Reputation/morality system + Viking/polar expansion

  • Cpt Chromeus
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    ~~Similar to GTA online’s “mental state” system, we could have a similar sort of thing in the game, so if a player has consistently killed players they’ve been in an alliance with (as has happened to me a fair few times) when you look at players through the telescope, their name could be in a slightly different colour, just so you know what type of player you may be dealing with. On the flip side, players that have been cooperative/helpful with other crews could have an indication through the colour of their name.

    This wouldn’t even have to be a permanent effect, it could be session based, so it reverts back to default every time you join a new session. Going even further this could be an unlockable feature e.g. you speak to the tavern keeper and pay a small sum of gold to ask if they’ve seen “any famous/infamous pirates around lately?” And only then can you see the colour of their name.~~

    *EDIT- As stated in my replies I do agree that taking the choice away from players about how they wish to express their intentions would be a bad idea, but adding in commendations with rewards like titles, clothing and ship cosmetics that have to be earned by playing cooperatively would allow players the choice to display their intention to play peacefully/cooperatively.

    On a side note:
    Icy themed zone/tall tales? This could be a Viking themed expansion. Frozen Skeletons with Viking helmets for captains, a tall tale centred around finding Thor’s hammer, longship themed ship cosmetics, runic tattoo sets. Moving icebergs to navigate your ship around? A world serpent boss creature to match the kraken (originally a Norse myth anyway!) and megaladons lurking in the ocean?

    The Vikings were the original pirates so let’s give them some credit here lol.

    *UPDATE: Just saw this video by Falcore which illustrates what I had in my head better than I could put into words.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aphkflnxnZY

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  • Acetemanophen
    Marauder
    Insider

    this idea doesn't get any better just because it gets posted every day by some bad after they get betrayed. they aren't going to ruin the alliance system to cater to the whiny minority.

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @x1-s-a-v-i-lzz

    The morality thing will never happen. Pirates have always been known for being in the grey area of morality. Never knowing what someone might do at any given moment and keeping you up on your toes is by design.

    You got outplayed - it's as simple as that. Alliances are meant to be fragile. Never fully trust anyone outside of your own crew.

    Don't ask a game to change its fundamental nature to cater to your mistakes.

    Better luck sailing next time - maybe you'll remember to keep your head on a swivel.

    As for the region thing, it's been asked for before, and while new regions are good (there's rumors of an eastern aesthetic and dragons circulating), Vikings aren't likely going to be a good fit in a pirate game.

  • Ruigtand NL
    Master
    Insider

    I think it could be funny.. pirates gaining red glowing eyes or something cool or just killcount on the hull with markings for sunken boats..

  • Sweltering Nick
    Castaway

    @x1-s-a-v-i-lzz

    Viking/polar expansion

    You realize Vikings were literally just scandinavians (Norway, Sweden, Denmark), right? Sure the weather can get cold up here, but we don't have ice and snow all year around, dude.... And certainly no polar bears. xD

    The Northeastern part of the map is already viking themed, Dark green algae-like water, lots of rocks, that's what Vikings dealt with most of the time, when it wasn't winter. :P

    I would love some viking inspired cosmetics though, as vikings were technically pirates!

    Personally, i like viking swords! :D

  • KattTruewalker
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder
    Deckhand

    @x1-s-a-v-i-lzz

    Welcome aboard the forums!

    Always been intrigued by the possibility of a more wintery area in Sea of Thieves, perhaps even seasonal snow? It's definitely something which has been mentioned a fair few times from pirates' wishlists :)

    As to the morality system, an interesting idea you have there, we do know from experience that Rare have the option to tweak rewards and such (as with the recent Chest of Sorrows tweak) so as to encourage or influence different behaviours on the Seas - and yes, we're pirates but when an alliance is broken, well, that'd be something my crew wouldn't take kindly to and in our experience it does feel like this is happening slightly more often now than in recent times, maybe what we need is more encouragement to keep to the alliance than to betray it?

    What would encourage you to stay in an alliance and not betray it? What are the reasons to betray it?

  • Nabberwar
    Lord
    Insider

    The problem with Reputation Systems, is it will impact player choice. If I see someone who has say a negative reputation, I won't trust them. The game gave me a reason why, regardless of that nice demeanor that player gave off. This is where the problem lies, it is solely on the players themselves to decide on who is trustworthy, not some system to do the decision making for you.

  • Chronodusk
    Commander
    Insider

    @x1-s-a-v-i-lzz said in Reputation/morality system + Viking/polar expansion:

    just so you know what type of player you may be dealing with.

    I don't think we're ever supposed to be able to discern this sort of thing without having an interaction with the player. "Knowing ahead of time" goes against the unpredictable nature of the shared world.

    It's only natural to be uneasy about the unknown, but Sea of Thieves is the kind of game that thrives on and embraces the fear of the unknown!

  • Cpt Chromeus
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @galactic-geek I’m not talking about actual Vikings or Viking factions living in the game as that obviously wouldn’t work with the era the game is loosely set in, just a Nordic themed area, the Vikings were the original pirates and there’s now archeological evidence to prove they may have been the first to discover America, it could work logistically. Plus a slightly colder area would be a nice aesthetic change from tropical islands, imagine exploring large floating icebergs with forts and tunnels inside, would be cool I reckon

  • Cpt Chromeus
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @katttruewalker reading a lot of responses and I do agree now that taking it away from players would be a bad idea, even if it was only short term like session based. I think having commendations and titles/items for being either cooperative or hostile would be a good choice, so if you do say 50 voyages as an alliance and don’t kill the other alliance members then you could have a title or a flag or something that you could choose to wear to show you’re not intending to be hostile or at least let other players know that you have been cooperative in the past.. I’d be far more inclined to try form alliances and be cooperative if there was rewards for doing so.

