TIME LIMITED EVENTS

time limited events are kind of neccessary to the Game as a Service model. The rewards being unique are what allow you to tell a story through your characters cosmetics.

Some of them, like the hungering deep, mark the introduction of a new feature or mechanic.

Some of the bilge rat adventures that offered doubloons as rewards can still be attained.

@captain-coel said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

time limited events are kind of neccessary to the Game as a Service model.

"software as a service" is just a term for subscription based and centrally hosted software. sea of thieves doesnt have micro-transactions or any paid dlc or require a specific subscription. even if it was I dont see how time limited events would be necessary at all

@captain-coel said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

The rewards being unique are what allow you to tell a story through your characters cosmetics.

my story got taken away from me because I logged in a day late, how is that fair? I pre-ordered the game and put countless hours into it and helped it via word of mouth. what made me any less deserving than someone who happened to have more free time in the first two weeks of july 2018?

@sam-mikkelsen your story didnt get taken away, you opted to not do it. They announced it would be time limited.

And as per not thinking they are required, it's what keeps alot of players logging in. I've had the opportunity to play every event. Some were easy to do like the thrones event, some were obnoxious like the intro event for cursed cannonballs.

Rare has been pretty clear about when things run out.

@sam-mikkelsen said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

@captain-coel said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

time limited events are kind of neccessary to the Game as a Service model.

"software as a service" is just a term for subscription based and centrally hosted software. sea of thieves doesnt have micro-transactions or any paid dlc or require a specific subscription. even if it was I dont see how time limited events would be necessary at all

@captain-coel said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

The rewards being unique are what allow you to tell a story through your characters cosmetics.

my story got taken away from me because I logged in a day late, how is that fair? I pre-ordered the game and put countless hours into it and helped it via word of mouth. what made me any less deserving than someone who happened to have more free time in the first two weeks of july 2018?

@nwo-azcrack said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

@sam-mikkelsen
This is why i hate time limited events. I feel your pain

@captain-coel said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

@sam-mikkelsen your story didnt get taken away, you opted to not do it. They announced it would be time limited.

And as per not thinking they are required, it's what keeps alot of players logging in. I've had the opportunity to play every event. Some were easy to do like the thrones event, some were obnoxious like the intro event for cursed cannonballs.

Rare has been pretty clear about when things run out.

Rare has also been "pretty clear" that these events, like the one running now, are (partly) not time limited. The only thing that is time limited is the voyage buying, and the cosmetics. The rest stays in the game, you can still sell 60 gems to the factions, you can still sell the strongholds (prob). And for another example, the megs are still ingame, still killable for doubloons, cosmetics, etc.

And even if thats not the case, its a time limited event for a month which is more then long enough.

I like the events, so i hope they keep it this way! Its first year has been a good mix between perma content and time limited events.

@nwo-azcrack said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

@mentimjojo
Ya Rare does a good job of announcing the events, i gotta admit.
I have always hated time limited stuff tho.
But at the same time i understand their importance for a game like this.

Yeah they are really good for returning players, and just keeping busy with stuff todo ingame. And sometimes event comeback, like the gilded athena, or hopefully, a double XP/gold weekend soon again(Rare do this pls) :P

@captain-coel said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

@sam-mikkelsen your story didnt get taken away, you opted to not do it. They announced it would be time limited.

opt means choose and I did not choose to make that or any event limited nor did I choose to not do it I had real life get in the way and thats not how it should work in video games. time limited events were not a part of the game until that update and I bought the game before launch not knowing it would end up this way

@captain-coel said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

And as per not thinking they are required, it's what keeps alot of players logging in. I've had the opportunity to play every event. Some were easy to do like the thrones event, some were obnoxious like the intro event for cursed cannonballs.

Rare has been pretty clear about when things run out.

they prevent me from logging in because whats the point if im NEVER going to be able to finish what I was doing and constantly reminded of missed content I payed for? furthermore if you are only logging in to play the game because youre scared the content is going to be deleted, isnt that a sign that something is wrong with that setup?

@mentimjojo said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

And even if thats not the case, its a time limited event for a month which is more then long enough.

@lonegoatknifer said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

@sam-mikkelsen Events have been a month or longer for a little while now. I'd say that's a fair amount of time to do the event.

I slept on a friends couch for 2 months this last year and plenty of other people have one month+ roadblocks in their gaming life regularly enough. they should still be included as much as possible in all aspects of the game they bought, same with new players who never got a chance

@sam-mikkelsen I dont log in to complete the events, I enjoy sea of thieves. It is my mental decompress after work.

