@dimwitmegalodon
Hi there. I've played both the beta & the current stress test with my 6 yr old son & my 7 & 9 yr old stepsons.
We only have one xbox, so we have mostly sailed in a sloop & taken turns. The eldest is turning into a competent solo sailor. The younger two like digging up chests & killing skeletons. In our 'family' sessions I tend to 'fill in the gaps' on the more mundane or boring bits & then do some solo sailing after bedtime...
The boys love SoTs. The world and artstyle are so engaging & bright- they were immediately taken with it- so much so that we're all humming the theme tune around the house...
We turn chat volume down when the boys play. That's the rule. Otherwise, they charge around being pirates!
(Note: If you meet me on the seas & I'm behaving like a crazy small person- chances are it actually is one at that moment... ;P)
Given the fairly unrestricted PvP, suitable for family play?
@katttruewalker said in Given the fairly unrestricted PvP, suitable for family play?:
@dimwitmegalodon I'm going to tag @TouchDown1504 here as I am almost certain he has plans to play with his children.
Right you are! I have two daughters, and my girlfriend's son (all 12 and under!). I purchased pre-orders for all of them, plus me. The kids have played in closed Beta, and are doing the stress test as we speak. So.....
Thus far they have indeed been set upon a couple of times. They get a little frustrated, but they drive on. They have also managed to fend off a couple predatory crews as well. As for the PvP aspect of the game, thus far it isn't bad, at least not for my kiddos. Yeah it s*x to get ganked, but they shrug it off pretty well and move on. Besides, plenty of other games they play or have played have PvP. They all play Roblox and that has some in it. They all absolutely love Fortnite. So truthfully it is up to you and what you want them exposed too. Here is some things I do, take it for what it is worth...
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When the kids are playing we are in Xbox party. The ganking is one thing, the berating, name calling, nonsense is another. Kids don't need to be exposed to that when they are simply relaxing and having fun.
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If I see them so frustrated they are getting angry, it is break time. We shut the game off (whatever game it is) and do something else for awhile.
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I remind them it is just a game. It is just for fun. And to treat others how they want to be treated...except when it comes to piracy!
And finally, we occasionally record some of our gaming sessions. One of my daughters loves editing video. Current plan is anytime the "ganking" gets out of control I will flip the record switch. Send it up the chain to the proper authorities at Rare or MS.
I think the bottom line is you have to take it all with a grain of salt. depends on your kids and how this sort of gameplay affects them. My kids love the game, they love the teamwork aspect. They especially love thwarting an attempted ganking. So, best I can tell you, my kids are playing. I hope some of what I said here gives you some food for thought.
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I think it sort of depends how old the kids are ( you might have said but I missed it). Sometimes I think this game will not be for the faint hearted. It is amultiplayer game at its heart and therefore include all the trials and tribulations that come with that. Personally I wouldnt let kids play this or any pvp game untill they reached their teens.
@shaggiedo said in Given the fairly unrestricted PvP, suitable for family play?:
I think it sort of depends how old the kids are ( you might have said but I missed it). Sometimes I think this game will not be for the faint hearted. It is amultiplayer game at its heart and therefore include all the trials and tribulations that come with that. Personally I wouldnt let kids play this or any pvp game untill they reached their teens.
There is age in years and there is mental age. My brats grew up in a military household. They seem to handle things a couple age years above their real years, if you get my meaning. But I do agree, just be sure it is appropriate for YOUR kid. kids are people too, and some of them simply handle things better than others.
@touchdown1504 Thanks for that insight, that sounds right up our alley, so I think we'll give it a go and see how it goes.
@dimwitmegalodon My oldest daughter set up a private "kids Club" if they need more kids to play with, shoot me a PM and I will get her tied in with you.
@lenny2k3 said in Given the fairly unrestricted PvP, suitable for family play?:
@stem589
I've already bought the game. So there is no on the fence, I want the game to be as best as it can be.Personally though, from the choices i've seen so far, I regret paying money for the game, as i've only been disappointed from changes and reveals. Hope the game sinks as hard as the dudes i've sunk in this game.
You keep suggesting that others are requesting changes to the game that would 'ruin it' in your opinion of Rare's vision for the game, yet when Rare makes changes that aren't to your liking, they broke it.
So when I said it looked like you were 'on the fence' about the game, I was implying that maybe you weren't the target market they're looking for and 'your vision' of the game isn't inline with what they intend. ;)
@dimwitmegalodon If you have them manning the sails to catch the wind perfectly no one can catch you the majority of players get distracted shooting cannons and such and even a 10 second period without the sails correctly adjusted would let you and your crew disapear into the distance. Avoiding battles in the Sea is very possible but getting your booty back to the NPC will be a different story , same with islands. Best to start training them now to aim for the head and maybe they will go on to be Pirate Legends who knows the Sea be a mysterious mistress. AAAAAAAGGGHHH
Well, I pre-ordered and downloaded the stress test to check things out.
