9TH DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Toddydude · Dec 12, 2005

<img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/william.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":will" border="0" alt="william.gif" />
This cant be good! Ive been waiting for this game for a long time now and what im hearing i dont think it will work on my computer.
IM TROUBLED <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/modding.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=" :modding

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Seabro · Dec 13, 2005

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>Well, frankly I am way too offended by Akella's/1C's approach (which, to sum it up, sounds like "well guys, what did you want for your meager 10 bucks - we will fix everything till the English release, which is going to be sold for 50 bucks") - I am not in a mood to serve as a public beta tester as I already have a job, thanks but no thanks. Guess what? I'll wait till either finalized Russian version or English release and until that i'm not going to play.</div>

Have you forgotten POTC? When they released it, it was just as bug-ridden and unplayable. And their response was exactly the same. "When you start paying 50 bucks for a copy you'll get decent products from us. May be." They think we're not paying them enough for their piece of crap, LOL.
OK, they'll fix a bug or two towards the english release, but that won't make the game more entertaining or less dull than it is. They are poopoos. Poopoos don't make good games. They can't. Period.

Modding community is the only hope, those people will save the day once again. Just don't ask Akella to make AOP II, or Seadogs 4, 'cause they might and it would make AOP look like a masterpiece.

mpiglet · Dec 13, 2005

QUOTE
By 'same open architecture' do you mean, they provided the 'c-code' files and engine.exe interprets them
at run time, as in POTC ?
UNQUOTE

Sorry, Trebutor, dunno - I'm repeating what other people say at this stage.

QUOTE
Have you forgotten POTC? When they released it, it was just as bug-ridden and unplayable.
UNQUOTE

Still POTC was less of a mess. Why? Cos English release came first.

Anyway, there is another, now unofficial, patch 1.01 to C III.

OK, there is something far worse than just bugs. Forget bugs. AOP at this stage is a LIFELESS DESERT.
Even if they fix all bugs and adjust the game balance (there are problems with this, too, especially with the trade model - on this 3-cities island (Hispaniola) you can easily buy low/sell high to make fast and dirty $$$ without even much of sailing), what we'll have at the end is a place where there is almost absolutely nothing to do/explore after you've had it enough with basic sailing/sea combat and routine quests.
1. Cities are lifeless - there is absolutely nothing to do in the cities - you cannot find anything new nor speak to anyone (you get standard reply from all NPCs not involved in current standard quest - no dialogue, and the news in taverns are mostly which-pirate-works-for-whom type of thing), you cannot buy/sell personal items (you get them only through boarding other ships), street vendors sell nothing, you cannot leave the city limits and go explore, etc. - it's just a big animated cemetery which can easily be replaced by a single-page static menu without affecting the gameplay.
2. No plotline and no preset/ individual quests except for the only one (find two parts of a map of your stepfather and meet your bro/sister) which could actually hardly be called a quest. The standard quests are all alike and boring. There isn't a single original one, I repeat - nothing. No plotline (please don't get me wrong - I don't need a Hollywood type of storyline which I'm doomed to follow - but I need at least something to keep me interested - a living world which I rather believe in AND, perhaps, something like a storyline, too). So far there's nothing - no mysteries, nothing to explore/find, no atmosphere, etc. - I just don't believe in this thing. It actually offers a very lapidary gameplay - go kill/board some ships - make repairs (hire officers) - go back to sea and fight some more ships. OK, perhaps it gets better when you start capturing cities, but (1) what shall I do before this? and (2) something tells me that capturing cities will be reduced to some nauseating routine, too. Is this a freedom of player's choice? Yes, but very similar to the freedom of a fly trapped in an empty box. It is lifeless, boring and mechanical. Instead of a pirate saga I've got something which is as exciting as a simulator of an accountant's working day. The game cries for new features, tons of quests, etc., it is simply not ready yet. And I doubt it will be improved in the few next weeks - Akella's busy fighting bugs and, first of all, unhappy customers.

You know what? It's worse than the unmodded POTC in all respects except for the new STORM 2.5 engine. So, effectively, the modders just got a new engine to play with, that's it.