The game you played for was an open ended sandbox pirate game. That was clear in the beginning.

Time limited rewards have been a thing in gaming for decades, it's not like it's a new thing.

I don't know your personal life, I don't need to. Events lasting 2 - 4 weeks is plenty. It helps keep the variety up. Some of the limited events literally took 2 hours (thrones), some took more. Heck the hungering deep was a 2-3 hour event.

I'm sorry you missed out, I hope Rare never brings events back, I hope Rare never brings back limited cosmetics, I hope Rare continue to deliver variety content to help keep the game interesting

@dadiodude said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

@captain-coel

Having anything in a game time limited is entirely contrary to the principle of “sandbox”. Rare want to give the impression that players are free to choose how to play SoT but with only four weeks to complete how many hours of repetition? 100? I’m afraid once again the tail wags the dog.
Time limited only suites the developer as it cajoles players into a playing pattern (certain content at a certain time) - there is zero benefit to the player.

So, over the course of a year there will be something like 10 or 12 “events”. Each event uses existing assets (no new content) and each features an element of grind. I see no need for events to be removed until they are completed. Would it be a bad thing if there were an ever expanding library of quests to select from?

None of the time limited events have needed 100 hours, nothing even close. Also while a sandbox game it does feature horizontal progression.

I don't see time limited as a problem and they don't always just reuse assests.

Hungering deep introduced Speaking trumpets, drums, and megladons.

Cursed crews brought in cursed cannonballs, alliances, and cursed ships.

Forsaken shores have us the Roar, Rowboats, and cargo runs.

Shrouded Spoils gave us different color megs.

Anniversary gave us the Tall Tales.

Alot of what those content bundles gave us is still in the game, sure certain aspects or cosmetics were time limited, but over all they helped change the world.

@captain-coel said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

The game you played for was an open ended sandbox pirate game. That was clear in the beginning.

nobody warned me that I would have to play the game as an obligation indefinitely or miss out on important content. viva pinata is also an open ended sandbox game from the rare and content was never removed, I can still play all of it 13 years later. I grinded 100-200 hours to get to pirate legend on release because the first update was supposed to be captaincy. it was effectively cancelled making my hard work meaningless and the consolation prize was hungering deep which I LOVED but it was taken away after one session. its not fair to take away the coolest thing in the game for no good reason and tell the player to wait months for next big thing

Time limited rewards have been a thing in gaming for decades, it's not like it's a new thing.

well I havent experienced it and didnt ask for it and dont want it. halo never took away the best campaign mission or multiplayer map or game mode from me in two weeks

I don't know your personal life, I don't need to. Events lasting 2 - 4 weeks is plenty. It helps keep the variety up. Some of the limited events literally took 2 hours (thrones), some took more. Heck the hungering deep was a 2-3 hour event.

2-4 weeks is a blink of an eye. you can play all the multiplayer online content with your friends in banjo-kazooie nuts & bolts now, almost 11 years after release (in 4k!) even if you never played it before or bought it before (borrow from a friend or game pass). meanwhile sea of thieves removed my favorite thing in the game after two weeks after I pre-ordered, sold 3 friends on the game, put in 100-200 hours, and waited months for the update

I hope Rare never brings events back, I hope Rare never brings back limited cosmetics, I hope Rare continue to deliver variety content to help keep the game interesting

I hope youre wrong. the game as I understand it, via what rare has said, has always been about building up a story around our pirates, and we shouldnt have our stories abruptly cut off forever because we ran out of a small amount of time due to real life

@dadiodude said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

@captain-coel

Having anything in a game time limited is entirely contrary to the principle of “sandbox”. Rare want to give the impression that players are free to choose how to play SoT but with only four weeks to complete how many hours of repetition? 20, 30? I’m afraid once again the tail wags the dog.
Time limited only suites the developer as it cajoles players into a playing pattern (certain content at a certain time) - there is zero benefit to the player.

So, over the course of a year there will be something like 10 or 12 “events”. Each event uses existing assets (no new content) and each features an element of grind. I see no need for events to be removed until they are completed. Would it be a bad thing if there were an ever expanding library of quests to select from?

yep this is all exactly right. ive thought about it a fair amount and I DO see a potential issue which is that because the events are limited they can be designed in a flow-disrupting way to the natural rhythm of the ecosystem of the game and be considered history for canon to build on (unlike the tall tales which will forever be "in the present") BUT a very compelling workaround could be some combination of

1. a huge gold cost for the voyage
2. very long cooldown (days, weeks, months?) for the voyage upon completion
3. require a rare mystical item that makes time travel happen

or maybe they could be remastered/rebooted as tall tales!

