Search

@cannibalbob said in Plunder pass:

not yet. They have gone this far.

What do you mean "gone this far". They haven't strayed from their original promises. No lootboxes and no pay 2 win.

I don't care what was written on the box.

Feels like something you should care about, seeing as what's on the box will tell you what the game is about and what it contains.

What joe neate said was free updates.

Did you have to pay for Vaults of the Ancients? Forsaken Shores? Shrouded Spoils? Black Powder Stashes? No. The updates were free.

Pets,ship cosmetics are updates. this isn't semantics here. thats what they are.

No, those are things you can buy that come with each update. The update itself is free. Everything you had to buy, may I mention, was purely optional and in no way affected gameplay.

I feel lied to from Rare.

How did they lie all the updates are free. After you spent that $60 you never had to spend another dollar on this game. Rare does not have a gun to your head forcing you to buy a parrot. You get the game updates for free. You get new cosmetics for free. You get new voyages for free. You get new trading companies for free. You get new commendations for free. You get new regions for free. You get new enemies for free. You get new Tall Tales for free. You get new tools for free. You get new shanties for free. You get new ships for free. How do they fund free updates? Microtransactions.

I know what was said before launch and it was repeated more than once. FUN FACT:There is an article by forbes Released at the end of february that says the word microtransaction. That's from an article on ign. Sure they said it once before launch. right before launch. If it had released when originally planned then absolutely it would have been unspoken.

I have no idea what you meant by this.

What is your deal with the hate and trying to be technically right? they did say something about it so good on you for getting paid for correcting me on one single month before launch. yeah day one, on day one. Do they pay you to try so hard or do you really think i don't deserve more than what I was given at launch.

Are you mad at me for providing evidence? Also, what hate? And I'm not right on a technicality, they couldn't have been more clear. They literally said "hey we're adding a microtransaction store with pets in a few months time".

Sixty dollars for what then? The game at launch or the game it became? I signed up for the game it would become under the assumption that what they said before day one was going to stay that way.

How has it not stayed that way? The game's core values haven't changed. Horizontal progression, crossplay, PvEvP, open world sandbox, player interaction, and constant udpdates are all still here.

Who was still looking at the news when we were playing alpha/beta on xbox?

People that were into the game and wanted updates and news about it.

we went with what uncle joe told us. it was discussed in the forums too. Didn't even know they were here till after launch.

Who is 'they'?

Trying to down play the last minute effort to inject a microtransaction store in the pr I am sure was also a planned strategy, like the pets. Like a lot of things that were spoken of behind the curtain.

First off, what is the 'pr'? Also, pets weren't some hidden secret they were very open about pets coming to the game as microtransactions, it's in several articles.

We don't point at them but they knew what was up and they tried to warn us but too late. preorders in and purchase already confirmed. no backing out back then. It was hope they don't rip us off. They didn't rip me off.

Also don't know what you mean by this. Who tried to warn you? And warn you about what? The microtransaction store that they were very open about? Also, yeah no-one got ripped off we've had 3 years of free content.

It was great but that plunder pass is a reminder that can't be forgiven. It's wrong to do. Little kids and dumb adults getting in debt over digital clothes ain't right.

How is it wrong to do? It's a $10 fee for some premium cosmetics. And if adults are putting themselves in debt over a video game that is their fault and no-one else's. I will die on this hill. If $10 every 3 months is going to put you in debt, you need to take a serious look at your finances and priorities.

It should have been free for at least the people who actually funded them at launch. not fair but also very fair.

Why should it be free for launch players? That's not how battle passes work. They are recurring fees every new season. Not fair indeed.

sixty dollars and all I got was griefed.

How did you get griefed? I want a legitimate answer. Tell me how.

• Stealing someone's loot isn't griefing
• Sinking someone's ship isn't griefing
• Spawncamping isn't griefing
  What could someone possibly have done to grief you?

They didn't even keep their word about how the game would always be accessible to single players. who has two hours to beat one fort, but i digress.

The game was made for 4 players. Solo play is recommended for experienced players (it used to say this during beta when you selected playing solo). I am able to solo just fine. Plenty of pirates can solo just fine. Plenty of people on this forum will back me up if I were to ask them. This game was not designed for a quick hop in hop out 30 minute session. Also forts do not take 2 hours. Back during release, sure, but that was mostly due to the pvp and they'd go a lot longer than 2 hours. Nowadays a fort can get done solo in 20-30 minutes.

I signed up when they were calling free stuff over here back in 2017 and I still am waiting for that free stuff.

What free stuff has been claimed to come but hasn't? Give me a list.

Say what you want but splitting hairs to make your point seems like you tried to call me a liar.

I wasn't calling you a liar, I was just trying to correct you.

From where I stood as an ordinary consumer who wasn't humping my keyboard for content it was going to be a one time fee and then smooth sailing on free updates for being such a valuable player.

FOR THE LAST TIME, THE UPDATES ARE FREE. You did not pay for The Hungering Deep, you did not pay for Skeleton Thrones, you did not pay for Gunpowder Skeletons, you did not pay for The Sunken Curse, you did not pay for Cursed Sails, you did not pay for Cursed Crews, you did not pay for Forsaken Shores, you did not pay for Festival of the Damned, you did not pay for Shrouded Spoils, you did not pay for the Anniversary Update, you did not pay for Black Powder Stashes, you did not pay for Dark Relics, you did not pay for Smuggler's Fortune, you did not pay for Fort of the Damned, you did not pay for The Seabound Soul, you did not pay for The Festival of Giving, you did not pay for Legends of the Sea, you did not pay for Crews of Rage, you did not pay for Heart of Fire, you did not pay for Ships of Fortune, you did not pay for Lost Treasures, you did not pay for Haunted Shores, you did not pay for Ashen Winds, you did not pay for Vaults of the Ancients, and you did not pay for Fate of the Damned. So what update did you pay for?

they keep renecking this games values and thats fundamentally wrong.

See my previous points about the game's values.

so again great work on the one month before launch announcement correction. it was your only leg. i have just removed it for you. now please tell me how i.m wrong.

Please reread my entire reply. Then, sit in the corner and think about it. Really process it.

tell me how I shouldn't feel this way about being mislead.

What were you mislead by? EVERY UPDATE HAS BEEN FREE

It's so refreshing getting attacked by keyboard junkies that need to push the rare is a white knight agenda.

I don't think you know what a white knight is. If you called ME the white knight that would make sense (well not really your entire argument doesn't make sense, but let's say we're still in your little reality), but you're saying that I'm pushing the agenda that Rare is the white knight? You really don't know what a white knight is. How is Rare the white knight in this situation?

hope they pay your bills because you know I payed theirs.

It's funny, cause I also payed their bills. Bought the game, bought some pets, tons of emotes and a few ship parts here and there. And by God I wish Rare payed me.

I'm invested no more. go on and tell the wind how wrong i am for having this kind of experience. Rare releases another online affair and i'm not getting in the line, ya keen?

Good.

You won't be missed.

I've been meaning to type this out for a while since I learned about the microtransactions Rare was implementing and seeing some of the reactions from the community. It was going to be in pure defense of Rare until I saw the contents of the update. So half will be defense in Rare the other half will be a more direct spanking of Rare's hind quarters.

---

Thanks to EA, the whole concept of Microtransactions has become an impermissible concept.

The immediate hatred derived from the community from the simple mention of microtransactions is incredible. Are microtransactions a good thing? Are they a bad thing? Why do developers and companies use them if the gaming communities hates them so much?

The first thing to clear up is the believe that microtransactions are just a way for developers to cheat money out of their community. Some players are too young to remember but there was a time where multiplayer required a monthly subscription. The normal fee for such a subscription was $15 a month.

If you were playing an online game, you were paying this every month. The monthly subscription wasn't only so that the company could make more money but it was added to the cost for the QoS. Servers needed maintained, support department needed to get paid, developers that were still developing expansions also needed to get paid.

What happen to this staple form of transaction?? Easy, people started to release content under the guise of the word "Free". The introduction for Pay to Win was introduced. The individuals who created that "free" content didn't create something for everyones benefit, they created it because they wanted to get recognition and of course wanted to get paid.

Funny right? Everyone switched to this "free" content method which major developers started to notice that players were more and more reluctant to pay for something since the market is now being flooded by all this "free" content. This released control from the developers and firmly put the reigns in the hands of the marketing team.

Now its not about developing and keeping players coming back, its "What can we release that they will pay for?" "How can we spin this so that players will willingly pay for this useless junk?". It used to be purely about the content because the company was getting paid either way. If they made good content players would stick around and keep paying, if not then they would stop paying.

Companies still had to get paid though. A couple of individuals developing something in their basement and keeping an employee base of 5 plus someones dog isn't in same situation as a developer like EA, Blizzard, or other companies with thousands of employees and developers where the basic entry level for a Level Designer is 50k a year.

So the whole concept of microtransactions isn't the fault of companies or major game developers. Its our fault because we as a community are greedy. We want as much as we can get for as little as possible. If someone released a game that costs $15 a month but had great graphics and mechanics then someone else released an as basic as you can get replica for free with microtransactions, which one do you think the player base would choose to play??

Keeping servers maintained cost money, paying employees costs money, developing cost money. Money is what makes the cogs keep moving.

You want more content?? Well Rare is going to need money from somewhere people. They went from releasing something every week, to every month. They've even had huge game changing expansions. Besides the games purchase price they aren't receiving any other influx of income and that initial influx will run out. The game has been around for over a year. Salaries need to be paid.

You want more content?? Then get ready to open your wallets or piggy banks. Stop being greedy monkeys and expecting stuff to be free.

---

So that was in defense of Rare and really of any company. Things cost money. We did this to ourselves. We could instead go back to monthly subscriptions but everyone is so used to not having to pay for anything they would cry, whine, and kick all the way to the bank.

Next is the spanking for Rare.

---

Rare, you mean money grubbing bunch of nanners swimming in gold, blue doubloon awarding, ancient coin hoarding Scrooge McDuck. What in the hell??

There is a right way for microtransactions and the EA way of microtransactions. You are just toying with players tugging at their idiosyncrasies with the way you released your content. Time limited content that can only be purchased with money?? Have you seen the price tag on your content??

This might not even be your fault, maybe the marketing team?

The best way to get your playerbase behind you is to do things the correct way. Instead of going for large transactions like most companies, go for the the small stuff. You are a cosmetic based game. You have it completely in the bag.

Just release a bunch of cosmetics and put a price tag of like 1 to 3 dollars on each item. You could charge as much as 5 to 10 on really awesome stuff. If you hit a creativity block just hand some crayons to someones kid and let them go nuts.

YOU HAVE THIS IN THE BAG. Stop trying to control the amount of cosmetics you release. Just start releasing tens to hundreds of cosmetics and put a price tag on all of them. You could make the same cosmetics with different colors and players will pay for it.

