If it's too easy to make money now but wasn't in the past, the question then becomes: what has changed in later versions to make it so easy, and can we put it back the way it was?
Something which occurred to me while playing "Hornblower", where I got to the part where you're decommissioned and your crew money is set to 100 (you have no ship's money any more because you have no ship) and I laughed because I'd just dumped the whole lot into the Bridgetown loanshark before reporting to navy HQ:
Money from selling captured ships, i.e. prize money, should perhaps be reduced and then go into your personal money, not your crew money. In reality the ship would be disposed of by an admiralty court, then you, your officers and crew would get shares of the prize money as a welcome supplement to your salaries. In game the reduced percentage of ship value which you get for selling the ship represents the government getting its cut, the shipyard getting its cut, then you and your crew getting your cut. Would it be possible to then do a division of plunder with the proceeds from the sale, regardless of how you're paying the crew normally? This would apply to both naval and privateer characters. It would probably be easier to apply it to pirates as well, therefore to everyone.
Something which occurred to me while playing "Hornblower", where I got to the part where you're decommissioned and your crew money is set to 100 (you have no ship's money any more because you have no ship) and I laughed because I'd just dumped the whole lot into the Bridgetown loanshark before reporting to navy HQ:
Money from selling captured ships, i.e. prize money, should perhaps be reduced and then go into your personal money, not your crew money. In reality the ship would be disposed of by an admiralty court, then you, your officers and crew would get shares of the prize money as a welcome supplement to your salaries. In game the reduced percentage of ship value which you get for selling the ship represents the government getting its cut, the shipyard getting its cut, then you and your crew getting your cut. Would it be possible to then do a division of plunder with the proceeds from the sale, regardless of how you're paying the crew normally? This would apply to both naval and privateer characters. It would probably be easier to apply it to pirates as well, therefore to everyone.