Whenever I see a ship from far away it bothers me how easy it is to spot. Where other object and islands have a realistic fog covering them, making the colors and shapes all mix together a bit, the ship doesnt. It sticks out way too much imo and that isnt necessary. Not being sure if that shape in the distance could actually be a ship would be cool and would add another skill to improve upon to the game.
Ship visibility from afar
You're right in the sense that they're easy to spot, but I'm not sure making ships harder to spot would improve the game.
As it is, many players who would rather avoid combat seem to end up being subjected to it nonetheless, which implies that as the distance stands, it's still pretty tough to stay safe on the seas.
Making it even harder to stay safe would, I think, tilt the balance a little too much in the offenders favour.
Giving players a chance to spot threats on the horizon, ensures that they only have themselves to blame when they're taken by surprise.
@kuala85 said in Ship visibility from afar:
Whenever I see a ship from far away it bothers me how easy it is to spot. Where other object and islands have a realistic fog covering them, making the colors and shapes all mix together a bit, the ship doesnt. It sticks out way too much imo and that isnt necessary. Not being sure if that shape in the distance could actually be a ship would be cool and would add another skill to improve upon to the game.
I agree, but until people stop complaining about ships sneaking up on them we dont have a an issue
@guybrushcrpwood Well, it would make the game feel more adventurous for me. But Im not sure it would change much besides having to look more careful through the spyglass and having a better looking gameworld, a bit more realistic looking.
People wanting to avoid combat are harder to spot and people looking for combat are also harder to spot. Both crews have an advantage and a disadvantage there and the person on the crowsnest is more useful. I really think it would be cool.
@rattlyfob said in Ship visibility from afar:
@kuala85 said in Ship visibility from afar:
Whenever I see a ship from far away it bothers me how easy it is to spot. Where other object and islands have a realistic fog covering them, making the colors and shapes all mix together a bit, the ship doesnt. It sticks out way too much imo and that isnt necessary. Not being sure if that shape in the distance could actually be a ship would be cool and would add another skill to improve upon to the game.
I agree, but until people stop complaining about ships sneaking up on them we dont have a an issue
Its more about the aestetics of the gameworld than the ability to sneak. Also the skill to spot ships would be cool to get good at as a bonus.
@kuala85 Hmm. You're right about the prey being easier to spot too.
You might be on to something - not exactly a difficult idea to test with the pioneers.
@kuala85 said in Ship visibility from afar:
@rattlyfob said in Ship visibility from afar:
@kuala85 said in Ship visibility from afar:
Whenever I see a ship from far away it bothers me how easy it is to spot. Where other object and islands have a realistic fog covering them, making the colors and shapes all mix together a bit, the ship doesnt. It sticks out way too much imo and that isnt necessary. Not being sure if that shape in the distance could actually be a ship would be cool and would add another skill to improve upon to the game.
I agree, but until people stop complaining about ships sneaking up on them we dont have a an issue
Its more about the aestetics of the gameworld than the ability to sneak. Also the skill to spot ships would be cool to get good at as a bonus.
I agree that aesthetically it would be awesome! But for practical purposes it results in people being able to sneak up on ships easier. Considering people already cry all the time about being "griefed" this would just add to the list of complaints and would make more problems than it solves. Unfortunately...
@fairwayfreddy said in Ship visibility from afar:
I feel like its balanced pretty well right now. Ships do stand out but its not like they are popping from across the map.
Agreed, personally I can identify ships fairly consistently at maximum range and I like it, knowing I can spot them at a decent range keeps me on the lookout. My mate on the other hand not so much, they have to be much closer for him to pick up on them. Being aware of your surroundings is hugely important in this game and can make the difference between life or death. Tis a pirates life and I absolutely love it. ☠️
@fairwayfreddy said in Ship visibility from afar:
I feel like its balanced pretty well right now. Ships do stand out but its not like they are popping from across the map.
They are actually literally popping out from the rest of the background right now.
Personally, I don't see this as an advantage or disadvantage for anyone playing the game. Makes the aggressors harder to see from the distance, but also is true for the players who don't like PVP engagements. If you can't see someone on the horizon, you can't attack or avoid them. Personally, I kind of like the idea of ships in the distance being masked or blended into the atmospheric perspective.
They do blend in with fog sometimes but it'd be dumb to make them any less visible as it is right now.
The ship view distance in game is only like 1/4th the map length. So beyond that your ship is literally invisible to other players. So yeah if they extended the ship view distance to the entire map then I'd be okay with them adding in effects to mask ships from super far away but as it is if you can see a ship, they're fairly close compared to map size.
Aye. Ships are far too easy to spot. The contrast is jarring and they stick out like sore thumbs. Funny thing is most randos I play with can't see them. It's RIGHT THERE. No spyglass required.
Anyway making them less obvious would be nice. Works both ways. Hunters wouldn't be able to pick out distant prey and plot out the most favorable approach.
The game changed on this direction during the Alphas. Bringing ships to be easily spotted from afar. Before we haven't spyglass and it was more difficult to spot other ships in the horizon.
Then they changed that improving the distance of what ships were spotted every week.. letting it be spotted more and more easily.I think this occurred because people complained about not seeing enough people to PvP. And that gave the feeling of being alone in the server.
So they kept changing that.I never agreed with this.
@nunoazuldimeter said in Ship visibility from afar:
The game changed on this direction during the Alphas. Bringing ships to be easily spotted from afar. Before we haven't spyglass and it was more difficult to spot other ships in the horizon.
Then they changed that improving the distance of what ships were spotted every week.. letting it be spotted more and more easily.I think this occurred because people complained about not seeing enough people to PvP. And that gave the feeling of being alone in the server.
So they kept changing that.I never agreed with this.
It was always pretty easy to spot ships. I think the only thing they changed was rendering distance.
Again like I said there's no reason to make ships harder to spot:
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Barely anyone is aggressive in the vast majority of instances. Yes you'll get an instance here and there where everyone attacks constantly.
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The view distance is only 1/4th the map size. So ships are invisible to you entirely most of the time.
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For the record, it is still possible to 'hide' a ship under the right circumstances.
I was sailing solo last night as I am wont to do and was tracking another sloop in the general vicinity. It was visible without the spyglass and it passed in front of an island. The perspective was just right and the ship was no longer visible by the naked eye. The only way I could continue to track it was by the lanterns still lit on their ship using the spyglass. If they had kept the lights dark, I may have missed it against the island backdrop. But that was a specific circumstance.
The way to make ships harder to spot would be to change the coloration of the long distance model. They are distinctly darker than the islands at the same distance. That way you can 'hide' your ship against an island backdrop and you will be harder to spot on that perspective. Though that could lead to further interesting events. Not noticing a ship at your destination until you are almost there.
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