Official Thread Sea of Thieves - Private Game Session's Coming
- Thread starter MosquitoSmasher
- Start date
Should be in the ‘wheel’ of options, if that’s what you are referring to...?
BTW I stole this from a guy in ResetEra, but I tend to agree:
“I'm super impressed with the game design aspects of this game. It's very clear that RARE wanted an ambitious, yet not all that well defined general 'experience' and they went back to the drawing board to create mechanics centered entirely around promoting that experience, even throwing out decades of 'conventional design wisdom' and genre trends that have gradually undermined a lot of modern titles over the years. The way they use maps, even voyages themselves serving as real world items that ppl literally bring to the table to vote on is not only super creative, but straight up brilliant game design. Yes, there needs to be more content but the core of the experience looks sooooo damn solid and well conceived. Most AAA games today don't really provide an interesting, unique core experience like SoT does.
Even the most mundane voyage becomes memorable and emergent. I did the lamest sounding quest imaginable last night...go to nearby island, kill evil skeleton Captain, return. But in the process, I ventured to the island, explored to find where the target was said to be last seen at, bested him in a sword fight after blowing all my bullets on his minions, took his whispering/cursed skull back to my ship, and set off to return it to the quest giver. Of course, I got lost on the high seas in the process and sailed my one man ship through a crazy storm, got struck twice by lighting (not my boat, *I* got struck by lighting) doing so. The storm severely reduced visibility so I was pretty stressed trying to navigate out of it since running aground can easily mean losing your ship. After 15 mins of stress induced maneuvering I emerged from the storm and as luck would have it, the island I found through the rain/waves/lighting/darkness was none other than the island that I got the quest from in the first place.
This should not have been a memorable quest on its face, based on the years and years of conditioning from other rpg/adventure game experiences I've had. But when you keep players actually engaged with the audiovisuals being presented, with the context of their current quest, with the mechanics utilized to make it to the quest location in one piece...that comes together in a truly special way here. And I was playing solo, mind you.”
Yeah. I was going solo and when I looked in the wheel i didn't see the map to mark anything.
You have to get your first map from a trading company at an outpost now. The first one is “free”. You use the gold you earn from the quest to purchase the others so you can level up and get more difficult ones.
This game is much better when playing with someone. Even one extra person makes a big difference.
My buddy and I were making our way to a second island for the second half of the quest we were on. We had a chest on board and we saw a ship coming on our side. They fired on us, but we didn't want to engage since we had treasure already. We angled towards a storm and while my buddy steered, I angled the sails to get the most wind. I also had to run around and patch a hole that the other ship made before we got in front of them. So I was running up to re-angle the sails, running down to bail some water, running back up to re-angle the sale, etc. The other side wasnt angling their sails and we lost them around an island and left them in the dust.
Can't do that with just one person.
My buddy and I were making our way to a second island for the second half of the quest we were on. We had a chest on board and we saw a ship coming on our side. They fired on us, but we didn't want to engage since we had treasure already. We angled towards a storm and while my buddy steered, I angled the sails to get the most wind. I also had to run around and patch a hole that the other ship made before we got in front of them. So I was running up to re-angle the sails, running down to bail some water, running back up to re-angle the sale, etc. The other side wasnt angling their sails and we lost them around an island and left them in the dust.
Can't do that with just one person.
The emergent game play in this game is AMAZING! I do hope that they give us lots to do because I can see my buds and I playing this for a long timr
Spent too much of my time playing today, lol. I was playing solo and a two man crew came along and sunk my ship. Before it went down, I discreetly jumped of the other side when they couldn’t see me. I swam over to their ship when they came to a stop by the island, climbed up, and I could hear them talking about their victory over the proximity channel. I snuck up behind the wheel man and killed him before he had a chance. He was so surprised and screaming for help, lol. His buddy came up the steps just in time for a shot from my rifle. While they were dead, I drug their ship along the rocky shoreline. They got back just in time to see it sinking. Mwhahahahaha!
Yeah, it really is. In fact, I'm noticing gamers telling whole stories about their experience within games like PUBG and SoT. I don't think I've seen it like this before. Very impressive.
That sounds really fun. If this turns out to be a great co-op time like running squads in PUBG and having funny and intense moments then this will be right up my alley.
Had fun tonight playing. I went solo last time, so I decided to go with a crew of 4 this time. It matched me with a crew of French speaking dudes. They were very polite and could speak enough English, so I just let it roll and tried not to get too much in their way, since they seemed like they knew what they were doing. I was learning by following them around, but I was helping them find the map locations, plug the holes in the ship, fire the cannons, etc. We managed to do a couple successful missions, only to lose our booty to some ravegers who sank our vessel. We then did a successful mission, took down another aggressive ship in the process, and went to the port with the loot. It was pretty cool.
Overall, the game is very well conceived. I just still hope that the final game has a bit more "human" NPCs and stuff to find that is different than what we have seen so far. It does seem very likely for it to expand, and how in the world is it still in an alpha build, anyway? Isn't the game supposed to be out in March? That's three months away! Does anyone think that they are purposely using an older build for just checking player connectivity issues, but hiding content from say, a much more recent build of the game? Just an idea.
Damn, the water is gorgeous!
Overall, the game is very well conceived. I just still hope that the final game has a bit more "human" NPCs and stuff to find that is different than what we have seen so far. It does seem very likely for it to expand, and how in the world is it still in an alpha build, anyway? Isn't the game supposed to be out in March? That's three months away! Does anyone think that they are purposely using an older build for just checking player connectivity issues, but hiding content from say, a much more recent build of the game? Just an idea.
Damn, the water is gorgeous!
Played a few solo and 2 four man crews. Everyone has been super cool.
Yesterday, we were basically tailing another ship for about an hour. We'd get up close and trade cannon balls; only to lose them again. Then we'd track them down and do it all over again. Here's a nerdy reference, but it felt like the old Wrath of Kahn battle in the nebula.
I've really liked what I play. I think my concern is the same with everybody else; hoping there will be more stuff to do. I'm sure the beta will probably reveal some more of that content.
Yesterday, we were basically tailing another ship for about an hour. We'd get up close and trade cannon balls; only to lose them again. Then we'd track them down and do it all over again. Here's a nerdy reference, but it felt like the old Wrath of Kahn battle in the nebula.
I've really liked what I play. I think my concern is the same with everybody else; hoping there will be more stuff to do. I'm sure the beta will probably reveal some more of that content.
I have a few questions some of which might be stupid for guys that have played this.
Do you use your compass on the ship to find islands or does the game help you get to your objective?
How big is this game? Reason I ask this is because I saw a video where a guy was explaining that he and his mates were giving chase to a boat that stole their treasure while they were on an island. He said they were chasing them for a long time cause day turned to night.
Is there progression and is it deep?
Do you use your compass on the ship to find islands or does the game help you get to your objective?
How big is this game? Reason I ask this is because I saw a video where a guy was explaining that he and his mates were giving chase to a boat that stole their treasure while they were on an island. He said they were chasing them for a long time cause day turned to night.
Is there progression and is it deep?
It's a combination of both really. Sometimes the quest names the island, sometimes it is just an overview of the island and you have to find it on the world map to know where you are going, and other times it involves riddles to solve. The world is a pretty decent size, but other factors influence travel time. Are you sailing with the wind or against it? Do you have to adjust your course for land masses, storms, or other pirates? The alpha has just started progression really, so it is there but not very deep right now. The potential is there for sure.
Did the hour chase feel too long? I can see that getting tiresome after the first one or two chases.
the Alpha has been fun, I'm playing it on xbox 1x, but having now seen that progression video I'm actually more excited for the game. I noticed a lot of little touches and "things to come" which should open the game up a bit. Heck just taking trade contracts, and having to capture wildlife, looks like it could be a whole career path in itself. The game has a definite charm even in its barren state. I'm hoping to see lots of NPC characters in the towns, with interactions such as sharing rumors that can lead to new quests, more discoverable things to do while simply exploring (hinted at in the video, especially the diving part). It could use a bit more of that old Sid Meier's Pirates feel in the towns. There could be voyages and quests for all kinds of things, like winning the governor's daughter's favor, finding an ancient ruin, native-themed relics and treasure, skirmishes against an ongoing nemesis, mercenary contracts, etc.
Played the alpha for 4 hours last night. My first time playing.
What a game. What a f***ing game. I didn't do any quests, i just like sailing on the ocean. The game had me in stitches when I saw another ship, i pull up alongside to say hello, foolishly thinking "Hey can i join your crew?" and take a cannon to the face knocking me into the water, not to be taken lightly I get back on my boat and turn hard a port and unleash a cannonball, they miss, i didn't. Hard a starboard and i get a second shot in. 4 vs 1. Can I do this?
3rd time i pulled a battleship and pulled a hard turn by dropping anchor, i get my shot but they f***ing pounded me with 4 shots, i try to reload but i can't hold the cannon any more, why? Turns out my hull is breached in several places and the ship is half underwater. I quickly climb to the crows nest hoping to pull a Jack Sparrow and leap onto their ship, half way up it goes full TITANIC and the nest starts pitching into the water. I'll never let go Jack.
I hear over the mic "Where are they? Where are they? Did they sink?"...Well the boat did a******, im climbing up their ladder and stab captain dickhead in the back, but crewmate #2 shoots me in the face with a blunderbuss.
This game is as much fun to lose as it is to win. Day 1.
Also i would expect the final game to be much bigger. The Alpha is huge and its only a 6GB install.
What a game. What a f***ing game. I didn't do any quests, i just like sailing on the ocean. The game had me in stitches when I saw another ship, i pull up alongside to say hello, foolishly thinking "Hey can i join your crew?" and take a cannon to the face knocking me into the water, not to be taken lightly I get back on my boat and turn hard a port and unleash a cannonball, they miss, i didn't. Hard a starboard and i get a second shot in. 4 vs 1. Can I do this?
3rd time i pulled a battleship and pulled a hard turn by dropping anchor, i get my shot but they f***ing pounded me with 4 shots, i try to reload but i can't hold the cannon any more, why? Turns out my hull is breached in several places and the ship is half underwater. I quickly climb to the crows nest hoping to pull a Jack Sparrow and leap onto their ship, half way up it goes full TITANIC and the nest starts pitching into the water. I'll never let go Jack.
I hear over the mic "Where are they? Where are they? Did they sink?"...Well the boat did a******, im climbing up their ladder and stab captain dickhead in the back, but crewmate #2 shoots me in the face with a blunderbuss.
This game is as much fun to lose as it is to win. Day 1.
Also i would expect the final game to be much bigger. The Alpha is huge and its only a 6GB install.
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Loving everything I’m hearing including the unique progression system. I like that progression is about access to different missions rather than leveling up. Like that you can take friends on missions that they don’t otherwise have access to. This will encourage new players to team up with experienced players long term. It will make it exciting for newer players as well.
Oh yeah, I forgot that the download was only 6GB. It's crazy how vast the alpha version feels, especially for the measly install size.
Really looking forward to the fully fleshed out version on release.
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Good stuff. And they said GaaS or games lacking story aren't good for us. These are the kind of stories you can expect with games like Sea of Thieves and PUBG. Make your own story. Loving it.
This is like a lost future, with this game. Dating back from Phantasy Star Online, I guess I just figured we would be getting more AAA team-based online adventure games all of the time. The feeling of this genre is completely unique, but SoT does remind me of a better-conceived PSO with pirates and open seas. I'm kind of shocked that Microsoft took a chance on letting Rare do something so different than what everyone else is doing. If this is GaaS, then it's GaaS done right.