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Thread: Naval Action-PC Game in the Works

  1. #51
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    "Naval Action" is not a game about Shore Leave. I stand corrected.

  2. #52

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nightmoss View Post
    Thanks for the updates, Eric. I should try to check back and see how things are going.

    I would love to see an MMO developed that put a higher value (and resultant rewards) on capturing ships rather then blowing them out of the water. Seems unlikely they'd go that route though. Folks are not going to want to wait around weeks for their ships to be repaired or rebuilt. I understand they'll have to consider play balance and continued support of the community vs. realism.
    Exactly the fine line they are walking. You can capture ships which does get you more gold and you can sell it or use it as you like. Currently you can store ships/goods, etc at your home port (capitol) or at an outpost that you have established. You can enter friendly or neutral ports to repair and buy goods but you can't store extra ships or stuff there. Establishing an outpost costs gold, so you can't just put them up everywhere on the map.

    So let's say you are a US player and capture a pirate schooner off St. Kitts, but you have no outposts and your home port is on the US east coast. You can send the prize to your home port and continue sailing, but you will have to sail across the Caribbean to get to your home port before you can sell or use that ship. Repairs currently just cost in game money rather than time because they want people out testing the game. You can also get modules or supplies that enable you to repair at sea to a certain extent. Lastly if you are sunk you respawn back at your home port and I think there is a cool down timer with that as well.

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by DeRuyter View Post
    Exactly the fine line they are walking. You can capture ships which does get you more gold and you can sell it or use it as you like. Currently you can store ships/goods, etc at your home port (capitol) or at an outpost that you have established. You can enter friendly or neutral ports to repair and buy goods but you can't store extra ships or stuff there. Establishing an outpost costs gold, so you can't just put them up everywhere on the map.

    So let's say you are a US player and capture a pirate schooner off St. Kitts, but you have no outposts and your home port is on the US east coast. You can send the prize to your home port and continue sailing, but you will have to sail across the Caribbean to get to your home port before you can sell or use that ship. Repairs currently just cost in game money rather than time because they want people out testing the game. You can also get modules or supplies that enable you to repair at sea to a certain extent. Lastly if you are sunk you respawn back at your home port and I think there is a cool down timer with that as well.
    Some interesting developments, mostly positive I'd say. Thank you again for the update.
    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
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  4. #54
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    One of our members (Mike, aka Northern Wolves) is very active in the Naval Action beta. I just recently saw this video and I hope he doesn't mind my posting it here because I thought it was pretty awesome. He's involved with the Decatur Armada: http://www.decaturarmada.enjin.com/

    I know others here have expressed some interest in the game/simulation and it's clear they're working hard to make the game better and better. Cheers!

    It's a two part video, but I'll only post Part One, which is essentially a video AAR.

    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
    –English Proverb

  5. #55
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    Thanks for sharing that, Jim. Very nice AAR format.

    I need to stay clear of such games, or I fear I wouldn't get anything done.
    “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” ― Plato

  6. #56
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    If anyone's interested, they've opened up purchases again for Naval Action, and still have Steam keys available...

  7. #57
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    Greetings Gregory. Thanks for the information and welcome aboard the Anchorage!
    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
    –English Proverb

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    Welcome aboard, Gregory.

    In case you're interested, we're getting ready to kick off another solo campaign for 2016. If you're interested in finding out more, let us know. You don't need many ships or anything special.
    “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” ― Plato

  9. #59
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    Naval Action is moving to Early Access on Steam as of January 21st. Those of use who bought into the play test have been awarded our yachts and will be receiving some extra benefits as well. Here's the Steam PC link which includes their latest Game Trailer video. It's not up on YouTube as yet or I would have linked it in this post. Cheers!

    http://navalaction.us12.list-manage1...f&e=a5569331d7

    Here's the Early Access Trailer for those who might enjoy some fighting sail eye candy. I'm not 100% positive, but I think that's the Hermione at the 30 second mark?



    I 'played' Naval Action for several hours yesterday. It's quite engaging. Managed to capture two snow's in my cutter. Starting as United States you're placed in Charleston. Cheers.
    Last edited by Nightmoss; 01-22-2016 at 08:30. Reason: Added content
    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
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  10. #60

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    Naval Action Update:

    As Jim noted Naval Action is now indeed available on Steam Early Access ($39). This is essentially open Beta testing so the development including new features are continuing. The developers have said that there will be no more "hard wipes" meaning that your in game rank and experience will remain even if they reset the game progression. Pay attention to the PC graphics requirements because you do need a newer graphics card (DX11, shader model 5), but you don't need a high end card either.

