Atlas, a critique

[Chucksteak 279]

**This is my critique/review of the game so far, its mechanics, concepts and implementation. This is not at all about the technical side pertaining to programming. Net code, exploits and glitches/bugs are all assumed to have been logged and are being addressed. Also, I apologize for the length as it violates my own advice of not making a post that is longer to read and respond to than the average amount of time one spends taking a shit**

What we have so far with Atlas

A great framework for an MMORPG.

The map size is vast, its beautiful. Yeah, its chalked full of native UR4 assets, but that's your benefit to using UR4 (I like seeing my PUBG rocks and trees, its comforting).

The sea, while not quite as good as Sea of Thieves, is pretty awesome and makes up for a lack of polish by having a fully functional "under the sea" environment (I personally think this might be the biggest asset Atlas has, the potential of what can be done here is just massive).

The ships, although overly limited in options for the time being, are also done very well and I think they look and feel fantastic. Far far beyond anything SoT has been able to produce.

The sub looks fantastic!

The dynamic weather, although a little unpolished is such a welcome addition to an MMORPG.

A hardcore PvP aspect reminiscent of Diablo II. You die, all your gear stays on your corpse to be lost or recovered as you are able to do. It is a welcome throwback to add risk to death.

 

The Condition for "winning" in Atlas

Is currently amount of land "claimed".

This is a solid tried and true concept for any MMORPG. The basic idea is "King of the hill". 

 

What we can do in Atlas

Objectively speaking, we can only Build, Destroy, and Kill. Any action taken is in pursuit of one of these goals. 

This was the first breakdown in Atlas gameplay. The WinCon and what we can objectively do are separated. I could go to your island and throw down flags, thus progressing with my WinCon. I don't have to build anything, or destroy anything, or kill anyone to accomplish this. Additionaly there is no tangible reward or incentive for "winning" (yes I know you get a front of ship figurehead for aesthetics). This is unrewarding, unstimulating, and leaves me wanting to do any of the 3 things I can do that are all vastly more rewarding than fulfilling the WinCon. 

But the concept is still solid. We just need winning to feel more like winning, and losing feel less like starting over from scratch (as this will fatigue the community). Some people have called for factions, they probably came from WoW. Some people have called for combining PvE and PvP,  they probably played real MMORPGs where this is truly the best setup. Some people are calling for a small team style companies, while overs still covet the Megas.

What all parties are trying to articulate is a desire for a tiered system with varying degrees of the WinCon where a sense of success or progression is attached to it. Its basic human psychology. Casinos have been using this since they were created to make people addicted to gambling.

 

What we are missing so far in Atlas

NPCs. The current AI slaves are a disincentive to cooperate with other people. A good  MMORPG design should continually encourage and reward cooperation and competition. Where are all the townsfolk? Where is the auctioneer? Why is there not a bank or warehouse, and the NPCs to run them? 

Towns/Cities. What is a Freeport? Why is it a deserted ruins with a waterfall? I feel like there should be a purpose, I feel like it should be community related.

Combat. It needs a lot of polishing. I'm fully aware there is a ton of time until release but this is 2019 after all, I feel this could have been better out of the gate.

Economy. Make Gold Great Again. The gold sinks currently available are disappointing, What do I NEED this gold for? A solid mechanic is to require some purchasable items in common crafting. Another idea, more in line with the direction we are going is maintenance fees. This puts limits on build size and sustainability. I would also have re-specking a character be a gold sink that only ever gets more expensive, or at least has a flat rate high enough to be a deterrent from day to day re-specking.

The other humanoids. 40% of the map is sea, 40% of the map is Air, and 10% is land. Where are the Atlantians? The Pathfinders can breathe above the sea and struggle below, so half the map is conducive to this existence. Should there not be an inverse to this? If we can build structures in the sea, something should be able to utilize them. There seems to be ample conditions for more races to add diversity. I could be way off on this one I admit.

End Game content/objectives. What exactly is there available for me to do at lvl 50 or 100 that I cant do at lvl 10? For that matter.....

