Brethren of the Brick Seas (BoBS) Intro Thread, Era II

[Captain Genaro]

3 minutes ago, Bart said:

I really wonder how other fractions do that, information only for their members...

Oleon has a PM where we update the first few posts with relevant information as needed. We also use Google sheets to help keep track of faction information. 

[MKJoshA]

34 minutes ago, Flavius Gratian said:

On the question of whether the rules were clear or not, I'll just add that I always interpreted them as leadership has explained above, i.e. if you attack a non-pirate vessel your ships will become black-flagged by the game.

Which works great if you're a law abiding faction looking to be traders. For someone looking to use the black flag rules to their advantage, the rules weren't clear.

The problem is this game has evolved in countless ways to accommodate trading mechanics but in very few ways to allow the Sea Rats to balance pirate activity (the reason most join the Sea Rats) with staying alive in a game that only rewards traders.

[Bregir]

11 minutes ago, MKJoshA said:

The problem is this game has evolved in countless ways to accommodate trading mechanics but in very few ways to allow the Sea Rats to balance pirate activity (the reason most join the Sea Rats) with staying alive in a game that only rewards traders. 

I honestly think this is a misconception. You may have this impression, but I really do not think it is as bad as you think.

Could we do more for pirates in terms of options? Sure, but the same can be said for any aspect of the game.

I am looking forward to hearing more of Capt Wolf's ideas for secret coves and smuggling, but I am not sure what is currently missing for piracy to work. Hence, it is also very hard to do anything.

The black flag mechanic is something built specifically to allow piratical activity without reflecting on your faction, and bar a few misunderstandings, it seems to me to be working.

One issue is that black flag pirates seem to continue to go into ports where piracy is not welcome. And face similar fates as when non-pirate ships have "visited" Bastion.

Can we have some suggestions for what pirates should be able to do outside the current options? What rules are inhibiting for pirates?

(Keep in mind that raiding is being reviewed by the court as we speak.)

[Bart]

On 7/3/2018 at 8:55 PM, Bart said:

With the current developements of (high) taxes,

is it an idea to write smuggling into the (tmcra) game?

example on the details:
-the form works the same, with an added option to smuggle from/to, you still choose route and destination port
- the gain in smuggling is you don't pay the taxes, trade income remains the same.
- risk being caught by coastguard (if that faction/island/town has deployed any to that area), despite any setting of hostile to what ever nation, you will always be attacked by a coastguard vessel if you choose to smuggle. so you might loose your ship (or gain one :O)

you could add that smuggling is not possible with a class 4/5 and up, and/or a ship set with a very low (3 or under) manouvre stat. because setting cargo on a beach requires more steering skills then docking in port.

anyone any idea's about this?

@Bregir and/or @Capt Wolf I posted this a few pages back as an idea for smuggling, in case you missed it :)
 

[Capt Wolf]

26 minutes ago, Bart said:

I posted this a few pages back as an idea for smuggling, in case you missed it :)
 

Actually, I did miss it. Thanks!  It has some similarities to what I'm working on, and might make some parts of my idea easier.

[Mesabi]

So, I had a question about settlement trade values.

Settlement Size	Level	Number of Properties	Maximum Number of Fortresses	Mayor's Pay	Raid Worth in % of Town Bank	Trade Value Modifier	Militia Size by Crew Attribute	Natural Settlement Growth Rate
Hamlet	1	<11	1	5DB	20%	90%	0	0
Town	2	11 - 30	2	10DB	30%	80%	0	0
Large Town	4	31 - 60	3	20DB	40%	70%	1	3%
City	8	61 - 100	4	35DB	50%	60%	2	4%
Large City	16	101 - 175	5	45DB	55%	50%	4	5%
Grand City	32	176 - 300	6	60DB	60%	40%	8	6%
Capital City	64	>300	7	70DB	70%	30%	16	7%

If you look at Trade value modifier, I was wondering exactly what that meant. 

Does it mean when a ship docks, they get X% of the Settlement's worth?

Does it mean that each build added when the settlement is that size adds X% of what it would be worth to the Trade value?

Or something Else entirely?

Thanks!

Edited July 17, 2018 by Mesabi

[Captain Genaro]

48 minutes ago, Mesabi said:

If you look at Trade value modifier, I was wondering exactly what that meant. 

