Sea of Thieves!

I am really glad this isn’t another game with color rarities, a tacked on progression system, or Destiny-like experience. That market is well catered to already.

Listening to the Giant Bomb guys in the car this afternoon and they seemed to like what this game could be, but it sounds like it’s just the same handful of quests over and over again without any meaningful progression or PvE content? I haven’t been following this thread, are they accurate? I know a lot of times these guys get talking about a game I have been enjoying and it drives me crazy when they get basic facts wrong…

It’s a PvP pirating sandbox with a reputation system leading to a special status and missions, bounty based pve, mini pve raids likely to turn into PvP fights afterwards, cosmetic progression.

So their description sounds fair. What Rare has designed is not a game about vertical progression, but rather emergent sandbox/PvP gameplay.

If you scroll back up a bit, you will see it works for some and not at all for others.

Launch day status update:

There is no progression besides better…hats etc. that’s the problem.

Im trying to figure out why it took Rare years to make this game. it’s just paper thin in depth and content.

But yea it has a fun whimsical look, and that water…

In the “if this is such an important part of your game, why didn’t you do it right?” category, why can’t I preview all these whimsical hats and beards and whatnot on my pirate when I’m browsing in the shop?

Also, when selecting your pirate in the beginning, setting aside whether the random generation is wise at all (debatable, but I’m not totally against it), there should at least be a toggle for man or woman. And again, a closer preview, spin the pirate around, that would be helpful when you’re committing to your pirate look for life.

Just spin the pirate wheel a few times, you will get a mix of male and female avatars.

In other news…

Wow this game is divisive. The glowing Eurogamer article is above. Here is another view:

We also seem to be divided on this board.

I am firmly in the “it’s a wacky PvP sandbox with a strong theme, meant to be picked up and played in small doses.” I love the lack of vertical progression and the limited PvE, because it keeps the focus on the real content - other players.

Others have a different view. :-)

to enjoy this game fully solo, you really have to forget a bunch of stuff games have ingrained in you for decades. This will be impossible for some people to do unfortunately. Basically you are playing because the world itself entertains you and the things you do are entertaining, not to get something. This also means when the tide turns (pun intended) and you lose everything you were doing, it really doesn’t matter as much. You can still enjoy a defeat almost as much as a victory.

I honestly don’t think people know how to play a game for the gameplay itself and not for the ‘stuff’ you get and earn along the way.

I will definitely concede though that land combat feels like they missed the boat.

Sure. I understand the idea is to present you with a fun mix of possibilities without making the player waste time fiddling with a bunch of sliders.

The male/female part seems like something they could’ve included a choice for without compromising their goal of providing randomized pirates though. For some people it won’t matter at all, but this game is built heavily around voice communication, and while I’m not taking it so far as to adopt a goofy accent and start saying “yarrrr” into my mic, I do know I don’t want a female avatar with my voice. I think that’s a valid distinction from other cosmetic concerns; I’m not asking for a filter to only show me tall or short or skinny or fat pirates. That’s a slippery slope right back into full customization.

I spent 20 minutes randomizing pirates until I decided on the right one for me, and it might have cut my time in half if I could’ve limited each new lot of randomized characters to men. So instead of wasting time tweaking ear size and eyebrow angle, I’m wasting time refreshing for pirates I like when half of them are immediately ruled out.

It’s a very minor complaint, but like the lack of a preview for the cosmetic items you can purchase, it seems like a weird omission when they’re so particular about the experience they want to present.

The idea that you cannot customize your avatar for a game that focuses on cosmetic rewards… is bizarre.

“We always knew we wanted a way to get cool characters in the game without having a million sliders and toggles. A way for everyone to be able to have a cool character that represents themselves even if they’ve got no artistic skill… And I think we’ve come up with a good system.”

I don’t know if they found the right balance, but here they are explaining the goal. My complaint was that even if you’re convinced their “infinite pirate generator” random characters are the way to go, a male/female option would be a welcome bit of polish.

I agree with the male/female option definitely. I made mine and several spots taken up by females I had zero interest in. My fiancee did the same only with male. seemed like a waste.

So many people on my friend list playing, and not one of them in a party with anyone.

Same issue here. I didn’t mind in beta, but an easier way to drop in and out with friends will definitely be welcome in the full game. It’s going to be difficult joining up with Qt3 pirates otherwise.

I agree with you, and it’s sad the way games these days need to be designed to fill up progress bars. I don’t think this is a game for me, but I do find it appealing that there is no ‘grind’ here. I know I’m in the minority, but it drives me nuts when I’m expected to play a game for 10-20 hours before I’m allowed to fully experience it.

@Jason_McMaster is streaming this right now:

Soooo. My first live voyage was a roaring success. I sailed through a storm to go find a lost chest.

Upon reaching the archipelago, I raised the sails and dropped anchor nicely close to the shore.

Having fought off the skeletons and dug up a chest, I ran and swam back to my sloop.

As I tried to climb the ladder, I briefly wondered why it seemed shorter than I remembered. What are those groaning and creaking noises, I pondered.

That question was answered when I noticed the deck disappearing under water. To be followed by me, my chest and my pride. We sunk deep under water.

Moral of the story: maybe I should learn to park without making holes in my hull… :/

Follow up: think twice before letting me steer your ship. :)

Will be on around 8pst and looking for folks to hook up with. Probably invite to chat party anyone on.

nice, I’m streaming too, though currently surfing the web as my shipmate is on the phone. lol

Pity they don’t have 3 player ships yet or I’d offer to join in if you had space.

you can launch the galleon as a 3 man fwiw