What is the point of levels? What is it I get from gaining levels, or max level, albeit they are currently almost just given to you. There is nothing currently locked behind a level. I don't necessarily find this a bad concept, just curious why bother even having the levels? I feel skill should always trump time invested in a game, so why cant everyone start with the stats of a lvl 100 to distribute as they see fit?

 

My suggestions

I think "King of the Hill" is the correct concept. I just think we need to identify where the "hills" are and reward appropriately. This would be my suggestion below, I feel it allows for all play styles without compromising anything.

1. Turn free ports into fully functioning towns with the basic assets of a decent MMORPG. The player shops are already said to be coming, lets just finish the job.

2. Add in the "King Hills", aka CASTLES. These should be pre-built epic structures that must be taken, be it 24/7 or weekly or monthly w/e. Think Lineage II style sieges. The current owner should be entitled to some form of taxes from a set surrounding area. These can be located in free ports for several of them, or on an added island in a free port grid, or added to the islands in the golden age ruins grids. These are the alpha prizes, hence the tax reward. Owning these is what puts you on the leader board. The Castles should be ranked, with possibly 1 or a small number of them ruling over the others or a set of the others.  These structures should be susceptible to damage, but never completely destroyed, think ESO type castles in the PvP area. A company can only hold 1 at a time.

3. The islands (on colony settings) are the small hills. These should be 1 claimable per Company and ranked. The act of taking a better ranked island relinquishes your claim on the lesser ranked island. Think Drow society in Forgotten Realms, loosely. This provides incentive to move up in rank as the higher ranked islands are just better, bigger, nicer or w/e you reap more from taxes. All island owners will be able to tax the island under their claim (opposed to the castles which draw a tax from many islands). The small companies and solos that settle on the island would remain indigenous to the island unless they chose to move, as they don't control any of it to begin with and are not entitled to earn taxes.

- This creates dynamic and appropriate WinCons based off of the original concept that rely on the 3 core things one does in the game. 

- This creates a space and incentive for bigger clans to fight for control of bigger hills, while providing a disincentive for them to go around displacing all the smaller companies in an endless land grab that offers little to no reward.

- This preserves the concept of "colony settings" as I think that will be a successful space for the medium size companies to exist in harmony (not in peace) with each other and the bigger ones.

 

Misc. Thoughts

BPs should not be OP enough to discount strategy and skill.

Melee weapons should have a place somewhere noticeably above harvesting tools.

Cannon walls on ships....lets acknowledge there is a keel and it has a limit. I have to believe this is doable.

Can tames be useful without becoming the meta and a requirement? (imho tames are SOOOO lame and belong in Ark)

I have to believe the UI can be better.

Exploits....exploits.....exploits.....this can never, WILL NEVER, be a good game as long as exploits exist. 

I believe the "empire settings" would not be necessary with these changes. 

 

Thank you for your time,

-CS

 

[gnihar 111]

Lots of content there, briefly skimmed thru it.

As a person coming from ark and wanting ark 2 and not a mmorpg, I for one am against the turn to what you typically know as a “mmorpg” these days. This includes but is not limited to: prebuilt castles, overly controlled game modes, preexisting factions, npc quests, npc vendors, and inability to actually lose bases, npcs and gear.

While some of what you wrote I can agree with, I am generally pro sandbox survival online game, and generally against the “mmorpg” concepts said above.

 

[Captain Jack Shadow 488]

1 hour ago, Chucksteak said:

What is the point of levels? What is it I get from gaining levels, or max level, albeit they are currently almost just given to you. There is nothing currently locked behind a level. I don't necessarily find this a bad concept, just curious why bother even having the levels? I feel skill should always trump time invested in a game, so why cant everyone start with the stats of a lvl 100 to distribute as they see fit?

 

 

This imbalance isn't limited to character attributes.  Imagine this...you decide to take a break from the game...it goes live and there is a reset.  You are playing another game with friends, and about 6 months after the game goes live, you and your 100 friends decide to give Atlas a try.  You are late to the party.  But you are a diligent group, and set about trying to get things done.  You get some ships built, and a base built, and are just starting to feel you made some progress, and you get wiped.  Others were watching, and waiting for you to get just enough to make it worth their while to attack you.

