A letter to the Community

  • eredhar
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    Greetings, fellow pirates,

    Today, in this post, I want to address the community. This thread is aimed more towards the new members of our community rather than the old ones. I have been part of Sea of Thieves family for over a year, playing, testing and helping people around here.

    Throughout this time, I have seen Rare develop and polish their game based on the community’s feedback. I have seen them tackle sensitive and difficult issues and turning everything around towards a better and higher quality.
    With this in mind, I would like to politely ask people to stop treating this session as a full release. This is a closed beta, a testing ground for both the developers and players. I have seen players complain about the lack of content. Regarding this matter, I need to state a few things, to bring certain information to your attention. As a member of the Pioneer Team, our job is to test new things, mechanics that are not fully developed or polished. For this Beta Session, Rare has chosen to showcase the systems they have perfected the most, that are fully functional. Another reason for this decision would be the lift of NDA. By lifting the NDA, Rare is allowing players to stream, thus, generate exposure for their game. Having this, they wanted to provide the best and most stable build of the game.

    Moving on to the next issue, stability of the game. This has nothing to do with the mechanics nor the content of the game. This has to do with Rare’s services and servers. This is a Closed Beta and it was expected for their servers and everything to be pushed to the limits. Only through this they can ultimately improve and develop what they can offer in terms of server stability, player base, etc. I want to congratulate Rare for their quick response to the issues that came with opening the session. I appreciate the devotement with which they fixed or tried to fix certain problems.

    Furthermore, I want to point out the care and commitment they have shown towards the community, such as extending the beta session because some of us were not able to get on.
    I slowly want to wrap things up by discussing the overgrowing bickering on the topic of PVP and PVE. I keep seeing how people get angry, mad and point fingers mostly at Rare and how the developers need to do this, change that, implement something and so on. I want to ask everyone to take a break and a step back. I want to ask you guys to hear me out and try to look at things from a different perspective. This player interaction problem has to do with the community more than it has to do with Rare. By this, I mean that the fix is mostly in our hands. The way to go is not to “go play another game” as most of you “advice” your community members. The resolve to this is to hear out everyone’s concern without mocking them, by showing them respect.

    PVE players, you need to understand that the game is an open world one, meaning that PVP is part of it, like it or not. Though, that is not everything that Sea of Thieves is about, not even near. Thus, my next words will be directed to the PVP players. Don’t bully and grief the other crews; this HAS TO STOP. Even if this is a pirate game, that doesn’t mean that pirates don’t have a code and even honor between them. Don’t just shoot first and ask questions later; allow them to surrender. Allow them to parley and respect that parley in return. If they do not surrender to you, go ahead and sink their ship, but let them be afterwards. Why? Let them gather more treasure for when you meet again; when that happens, give them another chance to surrender and to parley. PVE players, keep in mind that fighting can be avoided with a simple parley or by a masterful getaway.

    Last, but not least, I will be making a series of tutorials for you guys, these following days. I will help you understand and outsmart your opponents to either win or flee from a battle. With these being said, I really wish we could all stop fighting on here and understand each other’s concerns and Rare’s vison. I will be at your disposal for anything that you may need. Till then, I wish you all safe travels!

    With love,
    Eredhar

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  • MiroKor
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    Yes and yes, all of this is true! I have been watching quite a lot of streams and I usually just have to leave when people say that this game has no content and treats it like it's the full release. It's only a beta and you can't really say much how the game is going to be like really.
    Of course feedback is important but it's for the 10th time a beta not the full game.
    Betas' job is to try for example how the servers are going to handle HUUGE amounts of people just joining and of course give a base idea for the game so that said they aren't going to give out the whole game.
    I think that Rare has done a great job with this beta and I love the game from bottom of my heart. Have a nice day peeps!

  • MG Bad Lizard
    Founder

    @eredhar well said sir my views exactly ppl need to understand that this is a BETA not a final product if they played some of the alpha sessions they would have had a full blown melt down.

    For every one that says "I'm cancelling my pre-order" there will be another 100 that can see the potential and under stand that this is a WIP.

    Look at the positives here I've been testing this for nearly a year now and lost count of how many times I glitches out of the ship or got stuck on the top step moving to the main deck but I've stuck at it and love this game.

    So come on as a community we can make this game great plus the dev team actively listen to our feedback and incorporate our ideas into the game.

  • KendoRoland

    @eredhar Well said. However the shooting first thing isn't going to stop IMO. So you should release that video on how to fight/escape sooner then later :).