    Currently there are 23 different ships in the game from the starter cutter to the Santisima Trinidad and more are being added. The game is set in the Caribbean of the late 18th century. The map is huge stretching from the Carolinas to Venezuela and from the Gulf coast of Mexico to the Windward islands. I think it takes something like 2+ hours RT to sail from Charlestown to Trinidad. You start out in a basic 12 gun cutter armed with 4 lb guns after selecting a nationality (Danish, Dutch, Spanish, British, French, Swedish, US or Pirate). You can board and capture larger ships but you need experience points to be able to command more crew to properly sail them. Once you have the rank and gold you can also buy larger ships, square riggers like brigs, post ships and frigates. They have implemented economic features including crafting and trading so you can build ships as well. You can sail on the open sea looking for other players to battle or traders to capture, or you can accept a mission in port which will set up a battle with AI near your port. There are also Events or Battles, which are essentially teams of players fighting in an area setting (at sea with a boundary so no running!). These are good for getting experience fighting and for ranking up. There is also a conquest feature where a group of players and attack and capture ports of other nations.

    There is also a clan feature. I am in the premier US clan, "The Decatur Armada". Northern Wolves (Mike) on this forum is an officer in the clan. This can be similar to playing a large multiplayer SoG game with a long running campaign feature! You can also play the game solo, but I would say that this is a way for someone who does not have opponents for FtF miniatures gaming to have opponents and teammates.

    During the development they are going to add captain and crew management features, upgrade port conquest with different types of forts, shoals and land and continue to develop the economy and trading feature. Ships slated to enter the game soon include USS Essex, USS Niagara, Bucentaure, Ingermanland and an East Indiaman (modeled after the replica in Amsterdam).

    One of the problems IMO at the moment is the treatment of Pirates as just another nation with character creation at the outset vs. having to "turn" pirate. This is not just another "Pirate" game by far. I think they are working on creating a difference experience for all the wanna be Jack Sparrows (fingers crossed). Overall a very fun game and the combat system is very well modeled. The only real downside is that like all computer games it is a time sink - and the reason why I havn't been painting/rigging ship models or around here discussing SoG miniatures (where is the 3rd Wave anyway!).


    Links:

    http://decaturarmada.enjin.com/

    http://www.navalaction.com/#ageofsail

    http://forum.game-labs.net/

    http://store.steampowered.com/app/311310/

  11. #61
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    Quote Originally Posted by DeRuyter View Post
    Naval Action Update:

    As Jim noted Naval Action is now indeed available on Steam Early Access ($39). This is essentially open Beta testing so the development including new features are continuing. The developers have said that there will be no more "hard wipes" meaning that your in game rank and experience will remain even if they reset the game progression. Pay attention to the PC graphics requirements because you do need a newer graphics card (DX11, shader model 5), but you don't need a high end card either.

    Currently there are 23 different ships in the game from the starter cutter to the Santisima Trinidad and more are being added. The game is set in the Caribbean of the late 18th century. The map is huge stretching from the Carolinas to Venezuela and from the Gulf coast of Mexico to the Windward islands. I think it takes something like 2+ hours RT to sail from Charlestown to Trinidad. You start out in a basic 12 gun cutter armed with 4 lb guns after selecting a nationality (Danish, Dutch, Spanish, British, French, Swedish, US or Pirate). You can board and capture larger ships but you need experience points to be able to command more crew to properly sail them. Once you have the rank and gold you can also buy larger ships, square riggers like brigs, post ships and frigates. They have implemented economic features including crafting and trading so you can build ships as well. You can sail on the open sea looking for other players to battle or traders to capture, or you can accept a mission in port which will set up a battle with AI near your port. There are also Events or Battles, which are essentially teams of players fighting in an area setting (at sea with a boundary so no running!). These are good for getting experience fighting and for ranking up. There is also a conquest feature where a group of players and attack and capture ports of other nations.

    There is also a clan feature. I am in the premier US clan, "The Decatur Armada". Northern Wolves (Mike) on this forum is an officer in the clan. This can be similar to playing a large multiplayer SoG game with a long running campaign feature! You can also play the game solo, but I would say that this is a way for someone who does not have opponents for FtF miniatures gaming to have opponents and teammates.

    During the development they are going to add captain and crew management features, upgrade port conquest with different types of forts, shoals and land and continue to develop the economy and trading feature. Ships slated to enter the game soon include USS Essex, USS Niagara, Bucentaure, Ingermanland and an East Indiaman (modeled after the replica in Amsterdam).

    One of the problems IMO at the moment is the treatment of Pirates as just another nation with character creation at the outset vs. having to "turn" pirate. This is not just another "Pirate" game by far. I think they are working on creating a difference experience for all the wanna be Jack Sparrows (fingers crossed). Overall a very fun game and the combat system is very well modeled. The only real downside is that like all computer games it is a time sink - and the reason why I havn't been painting/rigging ship models or around here discussing SoG miniatures (where is the 3rd Wave anyway!).