You don't have a lot.  You got some BPs, but are still working on getting what you need to make everything.  You may have even used some of those BPs.  But, there is a lot to do.  And you can only do so much each day.  So while you are just starting to get somewhere, you are in no position to fend off a concerted attack by a Mega, or Alliance of a few 50 man companies.

They have been watching.  So they know when to strike, and when they do, they are bringing Legendary and Mythical cannons, armor, Carbines, etc...  You have no chance.  Their Carbines will one shot you, while yours will take several shots, if not more, since they are also wearing very good armor.

This is why games like this die.  No new companies.  They give it a try, and then leave when they experience nothing but frustration.   This game will be even worse than many others, because in this game, you lose everything when people raid you.  They kill passive tames, destroy foundations...and your storage was destroyed, so that is gone too, even if they didn't want everything.

 

Because so many people left this game, they need to attract people back to the game.  Going to be hard to do without a wipe each time significant changes are made to encourage people back.  Who wants to come back just to be the punching bag of the companies that are built up?

I would say that the problem is that single player RPG mechanics don't actually translate well to MMOs.  People want significant rewards for their time spent in game, and achievements.  But this creates a problem for the new players.

[Realist 504]

1 hour ago, Chucksteak said:

**This is my critique/review of the game so far, its mechanics, concepts and implementation. This is not at all about the technical side pertaining to programming. Net code, exploits and glitches/bugs are all assumed to have been logged and are being addressed. Also, I apologize for the length as it violates my own advice of not making a post that is longer to read and respond to than the average amount of time one spends taking a shit**

What we have so far with Atlas

A great framework for an MMORPG.

The map size is vast, its beautiful. Yeah, its chalked full of native UR4 assets, but that's your benefit to using UR4 (I like seeing my PUBG rocks and trees, its comforting).

The sea, while not quite as good as Sea of Thieves, is pretty awesome and makes up for a lack of polish by having a fully functional "under the sea" environment (I personally think this might be the biggest asset Atlas has, the potential of what can be done here is just massive).

The ships, although overly limited in options for the time being, are also done very well and I think they look and feel fantastic. Far far beyond anything SoT has been able to produce.

The sub looks fantastic!

The dynamic weather, although a little unpolished is such a welcome addition to an MMORPG.

A hardcore PvP aspect reminiscent of Diablo II. You die, all your gear stays on your corpse to be lost or recovered as you are able to do. It is a welcome throwback to add risk to death.

 

The Condition for "winning" in Atlas

Is currently amount of land "claimed".

This is a solid tried and true concept for any MMORPG. The basic idea is "King of the hill". 

 

What we can do in Atlas

Objectively speaking, we can only Build, Destroy, and Kill. Any action taken is in pursuit of one of these goals. 

This was the first breakdown in Atlas gameplay. The WinCon and what we can objectively do are separated. I could go to your island and throw down flags, thus progressing with my WinCon. I don't have to build anything, or destroy anything, or kill anyone to accomplish this. Additionaly there is no tangible reward or incentive for "winning" (yes I know you get a front of ship figurehead for aesthetics). This is unrewarding, unstimulating, and leaves me wanting to do any of the 3 things I can do that are all vastly more rewarding than fulfilling the WinCon. 

But the concept is still solid. We just need winning to feel more like winning, and losing feel less like starting over from scratch (as this will fatigue the community). Some people have called for factions, they probably came from WoW. Some people have called for combining PvE and PvP,  they probably played real MMORPGs where this is truly the best setup. Some people are calling for a small team style companies, while overs still covet the Megas.

What all parties are trying to articulate is a desire for a tiered system with varying degrees of the WinCon where a sense of success or progression is attached to it. Its basic human psychology. Casinos have been using this since they were created to make people addicted to gambling.

 

What we are missing so far in Atlas

NPCs. The current AI slaves are a disincentive to cooperate with other people. A good  MMORPG design should continually encourage and reward cooperation and competition. Where are all the townsfolk? Where is the auctioneer? Why is there not a bank or warehouse, and the NPCs to run them? 

