Increased Flag Visibility

  • Atomikrin
    Sailor

    Hello Rare team,

    Right now, flags seem primarily serve as only an aesthetic consideration for most ships. While I have seen the handful of articles and videos summarizing what different flags mean or are intended to communicate, in practice by the time a player is close enough to see what flag is flying the encounter has typically already been determined. (Fight, flight, or ignore)

    I believe that adding flag markers to the ship name plate that comes up when looking through the spyglass would make the choice of what flag to fly part of the social dance players engage in. Someone who wants to make it clear they're a threat might fly the jolly roger, while someone who's trying to mind their own business would fly the white flag, or someone who's patrolling for megs might fly the killer whale flag. There's plenty of room for players to get creative and even ample opportunity for misdirection.

    Here is a proposed mockup of what I'm envisioning:
    alt text

    As a side note, it would also be great if more pride flags were available beyond the basic rainbow one.

    Thank you for your time

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  • Soulstinger2k20
    Master
    Insider

    Might be tricky to implement but I like it! Doesnt reveal what Emmi they are running; keeping that as a skill recognizing the cutout shapes, but shows their chosen flag

  • CaptDirtyOar
    Ship Mate

    @atomikrin said in Increased Flag Visibility:

    I believe that adding flag markers to the ship name plate that comes up when looking through the spyglass would make the choice of what flag to fly part of the social dance players engage in.

    I like that.

    Also the red on black for reapers is hard to tell what level flag it is sometimes, depending on angle of ship.

    Even when pretty close... me and another player had trouble working out the level couple nights ago and it was way closer then the ship in OP Atomikrin's screenshot.

  • HiradC
    Lord
    Insider

    Cool idea, although with how frequently the current banners bug out i wonder how feasible it is. But can't hurt to ask.

  • Fry9889
    Captain
    Insider

    I quite like that idea. Sort of related, I'd like to see the ability to add a short line of text to the banner from the flag box. Something like "Help with Skeltone thrones", "Let's do Glitterbeard" or "I have gifts to sell". Maybe 100-characters, keep it short. In the real world ships used a series of flags to pass somewhat complex messages at great distances https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_maritime_signal_flags . Therefore it wouldn't even be particulary unrealistic. Of course people could lie in their messages, and that adds a little more spice.

  • Atomikrin
    Sailor

    @fry9889

    I hadn't considered it, but that's an interesting idea as well!
    Probably not just free text with a character limit because that can be really hard to moderate, but maybe something like the Dark Souls message system where you can select from a dictionary of terms to create short phrases.
    It would be cool to be able to use that kind of message system to name or put notes on treasure maps.

  • Curmbarell
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    Yea would be great but sadly more pride flags would also mean more harassing and bullying from toxic players

  • BekkBloodaxe96
    Marauder
    Insider

    @sigismund9164 Having even just the option of more flags shouldn't be removed by those people who would bully and harass. In my opinion, it will help take the trash out... if someone can't handle a certain flag and feel the need to react poorly to it you can clip it, report them and make the seas a better place. And if you don't want to deal with it on a certain day you can always just take the flag down.

  • HonestAuntyElle
    Commander
    Insider

    Love it.

    I wish they'd add it the next chance they get, along with any alliance flags, or emissary flags.

  • Panda Pirate923
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @atomikrin More pride flags are a terrible idea, people already get bullied enough with the classic one. Even if it "Takes the trash out" it's bad from a business standpoint since it could come with a potential loss of revenue. More pirate themed flags? Absolutely. Love the rest of your idea by the way.

  • GoldsMen
    Captain
    Insider

    Not something we need, but if they can do it and it doesnt some how break some unrelated thing like a lot of updates have in the past, i dont see why not!

  • Atomikrin
    Sailor

    @panda-pirate923
    Oh dang, that sucks. Sounds like the community has a problem with bigots bullying marginalized people. Now I'm just one person and certainly not an expert, but could I maybe suggest not maintaining the status quo by doing nothing and instead choose to make the space more welcoming for said marginalized communities? There's a slight possibility that bigots are actually the minority of the larger gaming community and shouldn't be catered to.

    Small gestures like this tell the bigots they're not welcome and invites folks who may have previously chose to avoid the community to participate. If folks are worried about being targeted for using these flags they don't have to, but it also sounds like the community has bigger problems if there's a fear that making these options available will lead to more harassment. Having more pride flags available as an option has no impact on game-play, doesn't affect anyone who doesn't want to use them, and makes the space feel more welcoming to those who do want them. Trying to appease bigots never works, they're always going to be angry about something.

    If we want a less toxic community then that, by necessity, means we have to push toxic people out and invite good people in.

  • JuneBug3153
    Castaway

    @panda-pirate923 Avoiding pride flags is exactly what bigots want to encourage. The more they normalize the idea that such flags are “out there” or otherwise inappropriate, the easier it is to paint LGBTQ folks as deviants.
    And, insofar as business goes-clearly they’re not hurting. Perhaps let’s avoid any “preemptive compliance”, ya know?

  • Panda Pirate923
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @junebug3153 People play video games for an escape of reality. We already have the pride flag, we don't need more non pirate stuff, sorry. It'll just encourage bullying and it's just dumb, next people will want all their country flags as well. I'm sorry, but this bi guy finds it dumb as hell.