    Links:

    http://decaturarmada.enjin.com/

    http://www.navalaction.com/#ageofsail

    http://forum.game-labs.net/

    http://store.steampowered.com/app/311310/
    Very nice write up, Eric. If you're in "The Decatur Armada" then no doubt you're playing on the pvp server(s). As I stated on BoardGame Geek I don't engage in pvp, but I am enjoying the experience on the pve server. I fully expect the sailing and crafting side of the game will keep me quite involved for some time. You can certainly see via the crafting that building any size ship takes large amounts of resources, even for something as small as a schooner.

    I think the single most asked question I read in local chat last night was, "How do I tell where I'm at on the map?". And of course the fps twitcher types are already showing up in force. This isn't Call of Duty, Battlefield 4 or even Star Wars Battlefront. No one shot kills in Naval Action.

    Have fun in the game!!
    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
    –English Proverb

  12. #62
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    I have 'invested' well over 40 hours into the game/simulation at this point and must say that at least in the PVE environment it is immensely enjoyable. As a sailing simulation it's not 100% accurate, but I doubt if folks would be having as much fun if it was? While I enjoy playing Sails of Glory, Naval Action is much more immersive in terms of how you sail/fight/board and survive in an 18th century sailing world. I haven't yet approached the crafting mechanic, but it's involved and will appeal to many who enjoy a more 'economic' sim.

    Leveling up so you can sail and fight in larger ships will take some time. I just made "2nd Lieutenant" last evening, which means I can now fully operate ships of 150 (or less).

    And while we wait, and wait, for Spanish ships to arrive in Sails of Glory you can sail the Santisima Trinidad right now if your character has the rank required. This video is pre release on Steam Early Access, but it gives you a good impression of how much work has gone into the game/simulation. Cheers!

    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
    –English Proverb

  13. #63
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    Showing your stern when the enemy is firing? That is really weird!

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    Or at least very careless

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    This was quite enjoyable to watch. It's the other end of the spectrum.


  16. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by TexaS View Post
    Showing your stern when the enemy is firing? That is really weird!
    Quote Originally Posted by David Manley View Post
    Or at least very careless
    Weird and careless are very much in evidence on the PVE server. I think some of these tests had no real risk vs. reward issues. Ships were never totally lost. I doubt that's the case on the servers now where if you lose a ship it's gone.
    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
    –English Proverb

  17. #67
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    Quote Originally Posted by TexaS View Post
    This was quite enjoyable to watch. It's the other end of the spectrum.
    Trafalgar events were held regularly last Fall I believe? I missed out on much of this due to computer and internet issues. There are a lot of YouTube videos popping up now that Steam Early Access is open. I like this one as a short introduction to beginning sized ships and some examples of the user interface. The video starts out dark because the game has a day and night cycle. Fighting in the dark or the rain is interesting as well.

    Time to go back to sea.

    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
    –English Proverb

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    Once bought is that all you require or do you have to 'in game purchase' for updates, better ships etc?

  19. #69
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    Quote Originally Posted by Union Jack View Post
    Once bought is that all you require or do you have to 'in game purchase' for updates, better ships etc?
    Once purchased you have permanent access to all updates and add on's. The developers are not going to produce any ships that come under the category of "Pay to Win". Any premium offers you can buy once in game will be cosmetic only; flags, ship colors, etc.

    I was very happy to see a large number of players online last night and that was true even on the PVE server. Two fun things I did last night included capturing a trader brig and crafting my first ship; Lynx.

    Neil, if you have any other questions I'd email DeRuyter (Eric) as he's been active a great deal more than I have.
    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
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  20. #70

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    Quote Originally Posted by TexaS View Post
    Showing your stern when the enemy is firing? That is really weird!
    People do this because you are a smaller target , same with sailing directly at the enemy. Risky, especially in small ships because you don't have much hull integrity in the bow and stern (hit points if you prefer). If you are fighting a player who is a good shot not a good thing to do, but some of the AI and players are not very accurate shooting so it allows one to keep the weather gauge or just to turn and present your other broadside. When attacking AI you can make a couple of close stern rakes to smash hull and then load grape to reduce and shock the crew prior to boarding and capture.

    Each ship has a certain amount of hit points per side which represent the hull integrity. Once that is sufficiently damaged you have a much greater change of losing crew and guns to hits. Once gone you start sinking. Also they model each ball traveling the length of the ship in the case of a rake against a depleted hull. I have had my rudder destroyed by shots from the front for example!

