In one of the responses it was mentioned that the idea for a fishing vessel had been introduced in the game in the past and had been shot down. It was also mentioned that introducing fishing in general to the game had come to be seen as a mistake that could not be easily reversed.
If that be the case, and the option of adding fishing vessels to the game is indeed dead in the water, then I have a second proposal to make.
It is, I warn you, a bit more complex and would potentially change certain aspects of current game play, but I humbly submit the idea non-the less.
Why am I taking the time to do this, some of you may ask?
Because fishing in Avenmora feels down-right UN-natural!
Merchant trade ships were never made for setting nets and hauling fish to market! If they could speak they would say it is well beneath their dignity to be used in such a manner... They were made for the high seas and and chasing the horizon- and whatever lay beyond!
Not fish!!!
It cannot be denied that fishing is a significant part of Avenmora's culture, however.
The ideas I offer therefore are with the intention of making fishing more natural, and de-emphasizing the focus on it with regard to ships and merchant trade and such.
I offer for discussion the suggestion of adding Fisheries to the game.
Fisheries would be purchased at each port just like a warehouse is purchased, but at much higher initial cost.
The purpose of the fishery would be to provide food, which could be sold at the local port for cash or stored in the player's warehouse (assuming they owned one at that port).
If a player is responsible for providing food for plantation workers in the future, then building a fishery at the port where a plantation is owned may be one of the ways they can help keep their warehouse stocked.
A player would manage each of their fisheries in the following manner:
- -A level one fishery would have X slots for fishing boats.
-Fishing boats of varying sizes and efficiencies could be purchased, but the larger the boat, the more number of slots it takes up at the fishery.
-Leveling up the fishery increases the number of slots available for boats.
-Boats that could be purchased would be such as in line with the ships I offered in the previous post, which can be read here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3766 Other ships could also be created to vary the options.
-Ships for the fishery would be built through the shipwright at the port where the fishery is located, and then sent to the fishery to be put to work. Fishing vessels could not be placed into merchant fleets.
-No fishing vessels would show up on plunder screens, and only whalers would show up on skirmish screens as described at the link above.
--Leveling up a fishery would become expensive fairly quickly, so much so that large fisheries would be owned by only those who were willing to make a significant investment in them. Profits from smaller fisheries would be no where near to being on par with even one average trade route, but a player that invested in several fisheries and leveled them up several times should experience comfortable profits in the early game. I would envision that a player could become a fishing tycoon if they wanted to make that their main income, but it should take time and resources, and be something that only the most committed players could achieve.
--Food produced through fisheries could play a part in population growth dynamics. Excess food production at a port leads to lower food sale values, and an increase in population growth. Ports where famine is being experienced would place a much higher value on food, and it would be in the players interest to transport food from their warehouse stocks to the port in need. Fisheries at the port in famine would also experience a boom in profits.
In this scenario, food itself would no longer be sold at the three ports where it is currently offered. Food would become a common product at each port, just as gold is available at each port, and the production of food could be tied to port population growth dynamics. It would have higher value in some ports than in others, and players that want to trade in food resources would purchase food from one port where it is abundant, and sell at another port where there is need.
In place of food at the three ports where it is currently available, I would suggest coal be added as a new trade resource in the game. It could have particular value at the ports selling iron, as coal is a fuel would be consumed firing the furnaces that smelt the ore.
There is much more that could be offered, but this will do for now. If there is any interest in discussing the issue further, it has many possibilities.
I would like to see fishing put in its proper place though, one way or the other. It belongs in the world of Avenmora, but not in trade vessels on the high seas.
Unless its a whaler loaded down with ambergris... Those would be pirate gold.
Respectfully submitted...
~TH~
I'm a sucker for punishment I guess
