"Delete Pirate" Shouldn't DELETE Your Pirate, and It Shouldn't Be the Only "Pirate Setting"

So.. let me get this straight.. the setting that explicitly says "delete pirate" should NOT do the very thing it says it does?

Wh..what were you expecting? To be able to just set sail as any random pirate each day?

You should see a game like Rust. You don't get any choice for how your character looks whatsoever. It's tied to your steam ID and can never be changed or rerolled.

@koolgoldfinch said

No matter what though, NONE OF THESE OPTIONS SHOULD DELETE IN-GAME PROGRESS.

Totally agree, this needs to be fixed ASAP, I would also like the option of having an extra character slot, and be able to choose which one I want to play on any given day, and have my progress saved in an account bound manner, so that any character I play uses my overall account progress.

@notsid-probably Did you just read the title? The content of the post clearly explains what I mean by that

It's clear you and a lot of other people were expecting a completely different kind of game... 🙄

@notsid-probably Yeah. I was expecting a game that doesn't delete all of my progress when I want to change what my avatar looks like

that menu is one of the many, many unfinished things about this game

@notsid-probably said in "Delete Pirate" Shouldn't DELETE Your Pirate, and It Shouldn't Be the Only "Pirate Setting":

It's clear you and a lot of other people were expecting a completely different kind of game... 🙄

Yeah...its not like this game isn't entirely designed around cosmetics...

I feel very similarly about this issue. On it's own having one pirate you play as for the entirety of your game isn't out of the ordinary. Most other games where you customize a character have this permanency. The difference between those games, and Sea of Thieves is that those are tales of ONE character in that world. Sea of Thieves is YOUR adventure, YOUR freedom. A game where the entire design philosophy seems to revolve around personal freedom from one degree to another.

I would likely be content with having one avatar for the entirety of my experience of the game if the game in any way shape or form indicated that this would be the case. I would argue that it does the opposite, and instead postures as if you have agency over the appearance of your pirate, by adding the several extra steps in the first time launch, that seems to be an organic 'every time you boot up the game' menu. It even allows you to favorite pirate designs as if it would allow you to do something with them in the future, further adding to the misconception the game is giving during this initial part.

It then throws you right into the actual game without making mention of the ramifications of your choice in avatar, OR the totality of the effects of 'delete pirate' at any point that I have seen.

Perhaps the details were written out somewhere on Rare's website or something but it shouldn't be up to the players to go out of their way to scavenge for information in locations that do not come packaged in some way with the product they purchased.

While I would love to be able to pick out the pirate I want to use before each play session, I would be content with one free re-roll per account, to offset the people who did not have the knowledge before hand, and an update to the start of the game to let new players understand the circumstances immediately.

It's a really horrible feeling to choose between being stuck with something you hate, or lose 15 hours of progress by the time you find out, in a game that otherwise feels so good to play.

@koolgoldfinch to be honest I like that once we pick our pirate, then that's who we are, for better or worse.

How about we meet in the middle, here? I think having the ability to freely change your pirate as many times as you want is a bit silly, but perhaps if certain items were hidden in the world, and if you got a full set, you got 1 pirate reroll. If you've played Dragonball Xenoverse, you're already familiar with what I'm suggesting, here.

How about that? Does that sound like a reasonable compromise?

I think it could be nice to have several character slots having their own leveling, to progress with various pirates thus have some cosmetic changes, even though progressing is so boring and meaningless in this game I can't really see the point.

Maybe they could add a one time apparence change for free once you reach pirate of legend level.

@notsid-probably That's not really the point. If that's what they want to do, then tell the player that before they choose their character because there's no indication that this is the case before then. With the "Favorite Pirate" feature, and the fact that the game is built around customizing your character, it implies that your avatar is malleable and that you won't lose progress if you want to change your pirate. It is a big issue that the game doesn't even attempt to convey this to you before you make a choice that irreversible.

@koolgoldfinch I don't know what to tell you, since I immediately understood that my choice was final.

@felid0r That is a totally respectable outlook for people to have, but not all people share that view. I am the pirate, not my avatar. My exploits are the ones that I regale people with anecdotes of, not Scurvy Steve or whomever. I would like to treat my pirate as the change of clothes I view them as. Even if I couldn't I would appreciate forewarning about the permanence of the appearance of my pirate so that I might have chosen one I actually loved before it became a waste of the time I spent playing, instead of one that made me giggle in the moment.

However that doesn't mean I think it would be wrong for people to embrace their choice so completely as you have, I respect your view on your pirate, I just don't share it.

@notsid-probably That's cool, but not everyone will, since the game does nothing to tell you. Besides that, as to why I would prefer a more malleable system is because I don't believe that a game about doing whatever you want should restrict what you can do. Yes, obviously you can't do anything in this game, but with the open world and no story, this game does next to nothing to restrict what you can do inside of its mechanics, none of which are blocked and all of which you can access from your first time in the game. It baffles me that with a game this open and free that they would restrict any part of this game, especially the character customizer, as the main rewards in this game are cosmetics to customize your character. As well, I'm of the mindset of "Why make a decision for others just because I feel a certain way?" I always lean towards giving everyone the most options possible, even if I personally wouldn't use them. It's cool that you don't want to change pirates, but why would you restrict others from playing the game they way they want to? Why would you tell someone how they should experience the game? A change like this wouldn't hurt you, but it would allow others to play the game they way they want to.

