplies. It is just another option we are talking about. It is fun to discuss how things could be implemented and even if they should be. You can, and we all do, get by without this option. It would be interesting if it was put in the game though.

@nabberwar That's exactly the point, it takes a fair bit of time to go to an additional outpost. Plus the current supply system is a good one, but it's not consistent - there's no guarantee how much of each amount of stock you will find in barrels etc, and how recently they were taken by other pirates. This is purely another option if players do wish to save time and get a guaranteed amount of stock, it allows for another option when planning and looking at how many supplies you have.

@angrycoconut16 Although I like the thought of purchasing supplies, my crew and I have even spoken about it in game, you made reference of supply barrel on islands being unrealistic. They would have been washed to shore from ship wrecks.
I hate finding empty ones on islands. They need to re-spawn supplies more frequently.

I hope you don't want to have the supply barrels removed from islands or those floating at sea as I enjoy jumping overboard to collect supplies.

It comes down to just how much you care about your ship and its crew as too how keen you are to collect supplies. You wouldn't take a road trip without a spare tyre, a car jack and wheel brace.... or would you?

All problems would be solved by adding more transportable crates of bananas, planks and cannon balls.

@admiral-rrrsole True I suppose, but how did the barrels get so high on the islands? And how do they magically get restocked with cannon balls? Don't get me wrong I'm really not that fussed about the realism, it's a cool mechanic and it is another thing to search for on the island :)

I did initially consider reducing the spawn rate of items on barrels but now I think that's silly, I agree barrels should remain as they are. The purchasing of supplies would just be another addition to the game and another option if players want to make use of it :)

You are right, but I mean I'm not necessarily trying to solve a 'problem', I don't really think the supplies now are a problem, I just think this is a fun additional thing for crews to consider, especially as many players who play a lot seem to be amassing an abundance of gold. It would provide another use for gold.

They could increase the spawn rate of items which would reduce your chances of getting to an outpost/island and find that someone just left before you and took all the supplies, but I still think the option to purchase loot would still help and be interesting... especially in the instance that you have just started a new crew, or new ship, and you want to get some additional stock on your ship...

Out of curiosity, what did you and your crew discuss concerning this idea then?

@angrycoconut16 We (usually a duo) just said that we should be able to buy supplies from the merchant. After all, we sell these crates to them when fortunate enough to find that quest in a bottle or the said crate on an island. But it's too painfully rare to find either.

@admiral-rrrsole Ah cool. So what do you think of this idea of buying supplies? How does it sound to you - would you change anything?

@angrycoconut16 Personally I would leave the inventory carry load as it currently is but refresh barrel supplies in water and on islands more often and make supply crates more frequently found or even purchased empty.

@admiral-rrrsole Oh, so you wouldn't add a way of purchasing supplies? I thought you agreed with that :P

The idea of purchasing empty crates is interesting but I'm not sure if that's needed, I've never been in the position of having fully stocked my ships and thus ran out of storage space.. and if they are fully stocked then that should be plenty of supplies for whatever you are doing?

@angrycoconut16 I still like the idea of buying supplies but when you asked how I would handle it I suggested an alternative to buy empty crates to make one trip out of many instead of going back and forth to your ship with only 5, 10 & 5 respectively.

The crate could even be universal to carry any type of supplies but it's purpose isn't for extra storage space, just an extension of your inventory carrying capacity.

@admiral-rrrsole said in Buying ship supplies:

@angrycoconut16 Personally I would leave the inventory carry load as it currently is but refresh barrel supplies in water and on islands more often and make supply crates more frequently found or even purchased empty.

I may be reading this wrong, but are you thinking we are suggesting and increase to the amount the person or ship can carry? That isn't the idea and we don't want to touch that. Early on we had discussed fully stocking, but with enough input that was crossed off the possibilities. It's just a small amount we are discussing now.

Again, I may have read that wrong. Also, I don't think any of us are pushing for this idea. It's just one thing some of us thought would be interesting. I love a good conversation and those who have contributed have been wonderful!

@PumpkinKangaroo I apologize for any confusion as I was replying to the op of...

@angrycoconut16 said

A general stock-up of 2x what a pirate can carry
10 bananas
20 Cannonballs
10 planks

^^^ That to me suggests increasing the personal inventory carrying capacity by two-fold.

@admiral-rrrsole said in Buying ship supplies:

@PumpkinKangaroo I apologize for any confusion as I was replying to the op of...

@angrycoconut16 said

A general stock-up of 2x what a pirate can carry
10 bananas
20 Cannonballs
10 planks

^^^ That to me suggests increasing the personal inventory carrying capacity by two-fold.

That is kind of my fault. He was sort of quoting me when he updated the post. What it means is that since a pirate can fill their pockets, drop it in the ship, then fill again, I was thinking that 2x what their pockets would hold would be a good amount to sell. This amount would go straight into the ship stores.

I chose those numbers because when I play with my son, he always does double trips around the outpost to fill up when there are enough supplies. It was sort of pulled out of thin air, but with some personal experience as influence.

Would this way of working it be a better idea?

@pumpkinkangaroo Give me time to recover. Did I just read a woman admit to being at fault and / or apologize? lol Sorry.

I now see what you meant.
As for it being a better idea or not depends on individual preferences.

@admiral-rrrsole said in Buying ship supplies:

@pumpkinkangaroo Give me time to recover. Did I just read a woman admit to being at fault and apologize? lol Sorry.

I see what you meant.
As for it being a better idea or not depends on individual preferences.

Just don't tell my husband! ;)

I do agree that not everyone would want to use this option if it was available and I would skip it at times myself. I was asking your personal opinion. It's not likely to be put in any time soon as they already have a lot on their plates, but if it was available would you use it?

@pumpkinkangaroo lol I promise.

That idea does tend to favour a 4 man crew over a solo player. Each of the 4 crew members could buy 10, 20, 10 respectively which is naturally 4 times the advantage of a solo player.
Even as it stands now, a galleon crew could carry 20,40,20 in their inventory on each trip between ship and found barrels as oposed to a solo only carrying 5,10,5.

By simply buying one empty supply crate per vessel helps even the odds. Or even one crate of each type.

@admiral-rrrsole That is a good point!

We had discussed the difference with larger crews and how they do already have a supply advantage. Figuring they often go through the supplies faster we hadn't spent much time, but it is worth another look.

@pumpkinkangaroo I think in general, that a larger crew would only consume more bananas than a solo player. The usage of cannon balls are kind of more optional.

@angrycoconut16 said:

It would purely be an additional option for players, but I think it could be one which comes in quite handy at certain times, and is yet another way gold can be used if players find inflation to be an issue.

That's fair. I don't necessarily think this would be a bad thing to implement, but for it to be convenient and more easily accessible to everyone I think 1000 gold is a little much for two reasons;

1. Cannon ball and banana crates (50) only turn in for 300 - 400 gold.
2. Cosmetics are already excruciatingly expensive and are what people should really focus their gold spending on.

I don't see 40 cannon balls really being worth an hour long voyage since during that time I could easily stock up on several times that. I do think the cool down idea is fine in limiting how much stock you can purchase and that would work well without the high cost.

Realistically the price for buying cannon balls, planks or bananas would only have to be just high enough so that it wouldn't be worth it to purchase them in order to fill a turn in crate. Somewhere around 400-500 gold would be fine, keeping it on par with the turn in value, but in favor of the vendor.