  • eredhar
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @kendoroland One can never loose hope. And I will try to provide the tutorial on Monday.

  • GamerAxe0
    Master
    Founder

    @eredhar
    i'm one of the new players and i love it and the points you were talking about i can see it aswell i think the comunity should pay more respect to rare for the game they let us play and the game that will be growing in players and in contant

    so from me thank you rare for everything you are doing for us

    GamerAxe0

  • KattTruewalker
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder
    Deckhand

    @eredhar I want just say thank you for posting this, you make some good and relevant points and I would also like to quote a particular part -

    @eredhar said in A letter to the Community:

    I slowly want to wrap things up by discussing the overgrowing bickering on the topic of PVP and PVE. I keep seeing how people get angry, mad and point fingers mostly at Rare and how the developers need to do this, change that, implement something and so on. I want to ask everyone to take a break and a step back. I want to ask you guys to hear me out and try to look at things from a different perspective. This player interaction problem has to do with the community more than it has to do with Rare. By this, I mean that the fix is mostly in our hands. The way to go is not to “go play another game” as most of you “advice” your community members. The resolve to this is to hear out everyone’s concern without mocking them, by showing them respect.

    With love,
    Eredhar

    The Sea of Thieves Community has been around since early 2016 and it has always been known as a place where we can discuss, share ideas, tell stories about our adventures on the seas and our dreams and hopes for the future and shape of the game.

    Everyone is welcome and is treated with respect and is heard.
    We, as a community, developed a Pirate's Code to govern not only our actions on the high seas, but on the forums.

    It's incredibly encouraging to see the enthusiasm and excitement generated by this beautiful world, despite it being only in Beta and the streams, pictures, gifs and comments made across not only the forum but other platforms as well.

    I think your advice above is right, sometimes we need to step back and consider our words and their impact, Rare are looking for meaningful feedback and they do read these forums. They are committed to creating a game which is unique and which will allow for many different types of players to come together in this Shared world.

    As Deckhands, we know that Rare staff are working above and beyond to fix issues, deal with Support tickets, help with difficulties, many of which are out of their hands and they understand fully the frustration and disappointment some have felt during this Beta.

    I am certain that, even now, they are discussing ways to address the issues which many have faced, or even know that future mechanics and content will address these and I am looking forward to testing these and giving feedback on them.

    Fair winds and following seas to ye all.

  • SirioNDB
    Captain
    Insider
    Boatswain
    Founder

    @eredhar

    I appreciate your post and it's put a lot of things in perspective for me.

    I've been despising the forums lately and it's been coming out in the way I post. I can reflect better on my behavior and I can understand how I haven't been helping much in keeping this place a welcoming one.

    I sure hope that this post will be able to reach many players. I've shared it with the Fortune lads and lasses, as I feel like it is an important reality check.

    Thank you!

  • Aprovoked Mango
    Insider
    Founder

    Honestly I think a fair few issues are coming because people have just jumped into the game without watching a video etc (which is fair enough) and alot of mechanics are being missed. No one seems to know about scuttling, so many people are using discord and not ingame chat, on top of which dont use the non vocal comms wheel or realise its proximity based. As alpha players etc people are getting miffed at seeing all the complaints whilst new players are complaining about some things they dont know a solution for.

    Maybe there should have been a forum psa of mechanics so new players knew what they needed to do in various situations etc. This would be know means end all complaints but I think the experience for some would have been different.

  • KaptenBloood

    Sorry but you make no sens. Maby you guys who is "founders" or whatever had some kind of community, but now that time has pased. The only community that will have any kind of real meaning is the in-game community. And there is nothing like that right now.
    If Rare would have been a lot more clear to players what to expect in the beta, this massive hate on the forums could have been avoided. And what to expect in the full game. Simple as that.
    And NO, it has not been clear, obviously.

    And NO, players wont ask first and shoot second. Your thought is very cute. But the reallity is something else.

  • Hotel Actual
    Founder

    I like the idea of a parlay system but who would be willing to surrender their chests in return for not being sunk. There's no detrement to being sunk anyway so there seems no reason to not surrender as you'll either lose your treasure and live or lose your treasure and respawn? Maybe a kind pirate would only take 50% of their enemies chests but those would be few

  • Tombie
    Marauder
    Founder

    I feel a big solution to all of us that don't want to be griefed would to make a PVE realm.

  • Stacky a
    Captain
    Insider
    Boatswain
    Founder

    @eredhar Well said! and I look forward to seeing these tutorials, I'm sure they will come in handy. Its the stuff like this (members willing to help each other) that is why the sea of thieves community is so great 😊.