@sam-mikkelsen you realize that completing the time limited events is how we build our characters' stories. A lot of us have distinct memories of doing this or that during their adventures and that is what made them special. Some memories are just funny, some are just painful, but that is why we like them.

Rare has said they aren't bringing the time limited stuff back so discussion is kinda moot. Heck they said even if they did bring back cosmetics they would change them to be different from the originals.

I'm sorry you missed a year of content but they keep including more so get the new stuff as it shows up.

ps @Dadiodude you may not want to edit your posts after someone quotes you.

@captain-coel said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

@sam-mikkelsen you realize that completing the time limited events is how we build our characters' stories. A lot of us have distinct memories of doing this or that during their adventures and that is what made them special. Some memories are just funny, some are just painful, but that is why we like them.

And it is important for your memories that people that joined later on don't get that chance to experience these?

Besides no one ever asked me for my character's story and no one ever cared for my cosmetics.

Rare has said they aren't bringing the time limited stuff back so discussion is kinda moot. Heck they said even if they did bring back cosmetics they would change them to be different from the originals.

Rare has said every ship on the horizon shall be another player crew. Now we have skeleton galleons.

Like said above, time limited events/cosmetics are essential for the game. Its what keeps people playing/returning. (Especially the cosmetics)

Its sad that you missed hungering deep, but you still can do all the other ones (not counting mercenary voyages), and gain some doubloons for most of them.

Aside from that, hungering deep was probably one my best memories on this game, having 10 pirates on a galleon, all playing this new epic shanty, and go hunt the beast was truly awesome !
Would love to see a similar event in the future. ^^

I say keep the time limited stuff. I logged in last week to work towards the new sails, hull, and flag knowing that it'll be gone in a few weeks. If it was in there forever I probably wouldn't have bothered.

I've missed a few bits through not being able to play at the right time, and I've missed another couple through my own stupidity - not buying them when they were available.

Yes I'd like to have them all, but you can't have everything. I decided to suck it up and not whine like a spoilt kid.

@Sam-Mikkelsen if you don't like it then you don't like it. That's your choice.
Rare has made a game that's constantly changing. Thus yeah you're going to miss stuff if you don't log in regularly.
You argue that Rare doesn't make money on microtransactions or subscriptions but you might have forgotten that this is also an X-Box gamepass game that brought in quite some people (in my friends list alone there are at least 10 people playing trough this service that I know of).

Secondly to take an example on the Megladon fight. People would not be fighting the one meg right now if they kept it as it was.
The execution was great abeit a bit short (they learned from it and now extend events for longer) a short but simple story introduces the Megladon, it doesn't just appear somehwere from patch to patch, it gets a story.
The people who fought it in that period also have a story and now we have megs all over the place without it just appearing suddenly with no story reason.

If it wasn't time limited they'd had to either keep it to a single meg spawning for story reasons or just have megs spawn as they do now from the moment the event went live (leaving us without a cool story).

I feel that either you're misunderstanding what these timed events are or you're mad about a few cosmetics you missed (making you miss even more in the process)
I play the game to have fun. The gameplay is what gets me, and Rare adds new stuff regularly and the new stuff stays in, so yeah a single line of dialogue and some cosmetics are gone, but not the main course, the meg's still here.

• Megladon's still in the game
• Skeleton thrones Still there
• Mermaid statues still there
• Gunpowder skeletons Still there
• Skeleton ships Still there
• Cursed cannonballs Still there
• The Devils Roar is still there
• The Rowboats are still there
• Multiple coloured megs are still there
  This list is getting long so I'm hoping you get the point... Unless someone wants me to continue :-P

@sam-mikkelsen
time limited events are kind of neccessary to the Game as a Service model.

"software as a service" is just a term for subscription based and centrally hosted software. sea of thieves doesnt have micro-transactions or any paid dlc or require a specific subscription. even if it was I dont see how time limited events would be necessary at all

Sea of Thieves is on Game-Pass, so it fits in the software as a service model. Game-Pass being the paid subscription service you say Sea of Thieves doesn't have. While it doesn't require one, it still has one for some of the players.

my story got taken away from me because I logged in a day late, how is that fair? I pre-ordered the game and put countless hours into it and helped it via word of mouth. what made me any less deserving than someone who happened to have more free time in the first two weeks of july 2018?