My first experience - joined a random galleon crew. Voyaged about a bit. Tried to make myself useful, repairing holes, keeping an eye on the ship, and hanging out in the crows nest watching the horizon. Clearly not useful enough, because after about 20 minutes they locked me in the brig.
I tried to appease them with some song and dance, but to no avail. The ship then blew up (scuttled?), with me in the brig. I sank to my doom.
@dimwitmegalodon
After my crew went to sleep and I was done Solo sailing, I tried some matchmaking a bit.
Of the 10 crews I joined
3 were unresponsive, not sailing, not on a voyage, etc.
4 just locked me in the brig either instantly or within minutes.
1 was engaging in voice chat behaviour of the type that I simply don't want to be associated with, blocked them and left.
2 were pretty fun and actively trying to play the game and RP a little bit. Got a fun couple hours in here.So yeah, quite a mixed bag at the moment.
@hrknen Quite enjoying some solo sailing. The mechanics are simple, but really satisfying.
I'm hoping the starting experience at launch is somewhat smoother than what I'm seeing. I understand pushing people towards galleons early on, but as you say if current experience is anything to go by, unless you're on with friends you may well have a bad time of it, which is a shame.
Really looking forward to playing with my own crew, though.
@dimwitmegalodon Frontier Development created Elite Dangerous. They promised the pvp crowd that it was going to be pvp only through it's life cycle.
They changed thier minds. They have three modes, Solo, you alone in the world, Private, invited players to that server, and open, the free for all.
I do play open when I have nothing at stake.
Did the multiplayers balk at this change? It's been over a year I suppose and they still are crying foul.
There was an open event on the pc open servers. A long houl trip from our place in the galaxy to a players starbase by the galactic center.
Why? He is dying of cancer, and Frontier development wanted to give him something. So Dove Enigma has an in game galactic port of call. In real time, the trip took these players a week. They were met by other players who were hell bent on disrupting the festivities. The support crowd was bigger. But the idea that players would be so heartless as to disrupt such a heartfelt charitable event boggles the mind.
There are community goals as well. Such as what we will see here with co-op events. And the usual lot doing their share of disruption.
When I do a community goal I do it in a closed invite session or solo.
Bottom line. No harm no foul. Rare will have to do what Frontier did and shange course on pvp. It isn't to appease the pve players, but better still a business strategy.
Frontier is working on a crime and punishment mode that may actually bring solo players into the fold. And gankers back in the saddle of something less OP.
Simple answer, implement PVE elements. Ultimately for people like you. Can't blame you for
- Wanting to play games with your children ( more power to ya on that )
- Protect them from riff raff.
Prime example of multiplayer gone absolutely wrong and not mentioned here.......GTA V.
@topper-nuggets Agree. Community goals in ED are toxic and must be played in solo or private. I couldn't help to notice that this game feels a lot like that 😢
@dimwitmegalodon you will probably be very surprised by your kids, who no doubt (depending on age) could probably teach you some new pirate words!!😂. Good luck and may you and your family sail on many high seas, and have fun doing it!!
@shadowstrider-7 Oh man, this talk of E:D riminded me of the one place aggressive pvp players will not go, the Arena. Will not even go near it. To play the arena you all start out with the shame ship. Same specs same everything. One of the aggresive pvp types laid it right out on the table, he said "I'd play the Arena if I could use my engineered Anaconda from the start".
Really spells it out doesn't it? An even playing field gives them a rash.
@topper-nuggets Seems to be the same here as well. As long as a crew out numbers you, they pounce, and then pounce again on respawn, and again, and again.... gets real old real fast.
@dimwitmegalodon said in Given the fairly unrestricted PvP, suitable for family play?:
My first experience - joined a random galleon crew. Voyaged about a bit. Tried to make myself useful, repairing holes, keeping an eye on the ship, and hanging out in the crows nest watching the horizon. Clearly not useful enough, because after about 20 minutes they locked me in the brig.
I tried to appease them with some song and dance, but to no avail. The ship then blew up (scuttled?), with me in the brig. I sank to my doom.
I can't play with random galleon crews anymore. It isn't the toxicity. I've actually seen very little toxicity in general. It's more about people not pulling their weight. The sails are all over the place. They don't help raise the anchor. They don't do the voyages. It's especially frustrating because sailing a galleon efficiently takes cooperation. It's infuriating raising an anchor or operating 2/3 or 3/3 sails by yourself only to notice afterwards two other crewmates just sitting there with thumbs up their a***s. So now I just play duos. It's more intimate and direct, and people are far more cooperative and hands-on. In 8 out of 10 duos instances, I usually end up friending the other player.