Red Athena outfit? White Athena outfit?? Purple skeleton hull skin? Yellow admiral hull?? PURE BLACK SHIP!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Founder sails?? Black Dog Set?? You guys have the best game for microtransactions.

You have so many different ship skins that don't have cannons, capstans, or wheels skins that its unnerving. Its like you are trying to make sure the stuff you release looks cool enough or is acceptable enough. Are you worried about how the player base reacts to it??

You release a bunch of Ghost skins that no one likes? Thats fine!! guess what you get to do, RELEASE MORE VARIANTS. You could literally create 50000000 different versions of the ghost cannons and there will be some who buy at least 10 of those. I don't know why you are being so conservation with your cosmetics in a game that is purely about cosmetics. A hat with a feather? Without a feather? Why not both? Crazy right?

This is not hard. You are going the same route a lot of companies went. They were looking for huge influxes of money from like the top 10 percent of their player base that had money. While trying to tug at a human beings idiosyncrasy about "time limited" items, trying to bait them into forking over the cash anyways because "time limited" am I right? The ones that can afford, the ones that give in to purchase it because its time limited, then the ones who can't afford any of it. Which alienate the rest of the player base which makes your game BAD because even though 10% of them can buy your stuff, the other 90% hate your guts.

Spread out the pricing and release more content and you'll get the cash flow. Its better to get less money from everyone then more money from a small portion of the playerbase.

Want to control gold inflation? Well now you get the chance to actually increase the amount that stuff costs. If a simple skin costs like 2 to 3 dollars a peice / 500k or 1m gold a piece, then some players will just pay for it others will grind it up. You'd be surprised how often someone will go "eh its only 3 dollars"

Leave the values low so that players can pay little at a time. Trying to get so much in one sitting is going down a bad route.

---

I hope I stayed on topic and this help some of you understand why microtransactions aren't the evil of the gaming world if done right. This was long and trying to stay on track while editing and re-editing my post was difficult.

@expsnailer said in Start supporting the Black Market again.:

@jollyolsteamed said in Start supporting the Black Market again.:

this is all tied to cost of production

we get free dlc and free content all we have to do to experience current content and content to come until the game dies is buy the game content and dlc takes time to produce aswell as cost alot of money to make

take games in the early 2000's

starcraft for example a game i used to play religiously as a child created by blizzard during their small days when they weren't a major gaming company and were small

they had a unit which could greatly slow down and weaken any unit almost indefinently this hurt alot when used on a late game unit which costs alot of resource and population points if you had a stack of late game units its better to let them die than to wait out the effect which took literal minutes to disappear it took them almost 2 years to get this tweaked updates and content in past games were rare and far inbetween due to cost and no way to actually make up that cost realistically

back then (expansion packs) as they were called then was the only way to continue earning money after the initial buyers who wanted to play the game had bought the game or make a completly new game or sequel to past games

the first ever microtransaction made was by bethesda in 2006 which was an elven horse armor released as an experiment to test the markets reaction to (dlc content) it was a massive success despite a huge overwhelming backlash

we all complain about microtransactions but end up buying them anyway which is why it works

but back then continued content was always pay to play all of it

free content and dlc is usually only possible with great funding and microtransactions is simply a way to fund it there are plenty of cosmetics to unlock without the use of money and with great patience you can even unlock emporium stuff through ancient skellies

to provide us free content aswell as dlc AND a way to earn paid currency without actually having to pay for it is alot and i think the trade off for it is fair they focus a bit more on keeping their launch off goal and we get fewer but still great cosmetics and content from time to time

I'd be on board with what your saying of the OP didn't have a point about them shifting primary focus to microtransactions. Sure we get a skin here or there but the emporium get loads of love and now a plunder pass, which is just discounted emporium skins smh.

I'm all for supporting a one time payment game where dlcs are released fairly regularly for free through cosmetic microtransactions, BUT to be fair to both sides the dlcs are fairly small, some of which are just additional commodations and re-used re-skined content. Oh yeah I'm sure it cost so much to write a handful of text, copy and paist designs and animations, and re name it...

by doing some research to try to get a rough estimate what a game could cost to make i found some really good examples to tell you that YES even a copy paste can cost you your boots

in an article i read just about gaming budgets and what some games of smaller portions costs to make

i found this example shenmue III was made at the cost of 10mil¤ and if i do some calculations i personally would have to work until i become 373 years old to afford such funds through normal means (work side jobs) until i could make a shenmue remake

additionally on the article i found that they stated a good rule of thumb is that it costs 7,000¤ per developer a month (obviously not only their salary though) but the software and engines aswell as hardware and gear and other means to make content would cost per individual

But bigger games also have to factor in marketing costs which can be the same or more as the cost of development plus licensing costs for music paying expensive actors and just generally being a bigger and more expensive-looking product than anyone else

you are paying for a great investment that has potential to earn you more money than you can ever throw away in 10 life times its literally a huge risk making games because you can't even know if they game will sell its not like ordering a sandwhich that you end up disliking because a sandwhich is cheap but games and its contents are not cheap

By no means do I mean to bring hate on Rare but, where is the funding going exactly? Is it just not enough to pay for better content? Or are they pulling the typical developers strat and using this games microtransactions to fund a different project. Who knows.

as stated above creating content is not like ordering a sandwhich

say you are making a game with 30 other people you aim to make the game really good with great attention to detail and mechanics that just works perfectly and items cosmetics and other things

now first the 30 developers you hired to help you make your game would require you to buy some pretty beefy rigs for 30 people to handle the software to create the 3d models for your game (oh and you also need to pay for the 3d modeling software which usually take monthly subs for 30 people) you are already looking at thousands of money spent now the rigs and gears needed to produce content will obviously not be a one time payment

As time passes and technology advances you'll need to upgrade to stay relevant so think of this as a atleast 30k worth of maintenance upkeep

you need to hire actors for your game to voice your characters each demanding a different sum for them (obviously the more famous the actor the higher the cost but also the higher the popularity)

you also need to pay for prop designers and props and materials to make the props

aswell as art designers to give your developers some insight on how you want your game to look like when they design it

and you also need to pay for a composser to give your game a sick soundtrack aswell as pay for his gear and software

and you need to pay lisencing and marketing to market and lisence your game

great now you promised your playerbase free content forever! how are you going to fund all of this?

i need you to stop taking the first glance road and think about it

if developers didn't put alot of work into the content put in microtransactions why would people buy bad looking poorly made cosmetics?

you also got to realize that people who buy things wants their moneys worth and if i spent 30¤ on a virtual shirt it better have wings and glow like a sun

All in all the dlc we have received so far in the games lifespan are fun and it's nice that they are free, but one can only wonder why they seem so little. Honestly I think it's the emporiums fault, it's more expensive than it need to be and it gets more love than the game more often. Microtransactions kill games because developers realize that they can do minimal work for maximum profit, think about all the content in the SoT base game before any dlc was added. Then take the original price and divide the price into what each item, quest, mobs, ect... would cost individually. You'll see that compared to microtransactions your getting a steal by buying a game, and that when compared to actually developing a game and worth while content, the developers who sell cosmetic microtransactions are robbing us blind haha! Everyone who plays a game want to experience it all at some point or another, that dosn't mean they will but they want to, even the cosmetics. Even people who hate microtransactions will buy them if they like a game. Sure some people won't but let's be real honest here, most people will even if it's only once. Microtransactions make developers lazy, because it pays well for minimal effort. Not saying thats what's happening to Rare but I'm also not saying it isn't.

wrong microtransactions do NOT kill games this is a hastily made up judgement call if said cosmetics was pay to win then i would agree

and they are not robbing anyone blind me for example i bought the game before the emporium was even concieved you got your money's worth when you bought the game any content we get here on out is completly charity its literally charity

i feel like its the same as complaining about the food who someone makes for you when you have no food to eat on your own

you to this day have to pay nothing to continue to experience future content however small content is

At the end of the day they are a business, profits matter more than anything to them. One can only hope that while it being their main priority, that greed dosn't blind them to what makes gamers stay, comeback, and most importantly become life long fans. And that comes from blood, sweat, and tears poured into hours and hours of overtime and late nights developing the most fun and innovative content at a reasonable price. The dog I bought, yeah that $6 was not worth 3/4 of the dlc released, honestly the only dlc worth more than $1 that has been released are the tall tails and DR. I would have paid $10 per both of those dlc, every other dlc to date are IMO worth $1 or even less. With that in mind a dog shouldn't cost $6, what it took maybe 4hours to develop the dog then another 1 hour to make a few different models, and then another half hour to re color them.... You could make the argument that the cost helps pay for all that free dlc and sure it does, but umm, I'm no financial advisor or anything but I'm pretty sure when one items price can cover the cost of like 4+ dlcs development and then some after just a few dozen sales.. something's not right.

3/4 of dlc only worth 6$? "Ungrateful people forget what they are not grateful for" is a great quote to respond to this because yes 3/4 worth 6$ as you underestimated the price to be is still 6$ that you get FOR FREEEEE they are giving it to you out of their own goodwill it doesn't matter if its 1 cent or 10 million its FREE you don't have to pay a penny to enjoy the content

but seeing as you do not understand gaming value i shall refrence my question to you above about making your own game if you set your prices so low with such expenses you'd go bankrupt or wouldn't even make up half the value you paid for

a succesful company needs to not only double the earning but almost quadruple the earnings to make a great success to afford the next installment of games to be made and to grow

Conclusion is I have questions about the current funding they have and where it's going because on the surface it dosn't look like it's going to the game.

i think thats the problem you only scratch the surface but you don't try to dig through and look at it and appreciate the many great things we got and keep getting with the only downside being they also focus on optional cosmetics in the emporium

@d4m0r3d

and this kinda thing doesnt seem atlasy to me, just more realistic. it makes the world feel more interactable you know. more real.

You seem to be confusing realism for immersion... A game doesn't have to be realistic to be immersive... A cartoon fantasy game is the last game on this planet, that needs realism to enhance immersion. :P

I'm all for more immersion, but i'm not necessarily for realism.

this is totally not true, i mean look at my fireplace example i dont think that requires you to mindlessly collect materials in mundane and tedious ways for days/weeks/months.

There are already bonfires on every island with a pan over it where you can cook food... So implementing a crafting system, which, btw would consume tons of developer time... Would ultimately be redundant. :P

Which is why i didn't consider adding it, because it would be redundant, pointless, a waste of everyones time, and would never be used.

lol i think you have a biased thinking method atm, you are thinking crafting can only mean atlas and other survival games.

The only way to add a crafting system in a way that would improve the game, is to add one that has meaning... That means Atlas crafting, more or less.

you did just give me an idea, about the possibility of chopping down trees for planks though, and mayb coconuts.

Then they would need to make trees an interactable object, with a respawn time... What this would do, fyi, is just remove all trees from every island in the game, making all the islands look weird. xD

Because everyone on the server would chop down every tree they see to get as many planks as possible, or to see how naked they can make the game look.

