Why no Discussion about Buccaneers DLC?

[Dray Prescot]

I think that access and use of the Buccaneers DLC has been fixed. Yet I see no no discussion about how players are experiencing it. Why Not?

[FiatLux]

Originally posted by Dray Prescot:

Yet I see no no discussion about how players are experiencing it. Why Not?

This made me smile , you do not 'discuss how you are experiencing it yourself' in this post , you apparently wants others to do so so that you can read it instead !

You could have started a discussion by stating some opinions yourself .

Otherwise , the way I experience the Steam Port Royale 4 forum then for 'starting posts' it's not a place that people go and post when they are happy with something , it appears as used almost only for complaining !
(Of course , people also go her to give help in one way or another or to give opinions )(You yourself appear to be good at that yourself , along with e.g. Tanitha and others , I simply can not remember all all the time ! )

[ManWithTheHat]

I'm not sure, but I think the technical problems overshadowed the actual experience of playing the new DLC. But I can start:

I think the art-style of this game is absolutely gorgeous and the loading screen, the new flags and the new architecture for the buccaneer starting town are nice additions to this. Love to see it.

Playing the new game mode was, I thought, a fun experience. The way you can start with a convoy of small fast pirate ships and exchange it for bigger ones as you board them. The focus on combat can grant you bursts of large sums of cash, and the 75 % reduction in sailor costs really makes a difference. This mode feels faster, in accumulation of money, captain experience and fame points.

One thing I really like about this DLC, is that you can now get random combat missions from towns. These missions can spawn in both the regular and buccaneer mode.

On the negative side, it's a really small DLC. it doesn't feature any new ships and it doesn't change the combat in any way. All the characters have the same bonuses in buccaneer mode. The tech tree is unchanged.

So in conclusion: I like the new mode, it feels like a faster more action oriented way to play. But I would have liked to see more changes and additions. I hope for more dlc's in the future.

[jonnin]

The DLC seems fun. Its just combat heavy, if you set traders to have combat ships, then its the same old trick of boarding ships and selling the ships for money (+ cargo from piracy) and you get rich at a rate that is almost game breaking. With the surplus cash you can build your QA ship and start capturing mil convoys, building up a fleet and then capture towns, and eventually take over the world.
The dark side is quicker and easier for sure. I have not taken over the world yet or gotten close to declare myself a country, but in like 30 min I was ready to start capturing towns.

If you set it so convoys are not protected, its a lot slower -- you steal a few goods here and there, and end up wanting to supplement income and growth with trade and businesses (you can skip both with the military approach). It takes a lot longer to get to the same place (able to take towns etc).

The DLC was cheap so its hard to complain, but honestly the difference in the new mode and before is 95% just the way fame is handled. And, fame is really not much use beyond getting ships and the country perks (lower left area) -- I don't care if I can make luxury goods as a pirate and I for sure won't be buying fame ships. Shipyard is handy but you start with one, so meh. Its cool, and its what many people asked for, but at the same time, the game is very similar to normal mode apart from fame generation...

[Deschamps]

Originally posted by Dray Prescot:

I think that access and use of the Buccaneers DLC has been fixed. Yet I see no no discussion about how players are experiencing it. Why Not?

Well. I only bought this dlc bearing in mind to support the developers. No more interest in the game beyond the intention for a new and better tittle in this series. In fact, I've not played PR4 from months ago.


ps/ nice to see you again, Dray.

[Dray Prescot]

I am not interested in playing as a Pirate/Buccaneer, so I was wondering how it was going for the Players who do want to play that way?

[Saulius]

Originally posted by jonnin:

the game is very similar to normal mode apart from fame generation...

Could anyone to explain how fame works in the DLC. Please.
I hope I can give another try to the game.
I didn't play game since beta. Uncontrollable fame grind system in this game is too much for me. I know I can game it, but it feels so silly to enjoy the game. Because I can control things I prefer to play Pat 4, PR 3, RoV over PR 4 fame grind.
I didn't review game yet, I don't want to be negative - PR 4 is quite good game, I can't be positive as well because of fame.