  • Aprovoked Mango
    Insider
    Founder

    @hotel-actual said in A letter to the Community:

    I like the idea of a parlay system but who would be willing to surrender their chests in return for not being sunk. There's no detrement to being sunk anyway so there seems no reason to not surrender as you'll either lose your treasure and live or lose your treasure and respawn? Maybe a kind pirate would only take 50% of their enemies chests but those would be few

    That is a big issue with the current pvp system, theres no actual loss, you either win or respawn to try again. This has come up before where its been mentioned there needs to be a risk, e.g losing your ship costs alot of gold for instance and it scales with experience/ships upgrades or something (so even the super rich still need too give a damn) until that point people will remain quite gunho as theres no risk. Hopefully this is something that will be in the full game but I cant recall it being confirmed as of yet.

  • Giuseppe86ITA
    Seafarer

    @eredhar What are the features that will release?

  • eredhar
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @kaptenbloood Greetings and welcome to Sea of Thieves. I see you're new around here and I will like to clarify a few things. First of all, "Maby you guys who is "founders" or whatever had some kind of community, but now that time has pased." ; The badge of "Founder" shows that a player has been part of the Community since the Technical Alpha Phase of the game. The community does not work like you might think. We are an ever-growing family, working together on the same principles. So, the "that time has passed" is not true, my friend. Regarding your perception of "in-game community", i need to inform you that what you see on the forums is what you get in-game, meaning that it's the same community. What aren't you aware or familiar with, in regards to the Beta? Let me know so I can help you out.

  • eredhar
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @giuseppe86ita The game will have many features like character customization, trading companies, ship customization and so many more that Rare are keeping secret for now.

  • eredhar
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @tombie That won't be implemented, for that's not how the game was/is designed.

  • eredhar
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @hotel-actual Deals can be struck, arrangements can be made and chests are not always the most important thing out there. (resources are equally important). It's all about the way you tailor your journey.

  • Giuseppe86ITA
    Seafarer

    @eredhar why keep these secret things? It's very strange...

  • eredhar
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @giuseppe86ita It's a marketing strategy. It's not advised to share all your cards before the right time comes.

  • Giuseppe86ITA
    Seafarer

    @eredhar OK, I hope this game doesn't make end of no man's sky. But keeping these secrets is not good. You can't ask me to buy without knowing what I buy.Still I have to understand if it is a coop or a massive MMO.

  • eredhar
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @giuseppe86ita Here is something that might answer a few of your questions, regarding content. And until release, they will slowly be releasing more information regarding features, when the right time comes.

  • Silenc3Hunter
    Seafarer
    Founder

    Ahoy @giuseppe86ita & others concerned of the same questions!

    There has been a lot of information what to come in developer blogs, youtube trailers and such. Of course there is some so called secrets what there will be in the game until launch & I actually like to get surprised by new content I haven't thought of. For me the revealed things are enough reason to pre-order and support Rare in development of the game.

    Sometimes I even buy the game on multiple platforms just to show appreciation and support what they are doing. The less cut the marketplace takes the better. :)

    If you dont care about reading things the one I'd recommend is to watch video named "Becoming a Pirate Legend: Progression in Sea of Thieves - Official Walkthrough" on official Sea of Thieves channel below:

    Sea of Thieves

    Sea of Thieves

    Official page for Rare's epic multiplayer pirate paradise adventure, Sea of Thieves - out now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Windows 10/11, Steam and Battle.net! Respect the Pirate Code: aka.ms/SoT_PC Support: @SoT_Support on Twitter

  • hallower1980
    Commander
    Founder

    Copied from another thread. Perhaps I should make this its own post and people can add to it.

    Features publicly discussed or shown that are not included in the Closed Beta:

    Deep character customization: The preorder bonus set is one example of clothing already made that is not in the beta. There is undoubtedly more. And a Deckhand has confirmed we will be able to select our characters at launch, rather than be assigned a character like in the beta.

    Ship customization: Again, some examples are in the beta but assigned rather than chosen. There are at least 3 figureheads in the beta (lion, shark, and angler fish) with accompanying sail prints. There are different colored ships (green and brown). And in the equipment shop of one of the outposts hangs a steering wheel with a monstrous eye and tentacles. There will be more at launch. This is what the shipwright NPC (at the end of each outpost dock) is presumably for.