    They do not have a morale system per se, a player can surrender in a hopeless situation just to save time but you still lose your ship. They do intend to put a officer and crew management system into place which may encourage a more historical end - a ship striking rather than always sinking which is a game play mechanic at the moment.

    Quote Originally Posted by Nightmoss View Post
    Weird and careless are very much in evidence on the PVE server. I think some of these tests had no real risk vs. reward issues. Ships were never totally lost. I doubt that's the case on the servers now where if you lose a ship it's gone.
    Correct in the Sea Trials when testing the combat system you got your ship back after the battle. Currently each ship has a number of "durability's" from 5 (smaller ships), to 3 (frigates), 2 (3rd rate SOL), 1 (1st rate and captured ships). This means that you can be "sunk" that many times and you'll simply show up in the nearest friendly port with your ship intact (except you do lose cargo) until the last durability, then your ship is permanently lost. Some players just want a one and done system but the developers are mindful of the more casual players and to be forgiving of mistakes, or if you get "ganked" by a horde of pirates!

    Quote Originally Posted by Union Jack View Post
    Once bought is that all you require or do you have to 'in game purchase' for updates, better ships etc?
    Yes $39 buys it on steam. The developers are fiercely anti "pay to win" and wanted to stay away from that type of game - free but you can buy faster progression or better premium goods/ammo (think World of Tanks). Eventually they will have DLC content that you can purchase, like the yacht that people got for pre-ordering. It is no better than the start ship (cutter) and worse in some ways - but it looks cool! So nothing that is better than what is in game. Maybe decorative window dressing like better figureheads to customize a ship as well.

    OT: They also developed a cool ACW game - Ultimate General Gettysburg.

    Currently there are 3 servers as Jim mentioned:

    PVE (environment) - Players can coop but not attack each other. Although there is an "Arena" mode where you can enter into a closed battle instance against other players.
    PVP1 - European based server with clans, port capturing and player v player battles. I am on this one mostly.
    PVP2 -US based but really a back up server (only XP carries over server to server though not $ or ships).

    Jim - have fun with your Lynx (I have sailed on the replica). She is a good ship to run down traders with and remember get close to them when tagging in the OW and load chain! I usually run with carronades when fighting AI and commerce raiding. She is a hard target and a bit more stable gun platform than the cutter but watch for the waves! If you like the Lynx look for a Privateer. Same ship but stronger and more guns!

  21. #71
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    Will there be a dedicated solitaire version of the game?
    “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” ― Plato

  22. #72
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    Quote Originally Posted by DeRuyter View Post
    People do this because you are a smaller target , same with sailing directly at the enemy. Risky, especially in small ships because you don't have much hull integrity in the bow and stern (hit points if you prefer). If you are fighting a player who is a good shot not a good thing to do, but some of the AI and players are not very accurate shooting so it allows one to keep the weather gauge or just to turn and present your other broadside. When attacking AI you can make a couple of close stern rakes to smash hull and then load grape to reduce and shock the crew prior to boarding and capture.

    Each ship has a certain amount of hit points per side which represent the hull integrity. Once that is sufficiently damaged you have a much greater change of losing crew and guns to hits. Once gone you start sinking. Also they model each ball traveling the length of the ship in the case of a rake against a depleted hull. I have had my rudder destroyed by shots from the front for example!

    They do not have a morale system per se, a player can surrender in a hopeless situation just to save time but you still lose your ship. They do intend to put a officer and crew management system into place which may encourage a more historical end - a ship striking rather than always sinking which is a game play mechanic at the moment.



    Correct in the Sea Trials when testing the combat system you got your ship back after the battle. Currently each ship has a number of "durability's" from 5 (smaller ships), to 3 (frigates), 2 (3rd rate SOL), 1 (1st rate and captured ships). This means that you can be "sunk" that many times and you'll simply show up in the nearest friendly port with your ship intact (except you do lose cargo) until the last durability, then your ship is permanently lost. Some players just want a one and done system but the developers are mindful of the more casual players and to be forgiving of mistakes, or if you get "ganked" by a horde of pirates!



    Yes $39 buys it on steam. The developers are fiercely anti "pay to win" and wanted to stay away from that type of game - free but you can buy faster progression or better premium goods/ammo (think World of Tanks). Eventually they will have DLC content that you can purchase, like the yacht that people got for pre-ordering. It is no better than the start ship (cutter) and worse in some ways - but it looks cool! So nothing that is better than what is in game. Maybe decorative window dressing like better figureheads to customize a ship as well.

    OT: They also developed a cool ACW game - Ultimate General Gettysburg.

