[CaptainMurphy]

Heart-pounding naval combat with wooden ships and iron men! Take command of your ship and crew to sail into battle with iconic ships from the golden age of sail. Balance your offence and defense to outlast, dismast, sink, board, and plunder your enemies. Challenge your friends in thrilling smoke filled multiplayer battles or sail solo in missions to challenge your command skills. Become a Pirate Lord in the Brethren of the Coast or hunt down your nations enemies as the Captain of a Ship of the Line. Earn your Letters of Marque and start your voyage, if you dare.

Take part in large scale battles in both multiplayer and single player naval combat that spans the golden age of sail. Sail iconic ships and lead your crew in sinking, capturing, plundering, and razing enemy ships for King and Country or for your own personal wealth. "Raise the Black" against merchant ships or seize cargo for your nation is varied multiplayer battles that will test your abilities as a Captain, or lead your squadron and test your abilities as a Commodore as well. Manage officers, crew, and specialists to give your ship an advantage in situations and train and keep your crew alive to make sure your veterans can train the latest recruits. Balanced gameplay will give your decisions weight in the fray. Rush in and rely on your heavy armored Ship of the Line or slowly pick at the enemy from afar with your light and fast Schooner. Your play style can be as varied as you want.

 

Quick synopsis: Letters of Marque is a multiplayer and single player game that is designed to allow the player to test their crew management and ship handling skills in challenging, dynamic missions and environments. Players will be in 3rd person control of their ship with 1st person views over the guns when needing precision firing control. The play will revolve around players earning/purchasing Letters of Marque to be able to play as certain countries in later matches. It will offer variable realism levels from an arcade type feel to a more realistic and challenging historical mode. We are planning to even recreate some historical battles for players to take part in and change history!

 

Game format: Multiplayer and Single player. Game style ranging from arcade to historical based on each game that is hosted.

Gameplay Basics: Players take part in single or multiplayer battles by taking direct control over a ship of their choosing (earned through gameplay). If a player is able to board and capture a ship on the enemy team they will earn their team Gold (plus a bonus for himself) and get XP for himself. Gold is divided at the end of the mission among players that are still in the server. Players start with the ability to play as 2 starting nations with the ability to purchase a Letter of Marque to play as other nations.

 

Game Currency: Players complete missions to earn Gold and Reputation XP. Gold is used mostly for ship/player upgrades that are akin to tangible items. Reputation XP is used in two ways, the first is a currency version that allows XP earned in missions to be ‘spent’ on skills or crew updates while the overall XP earned is used to track the player’s ‘rank’, which is used to determine what class of ships a player can use for that nation. Reputation XP is specific to a nation and does not carry over to a new nation when a player purchases a Letter of Marque. The Reputation XP starts over with that nation with a base amount.

Goals of Gameplay: Players will be challenged to complete specific goals as part of their team in a cooperative method. One player in the team will be elected as the Commodore and be able to give orders to their team, with bonuses earned in XP or Gold for completion of those orders. The XP is used to add specific skills to your player skills set and to 'purchase' crew and ship upgrades that are consumable (ammo, shot, injured/killed crew, damaged ship components). Gold can be used to add special upgrades to the ships such as hull upgrades, sail changes, gun upgrades/sizes, and crew boarding advantages. Players also manage how their crew is set up to maximize their play style.

 

Major Game Mechanics:

Sailing - Done in a third person view. Players in arcade mode have a HUD available to maximize wind usage, players in Historical games must use flags and other wind indicators for their apparent wind. Sailing skills of the player can affect the speed of actions, as well as the number of 'sailor' crew that are on board. More sailors means the actions will complete faster or more efficiently so ships will accelerate faster and change sails quicker. Turning will also improve as the sailors count or skill increases.

Battle - Players can fire cannons using third person view or switch to a 1st person type view looking over the area that the guns cover for more precision. Players have control over the different batteries on board separately and can manage them individually to change the shot type (double shot, single shot, bombs, hot shot, grapeshot, knipple), elevation set, and powder charges used. Ships have the ability to take damage from 4 quadrants with each quadrant able to be upgraded with components that can increase the 'armor' rating to stop shot from penetrating. Each armor quadrant can be damaged and depleted so players have to keep track of how much damage each side is taking to keep too many shots from getting through. Guns also can be damaged or destroyed once an armor rating has dropped sufficiently. Battle skills of the player affect reload speeds, accuracy, and timing of the guns (broadside effectiveness) as well as the number/skill of 'Gunner' crew type on board. If a player's ship is sunk or captured in a battle then the player has a cooldown time before (typically) respawning at the spawn point that is designated in the mission. Some historical missions will allow the player to assume control of an AI ship that is part of the fleet instead. If there are no AI ships left or respawn tickets left then the player becomes an observer for the remainder of the match.

