Impressions of Build 14

[omnimirage]

First off, I'd like to congratulate the team who's put together the build series. Without build, I wouldn't be able to play the game as I had originally intended when buying POTC all those years back; being a freelance pirate in a dangerous world =D

However, I'm quite disappointed with build 14. Perhaps my understanding of "beta" is wrong, but it really was a unpleasant experience. Here are some suggestions:

Add more information to the wikipedia/manual. When playing a game I like to know what are the difference in beginning options, so that I don't screw myself up and get in a situation playing something that's not me. There's lots of options at the beginning, but realitvly little information on them. Please provide information on differences in difficulty information, and that it can be changed in game, character class, and completeness of storylines and a wee bit more description of what game play with be like with each story line, something like, "choose this path if you want to command massive fleets in the name of god and country!" in a easily accessible manner. Also add a character that has no quest bs, for those who just wanna do their own thing.

The no travel to option was plain frustrating. I spent so many hours trying to find locations. Going to ask people for directions, and they giving me advice and dropping bags of coins instead -_- I didn't even realize I could have fast travel on if I played arcade, but I didn't want to start another new game since the options didn't role over. + I really wanted realistic wind, and a bunch of options offered with realism mode. Add the option to turn on fast travel in realism mode.

When attempting to escape from enemies in boat battles, the distance needed to escape when wind mode was on is not enough. If I get unfavorable winds, they can easily catch up to me when I can map out of there.

The, I think Hispaniola island, is very frustrating to start on. I walked countless hours walking up it trying to find a port. I found a city, port au, (think spanish santagio was on it too) but contary to it's name, it had no port. I spent so many hours trying to find the damn port and another shore so I can get my boat out of there. I eventually realised I couldn't travel to santagio on foot, after walking up and down many times trying to spot something I may have missed. Again, documentation. The manual was full of useless information. Yes, reading your game play was fun, but it made me totally unprepared for the game. I eventually went back to my original shore, at first there seemed to be a bug and my boat wasn't there, so I figured it was gone or something. I was going to swim around to santagio, but for some reason I could actually enter my ship than and was happy, 'till I realised that I couldn't fast travel and I had to guess where the shores were, ending up spending an hour in 30x mode going around a shore looking for port, getting sunk a few times because I had no repairs down because I hadn't got to town -_- And being frustrated with the wind seemingly constantly throwing me backwards. Would have been nice if I was notified I could check the maps to see where the ports were, maybe in the manual I read, whatever.

There's too big of a jump between 3x speed, 10x and 30x. When on foot as well, 3x speed doesn't stay in place.

 

[Talisman]

Here are some suggestions:

Add more information to the wikipedia/manual. When playing a game I like to know what are the difference in beginning options, so that I don't screw myself up and get in a situation playing something that's not me. There's lots of options at the beginning, but realitvly little information on them. Please provide information on differences in difficulty information, and that it can be changed in game, character class, and completeness of storylines and a wee bit more description of what game play with be like with each story line, something like, "choose this path if you want to command massive fleets in the name of god and country!" in a easily accessible manner.

Welcome to Pirates Ahoy mate

We are grateful to anyone who provides feedback on how the game plays - its strengths & weaknesses, and all suggestions for improvements. When you mod a game you end up knownig it in such detail that it is difficult to put yourself in the position of a player who is playing it for the first time. And experience it in that way.

Yes that would be a good idea - but at the moment so many things are still being added that the manual would become out of date very rapidly. Once things settle down, ( if that ever happens ) fewer new things are added and we go to just bug fixing then it will have to be done.

The, I think Hispaniola island, is very frustrating to start on. I walked countless hours walking up it trying to find a port. I found a city, port au, (think spanish santagio was on it too) but contary to it's name, it had no port. I spent so many hours trying to find the damn port and another shore so I can get my boat out of there. I eventually realised I couldn't travel to santagio on foot, after walking up and down many times trying to spot something I may have missed.