My point is, this game isn't make for these things, so adding such things isn't a good idea. :P

but i mean all planks are used for is repairs and possibly fires, so its not like you need to go around for an our chopping down every tree like you do in atlas, just oh im running out of planks, lets park at these islands and chop a tree, maybe make a fire and cook some fish while we are at it.

It's interesting how you immediately contradict yourself in the same sentence. First you claim you don't have to do things like in Atlas, and then immediately describe the exact things you do in Atlas. xD

You're not aware of it yet, but you are imagining a survival game, not an adventure game. :P

also you say its nobodys idea of fun, but lots of people love these types of games and think they are the funnest things to play

Farming materials for months to create a permanent legendary weapon in an MMORPG like GW2 or WoW... Sure, that's fun...

Doing it in a survival game where built objects have a finite lifespan and must, inevitably, be replaced or rebuilt? Not to much... There's a reason why games like that aren't popular, because very few people actually like engaging in tedious and time-consuming boring stuff like that.

This is made readily apparent when you take a look at player activity during peak times... If... let's say a 5 000 000 people bought the game, and the games player activity during peak hours is like .1% of that, you maybe consider that game, and games similar to it, to be incredibly unpopular. : /

look how popular rust is

Rust is not popular mate. :P
The player activity in the last month on that game is 43 000 players average, that game is dead as a doornail.
I don't think it has ever been popular, because the only time i've heard that game being mentioned, is when my uncle was bored and asked if i wanted to try out a random game with him, and he suggested Rust. :P

And now, when you mentioned it, lol.

Okay, i did some research... a total of 5.5 million people own Rust... So if the average activity in the last month is 43 000 that equals... 0.0078% of the playerbase are active regularly.

During peak hours, it's 75 000 i believe, that equals out to... 0.0136% players active during peak hours.

So yeah, Rust is not very popular, i would argue the opposite, it's very unpopular.

everyone loves it, so that statement is pretty wrong.

By the power of mathematics, your statement is wrong!

its not really crafting, but idk it still seems cool to me.

Sounds like a voyage for the merchant alliance to me. xD

again honestly i think you are thinking it has to be atlas.

Well, yes... I use Atlas as the example, because it too is a pirate game, but i could've easily used ANY game like that... I don't have anything against Atlas, i just think Sea of Thieves doesn't need to be like it, i prefer them to remain separate games, instead of becoming the same game... They are already similar, they don't need to be more similar. -.-'

you know in games like atlas you can still steal stuff and get stuff done right?

You know in Atlas, the world is large enough to support 40 000 players at once, right? That means you can establish guilds of hundreds of players working together to achieve a specific purpose that even if your base gets plundered, you can still recover from it with the help of your 100+ guild members. Not to mention, you are much less likely to encounter enemy pirate guilds capable of plundering your base due to the world being so large.

SoT is significantly smaller, and you are limited to a maximum of 3 crewmates, vs Constant hostile pirate encounters due to the world being kinda small. :P

but again im not asking for atlas

You are, you're just not aware of it. : /

yea and im gonna say again im not asking for atlas cause most of what you are saying seems to be in the mindset that crafting has to be the same way atlas has it.

Crafting in games is a menu where you combine various items create a new item... This is what crafting is, in games... UNIVERSALLY.

well i mean if you dont want to craft a fire place and someone else does craft a fire place to cook food, i dont see how it effects you much

In a crew of limited players where everyone has a crucial job to maintain, if one of my crew were busy gathering wood and making bonfires, instead of just using the ones already on the island or on our ship and doing their job as a crewmate, it would be a tremendous waste the crews time trying to complete voyages, or defending our ship from attackers or... well... anything really... Now that they are essentially lacking a crewmate.

You are not an individual in SoT, you are part of a crew, and your work and effort for said crew is the only thing that makes a successful voyage, if you are wasting time chasing butterflies (pointless bonfires), you are letting your crew down, and therefore, wasting everyones time.

In Atlas, however, you ARE an individual, and anyone within the guild can replace you if you aren't available when you need to be... You have less responsibilities due to the sheer number of players per server...

Starting to notice a pattern in your suggestions yet? That you might actually be asking for Atlas, but not be aware that you are? ._.

wait are you saying its a terrible idea to be able to repair ships, you know we already have the ability to hammer planks onto ship holes right?? im confused.

You were suggesting using 2 components to fix ships, instead of just 1... A plank, and a Hammer.

In Atlas, if a section of the hull is damaged, you can hammer that section to repair it slowly... or, if the section is so damaged it despawns, you need to find a hull-section and apply that to the missing hull section, and then hammer that until it's repaired.

The SoT repair method is already good enough, we don't need to complicate it any further... That is all i'm saying.

well damn if thats true, we are already in that chain my dude, they added cooking, that is survival game material my guy.

Not necessarily, no... Survival games are not defined by their cooking, they are defined by things like hunger meter, thirst meter, bla de bla bla...

If cooking is a survival element, then minigames based only on cooking would be survival games by default. Which makes no sense. :P

although this concept of it being a rabbit hole

I think you mean slippery slope. xD

is strange since there are sooo many games that arent survival games that allow you to craft

Yeah, like World of Warcraft, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider... of which i have already mentioned and described how their crafting differs from games like Atlas, because they are not survival games.

It's almost like i already talked about this... ;P

I mentioned these things to drive home the point that the only way to bring substance/meaning to crafting systems, is by implementing survival elements to compliment them... Because a crafting system without survival elements, is ultimately just an annoying, tedious and boring gimmick.

Remember that this time. :P

like i wonder when the last of us 1 will be getting the online survival game update.

Those games are not an active service model, like SoT is... It wont happen, because they don't have forums like this.

Well, World of Warcraft is, i guess, due to the nature of it being an MMORPG... And... they've been struggling lately, they have accidentally, systematically removed tiny bits of content from the game for years, and they didn't realize this until they released an expansion-pack... that had no end-game content.

That was the point blizzard (the devs of WoW) finally realized they made several huge mistakes over the years.

Let's not let SoT repeat history, shall we? ;)

like think mate, if they added the ability to craft weapons, craft bases, craft ships, how would most people react. i feel like everyone would freak out and be like wah du hek

... We already went "wah du hek" when they added crossplay preference to the game... The devs said they were never going to remove crossplay, and whoop de doo, they about to go back on their word, because a very loud minority wants optional crossplay.

Why do you think a bunch of us on the forums aren't eager to make thoughtless changes to the game? because we remained silent, had faith in the devs remaining true to their word, and now the devs are about to make a potentially devastating change to the game.

This phenomenon you are describing, has already happened, bro.

people would ask for a revert or at least a version of the game that was the one we have now.

They're doing that too, about several things, including crossplay preference, and sword combat...

i mean look at rust, you have legacy rust, and then regular rust, legacy rust was the old rust that many still prefered, so they kept it. although none of this matters, because SOT wouldnt do it.

And the Rust community is dead, as i've already established... For good reason, probably because the devs made a series of extremely terrible decisions, and listened to the wrong people about suggestions for their game. : /

no crafting and survival only go hand in hand if, the things you craft are capable of being stolen

Well, yes, but actually no.

There's The Forest, survival game with crafting... Though there's no stealing in that game, because it's not a PvP game, you can play Co-op with friends though. :P

Naturally, any Survival game with Crafting that also has PvP, does also have the element of stealing from people.

i didnt come up with any suggestions that would make the game identical to atlas

It truly is impressive how much you lack self-awareness. o_o

your mind filled the blanks and made it identical to atlas

...What blanks? The gaps in your knowledge about Atlas? ._.

your the one that mentioned crafting weapons.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/500657552292315157/645459808161628173/I_understand_everything.gif

yes i played atlas, it was terrible, i spent 50 hours and didnt get to do anything

That explains the gaps in your knowledge, i guess... I don't blame you though.

I had a similar experience with "ARK: Survival Evolved" and "Dark and Light", both games made by the same developers as Atlas... I wasn't gonna give Atlas a chance, because i already knew it was going to be terrible. :P

The knowledge i have of Atlas comes from youtubes videos made by those who actually bother playing games like that. xD

and if this is the case you did the same thing my dude, you gotta be carefull.

Touché!

you better edit that comment right now or the whole community will be wanting to craft bazookas and other weapons

This is like your third of fourth time mentioning bazookas, what is it with you and bazookas all of a sudden? xD

althoughi think you are overexaggerating the whole crafting thng

There is no need to exaggerate the word "exaggerating". xD

I get what you mean though, but i'm not exaggerating, as these things that we're afraid of happening, have already happened, meaning the chance of it happening again are very real, my dude. : /

we can already craft cooked food

It's not crafting, though that didn't stop you, and other people from thinking it is. When this was first implemented, we actually had several people making posts about expanding this perceived crafting system, cooking recipe's at first, which then evolved into just crafting spears and stuff...

Luckily the forum community disagreed as hard as they could at the time, and guess what? That's when people first started using Atlas as an example of what NOT to do to SoT. :P

if its something tedius then dont do it.

I don't, i tested it, hated it, and now i don't bother with it. For real though, there is so much wrong with that game, it makes me want to vomit. ;_;

do you really think they are just gonna adjust their vision of the game and completely redo it

Points at earlier point in this very comment describing how this has already happened

Also points at game history

YES, I DO! They did it once, what keeps them from doing it again?!
We do, us, the players, when we see an idea we think is very extremely not good... We should firmly disagree with it! :P

ok so now that i explained how it is crafting

No, you didn't... You simply explained that "one could do these things"... You didn't connect them to crafting in any way.

Was there a menu? Did you use coal to fuel the furnace? did you use a knife to rip the shirt?

In SoT, you don't create a new item, you simply add a tag to an already existing item, it doesn't become a new item. It would be the equivalent of changing clothes for your pirate, except, you do it for a fish, and it simply takes a specific amount of time for the fish to change clothes. :P

It's not a new item, it's the same item with a different appearance. Just like changing clothes doesn't craft a new pirate, you're the same pirate, just with a different appearance. :P

i think you may understand now

I understand, but i don't think you do... Apparently, you seem to think any change in item-state classifies as crafting. Which is straight up wrong.

lol cooking fish is ASMR to you

The sound of the fish frying in that pan is...

wouldnt the waves and stuff interfere with it and stuff.

You can fry them on the various bonfire-pans on islands too for less sea-noise interference. xD

anyways holy moley this is alot to read

Oh boy, i sure don't envy you... I don't blame you if you cba reading this, fyi... I admit, these long posts can get... a bit too long somtimes. xD

i think i have argued my point well and im sure you can agree with some points.

