Do NOT make custom servers paid only

@boneheart1237 They should make custom servers free to anyone, or just make the custom servers free and have the purchase optional for people who want to support the game. I agree that gameplay should not be behind a paywall though.

It really comes down to the price and what the other alluded to additions to this subscription are. For example a higher tier plunder pass at around 2000 ancient coins that give you these extras + current plunder pass benefits would be reasonable. If much more expensive, I probably don't need it.

Though the safer seas fleet mode should fufill most of what I want. Mainly to practice and test certain things with friends. I'm looking forward to hearing more about the features and limitations of these new modes down the line.

Given the toolset they mentioned, it seems fair enough to charge for spinning them up. As they alluded to when they talked about the current custom servers that exist (which Partners have access to), it's very unlikely there will be any progress on the servers. They will be useful for special community events, competitions, screenshots, practice and such, but not much else. We'll see what they decide to charge for them.

I do think fleets on Safer Seas will be the better option for most players though. But we'll have to wait on details there as well.

I think it's far too soon to be upset about any of this, to be honest.

@realstyli Last time we didn't complain about something, it came out unpolished and everyone hated it.

@thunderdrago205 said in Do NOT make custom servers paid only:

@realstyli Last time we didn't complain about something, it came out unpolished and everyone hated it.

We don't even have any specifics. And the whole point of a subscription for the service, as they said in the Direct, is that they want to support it, maintain it, and keep updating the features. It costs money to do that. If they made it free, folks would be spinning up servers all the time for no good reason and that also takes resources.

This decision only punishes the playerbase

Who does it punish?

@realstyli Think about it, if they make it paid, they shouldn't bother implementing it because a paywall limiting gameplay is never good.

@thunderdrago205 said in Do NOT make custom servers paid only:

@realstyli Think about it, if they make it paid, they shouldn't bother implementing it because a paywall limiting gameplay is never good.

What gameplay are they limiting? Like the current custom servers, these will almost certainly be no use to most player outside of creating events and things. They won't exactly be an alternative way to play compared to High Seas or Safer Seas.

What I'm wondering about is, do commendations or achievements count for a server you pay a subscription for with real money ?

@realstyli I'm not paying just to play custom servers. I'm sure that a few other people won't either, it's basically like Rare is saying "So here are custom servers where you can do whatever you want instead of the regular adventure mode but you have to pay for a monthly subscription."

@realstyli said:

I do think fleets on Safer Seas will be the better option for most players though. But we'll have to wait on details there as well.

I'm hoping it's as simple as I think it is.

TDM says aye

It's telling that there is not even a price yet and people are complaining. How else are they supposed to pay for spinning up server instances for each account? They even stated what the money is for: paying for upkeep and continual work on those servers. Regular servers accommodate much larger player counts and contribute to the player experience, and of course provide the means to play the game that causes people to buy the game and spending money on AC. Private servers do not contribute to the regular player experience/AC machine as much and have the potential to be spun up 24x more often than regular servers if it's not free. There has to be some way to prevent rampant use of these servers and I think the features they are providing in it are worth some amount of money.

If the price for private servers is "unreasonable" then there is some ground to stand on here. But the complaints about this right now just seem childish to me.

@theblackbellamy said in Do NOT make custom servers paid only:

@realstyli said:

I do think fleets on Safer Seas will be the better option for most players though. But we'll have to wait on details there as well.

I'm hoping it's as simple as I think it is.

TDM says aye

I really hope we get a player/group who assumes a role like DeMarco and brings something like the Sea Dogs to Fleets/Private Servers! In any case I am looking forward to those features.

@grumpyw01f said:

I really hope we get a player/group who assumes a role like DeMarco and brings something like the Sea Dogs to Fleets/Private Servers! In any case I am looking forward to those features.

@Ragetrox come back and bring the ukulele with you please 🙏

They didn't make it clear but based on what partners currently have access to, custom servers will have zero progress. So it is for community events, it is not for people who want to hide from pvp.

@hiradc additionally it seems there will be the free addition of multi ship safe seas. At least that was my interpretation.

Update, this won't be free.

Now that they're gonna open up fleets in SS, I wonder if that's gonna affect some until-now locked stuff as FotD, BB, etc. Or even Reapers, since there was a lot of reaper-related content added recently.

It naturally shouldn't affect HG stuff, curses, captaincy, etc. as these should remain on HS. But I have a feeling they're considering opening up at least FotD and BB in SS.

Just wildly speculating, not cheering for, nor being against it.

@grumpyw01f said in Do NOT make custom servers paid only:

It's telling that there is not even a price yet and people are complaining. How else are they supposed to pay for spinning up server instances for each account?

Devil's advocate here...they do it for Safer Seas already.

Custom Servers will largely not have an appeal outside of the hardcore community members who want to run events and content creators.

Likely even less used than Safer Seas.

All that being said, I absolutely support them charging for Custom Servers (at least for now).

@fysics3037 yeah that was my only concerning takeaway from the update

I can't agree more. "Oh but servers cost money" Give me a reason to actually spend money on the emporium then. Everything there is gaudy and over designed. I paid $80 for this game and have dropped $30-40 on the emporium. This game has made its money from me.

