Author Topic: Ideas & bugs (Read 5823 times)

jakal323 · « **Reply #40 on:** January 03, 2011, 03:15:25 PM »

Quote from: dallimar on December 31, 2010, 05:14:49 PM

Something just doesn't seem right about that. Once you've lost sails and rigging how can you turn to aim?

Warping - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warping_%28sailing%29 (though, you've got to be a pretty stone cold MF to do that in a one on one slugfest). That could be modeled in-game (if it isn't already). Once your rigging and sails are zeroed, your gunnery gains a huge penalty. It would make sense.

Faldrax · « **Reply #41 on:** January 10, 2011, 02:52:17 PM »

Master Cook
I have noticed that once you have a Master Cook the price of food doubles - as per the help (he insists on the best).
However, the Sell price of food also doubles. Regardless of it being food your cook selected, or whatever you happened to grab from that ship you just looted...

Since I got a cook (admittedly only on Adventurer level) I went for several years only ever selling food, as I would get more than enough to feed the crew from my victims!

Should having a Master Cook mean you get less food from loot (as he discards anything he won't use)?
Or is it already doing that and I haven't noticed?

Ship Improvements
Why do shipyards loose the ability to add improvements?
Would it be more interesting if each improvement was only available from a limited number of shipyards (which would grow as the game progressed, and some shipyards might have more than one)? This might mean you had to 'sneak in' to an otherwise hostile port to get the upgrade you needed?

New Ships
Again, this appears to be currently random what is available.
Should it be that each shipyard has a list of designs it can build, from which it might have something available when you visit, OR you could order a new ship (for a suitable down-payment) to be collected a few months later - perhaps with improvements 'pre-installed'?

MicaByte · « **Reply #42 on:** January 10, 2011, 10:13:44 PM »

@Dalimar:
The game should already take into account the loss of rigging and sails when fighting - your chances of hitting with cannon should be severely decreased. I shall check the code to verify that this is working correctly.

@Faldrax:
Huh. I was pretty sure I checked the Master Cook only increased the purchase price. I must have missed that one.

Shipyards have their improvements assigned randomly. This does mean that as you get more improvements on your ship, the odds of a shipyard getting an improvement that you do not already have decreases. Shipyards are scheduled for a significant overhaul in a future update, though, which should help fix both the issues that you mention.

Faldrax · « **Reply #43 on:** February 08, 2011, 12:22:18 AM »

Running version 1.4.3 and noticed that occasionally when I capture ships and go to take the cargo that it is not all listed in the cargo screen.
IE The summary will say, for example, Cargo 30/60, but there is only 20 cargo in the detail screen, and when I've transferred that to my ship it will still show 10/60, but nothing is left to take?

I also find that sometimes I fire on ships when I want to simply avoid them when trying to gain distance - could we have an option to try distance without firing - I'm assuming that out sailing patrol ships does less (or no) damage to reputation compared to shooting them!

bones · « **Reply #44 on:** February 09, 2011, 01:13:00 AM »

In v.1.4.3 when I say double or nothing for a cargo job and the merchant agrees, the amount offered doesn't actually double.

Faldrax · « **Reply #45 on:** February 09, 2011, 02:50:14 PM »

Another little bug spotted.

Offered a smuggling mission, and the payment was to be {3}

(I accepted, and when completed was paid 1600).

MicaByte · « **Reply #46 on:** February 14, 2011, 09:48:51 PM »

Thanks for the bug reports guys. Very irritated (with myself) that I have allowed these bugs to creep into the game engine while I've been working on 1.5.0. My apologies - both for the bugs, and my late response (I've been a bit busy lately).

I am working on restructuring parts of the engine for 1.5, which is what has delayed the latest update - I plan for the next release to be the early version of the 1.5 engine ( without any major new features ), so that I do not have to maintain two sets of code. Once the restructure is complete, I will roll out a bunch of new features and major bug fixes.

Thanks for your patience.

Faldrax · « **Reply #47 on:** February 16, 2011, 12:22:05 AM »

No problem, I earn my living as a software engineer, so know all about the ease at which bugs can creep into code, and the need to restructure sections from time to time.

destruya · « **Reply #48 on:** March 18, 2011, 04:00:27 AM »

It might be an idea for a harder difficulty level, but once you've stolen a flag, war, or treasure galleon, there really should be future consequences to that.

Case in point, right now if I "appropriate" a Treasure Galleon for myself, as soon as I get it fully upgraded I've more or less won the game and might as well start over. To compound those issues, so long as I'm not currently an enemy to the Spanish crown, I can sail that "appropriated" Treasure Galleon right back into the port it just left/was arriving to and just so long as I pay a pittance in doubloons to the governor for stealing the time-equivalent of an aircraft carrier, all is right and good in the world.