Not as many as i would like, sadly. xD

goodluck responding to this behemoth response

Likewise, bro!

http://giphygifs.s3.amazonaws.com/media/20vHbYhl8VWbm/giphy.gif

The sun has reached its peak in the sky, I can feel the scorching heat through my hat. I decide to make my way home with my catch of the day when I spot a glimmer on a sandbank close-by. I raise my sails, and turn around until I can determine what the glimmer is. Glimmers are rare around these parts, as it is mostly fish and… well, the occasional big fish. I spot the glimmer again, this time I can make it out to be a bottle. Perhaps some rum? I get giddy at the prospect of something other than water. I lean overboard to see if there are any sandbanks nearby. I leave my sails slightly unfurled as I get close, making sure to furl them all the way before I disembark. I walk over to the bottle, pick it up and shake it lightly. No liquid. I am disappointed at the absence of rum; but when I uncork two rather two pieces of rolled up paper fall out. I thought that was just a thing of pirate stories and I start unfurling the pieces of paper: a map and a message.

Perhaps it not as bad as I thought, this looks like treasure just like in the stories. I briefly inspect the pieces of paper; the letter has an ink stain on it and the map some strange riddles. Both pieces of paper have messages on front and back... oh boy, whomever left this certainly is a writer. ‘Couldn’t have made it a little shorter, eh’ I think to myself. I roll up the pieces of paper, and stuff them back in the bottle as I make my way back to my ship. I grab my compass, home is South East, I look at the horizon and see nothing but blue skies. I look at the bottle, I’m not the best at reading... I just… fish. I look at the pieces of paper sticking out the bottle and spot the words: Fortune. I look at the horizon again, calm waters and a few hours, I might as well give it a go. I unfurl the sails, take a seat close to the wheel, grab the bottle, my smoking pipe, and decide to start with the letter.

To thee who heeds the call of the sea;
Sailors and the people who brave the sea relish in rumours, whispers and strong stories. One of such stories you might have heard once upon a time is the story of the Sea of Thieves and the fortune of Athena it contains. If you are reading this, that means this bottle has somehow managed to get away from that fabled sea. I do not know if this will be legible, or if you can read this, but as a historian I have to try and document history in some way. The mythological Sea of Thieves that you might have believed to be a strong tale; it is real. If you do not know what it is, I will tell you all about it. As my father once left to me, and his grandfather left to him, I leave to you my journey on the Sea of Thieves and the old map my father left me so many moons ago. May you one day find yourself fortunate enough to sail the seas of adventure. May you one day find the Sea of Thieves. I leave you my legacy.

My name is Enthonius Erinome the Third, but in messages my friends refer to me as Erinom3. A mockery of my three limbs. My father was Euronotus Erinome the Second, Brave Vanguard and Founder. My grandfather was Eurus Erinome, the first of his name. I come from a family of sailor historians, determined to find a sea of myth. My grandfather was one of the Insiders; a group of people that somehow garnered knowledge of the Sea of Thieves. My grandfather tried finding Athena’s Fortune and the Sea of Thieves as part of the Dutch Strike Force. But before he ever came close my grandfather was caught in a battle between two nations at war; sinking long before he could ever find and sail the Sea of Thieves. I never had a chance to meet my grandfather, but my father used to say that his knowledge lives on through us and that is why we must keep searching.

Before he passed my grandfather told my father the tale of the Sea of Thieves and, of the fabled Athena’s Fortune. Tales that he had learnt whilst sailing the seas far and wide. My father would spend his life pursuing those stories; joining the Brave Vanguard to sail around the world looking for clues. When my father would come home from his adventures, he would often tell me stories of the fabled Sea of Thieves. We would do many different things together during his time at home before he would set sail again. During his time at home I would sail with my father, I would navigate reefs and rivers. I learnt the constellations in the sky, how to set-up camp, make campfires, how to hunt. He taught me how to swim, to read and write, how to fight with a sword, how to load and fire a gun, how to tie knots, how to mend a ship. He also taught me how to read maps. But out of all the great things I learnt and did with my father my favourite were the riddles he made for me growing up.

Then on the eve of my 17th birthday, he came and showed me a map. A map of the Sea of Thieves. He said he had found it and had to leave right away. He said goodbye that night, so many moons ago, and he would never return. He left me a single riddle that day, a riddle unlike any other. One I had to figure out from all the different stories, riddles and clues he told me over the years. It took me many years traversing the seas on my trusty sloop pursuing clues before I was able to piece it together. Finally, after searching far and wide, it led me to three things he had hidden away: the map he showed me when he left; a journal with the fable of Athena's Fortune on the first page; and a necklace that held a golden coin with a skull on one side and a compass face on the other. I did not know how he came to possess these things, and so I shared them with no one.

It took me many years before I pieced together what those things meant. Time which I used to hone my skills in sailing, navigation, duelling, reading and writing. I braved many dangers on my journeys, and learnt to abide the unspoken Pirate Code. My skills as a pirate are far from perfect, as I have no sense of direction, and one can only guess how I earnt myself the nickname “Branch Fingers” But, I have somehow always found my way home. I survived ship battles, sword-fights and the occasional brawl after the consumption of too much grog. During my time traversing the seas looking for clues, I joined the legendary Pirate Union: Fortune. A group of pirates from different cultures and places. A union that became legend far before their arrival on the Sea of Thieves, if you ask me.

It was on a stormy March day, a fabled day, that my friends from Fortune, friends from the for rums, and my trusty companion Kaptuhn Redhead set sail to the ever-changing Sea of Thieves. Over the years we pieced together the pieces we heard in rumours and stories. We learnt of a way to get to the Sea of Thieves. But getting there was easier said than done. The journey to the Sea of Thieves was certainly not easy and many lives were lost. But after three long days and three long nights we eventually broke through the mystic shroud. We had made it, I had made it, finally we were on the fabled Sea of Thieves that we had sought after for so long.

The pirates who had made this journey with me dispersed to find their own answers on this mystical ever-changing sea. I knew we would see one another again on these foreign, yet familiar, seas. I too set out to find answers on my own. My first heading was Sanctuary Outpost. My father told me stories of the tavern patron, Clumsy George, who had made his way to the Sea of Thieves with only a trusty broom. I thought a tavern belonging to such a legend would be a good place to start. Clumsy or not, George had found his way to the Sea of Thieves and established a successful tavern. He was also a member of a famous old group of pirates; the Old Salts.

I sat down that day at the George & Kraken, with a tankard in my hand putting together the pieces and clues my father had told me over the years. I probably looked at the three things he left me a thousand times before I finally decided to leave the outpost. I stepped outside and decided to explore the sea I had only experienced in my dreams and seen on my father’s map. I decided to split my focus; I would look for my father and try to build reputation with the trading companies spoken of in the fable of Athena’s Fortune.

It would take much longer than anticipated, and I witnessed many sunrises and sunsets before I was able to find some answers. My skills as a sailor, navigator, pirate and adventurer were put to the test on many different occasions as I slowly rose through the ranks of the trading companies.

The fate of my father was what I eventually decided would be worth pursuing the most. Pursuing this interest, I stopped working for the trading companies. I managed to scavenge, sneak and steal to get by while I sailed the seas looking for answers. If my father was still alive, I’m sure we would be able to find Athena’s Fortune together. I spent many hours traversing the seas and roaming the islands in search of him. During my time exploring I discovered various hidden caves on islands. The map my father left me had a sentence written on it “Star’s Souls hidden in Darkness”, a sentence that often came to mind in these dark places I explored. One day whilst exploring such a dark cave, I stumbled upon a clue. A clue that would propel me to eventually piece together the clues on the map he left me, finding the stars lost souls spoken of on the map.

But finding these unfortunate souls brought me no closer to my father. Until one day, by pure coincidence, I stumbled upon a shipwreck. The name of the ship familiar, but not where I expected to find it as the ship was no longer where the clues led me. Perhaps the ocean currents or mysterious beasts moved it; the Sea of Thieves works in mysterious ways. Unfortunately, it was on this ship that I found a journal held by a skeletal hand, my father’s name carved into it, his fate clear. If I wouldn’t have been afraid of potential sharks or the fact I was underwater; I would have shed a tear.

The Sea of Thieves is not for the weak of heart or mind. The storms alone can make you shiver to your spine as lightning strikes tear your ship to pieces; but that is but a taste. There is the Kraken, the relentless undead horde, sightings of Megalodon and rumours of the undead horde taking to the seas. Not only that even if you find riches, they can curse you to an eternal drunk state, or a fill your ship with tears of sorrow. That, and the ever-looming threat of hostile pirates, make the Sea of Thieves a place for anyone but the weak; only the law of the jungle applies to this lawless sea.

And what for, you may ask? I found my father dead, lost upon the wreckage of his ship. Many friends have passed during our journey to the Sea of Thieves, and many more would pass during my adventures upon its seas. And, yet, despite my many days and nights roaming the seas, I have come no closer to finding the fabled Athena’s Fortune. Upon finding myself drinking grog in my favourite tavern I spotted a mysterious stranger standing by the backdoor. After exchanging no more than a few words I suspected that this man knew something as mentioning the name Athena’s Fortune seemed to make his eyes glimmer. But before he would say anything else, he told me that I needed to gain respectable reputation with the three trading companies. Begrudgingly, I decided to continue working for the trading companies I had forsaken so long ago. It was my only clue at that point.

After sailing the Sea of Thieves solo for longer than I can remember whilst pursing the fate of my father; I decide to try and make contact with some of my friends and compatriots. Perhaps strength in numbers and combining our efforts in working for the trading companies would pay off. I manage to establish contact with my oldest friend & shipmate; Kaptuhn Redhead. Lady luck continued her blessings as I also manage to contact the Quartermasters of Fortune: the Dr of boom DrBullhammer; the merchant Thor von Blitz; the swashbuckling savage SirioNDB who leads Fortune; the beautiful bearded lady Rhami; the mystic chef Conal Cuan; Koala the self-proclaimed Duke of Ancient Spire; and last, but certainly not least, the man of the upside-down who we simply call Chaos.

It is through the combined effort of my friends and I that the wind started blowing in our favour. I slowly made my way through the ranks of the three trading companies with their help. I am not there yet, but I will find Athena’s Fortune in my father’s stead. Upon waking up groggily in a tavern after a long adventure working for the trading companies; I spot a new arrival. Duke, from the Bilge Rat Adventurers. The Bilge Rats don’t agree with the monopoly of the trading companies. And they established their business on the Sea of Thieves offering dubloons upon completion of their adventures. Using these dubloons you can buy letters of recommendation to improve your standing with the trading companies. Or trade them in for gold, or even time-limited equipment. But of course, there’s a catch, the dubloons can’t be used with anyone but the Bilge Rats.