It sounds as though you did the Stormy Start- (Arrival at an island ) start to the original game main storyline - where you are washed onto a random island and have to find your ship etc. Unfortunately you were given Hispaniola island, as your random island, where there are places - you cannot get to from some beaches overland ( not all the beaches & towns are connected by the paths).

You should try the tutorial at the beginning of the original game main storyline ( talk to Malcolm and go through everything he tells you - see how much information you can pick up there ) rather than the Stormy Start. So far this is the only tutorial that we have. - Any comments or observations you have on it would be appreciated.

Also add a character that has no quest bs, for those who just wanna do their own thing.

The Master & Commander Storyline - is completey freeplay - there is no story just one questbook entry.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

:gday


It sounds like you spent most of your time being lost. Yes, that is frustrating. Which storyline did you start out with? It is recommended that first time players play the Sea Hawk storyline because it has a tutorial that will point you in the right direction. After that you are free to go and do whatever you want.

Play as a merchantman if you want. Smuggling is riskier, but the profits are high. Or be a pirate taking what you want and giving nothing back. :2guns The choice is yours.

Starting out in arcade mode and apprentice level will let you get your feet wet without too much frustration. Save often! There is no way to make a speed run here. Oh yeah, if you meet someone named Makin Blundah you might want to rethink your strategy. :yoho

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Did you have a look at the "About Build" interface that is accessible through the main menu in the game? That does explain a fair few things, even though it isn't all-inclusive.
The "Documentation" folder in your main game directory contains more information, as well as the Wiki on storyline walkthroughs and the FAQ as accessible through the link in my signature.
It's a lot of documentation, but I agree it is confusing too. I'd like to have a proper complete and clear manual made, but that's a lot of work, we don't have the people and things keep changing all the time.

On Realistic vs. Arcade, we had the idea to allow people to set up their own "realistic" game mode, mixing and matching from both, through code, but we haven't gotten to doing that yet though.

I recently rewrote the speed increase/decrease buttons, so it would be quite easy now to add more/different speed settings inbetween. Any suggestions on which ones you'd like?
I'd say maybe 1x, 3x, 10x, 20x and 30x?

 

[Armada]

Please provide information on differences in difficulty information, and that it can be changed in game, character class, and completeness of storylines and a wee bit more description of what game play with be like with each story line, something like, "choose this path if you want to command massive fleets in the name of god and country!" in a easily accessible manner. Also add a character that has no quest bs, for those who just wanna do their own thing.

I definitely agree with this suggestion. The game certainly isn't self-explanatory enough, and more detailed descriptions about storyline content, difficulty settings and character classes would greatly help new players.
For example, perhaps each storyline should have something like this:

• Description - (the current storyline description, plus any comments about gameplay, such as "This storyline contains a short tutorial")
• Status - [Complete, fully playable] OR [Work in Progress, mostly playable] OR [Not started, no quests] etc.
• Recommended Difficulty - (a suitable difficulty for the storyline, plus a descriptor like [BEGINNER], [NORMAL], [INTERMEDIATE] and [HARD] etc)
• Suitable for Free Play? - Yes/No

I think at least the above would help players decide which storylines are right for them. Any thoughts?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Every storyline already has a short description and the recommended difficulty setting is a small hint. Rewriting that should not be too hard.

A note saying which ones are finished and which are still WIPS would be very nice.

Yes, some of the storylines are better for free play then others. It is just a short rewriting job.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Easily done in the PROGRAM\Storyline files. Only Hornblower really doesn't work for free play. All others allow you to ignore the story sooner or later, after the opening scenes.

 

[omnimirage]

I should probably point that I'm not a beginner at this game(although amateur =D), and true beginners would have their heads exploding, at least on realistic mode. I completed stock a few times and had a few rounds at build 13

The Master & Commander Storyline - is completey freeplay - there is no story just one questbook entry.

oh, didn't realise that, this needs to be specified

It sounds as though you did the Stormy Start- (Arrival at an island ) start to the original game main storyline - where you are washed onto a random island and have to find your ship etc. Unfortunately you were given Hispaniola island, as your random island, where there are places - you cannot get to from some beaches overland ( not all the beaches & towns are connected by the paths).