Seabro · Dec 13, 2005

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>Still POTC was less of a mess. Why? Cos English release came first.</div>

I think it's more due to the fact that POTC was released on X-Box as well. There were never any patches for the PC-release, though it needed'em just as badly as the russian one. Anyway, my point is that the approach and the attitude were already there. This time around, though, they seem to outdone themselves.
Frankly, I didn't think this was possible, but you know, they never cease to amaze me in their own twisted way. From what I'm reading on forums at the moment this must be the worst release EVER (at least on my memory).
Their server is down, can't keep up with the number of angry users trying to express their feelings.
They ban them, delete their posts etc but the incoming is just too much. Still some of their customers find a nice way to let them know what they think of it.

I mentioned modding above, well this seems to be all the modding at the moment:

mpiglet · Dec 13, 2005

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Seabro @ Dec 13 2005, 03:32 PM) [snapback]136130[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>Still POTC was less of a mess. Why? Cos English release came first.</div>

I think it's more due to the fact that POTC was released on X-Box as well. There were never any patches for the PC-release, though it needed'em just as badly as the russian one. Anyway, my point is that the approach and the attitude were already there. This time around, though, they seem to outdone themselves.
Frankly, I didn't think this was possible, but you know, they never cease to amaze me in their own twisted way. From what I'm reading on forums at the moment this must be the worst release EVER (at least on my memory).
Their server is down, can't keep up with the number of angry users trying to express their feelings.
They ban them, delete their posts etc but the incoming is just too much. Still some of their customers find a nice way to let them know what they think of it.

I mentioned modding above, well this seems to be all the modding at the moment:
</div>

Huhhuh, I've got banned at Akella's forum yesterday after a couple of smartass comments. There are now many teenagers stuck there who liked the game, but let's see what's going to happen when the 'novelty effect' wears out.

IMO, bugs are a problem that can be solved (though I am amazed, really - I haven't seen so many bugs since Battlecruiser Millenium). The rest (emptiness) is uncurable. In the best case scenario (if they fix the bugs) we'll have something like Fallout Tactics vs Fallout 1,2 situation.

PS POTC had a few official patches (at least for Russian version - you can download a v 1.3. patch from 1C's site), and at least a few unofficial patches by modders (a very good patch is available from AlexusB - before the mod he actually made a patch, too)

Seabro · Dec 13, 2005

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>PS POTC had a few official patches (at least for Russian version - you can download a v 1.3. patch from 1C's site), and at least a few unofficial patches by modders (a very good patch is available from AlexusB - before the mod he actually made a patch, too)</div>

I was referring to the foreign release.
I agree on the Fallout analogy. They'll make patches allright. But to make a good game about naval adventures, pirates and 17-th century Caribbean -- no way. They just don't have what it takes anymore.

Merciless Mark · Dec 15, 2005

So far you have only told us about single player and its faults(personally not being able to explore the island reminds me alot of Sea Dogs), what about the one feature wich is all new? Multiplayer <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

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Seabro · Dec 15, 2005

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Merciless Mark @ Dec 15 2005, 08:31 PM) [snapback]136201[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'>So far you have only told us about single player and its faults(personally not being able to explore the island reminds me alot of Sea Dogs), what about the one feature wich is all new? Multiplayer <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

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It's been almost a week now, but I haven't read about any succesful attempts of a multiplayer session. Couple of guys said it isn't working at all (gee, what a surprise!). I'm sure they'll fix it though...eventually.
It's just that Akella has a history of making patches which fail to fix multiplayer bugs (take AOS2: Privateers Bounty for example -- they claim it supports up to 16 players, but even with all the patches installed the real number is no more than 4-5 players.)

Fred Bob · Dec 15, 2005

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Seabro @ Dec 15 2005, 05:52 AM) [snapback]136202[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Merciless Mark @ Dec 15 2005, 08:31 PM) [snapback]136201[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'>
So far you have only told us about single player and its faults(personally not being able to explore the island reminds me alot of Sea Dogs), what about the one feature wich is all new? Multiplayer <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /></div>

It's been almost a week now, but I haven't read about any succesful attempts of a multiplayer session. Couple of guys said it isn't working at all (gee, what a surprise!). I'm sure they'll fix it though...eventually.
It's just that Akella has a history of making patches which fail to fix multiplayer bugs (take AOS2: Privateers Bounty for example -- they claim it supports up to 16 players, but even with all the patches installed the real number is no more than 4-5 players.)
</div>Seems like they could get help for multiplayer from the IL2 people at 1C-Maddox Games! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=" :cheeky

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mpiglet · Dec 16, 2005

No substantial news so far.

v 1.01 patch (available from Akella but still not officially recognized by 1C), which has been released a few days ago made the game slightly less messy. Another patch - v.1.02 - is under way and is expected to be released any time now - but it is mostly about bug fixing and adjusting balance - no new features are expected to be added at this stage.