    Currently there are 3 servers as Jim mentioned:

    PVE (environment) - Players can coop but not attack each other. Although there is an "Arena" mode where you can enter into a closed battle instance against other players.
    PVP1 - European based server with clans, port capturing and player v player battles. I am on this one mostly.
    PVP2 -US based but really a back up server (only XP carries over server to server though not $ or ships).

    Jim - have fun with your Lynx (I have sailed on the replica). She is a good ship to run down traders with and remember get close to them when tagging in the OW and load chain! I usually run with carronades when fighting AI and commerce raiding. She is a hard target and a bit more stable gun platform than the cutter but watch for the waves! If you like the Lynx look for a Privateer. Same ship but stronger and more guns!
    Good information as always, Eric.

    The game is showing a lot of popularity, so much so that they've started adding more servers. All pvp of course as there aren't many of us 'care bears' out there. I have noticed in local chat a lot of frustration with folks who don't really appreciate what an 'age of sail' game entails. They rage quit because they can't sail into the wind, they don't see exactly where they are on the map and they want experience and gold to flow like water. Folks do try to help out, but it seems the 'average' gamer these days wants it all handed to them on a silver platter?

    I'm actually up to a Snow now and have decided to try out the 'Fleet" mechanic. I've hired a Lynx to accompany the Snow and am just about 500 exp from hitting 1st Lieutenant. There was a patch today and based on complaints in local chat it may have affected ships as well as some other things? Lots of grumbling and folks are speculating that the pvp'ers are complaining about overpowered ships so the devs are nerfing them. Nothing new here if that's actually what's happening. MMO's notoriously nerf to balance pvp even at the expense of pve play (World of Warcraft, Rift, etc.).

    Btw I posted a question on the Naval Action forums about whether The Decatur Armada intended on having any presence on the pve servers. 'Chustler' pretty much shot down that option, not surprisingly.
    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
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  23. #73
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    Quote Originally Posted by 7eat51 View Post
    Will there be a dedicated solitaire version of the game?
    Eric, playing on the PVE server is pretty much a solo version of the game. You can't be attacked by other players or even NPC's without agreeing to it. So the simulation/game focuses on sailing, exploration, crafting and some rudimentary role playing. Plus I think I've learned a bit more about sailing in Naval Action than any of the SoG games I've played. It's certainly not 100% accurate, but you learn quickly what being 'in irons' means.

    P.S. One thing else I should mention is you do need a moderately good computer to run this sim/game. Microsoft XP, etc., wont cut it.
    Last edited by Nightmoss; 01-26-2016 at 14:48. Reason: Added information
    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
    –English Proverb

  24. #74

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    Quote Originally Posted by 7eat51 View Post
    Will there be a dedicated solitaire version of the game?
    Quote Originally Posted by Nightmoss View Post
    Eric, playing on the PVE server is pretty much a solo version of the game. You can't be attacked by other players or even NPC's without agreeing to it. So the simulation/game focuses on sailing, exploration, crafting and some rudimentary role playing. Plus I think I've learned a bit more about sailing in Naval Action than any of the SoG games I've played. It's certainly not 100% accurate, but you learn quickly what being 'in irons' means.

    P.S. One thing else I should mention is you do need a moderately good computer to run this sim/game. Microsoft XP, etc., wont cut it.

    As Jim said the PVE server is essentially a solitaire version because you only fight the computer. However you can still have player coop and other players are interacting with the system especially trading/crafting.

    They have "adjusted" some of the sailing for gameplay reasons. Like Jim said a lot of fast twitch FPS gamers complaining about various things hurts this type of game as a "sailing simulator. For example square riggers can sail way to close to the wind. I do appreciate that when on a long trading voyage though!! Still the best age of sail game/sim I have seen yet. There are a few pure simulators for modern sailboat racing though.

  25. #75
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    Quote Originally Posted by 7eat51 View Post
    Will there be a dedicated solitaire version of the game?
    Actually, Eric, I may have misunderstood your question? You might be asking if/when the developers at Game Labs might release this as a stand alone computer game in the vein of Sid Meier's Pirates or Age of Sail I and II? I asked that question in chat last night and the response was a very firm "not likely". The devs are very focused on this as an MMO and probably wont be devoting resources to port it to a stand alone sim.
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    Quote Originally Posted by DeRuyter View Post
    As Jim said the PVE server is essentially a solitaire version because you only fight the computer. However you can still have player coop and other players are interacting with the system especially trading/crafting.

