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Do you think it's too easy to make money in the game?

LarryHookins

Buccaneer
Staff member
Storm Modder
If so, have I got a deal for you.

In Build 9 patch 3, we've raised the limit on the crew salary modifier from 15 to 30. It defaults to 3.

Your crew isn't getting nearly enough pay anyway. At standard rates (pay multiplier of 3) it's about 50 gold per crewman per month at Adventurer difficulty. Fifty is just enough to spend one night in the brothel. It's barely enough to get drunk on.

If you'd like a challenge, or simply think the player makes too much money, try setting the salary modifier to the maximum of 30. That's 10 times the amount you're paying now. For anyone who has ever posted that the player makes too much money, setting the salary multiplier to 30 is *mandatory*. Yes, I mean YOU and YOU and especially YOU. Oh, and don't try to cheat by signing articles. I haven't researched that code but it's possible it has some very nasty effects if you aren't stinking rich already.

This is not for people who aren't really familiar with the game and don't know how to make money if needed. I'd suggest skipping the tutorial if you try this.

You'll find that not only do you have to pay the crew a considerable amount, but your officers will get paid more as well. The hiring bonus for officers will be a full month's salary, so you might want to haggle. The cost to hire new crew will go up, but it's so low you probably won't notice it.

It costs a full month's crew salary to raise morale. You can't skip paying the crew hoping to save money by paying to raise their morale.

You get paid a salary as well, which can be considerable. You'll find times when you need to donate money to the crew. Don't worry, you get lots of money for your salary if there's any left after paying everyone else.

I've been playing a new character with the salary multiplier set to 30, and my character is about to reach level 16, with a corvette and a schooner and 5 officers. My last salary screen showed 385000. It's challenging, but interesting. Having to worry about making payroll every month (on the 8th of the month) keeps you on your toes.

You can find out how much salary you owe by talking to an officer and asking about the ship and crew. You can also see the crew's monthly salary requirement by checking the cost to raise morale, which is one month's salary for that ship. Be sure to check all your ships.

Let me know if you try this, and how you like it. You can always go back to the default of 3 at any time, but you'll still owe accumulated salary to that date.

Note: if you can't set the multiplier to 30 in your advanced options screen, don't worry about it. I had to fix some bugs in the code to get it to work properly. You'll need the most recent patch.

Hook
 
Sounds pretty good. One day, if I ever find the time, I should try it.
But I haven't played the game properly for so long that I probably wouldn't be able to meet the pay. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mybad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":facepalm" border="0" alt="mybad.gif" />
 
Ok guys, it's been a week. No one's tried this? Everyone in the entire community has finally decided that the player doesn't make too much money after all? No one's upset that a single crewman's salary is the cheapest item in the game (along with bronze knuckles and a banger club)?

My character is now up to level 25. Only once did I not have enough to pay the crew, and then I restarted from a saved game so I could keep enough money on my character to pay them rather than depositing it at the loan shark. I fixed the crew share ratio for signing articles, and am now trying to figure out at what point you'll be forced to divide the plunder because you can no longer keep morale up: after 90 days, your crew wants to go spend their money. The new crew share ratio code will be in Patch 4.

So someone give this a try, would ya? Believe it or not, it's fun!

Hook
 
<!--quoteo(post=315991:date=Apr 26 2009, 01:28 PM:name=Hook)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hook @ Apr 26 2009, 01:28 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=315991"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Ok guys, it's been a week. No one's tried this? Everyone in the entire community has finally decided that the player doesn't make too much money after all? No one's upset that a single crewman's salary is the cheapest item in the game (along with bronze knuckles and a banger club)?

My character is now up to level 25. Only once did I not have enough to pay the crew, and then I restarted from a saved game so I could keep enough money on my character to pay them rather than depositing it at the loan shark. I fixed the crew share ratio for signing articles, and am now trying to figure out at what point you'll be forced to divide the plunder because you can no longer keep morale up: after 90 days, your crew wants to go spend their money. The new crew share ratio code will be in Patch 4.

So someone give this a try, would ya? Believe it or not, it's fun!

Hook<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'll give it a try when I get the chance Hook, I'm on the verge of cracking the model assignment coding and don't want to let it go. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":?" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" />

Cheers, <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />
 
And Patch 4 is coming later today. Just two more hours of uploading before you can give this a try! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheeky" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" />
 
I've been playing POTC for 6 years and discovered this website like 3 months ago. I wondered when this thread would open.

POTC was always easy to play. With or without mods. Currently I'm playing with Alpha 9 Patch 3 and ''Swashbuckler'' complexity factor, of course.

It's not hard to play and you can make money really easily:

- by stealing.You can use a Thief's Knife to steal from a merchant or force him to be killed from someone and get the loots.
- You can also simply build lots of forests and collect cash crop (Ebony) and talk with a Smuggler in Oxbay. With 400 Ebony you can get like 800,000 money.
- Exploit (e.g talk with an shipwright and remove/add cannons all the time, loot Treasure hunters all the time by simply leaving and visiting the location again, Escort mission with 1mil reward,...)
- Farming (for example,your shipdeck)
- Capturing Forts
- Use non-faction, overpowered ships to farm money
- ...

Load & Save helps a lot, too, if you screw up something.
 
People have always talked about how easy it is to make money in the game. Mostly they've complained about it. Many things have been done to limit what the player can make, but somehow it doesn't solve any problems.

I've found that there are only two effective ways to limit what player can make. First, limit the amount of money merchants have to buy stuff. This would be the most effective, but is an unpopular idea. Second, make things that the player has to pay for but doesn't get anything to sell in return cost more. Like crew salaries. Paying to raise morale. Paying to have your skills increased by talking to people. Donating to the church to increase your reputation. I've fixed those and others, but there are more that could be added.