  • BekkBloodaxe96
    Marauder
    Insider

    @panda-pirate923

    People play video games for so much more than an escape of reality. Sometimes its the only way people can reach out to like-minded individuals and feel connected to the rest of the world. I am glad you find the escape you are looking for, if that's your poison. We see your view, you have made it clear but I think 'dumb as hell' is a little strong for a platform like this where people should be encouraged to share their own vision and creativity with regards to SoT.

    And why shouldn't people want country flags as well... we already know the Spanish fleet is cannon (pardon the pun!) in SoT... why not have more of that rich pirate history flow into the Seas?

  • Panda Pirate923
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @bekkbloodaxe96 said in Increased Flag Visibility:

    @panda-pirate923

    People play video games for so much more than an escape of reality. Sometimes its the only way people can reach out to like-minded individuals and feel connected to the rest of the world. I am glad you find the escape you are looking for, if that's your poison. We see your view, you have made it clear but I think 'dumb as hell' is a little strong for a platform like this where people should be encouraged to share their own vision and creativity with regards to SoT.

    And why shouldn't people want country flags as well... we already know the Spanish fleet is cannon (pardon the pun!) in SoT... why not have more of that rich pirate history flow into the Seas?

    Rare has intentionally kept the game’s aesthetic focused on its own pirate fantasy, rather than flooding the seas with modern or real world symbols. While a single pride flag is a nod to inclusivity, adding more variations, whether different pride flags or national flags, could shift the game’s atmosphere from a shared, fantastical world to something more politically and culturally segmented.

    By having one pride flag instead of multiple variations, Sea of Thieves reinforces unity rather than division. It keeps the focus on inclusion rather than the potential debates or controversies that could arise over which flags get representation and which do not. The same principle applies to why there are no country flags national pride can be a strong and sometimes divisive aspect of identity, and the game avoids that entirely by keeping it neutral.

    While Sea of Thieves takes inspiration from real world pirate history, it isn’t a direct historical recreation. The inclusion of Spanish fleets in lore is based on historical piracy, but that doesn't mean the game needs to add modern national flags. Similarly, while the game acknowledges LGBTQ+ players with one flag, adding multiple variants would open the door to demands for even more real world affiliations at odds with the game’s carefully curated aesthetic.

    If Rare were to introduce multiple pride flags, the question becomes: Where do they stop? Do they add every possible pride variation? If country flags are added, do they include all of them? If they pick and choose, it risks alienating groups that feel excluded. By keeping it simple, Sea of Thieves avoids this unnecessary complexity and potential backlash.

    At its heart, Sea of Thieves is a game about adventure, cooperation, and rivalry on the high seas. It’s not designed as a platform for expressing personal identity beyond the pirate fantasy. The game already allows players to create their own stories through cosmetics, ships, and interactions without needing excessive real world symbols to define themselves.

    The decision to include one pride flag and no national flags is a smart, balanced approach. It acknowledges inclusivity without turning Sea of Thieves into a battleground for real world identity politics. More importantly, it preserves the spirit of the game one where players can escape into the pirate fantasy, work together (or betray each other), and tell their own stories without modern world baggage interfering. How is this difficult to understand?

  • Atomikrin
    Sailor

    Alright, everyone has made their stance on pride flags clear.
    While the idea of media being created and engaged with in a vacuum devoid of interaction with real world context is ignorant at best, folks are allowed to be wrong on the internet and no one is obligated to spend their free time engaging with them. Situations like this are what the block button is for.

  • ThatHappyHat
    Master
    Insider

    I like this, it's a great concept. I also think in general there should be more flags on ships, most of the time there's just one flag since people aren't always emissaries or allianced. I would take it a step further and say flags as a whole need a rework. While I know it wouldn't be fair to remove the current flags from the game, I feel as though flags should actually mean something rather than just being a cosmetic like every other ship piece.

    I think that they should instead implement a NEW type of flag. They will keep all the flags in the game the same, but make them a little bit smaller on your flagpole.

    There will be a new flag type, like a sign or something that does like you said appear on their banner when you view them through a spyglass, but these flags will have a slightly different appearance. I'm not sure if they'd be as long and thin as emissary flags, but a longer banner-like flag that actually means something. All of them would be difficult to get and would mean something. Also, instead of equipping them in the flag box, you would vote to turn them on or off.

    When I say difficult to get, I don't mean like super grindy, I mean some sort of flag that is able to actually capture their playstyle and their achievements in game. This would be optional to have displayed of course.

    I think the way they would do this is to have something similar to the pirate's log, but unrelated. That log captures everything you do in game, and it levels you up in different sections (the feared, voyager, etc.). What if they added in another system that you couldn't view but also tracked similar things to that, so when you turned on your banner, its appearance would depend on what you've done or tend to do in games. And it would change, over time if you haven't done much in one category in a month, it would switch to another.

    Maybe if you're on a crew it combines your different pirate lives in order to make a new banner.

    Just something that could be fun

  • Atomikrin
    Sailor

    HELL YEAH
    The Progress Pride Flag is now available from Larinna for 1969 gold in participating territories

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