If anything is to be learnt on the Sea of Thieves, it is that everyone soul upon it has their own agenda and they all aim to improve their own standing. However, I trust the Trading Companies even less than I trust the Bilge Rats. I decided to shift my focus yet again and worked hard to complete these various ‘Bilge Rat Adventures’. Each adventure they ask us to undertake is different from the one before. Some adventures are of questionable intent and purpose, but working for the Bilge Rats I learn more about these seas than the trading companies ever taught or showed me. I do not understand how the Bilge Rats can increase our standing with the trading companies, it is probably some sort of under the table deal we aren’t told of. But I work tirelessly to buy these letters and improve my standing with the trading companies through this alternative method as I never wanted to work for these trading companies again.

a big smudge covers most of what is written next, but I can make out the words “Athena’s Fortune”

It has taken me many years before I thought I could finally write down these words; but I have done it. I have located Athena’s Fortune, where I found the Pirate Lord who swore me to a vow of secrecy. A vow I have attempted to break many times being the historian I am. But, every time I have attempted to write down the location of Athena’s Fortune, an incident befalls me and whatever was written does not survive. You can see the proof of that above this paragraph. When I try to speak of the location, my throat seems to grow barnacles and I am unable to utter a single word. Finding Athena’s Fortune was a blessing, but I am not able to tell you why or write down where it is.
Now you know the true reason I wrote this, admittedly lengthy, letter. To tell you Athena’s Fortune is real. To serve as a message, a story, a historic overview of what goes on in the Sea of Thieves. Something any sailor, adventurer, fisher or soul that wanders and braves the seas could find. As a historian I believe I have fulfilled my duty in writing this, hopefully, comprehensible message.

If you have ever thought you were destined for more, the Sea of Thieves calls to all who yearn for adventure, it calls to those who seek fortune. And perhaps it now calls to you like it called to my father, and my grandfather before him. May you find these seas and find fortune upon it like I have for all these years.

Abiding the Pirate Code to the best of my abilities, I see this message as my final tribute to Article 6 of the Code: Respect New Pirates and their Voyage Ahead, may the old legends help to forge new ones.

My legend may very well fade into history, but you can still write your own legend upon these seas.

Just like my grandfather gave to my father, and my father gave to me, I leave to you my father’s map and the story of Athena's Fortune.

May you be of ever good Fortune.
Erinome Enthonius the Third, of the order of the Branch

I roll up the piece of paper as the sun almost sets on the horizon. I stand up and can see some lights in the distance; home. I close my eyes for a second, because I simply can’t believe it. The Sea of Thieves…real? That’s just a story, like the Kraken, told by old sailors who had too much grog. But it has to be, right? Why would this “Erinom3” write this entire letter for naught, to fool someone? He calls himself a historian, and wrote in a way even I could understand. The Pirate Code he speaks of is something I have never heard of, but I certainly have heard whispers in the dark of Athena’s Fortune and rumours of the glories that await those who brave the Sea of Thieves to find it. I take a look at the other piece of paper, a map. A short rhyme is written on the back of the map.

Rare treasures and riches vast, from Pirate legends in the past
Shared voyages with faithful crew, called to sail the ocean blue
In the Sea of Thieves, the rumours fare, a fortune lies buried there
Hidden route under fearsome sky, a fortune calls to those that try
The Gold Hoarders seek beneath the sands, the keys to chests within their hands
The Order of Souls are full of mystery, they came to seek the skulls of history
The Merchant Alliance are seeking coin, a profit made by those that join
Athena's Fortune now calls to ye, to become legend upon the sea

My heart beats faster in my chest, and part of the map seems to light up as I say the words “Athena’s Fortune” out loud. My eyes grow wide in amazement, I try saying the words aloud once more but nothing happens. I look at the two pieces of paper, before I stuff them back in the bottle. My mind can only think of one thing: I must find this place, I must find this Fortune. The distant lights of home flicker, but I will not return home. Tonight, my adventure and my search begins.

---

Words: 3370
#AthenasFortuneContest
Based on: https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/topic/76545/a-tale-told-through-images-short-stories-my-journey-on-the-sea-of-thieves

@TakuBoto I don't really have much I feel I can add to the conversation. Much of my opinions have been more thoroughly expressed on the Insiders Forum thread, but that thread has gone without a proper response for sometime now. Feel free to head on over there if more feedback is needed.

Its clear there is a fair set of individuals who are going out of there way to condemn anyone who has an opposing view than themselves (on both sides of the conversation). Regardless, The custom servers have been a great experience so far IMHO. I am not going to speak for any player here, and not going to claim to represent any "majority" or "minority" in the community. Its a Sandbox game and I play my way, not your way; both from a PVE and PVP mindset.

Having said that I would like to if I may turn the conversation towards a point that both on here and indeed on Insiders, does not seem to be discussed at large, and I would like to hear some of the thoughts and opinions on this point from both spectrums of players.

---

So in the Initial update, understanding that its just an initial test run with limited features, a point made by Executive Producer Joe, was:

With the above point in mind, it is likely that Custom Servers will eventually be an optional feature that players can access from the Pirate Emporium. We want to learn more about the desired feature set, usage and cost before deciding exactly how to make this something the wider community can access.>

The highlighted portion I think is a key area to consider. If these end up being Servers that must be paid for, for a determinate amount of time, by what conditions should these paid servers have any form of limitations from the base game?

Bare with me; This would not be the first game to offer Paid Private/Custom servers. EA most notably has been doing and offering this for years now (among other Publishers). The Battlefield franchise has been offering Paid custom/private servers for years, across many iterations of the game since BF3. These servers allow no gimped aspects of there game. The full multiplayer spectrum is accessible, and able to be utilized both for private games among friends that contribute to progression, as well as allowing for custom rule sets that gear the game to your design while again still ensuring progression for the Multiplayer. Even now, I can log into BF3 -BF4 - Hardline - BF1 - BF5 and purchase a custom server and play to my liking.

Now again these are not the only games to allow Private or Custom servers with progression of there game. Off the top of my head, even the popular monster of a franchise; Halo had custom game modes, and private match lobbies that still retained progression. Still accessible in Halo 3, 4 and part of 5 (Reach I am not aware of at this time). Even COD:MW introduced custom servers for some of there Matchmaking modes (though I do not play COD so my knowledge of there full features is limited) While not a Custom server, even Fortnite has a "Custom Matchmaking Key" where you can essentially control who you are matched with, and could be construed as a Custom Server for a Match. Even the new game growing in popularity Grounded offers a fully Solo experience without the need for Co-Op. (I site this one because players of the games Rust and Ark had often wanted a version of a Survival sandbox where they could just engage in the world and not with players, and this does provide that, again to a point)

The thing I am pointing out is simply that in those powerhouse franchises (and others) that have existed far longer than SoT have had exactly what (to a point) PVE players are asking for, and from what I can observe there was no dead playerbase, and no adverse effect on the games as a whole. (And those were explicitly PVP focused games with NO PVE - out side of a campaign mode in certain instances).

---

With how this relates to SoT, I question how it would be considered appropriate to charge anything for what could objectively be called a "Gimped" version of the game. You already Pay 50$ for the game on a base level, and even if play for free through Gamepass, you still might wish to purchase the game outright. While cosmetic only, there are Paid MXT in the game, with one being a recurring purchase of Ancient Coins, and the Appearance Potion. Obviously Servers would not be a one time purchase, and as such you need to ensure making such a purchase is worth your buck.

(I am just going to use hypothetical numbers so take them with a grain of salt if you must) Lets say RARE does offer a Custom Server for a set price, lets say 20$ for 1 month access to that server. Outside of the occasional community driven events you might create, what benefit of having that server might it serve outside of that community creative event? If you spend that money, there is an intrinsic obligation to use it, so its not wasted, therefore (theoretically) you would be spending more time in a version of the game that provides nothing to your standard SoT experience. Sure you were able to hop into a Custom Server and play "Skull Ball", "Hot Potato" with a GPBarrel, or have a "Race" from one end of the map to another, or anything less common you can think of that is not practically possible in standard adventure or arena, but what would it do other than create a brief potential for a YT video or Twitch stream? Nothing TBH.

Time spent in that server could be spent playing the game you already payed for, and actually progressing (be it through PVP or PVE) If an event is going on, or say your trying to max out the Seasons or the upcoming Plunder Pass (the Pass which would also cost money, and require time to be spent in the main game where progression is being recorded), you could ostensibly be wasting your time in a Server with no progression when you could be progressing in the standard game. Why pay for this server then? (Even if your content creator?)

What then if RARE charged 100$ for say a Year of Server access? Would you be ok paying that much (Honestly you could insert just about any price tag, with any increment of time) for a gimped version of the game? Why pay for a Custom Server with no progression, when the game your already playing (and payed for) provides more benefit? Sure those offshoot community events Joe and RARE talk about is fun in brief stints, but would you really be ok with paying a premium price just to do that (Especially if your NOT a content creator?) My question is; is it fair to pay for a server that is less than the main game? You might as well be paying for a Book, but then paying someone else to Read the book for you. You already have the book, read it yourself (horrible analogy I know but hopefully the point is understood).

---

I wont pretend that I am not an advocate for PVE servers, and if I am going to Pay for a Server (regardless of Price or Time Increment), I expect it to be equal, not less, than the Game I already payed for (and continue to put money into through the Emporium and yes the Plunderpass). If I pay for something (in this game or others), its not unreasonable to have what your paying for contribute meaningfully to the game at large. Obviously, RARE is smitten on there community driven content, but lets acknowledge that the Majority is NOT content creators, is NOT Youtubers or Streamers. Sure a modest number are, but among the 15,000,000 players RARE has touted, its hardly even a droplet in the ocean.

If these Custom Servers (in there current form without progression) become a proper offering in the Pirate Emporium, I certainly wont be giving RARE my money on that front. However, if RARE offers a Custom Server with Progression, that is something I am willing to shell out IRL Cash for. That honestly a more important question I would ask all of you and I would like your perspective on;

Are you willing to pay for a Server WITH or WITHOUT Progress?

That alone quite frankly would force RARE's hand. If they see money in offering a Proper Custom PVE server, vs a Custom 0 Progress Server; I'm willing to bet I know what direction they will swing (I don't even mean that cynically, its just business at that point, and no amount of outcry from anti-PVE players would stop that.)

Here is my fifth content drop idea. Please note, this drop is as if the previous four exist in the game. You can find them below:

Scholars of Curses - New Trading Company / 16 New Loot Types
The Fractured Isles - New Tool / Encounter / World Event
Trial of Fools - New Gameplay / Enemies / Vanity Items
Turned Tides - New Encounter/Area/Voyage Type

Warning I've written the full campaign below, this is a lot of text.

---

Raised Chains

-Lore-

The Ferry of the Damned has vanished from the Sea of Thieves, the only remnants is the plaque that once sat above the portal back to the land of the living. An unlikely alliance between pirates and trading companies must band together. Otherwise death may once again mean the end of a pirate.

Along this master voyage, old foes resurface. Shadowy figures of those defeated will once again emerge from the depths. Tales of legendary pirates will become true.

-Objective-

• Introduce a story driven campaign.
• Bring together all gameplay elements currently in the game.
• Revisiting elements of previous campaigns.
• Create a new experience using existing mechanics.
• Bring a more challenging voyages for seasoned players.

-Overview-

The Raised Chains is a campaign targeted at players who are familiar with base mechanics of the game. The entry requirements below are designed so new players won’t start the campaign without knowing;

• Must be level 10 with the three base trading companies.
• Must have done at least 1 voyage for the three expanded companies.
• Must have completed at least 5 Bilge Rat commendations.
• Must have died at least 3 times in the game (will become clear why).