Towns/Cities. What is a Freeport? Why is it a deserted ruins with a waterfall? I feel like there should be a purpose, I feel like it should be community related.

Combat. It needs a lot of polishing. I'm fully aware there is a ton of time until release but this is 2019 after all, I feel this could have been better out of the gate.

Economy. Make Gold Great Again. The gold sinks currently available are disappointing, What do I NEED this gold for? A solid mechanic is to require some purchasable items in common crafting. Another idea, more in line with the direction we are going is maintenance fees. This puts limits on build size and sustainability. I would also have re-specking a character be a gold sink that only ever gets more expensive, or at least has a flat rate high enough to be a deterrent from day to day re-specking.

The other humanoids. 40% of the map is sea, 40% of the map is Air, and 10% is land. Where are the Atlantians? The Pathfinders can breathe above the sea and struggle below, so half the map is conducive to this existence. Should there not be an inverse to this? If we can build structures in the sea, something should be able to utilize them. There seems to be ample conditions for more races to add diversity. I could be way off on this one I admit.

End Game content/objectives. What exactly is there available for me to do at lvl 50 or 100 that I cant do at lvl 10? For that matter.....

What is the point of levels? What is it I get from gaining levels, or max level, albeit they are currently almost just given to you. There is nothing currently locked behind a level. I don't necessarily find this a bad concept, just curious why bother even having the levels? I feel skill should always trump time invested in a game, so why cant everyone start with the stats of a lvl 100 to distribute as they see fit?

 

My suggestions

I think "King of the Hill" is the correct concept. I just think we need to identify where the "hills" are and reward appropriately. This would be my suggestion below, I feel it allows for all play styles without compromising anything.

1. Turn free ports into fully functioning towns with the basic assets of a decent MMORPG. The player shops are already said to be coming, lets just finish the job.

2. Add in the "King Hills", aka CASTLES. These should be pre-built epic structures that must be taken, be it 24/7 or weekly or monthly w/e. Think Lineage II style sieges. The current owner should be entitled to some form of taxes from a set surrounding area. These can be located in free ports for several of them, or on an added island in a free port grid, or added to the islands in the golden age ruins grids. These are the alpha prizes, hence the tax reward. Owning these is what puts you on the leader board. The Castles should be ranked, with possibly 1 or a small number of them ruling over the others or a set of the others.  These structures should be susceptible to damage, but never completely destroyed, think ESO type castles in the PvP area. A company can only hold 1 at a time.

3. The islands (on colony settings) are the small hills. These should be 1 claimable per Company and ranked. The act of taking a better ranked island relinquishes your claim on the lesser ranked island. Think Drow society in Forgotten Realms, loosely. This provides incentive to move up in rank as the higher ranked islands are just better, bigger, nicer or w/e you reap more from taxes. All island owners will be able to tax the island under their claim (opposed to the castles which draw a tax from many islands). The small companies and solos that settle on the island would remain indigenous to the island unless they chose to move, as they don't control any of it to begin with and are not entitled to earn taxes.

- This creates dynamic and appropriate WinCons based off of the original concept that rely on the 3 core things one does in the game. 

- This creates a space and incentive for bigger clans to fight for control of bigger hills, while providing a disincentive for them to go around displacing all the smaller companies in an endless land grab that offers little to no reward.

- This preserves the concept of "colony settings" as I think that will be a successful space for the medium size companies to exist in harmony (not in peace) with each other and the bigger ones.

 

Misc. Thoughts

BPs should not be OP enough to discount strategy and skill.

Melee weapons should have a place somewhere noticeably above harvesting tools.

Cannon walls on ships....lets acknowledge there is a keel and it has a limit. I have to believe this is doable.

Can tames be useful without becoming the meta and a requirement? (imho tames are SOOOO lame and belong in Ark)

I have to believe the UI can be better.

Exploits....exploits.....exploits.....this can never, WILL NEVER, be a good game as long as exploits exist. 

I believe the "empire settings" would not be necessary with these changes. 