You should try the tutorial at the beginning of the original game main storyline ( talk to Malcolm and go through everything he tells you - see how much information you can pick up there ) rather than the Stormy Start. So far this is the only tutorial that we have. - Any comments or observations you have on it would be appreciated.

aaaaaaaah right, being somewhat of an experienced gamer, those tutorials really boggle my mind, soooo simple/slow

Should have checked this before I started a new game in build 13 D: Not so keen to go again(would be like my 5th game, yes I came across a few issues D

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I absolutely agree. The intention of clarifying things properly is there. Unfortunately we haven't yet been able to get to that point for real.
Lack of people to do it and a lack of people who know how to.

If anyone would be willing to help with making some comprehensive, clear documentation, that would be much appreciated.
No coding knowledge required, so literally anyone could do it.

 

[omnimirage]

Play as a merchantman if you want. Smuggling is riskier, but the profits are high. Or be a pirate taking what you want and giving nothing back. :2guns The choice is yours.

seems like merchantman/corsair is really the only path that actually "works" in this game. I went back to build 13, playing as a poor swordsman that made his money off killing highway man, with the idea of eventually being able to buy a ship so I can actually go pirating(had a class 7 gunship, being able to select a ship is a very good idea, having a ship with no cannons would have been even better =D) I wanted to do thieving but it didn't seem like a profitable proposition, considering the penalties of getting caught. Microing my parties inventories got quite repetitive. I eventually figured out that I could invade the fort/military zone with my 3 men and kill everyone inside relatively easily, than threaten the "nobles" and make 25k each time. I could run into the next section, have the guards called on me, kill them all, than go back into the other room, and repeat. Eventually, my army of 3 died and I was soloing, but I figured a bunch of exploits inside. I could whack a guard or two by themselves and wipe them out easily enough, they do a z backwards dodge whilst firing my 3 shot pistol, and back up to a corner, and constantly block. For some reason, one of the abilities is ridiculous, not sure if it's the same in build 14. Basically, the health regeneration is almost like a potion, I could be backed up in a corner, with 10 guys coming at me, 7 running into the backs of others and the other 3 striking at me, whilst I block and recover health with my uber health regeneration and strike at them, block and repeat. Run into new section of fort, repeat. After 8 shots of this I became quite alienated, just a ridiculous exploit.Yes, hardest difficulty, although build 14 difficulty is much higher. Nonetheless, there's tons of profit to be have by showing up on some beach with a group of men, and assassinating the nobles of the fort, it just doesn't work out properly.

 

[omnimirage]

Did you have a look at the "About Build" interface that is accessible through the main menu in the game? That does explain a fair few things, even though it isn't all-inclusive.
The "Documentation" folder in your main game directory contains more information, as well as the Wiki on storyline walkthroughs and the FAQ as accessible through the link in my signature.
It's a lot of documentation, but I agree it is confusing too. I'd like to have a proper complete and clear manual made, but that's a lot of work, we don't have the people and things keep changing all the time.

I recently rewrote the speed increase/decrease buttons, so it would be quite easy now to add more/different speed settings inbetween. Any suggestions on which ones you'd like?
I'd say maybe 1x, 3x, 10x, 20x and 30x?

I did check out the about build, which did help a lot, but it was uncompleted.

Another speed would be very good. I'm not sure, but 10x/20x/30x might be a bit much idk, I think 1x/3x/8x/16x/25x would be better. The jumps are currently too much for me.

Another thing, the whole strafe flying bug is quite frustrating. I don't remember this from when I played it years back, was surprised it was in build 13. I found it to be much more of a problem with using the wasd movement rather than the mouse movement. I'm not sure why, just how it's managed, using wasd and "flew" much more, if this bug can't be fixed, consider changing back to left/right click movements

 

[omnimirage]

I definitely agree with this suggestion. The game certainly isn't self-explanatory enough, and more detailed descriptions about storyline content, difficulty settings and character classes would greatly help new players.
For example, perhaps each storyline should have something like this:

• Description - (the current storyline description, plus any comments about gameplay, such as "This storyline contains a short tutorial")
• Status - [Complete, fully playable] OR [Work in Progress, mostly playable] OR [Not started, no quests] etc.
• Recommended Difficulty - (a suitable difficulty for the storyline, plus a descriptor like [BEGINNER], [NORMAL], [INTERMEDIATE] and [HARD] etc)
• Suitable for Free Play? - Yes/No

I think at least the above would help players decide which storylines are right for them. Any thoughts?