@sweetsandman
You got me there... XD

So far it still. Early! About the whole custom servers and what will be available for the price and what that price may change.

@r3vanns said in Do NOT make custom servers paid only:

Now that they're gonna open up fleets in SS, I wonder if that's gonna affect some until-now locked stuff as FotD, BB, etc. Or even Reapers, since there was a lot of reaper-related content added recently.

They said something about the Fleet server to have the same restrictions as Safer Seas, so I doubt it.

@lem0n-curry said in Do NOT make custom servers paid only:

@r3vanns said in Do NOT make custom servers paid only:

Now that they're gonna open up fleets in SS, I wonder if that's gonna affect some until-now locked stuff as FotD, BB, etc. Or even Reapers, since there was a lot of reaper-related content added recently.

They said something about the Fleet server to have the same restrictions as Safer Seas, so I doubt it.

Oh yea you right, some time later I actually read the Steam news article, where they said that Safer Fleets are part of the subscription. Just forgot to come back here and edit my comment 😅

"Custom Servers will offer a range of different features, including a private customisable sandbox. With switches, toggles and commands to curate the server experience, subscribers will be able to do things such as spawn enemies and loot on command, turn off AI enemies and ensure that the environment is fit for whatever shenanigans they want to set up.

They’ll also be able to run Safer Seas Fleets, filling a server full of friends and larking about to their heart’s content, all while earning rewards at the same levels available in the solo version of Safer Seas."

Though my question still remains, because this is about rewards, not actual content access. If they change content access in SS, that automatically means it's gonna be changed in Safer Fleets (and vice versa).

But yea, I doubt as well.

@r3vanns said in Do NOT make custom servers paid only:

@lem0n-curry said in Do NOT make custom servers paid only:

@r3vanns said in Do NOT make custom servers paid only:

Now that they're gonna open up fleets in SS, I wonder if that's gonna affect some until-now locked stuff as FotD, BB, etc. Or even Reapers, since there was a lot of reaper-related content added recently.

They said something about the Fleet server to have the same restrictions as Safer Seas, so I doubt it.

Oh yea you right, some time later I actually read the Steam news article, where they said that Safer Fleets are part of the subscription. Just forgot to come back here and edit my comment 😅

"Custom Servers will offer a range of different features, including a private customisable sandbox. With switches, toggles and commands to curate the server experience, subscribers will be able to do things such as spawn enemies and loot on command, turn off AI enemies and ensure that the environment is fit for whatever shenanigans they want to set up.

They’ll also be able to run Safer Seas Fleets, filling a server full of friends and larking about to their heart’s content, all while earning rewards at the same levels available in the solo version of Safer Seas."

Though my question still remains, because this is about rewards, not actual content access. If they change content access in SS, that automatically means it's gonna be changed in Safer Fleets (and vice versa).

But yea, I doubt as well.

Content access (or lack thereof) is basically a restriction isn't it ?
Does Rare use this term with regards to Safer Seas ?

They call it Safer Seas Fleets, intended use is a group of friends in different crews not fighting over loot, if the "Safer" bit is interpreted as "no PvP".
BB is reaper related, so no Blade, new voyage has the Reaper's Mark flag as mandatory raise, AFAIK there is no Reaper's Mark in Safer Seas and so on.

@lem0n-curry

Content access (or lack thereof) is basically a restriction isn't it ?
Does Rare use this term with regards to Safer Seas ?

It is, I only mentioned "rewards" vs "restrictions" in a context of their Steam news article: "-...all while earning rewards at the same levels available in the solo version of Safer Seas."

Didn't debate at all how they define a restriction. I do agree that limiting access = restricting access hahah, so we're on the same page there 😄

They call it Safer Seas Fleets, intended use is a group of friends in different crews not fighting over loot, if the "Safer" bit is interpreted as "no PvP".
BB is reaper related, so no Blade, new voyage has the Reaper's Mark flag as mandatory raise, AFAIK there is no Reaper's Mark in Safer Seas and so on.

And that's exactly what I was wondering about. If they're starting to consider being less restrictive in SS in terms of content access, Reapers included. Flameheart as a head of reapers is getting more and more prominent, and more Reaper-related content is generally being added to the game.

I wonder at which point in time it's gonna become a hassle for them to keep Reaper content out of SS, as it's getting progressively intertwined with other sandbox stuff.

But I again agree that there's almost a zero chance for Reaper stuff (like you mentioned, including BB) to get unlocked in SS, at least in the near future. Though maybe FotD.

The reason why I started thinking about it is solely due to their decision to even allow at all Safer Seas Fleets, especially cause it's gonna be paywalled behind Custom Server subs. I honestly don't understand where is the benefit of having multiple friends on their own ships in SS unless players can:

1. PvP each other (which may or may not include Reapers as a faction, and in extent, BB), or
2. Make an alliance, or
3. Do contested content like FotD, Athena's Fortune

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But yea, still a long way till 2026. We'll see what they're actually cooking. Maybe this is all a big nothing burger, and my speculation is entirely false (which most probably is) 😂