Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements

@eguzky

i see alot of PVE server threads. But i suggest different approach. And i do belive that whole discussion should still be on the table. Since from what i see, most ppl are solo slooping. Most avoid pvp, and current state of affairs make both PVP and PVE players unhappy.

I liked the suggestion regarding new weather conditions.

I think hurricane strong winds, or tornadoes would spice up the game.

Użytkownik @eguzky napisał w Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

But the devs have said they are not splitting the player base or letting people be immune to PvP.
So what is there to discuss?

So, in both cases; What's the point in spamming the forums with an idea that has been talked to death, and the devs have flat-out said 'No, not happening' on?
Nothing is being added to the discussion. It's the same post every time. 'We NEED to avoid PvP!' That's all it ever is.
And the answer, like always, is 'No.'

Whether you like it or not, eventually this will happen. Reason is very simple. SoT is losing players. Slowly player base is diminishing, (look at the steamcharts like once a month, and you will see it) And why is that happening? Cause players dont like to be forced to PVP, and those who dont like PVP at all, are being forced to do it, and after few sinks, and losing few or more hours of gameplay (to aquire all the loot...) they quit the game. So yeah devs might have said this or that. But they will either change their minds (which eventually they will, mark my words) or game will die.

So discussion is needed. More people participate, more ideas shared, more modifications to the whole "pve mode like" idea comes, the better it will be for all of us.

Edit: Also mind you, those who are would like PVE mode, mostly does not post anything on forums/fb pages/etc. cause they are not that type of people. You and me, and others here, are minority. Most of player base does not share their opinion. They just play the game, if they like it, they continue to play it, untill something else comes out. If for whatever reason (like getting sunk constantly, all loot and game time lost) they get annoyed, they quit and never come back.

So its in all of our best interest, to keep them happy and around. Otherwise, there will be no SoT.

Edit2:

That said, seeing as there are other suggestions made by the initial poster, I'm willing to leave this thread open provided it sticks to discussing those suggestions rather than turn it in to yet another PvP vs PvE discussion.

Turning this thread into another PVPvPVE fight was not my intention.

A lot of this is good, but for selling treasure needing your ship close, that wouldnt make sense, im not sure why the trading companies would be like "this is good treasure, but i wont take it without a ship at the dock" the flag makes sense cause you cant return a flag thats 3 islands away.

The solo one, maby it could be argued, but most of my time on the seas has been solo, and i can say i have taken down plenty of duo sloops and full brigs while solo, and a few galles with just a keg or fire bomb while solo, i havnt had much naval with galles while solo though strangely enough, i just dont see many of them.

@p0n3t said in Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

Użytkownik @eguzky napisał w Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

But the devs have said they are not splitting the player base or letting people be immune to PvP.
So what is there to discuss?

So, in both cases; What's the point in spamming the forums with an idea that has been talked to death, and the devs have flat-out said 'No, not happening' on?
Nothing is being added to the discussion. It's the same post every time. 'We NEED to avoid PvP!' That's all it ever is.
And the answer, like always, is 'No.'

Whether you like it or not, eventually this will happen. Reason is very simple. SoT is losing players. Slowly player base is diminishing, (look at the steamcharts like once a month, and you will see it) And why is that happening? Cause players dont like to be forced to PVP, and those who dont like PVP at all, are being forced to do it, and after few sinks, and losing few or more hours of gameplay (to aquire all the loot...) they quit the game. So yeah devs might have said this or that. But they will either change their minds (which eventually they will, mark my words) or game will die.

So discussion is needed. More people participate, more ideas shared, more modifications to the whole "pve mode like" idea comes, the better it will be for all of us.

Edit: Also mind you, those who are would like PVE mode, mostly does not post anything on forums/fb pages/etc. cause they are not that type of people. You and me, and others here, are minority. Most of player base does not share their opinion. They just play the game, if they like it, they continue to play it, untill something else comes out. If for whatever reason (like getting sunk constantly, all loot and game time lost) they get annoyed, they quit and never come back.

So its in all of our best interest, to keep them happy and around. Otherwise, there will be no SoT.

CITATION NEEDED.

Firstly, Steam Charts are probably the single worst metric you could possibly use to judge the health of this game because Steam is not the primary platform people play this game with. The game was on Xbox and Windows PCs for two years before being released on Steam. Hell, I bought the game on PC launch day back in 2018.

Secondly, the few people who leave the game because they don't enjoy the PvP aspect are vastly outnumbered by the people who stay. Official metrics released by Rare show that the game isn't shrinking at all; it's growing. We've already passed 15 million players, and it probably won't be long until we hit 20 million.

Thirdly, since you seem to believe Steam Charts are a definitive metric for the health of a game, take a look at any other game's charts on the platform. Most follow the exact same trend: spikes in activity around major updates, followed by periods of decline as hardliners stay and others move to whatever else is new. Most people don't stay with the same game 100% of the time; they play one game for a while then move on to something new so they avoid burnout.

