Answers now (I have shortened them, as the initial post was a complete essay - please request details where you need such):
-There will be no limit in how many fleets one can use. We will require 5 ships per fleet though. I have added this to the first post.
-There will be no cost when adding a fleet. Perhaps we could add a turns cost but we will avoid this for now.
-I have added in the first post that non-participants will not be allowed to use fleet/ship voodoo against fleets in the blockade. I also excluded Swarm of Worms effects on blockade ships. So as Haron states, we merely speak only for the Kraken and Fire Ships.
-Leviathan is a tough call. If we allow this beast to roam, then it should go in the same list.
On the winning/engaging fleets issue:
Revision: Blockade Success Condition
Blockade is successful if attacking fleets are more than defending fleets and defenders have less than 5 fleets standing (This has been updated to the first post, we are awaiting your feedback)
This defeats most of the problems that were raised. Keep in mind that the winning side will get danger on their fleets, so adding a lot of fleets comes with its costs anyway.
The number of 5 fleets standing is not coincidental. We came down to this after some simulations. It gets real hard to get below 5 fleets in just 4 rounds, this is why 5 is our choice.
Here is a simulation to see what I mean:
Round 1: 100 Fleets vs 100 Fleets
Round 1 result: 60 Attacking Fleets win
Round 2: 40 Fleets vs 40 fleets with 20 attacking fleets resting
Round 2 result: 25 attacking fleets win
Round 3: 15 fleets vs 15 fleets with 35 attacking fleets resting
Round 3 result: 8 Attacking Fleets win
Round 4: 7 Attacking Fleets against 7 Defending fleets.
Round 4 result: At least 2 defending fleets remain.
Let me also underline some perks currently active:
-Attacker chooses his suitable timezone, so at the last 4 hours he will be around to add more fleets if needed.
-Allowing the defender to make a last stand in case things go really bad for him, adds excitement to the feature. It is not as strong as it may seem though as a side that has been left unchallenged for so long, will fully utilize the +15% health bonus/hour.
-I really like this idea by Meliva:
"The first round is random, then the 2nd round will be the victors of the first round will always be matched against a victor on the other side as the top priority"
Keep in mind that we can keep such as fleet options with % success and/or future specialization
Another idea that we had for the same issue, is that victorious fleets (those by far) will have a chance to fight another battle in the same round. This can again be either bestowed by specialization or improved through specialization (this can be a tech, techs are a form of specialization).
Such ideas, if they do not make it at version 1.0 (they may make it), they can always be used later. We can tweak victory conditions again later, once such ideas are incorporated. To be sincere, we would prefer total anihilation of one side to grant the victory so such ideas, that also include specialization sound very attractive.
The idea of having a fleet fight 1 battle per hour, is first and foremost because we want to incorporate the value of 2 fleets against 1 fleet. This one fleet might be better from both other 2 fleets but it still it is reasonable to need 2 hours to send them to sea bottom. In the mechanics proposed, thanks to the repair bonus on sit, we also incorporate the logical advantage that more ships give.
Moving on to the rest of questions/issues:
-There are plenty of MoWs out there with more coming out from newcomers. If you don't have one, perhaps it is time you start planning how to get one.
SoLs will anyway come out in more masses for this feature. It is MoWs that also need to come out.-During Blockade resolution (lasts 24hours), you will be able to remove the fleets from the blockade. Once you do, you will be able to repair them again etc. The reason we will not allow automatic removal right away, is that this will make the whole feature very time pressing. We want players to put the fleets in the blockade and then go to sleep. Then once they are awake, they will be able to take their fleets out and deal with any danger that their fleets might have.
Given the chance, let me tell that we want PG to be a game where battle takes place when both sides of a friction,are conducting this when they are online. This is a real plague, that often goes unoticed, that most massively online games have. By nature, it is easier to beat someone when he sleeps. In PG, we are trying to make it as even as possible. We will never make it perfect but there can be improvement.
-In the above sense, nothing can happen instantly on this feature. It is a feature that will create the most massively playing part of the game, so far. The less demand it has for activity and specific timing, the merrier.
Closing up
-The first post has been revised with new accepted/suggested elements as discussed till this point. The easiest way to keep up is of course to read my whole post. Or at least the point that interested you before my post.
-You should not worry too much about the delay. The best thing we can do, is to have defined features, ready for coding. The hard part, is the design part. The part where the feature has everything defined. Then, the coding part is only a matter of time. I am saying only because design is also a matter of inspiration/creativity and inspiration/creativity does not always come along in a defined time window.
So, I would say that we are currently in an excellent state. We got 3 major features that are semi defined. Diplomacy one has little things left to define. Honor System mostly, it is small but tough. Then, Blockades currently have the upper hand over Plantations. Simply because Plantations are so massive as a feature. They require a base that is in existent. They require graphics. They have undefined formulas that are hard to define. There are many depending features. It's a massive one.
Blockades at the other hand, are again a major feature but much more defined. We have no formulas to define, no special graphics. No special base is required and the depending features are less. Perhaps the most challenging part of them, is their place on the interactive map later. But that's later, an interactive map problem. They also are a better feature to add as V2.0 than Plantations as the players that are not currently playing PG, will be interested to come and see how Blockades are scripted.
Sure though,the best would be that Plantations should follow right after Blockades, perhaps with only a few weeks in separation. Our objective is to make all these currently under discussion (Diplomacy,Blockades,Plantations) within 2017. This prerequisites that some parts of the less important diplomacy feature will pushed back for implementation after Plantations and you should be aware of this. Parts like Tribute,etc can all come in the CommonWealth System expansion.
This should not sound bad though. When it comes to major features (and Diplomacy is one of them), you can expect several expansions (Although Diplomacy should be regarded as an expansion to Nations Control feature).