The campaign will begin once the player dies for the first time after all criteria is met. It will appear as a voyage in the players inventory. It can also be tracked by the commendation screen. This will help track when a player completes part of the campaign they may not be up to with other crews.

The update will also introduce a notice board to all outposts, this will have multiple uses. Its primary use is to help players find others in the server to assist in their campaign.

The campaign itself will be divided into four acts, each ending with a major battle. Each act will be divided into four to five chapters. If a player logs out unlike regular voyages their progress will be saved to the start of the chapter they are on.

---

New Mechanic – Notice Board

The notice board will appear at all outposts and will be linked across the server. Meaning if a player posts a notice it will appear on all the boards for someone to claim. Its uses are as follows;

• Discard found voyages for other crews to complete.
• Notify crews server wide of a meeting place to form an alliance. Additional information can be added to show goals of the alliance.
• Display where your crew is in Raised Sails incase another crew wishes to assist.

---

Raised Chains – Act 1

The Damned Sea - Chapter 1

• Player starts campaign upon death and entering Sea of the Damned.
• They’ll now be in a rowboat with remnants of a destroyed ship around them.
• A plaque will be shinning in the water (as treasure does normally).
• Inspecting it will give the player their first riddle, directing them to a tavern.
• They’ll speak to Duke and then The Mysterious Stranger.
• They’ll be instructed to retrieve the plaque.
• On attempting to do so they’ll receive a curse and fail to bring the plaque through.
• Duke will remind the player about the rumour of Flameheart stealing a cannon from the Ferryman which in turn was stolen by Warsmith.

---

A Salty Request - Chapter 2

• The player will seek out Wonda, who will inform of Salty’s possible whereabouts if they help her with a cargo run.
• Cargo run is unique, moving flammable material that can’t be in light for too long or it’ll become damaged and eventually explode. Also they’ll be moving gunpowder kegs.
  Shadow of a pirate can protect the cargo meaning the pirate can carry the cargo with their back to the sun.
  Once completed this will become a possible cargo run in the future once the player is level 20 with Merchant Alliance.
• Wonda will tell the player where Salty is at Wander’s Refuge.
• On their journey to Wander’s Refuge the player will first encounter the Deadalodon. A skeletal/ghostly version of the original Hungering One.
  This can’t harm the player, similar effect to “Ship in a Bottle” from Scholars of Curses.
• Once they find Salty he says he’ll help them find Flamerheart’s wreck if they bring him parrot feathers.

---

My Feathered Friends - Chapter 3

• The player’s master voyage updates instructing them to head to a Merchant Alliance representative.
• Merchant Alliance refuses to help unless if there is a demand for parrots.
• Player can talk to all vendors on the island until they have four requests.
• Once returning to Merchant Alliance they’ll receive an animal gathering voyage.
  These require the player get bait from the tavern as well as cages from the trading company.

The voyage itself is optional, if abandoned can be repurchased from merchant alliance.

Once completed parrots will be added to animals gathering voyages once the player reaches level 25 with Merchant Alliance.

• While at sea their ship will be attacked by the Deadalodon again, this time it can do damage to the ship. But the player can’t damage it back. Forcing them to run.
• After the player brings Salty feathers (either as an alive parrot or can be collected from a dead parrot) he’ll agree to help.

---

War of Sea - Chapter 4

• Salty will lead them to empty south-west corner of the map.
• Here a fleet encounter will begin. On the final wave Salty will abandon ship.

First wave 3 sloops.

Second wave 1 sloop, 1 galleon.

Final wave 2 galleons. Warsmith’s galleon has no ladders and is armoured. (Warsmith’s ship is less aggressive until the other galleon is sunk).

The player can’t actually sink Warsmith, instead once they’ve endured the battle for so long the Deadalodon will appear and attack Warsmith’s ship.

• Warsmith will dive ending the counter, the Undeadalodon will dive also.
• The player’s master voyage will update telling them to return to Duke.

Some rewards will float at the end of the counter to be cashed in.

There’ll also be cosmetics unlocked themed around parrots.

A title will become unlocked.

(Sometime after the campaign is released, armoured Skellie galleons will appear in fleets.)

---

Raised Chains – Act 2

A Slayer’s Son - Chapter 5

• The player will travel back to Duke to begin the second act.
• The player will mention the Deadalodon in which they’ll be told Merrick may hold the answers. Sending them to Shark Bait Cove.
• There the player will find a the painting and a new journal from Merrick. Leading the player to several islands. Hunting journals on the way to follow Merrick’s journey.
• Eventually they’ll end up on Shark Tooth Key where they’ll find Derrick.
• He’ll inform them Merrick has retired, but has passed his tales onto him.
• Deep in the ocean to the west is wreck that holds tons of cursed artifacts.

---

Depths of Booty - Chapter 6

• Seagulls will be above the wreck, but are only visible if someone in the crew has reached this point of the voyage.
• Upon diving the players will be able to see a light very deep in the ocean. This is impossible to reach even when consuming bananas.
• On returning to Derrick he’ll suggest finding out the merfolk’s secret, sending them to The Sunken Grove to the north.
• The blocked entrance in the center of the island can be blasted open with a keg and the player can enter and dive. To find a hidden cave.
• Inscriptions on the walls indicate the merfolk curse can be temporarily applied with a song, which can only be played with a specific instrument.
• Returning to Derrick he’ll remind them about the Fools who have arrived with instruments of all kinds. As well as the Scholars who know all about curses.

---

Trial of The Fool King - Chapter 7

• The player can speak to a Fool at any of the outposts. Once they describe the instrument to the fools, they are told that nothing like that instrument exists. But their master may be able to make one.
• The player is given the option to take a master trial key or take it at a later time. If the key is lost a new one must be bought.
• The player must enter and get to at least the 15th level of the trial when the Fool King will appear and offer them an ultimate challenge.
• This will be only three floors but the trials are much harder and are hybrid floors of two of the trial types (skill, survival, puzzle, memory).
• Once completed these floors will appear after reaching level 10 in a trial run. Completing them grant extra rewards compared to regular floors.
• The Fool King will give the player this new instrument which is a cross between uilleann pipes and a hurdy gurdy, with a slot for a gem in the center.

---

Crusade of Curses - Chapter 8

• After the player speaks to a representative of the Scholars they are told the ship they are seeking is actually the wreck of their ship. They agree to help if the player brings the remainder of the lost treasure to them.
• They give the player a special compass of curses which directs them Mermaid’s Hideaway.
• Upon arriving the player has to play the instrument in the underwater cavern, some merfolk will appear and will sing a harmony.
• The player will mimic this, then teaching them the new song.
• The compass then directs the player to the most nearby mermaid statue for them to collect the gem inside.
• Now when holding a gem it gives the player the option to consume it which will place into the slot on their instrument.
• When playing the instrument with a gem inserted it will increase movement speed in the water as well as giving the player the ability to breath underwater.
• However it will also make the surface of the water glow the colour of the gem and the music can be heard from the surface.
• The gem will slowly lose its glow and degrade from ruby to emerald to sapphire. After this the gem will become gray and lose all effects, it can be sold for 250g.
• Finally the player will use the new tool to dive to the Scholars wreck and reclaim their treasure.
• The Scholars voyages can now lead players to deep wrecks which hold more rewards. Prior to sending them there it will send them to a mermaid statue.

---

War of Rubble - Chapter 9

• When speaking to the Scholars they’ll gift the player a new type of cursed cannon ball which has a blue glow. They’ll also mention the odd looking parrot that was hiding behind the bar.

This new cursed cannonball type can be found in barrels once the full campaign is complete.

Its main effect is that it can collide with ghostly creatures.

Its effect on regular ships is that it will make an initial hole but actually pass through the ship and make an exit hole also.

• Salty can be found behind the tavern, he’ll say that he lied about leading them to the wreck. He’s actually in a way linked to Warsmith and knew she was still “alive” and wanted them to finish the job.
• He gives them her new location but mentions she has commandeered a Husk and made some improvements compared to the regular Husks. Recommending stocking up on resources, especially grapples, and highly recommends forming an alliance.
• He also lets them know that the Husk is currently dived as the Deadalodon is circling the area.
• Once ready for battle the player can collect a crate of cursed cannonballs from the Scholars. During this chapter a new crate can be bought once all the balls have been depleted.
• Salty send the player to just north of Old Faithful Isle which is where the battle begins
• First the Deadalodon will attack, the battle is the same as a regular megalodon battle. Except it can only be hurt by the cursed balls. It will also occasionally vanish and reappear.
• A few moments after it is defeated. The Husk will rise from the depths. Similar to the galleon there are plates of armour on the fort, meaning the player can’t shoot grapples here until the armour is first destroyed. The Husk itself is more aggressive moves more frantically.
• Once The Husk is defeated a sloop will rise from the sea.
• On the captain wave of the fort, a mixture of skellie types will spawn as well as two random captains.
• On unlocking the treasure room Warsmith will be inside. Upon defeating her, her skull will remain there will also be a journal in this room.
• The players master voyage will update telling them bring the journal to the Order of Souls.

There will be treasure to collected in the treasure room, inside the Husk and from the Deadalodon when it is defeated.

A new title will be unlocked.

Cosmetics themed around merfolk and deep sea will be unlocked to be purchased.

A new ghostly shark figurehead and sails can be unlocked.

New cannon cosmetics can be unlocked.

---

Raised Chains – Act 3

Order of Five – Chapter 10

• The player can bring the journal to any Order of Souls representative to begin act 3.
• They will be told that the journal written in an ancient pirate code that they can’t decipher. They know the location of five cursed pirate captains that hold the answers if their skulls were returned.
• A new voyage will be added to the players inventory in the form of two maps and one cursed compass.
• The cursed compass will direct them to a location where an golden galleon will spawn. It can shoot up to three different types of cursed cannonballs. (These will cycle through, not all effects can be fired at once).
• One map will take them to an island with a wave of each of five harder variant skellie types. (mechanical, plant, shadow, gold, barnacled). The final wave will be a new hybrid type, such as golden shadow, along with 3 keg skellies.
• The other map will send them to and island with a bunch of normal skellies, followed by three hybrid captains at once.
• The skulls dropped have a high chance of hosting a curse.

After all five are cashed in the player will receive a translated journal. This can be accessed from their inventory. It will hold lots of snippets of lore hinting towards future content, but the main purpose will reveal the location of Flameheart. Which is on course outside the Devil’s Shroud.

---

Shroudbreaker - Chapter 11

• If the player is stuck their master voyage will tell them to speak to Duke once more who will remind them of Captain Morrow’s figurehead that cut through the Shroud.
• This will send the player to speak with Captain Morrow on Morrow’s Peak Outpost.
• She inform the player that the figurehead was shattered across the Roar possibly even further. The magic is held in the figurehead itself and unless if they had some way of tracking magic it was impossible.
• The Scholars inform this isn’t something they’ve looked for before they’d need a sample to create a tracker. They suggest the location of some pieces.