@clarkalii I agree. Random galleon crews are about useless 70% of the time and it gets old quick. To be fair, though, you shouldn't drop your anchor unless it's an emergency. Sail control is life 🙏
Unfortunately this is going to be the biggest issue with Sea of Thieves at launch, and Rare's hands-off approach is just going to hurt the game's population/retention IMO.
So no, right now you're not wrong. You're better off having your family steer clear and wait to see if they ever change things. So far Rare has shown 0 desire to actually do anything that would put consequences/deterrents on rampant PvP where everyone just kills on sight or chases you for 30+ minutes. There is no reason to be friendly to other pirate crews, and with the nature of PvP there is also 0 consequence to people who simply go hunting for other players to sink their ship and steal their treasure (while not actually having any treasure of their own to lose). The way they talk in the developer videos and so on is like they intend for people to Roleplay... but don't do anything to encourage it, thinking that somehow everything will work itself out (this NEVER happens unless you've got a VERY small community).
It really does become a turnoff with how they're making the same mistakes as way too many other devs have done in the past, yet somehow believe this time it will work out differently. Best bet is to just hold off and see if they address the issues later on. Right now it seems like launch is just going to be full of complaints about being unable to play the game for more than 30-60 minutes without some ship chasing people down.
@shadowstrider-7 said in Given the fairly unrestricted PvP, suitable for family play?:
@clarkalii To be fair, though, you shouldn't drop your anchor unless it's an emergency. Sail control is life 🙏
What do you mean drop your anchor? I said they don't help raise the anchor, which is a slow process with one person doing it.
@clarkalii for me, the one who made the mistake of throwing anchor deserves to go up alone, so next time maybe he will not lower her.
@clarkalii said in Given the fairly unrestricted PvP, suitable for family play?:
@shadowstrider-7 said in Given the fairly unrestricted PvP, suitable for family play?:
@clarkalii To be fair, though, you shouldn't drop your anchor unless it's an emergency. Sail control is life 🙏
What do you mean drop your anchor? I said they don't help raise the anchor, which is a slow process with one person doing it.
You wouldn't need help raising it, if you don't drop it. That's what I meant.
Encounters in the game have thus far been random. There will be times of peace and times of war. In peacetime you should prepare for war, load all cannons, make sure you have wood n food.
The game is absolutely fine for all ages in terms of the violence etc. However, the proximity voice chat in the game, which allows you to hear and talk to other players in your vacinity (who arent on your crew) might mean your kids hear stuff you probably dont want them too, profanity or whatever. But that would be the only thing. But in my opinion I would say the game is fine for kids of all ages, big n small! Hope that helps. Happy sailing!!
The only thing I would advise against is having voice chat on. The gameplay is fine, it's what I've heard people saying over mic that you should be concerned about.
Not every server has bloodthirsty crews hunting down single sloops for hours at a time, you can just cash in and remake if you're having that problem.
Oh. You guys are saying that it is more efficient to raise the sails at your destination rather than to drop the anchor.
That is... why didn't I think of that? Thanks for the tip.
@clarkalii said in Given the fairly unrestricted PvP, suitable for family play?:
Oh. You guys are saying that it is more efficient to raise the sails at your destination rather than to drop the anchor.
That is... why didn't I think of that? Thanks for the tip.
Yes! If you don't drop anchor, you can rotate in place with sails up, allowing one person to efficiently defend the ship while crewmates are ashore. A galleon that's dead in the water is just that; Dead. 👍🏻
@clarkalii
Bit of an off topic conversation I guess, but I'd say it depends.
You can also effectively sail your ship and never raise the sails, if you cut the wheel all the way one direction before you drop anchor, the ship will do a 180, about half way it will do a 90, etc.
Sloop anchor raises pretty fast, galleon you either need coordination to make sure everyone is helping raise it or just do the sails.@hrknen said in Given the fairly unrestricted PvP, suitable for family play?:
@clarkalii
You can also effectively sail your ship and never raise the sails, if you cut the wheel all the way one direction before you drop anchor, the ship will do a 180, about half way it will do a 90, etc.
Sloop anchor raises pretty fast, galleon you either need coordination to make sure everyone is helping raise it or just do the sails.Yeah, I know about anchor turns. In PVE, If I know that my next destination is in the opposite direction, I will do an anchor turn at my immediate destination to prepare for when I disembark. I also obviously use it in PVP when the time calls. 90 degrees to prepare canon fire. Or whenever I need to 180 quickly in general.
I mainly play on a sloop, but, honestly, I might just not use the anchor for style points and the slight efficiency increase.
@spykus The vast majority of players never so much as look at the forum. It’s a sample of the most engaged part of the player base, nothing more.
The most indicative metrics will be player retention and engagement metrics that Rare will only really get post launch. Anything else is speculation, really. But that’s what the forum is for :-)
