Ship Configuration Profiles

[Xepshunall]

I was wondering, if it isn't too much trouble, could you create a ship configuration profile list that works something like the friends list so that a list of options would pop up and a player could create a group of quick reconfiguration standards based on a player's preferences.

For example:
I just built a new trade fleet that I want to send on a trade route between port A and port B.
I already have several fleets on this trade route and would like to have the ships of my new fleet set up just like the others.
In this case I would assign a name to a standard configuration such as "LM A-B".
In "LM A-B" I would have each ship in the fleet hire exactly X crew members and buy P cannons and have my attributes assigned to aspects as follows:
Q attributes assigned to aspect 1
W attributes assigned to aspect 2
E attributes assigned to aspect 3
R attributes assigned to aspect 4
T attributes assigned to aspect 5
Y attributes assigned to aspect 6

In "SL A-D" I would have each ship in the fleet hire exactly Z crew members and buy F cannons and have my attributes assigned to aspects as follows:
Y attributes assigned to aspect 1
T attributes assigned to aspect 2
R attributes assigned to aspect 3
E attributes assigned to aspect 4
W attributes assigned to aspect 5
Q attributes assigned to aspect 6

This would also allow a player to do the following:

1. Quickly change the number of crew and cannons to facilitate a change in mission parameters.

2. Cut down the amount of data transfer on the server that happens when a player builds a fleet and prepares it for it's maiden voyage or assigns it a new mission.

As it stands, I already go over my data plan limit and, to be completely honest, most of that is from playing Pirates Glory. If I am not using as much bandwidth then neither are you.

[John rackham]

This would certainly add flexibility to trading patterns. Being able to set an entire fleet to a pre-defined configuration in one go would encourage players with numbers of fleets to switch trade routes which at the moment is extremely fiddly and time-consuming. At the moment I rarely if ever bother due to the work involved.

As the game evolves towards more varied ship builds and mission types this would be very useful.

[Xepshunall]

I removed what was here because it was confusing. Sorry.

[Captain Jack]

Just saying, have you been using the Previous | Next Ship options ?

[Captain dungeness]

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT SUGGESTION!

Xepshunall, I really like how you described how it would work. For me it is impossible to change around my trade fleets regularly. Even if I wanted to change only the crew it takes a long time and with many useless clicks. If there were presets for Trade Route A, Trade Route B, Trade Route C..... and Combat 1, Combat 2...... then I can make adjustments to each fleet type by changing the preset rather than each individual ship.

One little thing I would like to add is the ability to terminate multiple trade routes at once. Right now you can only select one trade route to change/terminate at a time. I have used the next ship button while assigning points to ships in a fleet but it still takes a while.

Thanks for reading these comments, Captain Jack.

-Captain D

[Xepshunall]

Just saying, have you been using the Previous | Next Ship options ?

Yes. And I have to say it has helped but even so, you seem to have plans in the works that will make this presets idea a necessity.

I really appreciate Capt. Dungeness' point that there is a need to have an option to stop multiple trade routes at one time to allow for the presets to be applied more readily.

The ability to unload all ships in port to the warehouse, in one action, immediately after stopping multiple trade routes is a key to the success of the reconfiguration and reassignment process. Especially if the cargo I am carrying is the same as that being produced in the next port that I am headed to. The ability to sell all freight in port is a good ability to have when Tidal Wave brings a ship with cargo that can't be used for building. The transfer all to warehouse option would be even more efficient because it would give a player a chance to look at the cargo at his convenience to decide what he wants to keep or sell.

This whole process could be achieved in just a few page loads as apposed to:
Two or more page loads per fleet to to stop a single fleet from trading plus accessing the page to begin this process
Two page loads per ship to change the number of crew plus accessing the page to begin this process
Two page loads per ship to add or remove cannons plus accessing the page to begin this process
Ten page loads per fleet to remove the cargo to the warehouse plus accessing the page to begin this process

I haven't invested the time to determine if there is much more work than this but this should be enough to show that, in a game that will require shifts in trade routes and between trade and combat for some fleets, there must be a more efficient way to facilitated these changes. I would say that the game doesn't need more things to do quite as much as it needs an easier way to do things.