Welcome to adulthood, this statement somewhat reeks of entitlement. Most people here on this forum have done so much more, and then some, compared to what you just described. Even they don't get catered too.

opt means choose and I did not choose to make that or any event limited nor did I choose to not do it I had real life get in the way and thats not how it should work in video games. time limited events were not a part of the game until that update and I bought the game before launch not knowing it would end up this way

You chose to do real life things over video games. Still a choice, even when it feels it never was a choice. Could have ignored real life obligations, probably with consequences, but still a choice none the less. Welcome to Adulthood, I won't attempt to guess your age, but you sound young. Maybe it was for financial reasons, no shame, but that's just reality.

When it comes down to it, not participating in the event and by extension not receiving the rewards is fair. Not this unjust thing you deem it as. Why is it fair for everyone who did participate to share the same rewards for people who didn't participate? It seems its only unfair because you didn't get anything in this situation. I've missed out of some cosmetics due to other commitments, but that is my problem, no one else's.

Due to no progression in this game, cosmetics are the only prestige players can get. Wouldn't be fair for Day one Pirates to share that prestige with week old players. One group earned them, the others didn't.

@sam-mikkelsen

Time-limited cosmetics should remain locked in the metaphorical vault. They have more meaning and story behind them to the people that were originally there to earn them. I don't mind if they release alternate versions of them that are doctored in some pretty obvious ways to be different than the originals, but they should not re-release the original stuff.

Rare have always kind of neglected their long-time dedicated players in a few different ways, so I think one appropriate way to honor them is to let limited-time cosmetics they earned back in the day remain locked to that old time window.

DLC cosmetics should remain tied to the specific promo that they're apart of.

• Do not separate Ferryman Pack from the limited edition SoT controller

• Continue to award Onyx/Obsidian through regularly circulating promo opportunities like watching special events on stream

@lord-budstep said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

time limited events/cosmetics are essential for the game. Its what keeps people playing/returning. (Especially the cosmetics)

they made me stop playing and now I never never want to take part in them

@stone0898 said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

I say keep the time limited stuff. I logged in last week to work towards the new sails, hull, and flag knowing that it'll be gone in a few weeks. If it was in there forever I probably wouldn't have bothered.

sounds like compulsion

I've missed a few bits through not being able to play at the right time, and I've missed another couple through my own stupidity - not buying them when they were available.

Yes I'd like to have them all, but you can't have everything. I decided to suck it up and not whine like a spoilt kid.

youre normalizing something not normal. there is ZERO content removed from any of rares previous games

@hynieth said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

if you don't like it then you don't like it. That's your choice.

thats why im posting in the feedback section

Rare has made a game that's constantly changing. Thus yeah you're going to miss stuff if you don't log in regularly.

I did log in regularly. 2 weeks can be short enough for one or zero sessions for normal people

You argue that Rare doesn't make money on microtransactions or subscriptions but you might have forgotten that this is also an X-Box gamepass game that brought in quite some people (in my friends list alone there are at least 10 people playing trough this service that I know of).

game pass is not a subscription for sea of thieves its a subscription for a multitude of games that you would not describe as subscription-based. sea of thieves is a one-time $60 product like most games

@nabberwar said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

Sea of Thieves is on Game-Pass, so it fits in the software as a service model. Game-Pass being the paid subscription service you say Sea of Thieves doesn't have. While it doesn't require one, it still has one for some of the players.

I dont agree, but to play devils advocate even if it was it wouldnt necessitate time limited content

Welcome to adulthood, this statement somewhat reeks of entitlement. Most people here on this forum have done so much more, and then some, compared to what you just described. Even they don't get catered too.

its how every single game rare has ever made before sea of thieves works, its how 99% of games on game pass work, its how 99% of games in general work. theres nothing entitled about it

You chose to do real life things over video games. Still a choice, even when it feels it never was a choice. Could have ignored real life obligations, probably with consequences, but still a choice none the less. Welcome to Adulthood, I won't attempt to guess your age, but you sound young. Maybe it was for financial reasons, no shame, but that's just reality.

as I have repeatedly had to bring up, this is not a choice you have to make for most games and its not good

When it comes down to it, not participating in the event and by extension not receiving the rewards is fair. Not this unjust thing you deem it as. Why is it fair for everyone who did participate to share the same rewards for people who didn't participate?

why is it fair for you to be able to participate and not others? you sound like you just want to keep other people from having the rewards you want to lord over them with. theyre digital items with entirely fake scarcity. it wasnt a contest based on ability but rather who the time period was convenient for. if we followed your logic to its conclusion than everybody who has pirate legend using advtanges added later in the game they should be stripped since it isnt fair that they got it easier

It seems its only unfair because you didn't get anything in this situation. I've missed out of some cosmetics due to other commitments, but that is my problem, no one else's.

no the game is set up that way.

