[TheBrauerHour]

Originally Posted by Nell Quick

Pirates of the Burning Sea - Again, I've never played it - it's not released - so I can't say whether it's a good game or not. But the basic concept seems to me to be essentially flawed. After all, the simple fact is that everyone wants to be Jack Sparrow, or an appropriate female equivalent. Don't they? Isn't that what pirate games are for? Even before we met Jack Sparrow, isn't it true that we all had the swaggering, swashbuckling and FUN pirate captain archetype in mind when we played the older titles? So create a massively multiplayer environment involving pirates and watch everyone trying to be the same person. I predict it's going to be like Star Wars Galaxies when they made Jedi a choice you could pick at the start instead of having to work towards it. There was no motivation for people to be anything else - after all, aren't the Jedi the epitome of cool? So what's the motivation going to be in PotBS for anyone to try to be anything other than their Inner Jack Sparrow?

So, the perfect pirate game:

• Sea graphics from Silent Hunter 4 (fewer submarines, more galleons)
• Play area is accurate Caribbean map, not fictional area (hell, while we're at it, why not throw in the whole world? Flight Sim can do it, after all, and there was plenty of piracy and nautical goings-on in other regions, too)
• Sailing and combat model along lines of PotC but more simulator than arcade game - can sail between ports either on map screen or standing on the deck of your ship
• Detailed character generation including name, appearance, clothing and background selection
• Can customise ship with flags, sails, paintwork, ornaments, etc
• Freeform, open-ended play with no set scenarios or time limits
• Ability to create pirate hideouts, manage crew, bury and recover treasure, etc - also, can take crew ashore, set up camps, villages etc, hunt, ambush enemies...
• Side missions and questlines available if wanted - missions detailed but randomly generated
• Boarding action more detailed: equip your crew for the assault, then board, and play out RTS-style engagement (maybe pause to give orders; jump into an individual and fight in first-person at will)
• Assault forts and towns, or sneak in, with similar RTS-style approach
• Complex diplomacy with governors, who have individual personalities - some open to bribes, some fiercely opposed to pirates, etc.

I could go on, but I've just realised how long I've already been going. Sorry about that. Still, if anyone out there planning a new pirate game reads this, I think you could do worse than incorporate some of these ideas...

Man, wow, you are way off on your assumption of PoTBS. As you say you have yet to play, so who would blame you. But I would like to point out that, in fact, the PoTBS community (yes there are thousands of us and game isn't even released) is very against the Jack Sparrow wannabe crowd. If that is what you want to try and be, then go ahead noone is going to stop you, but you can also be a cutthroat Pirate that gives no quarter or a Naval officer in the true spirit of a Lucky Jack Aubrey. The game allows you to choose the following career paths: Merchant, Naval Officer, Privateer, or Pirate. Inside those roles you can truly go whichever way you choose for your character.

I recommend everyone that is for the 'dream list' up there for a Pirate game take a look at PoTBS. Look at the video, yes, but also take a look at the forums and see how dedicated and good the developers are. That is a point that should have been on that list of yours. The devs have made the community a part of the game even before release, and they have made sure they will be there to support the heck out of it after release. The forums also contain, in the devs own words, the fact that almost all of your requirements for a 'good pirate game' are already going to be in PoTBS.

Ok enough talk, now go check it out, join the forums and say hey!

http://www.burningsea.com/pages/page.php?pageKey=home

http://www.flyinglab.com/forums/index.php