  • Cpt Chromeus
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @chronodusk As I've said in other replies, I do agree now that taking the choice away from players would be a bad idea, but pirates would ultimately earn a reputation for being back-stabbing or loyal. Adding more cosmetics, titles and commendations that have to be earned by playing these ways would give people the choice to express their intentions if they so desired.

  • Cpt Chromeus
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @sweltering-nick said in Reputation/morality system + Viking/polar expansion:

    You realize Vikings were literally just scandinavians (Norway, Sweden, Denmark), right? Sure the weather can get cold up here, but we don't have ice and snow all year around, dude.... And certainly no polar bears. xD

    I do know it certainly doesn't get to the extremes I mentioned :) I have visited before ahaha, but if any culture/aesthetic would match a wintry environment, you can't get much more rich than nordic culture. It could even be a spin on Jotunheim (without all the giants ;))

  • Mikedinski
    Seafarer
    Insider

    @acetemanophen Ruin the alliance sytstem? What are you talking about?

  • Cpt Chromeus
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @mikehit00 said in Reputation/morality system + Viking/polar expansion:

    @acetemanophen Ruin the alliance sytstem? What are you talking about?

    See my other replies... XD

  • UltmateRagnarok
    Master

    @x1-s-a-v-i-lzz

    Actually, the Arabs and their dual-masted ships were among the first to discover the Americas, in the empire which holds the record for spreading the farthest the fastest for the longest time - they held the world for a thousand years after spreading to all of it in a century. A wintery area, that'd be nice, fits in with the theme of the Devil's Roar in the east-southeast area, so plop it in the west-northwestern section and there it is. It'd certainly be nice to see at some point, but I doubt we'll see viking-like styles in particular. They stopped exploring long before the time when the Sea of Thieves is set, and who knows exactly how long the Devil's Shroud has covered the region. I do like the idea of a drifting (or even stationary) iceberg with outwards-facing cannons and a tunnel network within being the only accessible areas. Like the caves of Snake Island, one of my favorite island features past the kraken bone supported cave on Flintlock Peninsula. HOWEVER, a reputation system for these wouldn't work. We already have markers which the community has assigned as peaceful symbols - the cannons facing the sky is one, though it is mostly dead; the rainbow flag is now used as a lure rather than a symbol of inclusion or peace; the white flag often is assumed to show a new player to leave be or harass. A red flag historically showed a crew who killed and plundered from all they saw, while a black and white one marked a generally peaceful or neutral crew, but as evidence shows, players would rather not fly the Reaper's Mark or any other red flag. You have to find out by yourself whether that pirate is one to be trusted or one waiting for the moment to plunge a dagger into your back.

  • Cpt Chromeus
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @ultmateragnarok said in Reputation/morality system + Viking/polar expansion:

    @x1-s-a-v-i-lzz

    Actually, the Arabs and their dual-masted ships were among the first to discover the Americas, in the empire which holds the record for spreading the farthest the fastest for the longest time - they held the world for a thousand years after spreading to all of it in a century.

    Wow I did not know that! (I really should considering my great-Aunt is Jordanian XD) I was basing my theory on a documentary I watched where they found what appeared to be a Viking ritual site in North America.

    As I've said in a previous reply, I agree a fully fledged morality system may be a bit overboard (pun intended) but maybe more ways for players to express their intention to play a certain way; like ship cosmetics and clothing that have to be earned through commendations for playing cooperatively.

  • Ruigtand NL
    Master
    Insider

    I sure hope snowvikings have different colour emperor pengu's to catch in coops xD

  • Acetemanophen
    Marauder
    Insider

    @mikehit00 OP wants to mark players for using the alliance system in a way it's meant to be used; taking advantage of careless players. it's clear this was a salt post with no thought for what is actually good for keeping the game fun. just like every other time someone gets bodied and comes to the forums to suggest a punishment for utilizing the alliance system.

  • Cpt Chromeus
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @acetemanophen said in Reputation/morality system + Viking/polar expansion:

    @mikehit00 OP wants to mark players for using the alliance system in a way it's meant to be used; taking advantage of careless players. it's clear this was a salt post with no thought for what is actually good for keeping the game fun. just like every other time someone gets bodied and comes to the forums to suggest a punishment for utilizing the alliance system.

    How about read what myself and others have replied before you start a rant because someone made a suggestion based off a game feature that's in 2 AAA titles and that works perfectly well.

    If you had read my responses you'd see that I now agree that taking the choice away from players is a bad idea and instead suggested that more rewards are offered for playing cooperatively/uncooperatively so players can choose to display an obvious sign that they have and want to play cooperatively.

    If as you say, the alliance system was purely designed just to be way of screwing other players over then why have it in the first place? Go to the arena if you need to get off so badly by beating other players, kid.

  • UltmateRagnarok
    Master

    @acetemanophen

    The alliance system was meant to be a reason to bind fleets together during Cursed Sails, rather than just having the skeleton armada in the middle of several ships fighting among themselves. It was warned in the introduction to the update that alliances can be broken, but such behavior is neither encouraged nor discouraged.

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