    They have "adjusted" some of the sailing for gameplay reasons. Like Jim said a lot of fast twitch FPS gamers complaining about various things hurts this type of game as a "sailing simulator. For example square riggers can sail way to close to the wind. I do appreciate that when on a long trading voyage though!! Still the best age of sail game/sim I have seen yet. There are a few pure simulators for modern sailboat racing though.
    Well, as it turns out a bunch of folks on the PVE server formed a clan last night (United States Navy) and I joined the group. There's also going to be a trade/crafting clan forming soon from what I gathered in local chat. USN is pretty much focused on leveling experience and getting gold. Ran 3 missions with them; 2 Cerberus, 1 Niagara and me in a Mercury. I traded my Snow in for a Mercury, which is much more resilient and loaded it up with 24 pound carronades.

    I'll try to take some screen shots later today to show off some more of the graphics quality.

    I also did some exploration sailing south from Charleston to the Keys and then up towards Tampa. It took well over an hour of real time sailing to make that trip, which gives you some idea of the scale on the maps.
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    Boarding action against HMS Surprise. Most definitely not an easy task, but we did take the ship in the end.

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    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
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    You're in the snau?

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    Quote Originally Posted by TexaS View Post
    You're in the snau?
    Yes, and I was having a lovely time raking the ship with grape. Surprise disengaged from the Renomee and I was able to grapple and board. With the crew down to almost nothing I won the boarding after one round I think?
    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
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    My latest update on Naval Action PC Game. One of the members of our "Fleet" is now a level 25 ship crafter and was able to build me HMS Surprise. A fantastic ship to sail and fight in.

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    Late last night a group of us attacked and boarded a Spanish 3rd Rate. This is the boarding action phase with surrounding ships shooting grape.

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    I must confess that I've become seriously attached to the game. Immersion even just sailing from one point to another is wonderful. Fog, rain, thunderstorms and a night cycle makes it even more impressive. Hard to believe this is only alpha?

    Cheers!
    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
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    Does it simulate your ship being full to the gunwales with Carronades Jim, and if so how well do they perform for you?
    Rob.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bligh View Post
    Does it simulate your ship being full to the gunwales with Carronades Jim, and if so how well do they perform for you?
    Rob.
    Funny you should ask that, Rob. Last night I was sailing the Belle Poule and was somewhat disappointed by the 'damage' I was doing in combat. So, I loaded up 32 and 24 pound carronades and my damage improved considerably. The down side of course is you have to be much closer to the enemy ships and you are consequently just as likely to take damage as dish it out.
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    Interesting Jim.
    It was just that the books all say that close up the Carronades were so devastating, and after the R.N. captured the real Surprise they re armed her with gundeck- 24, 32 pounder Carronades on the quaterdeck- 8, 32 pounder Carronades, and on the forecastle- 4 long 6 pounders.

    Close up and friendly that must have been some clout, although the book goes on to say that the Navy never really took to the idea.
    Rob.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bligh View Post
    Interesting Jim.
    It was just that the books all say that close up the Carronades were so devastating, and after the R.N. captured the real Surprise they re armed her with gundeck- 24, 32 pounder Carronades on the quaterdeck- 8, 32 pounder Carronades, and on the forecastle- 4 long 6 pounders.

    Close up and friendly that must have been some clout, although the book goes on to say that the Navy never really took to the idea.
    Rob.
    I've yet to try carronades on Surprise. I may try that this evening. Some new developer notes today are indicating a direction involving much more control of ship crews. Instead of a toggle switch we may have to assign crew to specific roles and reassign as needs arise. It certainly makes me think of SoG crew tasks; yes, fires and leaks are mentioned on the notes.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nightmoss View Post
    I've yet to try carronades on Surprise. I may try that this evening. Some new developer notes today are indicating a direction involving much more control of ship crews. Instead of a toggle switch we may have to assign crew to specific roles and reassign as needs arise. It certainly makes me think of SoG crew tasks; yes, fires and leaks are mentioned on the notes.
    Seems as bit pointless to me. Just those two actions of fires and leaks did not have to be ordered by the Captain.
    The Carpenter and his mates would go into action automatically as a specific unit whenever needed during a battle, and fire crews were likewise set up to deal with any conflagration. The only time the Captain would issue orders is if he needed to send extra men to assist.
    I can see the point of other orders, but not these two in particular.
    Rob.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bligh View Post
    Seems as bit pointless to me. Just those two actions of fires and leaks did not have to be ordered by the Captain.
    The Carpenter and his mates would go into action automatically as a specific unit whenever needed during a battle, and fire crews were likewise set up to deal with any conflagration. The only time the Captain would issue orders is if he needed to send extra men to assist.
    I can see the point of other orders, but not these two in particular.
    Rob.
    Re-reading the dev blog I'm not sure at this point if you'll have to order them specifically to do their jobs or not? At the start of a battle you set crew to their main tasks; gunnery, sailing, etc. As the ship takes losses you may have to reassign to keep things going. Someone was reading in chat last night that they are calculating that it takes six men fix a major leak so as crew numbers drop and more leaks occur you wont be able to keep up with the flooding? Same with fire I suppose? Now in game you just hit a key that reads "survival" and hope the free crew can put out the fire. It's unclear how, or if, you'll have the option to assign more crew to a task in emergencies.

