Yea, the implementation that they went with doesn't really hit the mark (despite the fact that I still do it, and despite me being one of the people who always thought it wouldn't work). That said, I think they could have actually pulled it off seeing this, and suggested it multiple times around these parts:
- This should have been positioned around the Bilge Rats and made them the "player content" Faction
- Those who bury Loot should be awarded with Doubloons (alongside the Rep and Renown) based on the value of the Loot buried (making it a choice of Gold for selling or Doubloons for burying, and giving incentive to burying valuable Loot)
- They should have revived the Black Market and moved those back to Larinna as well as started adding more Doubloon based Cosmetics (so there is something to spend earnings on)
Just those core changes would have added a lot of value behind all of this as a system and made it all more worth it. In addition to that, I also think these facets would have been good bonuses:
- Maps should have been contested, meaning more than one Crew could have the same Maps at the same time to add something a little different from normal GH style X Mark Maps
- The payout notification should just always say "Your buried treasure was found" so that you really don't know if it was players finding it or a server shutdown
- Server shutdown shouldn't give a reduced reward compared to a player finding it, to further obscure if people found it or the server shutdown (you shouldn't be penalized for the fact that the servers shutdown and spin up regularly)
- Sunken Loot (that which despawns from floating too long in the water) should generate a Lost Shipment Voyage as this would add more variety in the options (and throw a bone to players who get sunk but their aggressor doesn't actually take the Loot) as this would make some losses sting less for new players who will always get rolled more often than experienced Crews (and pair nicely with Seasonal rewards to help keep the less PvP inclined motivated)
Add all of that together and I think that people would be much more willing to engage with the Maps/Player generated content long term. Maybe they will take this approach eventually, bring some more life to it all. Maybe they have other ideas on how to expand it to make it more appealing.
In the meantime I'll probably keep on keeping on with it and making a Map or two every session and posting it namely cause I just don't care and am not bothered by not cashing in directly at all (I'll even often logout with Loot on my Ship still just cause I don't care realistically, and with my bonus idea this would also generate a Map type).
