Here are some preliminary thoughts/notes that we can share with you.Out of these notes we can give birth to concrete suggestions that can be lined for implementation in the future.
Specialization: Special Crew
-Special Crew-
Every ship gets a number of slots that can be filled with crew members such as captain, gunner, witch doctor, carpenter etc.
Every such crew member gives a bonus move or special attribute to the ship.
Crew members can be bought or sold through a new auction market, similar to the ships market.
Crew members can perish in battle (low chance) or captured (ie alongside with the ship).
-Admirals-
The pinnacle of the special crew options could be admirals.
To aid with the increased micromanagement, we can have Admirals as special crew to help with the management of the rest of the crew and more.
Players could interact with their admirals (which will be obtained like the rest of the crew) and ask specific things from them. Like go Pirating or look for specific enemies or fleets or simply trade.
Admirals could also have skills, traits, character and could even grow to like or dislike certain PC (real) players. Their character will define their reactions when players interact with them. Their skills will define what they will be able to pull. For example, skills can be plundering, trading, skirmishing, battle tactics, etc. An admiral that does not have the plunder skill, will not be able to attack other fleets so you will not be able to request him to do so.
-Upkeep-
All special crew will have a fixed gold upkeep which will vary depending on their level, skillset and character.
Admirals will also have a percentage of earnings that their fleet earns, no matter if these earnings are the result of automatic or manual moves.
-Character-
We could put more care into every single crew so it has its own character, just like admirals. This will mean though that they will be more difficult to control.
Port Buildings: Tavern
This is a long lasting idea and we are coming closer to it than ever before. The idea is to let players control the port taverns. There are 21 ports, so there will be 21 ports for the taking. Once someone assumes the tavern control, via an open auction, he will be able to manage it or sell it again.
Tavern management could include various options. This means that it should start offering things. Ideas are that special crew hiring will have to take place through taverns. Special crew will be generated locally in each tavern and their initial stats will be relevant to the tavern "attributes". This means that crew market will not be a global market like the rest markets.
Another option we could use is to use Taverns for live bets. Live bets should be a global event, which means that every tavern will always lead to the same end but it will matter from which tavern you entered for the owner to get a fee. These live bets could be dares, such as who gets to beat a particular player or competitions like who gets to plunder more gold in x time. Once a challenge is set, the rest of the players will be able to bet on the challenge issued (participants excluded).
Once we have IC expansion, we could add a lot more options.
Till then, as all the above ideas are based on non-existent features, we could also have Tavern owners releasing their own gambling games. Players will play these games and the tavern owner will get to profit or lose through there. At the beginning, we could have some simple games, like roulette, dies and wheel of fortune. Simple games where the player will pick a bet based on the max pot offered by the tavern owner and will try out his luck.
Port Buildings: Estate
The idea of owning Taverns and in general owning shops and more in every port is something we find a very interesting addition to the game. DevWise, it is something that will balance the game beyond belief. One of such buildings could be your own estate. Soon we will have Plantations though and many of you will face economic disaster (
) but some other may become even richer ( 
). Therefore, we need gold sinks that create no further wealth. What is better than your own estate?Estate will be money hungry but it will also be a symbol of your power. Here are some ideas:
-Beautiful graphics, ordered just for this feature, just to ensure you will have something to show off not only to the rest of the players but also to these real life friends of yours that simple "can't get this game".
-Ability to buy as many acres as you wish, out of the port finite capacity. Who bothers if other players want them for Plantations? You are the richer, so you can have them to stroll a walk or simply put gardens.
-The estate size,location,setup will be visible by everyone.
-There will be no direct bonuses up front but later we could link it somehow with political power bonuses.
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These should do for now. Feel free to expand and add your own. Once Plantations are over, one of these might be pushed up in priorities.
Bermuda