Your statement that the game will die if Rare refuses to consider adding a PvE-only mode is not only crazy, but based solely on your personal opinion, not any sort of empirical data. YOU might want a PvE only mode, but as has been stated many, many, MANY times before, such a thing goes completely against Rare's CORE VISION for the game.

Użytkownik @goldsmen napisał w Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

Selling treasure without a ship, makes sense, cause there is no way you will be able to carry 10k+ gold just on your back without place to store it. :) Therefore ship is needed at the dock.

As i said. MOST players arent that good in the game to take down 2-3-4 crews while solo. If what you said, was true for most, then there would not be this many complains about runners/redsearunners or those who just scuttle after first cannon fire or first death.

Użytkownik @blam320 napisał w Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

Yes, yes, steam charts are not completely accurate source of statistics. If you say that, it means you have no idea what you are talking about. While its not 100% accurate (no statistics are...) there is always error margin. Still if one month there is 13k players online, next is 11k... then clearly something is going into wrong direction isnt? Yes, the game was first released at windows store/xbox. Thats true, but there is also a reason why people were asking for steam version. And there was alot of those people back in the day. Yes, i was there at release, aswell.

Actually, here is where you are wrong. This is the case for all games, not just SoT. If player gets annoyed with the game, he/she tries it at best few more times, and if it doesnt change, quits, as i already said here, on the forums or any other community hub, people who participate here, are overwhelmingly minority, therefore cant really be taken into account as reliable source of statistics in this matter. Also, you misread this "official metrics". Its 15kk people WHO AT LEAST LAUNCHED THE GAME ONCE. Not players who can be counted as "playing regularly", dont forget, since the game is available in game pass, you dont need to buy it to play it. That is main and only reason why this metrics are this high. Cause real player base isnt that big.

Yes, i am aware that playerbase spikes during launches of new updates. Yes, but my point still stands. Not so long ago steamcharts was showing 20k players for SoT... Now its half of that. Even if not 100% accurate, even after taking into account all platforms. Still gives outlook good enough to judge.

My statement regarding PVE-only is based not only on my personal opinion only. As i already said, i see posts in other SoT communities, and amount of people asking for PVE is insane.

Yes, PVE-mode is against core vision of the game. No argue here. But still, SOME SORT of solution should be considered and implemented, since players will quit and continue to do so, if they cant just play in peace. Yes, YOU DONT LIKE IT, YOU WANT PVP. But not that player, for whatever reason. Why then, only you should have fun in the game then? why things must go YOUR WAY?

Please, understand, for you PVPenjoyer, nothing will change, after all you will not even encounter PVE players. You will only get your experience ENHANCED, by being matched only with those like-minded. This is literally WIN-WIN situation.

Its always amazing, that some people only acknowledge their side, and refuse to even try, to understand others. Even when there is easy way to compromise.

@cogswallop

What i think would both beneficial and healthy for the game, at the same time, is NOT PVE-only servers/mode, but something rather similar, to xbox players having an option to match PREFERABLY only with other Xbox players.

This would maybe not eliminate matter completely, but would definitely greatly reduce it, without dividing playerbase, which could prevent one side having empty servers, or trouble interacting with other players, as not every interaction must be hostile.

And those who still oppose, i ask you to think about it. Not everyone have dozens of hours weekly to play video games. Alot has few a week, and its really disheartening, when all 2-3 hours you had this week is being lost.

@p0n3t said in Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

Użytkownik @goldsmen napisał w Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

Selling treasure without a ship, makes sense, cause there is no way you will be able to carry 10k+ gold just on your back without place to store it. :) Therefore ship is needed at the dock.

As i said. MOST players arent that good in the game to take down 2-3-4 crews while solo. If what you said, was true for most, then there would not be this many complains about runners/redsearunners or those who just scuttle after first cannon fire or first death.

That first part doesnt make sense, you dont use your ship to carry the loot to the person you sell it to, so if your loot is on the dock and your crewmate sails off while you sell, or if you rowed there, your loot is still there and you didnt carry it your self. No ones going to swim back and forth from island to outpost just to sell 10 captains chests or more worth of loot.

So if your loot is at the outpost, it still makes sense that you can sell it with or without a ship. A gold hoarder who cares about nothing other than getting their hands on gold wont care how you got the gold there, they dont even care who you took it from, just that they get it.

You know what'd be cool? Rogue waves. Counterintuitive to sailing, they'd come from inconvenient angles (decided by the engine) that you could attempt to outrun or maneuver in such a way as to either lose wind or surf it for a speed boost.

@p0n3t said in Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

Użytkownik @goldsmen napisał w Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

Selling treasure without a ship, makes sense, cause there is no way you will be able to carry 10k+ gold just on your back without place to store it. :) Therefore ship is needed at the dock.

As i said. MOST players arent that good in the game to take down 2-3-4 crews while solo. If what you said, was true for most, then there would not be this many complains about runners/redsearunners or those who just scuttle after first cannon fire or first death.

