Why yes, I am that kind of customer.
Given the nature of this thread, and knowing you developers have no time to waste, I filtered my suggestions in two sensible categories: conveniences and additions.
I know it’s early, very much so, and I understand this might appear like I’m pretending to know the draft better than its writer. Yet, I myself find others’ brainstorms quite useful at times; therefore, have mine!
[color=#FFFFFF]Conveniences[/color]
1. Hotkeys for the Gazetteer.
1 for the first option, 2 for the second one and so on. RPG style. Hotkeys for everything would eventually be nice (cards, fuel boosting and docking are just some examples), but the Gazetteer can prove to be quite grindy-sh. This is a problem FL also has but, with limited actions, it isn’t as big as an hassle there. For example, take carousing the Docks when your terror scratched the Neath’s roof. Or the Scholar when you just returned from an unbelievably lucky expedition. Or the Admiral when you’ve got reports from half the Zee. Or an Official when you just had a supposedly "skilled" game of chess.
2. Minor collisions shouldn’t stop your ship, only slow it down.
It doesn’t feel right at all. If steaming at full throttle I scratch the side of my hull on a reef, I don’t expect my engines to die and my momentum to get instantly lost. I did hear you say your boats are supposed to handle as boats as much as cars in GTA handle as cars: then let us stroke the coast in an attempt to dodge out of the way of those pesky Khanate Warships! These sons of rats have blades (I say: blades!) protruding from their decks!
3. Defeated ships could be stripped down to repair yours.
We have zailors cannibalizing each others, you can even [color=#1F1F1F]turn tomb colonists into supplies[/color], but why can’t ships cannibalize each other? I can see that being the most convenient and cheap (yet risky) way to get some nifty repairs. Maybe a certain level in Iron or a skilled enough engineer should be required.
4. There could be an option to automatically dock whenever possible.
I don’t know about you zailors out there but, when I enter port, it’s always to dock. It’s not exactly a waste of time, although getting an option to have that button pressed for you would no doubt be quite nice. Maybe it could trigger only once the boat hits the quayside: whatever works for you.
5. You could have an affair with one of your own officers.
Some of them look rather fascinating. I don’t see why not.
6. Different deaths could mean different things.
If you die ashore (happened to me twice), you could be given the option to start as the same captain, losing only what your ship had - most echoes included. Or, if you are killed by Dreadnaughts, you could restart having your old bandaged self as an Officer, whose bonuses could depend on your previous past or your begone abilities.
7. You could adjust the amount of prize crew you send back port.
There could be three amounts: bare (1 in the case of the pirate steamship), decent (hence the standard 3) and worthy (5, the maximum). More crew would mean higher chances of making it to port, and bigger boats will of course mean even higher chances. The bigger the stake, the higher the chance of winning it.
[color=#FFFFFF]Additions[/color]
8. Some flavor events could have minor in-game effects.
For example, approaching the Tomb Colonies or the Iron Republic could give you 1 terror while approaching London could remove some of it (of course, the latter should only work once a trip, and be reset only once you actually undock from London again)
9. Neutral ships and monsters could also be a thing.
Imperial frigates. Giant turtles. Mind-bogglingly slow cruisers. A crew of pirates stranded on an algae raft. They could all lead to interesting choices (with uncertain outcomes!) and shape a reputation, if that’s something you’re planning to implement.
10. AIs could have specific habits.
Packs of megalops could migrate further in the Zee. Pirates could, lights turned off, patiently prepare ambushes in strategic passages. Ships could be travelling from docks to docks (maybe taking some fancy paths), resting in one from time to time. Monsters of all kinds could occasionally hunt each other, given the natural and human instinct of showing the Neath who the boss really is down here.
11. Relevant cards could be drawn during combat.
Maybe your enemy is so battered he wants to surrender. Maybe you see your opportunity to do so. Maybe you realize that the monster is pregnant (a weak point!) or that it may have a baby following it (a live specimen!). Maybe it’s something so risky and spooky that only FB’s perverted Victorian Minds could ever conceive it.
12. Officers could also improve their own skills.
For example: an officer that would normally give you a +6 +3 bonus straight away would instead give only a +5 +2 bonus at first; once you provide them with certain increasingly exotic objects (the Genial Magician comes to mind) that bonus would rise, maybe up to +7 +4 or even more.
13. You could swap your ship for a defeated yet afloat one.
That would also mean that you could savage or send back as a prize your previous ship. And, it could also change your faction… if that kind of liberty is ever given. Anyway, this is something I personally really look forward to. Other than determining the storage, there isn’t much to do per se before allowing the player to take over a carefully won vessel… I almost wish I could code that in myself.
…And that is that! For now.
[color=#1F1F1F]_
I’ve been experimenting with formatting …and stuff. You shouldn’t be reading this.
edited by Xaphedo on 5/5/2014