@xcalypt0x Thanks for the consolidation, mate!
RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers
@lifewcoke Probably but I really hope not, and if it is I hope Rare at least gives us a way to earn it in game. No matter how grindy that way may be, I can't stand when games lock things behind paywalls, especially when those games retail for $60.
Joe: It's about combining different tactics, techniques and using different tools like the explosive barrel and boarding another ship.
I'm really not feeling this answer. In practice, almost every single battle against a crew that knows how to bail effectively will require a boarding unless you can kill them with cannonfire. I'd really like to focus on an entirely naval strategy and never get up-close to my opponents, but the game just doesn't give us the tools to choose one or the other. It's the same cookie-cutter strategy that tends to win most of these evenly matched galleon fights, and that includes shooting on approach and then finding a way to get people onto their ship to disrupt repairs. I'd like to be able to win purely from a distance.
@clutchachu They all but confirmed inadvertently that you will not be able to unlock them in game. Hopefully im wrong but wouldn't suprise me pets are an extremely highly requested forum feature so they know they will sell and make money from them. Typical 2018 gaming practices.
I tried to mount a defense about them on the mega thread, it got the most upvotes i think but i got to much resistance from the community so if they did see the thread i believe that basically told them they can get away with it. :(
My biggest disappointments:
- Legendary ship is just a skin
- Pets are only for microtransactions
- Rowboat isn't in for launch
honestly, the legendary ship being a skin p****s me off. Everything in this game is all about looks: if you like the white sails and wood colored boat well TOO BAD you have nothing to look forward to in this game.
@sir-rhavi Not sure that's the case. There are definitely legendary customization items that can be applied everywhere but they have said before the legendary ship itself would be different and have it's own things
Joe: I think we're only ever likely to cover a few months ahead to maintain mystery (so you can be surprised and delighted) and so we can be reactive. Things will change as Sea of Thieves evolves. We want to have the time to reveal what the features mean for players before we put them in their hands. We've taken a show not tell policy for the entire project so far and we're committed to that.
Looks like they are very self aware too.
@deashkiin said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
@sir-rhavi Not sure that's the case. There are definitely legendary customization items that can be applied everywhere but they have said before the legendary ship itself would be different and have it's own things
If they had already confirmed this before, they wouldn't have so masterfully dodged the question, I'd bet my hat its a skin.
@cpt-kazuto Right? The question was centered on game design, and whether the battle of attrition meta was intentional, and the answer we got read like some basic tips on ship battles. Good to see the same old disconnect where they answer every question like they're talking to somebody who just learned to read.
@sir-rhavi The only question I saw them dodge about it was if the legendary ship would be available for a solo player as well. They were actually very explicit at the time that the ship itself is different and has other options no other has. Of course they didn't say which.
Don't forget there is legend status, where you can get legendary items, and then there's the whole end game of getting to have the ship itself, along with owning the tavern (instead of being able to enter it)
@zeo What about an entire ship made out of bones, with skin for the sails? "Become part of the crew, or part of the ship" we'd tell em.
@knifelife said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
@clutchachu They all but confirmed inadvertently that you will not be able to unlock them in game. Hopefully im wrong but wouldn't suprise me pets are an extremely highly requested forum feature so they know they will sell and make money from them. Typical 2018 gaming practices.
It all comes back to how much stock you put into Rare's word. When Joe answered this question about pets being purchasable with gold he provided a very vauge answer "we're looking at [other] potential ways players could earn [pets]"
Which if not for these recent Q&As I would have probably been inclined to believe but now I'm not so sure. In any case you're right about there being money to be made in pets, and to an extent Rare would be crazy not to monetize them in some fashion, I just hope Rare doesn't decide to force us into micro-transactions at every turn.
I tried to mount a defense about them on the mega thread, it got the most upvotes i think but i got to much resistance from the community so if they did see the thread i believe that basically told them they can get away with it. :(
As cliche'd and defeatist as it sounds these days, the only real way we can influence Rare and Microsoft on that front is by "voting with our wallets" and not partaking in overly aggressive micro-transaction schemes. Whether the rest of the community will do the same is anyone's guess : (
@clutchachu Yeah i am a pretty big pessimist to be fair, but ive never bought a shark card on GTA and look how well thats going l***o!
@lappe Respectfully, they are not obliged to tell you every single thing in the game. Literally no other game in existence is held to that standard nor should any game be judged that way.
The obnoxious dichotomy where ppl demand to know every single piece of content in this game, then when RARE doesn't spill everything they turn around and whine about how what's there is somehow not enough, is dumb. The reason content in other games feels fresh and new once ya play it is not because there is tons of it compared to SoT. It's because in those games you are not privvy to almost any of that content prior to release. OF COURSE they aren't going to explicitly spoil everything for you with launch a few days away!
Hint: When they are being cagey with their answers, they are doing so for a reason and that is not in order to mislead you. They just aren't positioned to reveal everything before the damn thing has even launched.
/rant@clutchachu said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
As cliche'd and defeatist as it sounds these days, the only real way we can influence Rare and Microsoft on that front is by "voting with our wallets" and not partaking in overly aggressive micro-transaction schemes. Whether the rest of the community will do the same is anyone's guess : (
What 'overly aggressive microtransaction schemes' are you talking about? Joe literally just said they are gonna have ways to earn the ONLY MTX announced so far outside of paying real money. That is the polar opposite of what you are suggesting. o.0
@cpt-kazuto said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
Joe: It's about combining different tactics, techniques and using different tools like the explosive barrel and boarding another ship.