[ManWithTheHat]

Originally posted by Saulius:

Originally posted by jonnin:

the game is very similar to normal mode apart from fame generation...

Could anyone to explain how fame works in the DLC. Please.
I hope I can give another try to the game.
I didn't play game since beta. Uncontrollable fame grind system in this game is too much for me. I know I can game it, but it feels so silly to enjoy the game. Because I can control things I prefer to play Pat 4, PR 3, RoV over PR 4 fame grind.
I didn't review game yet, I don't want to be negative - PR 4 is quite good game, I can't be positive as well because of fame.

In the buccaneer mode you always have a letter of marque for all other nations (you cannot fight your own nation) and the player is always at war with every other nation, even if your nation is at peace with them. So every time you plunder or fight some convoy you get fame. There are still random quests from cities, but they are combat oriented, for example: plunder 10 tons of tabbaco from the dutch/ defeat a given privateer/plunder city x etc.

You also get some combat missions from your viceroy - getting a request to take over a city is the only way to get control of a new city in this mode.

[jonnin]

^^
Its the same fame tree as before, but now the only thing you really 'need' are a few captain licenses, and the rest is just 'nice'. I would get 4 captain license, then get your nation's special perks if you want them, and then the shipyard if you want it, and call it good at that point. Making luxury goods (the other 2/3 of the fame tree) is not as useful in this mode.

[Saulius]

Thank you guys.
Do fame requirements for a fame point increasing mindlessly like in the base game? For example I remember I did need around 2000 fame for a fame point and game offered for me quests for just 20-30 fame. With colonial comodities I could make 1-200 (don't recall exactly) fame. It's senseless grind, feels like punishment.

[ManWithTheHat]

Originally posted by Saulius:

Thank you guys.
Do fame requirements for a fame point increasing mindlessly like in the base game? For example I remember I did need around 2000 fame for a fame point and game offered for me quests for just 20-30 fame. With colonial comodities I could make 1-200 (don't recall exactly) fame. It's senseless grind, feels like punishment.

I suspect the same scaling still applies in theory, but what I've noticed, because the focus is on combat you generally tend to have less wealth (less trading licences, less businesses etc.) and as such it feels like it scales less fast. Also, because you cannot spend fame points on buying cities, you actually have less need for them.

There is no cap on fame gained from combat per month, as there is from colonial commodities.

[jonnin]

and I find that while it grows slowly, you don't need much. Again, what do you really want beyond 4 or so captains and a shipyard? You are not here to build businesses.

[< SlapUSilly]

Well it's very combat heavy, the only nation that is not against you is the one you select, everyone else will attack you and your trade ship constantly. So you lose alot of commerce, the only way to get fame is by attacking other nations.

The missions send you to attack towns, attack military fleets (they call it pirates) anchored at towns where you ending up fight 2-3 fleets, one you are sent to fight, and the other 2 before you can repair or refit with men. Also now if you fight and your captain can only have a total of 4 or 5 ship and you take one, you can't attack until you remove that ship from fleet, thats ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

As a fact, i was ask to take over florida keys for a mission, the strengh of france had 16 towns and 14 fleets cause they was at war with my nation and how i got the mission. I took 3 of my captains with 3 fleets, and 6 french fleets attacked me at the keys leaving 6 of their cities unattended. It was strange how they all get there so fast, i think the time is way too long for a hostile takeover.

[ADSiyoa]

Originally posted by jonnin:

... and you get rich at a rate that is almost game breaking.

Yeah, this is about a year and a half in ...

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2515277913
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2515278384
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2515278200
I do like this mode, I always enjoyed ship combat more than trading in similar games. There are some serious short comings though, I will post more later in suggestions thread.

[ADSiyoa]

ah, one more screenshot I forgot to include, just to show where balance of nations sits ... and the bootloads of sailors converted to citizens one can get from defeating military convoys

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2516100082

[Dray Prescot]

Cam you still do freight convoys hauling and trading cargoes, i.e. selling off the captured loot, as well selling off goods produced by your own businesses in your controlled towns?

Are your freight/trading convoys neutral to the other Nations so that they are not being constantly attacked?