Boarding - Players set up their crew with a third type of crew called 'Marines' that are the boarding/repelling specialists. A player can capture a ship that has not struck their colors by grappling the ship and bringing it along side. Be aware that the battle continues around the player while grappling and a grapple must be 'cut away' before it a ship is free to move again. Marines specialize in repelling/boarding, and Sailors and Gunners can repel boarders just not as effectively as Marines, and both can be augmented by optional items like boarding nets. Ships that have lost morale will strike their colors and Marines can board by using launches from the player's ship. Beware, launches can be destroyed while in transit so don't send them from too far away. They are slow and vulnerable. Once a ship is captured it is given a prize crew and the player can then give it simple orders to follow. If the captured ship survives to the end of the level then the player is given a lions share of the prize money with the rest divided up among the other remaining players.

 

Upgrades and Addons: Ships and players can be upgraded with bonus items.

Player Skills (Costs XP): A player earns 'reputation points' (XP) by surviving battles and damaging/sinking/capturing enemy ships. Rep points can be used to increase a player's skill level in certain areas such as gunnery, sailing, boarding, or command. These player skills are locked to the nation under which they are earned. Certain nations will have special skill sets that are limited to that one nation.

Player Addons (Costs Gold): Players will have the ability to upgrade their avatar with better equipment like clothing, hats, boots, weapons, etc that will have an effect on their stats. COLLECT THOSE HATS!!! Addons stay with the player across all nations/ships.

Crew Skills (Costs XP): Players can 'teach' their crew new skills by purchasing certain skillsets. Crew skills are limited to the nation that the player purchased them under.

Crew Upgrades (Costs Gold): Upgraded boarding equipment, better training, higher level crew can all be purchased with Gold for the ship that is outfitted. Crew upgrades are limited to the ship that is upgraded with them.

Officers (Costs Rep XP and Gold): Officers are a consumable item that assist the player in increasing the speed of actions taken on board and increasing the morale of the crew during battle. If an officer is killed in battle they will not be available after that mission and must be replaced. Ships only have limited officer slots that can be filled. The more missions an officer survives the better their rating gets and increases bonuses in battle.

Ship Upgrades (Costs Gold): Ships can hold a number of upgrades for battle. A ship has a limited amount of free weight available and upgrades, crew, and consumables like ammo will take this weight. If a player is planning to be a fast boarding vessel then the crew may be filled with more Marines and Sailors and less Gunners. Upgrades like increased hull plating will add weight that will slow a ship down, while lighter sails will remove weight but reduce the damage resistance of the sails. Each upgrade set is unique to each ship so that a player can tailor their ship for the play style they want to do. Fast boarders, slow damage tanks, long range harassers, and more can be done through the upgrades system.

New Ships (Costs Gold and XP): Players will be able to use their gold to purchase access to new ships for a nation. The new ship will be completely un-rigged and must be set up by the player with crew, upgrades, consumables, officers, etc. A player can only purchase a ship if their current reputation and rank are high enough to captain that ship. Outfitting a ship is expensive so prepare to have a lot of Gold on hand to complete the process.

Consumables (Costs Gold or XP): These are things like gun/swords for boarding, cannon shot, gunpowder, rations/rum (morale), launches, and spare components for repairs.

Missions: Different nations will have access to different missions. A mission can be done with a mixture of AI and Players if there are not enough players to fill out the team. Certain missions may also have AI mixed in as a normal part of the mission (escort and protect, for instance). The mission parameters will vary from being an out-and-out brawl to being a speed and control set. Capture and hold, king of the hill, escort and protect, and more. Historical missions will be designed to replicate real world battles including the location and weather conditions throughout the battle.

Weather/Time: Most dynamic missions will have the option to vary the weather conditions and time that the battle takes place. Having linstock guns won't be good when fighting under gale conditions and fighting in high heat or extreme cold will exhaust your crews faster so plan your actions accordingly. Losing crew overboard can have a drastic effect on morale so try to keep your major sail changes to a minimum in heavy seas. Don't forget that running a lot of sail under high winds can damage your rigging to the point of dismasting so be careful of your orders and watch your rigging for damage indicators.

Damage Model: Ships have a single 'health' component that indicates the current status of the inside of the ship. In order for this to be reduced, opposing players have to damage the outside of another ship (armor) to the point that their shot will go through. For upgraded or larger guns this will be easier but for lighter guns it may take several broadsides to knock the armor down enough to begin to damage the internals of the ship. Once the health begins to drop the crew will begin to lose morale and take casualties much faster. Hot shot can start random fires that damage armor and internal components and can even cause magazine explosions if not caught in time. Flooding will have to be managed through crew interaction. Different shot types will cause different damage at different rates.