Due to no progression in this game, cosmetics are the only prestige players can get. Wouldn't be fair for Day one Pirates to share that prestige with week old players. One group earned them, the others didn't.

yeah I pre-ordered the game and through word of mouth sold 3 other people on the game and played for 100-200 hours, meanwhile someone who happened to log in on a free game pass trial with more free time than me in that moment got to do the one thing I wanted to

@chronodusk said in TIME LIMITED EVENTS:

Time-limited cosmetics should remain locked in the metaphorical vault. They have more meaning and story behind them to the people that were originally there to earn them.

well for hungering deep I was there even just an ability to finish things we start is a huge improvement

Rare have always kind of neglected their long-time dedicated players in a few different ways, so I think one appropriate way to honor them is to let limited-time cosmetics they earned back in the day remain locked to that old time window.

how many hours, how much money, and how many years do I need to be dedicated to rare to be allowed more than 2-4 weeks to play content?

@sam-mikkelsen

its how every single game rare has ever made before sea of thieves works, its how 99% of games on game pass work, its how 99% of games in general work. theres nothing entitled about it

I'm going to assume your throwing that 99% for theatrical reasons, but its quite far from 99%. This game is a first for Rare, you can't compare their library of games and set it up as a standard to this one. We are talking a long list of single player games reaching far back before cosmetics were a thing. This isn't a good comparison.

Again to reiterate its far from 99% when it comes to limited time cosmetics. Look at some of the biggest titles that use skins, League of Legends, Overwatch, and TF2. All of which have time limited cosmetics, as well as event exclusive cosmetics. Hell, throw in rare mounts for WoW too. It isn't odd for games to have time limited stuff, hell, its odd for them not too.

as I have repeatedly had to bring up, this is not a choice you have to make for most games and its not good

No, its still a choice. Its just a choice that has consequences for not doing it. Have a family that limits play time (Just an example)? Shouldn't have had kids. That's just adulthood my dude.

why is it fair for you to be able to participate and not others? you sound like you just want to keep other people from having the rewards you want to lord over them with. theyre digital items with entirely fake scarcity. it wasnt a contest based on ability but rather who the time period was convenient for. if we followed your logic to its conclusion than everybody who has pirate legend using advtanges added later in the game they should be stripped since it isnt fair that they got it easier

You have a skewed definition of Fair. You seem to think equal outcome is the same as equal opportunity. Every had the opportunity to play during that time. What reasons they had to not play is on them, and them alone. It isn't Rare's problem. The cosmetics are for those who participated in the event, didn't participate? No cosmetics, its quite simple. This is just how things work.

Stores having a sale between a set amount of days and you arrive the day after the sail, no sale for you.

Dairy Queen giving out free ice cream cone for a day and you arrive the next day, no ice cream for you.

Missed the back to school sales during back to school week? No cheap school supplies for you.

Restaurant gives out free appetizer with purchase of 2 entres on Saturday. Arrive on Sunday, no free appetizer for you.

This isn't about fairness, its about you asking for stuff that you didn't put the time and effort in to get like the rest did. Some set about time specifically to get those cosmetics, some just have different priorities in life.

yeah I pre-ordered the game and through word of mouth sold 3 other people on the game and played for 100-200 hours, meanwhile someone who happened to log in on a free game pass trial with more free time than me in that moment got to do the one thing I wanted to

Mate, I've been here since day one. Your measily hours is paltry to others, mine included. I've got a full time job with family commitments. Throw in a mountain of forum contributions and insider testing. You don't see me going around begging for stuff I didn't earn in this game. We all just have different priorities in life.

Seriously, how old are you? Welcome to Adulthood, where priorities change and people can no longer spend all day playing video games.

I don't believe that leaving all events in game is practical nor a good idea. As a constantly updating game the storyline is evolving. Rare cancelling the old events allows them to continue there NPC character growth and lore. Having Merrick still on shark bait cove, or Wanda still sitting in her weapons shop would no longer make sense. With the current model, they tease future events (wandas arm), offer a story, then the characters can remain in game and have their own future tales (Merrick and Salty for example). Each tale leaves a mark on the world (Wanda's workshop) but the game moves on.

As far as limited time cosmetics, I prefer them as limited time. They not only tell a story but also allow players to show it. was in arena recently when a player started shouting "fake noob" . He was pointing at a "sailor" with plain clothing... excluding a shark bite scar. I laughed and it made me think about it being a sort of inside joke that an early portion of the community would notice. I would agree with recoloured cosmetic versions being released, just keep those limited time cosmetics limited.