Each property has a base trade value that will be added to a settlement. That trade value is multiplied by the multiplier given the settlement's size when the property was licensed. As such, as settlements grow, new properties (but not existing properties) provide a diminishing return to the trade value.

 

[Mesabi]

4 minutes ago, Captain Genaro said:

Each property has a base trade value that will be added to a settlement. That trade value is multiplied by the multiplier given the settlement's size when the property was licensed. As such, as settlements grow, new properties (but not existing properties) provide a diminishing return to the trade value.

Hmmm.... I was afraid of this, as Mesabi Landing grew so fast because we actually liked to focus on settlement goals.... Meanwhile the massive Breshaun has an absurd trade value as it took so long to "level up"

I don't suppose this rule will change anytime soon? 

[Captain Genaro]

1 minute ago, Mesabi said:

I don't suppose this rule will change anytime soon? 

Don't count on it.

[Bregir]

It does seem a little gamey. In reality, all properties over parity should get the next modifier, so that it cannot be gamed. Right now, apparently, there is an advantage to hold back one type of property to avoid the next level.

But that might not be an easy fix, but should probably be on our list of wishes.

[Darnok]

I do not see a big issue with this, the idea implemented in the rules from the very start is solid in my opinion. Bigger settlements naturally come with higher trade values overall, so to keep them from skyrocketing the additional benefits get less and less with size. The difference is not massive either: the trade value a medium property adds to a "City" is 6, for a "Large City" it is 5, for a "Grand City" it is 4 - not exactly terrible changes. Simply building more stuff raises the trade value either way.

 

With all the things in the works already, and with other rules that might actually need a revision, this is nothing that should draw attention for now.

Just my 2DB of course...

Edited July 18, 2018 by Drunknok

[Legostone]

3 hours ago, Bregir said:

It does seem a little gamey. In reality, all properties over parity should get the next modifier, so that it cannot be gamed. Right now, apparently, there is an advantage to hold back one type of property to avoid the next level.

But that might not be an easy fix, but should probably be on our list of wishes.

I'm not 100% thats how it works, but I had remembered that there are basically two levels of going up a settlement level - first with the settlement size (affecting the trade value) and then parity (affecting everything else). That way no gaming the system possible there.

[Bregir]

1 hour ago, Legostone said:

I'm not 100% thats how it works, but I had remembered that there are basically two levels of going up a settlement level - first with the settlement size (affecting the trade value) and then parity (affecting everything else). That way no gaming the system possible there.

In that case, everything works as intended :)

[Capt Wolf]

A resolution to the Prio / Sea Rats conflict is in sight. See here for details.

[Bart]

Will the raiding and (land) war guidlines be available before the next mcra ?

[Bregir]

17 minutes ago, Bart said:

Will the raiding and (land) war guidlines be available before the next mcra ?

Raiding, perhaps. Land combat, no.

[Mesabi]

21 hours ago, Bregir said:

Raiding, perhaps. Land combat, no.

Looking forwards to it no matter what!

Any chance you could give us some hype? (Can we capture settlements? Will Troop Costs Change? BoBS Land Cards?)

[Bart]

47 minutes ago, Mesabi said:

(...)Can we capture settlements?(...)

or just a part of a very big settlement whose defences might be weakened due to rapid expansion 

[Bregir]

What we are looking at is raiding. Raiding is what it sounds like - raiding a settlement to steal valuables, viking style. Actually conquering and occupying a settlement is a very different task, and will not be part of these mechanics. That is part of the war mechanics.

[Darnok]

I for one welcome our new viking overlords!

[Spud The Viking]

I may have picked the right username after all.

[Roadmonkeytj]

5 hours ago, Spud The Viking said:

I may have picked the right username after all.

I fail to see how potato's have anything to do with raiding settlements ... Lmao just teasing

[KotZ]

On 7/21/2018 at 9:04 AM, Roadmonkeytj said:

I fail to see how potato's have anything to do with raiding settlements ... Lmao just teasing

Clearly they can be used as great throwing weapons or as training weapons for grenadiers.

[LM71Blackbird]

Any word on when the next MRCA will be announced? I assume the first or second week of August?

[Bregir]

2 hours ago, LM71Blackbird said:

Any word on when the next MRCA will be announced? I assume the first or second week of August?

We are holding back a bit as we are aiming at releasing raiding before the next mrca.

There are a few outstanding points, mainly related to troops, but I think you will soon hear more.