    I suspect there's no way they can create a realistic battle as the time frame involved would keep most folks from wanting to play. Multi hour battles have been reduced to an hour and 30 minutes.

    What is most clear now with these new changes is that if you try to sail a ship that's under crewed you will suffer penalties to operation. There will be levels of performance and once you start losing crew certain tasks will not be handled as efficiently or at all?
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    Now that makes more sense to me. Thanks for clearing that up Jim. I can live with that. It will be interesting to see how this game develops.
    Rob.

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    Speaking of development, look what they just posted to Facebook earlier today:



    Hubba Hubba!

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    Quote Originally Posted by surfimp View Post
    Speaking of development, look what they just posted to Facebook earlier today:



    Hubba Hubba!
    No joke!!! Thank you for the photo. This is the ship I'm also waiting for and I know it's high on the list for addition to the game. Santisima Trinidad and HMS Victory are already in game so this one is coming sooner than later I hope!
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nightmoss View Post
    No joke!!! Thank you for the photo. This is the ship I'm also waiting for and I know it's high on the list for addition to the game. Santisima Trinidad and HMS Victory are already in game so this one is coming sooner than later I hope!
    I've owned Naval Action since Dec. 2014 but have only played it off-and-on, after an initial 40hr+ burst of enthusiasm during the "Sea Trials" phase. At that time, I believe I only unlocked up to the Snow or something, so I've never even had one of the really powerful ships yet.

    Now that I've begun playing (only on the PvE server) after the hard wipe, I have only worked my way up to a Lynx, which I was able to take as prize from some pirates as part of an Admiralty mission. It's not a very powerful ship, but I love schooners and I love the look of the Lynx, so I'll be quite happy with it for a while.

    I'm a little intimidated by the grind required to get up into the larger ships, but hopefully I'll someday unlock the USS Constitution. That's the one I'm looking forward to :)

  41. #91
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    Quote Originally Posted by surfimp View Post
    I've owned Naval Action since Dec. 2014 but have only played it off-and-on, after an initial 40hr+ burst of enthusiasm during the "Sea Trials" phase. At that time, I believe I only unlocked up to the Snow or something, so I've never even had one of the really powerful ships yet.

    Now that I've begun playing (only on the PvE server) after the hard wipe, I have only worked my way up to a Lynx, which I was able to take as prize from some pirates as part of an Admiralty mission. It's not a very powerful ship, but I love schooners and I love the look of the Lynx, so I'll be quite happy with it for a while.

    I'm a little intimidated by the grind required to get up into the larger ships, but hopefully I'll someday unlock the USS Constitution. That's the one I'm looking forward to :)
    Steve, I'm part of a fairly large 'fleet' of players who are affiliated with the USA on the PVE server. If you want an invite in game please send me a message and I'd be happy to bring you aboard the American Continental Navy [ACN]. We regularly have 8 to 10 folks online at any given time. Ranking up has been fairly rapid when we do missions as a group or move to attack 3rd Rates prowling US waters. I reached Captain last evening and we have two members who will soon be at Flag Captain level and able to sail the USS Constitution. In game name is Sebastian T. Keeler. Send me a message if you'd like. Cheers!
    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nightmoss View Post
    Steve, I'm part of a fairly large 'fleet' of players who are affiliated with the USA on the PVE server. If you want an invite in game please send me a message and I'd be happy to bring you aboard the American Continental Navy [ACN]. We regularly have 8 to 10 folks online at any given time. Ranking up has been fairly rapid when we do missions as a group or move to attack 3rd Rates prowling US waters. I reached Captain last evening and we have two members who will soon be at Flag Captain level and able to sail the USS Constitution. In game name is Sebastian T. Keeler. Send me a message if you'd like. Cheers!
    That's a nice offer which I appreciate. I've started as Spain but am at such a low level that it won't hurt anything to reset over to USA. I've previously flown with a squadron in Rise of Flight and enjoyed it. Not sure how much time I'll devote to the game but as it's the PVE server hopefully that won't be too much of an issue.

    P.S. - I'm surfimp everywhere :)

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    Quote Originally Posted by surfimp View Post
    That's a nice offer which I appreciate. I've started as Spain but am at such a low level that it won't hurt anything to reset over to USA. I've previously flown with a squadron in Rise of Flight and enjoyed it. Not sure how much time I'll devote to the game but as it's the PVE server hopefully that won't be too much of an issue.