Farming the chests on your ship is only worthwhile in the beginning of the game. When you need a quick 500K, there are faster and more fun ways to earn it. I wasn't aware of the building forests and harvesting ebony thing. At least the price of ebony will go down as you sell more of it. The cannons bug should have been fixed; let me know if it's not and how to reproduce it. Swapping out cannons over and over should lose you money. Tell me more about how the treasure hunter thing works.

I keep telling people that there's nothing you can do to keep me from making money, and most of the ideas that have been tried have had the opposite effect: I end up making even more. Your post is a good example of this. You came up with things I didn't know about. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

Hook
 
<!--quoteo(post=316006:date=Apr 26 2009, 06:58 PM:name=Hook)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hook @ Apr 26 2009, 06:58 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=316006"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->People have always talked about how easy it is to make money in the game. Mostly they've complained about it. Many things have been done to limit what the player can make, but somehow it doesn't solve any problems.

I've found that there are only two effective ways to limit what player can make. First, limit the amount of money merchants have to buy stuff. This would be the most effective, but is an unpopular idea. Second, make things that the player has to pay for but doesn't get anything to sell in return cost more. Like crew salaries. Paying to raise morale. Paying to have your skills increased by talking to people. Donating to the church to increase your reputation. I've fixed those and others, but there are more that could be added.

Farming the chests on your ship is only worthwhile in the beginning of the game. When you need a quick 500K, there are faster and more fun ways to earn it. I wasn't aware of the building forests and harvesting ebony thing. At least the price of ebony will go down as you sell more of it. The cannons bug should have been fixed; let me know if it's not and how to reproduce it. Swapping out cannons over and over should lose you money. Tell me more about how the treasure hunter thing works.

I keep telling people that there's nothing you can do to keep me from making money, and most of the ideas that have been tried have had the opposite effect: I end up making even more. Your post is a good example of this. You came up with things I didn't know about. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

Hook<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Opening a thread of ''Do you think it's too easy to <!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->beat/master<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> this game?'' would be not bad also because I got many ideas for it because there is lots of unbalance. I got time now to be part of the community...

Now back to your response. It's true that the most effective way is to limit the amount of money merchancts have to buy stuff. Not just *buy*,please. *sell* if a effective way also but can't say more to it because it belongs more to the unofficial thread name which I told you.

As to crew salaries...I always avoid them by hitting ''NO!'' because I know that I won't be getting hurt because of it.

Skills increased by talking people was a good idea and it's even a rare encounter which is good. I always had problems increasing Leadership and Sailing - Now this is an alternative way to get better.

Church became quite useless. You know how much I do need to tip till I get +1 rep?? About 82500 gold each time. How about to destroy some ships and rescue seamen on the water surface?That makes more sense

Constructing buildings might cost lots of time but some of them are overproducing. Restrictions and more options like production screen would help to feel more comfortable with them.

Cannon bug was actually fun. When you buy a new ship,your high-quality guns disappear and it makes angry so you could just cheat and get 'em back.

As to Treasure hunters, you meet them when you got a treasure quest and stay near the treasure. Funny thing is that the treasure hunters are dead and you just need to loot them and get very valuable stuff like Scatter Pistol, Medium armor, Quad-Pistols...

That's all for now. I hope I didn't miss anything
 
Feel free to start a new thread.

The stuff merchants sell is based on rarity. They carry a lot of junk, mostly. It's already hard to find some items you really need, and there have been complaints that some things you need aren't carried by higher level merchants. The solution to that is to find a lower level merchant.

If you're refusing to pay your crew, are you having any problems with morale? Gotten any mutinies? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /> Your crew will get VERY upset if you have a lot of gold and aren't paying them.

I haven't done a treasure quest in a long time, and when I did I don't remember seeing any treasure hunters that I had to fight. It's not exactly free money, you have to kill the guys to get the loot, right? If they're already dead when you get there, then it's compensation for finding an empty chest, I guess.

When you sell your old ship, you sell the guns with it and get paid for them. New ships come with smaller guns and you have to pay to upgrade them. How exactly are you making money by exchanging guns?

Hook
 
<!--quoteo(post=316030:date=Apr 26 2009, 07:53 PM:name=Hook)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hook @ Apr 26 2009, 07:53 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=316030"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Feel free to start a new thread.

The stuff merchants sell is based on rarity. They carry a lot of junk, mostly. It's already hard to find some items you really need, and there have been complaints that some things you need aren't carried by higher level merchants. The solution to that is to find a lower level merchant.

If you're refusing to pay your crew, are you having any problems with morale? Gotten any mutinies? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /> Your crew will get VERY upset if you have a lot of gold and aren't paying them.

I haven't done a treasure quest in a long time, and when I did I don't remember seeing any treasure hunters that I had to fight. It's not exactly free money, you have to kill the guys to get the loot, right? If they're already dead when you get there, then it's compensation for finding an empty chest, I guess.

When you sell your old ship, you sell the guns with it and get paid for them. New ships come with smaller guns and you have to pay to upgrade them. How exactly are you making money by exchanging guns?

Hook<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Merchants carry good items like a diamant for very cheap price and get even +1 Leadership? Sometimes I complain for that but okay - They aren't working properly so I do not really care. It's hard to tell if Merchants always sell good stuff or not but in my point of view I'd say <!--coloro:#2E8B57--><span style="color:#2E8B57"><!--/coloro-->Yes<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->. There aren't many items ingame and you could still add so many items ingame and make this game or trade system interesting. Oh and more balance also.

If I sell my old ship, I cause big money loss. This is especially upholstering cannons since they're expensive and if you reselli them, you get like 15% of their real value.+

And no. I had never problems with my crew. They might have a bad morality but it changes back to good after a while - Thanks to Wheat and Rum.
 
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