    Sea monsters: You can hear something big vocalizing in the beta sea. A kraken is part of the game's logo and depicted in rock paintings throughout the game. Other rock paintings depict giant sharks, giant parrots or eagles, and giant boar. It has not been revealed how players will encounter them. But I would not be surprised if they figured heavily into the launch trailer.

    More shops: In the beta at each outpost are two shops without shopkeepers -- a weapon shop and a potions shop. In your ship above the ammo crate is a weapon locker. I expect weapon variations are mostly cosmetic, but there must be a lot of them planned or ready for launch. Nobody knows what the potions are for or if that's actually a magic shop offering more than potions.

    More trading companies: The beta only includes the Gold Hoarders seeking gold. At launch, that company might seek other kinds of treasure as well, like the golden goblet that was shown recovered from an underwater wreck in a trailer. Rare has also revealed the Order of Souls and Merchants Alliance trading companies. The Order of Souls offers bounties for the skulls of cursed skeletal captains (guarded by their crews). The Merchants Alliance is the reason for the watch in your pirate's inventory. They task the player with finding and transporting chickens, snakes, and explosive barrels of gunpowder. No matter what you are trafficking, other pirates might try to steal it (or, in the case of gunpowder, blow it up).

    Ghost ships: We don't know what they are for, but one was shown at a Comic Con art panel years ago. Likewise, clouds can be made to look like skulls or other images. Not in the beta.

    Community events: Rare has a live event manager who has been on some of the podcasts. What exactly? How often? We will find out soon.

    And I am probably forgetting some things.

    Furthermore, like any persistent multiplayer world, various elements will continue to be balanced after launch. Frequency of ship encounters, skeleton spawn rates and difficulty, lightning damage, wind patterns, etc.

  • hallower1980
    Commander
    Founder

    Sea of Thieves is indeed much like a traditional MMO. It is a persistent world shared by a wide variety of gamers -- PvE lovers and PvP lovers (some ongoing friction is inevitable), loners and groups small and large, explorers and achievers, etc.

    The "Pirate Code" isn't really unique to this game or unintuitive. Though everybody knows it is good to try to understand others, understanding another's perspective and interests is often difficult. Just try to assume the best about people. And when you do encounter definite jerks (part of any game), you can sail to another region or at worst back out to log into a different server. In the meantime, Rare can look into any blatant griefing you report and they will continue to balance things to minimize it.

  • Darth Crouton

    @eredhar This is the perfect perspective to have and I would suggest taking it strongly to heart. However, as with all gaming communities, we should also understand that there is a small, yet vocal, subset of players that will always loudly voice their negative opinions in a way that could be seen as unnecessarily cruel or counterproductive. I’d also like to propose that these players simply have an idea of what they believe the game should be and only want to see the game improve just like you or I, yet simply don’t know how to express their concerns in a civilized manner. If we run across these people, just tell them that their opinion is valued but that they should express it in a way that’s clear and not destructive.

  • eredhar
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @darth-crouton That's right and I want to let everyone know that I value all the feedback, may it be positive or negative. But, as you said, we need to be a bit more careful how we offer criticism, trying not to be destructive with it.

  • Look Behind You
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Moderator
    Founder
    Deckhand

    @eredhar I love it when a post can be put together so well, rather than the seemingly increasing tendency to descend into name-calling and expletives.

    Often, when a thread/post is disagreed with, it results in the liberal sprinkling of terms such as fanboy, snowflake, carebear and on the flipside, labelling people as trolls or griefers because its the internet and that appears to be the 'go to'.

    However, it is easier to NOT type than it is to type. Typing takes a conscious effort and every word typed is a deliberate one. There are many words that can be used other than insults and expletives. In the end, it is just not necessary.

    If you have an opinion, voice it, but do so without resorting to personal insults.

  • trixz2007
    Master
    Insider

    Alright first off i would love to say RARE you are doing a marvelous job at making something new for us all. Not often do you see games like these floating around in the gaming market.

    @Tombie I think a PVE Realm of some sort could be a benefactor to the game as there are alot of players who enjoys PVE games but also at times some PVP so a option to choose would be nice. However i feel this would be mostly a PVP type of game to most users.

    @Aprovoked-Mango @Hotel-Actual Adding a Penelty or some sort of consequences upon being sunk would balance thing a bit so players would not feel the need to attack on site.

    @eredhar Ship,character,weapons,items customization will most definitely keep people busy. Now i know its a closed beta so i can see alot of potential as well as new things at outpost. all those stands and areas has something coming i can feel it. However i know all those things are not needed for a closed beta as to we are testing the gameplay and some of its features that are available to the public.