    P.S. - I'm surfimp everywhere :)
    The offer is always open. We even have Teamspeak although that is certainly not a requirement to be a member of ACN. I fell in with this group quite by accident. Someone posted in nation chat an open invite to anyone who wanted to join. I took them up on the offer and have had a very enjoyable time so far. A nice range of ages and such.

    Some of the folks may end up on the pvp server, but that's not something I'll be persuing.
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    I'm surprised they have three first rates and only Bellona as the only third rate. I would have made the Téméraire-class directly after the first first rate. It's the most iconic napoleonic ship in my eyes. Also they were built by by both France and England.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TexaS View Post
    I'm surprised they have three first rates and only Bellona as the only third rate. I would have made the Téméraire-class directly after the first first rate. It's the most iconic napoleonic ship in my eyes. Also they were built by by both France and England.
    I don't know for certain, but I suspect it had to do with promoting the game launch initially? If you're starting out with a new IP you want something big and flashy and you get that with first rates, not 3rd's?

    Right now there are only two First Rates actually in game, HMS Victory and Santisima Trinidad. I doubt we'll see the Ocean class for up to a year? Only one fourth rate as well, USS Constitution.

    They are clearly focusing on the other rates now and they're trying to balance the call for national recognition. The Dutch, Danes, Spanish and Swedes are especially vocal on the forums demanding "their" ships be represented in Naval Action. A new content patch expected in two weeks might bring 2-3 new ships; USS Niagara, Essex another they're not mentioning specifically?

    It's all a waiting game, somewhat similar to Sails of Glory.
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    The Facebook post made it sound like L'Ocean had been part of Sea Trials a while back and was just needing to be updated somewhat for the current version. So hopefully it won't be too long before we see it.

    I agree that within the context of an MMO, where XP grinding is required to unlock more sophisticated ships, you've got to have the promise of some really awesome stuff at the "top of the ladder" to make working through the lower level ships seem more compelling. Within that context, releasing a number of well-known 1st rates seems to make a lot of sense to me... by releasing L'Ocean they will have addressed 1st rates for the three major belligerents of the Napoleonic AoS and it will then make sense to fill out the middle (which is already served somewhat by the Bellona). Just my twopence :)

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    Quote Originally Posted by surfimp View Post
    The Facebook post made it sound like L'Ocean had been part of Sea Trials a while back and was just needing to be updated somewhat for the current version. So hopefully it won't be too long before we see it.

    I agree that within the context of an MMO, where XP grinding is required to unlock more sophisticated ships, you've got to have the promise of some really awesome stuff at the "top of the ladder" to make working through the lower level ships seem more compelling. Within that context, releasing a number of well-known 1st rates seems to make a lot of sense to me... by releasing L'Ocean they will have addressed 1st rates for the three major belligerents of the Napoleonic AoS and it will then make sense to fill out the middle (which is already served somewhat by the Bellona). Just my twopence :)
    I hope you're correct. I thought I saw another post somewhere in the Shipyard thread that made it sound like this ship and others were further down the pipeline?

    While some may not agree I still believe content is king in gaming and you need to keep the new stuff flowing or you'll lose your player base. This applies to board games and video games alike.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nightmoss View Post
    While some may not agree I still believe content is king in gaming and you need to keep the new stuff flowing or you'll lose your player base. This applies to board games and video games alike.
    I completely agree; gamers have "bright shiny object syndrome" and are easily distracted unless there is a constant trickle of new "stuff" to keep their attention focused on a particular game or system. This is one area where I'm a bit worried that Ares is having issues, at least as concerns SoG and WoG.

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    I think you chaps have hit the nail on the head there.
    My own experience of gaming is driven over the years by four or so things.
    1. Are models available in enough quantity to keep me playing/ painting/ collecting/ building.
    2. Sufficient background reading to keep me interested and develop my desire to emulate what I have read.
    3. How many friends are also interested in playing the same game.
    4. Ways of expanding the game to prevent too much repetition of the same scenarios.

    Over the years I have found that my interest usually wains from about 5 to ten years in, depending on these factors holding up.

    As a founder member of this Forum I should be getting close to the 5 year point. Fortunately, I started being active only about 18 months ago. so there is mileage left.
    I still have background reading to get through in abundance.
    I have friends to play with at home, on line and at shows.
    I have hardly scraped the surface of ideas for scenarios and building.
    That ticks all the boxes bar one, and we all know which that is.

    Rob.
    ,

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    My long love of the age of sail will be constant.
    My attachment to Sails of Glory may fade, though.

    The minis might be changed to other basing and be used with other rules if I loose interest in SoG but I doubt I will stop using the even though I might spend time at Great Northern Wars Thirty Years War or American Civil War again.

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