Looking forward to it Neal!

I played my first night of the open beta last night and, at first, I wasn't sure what to think.

Let me go further and say that after playing for awhile - I got hooked and didn't want to stop. As Neal said, the sailing model isn't 100% sim but it definitely has that feel and general setup. It may not be AoS2:PB but it's closer than any other pirate game I've played including such examples as fore/aft raking, and sailing into the wind (won't stop you but damn near) along with other similar staples. Sure, it has RPG-style things added but if I wanted a sim, I'd load up the old AoS2. The sea battles are a blast, especially when you're grouped up & taking on another fleet.:up:

I think the melee system is based on a great concept but it needs a bit more work. Don't get me wrong, it works just fine that I've seen, it just needs some adjustments to keep it more interesting & varied. That being said: I do look forward to it as a change of pace from sea combat.

I've not tried any kind of crafting yet, but I like their concept of letting you build up man-hours of work while you're not playing your crafter. This might entice me to actually take crafting seriously as long as I don't have to sit and grind out a bunch of menial BS. The stuff is actually useful too.

If you're interested at all in trying this game out, I'd suggest getting your butt in gear and trying it for free while there's still a week of Open Beta. It's a 5GB download, but I'm glad I did it because I'm hooked already.

Give it a full evening's attention & make definitely don't be afraid to group up for those hard missions.

I think it should be free instead of monthly fee. Also i looked at the site and the graphics are high for me. 2.0 Pixel shader!:o thats high for a MMO!

Very good summary, I agree. I think the sailing is accelerated, concentrated, out of necessity. Not many people are going to spend an afternoon in ship combat.

Yeah, here's me, sailing my light corvette in the service of the King. Nice day for it, too...
http://www.subsim.com/ssr/pirates_bu...ea/demo2.1.jpg



And the next thing I know, two brigands are on me! I'm put gunned, but some good sailing allows me to fight and still escape.
http://www.subsim.com/ssr/pirates_bu...ea/demo2.2.jpg

That's going to take an extra coat of paint!

Pixel shader 2.0 is old nowadays - most new games need 3.0!

The game itself is fun , Ive been in the beta for awhile now and I still enjoy playing it even with the few bugs (mainly the Swashbuckling , which is being worked on for release) , Open sea sailing isnt ultra-realistic - its there to get you from point A to B, (Sailing into the wind will slow you so Tacking is useful ;) ), once your in a battle though its pretty good ,not a fullon sail simulator, (the dev's did mention that at one stage when they were thinking about the sailing option , they'd been thinking of going full on as a sim upto and including raiseing and lowering each sail individually:o ) ,but not bad, Bigger ships are a pain to try and sail close to the wind and they will stop if you turn all the way into it , throw in the current if your fighting in a current area then movement can get interesting as you try to close;).

The economy is a game all by itself , everything is player made and run , I tried it and my head wanted to explode , theres no way you can make everything you need by yourself, (The Auction House isnt one of the best Ive seen and there's noway to send items to people at the moment , so trading between individuals is a bit of a problem :cry: ), good thing about it though is I can't really see how the chinese gold farmers will be much of a problem in POTBS because they need to do to much work to make Dubloons to sell :D

As @NefariousKoel said , best way to judge is to check it out with the beta client and see what you think.

D

Ps - if you liked Sid Miers pirates then theres a chance you may enjoy this one ;)

PPs - thought I'd add some Sreenshots.

Unique fixer upper

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/7812/010rv2.th.jpg

His Majesties Frigate Bonhomme Richard

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/6...mmecip9.th.jpg

I kinda relate the economy/crafting to the Port Royale series of games. Great stuff! I usually despise crafting but even that's kind of addictive in this one, especially since hauling cargo (and the dangers involved) is part of it.

And you two! BAH! English? They outnumber all the other nation's players by 3:1 on the servers. I went with one of the underdogs: Spain! I'm even using the "Montoya Rapier" right now. Prepare to die!:rock: