Should POTCO be more realistic?

[leo]

Should POTCO have more realistic features that includes more NPCs on land working, living their lives...merchant ships on water doing their thing(that pirates can also loot)...voice effects such as quests givers also speak their quests and pirates speak their skills that currently show words in chat...and other ideas that make the game more realistic.

[Captain Sharktooth]

I agree with you that the NPC's should be doing something other than standing around. I don't have that many ideas on how to make the game more realistic but I'll say that this game should be more interactive with NPC's, since the only time we talk with them is through quests. That being said, there seems to be a limit on how much realism and features can be added, because the staff should also focus more on creating new content, because most players would prefer.... other things (story quests, weapons, etc) instead of making the NPC's more realistic. Some work should be done so the towns aren't boring.

[Slasher]

Well, this was like my Pirate Like? discussion I had on a thread. I guess that would be cool, but, if it was entirely real, it would have people getting killed, pirates chasing women, and so forth. But, the way you said, I think that would work. Also, I would like to be able to have like custom sword fighting. I know this would be hard, but doesn't everybody have a unique style? (AKA, switch foot, left handed (Like myslef) or certian strokes.) So yes. But I voted Maybe

[The Stealthy Pirate]

Maybe, but im not a fan of the Gibbs voice in the background for Bounty Hunters.

[akamystic]

I voted maybe.....I think there are other things that should be added to the game that would add more excitement.

My short list:

Ship customization
New ships
Weather (rain/storms/rough seas)

[combatlizzy]

NPC additions might be great. But, too much realism-idk. The short time I played BS, I was not a fan of the blood squirting during a sword fight. This is Disney, after all there are a mutitude of kidz that have to be considered.

[leo]

I think the game should be more realistic...This would actually also include new ships, weather, ship customization, more NPCs(working,talking, giving quests,...), Merchant ships(trading and can be looted by pirates), etc. I think it would bring life to POTCO. The content based on imagination should still be there and expanded as well. As for blood, this is a rated E game so that would be unnecessary. Also, this type of content would have to come after lag and many bugs are fixed so this is more of an idea for after months of work...

[Tiberius Fireskull]

It really depends on your definition of "realistic." Would that mean make everything in this game follow natural laws, or making things look more real? I doubt you mean it leo, but as an example, some would interpret realistic as taking away anything that cannot happen in this game, including voodoo, having enemies survive more than two bullets, etc. I personally don't think we need that kind of realism. I think what we should have, though, is things that could occur in real life happen in game, in addition to our fantasy parts.

Weather. This would have happened in reality, and would be a very good addition. Perhaps there could be a ten minute warning saying "A Class 3 storm is brewin' in The Boiling Bay! Best stay away from that area until it clears up!" There could be several classes, with the lowest being just rain and a bit of wind, and the highest being a full on hurricane with waves that can capsize your ship. As you head deeper into the area of the ocean that it is in, the storm grows more intense. Players would need to take great caution when going into the heavier storms... Oh, and maybe some maelstroms? There could also be wind that can influence your sailing. This would be quite fun to play with.

I could see them adding in Merchant ships... perhaps there could be different classes of Merchant ships, and each would have two frigates (light, regular, or war based on the size and cargo of the merchant ship) guarding it. I dunno. I'm neutral to this.

I don't really see how ship customization would make the game more realistic, other than letting people add a personal touch to how their ships look, making them all different. I still would like to see it either way. As for new ships, if they do add them in, they should be some ships that actually existed. And maybe they could look a bit more like ones in history actually did. I'll just throw this out there, but the ships we have do not look ANYTHING like ones in the 18th century did. I personally don't mind it, but it wouldn't hurt to make new ships look like they did in history.

Land combat could be improved somewhat... but there are a lot of things that are necessary to not be realistic in land combat to make this game... well, a game. Realistically, it would just take one or two hits from a sword or shots from a gun to kill someone, but it takes a lot more than that in this game. That should stay. I'd love to see a blocking feature though, where you hold down a button and you hold your sword in a guarding position and it gives an 80% chance or something to block the enemy's attacks. The longer you hold it though, and the more hits you block, the lower that percentage becomes, so you can't hold it forever. There could also be sword locks where if you and the enemy attack at the same time, your swords lock and you need to do on-screen commands, such as shaking the mouse until the meter is full, clicking fast, sort of like a Legendary Fish struggle. The same thing could be with voodoo, as voodoo locks. The person who wins the lock will deal damage to their opponent and slow them for a few seconds.

