ChienAboyeur
Landlubber
I am still new to the game (playing on Corsair level) but I cant fail to notice a lack of depth.
I will struggle to structure as much as possible this post with the hope of collecting different players' game experience. This other aim is to know whether or not a mod could satisfy my expectations.
Main concern:
The game lacks depth. This lack of depth comes from the environment being too supportive of the player. Very quickly, money no longer means in this game, a drawback shared by many other RPG, but never at this speed. By level 5, money can already mean nothing.
It was not supposed to be this way (lack of funds? lack of time) My feeling is that the game was supposed to include a large city management side.
Watching the trade lists, it appears that export/import good prices do not always correspond with lower/higher prices.
Therefore goods could be supposed to satisfy an island population's needs. This satisfaction could determine mood and lead to riot or usual stuff.
Looking at the contraband goods, it appears that those goods were supposed to be delivered to the island but as a gubernial monopoly, bringing income to support the garrison (eg: Nevis I think has food as a contraband good) Thus, smuggling could be a way of undermining an island to prepare for an attack (hence the missions given to you by the Governor) It would also give a purpose to smuggling (other than levelling up)
This depiction so far gives an environment you need to interact with in a two ways manner : islands support you but you need to support them by supplying them with the needed goods.
In the current version of the game, islands do not depend each from another but with this, they would. I notice that the distribution of goods support this idea (take a look at Guadeloupe, Martinique/Nevis,Antigua)
Here are a collection of other points that seem to support this idea:
-when taking a defense/attack city mission (you pick up a rumour at a tavern and join the fleet), when you speak to the squadron leader or the Governor, the logbook update message appears but when you look at the logbook, nothing is reported. This indicates that these missions were supposed to bear importance in the game other than getting loot or money.
-mutinies are unlikely. Yet they were supposed to be part of the game, enough to allocate a perk point to lessen the risk.
Reversely, I could imagine that firing disgruntled sailors could add to the island unrest, leading to another way of weakening a colony.
-Carreers are not that different one from another. Yet, with non self sufficient islands, different gameplays would be distinctive. A corsair would have protected/attacked trade lines (not that many officers under command) whereas a trade would have focused on supporting his nation by convoying goods.
Playing like a pirate would take a new dimension, you are hunted by everyone and have few settlements to moor safely but this would free you from the burden of supporting your colonies.
-Sea battles: what is their impact? Just providing an easy to get farm point?
-San Marin provided me with a strange experiment. I used this island as a stock for planks and exotic woods, bringing to it nill. Later in the game, planks fell to zero, medecine likewise. Both are export products. It happens that this island lists food and wheat like import goods. I supplied the island with large amounts of food but not wheat. Plank productions restarted. Dunno if it is a consequence of. But this could indicate that to prouduce a type of goods you need to provide an island with another type of good.
-you were supposed to be able to construct buildings once you captured a colony. With a city management side, this would give meaning to the huge amount of money you can acquire since you would have to sustain the population, fund new buildings, pay the garrison etc
I think people who manage to this point of the post get the picture. So is it me only or others have the feeling that the game was expected to offer a much more ambitious economical environment, giving depth to the game?
I will struggle to structure as much as possible this post with the hope of collecting different players' game experience. This other aim is to know whether or not a mod could satisfy my expectations.
Main concern:
The game lacks depth. This lack of depth comes from the environment being too supportive of the player. Very quickly, money no longer means in this game, a drawback shared by many other RPG, but never at this speed. By level 5, money can already mean nothing.
It was not supposed to be this way (lack of funds? lack of time) My feeling is that the game was supposed to include a large city management side.
Watching the trade lists, it appears that export/import good prices do not always correspond with lower/higher prices.
Therefore goods could be supposed to satisfy an island population's needs. This satisfaction could determine mood and lead to riot or usual stuff.
Looking at the contraband goods, it appears that those goods were supposed to be delivered to the island but as a gubernial monopoly, bringing income to support the garrison (eg: Nevis I think has food as a contraband good) Thus, smuggling could be a way of undermining an island to prepare for an attack (hence the missions given to you by the Governor) It would also give a purpose to smuggling (other than levelling up)
This depiction so far gives an environment you need to interact with in a two ways manner : islands support you but you need to support them by supplying them with the needed goods.
In the current version of the game, islands do not depend each from another but with this, they would. I notice that the distribution of goods support this idea (take a look at Guadeloupe, Martinique/Nevis,Antigua)
Here are a collection of other points that seem to support this idea:
-when taking a defense/attack city mission (you pick up a rumour at a tavern and join the fleet), when you speak to the squadron leader or the Governor, the logbook update message appears but when you look at the logbook, nothing is reported. This indicates that these missions were supposed to bear importance in the game other than getting loot or money.
-mutinies are unlikely. Yet they were supposed to be part of the game, enough to allocate a perk point to lessen the risk.
Reversely, I could imagine that firing disgruntled sailors could add to the island unrest, leading to another way of weakening a colony.
-Carreers are not that different one from another. Yet, with non self sufficient islands, different gameplays would be distinctive. A corsair would have protected/attacked trade lines (not that many officers under command) whereas a trade would have focused on supporting his nation by convoying goods.
Playing like a pirate would take a new dimension, you are hunted by everyone and have few settlements to moor safely but this would free you from the burden of supporting your colonies.
-Sea battles: what is their impact? Just providing an easy to get farm point?
-San Marin provided me with a strange experiment. I used this island as a stock for planks and exotic woods, bringing to it nill. Later in the game, planks fell to zero, medecine likewise. Both are export products. It happens that this island lists food and wheat like import goods. I supplied the island with large amounts of food but not wheat. Plank productions restarted. Dunno if it is a consequence of. But this could indicate that to prouduce a type of goods you need to provide an island with another type of good.
-you were supposed to be able to construct buildings once you captured a colony. With a city management side, this would give meaning to the huge amount of money you can acquire since you would have to sustain the population, fund new buildings, pay the garrison etc
I think people who manage to this point of the post get the picture. So is it me only or others have the feeling that the game was expected to offer a much more ambitious economical environment, giving depth to the game?
