Introduce 'Epics' as a New Voyage Type

  • CONTENTS
    1 - The Concept
    2 - What Would These Entail?
    3 - Why They Should be Added
    4 - Important Note

    THE CONCEPT
    Epics would be a new type of voyage which revolves around small stories or 'missions' in a more directed manner than the normal voyage types. These 'Epics' would involve the player recieving a mission or storyline from a character/journal/discovery, similar to the short stories which have accompanied DLC - but with a wealth of differences.

    These would be permanent and not time limited to allow anyone to experience them at any time. They would also be limited by lore and stories available and thus would be limited in number, tailored by the devs and be a full-on experience whilst still trying to capture the free and non-scripted nature of the game; much like MMO side-quests.

    WHAT WOULD THESE ENTAIL?
    These would involve a variety of scenarios and would be based around the lore of the 'Sea of Thieves'. Our heroic and curious pirates would follow a trail of discovery in order to unravel the mysteries of the world.

    Along the way, our pirates would find treasure, interesting journals, trade goods as well as encountering sea monsters, skeleton captains and more enemies and boss type enemies as they are added to the game.

    These voyages would also reap rewards for for all three trading companies as you would be doing 'missions' involving all three.

    WHY THEY SHOULD BE ADDED
    Firstly, I have been thinking it is a shame that new pirates will eternally miss out on old stories. This would give new players an introduction to, not only the game and how it works, but the lore and setting of the game. One of these epics could even be tutorial based. This would also introduce them to the trading companies and their backstories.

    On top of this, it would give those already playing an opportunity to learn more about the world. I feel that more knowledge of where you are and what you are doing gives people a greater sense of purpose and excitement.

    Secondly, these could have some scripted sections - such as being ambushed or partaking in an outpost siege defence - which could ensure that more players have the opportunity to experience some of the great and epic moments which can occur in the 'Sea of Thieves'. However, emergent moments should certainly remain throughout these 'Epics' to ensure the core feeling of the game is retained.

    Thirdly, this could be used as an opportunity to push players into discovering more of the world such as caves, lagoons and other interesting places which they may otherwise miss.

    Lastly, this would give rare a great opportunity to re-introduce and keep lovable characters such as Merrick in action!

    IMPORTANT NOTE
    As I said previously, these should be based on discovery and uncovering the past, and not progressing a story. This would retain the feeling of the game that it is about YOUR story. This will give players the opportunity to understand and learn about the world and it's history in epic, new and interesting ways and NOT lead them through a story ark.

    Thank you for taking the time to read this!

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  • Overall not a bad idea, but I see 2 minor issues with this:
    1. Bilge Rats already essentially gives us story mixed with exploration; and
    2. Players might feel railroaded.

  • @galactic-geek I can see where your coming from, keeping it feeling a little less 'railroaded' would deffinately be fiddly, by at the same time, it may also keep more players engaged and give them a sense of direction which some people prefer allowing more players to enjoy the game.

    I feel as though the bilge rats focus more on events that are unraveling than the past. I also feel as though there should be a UI window to show the development of both bilge rats adventures and these 'Epics'.

    Thanks for the reply!

  • @fieryhedgehog39 said in Introduce 'Epics' as a New Voyage Type:

    @galactic-geek I feel as though the bilge rats focus more on events that are unraveling than the past.

    Very nice distinction, but it's the Order of Souls who already deal in the past - maybe it could be a new voyage type for them?

  • @galactic-geek Although this may be true, they don't explore all aspects of the past and lore. My intention was to bring these in as an all-encompassing voyage which merges all of the games mechanics into, well, an 'Epic'. I get what you mean though, but it wouldn't fit the scale as to my vision to include it as a simple OOS voyage.

    As I mentioned, I would like it to involve all of the trading companies in and characters to create a more more epic and 'throw-you-into-the-frey' experience than standard voyages!

  • Love the idea.

    However i am not sure how much lote their would really be to add these stories to go and experience.

    I know the book and comic has a lot but still it will run out eventually.

    So the number of these epic quests should be limited and to make things interesting why not also make some only doable by PLs.

    I would also like to see some version of the old story line quests come back. Not sure how to do it but just a random thought.

  • @icarusinundated
    that was exactly my thinking too!
    They would be hand-made and limited. They would not be a generated voyage like the standard ones. There would only be so much as there is lore to cover.

    I would also love to see incarnations of previous campaigns in this manner too.

    Thanks for the reply!

  • We already do all 3 trading companies with Athena voyages and you get a nice reward at the end of it. The only difference here I see is that it tells you something about SoT lore, which we've only received from bilge rats events, so far...

    I'm sure when they add new bosses or content, they'll add it to the bilge rats events with a lot of commendations/lore for us to discover!

  • @danielheywood Not quite, Athena is also not structured. We would not be doing dig up treasure, or kill these three captains missions. I only said you will encounter them as part of the voyage. I am not sure that you fully understood my post. The bilge rats deal chiefly with unfolding lore and story, they do not develop backstory; they also do not remain as a permanent part of the world once the event is over. As i said, these would not be the same as standard voyage missions, your goal would not be to kill a certain captain or dig up three chests, you would simply encounter them combined with other elements along your way.

    Thanks for the reply!

  • @fieryhedgehog39 So, we will be going from point A, B, C, D, E and F as instructed, we will be not digging up any treasure or killing any captains, but we will be encountering them and we will be learning back story along the way. In return we will get a reward and learn something about SoT we didn't know already.

    There are other ways to learn about SoT back story, by going to their merchant store and supporting the game, that way

  • @danielheywood
    Clearly, judging by this reply. You either did not understand my writing or you are nit-picking to be annoying. I hope it is not the latter.

    Not everyone buys merch, not everyone invests so much time to read books and articles. The lore and story and all the game has to offer should be highlighted within the game itself. Noone should HAVE to use external media or purchase other items to do any of these things which I have mentioned

    I said we will not be doing missions specifically revolved around these captains or treasure, but they will feature in the voyage. Meaning yes, you will kill them, but they will not be the purpose of your voyage.

    The idea of this is to create an exciting and semi-scripted mission type quest which will involve events and allowing the players to explore the world and lore along the way. It will NOT be a boring drawn out quest with large spaces of down-time.

    I was calling them 'Epics' for a reason. It is to draw more players and give some bored and lost players a sense of direction. As I said in my post, they could also act as tutorials along the way. They will also involve rewards, not just knowledge. Showcasing these things within the game may even entice people to buy more merch.

    Thanks again!

  • @fieryhedgehog39 Ok, I am getting a better idea of what you're trying to do, but...

    We already get encounters in our current voyages (kraken, meg and volcanos), I have heard somewhere that developers wants to introduce skeleton ships as an encounter, so they could spawn at any moment and ruin your day.

    Wouldn't that make these epic voyages redundant, if we were to get encounters from skeletons on all voyages, as the only new idea being added is back story and like I said, they deliver lore from bilge rats/merchant store/streaming and future content they have in store for us!

  • @danielheywood
    well, it would be somewhat similar, except there would be some scripted sections. It would certainly be difficult to implement. I feel that teaching players new things and showing people the ropes and opening people up to the world would be a good thing - instead of leaving everything to the single individuals intuity and chance. This game relies fully on people working things out, not everyone is capable or wishes to make all the decisions. A leading hand would be good for some and maybe increase the player base!

    I can understand your concern as to where this fits. I often feel frustrated with the empty feeling game, my old playing buddies don't play anymore and this is one of the ways in which I think they would be eager to join me again. I hope that they expand the current game and fill it out instead of adding as many new things as possible.

    I appreciate your replies!

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