+1000000 perfect!

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Play as a merchantman if you want. Smuggling is riskier, but the profits are high. Or be a pirate taking what you want and giving nothing back. :2guns The choice is yours.

seems like merchantman/corsair is really the only path that actually "works" in this game. I went back to build 13, playing as a poor swordsman that made his money off killing highway man, with the idea of eventually being able to buy a ship so I can actually go pirating(had a class 7 gunship, being able to select a ship is a very good idea, having a ship with no cannons would have been even better =D) I wanted to do thieving but it didn't seem like a profitable proposition, considering the penalties of getting caught. Microing my parties inventories got quite repetitive. I eventually figured out that I could invade the fort/military zone with my 3 men and kill everyone inside relatively easily, than threaten the "nobles" and make 25k each time. I could run into the next section, have the guards called on me, kill them all, than go back into the other room, and repeat. Eventually, my army of 3 died and I was soloing, but I figured a bunch of exploits inside. I could whack a guard or two by themselves and wipe them out easily enough, they do a z backwards dodge whilst firing my 3 shot pistol, and back up to a corner, and constantly block. For some reason, one of the abilities is ridiculous, not sure if it's the same in build 14. Basically, the health regeneration is almost like a potion, I could be backed up in a corner, with 10 guys coming at me, 7 running into the backs of others and the other 3 striking at me, whilst I block and recover health with my uber health regeneration and strike at them, block and repeat. Run into new section of fort, repeat. After 8 shots of this I became quite alienated, just a ridiculous exploit.Yes, hardest difficulty, although build 14 difficulty is much higher. Nonetheless, there's tons of profit to be have by showing up on some beach with a group of men, and assassinating the nobles of the fort, it just doesn't work out properly.

??????????? Playing as an honest merchantman is the least lucrative option. In Build 13 people complained about making too much money. Some players maxed out the amount of money the game would let you have. That has happened in Build 14 also. You should try smuggling. $25.000 is chump change. Think about $500,000! )

Blocking doesn't work as well in Build 14. If I'm up against 3 opponents at once I die every time. :ixi

The strafing thing doesn't work all that well and I avoid it. You can set your controls up the way you want in POTC---->program---->controls---->defaultcontrols.h.

I only use 1X, 3X, and 10X time compression at sea and only 1X and 3X on land. Well, there is this one huge beach that I use 10X on just for fun. Anything more does not work right. The clock is off.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I did check out the about build, which did help a lot, but it was uncompleted.

Although it is not all-inclusive, it is supposed to at least be completed in Build 14 Beta 2. What do you find uncompleted about it?

Another thing, the whole strafe flying bug is quite frustrating. I don't remember this from when I played it years back, was surprised it was in build 13. I found it to be much more of a problem with using the wasd movement rather than the mouse movement. I'm not sure why, just how it's managed, using wasd and "flew" much more, if this bug can't be fixed, consider changing back to left/right click movements

Please check out FAQ on that. It's not a bug per see, it's just a limitation in the game itself. Sidestep was never in the original game, but our attempts to add it WITH collision detection have failed.

 

[omnimirage]

I did check out the about build, which did help a lot, but it was uncompleted.

Although it is not all-inclusive, it is supposed to at least be completed in Build 14 Beta 2. What do you find uncompleted about it?

Mainly the differences between the modes(realistic/arcade, difficulty settings, story-lines, classes)




I just started uni so giving games a break, but perhaps in a few months with my break I'll give build 14 another go and write my thoughts on improvement/what I like as I go

 

[Pieter Boelen]

The differences between Arcade and Realistic at least should be pretty comprehensively covered in the About Build interface.