Użytkownik @blam320 napisał w Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

Yes, yes, steam charts are not completely accurate source of statistics. If you say that, it means you have no idea what you are talking about. While its not 100% accurate (no statistics are...) there is always error margin. Still if one month there is 13k players online, next is 11k... then clearly something is going into wrong direction isnt? Yes, the game was first released at windows store/xbox. Thats true, but there is also a reason why people were asking for steam version. And there was alot of those people back in the day. Yes, i was there at release, aswell.

Actually, here is where you are wrong. This is the case for all games, not just SoT. If player gets annoyed with the game, he/she tries it at best few more times, and if it doesnt change, quits, as i already said here, on the forums or any other community hub, people who participate here, are overwhelmingly minority, therefore cant really be taken into account as reliable source of statistics in this matter. Also, you misread this "official metrics". Its 15kk people WHO AT LEAST LAUNCHED THE GAME ONCE. Not players who can be counted as "playing regularly", dont forget, since the game is available in game pass, you dont need to buy it to play it. That is main and only reason why this metrics are this high. Cause real player base isnt that big.

Yes, i am aware that playerbase spikes during launches of new updates. Yes, but my point still stands. Not so long ago steamcharts was showing 20k players for SoT... Now its half of that. Even if not 100% accurate, even after taking into account all platforms. Still gives outlook good enough to judge.

My statement regarding PVE-only is based not only on my personal opinion only. As i already said, i see posts in other SoT communities, and amount of people asking for PVE is insane.

Yes, PVE-mode is against core vision of the game. No argue here. But still, SOME SORT of solution should be considered and implemented, since players will quit and continue to do so, if they cant just play in peace. Yes, YOU DONT LIKE IT, YOU WANT PVP. But not that player, for whatever reason. Why then, only you should have fun in the game then? why things must go YOUR WAY?

Please, understand, for you PVPenjoyer, nothing will change, after all you will not even encounter PVE players. You will only get your experience ENHANCED, by being matched only with those like-minded. This is literally WIN-WIN situation.

Its always amazing, that some people only acknowledge their side, and refuse to even try, to understand others. Even when there is easy way to compromise.

Thanks for essentially admitting that you have absolutely no clue what the heck you're talking about. You're being EXTREMELY intellectually dishonest with how you present your so-called "facts," by cherry-picking data which supports your ludicrous hypothesis. Not only that, but you have the audacity to suggest that you somehow know better than the game's developers as to what works and what doesn't. That the miniscule amount of data you actually look at is somehow not only indicative of the whole, but gives you some sort of leverage or expertise on the subject of what direction the game should go in. Or maybe you forgot about how massive a failure the Arena - a dedicated PvP mode - was. NOBODY played it. People preferred the mix of PvP and PvE.

Which leads me to a new point: you seem to fundamentally misunderstand how PvP and PvE interact in this game. PvE activities generate loot, then you engage in PvP to protect (or take) it from others. It was designed as such from the start. PvP and PvE are not "separate but equal," instead they are fundamentally intertwined. Why do you think Forts and other major server events have massive clouds visible across the map? They're not just to show you a PvE event is active, they are intended to draw player crews together to compete over the spoils. Seriously, you're acting as if the meshing of PvP and PvE is a recent and unpopular addition to the game. The game grew as quickly as it has EXPLICITLY BECAUSE of the hybrid PvE/PvP gameplay.

The nail in the coffin is the fact you don't even know that Xbox-only servers are already a thing! Xbox players can opt-in to Crossplay.

And that's not even mentioning your absolutely PATHETIC strawman argument regarding people who enjoy the PvP aspect of the game. You insinuate that we're all super bloodthirsty and want nothing more than to constantly fight for the sake of it. That's utterly wrong, and if you spent even a shred of time actually looking at all discussion of the game like you claim, you would realize that. But no, all you've done is cherry-pick and inflate the actual number and value of threads begging for PvE modes.

So, once again I state, you are NOT using any sort of actual evidence for your argument. Wanting to separate PvE from PvP is your OPINION and your OPINION only. And not only a trash one at that, but one that has been discussed to death already and is DEEPLY unpopular across the entirety of the playerbase. Of course, you would have known that if you weren't so busy making a fool of yourself struggling to both paint Steam chart data as definitive proof the game is dying and smear PvP enjoyers as bloodthirsty maniacs who just want to endlessly fight.

@pithyrumble said in Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

You know what'd be cool? Rogue waves. Counterintuitive to sailing, they'd come from inconvenient angles (decided by the engine) that you could attempt to outrun or maneuver in such a way as to either lose wind or surf it for a speed boost.

That sounds epic! i would love every bit of that!

@blam320 Please keep it respectful my friend, even if i agree with your points, calling some ones opinion trash and arguing can cause a thread lock. This thread could be a good place for friendly debate, but only if it stays friendly.

@goldsmen said in Few suggestions about gameplay additions and improvements:

@blam320 Please keep it respectful my friend, even if i agree with your points, calling some ones opinion trash and arguing can cause a thread lock. This thread could be a good place for friendly debate, but only if it stays friendly.

The thread should have already been locked for suggesting separate PvE and PvP.