@koolgoldfinch so I offer a reasonable alternative and you don't even give it a second thought? Got it. Remind me never to offer a compromise.

@notsid-probably I like the idea, because it then ties personal motivation to the exploration and quest for rare objects or accomplishments, which could further enhance a personal experience with the game while not making a switch feel so casual. Perhaps even giving a sense that one earned that transformation enough (or wish for gold or an item or what have you) to continue pursuing it for that sense of pride and accomplishment, breathing even more life into the game. Plus it wouldn't be the sort of thing that you, and many other people wouldn't necessarily use a particular aspect of, but would be available for those who did.

@notsid-probably I wasn't talking about the compromise. I replied before I saw the compromise, as my browser did not load in all the extra replies before I posted mine, so that is why I did not respond to it.

As for what I think of it, I think it's a neat idea that could be explored. I am personally still of the mindset that unlimited customization wouldn't hurt anyone, but honestly, as long as they at least warn players beforehand, I wouldn't be as sour about it, and the implementation of any system that allows for the customization of characters without total file deletion is a change for the better in my opinion.

@thyroidalwall56 that's exactly what I was thinking. Maybe the things you would need to find would be ingredients for some kind of potion.

@koolgoldfinch I really want to change my pirate but I don't think anyone should lose all their progress in wanting to do so.

how about this then. since most of the presets are fat,skinny,normal, and with hair and everything you can change.. why not let people fatten up their pirat ? stick a cake in the tavern..people can eat it to fatten up their pirat or leave it if they want the skinny ones..everyone wins :D

edit: then your pirat could get skinny on long voyages and if you wanted you could to go eat more cake when you got to an outpost :D

@KoolGoldfinch You need to think of your pirate as a character as in games such as WoW, you delete the character and you lose your progress. Simples. This is not a new concept people. #facepalm

@seb-js Firstly, this is a very different game than WoW. I don't play it, but I know plenty of games that only allow you to create your character at the beginning, then never change that base design ever again. The problem with Sea of Thieves doing this is the fact that all roads lead back to cosmetics. In a game like Bloodborne, for instance, yes, you have character customization and a base that never changes. But, the main draw isn't the cosmetics, it's the gameplay. Same with Overwatch, and it doesn't let you create characters. The main reason why I think this is such a big issue is because if you don't care about cosmetics, you're playing a repetitive pirate simulator. Don't get me wrong, I'm having a blast with this game, but even if you enjoy it, you gotta admit the core gameplay doesn't have all that much going for it. So if the game is all about making you look cool while doing pirate things, this character situation really baffles me.

BUT -- even if you disagree with that point, this game does NOTHING to tell you your choice is final. Maybe you only play games that let you customize your base character once, so you've never had to face the option of playing multiple characters. That's fine. Not everybody does that. Some of us play games that allow you to save multiple characters and switch between them as much as you want. Especially in a game that is ONLINE ONLY where your progress is measured in cosmetics, when this game has a Favorite Pirate button, not only does this interface not do anything to convey to the player that their choice is final, it seems to imply you ARE able to switch between pirates, and even worse, it does not explain that Delete Pirate DELETES YOUR PROGRESS. No one wants to delete their progress in any game by accident, so it's just common sense to make sure the player understands everything they're doing every step along the way. If you don't think the game should explicitly tell you that you can't go back once you choose an avatar, as well as warn you before you DELETE ALL OF YOUR PROGRESS, then I don't know what to tell you.

@jammyd22 said in "Delete Pirate" Shouldn't DELETE Your Pirate, and It Shouldn't Be the Only "Pirate Setting":

@koolgoldfinch I really want to change my pirate but I don't think anyone should lose all their progress in wanting to do so.

And I don't think you should be able to change what your pirate looks like without losing your progress. You created a pirate and did stuff with them. If you delete that being, their progress goes with them. It makes the pirate you select more meaningful. This is not some shell of a creature you can toss aside. They had a life... a story to tell. Imagine if an author said, "You know what? I'm tired of this Drizzt Do'Urden character. I'm going to finish this story by making them a wood-elf named Elfy McElfface. But they get to keep all the reputation and stuff the Drizzt earned." Nope. That story is tied to the pirate.

@ghostpaw I don't want to delete my pirate, I would merely like to change his physique like ones physique would change over time anyway.

@koolgoldfinch agreed, I didn't realize my selection was permanent and made my choice hastily. By the time I figured this out I wasn't willing to lose my game progress. I would just like to modify my pirate a bit.

Would also be cool to be able to create multiple characters each with their own separate progress.

@notsid-probably Honestly, why even disagree with that OP suggests? Its just an option. An option that has NO effect on any other player. Who cares if he wants his pirate to look like something else? But whatever...just seems like an odd thing to oppose.

I would love to be able to change my pirate at any time. It should be added.

"Delete Pirate" Shouldn't DELETE Your Pirate

... should I really bother reading beyond that?