The plotline is no longer a secret to anyone and it is absolutely identical for both characters (male and female) - you have to meet your brother/sister, then you have to defeat the pirates' leader and then you're left to your ultimate goal - capture all cities (sorry for this 'spoiler' but it's common knowledge now).

I've stopped playing at some stage - partly due to bugs, partly due to the fact that once your character reaches a certain level (it may be breathtakingly fast) the computer opponents (ships) are no longer a match to him/her - too easy (but I haven't been into attacking forts and exploiting colonies - I simply cannot invest that much time/effort to be constantly wasted by bugs - perhaps it gets harder or more entertaining afterwards).

Multiplayer - no reports on successful multiplayer sessions so far - it looks bugged.

Anyway, I stopped playing for now and switched back to AlexusB's mod for POTC, which is FAR superior to C III in every respect (except perhaps for the graphics (not everywhere though) and interface (too consolish in POTC but i got used to that anyway), thus I wouldn't be able to report until there is a more or less finalized patch for C III. And even then I'm not sure - I don't think I'm too much into just naval battles (that is what C III is basically about) - I need a lot more that even a well patched C III won't deliver as far as I can see.

CouchcaptainCharles · Dec 17, 2005

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Admiral Lord Nelson @ Dec 10 2005, 02:30 AM) [snapback]136028[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'>Well since we have till march now is a good time to restart the potc modding community instead of sitting on our arses doing nothing but waiting for this <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

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I am not sure if I'll ever switch to AOP at all. Looks like AOP has LESS features, quests and locations than Potc, not to mention the SLiB mod or the ever growing Postbuild pack. Should I quit all that just for better looks? It might even be easier to mod the good new AOP features(if there are any) into PotC than vice versa.

I hate to spoil anyone's anticipation, but Akella sure has a long record of disappointing the expectations they have raised <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

" border="0" alt="sad.gif" /> And they never much bothered to patch their bugs, or support the modders who tried to fix them <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

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Jack Davidson · Dec 18, 2005

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CouchcaptainCharles @ Dec 18 2005, 05:42 AM) [snapback]136277[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Admiral Lord Nelson @ Dec 10 2005, 02:30 AM) [snapback]136028[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'>
Well since we have till march now is a good time to restart the potc modding community instead of sitting on our arses doing nothing but waiting for this <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

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I am not sure if I'll ever switch to AOP at all. Looks like AOP has LESS features, quests and locations than Potc, not to mention the SLiB mod or the ever growing Postbuild pack. Should I quit all that just for better looks? It might even be easier to mod the good new AOP features(if there are any) into PotC than vice versa.

I hate to spoil anyone's anticipation, but Akella sure has a long record of disappointing the expectations they have raised <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

" border="0" alt="sad.gif" /> And they never much bothered to patch their bugs, or support the modders who tried to fix them <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

" border="0" alt="sad.gif" /> <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

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</div>

Hmmm...

Although I probably will end up getting it, after all it may well be very conducive to modding, I tend to agree with you CCC. Unless they make a major overhaul for the English release, it seems to me that this game will remain in all aspects (apart from maybe the graphics) an inferior game to the Build and SLiB mods.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see what the end result is.

Cheers <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=" :cheers

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Bladerunner · Dec 19, 2005

The major advance of AOP is imo the MP-mode.

RPG's are nice, but personnally i think you will have more and longer time fun with playing online against other players than against ki.

That's why i will wait for it.

Toddydude · Dec 22, 2005

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bladerunner @ Dec 18 2005, 05:01 PM) [snapback]136321[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'>The major advance of AOP is imo the MP-mode.

RPG's are nice, but personnally i think you will have more and longer time fun with playing online against other players than against ki.

That's why i will wait for it.</div>

Ill drink to that! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=" :cheers

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9TH DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Toddydude

Landlubber

Seabro

Landlubber

mpiglet

Landlubber

Seabro

Landlubber

mpiglet

Landlubber

Seabro

Landlubber

Merciless Mark

Build mod - Master Gunner

Seabro

Landlubber

Fred Bob

Shrimping Fool

mpiglet

Landlubber

CouchcaptainCharles

COO (Chief Oddity Officer)

Jack Davidson

Musing Mariner

Bladerunner

Sailor Apprentice

Toddydude

Landlubber