Perhaps also some physics? If I jump off a cliff and land on the ground I should take damage and get slowed. This could annoy some players but it would add to realism a bit. Maybe add some swimming endurance, so you only have so long to swim before you get exhausted and drown?

There's lots more, but I think that that would be good for now. This game cannot be completely realistic or there is a huge limit on what you can do. If it has no realism, things seem a bit crazy. There is going to end up having to be a balance. I agree that there are some things that could be added, but overall, considering this is a pirate game where we can use voodoo, it isn't too bad.

[Slasher]

Well, I know for one thing, realistically, I don't believe it sounds like a sword clashing when you slice somebody. I understand if that is off the deep end but seriously. Also, shouldn't you be able to go into the Captain's Quarters and under the ship? I mean, relating to Davy's idea with weather, you could go into the cabin and look at a map to figure out where the storms are. Also when you plunder a ship, wouldn't you take that ship, and not sink it? I mean, I understand if it was already looted or a Privateer ship, but I don't believe you just sink ships! Couldn't you make a fleet for pirates?

[Jason Bilgemart]

I voted yes.

[leo]

Davy and all with the same thought/concern, The questions says Should POTCO be more realistic meaning more and not 100% real. POTCO needs imagination and 100% realism would make it boring since a lot of content would have to be removed. So when you comment think, more realism and not 100% realism...I did provide some examples of what the questions means. You can also think of how the locations, ports... were in the movies as they show how people and pirates live...

[Chimera Doll]

I voted yes. I think it would bring the game more to life, so to speak. But even if they don't I think it's fine just the way it is for us pirates.

[Piratesonlineisfun]

I voted yes, I think it would be fun to go into the other decks of a ship and have other shipmates control the broadsides ( if anyone is not on your ship or not enough people you can control broadsides the way it is now). I also would like the ships to look more realistic, like in appearance, the galleon looks pretty realistic right now though but have a frigate look like a frigate and have a sloop look like a sloop. One more thing is to have new ships like a Ship of the Line or a Brig or Fluyt.

[ruisen2000]

I voted maybe. I think the NPC's standing around are fine. NPC's actually talking is nice, but really isn't necessary. They should really bring the small things back, like seeing the enemies on their ship (and killing them with grapeshot), shooting holes in sails, etc.

An update in graphics for the background would also be nice. Its weird to see plants that are completely flat, and gold piles that look more like yellow rocks.
And more quests......

There should also be rain. It shouldn't always be sunny....

[Captain Jason]

I'd definitely like to to see weather in this game. Especially when sailing, because they could add rough seas, thuner, rain, maybe even lightning every now and then. Much like what Davy said, I also think sailing should be more complex. For example, maybe you could have a small little object in the corner of the screen for seeing which direction the wind is blowing and how hard. You can't sail directly into the wind, and the wind is always changing. The more you turn to sail with the wind the faster you can go. Also, they should show this in the sails. The sails should show more full when it's windy, and change direction slightly when turning or when the wind changes.

NPCs, I don't really care about. I don't want to have to hunt for Gunner every time I return his rum.

I definitely miss seeing enemies and other players on ships, and holes in sails. That was really cool, and a lot more realistic. It may increase lag, but they could find a way to work around that. For example, enemies and players might not show up if your not within a certain distance.

About land, I'd like to see a way to switch between walking, running, and sprinting. (which can only be done for a short time) I don't know about drowning, but I wouldn't mind falling from high places. The only problem is that there aren't really very many high places to fall from, and most lead to water. I think the combat is fine, unless they completely change it and start over. It may not be realistic, but it doesn't need to be.

While more realism would be nice, I'd like to see more content first. Either way, I said yes. POTCO should be more realistic, but they shouldn't spend all their time worrying about it.