 

Thank you for your time,

-CS

 

You had some pretty good ideas in there. Yes I read the whole thing. Two things though.

tames are awesome and tames are what these guys know what do kind of a one trick pony deal. Tames are just fine.

even though all of these ideas are good there is just no way for wildcard to pull half of that off. It would be cool if they could but they just can’t.

good read though

[Chucksteak 279]

3 hours ago, Realist said:

You had some pretty good ideas in there. Yes I read the whole thing. Two things though.

tames are awesome and tames are what these guys know what do kind of a one trick pony deal. Tames are just fine.

even though all of these ideas are good there is just no way for wildcard to pull half of that off. It would be cool if they could but they just can’t.

good read though

lol, fair enough, you may keep your sheep for ...whatever it is you need to do with them.

I tried to only suggest things that have already been done or are said to be coming to the game. It was difficult so please let me know if I missed something.

Thanks for reading the whole thing.

[Chucksteak 279]

4 hours ago, Captain Jack Shadow said:

 

This imbalance isn't limited to character attributes.  Imagine this...you decide to take a break from the game...it goes live and there is a reset.  You are playing another game with friends, and about 6 months after the game goes live, you and your 100 friends decide to give Atlas a try.  You are late to the party.  But you are a diligent group, and set about trying to get things done.  You get some ships built, and a base built, and are just starting to feel you made some progress, and you get wiped.  Others were watching, and waiting for you to get just enough to make it worth their while to attack you.

You don't have a lot.  You got some BPs, but are still working on getting what you need to make everything.  You may have even used some of those BPs.  But, there is a lot to do.  And you can only do so much each day.  So while you are just starting to get somewhere, you are in no position to fend off a concerted attack by a Mega, or Alliance of a few 50 man companies.

They have been watching.  So they know when to strike, and when they do, they are bringing Legendary and Mythical cannons, armor, Carbines, etc...  You have no chance.  Their Carbines will one shot you, while yours will take several shots, if not more, since they are also wearing very good armor.

This is why games like this die.  No new companies.  They give it a try, and then leave when they experience nothing but frustration.   This game will be even worse than many others, because in this game, you lose everything when people raid you.  They kill passive tames, destroy foundations...and your storage was destroyed, so that is gone too, even if they didn't want everything.

 

Because so many people left this game, they need to attract people back to the game.  Going to be hard to do without a wipe each time significant changes are made to encourage people back.  Who wants to come back just to be the punching bag of the companies that are built up?

I would say that the problem is that single player RPG mechanics don't actually translate well to MMOs.  People want significant rewards for their time spent in game, and achievements.  But this creates a problem for the new players.

I totally agree with you. The current and planned forms of Atlas are almost certainly going to have those issues you stated, in my opinion. This is why I felt it necessary to add my suggestions at the bottom, they are specifically designed to combat these issues I feel.

 

[Chucksteak 279]

5 hours ago, gnihar said:

Lots of content there, briefly skimmed thru it.

As a person coming from ark and wanting ark 2 and not a mmorpg, I for one am against the turn to what you typically know as a “mmorpg” these days. This includes but is not limited to: prebuilt castles, overly controlled game modes, preexisting factions, npc quests, npc vendors, and inability to actually lose bases, npcs and gear.

While some of what you wrote I can agree with, I am generally pro sandbox survival online game, and generally against the “mmorpg” concepts said above.

 

I hear you. At first I did not think of this as an MMORPG. However in another thread someone asked if this was supposed to be a MMORPG, maybe it was @DocHolliday but I cant be sure. I looked up what a MMORPG is in order to say this was clearly not one. I was wrong, this is categorically an MMORPG like it or not, clearly unfinished as of now. I would never want to take any of the sandbox away from Atlas. 

I was trying to only suggest assets and features that are already in the game as to not add anything. 

[gnihar 111]

4 minutes ago, Chucksteak said:

I hear you. At first I did not think of this as an MMORPG. However in another thread someone asked if this was supposed to be a MMORPG, maybe it was @DocHolliday but I cant be sure. I looked up what a MMORPG is in order to say this was clearly not one. I was wrong, this is categorically an MMORPG like it or not, clearly unfinished as of now. I would never want to take any of the sandbox away from Atlas. 