[Xepshunall]

Is this really a dead issue? Can it really be that the majority of players want to click the Upgrade button 5 times and wait each time for the page to reload? Is it really true that the majority of players want to add a specific number of partial crew to each ship separately?

I know that I am parent to only one player who, by the way, might as well be deleted because he can't remember his obscure email address. So I have no place being disappointed in the lack of participation, by the players,in the area of game design ideas. Maybe it's the guilds that let us down by not putting the word out an announcement that the developers want our ideas. After all, who is going to be looking for a way to make things better? It is human nature (or am I confusing us with sheep?) to just follow along and keep our ideas to ourselves.

Somebody has to let everybody know that this game is under constant reconfiguration and that even the newest and youngest of us can contribute to the enjoyment of us all. We were already given the ability to build societies among ourselves and to impose rules and codes of conduct on the members of those societies. We are even working to find more ways to reward members of those societies for being valued members. Why not show the members how valued they are by letting them know that their ideas may have the power to change this little world that has grown, in part, due to input from the individuals who have sought to eek out a meager existence here.

The idea brought up in this post is a very worthy one and is not being given proper attention because it seems to only be reaching a small audience. Some players have slow connections due to their locations or budgets or whatever. I have tried to help those players, the ones who are impatient or lazy, and the developers (by reducing bandwidth usage). Somehow all of these potential beneficiaries have not been promised a better future in this area because they just don't know enough to make a remark here.

Could it be that you are not putting the word out to the people because you want the control for yourself? Knowledge is power. Let the members of your guilds know that they can lend their power to this game and put it in a league with some of the greatest online RPGs ever played. I spread the word about Pirates Glory to truck drivers that I meet. This is right up our alley if we can find the time but it takes too much bandwidth to play so I feel responsible to let them know that they should not play if their phone plan is the main source of their internet connections. That will not change if the other players are not expressing similar concerns. They may not understand that they can change the world unless you tell them.

I don't want to have to post to this topic continuously just because the rest of you have given up on improving your experiences here. Of course I will if it is needed to keep this topic alive until it is given proper attention. Think about what is best for your players. If you are as selfish as your nature tries to make you, then think about your success when your guild needs to get moving faster. What help is a member to his guild if he can't even get his fleets set up for their trade missions so that some day he may have the war fleets that his guild needs to hold back opposition. My mother-in-law still uses dial-up internet. How do you think you would do in building and configuring your fleets if you were playing at her house and she was streaming a video from the internet? There are those playing who don't have the means to provide fast service or whose parents don't see the need for it. Are you going to let them down?

What kind of people are you?

[Xepshunall]

I get the feeling that this idea is going to have to come from someone else before it gets the attention it deserves.

[Captain Jack]

First of all, and this goes for all ideas; be patient. We are very happy to hear suggestions but even if we agree to a suggestion, it does not mean that we will implement it right away.

Especially for complex ideas, more patience is needed. I have not posted again in this idea for two primary reasons:

First of all, it stumbles with something that is not yet available which is attribute points redistribution.
This is not a small thing, to be able to reconfigure your ship is a big advantage. This has been mentioned before and a card that would do this has been suggested. If we are to futurely add pre-defined setup plans, the re-distribution should never be a card but something that will cost gold.

Another important aspect to take in mind is that the ship entity is at large unfinished. There are already open topics which explain that ships are going to need extra characteristics in order to make battles more interesting.

Both are important and both will need to be finalized before attempting to implement something like pre-define setup plans. It would mean double or triple the work in different situation as we would need to reconfigure the script for each new ship addition and such ship additions are imminent.

[Xepshunall]

I appreciate the explanation. I wasn't expecting the other changes you have in mind. I can see how the complexities of each could create script conflicts if this were implemented before that. Thanks for answering my concern.