My idea is this: if you steal a large warship or treasure galleon - undeniably a state asset - you will randomly get engaged by warships of an appropriate type (i.e. not sloops of war) trying to take it back from you. This would include not only the power the ship was stolen from, but others as well (including fellow pirates). They won't try to *sink* you, they will merely attempt to disable and board you as to capture the ship. This might very well make it more attractive simply to *loot* treasure galleons at higher difficulties over simply taking them and making the rest of the game from that point on a cakewalk. It'd also give people a reason to put skillpoints into fencing. =/

Also, while we're on the subject of the "big boys" of P&T - the Spanish Flag Galleon really should have super-buffed hull, sail, and rigging options to make it far more attractive as a straight-on warship. Nerf the cargo down to 45-50, but the FG really should be the bruiser, but right now a Treasure Galleon is still the "best" ship all-around.

Faldrax · « **Reply #49 on:** March 18, 2011, 01:17:01 PM »

destruya's post prompted me to look again at the list of ships - and checking on my current game it appears to be incorrect - have the ships been modified and the doc not updated?

My Large Frigate has a Cargo of 60, for example, rather than the quoted 50.

destruya · « **Reply #50 on:** March 19, 2011, 07:48:43 AM »

Another idea related to the last:

Add a "Condemned" status on higher levels of difficulty whereby if captured by a power that has you set as such, the only chance of escaping the hangman or firing squad is your Cunning pool and a skill roll for an escape attempt. To further ratchet up the difficulty, if another power is allied to the one who has labeled you condemned, there's a random chance of you being caught and held by the authorities in one of their ports and either having to fight your way out of being captured or pay an extremely large bribe for them to look the other way. There should also be an option that you come up against a Dudley Do-Right who will give you no option *other* than to fight your way out.

bones · « **Reply #51 on:** March 21, 2011, 10:17:57 PM »

A couple of issues in 1.4.9:
i. During a native attack the native canoes cannot be found.
ii. What's with Treasure Galleons full of sugar!?! There seems to be some sort of bug here. - LOOKS TO BE FIXED IN 4.10.
iii. Occasional weird behaviour on resuming game. I can't reproduce it but occasionally I'll leave off a game and return to find it's 1st Jan 1600 and all my skill levels are 2. - DEFINITE WEIRDNESS STILL IN 4.10
iv. The bug whereby you can't double down for a smuggling or freight mission is still present. - FIXED IN 4.10.
Keep up the great work!

Faldrax · « **Reply #52 on:** March 22, 2011, 10:55:39 AM »

Quote from: bones on March 21, 2011, 10:17:57 PM

iii. Occasional weird behaviour on resuming game. I can't reproduce it but occasionally I'll leave off a game and return to find it's 1st Jan 1600 and all my skill levels are 2.

I had something similar happen to me - I'd been wandering about (peacefully trading) in a Treasure Galleon waiting for a (Large) Frigate to become available - got a large Frigate, decide it was time to engage in a little piracy, checked my Pirate Status and discovered everyone was at peace, had I had no letters of marque (previously British & French Admirals!)
Unsure when it happened, as had played a few times without checking the relevant screens.

MicaByte · « **Reply #53 on:** March 22, 2011, 08:45:52 PM »

A lot of questions and suggestions here, so bear with me (or mention it) if I don't cover everything.

Greater consequences for attacking nations: this is going to be added in a (hopefully not too distant) update. I'll be looking at increasing the "compensation" payments based on difficulty levels. And Pirate hunters (i.e., warships that are sent out to hunt down the player) are also a planned feature. In addition, now that there are individually named governors (who are basically individual characters), the plan is to add much more "personal" interaction - i.e., personal loyalties in addition to diplomatic status. Also, anti-piracy governors.

Flag Galleon vs Treasure Galleon; I'll look at the ship balance.

Ship list should be updated now. Thanks for mentioning that.

An additional "threat" status at higher levels. Sounds like a good idea. I'll definitely consider it.

MicaByte · « **Reply #54 on:** March 22, 2011, 08:50:53 PM »

@bones:
i. Looking into this.
ii. Bug which should be fixed in 1.4.10 (I think - I note this in the change notes, though - doh)! Treasure ships should of course always carry some gems (though they can also carry other historically valuable goods, such as sugar).
iii. If you get a savegame of this kind, please send it to me. I've heard of this problem several times, but unfortunately I have no idea how it happens. My current guess is that it has to do with your phone reclaiming memory due to having placed the game in background, and the game subsequently not being able to recover from that reset.
iv. Should be fixed in 1.4.10.

destruya · « **Reply #55 on:** March 23, 2011, 07:50:13 AM »

One other idea that might not be doable:

For the players who really want to be the most hunted/dangerous pirate in the world, there really needs to be a "secret" pirate island (*don't* call it Shipwreck Cove) located in one of the open sea areas (make the location random in each game despite there being only three possibilities for its location), and you have to search for it (your success should depend upon a sailing and cunning roll, and whether or not you have a Master Pilot or not), and once you DO find the island, you're given one of two options - pay a large one-time "entry fee" to be able to use the facilities, or prove your "badassedness" by fighting your way in and earning respect (and negative attention) of others.