It could be possible that part of the figurehead is in the water near a volcano, the steam is what could’ve cleared the Shroud.

More could be at the bottom of the oceans.

Some could be buried in the beaches.

Some possibly some had made its way west. Which is what caused the Shroud to disperse there, but it’s location there would be impossible to find at the moment.

• They recommend speaking to people to find out if anything has been found near any active volcanoes.
• With this the player can travel to the various islands and speak with NPCs, or manually check the volcanoes. Eventually they’ll find out enough information that the land sometimes changes under sea when a volcano erupts, also no one had explored the volcano at Y25.
• Here when the volcano erupts the player can find an opening under sea to a secret cave. (meaning they’ll have to endure the heat to get inside). Inside they can find part of the figure head and collect it, there’ll be an opening full steam in the cave. When the player enters this they’ll be fired out the volcano into the sea.
• The piece can be returned to the Scholars who will give them a compass to another piece which is deep underwater.
• They’ll inform them that their compasses seem to have stopped working on the curse, but rumours are the Gold Hoarder may have tracked a piece down and have a map to its location. The maps received will have a ton of “Xs” on some of these will be fakes and instead will act as a geyser, spawn some skellies, or have the effect of a cursed cannonball.
  Once this voyage is completed, these effects are added to level 35 Gold Hoarder voyages.
• The player are informed the final piece must be in the Groaning Expanse.

---

Swamp of Sorrows - Chapter 12

• Arriving at the outpost in the Groaning Expanse the player will first need to map the area if they haven’t already.
• The mapmaker will inform them that something odd had been spotted but she won’t disclose the information until you complete a special voyage for her.
• This will be like a smaller Athena’s Voyage, with one map for each trading company. The player does however have to turn in these items to the mapmaker and receive less money for them. Failure to do so means the voyage will need to be repeated.
• Once completed this type of voyage can be purchased at all times.
• They will always feature one cursed item.
• For the voyage in the master campaign there will always be three Chest of Sorrows from one island.
• The mapmaker will reveal she had the piece all along and give them it as a final reward.
• The parts will need to be given to any shipwright who tells the player to return in one in-game day. They mention that someone looked like they were moving in above the Order of Souls, however they’re not open for business yet.

Going to the door of this location the player can see an “Under Contruction” type sign as well as a small table that says free samples. This is a hint to future content, the sample is a potion that temporarily turns the player into a skellie, but also grants them ability to stay deep in the Shroud without being hurt.

---

War of Fury - Chapter 13

• When the figurehead is completed it can be added to the players ship. The shipwright informs the player that they had someone test it. And its power only seemed to work one location, elsewhere the ship was still affected by the Shroud.
• They also remind the player about the potion samples.
• Now the player has the location of Flameheart’s base, the means to travel there and the ability to survive on the ground there, they can begin their voyage.
• The area north of the Devil’s Roar can now be entered, the Shroud in game now appears more like it is described in the lore, as a thick fog.
• There’s several uninhabited islands in this northern area but only one that appears to have structures on it carved into the rock. Visiting any of the other islands they’ll find hints to the correct island.
• On arriving on the correct island (called Treasure Trove Cove) there’ll be tons of a new skellie type roaming.
  These are scorched skellies, similar to golden skellies they can be debuffed by a bucket of water. They hold the same health as a regular bandanna skellie, are faster than regular skellies and cause damage when near a player even if they’re not attacking.
• It is possible for a player to sneak through the camp without combat, whenever too much damage is dealt to a player the potion effects will wear off. So they will have to be weary getting too close to skellies for too long.
• In the treasure room is a single crate with a similar appearance to the Box of Wonderous Secrets. When this is collected all skellies on the island will become aggressive. Forcing the player to fight their way back through if they hadn’t killed them already. The island will also act as an active volcano with lava flows, geysers and earthquakes appears. Flameheart himself is nowhere to be seen.
• When the crate is picked up the players master voyage will update telling them to bring it to Captain Morrow
• Returning the box to Captain Morrow will grant the player a large cash reward, she mentions there were some gauntlets inside that weren’t her style, along with a skull.

This will end Act 3, rewards are;

The gold received from Captain Morrow

A new title.

The ability to collect free sample potions.

More cosmetics themed around the Devil Roar and Groaning Expanse.

---

Raised Chains – Act 4

Lost at Sea – Chapter 14

The player can return to Duke and report that Flameheart was a dead end. He’ll inform the player that there are rumours that Flameheart has returned to the Sea of Thieves. He’ll also recommend that they take the skull they found to the Order of Souls.

If this is lost it can be collected again from Captain Morrow, it is impossible to sell this skull. Trying to cash it in will automatically trigger the dialogue with the Order of Souls.

They’ll inform the player that the memories show a skellie receiving a box with glowing inscriptions on it from a skeleton with a flame inside its ribcage. It then shows it later being slain by a man wearing the same pedant as Captain Morrow, who had chains wrapped around his arms. The last thing the skellie sees was him leaving with the same box as the first memory.

Speaking to Captain Morrow, she’ll remind the player of Stitcher Jim who betrayed her crew and his own as he was secretly working for the Gold Hoarder. She recommends speaking to the Gold Hoarders representatives.

They’ll say not speak of Stitcher Jim, as he had betrayed them and stole the box after he found out it held the secrets on how to bring things back from the land of the dead.

The players master voyage will update hinting about the use of the gauntlets that they had found.

If the player enters the Sea of the Damned while wearing the gauntlets they’ll be able to successfully bring the plaque through the portal.

Bringing this to the Mysterious Stranger they’ll tell the player how to find the Ferry of the Damned. They give the player sands of the dead and say to speak to the Scholars who will give them a compass leading there. They’ll end the conversation advising them to speak to Captain Morrow again.

The Scholars will also tell the players that the Ferry of the Damned may have similar properties to the Deadalodon. They say they’ve been working on a new tool to help in the battle, the cursed keg. The first one is free to the player, if it is destroyed a new one can be purchased.

The keg gifted to the player has no effect to other players. For regular/skellie ships it will only fill the lower deck with a bit of water.

If a player has three cursed cannonballs of one type they can exchange these for cursed kegs.

---

Unlikely Alliance – Optional Chapter

Speaking to Captain Morrow she’ll tell the player she’s heard what she’s up against and advise to not go alone. She’ll assist in the battle if she has a crew and ship.

For the ship the player will have to pay a high fee any shipwright

The first crew member is Derrick, he’ll agree to help if you kill a Megalodon for him. This will have a set spawn location and holds no loot.

The second crew member is Wonda, if the player hasn’t already completed her cargo run they can do this now. Otherwise she’ll say she’ll join.

The final crew member is someone from the Bilge Rats, who Duke will let you recruit if you have completed a certain number commendations with the Bilge Rats.

---

Stitcher’s Fleet - Chapter 15

The compass will lead the player to open sea to the south-west of Shark Bait Cove.

Once the player enters the correct area, fog will form making a large circle around their ship. If the player has recruited the Unlikely Alliance they will emerge from the fog to the south. Then the first battle will begin.

This battle is similar to a skellie fleet.

• The first wave will have 3 sloops. An armoured sloop, a ghostly sloop and a golden sloop.
• The second will be two galleons, one armoured and one golden.
• When the battle is finished the Unlikely Alliance will return into the fog and then the fog will disperse.

The player’s master voyage will change, the font and style of writing will be different. It will tell the player congratulations for getting this far, when they are ready for the final battle play the merfolks song with four other pirates.

---

War of Storms – Chapter 16

When the song is played the battle will begin. The fog will reappear along with the Unlikely Alliance.

The Ferry of the Damned will erupt from the sea and float in the sky. Chains will hang from it as it flies around, these can be used to board the ship. When the ship is hit with a blue cursed cannonball it can temporarily can be hit by regular cannons. If the player boards it and detonates the cursed keg, this will allow it be permanently hit with regular cannons. There is no crew on the ship, everything is functional though with a ghostly presence controlling it.

After so much damage is done the ship will instead sail in the sea. The curse that stops cannonballs will no longer apply. A storm will begin in the area and the ship will become more aggressive.

Once the ship is finally defeated a Kraken tentacle will appear from the sea and wrap around it. Before pulling it to the depths.

---

The Raised Chains – Chapter 17

This encounter will start immediately after the previous, if the player sinks during this battle they will not need to repeat Chapter 16. It can be reinitiated the same way.

Lightning will strike the sea and it will turn a dark inky black. All ships will be slowed down.

The Krakens tentacles will emerge from the depths each of them wrapped in glowing chains, with very few openings. These act as shield to the Kraken.

All eight tentacles have to be defeated. The Krakens body will emerge, and begin to attack the ship similar to how the megalodon does. Both its eyes glowing a deep green hue.

When it is finally defeated, the Kraken will leave and in the sea will be the steering wheel of the Ferry of the Damned.

This can be taken to The Mysterious Stranger for your final reward.

A large sum of all currencies in the game.

A large amount of XP for all trading companies.

A new title.

New cosmetics and ship cosmetics themed around the Ferry of the Damned

---

Summary of Rewards

Lots of gold staggered throughout the acts

Expanded voyages for all trading companies once the relevant chapter is completed.

Cosmetics themed to each of the acts.

Greater challenges can appear to the player once certain chapters are completed.

---

The End

I actually began to write this a few weeks back with the speculation of "Small Snails," but held off posting for several reasons. Primarily because I was waiting for the anniversary trailer to drop, but also I was reading through Athena's Fortune and the comic series. I wanted to try avoid topics that may actually be coming in the near future, and change the story accordingly. Somethings may have changed in game since writing it.

Thanks for reading! The next post I'm writing is called Encaged Eclipse.

@je0rgie-p0rgie said in Calling on Rare to Release Player Count Data:

@enf0rcer said in Calling on Rare to Release Player Count Data:

The problem is people keep throwing out numbers without understanding what they mean creating a false perception. Players as consumers should educate themselves on the product so they can be a good consumer.

The numbers I threw out were specifically used for our discussion. There's a difference between using numbers to build a point and using numbers to claim something as fact. Without the real numbers we need "example numbers" in order to easily hold a discussion.

I understand that your throwing out number as exaples to facilate disscussion this was not my point. My point is not what numbers are but what they represent is being misunderstood. So it doens't matter the acual number if players don't understand there meaning and are using them incorrectly.

Well we are not talking about what Rare cares about as a company, but why we should care to demand this kind of information as it IS valueable to us as players, But Rare wont release the numbers most likely cause they think it will negitively affect there company. Which they might be right. This is Why we need to Demand this as they won't just give it to us.

Except it does matter what Rare cares about. The point is that it's BECAUSE Rare cares about the community perception or the PR (public relations) it has with the gaming community that they won't release numbers they feel people might blow out of proportion.