I was trying to only suggest assets and features that are already in the game as to not add anything. 

Semantically you are right - this does fit into Massively Multiplayer Roleplaying game or Many Men Online RolePlaying Girls, as you like it.

I was aiming more at the characteristics of modern Mmorpgsthat I mentioned, many of which I find not adrenaline raising enough, so I prefer to call it online survival sandbox game, rather than mmorpg.

Edited April 4, 2019 by gnihar

[Martyn 246]

Always thought the winning of any mmorpg was to complete every quest and mission, kill every boss..

 

Naked.  With a spoon.

The size of my anything, doesn't mean alot to me.

Since it's well known that British Inches are bigger than either American or European Inches.

Edited April 4, 2019 by Martyn

[Captain Jack Shadow 488]

On 4/4/2019 at 6:41 PM, Martyn said:

Always thought the winning of any mmorpg was to complete every quest and mission, kill every boss..

 

Naked.  With a spoon.

The size of my anything, doesn't mean alot to me.

Since it's well known that British Inches are bigger than either American or European Inches.

In the time I was playing on a PvE server, to make cool builds, I saw a lot of PvP crews come in and play the game on PvE.  You could spot them right away, because they build literal PvP bases, and even more of a clue was the way they acted when you would sell them something like Boss T-Rex's.  3 or 4 guys in flak show up, and one steps forward while the other 2 or 3 are fanned out behind, with guns out.  Old habits.  lol  I might not have noticed this if not for the time in PvP.   But I often wondered why they played on the PvE server.  I knew why I was there.  The ability to build using building mods, like the CKF, and actually push what could be done.  I knew better than to try that on a PvP server using those mods...those builds would just beg somebody to come and blow them up.  So what I learned, was that some of them just wanted to experience a lot of the end game content, or other content, that they didn't get to do on a PvP server, because there the focus was on raiding, and defending from raids.  This I understood.  Even something as simple as getting all of the explorer notes could be a challenge on PvP.  How do you get all of them when one is in turret range, or inside somebody's base?

I remember playing Skyrim, and thinking it would be great if it were multiplayer and PvP.  The Civil War Mod would have been great with PvP.  But I also realize that, while we think that MMO and PvP would be great, at the same time, some aspects of the game don't work, or are severely limited as a result of PvP.  I think something like Skyrim would work best in a multiplayer aspect, if it is Co-Op.  To really get the most out of the game, as a multiplayer, you would have to play both Co-Op, and PvP modes.

[Martyn 246]

Could usually spot pvp players by the wild corrupted wyverns flying behind them.

[Bolognapwny 137]

On 4/4/2019 at 11:29 AM, Chucksteak said:

**This is my critique/review of the game so far, its mechanics, concepts and implementation. This is not at all about the technical side pertaining to programming. Net code, exploits and glitches/bugs are all assumed to have been logged and are being addressed. Also, I apologize for the length as it violates my own advice of not making a post that is longer to read and respond to than the average amount of time one spends taking a shit**

What we have so far with Atlas

A great framework for an MMORPG.

The map size is vast, its beautiful. Yeah, its chalked full of native UR4 assets, but that's your benefit to using UR4 (I like seeing my PUBG rocks and trees, its comforting).

The sea, while not quite as good as Sea of Thieves, is pretty awesome and makes up for a lack of polish by having a fully functional "under the sea" environment (I personally think this might be the biggest asset Atlas has, the potential of what can be done here is just massive).

The ships, although overly limited in options for the time being, are also done very well and I think they look and feel fantastic. Far far beyond anything SoT has been able to produce.

The sub looks fantastic!

The dynamic weather, although a little unpolished is such a welcome addition to an MMORPG.

A hardcore PvP aspect reminiscent of Diablo II. You die, all your gear stays on your corpse to be lost or recovered as you are able to do. It is a welcome throwback to add risk to death.

 

The Condition for "winning" in Atlas

Is currently amount of land "claimed".