Give it the most lucrative tavern in the game, full of appropriately-difficult and well-paying smuggling and "kill" missions. The Merchant in such a place should charge an high premium for consumables and a better-than-average wage for imports, but the area should always be replete with commodities such as weapons. The shipyard, being the only place a condemned pirate could go to get full repairs done without risking death, should charge an accordingly-high premium, and while more expensive, cannon should always be in large supply, as well as maybe a new (and expensive) upgrade or two that can *only* be done at that particular shipyard. Two ideas would be Chinese Gunpowder (gives the guns harder hitting power) and Giant Grog Barrels (makes the men more far more happy/efficient at everything for the cost of 10% cargo space). The "Governor" of such a place should undoubtedly be someone more powerful/popular/dangerous than you, which gives you the chance at an "endgame" scenario to take control of such a place *from* him.

Axle · « **Reply #56 on:** March 28, 2011, 11:23:10 PM »

The F.A.Q. says I have 1.4.9, but there isn't an update available for me to download. Was the F.A.Q. text just not updated? I got the app through the Amazon Appstore, if that matters. So keep in mind that my comments may be a version behind, because I can't tell for sure which one I have.

Bugs:

- When I negotiate for double pay on a job, it doesn't actually double the number.
- Sometimes I have captured ships that are carrying more cargo than they can hold. I've noticed this most when attacking Treasure Galleons, sometimes they have 130/100 cargo. What's up with that?

Suggestions:

- I think it should be possible for your reputation to go in a positive direction from "harmless". I'd like for being a reliable trader who doesn't attack pirates to have at least *some* advantages. As it is, it's almost impossible to make decent money just trading. Maybe as you gain a reputation for completing missions on time, the missions you find offer you more money for completion?
- What about adding the option to conquer ports for other countries? Not everyone feels patriotic, and I like the idea of being the ultimate mercenary pirate, going around conquering cities for multiple countries.

Faldrax · « **Reply #57 on:** March 30, 2011, 01:39:08 PM »

Do your actions influence the political relationships between countries?

For example, if you are a British Flag Admiral, with Britain and Spain at peace, does your continued attacks on Spanish shipping, plundering of Spanish Ports, etc, make it more likely for Britain and Spain to go to War?

MicaByte · « **Reply #58 on:** March 30, 2011, 10:53:55 PM »

Quote from: Axle on March 28, 2011, 11:23:10 PM

The F.A.Q. says I have 1.4.9, but there isn't an update available for me to download. Was the F.A.Q. text just not updated? I got the app through the Amazon Appstore, if that matters.

Amazon verify all apps that are submitted to them, including updates. This is a good thing in terms of preventing fraudulent developers from distributing dangerous apps, but it has the consequence that updates can be a bit slow.

Quote

- When I negotiate for double pay on a job, it doesn't actually double the number.

This should be fixed in 1.4.10.

- Sometimes I have captured ships that are carrying more cargo than they can hold. I've noticed this most when attacking Treasure Galleons, sometimes they have 130/100 cargo. What's up with that?

Suggestions:

Quote

- I think it should be possible for your reputation to go in a positive direction from "harmless". I'd like for being a reliable trader who doesn't attack pirates to have at least *some* advantages. As it is, it's almost impossible to make decent money just trading. Maybe as you gain a reputation for completing missions on time, the missions you find offer you more money for completion?

One of the changes that I am hoping to implement this year is the addition of new factions to the game - including non-national factions. One such faction would be the merchants guild that appears in a couple of the missions, and the idea would be for the player to be able to gain rank and reputation within the guild to parallel the more warlike approach.

Quote

- What about adding the option to conquer ports for other countries? Not everyone feels patriotic, and I like the idea of being the ultimate mercenary pirate, going around conquering cities for multiple countries.

The battle module is scheduled for an overhaul.

@destruya:
The plans for additional factions will open up for potential pirate havens.

@Faldrax:
Actions do not currently influence political relationships. It is intended that they should, though.

bones · « **Reply #59 on:** April 11, 2011, 03:17:32 PM »

Both these bugs still present in 1.4.13:

Tells me latest version of Gold is 1.4.10 but that I have 1.4.11, so not sure which one it is. Anyway, two bugs:

i) In Swashbuckler mode the latest change to steeply raise the price of pardons seems to work for a bit - costs 6400 rather than 400 for your basic pass - but then inexplicably reverts back to 400. Not sure but perhaps this relates to how the game keeps state: I think the new amounts are going away after I switch to another app and then come back to the game.

ii) Ongoing, major issues with Autosave. If I start a game, play a bit, switch to another app and then come back to Pirates & Traders, I'm back at 1 Jan 1650. I have to exit out and resume my game from the saved games window under the Start Game button option. And even then, the log for my ongoing game will have been wiped clean of everything but the initial entry.

Thanks. Hope these are helpful.