Hull Planking/Plating/Armor: A player can upgrade their ship with better hull components or plating/planking to help reduce the amount of damage done by enemy shot. Armor is tracked per quadrant and is non-replenishable in battle. A player will have to manage and mitigate their armor loss during a battle by not keeping the same side of their ship exposed to the enemy.

Damage Control: Players can assign Sailors to be part of Damage Control teams that will manage flooding, fires, and repairs. As a ship floods it will slow down and begin to list so be sure to keep your DC teams topped off to make repairs as quick as possible. A player can also use a special command to send all sailors and gunners into firefighting mode as this is a critical component in Damage Control. During this action all other activities like sail changes and gunnery will cease until ordered to resume or the fires are stopped.

Rigging: A rig can be damaged and destroyed using any ammunition type. Certain shots will do more damage to different components.

Crew: A player can use special shot and ship upgrades to devastate the enemy crew prior to boarding. Arming Marines with upgrade muskets can increase enemy casualties quicker. Grape shot can be used to sweep the decks of enemies to reduce their crew effectiveness and possibly drop the morale enough to cause them to strike their colors. Be quick to board, however, as an enemy captain or officer can rally the crew back into battle over time.

 

How much will it cost?

Cheap. Like ridiculously so. Current estimates are around the $15 mark. There will be a free version available for players to try out that has a level cap per nation. You can continue to earn rep for that nation but will not be able to captain higher level ships. You can still take part in all battles like normal and will not be restricted on what else you can do. Paid players will also get the ability to sync their profile to an online system that will allow them to play on multiple computers using the same profile. Also, there will be no DRM that limits the player in how many machines they can play on, just how many of their profile that can be online at a time.

How can I help?

The initial battle system is nearly working with the ability to join online games coming very soon. The detail levels of the models and assets are fairly low (similar to PotC levels) and we could really use some help getting some ships into the game. The ship model setups are very similar to the Akella games in that the rigging is separate and uses markers to generate the components in the correct places. What we would love to do is allow modelers to features their ship models in the game. We are willing to take existing models (with the author’s permission) and re-texture them to a higher level, but are also willing to pay modelers for their license to use the asset as long as it meets our minimum level of detail and configuration. If you are interested in offering a model then contact us through PM here or by sending an email to support@wolfpackgames.co and we can get the details about model setup there. We CANNOT use reskinned/slightly modified Akella models due to licensing concerns so the model should be owned by you and built from scratch. You will also get a chance to use your model in game with a free license to the game for each model you submit that we can use (including pre-alpha and above access). Payment will depend on the model detail and usability, as well as how much work will be involved to convert it to the game standards. Detailed ship models range from $10-99 on most 3D model sites so we are easily willing to offer top dollar for good detail and usable models. If you are offering a license to use an existing model that is PotC/AoP ready then we will start at the free license price range and work up from there depending on what you are willing to complete on it. Any models submitted will be credited to the original artist and each model will have a credits/contact button that players can click to link to any additional info/sites that you want to be visited. We want to give as much credit as possible to artists for their hard work and skills in the craft.

Testers will also be allowed as well as artwork that folks want to submit.

When will it be available?

Current plans are for an pre-alpha release with basic gameplay in ~2 months (Q3 2015). After that will be the ability for upgrades and addons, crew management, and some advanced damage control to round out the Alpha stage in another ~2-3 months (Q4 2015). Beta stage is expected to take a good bit to finalize the networking and distribution channels as well as get the marketing into full effect with finalized UI and gameplay mechanics taking around 3 months more. All times are subject to changes due to development hurdles but we anticipate no major issues.

Are you going to make it into DLC heaven?

No. In our opinion splitting up a multiplayer game into DLC is akin to pay-to-win games and we do not want that at all. We have several additional changes that are planned for the post-release game including increasing ship details, changes to the water systems, better weather, and adding ships/upgrades/locations/missions. However, none of those additions are going to cost end users a single dime.

Will I be able to Mod the base game?

Modding has been discussed and will not be available for the initial game release but is on the roadmap for much later releases. We hope to have so much content in the game initially that modding will be done in-house by adding new ships, locations, upgrades, and more at a sufficient pace to keep players excited to play. If modding is allowed we have to determine the correct way to manage it so that it does not cause any issues with the balance of the online play. More than likely modding will be restricted to privately hosted servers so that clients can all match in their mod base.

I think that wraps up the basics. If you have further questions or comments post them here or contact us at support@wolfpackgames.co and you can visit our new website and forums at www.wolfpackgames.co, follow us @wolfpackgamesco on Twitter, or visit us over at IndieDB.