This is a solid tried and true concept for any MMORPG. The basic idea is "King of the hill". 

 

What we can do in Atlas

Objectively speaking, we can only Build, Destroy, and Kill. Any action taken is in pursuit of one of these goals. 

This was the first breakdown in Atlas gameplay. The WinCon and what we can objectively do are separated. I could go to your island and throw down flags, thus progressing with my WinCon. I don't have to build anything, or destroy anything, or kill anyone to accomplish this. Additionaly there is no tangible reward or incentive for "winning" (yes I know you get a front of ship figurehead for aesthetics). This is unrewarding, unstimulating, and leaves me wanting to do any of the 3 things I can do that are all vastly more rewarding than fulfilling the WinCon. 

But the concept is still solid. We just need winning to feel more like winning, and losing feel less like starting over from scratch (as this will fatigue the community). Some people have called for factions, they probably came from WoW. Some people have called for combining PvE and PvP,  they probably played real MMORPGs where this is truly the best setup. Some people are calling for a small team style companies, while overs still covet the Megas.

What all parties are trying to articulate is a desire for a tiered system with varying degrees of the WinCon where a sense of success or progression is attached to it. Its basic human psychology. Casinos have been using this since they were created to make people addicted to gambling.

 

What we are missing so far in Atlas

NPCs. The current AI slaves are a disincentive to cooperate with other people. A good  MMORPG design should continually encourage and reward cooperation and competition. Where are all the townsfolk? Where is the auctioneer? Why is there not a bank or warehouse, and the NPCs to run them? 

Towns/Cities. What is a Freeport? Why is it a deserted ruins with a waterfall? I feel like there should be a purpose, I feel like it should be community related.

Combat. It needs a lot of polishing. I'm fully aware there is a ton of time until release but this is 2019 after all, I feel this could have been better out of the gate.

Economy. Make Gold Great Again. The gold sinks currently available are disappointing, What do I NEED this gold for? A solid mechanic is to require some purchasable items in common crafting. Another idea, more in line with the direction we are going is maintenance fees. This puts limits on build size and sustainability. I would also have re-specking a character be a gold sink that only ever gets more expensive, or at least has a flat rate high enough to be a deterrent from day to day re-specking.

The other humanoids. 40% of the map is sea, 40% of the map is Air, and 10% is land. Where are the Atlantians? The Pathfinders can breathe above the sea and struggle below, so half the map is conducive to this existence. Should there not be an inverse to this? If we can build structures in the sea, something should be able to utilize them. There seems to be ample conditions for more races to add diversity. I could be way off on this one I admit.

End Game content/objectives. What exactly is there available for me to do at lvl 50 or 100 that I cant do at lvl 10? For that matter.....

What is the point of levels? What is it I get from gaining levels, or max level, albeit they are currently almost just given to you. There is nothing currently locked behind a level. I don't necessarily find this a bad concept, just curious why bother even having the levels? I feel skill should always trump time invested in a game, so why cant everyone start with the stats of a lvl 100 to distribute as they see fit?

 

My suggestions

I think "King of the Hill" is the correct concept. I just think we need to identify where the "hills" are and reward appropriately. This would be my suggestion below, I feel it allows for all play styles without compromising anything.

1. Turn free ports into fully functioning towns with the basic assets of a decent MMORPG. The player shops are already said to be coming, lets just finish the job.

2. Add in the "King Hills", aka CASTLES. These should be pre-built epic structures that must be taken, be it 24/7 or weekly or monthly w/e. Think Lineage II style sieges. The current owner should be entitled to some form of taxes from a set surrounding area. These can be located in free ports for several of them, or on an added island in a free port grid, or added to the islands in the golden age ruins grids. These are the alpha prizes, hence the tax reward. Owning these is what puts you on the leader board. The Castles should be ranked, with possibly 1 or a small number of them ruling over the others or a set of the others.  These structures should be susceptible to damage, but never completely destroyed, think ESO type castles in the PvP area. A company can only hold 1 at a time.