    I am a Live Streamer and i do get alot of comments and questions on this game, i have no answers for except an idea of what they could be. Most of all love the way the game looks especially the fact that it is Xbox One Enhanced beautiful on a 4k TV and Xbox One X. The crosee Platform tops it all i can play this game with my Console friends and PC users as well.

    My ideas if not yet implemented
    1.) More enemies NPC in the underwater world
    2.) More variety of enemies on land
    3.) variety of weapons (Ex: different type of swords with different stats)
    4.) Add Cannons to middle deck on Large Vessels.
    5.) Not to sure but maybe even AI enemy ships at sea.
    6.) Add a 3 or 6 player ship to ride into the oceans.
    7.) when players puke players can slip and slide add a mop bucket to clean)
    8.) Honestly i can go on & on as of now im holding a sampler plate of some Sea Of Thieves, still waiting for the full meal and then i will make more suggestions as of now i think the game is great. Despite bugs here and there but honestly the game is completely playable and runs solid. Now i see alot of players complaing about no PVE and Kill on sight. Truth is thats what online games are its up to the players to arrange a friendly or foe type of enviroment. RARE keep up the great work keep it coming and to the the Pioneers,Founders out there thank you for testing everythign and helping RARE provide and unique yet very exciting game for us all to play Cheers Mates.

  • LuxLeQuinne
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    @eredhar

    This thread is exactly what I have been talking about with new players and old alike. Everyone needs to be a little more patient, I am filled with gratitude that I got to be apart of building this game up within the alpha and seeing the incredible community we had growing so far. Please be aware that people are used to having betas as a finished game and not for their original purpose, which is to help the team iron out the finishing touches. How are they meant to build and fix issues without having something like the servers being pushed to breaking point to know where the issues are.

    I have seen alot of hate starting and it makes me a little sad however the people that are starting these conversations and being incredibly hostile are new here. The people that hold that behaviour are too used to fast paced games with a high amount of toxicity. They will soon recognise this game is only what you make of it, so when they do things like have a gallion chase a sloop for an hour for next to no gain they will soon get bored of that and the easy 4v2 kills. This game isn't for everyone but it's filling a void that is needed in the gaming community.

    Personally 9 times out of 10 if I see a ship I let them pass if they act aggressive then I am willing to have some fun. I will occationaly know someone has some loot and may feel lile changing up the pace. However I won't chase down smaller boats for the hunger of PvP because that is not a challenge.

    Also I have seen a thread here in where someone stated that £60 was alot of money "for only a peice of the pie" please understand that you have not played that amount of money for a week of beta. You have payed that money for the game on release day.

    Just patience everyone, we are in stormy seas but let those who are rocking the boat get bored and we will soon continue on with our adventures.

    Thank you to Rare, the Deckhands, the admins, the pioneers and to the community. This has been an incredible experience and thank you to everyone that have made that possible.

  • eredhar
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @trixz2007 thank you so much for the input and the amazing time you've provided your viewers over at Liveme. I want to answer two of your suggestions, bellow:

    • 5.) Not to sure but maybe even AI enemy ships at sea. - Rare has stated that the only ships we will see on the sea are player operated ones.
    • 6.) Add a 3 or 6 player ship to ride into the oceans. - in their last podcast they have said that they are thinking of adding the possibility for a 3 men crew.
  • LuxLeQuinne
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    @triheadedmonkey

    This is so incredibly true, I put a post on the Instagram the other day letting people know what was on the forum. That the team knew about the issues and that they were working as hard as possible to fix the issues.

    I also stated that I promise the wait is worth it and that knowing rare that they would some how compensate for the lack of time.

    I had someone instead of stating the points why he disagreed he took the time to look through my Instagram page and start insulting me on how I look and constantly calling me names. Personally I don't understand the need it just shows that people are eager to argue about anything without having the ability to just have a conversation.

    I am so happy to have found a community that their core isn't toxic and cocky players and I'm hoping we can continue to be resilient though this rough patch and let others that havnt experienced that part of your community recognise that this is far from the norm at the current time.

  • LuxLeQuinne
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    I would also like to pop this in, if any of you like minded individuals every fancy playing sometime please feel free to add me. I want to play as much as I can at the moment and often am not in a full team so give me a shout. Best wishes

  • KaptenBloood

    @eredhar Lol, get real. There is like hundreds of thousends of players who never will visit this forums so NO, your dream is just... a dream.

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