Sure all companies have to manage PR. The issue is how and why they choose to do it?
Players might blow things out of proportantion If and only If they don't understand What they mean. Thats Why i feel players should Educate themselves instead of reling on the company to tell what you should and shouldn't Know.

With these numbers public people might freak out if there is a dip in activity and might start flooding the forums with "Sea of Thieves looses another 4,000 daily active players." We don't need posts like that on the forums, Rare is well aware of the different dips and trends in the player base. We don't need useless posts like that clogging up the forums.

Well if the Game did lose 4,000 players perminatly as in over a long period of time that would be concerning and is somthing worth disscussing. I get that you don't want to see negitive post in the forums but these number can also benifit the defense of the game as well. It's good to promote disscussion rather then argue over made up perceptions.

Yes knowing the numbers don't change them thats not the point of knowning the numbers. Because we don't have the numbers players have to make assumption on the games state based only on their own personal experiance which is why where disscussing these things on the forum. So if a player plays this game and a majority of the time not find anyone they would have to conclude the game is dying. Where as If we had the numbers and they were track like how steam does then players can make informed decision. Cause they will be able to look up peak times and we could have a more acurate count of the Total core player base and would not have these arguments if this game is dying. Instead Rare only throws out really high numbers with no baselevel leaving leaving gamer with false impressions. Such as the 5 million Unique Player ID, most player here and see that and expect that the playerbase is 5mill which is misleading as this olny count for People who turned on the game or had changed GT or use multiple GT cause this game was essentially Free due to Gampass that number is easily expected and is just an over inflation of what would be the core base.

So it sounds like to me that you only want these numbers public so that other players will stop making the claim that this game is "dying?"

No I'm arguing that Players be Informed in order to make better disicions and also so they can take productive action. Like in the Example where a player with these number could look up the Peak times for there location.

That's it. People will ALWAYS find a way to complain about something in a game. I mean I've seen developers pump out content to the point where the community started complaining that they didn't have time to finish the previously implemented stuff.

This is true weather they gave the information or not. Players have been stumbling on remnants of cut content for years. While it's true player get bum out hearing about cut or unfinish content they don't riot over it. The problem we have now is companies who clear lock completed content behind a paywall after already paying for the game Like in the case of Bungie and the destiny Franchise.
Or games Losing Quilty as Quilty content was dropped and replaced with Lazy and Garbage content. Like how Stories in some games where etheir Cut, Changed otr Removed entierly to poor mangement and leadership.

This is irrelevent not backwards. More like symantics As If they think the number makes there game look bad in the eyes of the player just means they think the numbers look bad and only spout numbers they think would sound good to players. Like the 100k new active players. This agian mean little but sounds good. As we don't know the baseline or the retention rates only that Players are still interested and want to try the new content. Not how good the content is and how long it will retain those players. It's good for a busness sense if the majority of users ar from gamepass as thats there main source of revenue.

It's not irrelevant, it's good PR. It's entirely possible to meet internal goals but still fall short of the expectations of the community. That's partly why developers don't allow people to discuss closed door testing with the public. Things change and if people hear something is currently in testing or in development and then it gets the chopping block it can cause a stir among the community. It's about managing the expectations of your player base. You don't need people screaming "smoke, smoke smoke" when there isn't even a fire.

Frist off you can contend not giving the information as smoke. Now i don't adhere to the idea of where theres "smoke theres fire" but is a valid concern that should be investigated and disscussed.

Second your right good PR is important to a Company therefore they are incentvise not to give you information that makes them look bad. This doesn't mean we as the Consumer should not be able to access to this information. Infact we should hold the right to this information. It would be like saying Customers don't need to know that we feed our animal antibiotics cause then they might think the meat came from a sick animal thus won't buy our meat product. Since the meat is medically safe to eat we don't need to tell them. That to me is rediculas. This is a rather extreme example i'll amit but you get the point. It's a Principle. We have the right to know about the things we consume. In a Multiplayer Experiance where the core expect comes from player interaction I should want to Know How much interaction to expect.

Lastly It is the Dev and Publishers that set players expectation with there marketing. When they start saying numbers like 5 mill unque Player Id's and 100 thousands more active players They create and Expectation and with out a baseline of refence or other number to use in context then you as a company are leading player have a false perception and inturn have unrealistic expectation. Theres a reason Why we have things like hype Trians.

We are the consumers. We must demand quailty from our Products, Transparency from the companies business practices and We must demand the realease of all relevent information so we can be Educated and act as Pro consumers. This is our responsiblity as Consumers we can't let Fanboism to continue to sheild companies from doing anti-consumer practices. That is bad for Everyone both the Consumer as well as the company.

How is the quality of the game affected by knowing the number of players playing at any given time?

A) So we can have a baseline to which we can objectively measure Quality.

B) So players can have the Knowage a tools to get the most from there Experiance.

Are you talking about the quality of your experience?

Yes. Thats Half my case. Cause when you purchase a Game your Paying for an Experiance if that Experiance is poor the quality is poor. Like if i go Watch a Movie The movie itself can be Awesome and a Masterpiece, From the story to the cinetagrapy, but this means nothing if i got there late case the theather didn't post the time or the Screen was bad that day cause my theather was going broke.

If the servers do their jobs you should always be on a server with other players, plain and simple.

I totaly agree unfortunatly this isn't always the case.

If you play during a period of time where a lot of server merges happen then either 1) find a different time slot to play in 2) or if that's not possible you'll need to deal with the merges. Both of those can be figured out and done without knowing the exact number of people playing the game.

Sure this could be done but that doesn't mean the numbers don't serve a purpose. I fact like i stated before knowing the number can assist in making this disicion. If the numbers for my peak times and non peak time are drasticly different then i might want to opt for playing on those peak time while on the other hand if they were mostly simular i might just choose to deal with the sever merges and expect to have to play around them.

Rare is more transparent that a majority of game developers out there. They're fantastic when it comes to communication and stepping up and admitting when they've done wrong.

Well i woudn't say Fantastic at least in general. As far as a AAA studio goes they are indeed by far the best. It is somthing i repeatly give them priase for and somthing that i repect and admire. Which is also why i wish for them to become more transparent. If they screw up and admit there mistake thats awesome as this is the frist step to fixing any mistake. As many other Studios as well as publisher have choosen to double and triple down on there mistakes as of late.

This is why i feel Rare is heading in the right Direction and is why SS update has been the best by far. I will continue to push for more transparency and for disscussion as it is the only way to ensure we get Quailty content and You should want this to. Cause Companies won't give you Quility unless you Demand It. Rember the Rule of Supply and Demand.

As we already know, the game is lacking in content variety, but the gameplay core is insanely fun and well-done, making it the only spiritual successor to the "pirate theme" of Sid Meier's Pirates.
Many are asking for PvE ships but coding an AI able to fight with a galleon would be pretty tricky and it would never compare with playing against players. On the other hand, coding a ship scripted to just go from A to B while being able to shoot only if any "enemy tagged" ship pass in front of their cannons is pretty easy.

This is why would be cool to have two additional companies which revolves entirely around merchant ships.

Escort Missions
Basically, there would be two new factions. Let's call them "Trade Company" and "Marauders" (the bartender may be a good contact for these, as HolyWolf526 suggested). You can only sign to one of them at a time and they have both unique rewards. You can obviously switch faction, but there would be a long delay.
When you get a contract, or periodically like the forts, a merchant ship would spawn at X outpost, with a departure timer. Every player on the server who is signed with the Trade Company would be notified of this event.Its objective is to safely carry the goods to another outpost. These are unique goods, that you cannot steal.

Social Experience
As soon as the merchant ship reach the other outpost - and you're in its immediate vicinity, you'll get a shared rewards with everyone else who signed with the Trade Company and helped during the trip. This would add variety and also makes the friendly players happy to be able to socially interact with other people of the same factions while sailing... in most cases.

PvP Aspect
In other cases, other players will join as marauders, trying to sking the merchant ship before it reaches its destination. How does it work? After the departure and a certain quantity of time, every player signed as "marauder" will get a notification on the map that a merchan ship is sailing. This way the "good" players would have time to prepare.
If you want to get the booty all for yourself, plus an higher quanity of gold and marauder rep, you have to sink the ship and get the special crates to the marauder NPC. There will obviously be people grinding the same type of mission but that's impossible to prevent. Star Wars Galaxies has a MASSIVE amount of different jobs (medic, dancer, bounty hunter, bioengineer, ship pilot, etc.) and yet most of the players were doing animal hunts 24/7.

This would be a two-way type of missions content, which would sometime end as PvP and sometime as a chilly social experience on the sea, which is the main visions behind Sea of Thieves.

VARIANT Trade Companies War
Instead of Trade Company and Marauders, two trade companies: West Trade Company and East Trade Company. This way you can have both attack and defend missions without switching factions. It would also fit the lore of the game. Imagine, two trade companies sabotaging each other.

EXTRA MISSIONS for including EVERY kind of player - IMPORTANT
An additional type of missions for both factions, would also be able to take some unsellable goods from A to B. It would give little exp but would be a completely PvE mission and would grant everyone the possibility to level up said companies/factions.

Conclusion and reasons
Unique rewards (dresses, pets, etc..) on both factions would grant enough population to both of them and it would also canalize the pointless aggressivity of some crew towards an objective. It would promote social relations, grouping (in a natural way because the rewards is shared)
I would actually write down a detailed GDD (game design document) about this feature but that would probably be wasted time. I'd like to hear opinions on it though, maybe even from the dev team.

Anti-Grief
Obviously people who got the contract and are signed as Trade Company cannot switch faction or do friendly fire. To prevent griefing. You can also easily tweak the impact stat of the NPC ship to make it able to just push anyone who gets in front without stopping.

@luciano-di-mase said in Why SOT is thousand times better than games you are used to:

@kgmshylian said in Why SOT is thousand times better than games you are used to:

@luciano-di-mase said in Why SOT is thousand times better than games you are used to:

@kgmshylian said in Why SOT is thousand times better than games you are used to:

@luciano-di-mase Gamepass is not free, so nothing else is that is included in it.

You pay for the access to stream games. The actual content is free.

Like netflix, all shows/movies are free. You pay for the platform.

I have no idea how to explain this. By this logic, the movie producing companies and game companies are going bankrupt. Because you think the only money flow is to the platform. You are paying for them just indirectly, they are NOT free. I give up, I can't explain this any better :D

Exactly, it's called a supply chain. When you go to a shop and buy a pair of Nike trainers, you aren't paying Nike, you're paying the store that stocks the trainers.

Again, you are paying for a platform. Everything on that platform is free.

Want another example?

When you go to the gym, you pay to have access to all the services/equipment. You don't pay to go on the treadmill. That comes free as part of the fee you paid just to get into the building.

You can play Sea of Thieves for the rest of your life and never pay for it. That's the whole point of a subscription service.

Okay let me give you an example. If you only subscribed to play SoT for the rest of your life out of the whole library. It is not free to play SoT for the rest of your life, because you will keep paying the subscription to access it. It is just another way to pay for games.