3. The islands (on colony settings) are the small hills. These should be 1 claimable per Company and ranked. The act of taking a better ranked island relinquishes your claim on the lesser ranked island. Think Drow society in Forgotten Realms, loosely. This provides incentive to move up in rank as the higher ranked islands are just better, bigger, nicer or w/e you reap more from taxes. All island owners will be able to tax the island under their claim (opposed to the castles which draw a tax from many islands). The small companies and solos that settle on the island would remain indigenous to the island unless they chose to move, as they don't control any of it to begin with and are not entitled to earn taxes.

- This creates dynamic and appropriate WinCons based off of the original concept that rely on the 3 core things one does in the game. 

- This creates a space and incentive for bigger clans to fight for control of bigger hills, while providing a disincentive for them to go around displacing all the smaller companies in an endless land grab that offers little to no reward.

- This preserves the concept of "colony settings" as I think that will be a successful space for the medium size companies to exist in harmony (not in peace) with each other and the bigger ones.

 

Misc. Thoughts

BPs should not be OP enough to discount strategy and skill.

Melee weapons should have a place somewhere noticeably above harvesting tools.

Cannon walls on ships....lets acknowledge there is a keel and it has a limit. I have to believe this is doable.

Can tames be useful without becoming the meta and a requirement? (imho tames are SOOOO lame and belong in Ark)

I have to believe the UI can be better.

Exploits....exploits.....exploits.....this can never, WILL NEVER, be a good game as long as exploits exist. 

I believe the "empire settings" would not be necessary with these changes. 

 

Thank you for your time,

-CS

 

This was the most utter pile of shit thought of the game I have seen yet...

 

One this isn't an MMORPG... its a Sandbox game... get fuckin RPG out of your head.  Thanks.

 

Two the comparing anything about this game to Sea of Thieves tells me everything I need to know about you...

[Salty Jack 56]

And the three posts of yours I have read today tell me everything I need to know about you....

[Percieval 1,067]

On 4/5/2019 at 12:41 AM, Martyn said:

Always thought the winning of any mmorpg was to complete every quest and mission, kill every boss..

 

Naked.  With a spoon.

The size of my anything, doesn't mean alot to me.

Since it's well known that British Inches are bigger than either American or European Inches.

European inches? Here in Europe we use the non-retard system. The metric one it’s called.  

Edited April 6, 2019 by Percieval

[Chucksteak 279]

8 hours ago, Bolognapwny said:

One this isn't an MMORPG... its a Sandbox game... get fuckin RPG out of your head.  Thanks.

Lol, oh the uninformed.

Look, I didnt make the game ok. I also didn't define what an MMORPG is,  nor was I hoping for this to be an MMORPG with some agenda. 

However, it is what it is. Go google it and get learnt before you go saying stupid shit in public.

Also, go fuck yourself.

Cheers, 

CS

[Bolognapwny 137]

2 minutes ago, Chucksteak said:

Lol, oh the uninformed.

Look, I didnt make the game ok. I also didn't define what an MMORPG is,  nor was I hoping for this to be an MMORPG with some agenda. 

However, it is what it is. Go google it and get learnt before you go saying stupid shit in public.

Also, go fuck yourself.

Cheers, 

CS

you sound like a lil tilted libtard crying because trump is your  president.  The only   part  of this game that   IS RPG is the lil pve  noobs like yourself... its honestly the worst part of the game...   crybaby.

[Chucksteak 279]

3 minutes ago, Bolognapwny said:

you sound like a lil tilted libtard crying because trump is your  president.  The only   part  of this game that   IS RPG is the lil pve  noobs like yourself... its honestly the worst part of the game...   crybaby.

What you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

[Bolognapwny 137]

Just now, Chucksteak said:

What you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

funny thing is you aint  even old enough to know that quote did you  have someone say that to you on reddit...

[Chucksteak 279]

I thought you were just an average uneducated person. But im thinking you may just have me  confused with someone else you know. You certainly dont know my age. That was presumptuous of you, albeit par for the course it seems. But no, I bought it and saw it back in '95.

But by all means, tell me some more about me.

[boomervoncannon 1,541]

I see you’ve met the one and only poster I have on ignore.