Alliances

@beardfaceyo said in Alliances:

I'm having a lot of fun with Alliances when they go right. The rewards from agreeing not to blow each others faces of are very much appreciated when you're on that last push to legend.

My only problem with the system is that there is no penalty for a ship pretending to want an alliance only to then ambush you as you attempt to join them or immediately after you have joined them.

I solo sloop a lot, so I tend to stick my alliance pennant up in this circumstance to avoid confrontation whilst I grind out a ton of rep. When you are on your own, being fired on and chased from an outpost or island by a larger ship (or a duo sloop) can be difficult, particularly when the other party has voiced their intention to play alongside you. Using systems from other games as inspiration, I think it would be useful to enrich Alliances with the following tweaks:

If you are in an alliance and one of the alliance ships opens fire on you (let's say twice in quick succession to mitigate accidental firing) their flag is automatically taken down from their ship. As such they are soft marked as hostile to you and you can run like the wind, knowing that they definitely don't want to be your friend anymore.

In extreme cases of griefing, a temporary reapers mark could fly from an enemy ship for say 5 minutes, allowing anyone nearby who does not want to fight the opportunity to adjust their course appropriately (or give PVP players a marked target to chase down as per the standard reapers mark system).

Of course, I know we all play this game differently - and for different reasons - so I expect that not everyone will agree! :)

There was good discussion about this in a mega thread about alliances a while back. I talked about a similar heat mechanic when someone drops an alliance. It can be a timer thing for players that disband an alliance. Their ship could be flagged for a period of time with the Reaper’s Mark.

They gain heat which has a short cool down period. So, if a ship’s crew did betray the alliance they could be tracked for a limited time. If they are not caught and dealt with during this time, they still have an opportunity to get away.

Alliances can be a lot of fun, even if they go bad. Just need to make sure the mechanic fits in the game. Now with the Reapers Mark it could. Maintains risk that alliances are still built on levels of faith or trust and can still be broken. It adds a bit more risk if you do not respect the alliance. However, if you just betrayed several other ships you should be expecting the possible wrath of those crews chasing you down for pay back.

@x-crowheart-x Alliances are an interesting mechanic but I definitely think there needs to be some sort of (short term) consequence for betraying an alliance, just to balance the scales a little and make sure the victim has an opportunity for either payback or a fair chance of escape! :)

@beardfaceyo

I agree. Perhaps the ship and crew get cursed for a determined period, thinking peaceball, grogball and anchorball.

@beardfaceyo said in Alliances:

@x-crowheart-x Alliances are an interesting mechanic but I definitely think there needs to be some sort of (short term) consequence for betraying an alliance, just to balance the scales a little and make sure the victim has an opportunity for either payback or a fair chance of escape! :)

I agree. That is why temporarily flagging a ship with the Reaper’s Mark that drops an alliance would work. It would not bog the game down with lots of other mechanics to track player actions. If someone does not drop an alliance and still sails away, they can still be tracked. It has happened with greedy pirates who like both stealing and sharing.

Sometimes I think it would also be nice to have player names show up in a different color or maybe a tiny alliance flag by their name when they are in an alliance. Depending on what size ships and crews there are in the alliance, it can be a lot of people to track. That way when there are three or four ships in an alliance at a fort and a ship drops out or another sails up, the allies can spot the traitors or newcomers. Would help with all the pleading that can occur “ it was not me, please don’t shoot me.”

It can be a tough balancing act to allow folks to play the pirate they want to be while dealing with griefers. People just trying to honestly play can be falsely labeled. Still gaining heat when you betray those around you should fit regardless in a sea full of pirates.