What if the game had no Voyages?

  • Pellahh
    Lord
    Insider

    How do you guys think the game would have evolved if Rare didn't think of Voyages as a main thing to do in the game?

    Imagine just logging in, getting some resources and setting sails to an island of your choice. Once there you explore the island and may find a skeleton crew, on defeating the captain your receive two maps: one for the chest and one for the key (imagine killing an Ashen Key Master and an Ashen Guardian at the same time). The game would probably be based on more random encounters on the islands and would have a quite different gameplay and soul from the today's game.

    I know! Even if the profit is minimal (specially after the emissary update) you could actually play like that in today's game too, but what if the game was meant to play like that, having an economy based on that kind of experience? Also with more types of random encounters on islands, as I said, or whatever would have been the Devs decision if the game would have developed like that.

    In my opinion it could be a quite interesting way of developing the game, it could actually be more centered on exploration and andventure that what the game is now, it could also have more freedom since, by having no Voyages, you decide where to go.

    Let me know what your thoughts!

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  • Vaca Hombre
    Champion
    Boatswain
    Founder

    @pellahh

    Actually, this is something I do quite often. If I know my playtime will be short or I'm unsure how much time I'll have, I don't bother with Voyages and just sail between islands looking for washed up treasure and shipwrecks.

    I mainly just do it for fun, but I've had some surprisingly profitable sessions this way. Just the other day I actually went from level one to ten in Reaper's Bones (no flag bonuses or anything, I was kinda testing the recent nerfs) with just the flotsam and jetsam I managed to acquire from barely an hour of sailing aimlessly.

    I like the Voyages though, and I think they're needed for the more goal oriented pirates (which can include me, depending on my mood). But sea-hoboing it is pretty much just as lucrative and, in my opinion, a lot of fun.

  • Stundorn
    Castaway
    Insider
    Founder

    I can only say i'd even prefer SoT without factions, without journeys, only messages in a bottle completely random and only one map not journeys that consist of 3-12 Maps.
    All cosmetics were available from scratch for only gold and because they are expensive you have to find treasure etc...
    Nothing gated behind any levels, even not horizontal progression.

  • Vaca Hombre
    Champion
    Boatswain
    Founder

    @bugaboo-bill

    Y'know, I actually kinda like the sound of that.

  • Stundorn
    Castaway
    Insider
    Founder

    @vaxa-hombre

    True sandbox eh seabox ;-)

    But tbh we would be about 150 people who like this i guess and the gsme would have never been developed this way, too much niche.

    I allways liked games others dont like.
    I allways like features others dont like.
    For example i like bad hitreg as it feels like the inaccuracy of guns of that time.
    I like long reload times and i played War of Rights with 1 Shot and 30s reload.
    I like "empty" games and often i like the "lack of content" or at least dont see the lack, but make my own content.
    If the game world is nice and the atmosphere invites to immerse i immerse and have fun even with less features and or content.
    Tons of games have tons of features and content and lack soul and atmosphere.
    I'm originally a Pen and Paper Dude from late 80ies/90ies.
    I switched to RPG games and needed about 20 years to accept that RPG on computer is a little like the opposite of a good roleplay.
    This Game is perfect to Roleplay in, but it's only a tiny fraction who roleplays at all. It's a shame to me!

    I gave up finding germanspeaking roleplayers in SoT, i gave up finding Roleplayers in ohne games anyway. Dont say Lord of the Rings online or whatever. These roleplayers are just a shadow of what i call RP and like an insult to me :-)
    Maybe some UO freeshards, but well...

    Games are meant to be played.
    Most games developed are meant to make you addicted and earn money with. And most gamers game systems and working off stuff, nit playing having fun.
    Sad truth

  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    It might work for some people, but I think the popularity of the game would not be what it is without the voyage system. It's a driving force behind a lot of interaction, and without it a lot of players would be lost on what to do.

    Now if they could only make it better by adding different voyage types, different kinds of encounters, and maybe have a bit more randomness on the islands (secret passages that activate for voyages, levers, traps, etc...) it would be even better.

  • Vaca Hombre
    Champion
    Boatswain
    Founder

    @bugaboo-bill

    I keep dropping into GTA online now and then. Never actually played any of the content, just kinda messed around. I remember seeing a clip of someone playing one of the missions where they pretend to be garbage men and drive around collecting garbage bags.

    I remember thinking, "they should add stuff like that into the game, just to do". I suppose some might find that strange, that I'm wishing I could perform jobs in a video game, but I like the idea of being able to just exist in the world. Being a garbage man, driving a cab, cooking in a restaurant, etc.

    I guess it's just the idea of being able to play around in a fully realized world; doing what I want with lots of activities to choose from and plenty of options to doll up my character with.

  • Chronodusk
    Commander
    Insider

    @pellahh

    Without voyages, there wouldn’t really be a focused way to take on a trading company, and I personally enjoy being able to do that.

    I don’t know, I personally wouldn’t want the RNG to decide which company I get to focus on. If I want to dig up chests all day, then I have my gold hoarder voyages I can do. Without them, then it’s just a bit too random IMO.

    I see what you’re getting at, but I feel like we have a healthy dose of this play style available already. You really can set sail without a voyage and obtain a nice haul just from island hopping.

  • COMBATxKITTY
    Commander
    Insider

    Me and my friend do this every night we play pretty much.We rarely do voyages anymore. Instead we look for ship wrecks, search islands for treasure, grab treasure from the sea and search fort rooms. We do really well playing this way . Often we run into skelly captains then get a treasure map for an island.We just find being free pirates so much more fun.

  • cosmiicllama
    Rogue
    Insider

    honestly it would be no man sky not in space XD

  • Captain Arcanic
    Master
    Insider

    I think "adding" more random quest givers would be a great touch. Not just bottle voyages, but actual NPC characters that appear on random islands and are later gone. No warning or way to track them except to explore.

    The shipwrecked pirate who wants you to deliver an item. (Physical item to deliver for payment)

    The Ghost who needs you to find her killer... and her body.
    (track the skellie captain and get the map that locates her grave.)

    The Outpost merchant with an extra tab (adventure hook) randomly on their conversation wheel.
    (lucrative side job.)

    The fisherman who wants you to track down the meg that took his arm.
    (Bring back special meg meat for a ransom.)

    Pirate who asks you to track down the skellie sloop that sank him and retrieve his emissary flag.

    All of this has already been proven mechanically possible in the Tall Tales, and mixing them into random server spawns would mean that you could throw a large variety out there without bogging down the system.

    I love the idea of searching the shoreline with my spyglass and seeing a non-hostile, random character somewhere I didn't expect to find them.

    And some could be persistent in the server until their quest has been concluded. Meaning other players might be trying for the prize too.

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