I'm really not feeling this answer. In practice, almost every single battle against a crew that knows how to bail effectively will require a boarding unless you can kill them with cannonfire. I'd really like to focus on an entirely naval strategy and never get up-close to my opponents, but the game just doesn't give us the tools to choose one or the other. It's the same cookie-cutter strategy that tends to win most of these evenly matched galleon fights, and that includes shooting on approach and then finding a way to get people onto their ship to disrupt repairs. I'd like to be able to win purely from a distance.
I don't have a ton of experience sailing galleons as I spent most of the last scale test and final beta on the sloop with my buddy but in my experience, winning battles against galleons entirely with cannon fire and good positioning was the norm for us, rarely did we actually have to board them to sink them, and when we did it was a "for the lols" kind of thing rather than an absolute necessity. That said I'm sure the ability to out maneuver the galleons played a big role in that.
@h-jack-silver said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
Really disappointed in the lack of card and dice games. It's intrinsically pirate and theyve been used in loads of promotions, videos, livestreams, and pictures. Like he made a point of showing the dice in the lowdown video and now we are told we don't get dice? :(
They did not say there were no dice/card games in the game.
@tavishhill2003 said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
@h-jack-silver said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
Really disappointed in the lack of card and dice games. It's intrinsically pirate and theyve been used in loads of promotions, videos, livestreams, and pictures. Like he made a point of showing the dice in the lowdown video and now we are told we don't get dice? :(
They did not say there were no dice/card games in the game.
But they also didn't say there was ;)
@xcalypt0x Right, when given the explict opportunity to tell us they aren't there, they chose to be cagey. When given the same opportunity w.r.t. the drum instrument and the row boats, they were not cagey and confirmed those are not there day 1. So ask yourself what the possible difference there is between those two answers.
@tavishhill2003 for all intents and purposes, yes they did, or at least confirmed they won't be in the game at launch.
This was their answer to the dice question:
"Joe: If we put dice in the game we'd love to see what players do with them. For example, using them to direct your adventure. Roll six to head West!"So maybe some day, but not at launch. Same with rowboats. Blows my mind that both dice and rowboat were so heavily used in the marketing material and then not included in the game.
@tavishhill2003 said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
What 'overly aggressive microtransaction schemes' are you talking about? Joe literally just said they are gonna have ways to earn the ONLY MTX announced so far outside of paying real money. That is the polar opposite of what you are suggesting. o.0
Take it easy, I wasn't referring to any one micro-transaction system because as of today no one actually knows the details of the business model Rare's going to be using at launch. except Rare that is (or at least one would hope they know with the release date being less than 4 days out lol).
All I was saying was that should Rare employ a predatory micro-transaction system that doesn't allow players to earn the features locked behind that system 100% in game, that we as community should show them we don't want that by not paying them for the privilege.
Also I think you should read his response again, because he doesn't confirm it he just said... well as @lucid-stew said earlier:
Here's the TLDR summary:
- It's coming sometime after launch.
- We're looking into it
@tavishhill2003 said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
@xcalypt0x Right, when given the explict opportunity to tell us they aren't there, they chose to be cagey. When given the same opportunity w.r.t. the drum instrument and the row boats, they were not cagey and confirmed those are not there day 1. So ask yourself what the possible difference there is between those two answers.
True, you are correct, the answers were said differently. We should also consider the fact that there were four people answering questions so the author of each specific answer could change. This might be why they give a flat out no for two of the answers but not the third.
I would expect Rare to be holding their cards close for a pretty good reason.
As mentioned by Rare, Sea of Thieves is supposed to evolve. Some ideas would make it into the game, others will not. No developer should tell the playerbase all of the ideas on the table simply because some will not come to fruition. If there mention of something being on the table, the community, or portions of it, will hold on to that as a promise. The developers have decreed it and thus it shall be in the game.
Then the idea gets cut or never gets implemented for whatever reason and the community is up in arms about being lied to. See No Man's Sky as a textbook example of that.
I don't think Rare wants to go down that road really. So they show what they have and prove that it can be implemented as a way to promise that the content will be in the game. It holds them more accountable because they have proof that there exists an implementation. They now have to see it through and support it. It also helps prevent doubling back and facing the fire because of it.
Then there are the timescales. Some of the fielded questions could refer to something that is nothing more than a concept on the drawing board. How can there be any definitive plans explained for them? Why give a straight answer when the concept hasn't even been developed yet?
I would suppose that "looking into it" or "considering it" would refer to elements that are still in the conceptual stage. More clear answers would probably refer to elements that are almost finished being implemented. Everything else would be somewhere in between. Depends on the roadmap I guess.
I guess the path of the developer is "damned if you do and damned if you don't".
@gholin said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
Did anyone ask about sea life and especially whales? I feel like that would liven the game world up a lot.
Someone did ask but I do not believe it was answered.
@lifewcoke said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
@gholin said in RareLtd Reddit AMA Answers:
Did anyone ask about sea life and especially whales? I feel like that would liven the game world up a lot.
Someone did ask but I do not believe it was answered.
Brief mention of a sea serpent? Or was that unanswered?
@lifewcoke Its like one of those Peter vs The chicken fights! It goes everywhere l**o
119 out of 159
Available on:
