Does anyone here play Naval Action?

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Deleted member 110222

D
If so, is it any good?

I'm a little wary of early-access games.
 
If so, is it any good?

I'm a little wary of early-access games.

I played years ago, battles were super amazing at first but the game quickly felt samey and hollow after a few days. Its been a very long time for me so hopefully the game changed for the better. Its been in ea for a long time, I would definitely dig a little and find out how big the playerbase is before jumping in.
 

Deleted member 110222

D
I played years ago, battles were super amazing at first but the game quickly felt samey and hollow after a few days. Its been a very long time for me so hopefully the game changed for the better. Its been in ea for a long time, I would definitely dig a little and find out how big the playerbase is before jumping in.

Thanks. I shall do just that after dinner.
 

Goose4291

Banned
If so, is it any good?

I'm a little wary of early-access games.

I used to play it in a massive way. It's sort of like a hybrid of Eve (in terms of depth) coupled with actual ship control (rather than spinning around LMB clicking everthing to death) and thoroughly loved it. The models are a joy to behold, the physics equally so and the navigational 'dead reckoning' fit the world beautifully.

However; there are cons to this. Firstly, to get the most out of it you need to be with a group, and also as its primarily focused around port dominance, unless you PvP you'll get little out of it. Also, as its shares Eve like mechanics, it's important to remember that it requires a good amount of investment of time.
 
I played PvP server, like 2 years ago. Found me a group right on day 1. We sailed luring out the pretentious pirates out and ganked them until they got off their lazy bums and chased us with oversized fleet and we'd go for maximum damage on that.

Most epic battle was against a large swedish fleet. I cruised their course raking their sails so our fat ships could deal with them. So nicely organised. One of the best large scale player vs player battles I have ever participated in.

It stands and falls with player base. That is key factor for this kinda game. Can't say about PvE server - I played this for PvP. It underwent some changes since then, so try to figure out about player base and what they added over time.
 
Haven't touched it in at least 2 years but I would bet a groat they haven't updated that awful UI. The rest of the games was fine, if a little repetitive though.
 
Haven't touched it in at least 2 years but I would bet a groat they haven't updated that awful UI. The rest of the games was fine, if a little repetitive though.

It has been in "Early Access" for over 2 years? Well, thats all I need to know to not even touch it. Shame as I would love to have a proper sailing/combat sim.
 
Cool. The last time I looked it had a really ugly UI that comprised of simple grey box/buttons for certain actions, mostly the menus when at port etc.

Just checking out a couple of broadcasts.....well, the gameplay UI appears to be unchanged, as far as zJonny's stream indicates. He appears to be a learner as he is running through a gunnery tutorial, which I don't think was in the game when I last played it.

Quick check on YT..holy crap, Goose, you weren't kidding! Coloured in UI, graphical representation of good, drag and drop, floating windows that can be moved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMrmH3myBhc

I think I might need to take another look this weekend. Even back then I kind of enjoyed the trading and odd skirmish. I didn't win many battles but they were all enjoyable.

EDIT: I couldn't help myself so I downloaded it again. It's literally like a new game. Considering wiping that old save, which wouldn't lost me a lot if I'm honest and starting again with the tutorials. Should be fun!
 
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Deleted member 110222

D
I've got this game on my Steam wish list, if it goes on sale any time I will pick it up.

I think I'm inclined to agree. I don't think, all things considered, that I'm comfortable with the full price. Lower though? I'd take a gander.
 
I just ran through the tutorial. That was really well done, although for the navigation and handling bit I would have like them to go into more detail as to why it works like that. Especially the bit where you are sailing backwards and why lowering your sails at the front, even though the main ones are at full sail, means you come to a dead stop.

Perhaps some reading on nautical terminology and theory would help but this could be in a box above the tutorial steps I think.
 
Haven't touched it in at least 2 years but I would bet a groat they haven't updated that awful UI. The rest of the games was fine, if a little repetitive though.

that ui was a mock up.

It has been in "Early Access" for over 2 years? Well, thats all I need to know to not even touch it. Shame as I would love to have a proper sailing/combat sim.

i have a crush for this game and utter respect for the developers. it's been years on development because it's a very small team and they really do care. it will be ready when it's ready. as it ought to be, if you ask me. they have redone things over and over, and are a living proof of what 'listening to your feedback' really means, not the running joke that's going on around here. yes, they get a lot of salt from a few on their forum, and bad reviews on steam. which doesn't seem to bother them, they do their thing. i admire their work ethics and passion, plus the total lack of corporate bullcrap. and i'm loving it. they get my money, no question.

lately (since the ui release) it has consistently between 150 and 500 players online * (no steamcharts, what i see every day, the numbers are public). yeah, not much, considering the map is the whole friken caribbean. good for me.

I just ran through the tutorial. That was really well done, although for the navigation and handling bit I would have like them to go into more detail as to why it works like that. Especially the bit where you are sailing backwards and why lowering your sails at the front, even though the main ones are at full sail, means you come to a dead stop.

while you can turn the sails independently, you can't drop the front sail. you probably depowered your sails (default hotkey T) which means you're not catching the wind from the sides, and were probably sailing close hauled or upwind. sailing backwards is indeed possible and has its tactical uses since they implemented leeway a while ago. it's not a full blown nautic simulator, but it's simply the best game about the age of sail ever made. and i've played most of them :D

Perhaps some reading on nautical terminology and theory would help but this could be in a box above the tutorial steps I think.

yes, it does have a curve and does little hand holding, but they are improving.

edit: * on the pvp server. they have a pve server too but i've never been there.
 
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Naval Action in one sentence:

"Eve with wooden ships and a relatively realistic sailing model."

not bad! :D

Pardon my ignorance but what is the gameplay, what do you get for the price? Isnt this similar to F2P games like War of Warships? (Yes Vasea could use "google" but prefers to hear from fans of the game... ;) )

the central theme is naval combat, in an open world set in the caribbean in the age of sail. it also involves trade as a means to gain wealth or resources to build ships. resources are produced and consumed in specific ports, and npc and players trade between them. direct trade between players is also allowed, as well as indiscriminate piracy or privateering of course. ports (and thus resources) can be owned and controlled by nations, which leads to perpetual faction war. you play as a member of one of several nations (including the 'pirate nation' ;)) and will probably want to get into a clan if you want to participate in nation war and port battles, which are quite epic, since they need numbers, logistics and planing. however you can also be a lone wolf or independent agent, or a small raiding party, it's harder and more constrained but also loads of fun.

to describe the game play ... the open world would be comparable to a global supercruise. the map is huge. you sail around at accelerated speed and can spot ships around you. if they are players you get incomplete information about the fleet composition, and have to recognize the ship model visually. you can tag them for battle in a sort of sea interdiction by getting close and staying inside the tag circle for 15 sec, which determines the starting positions of the ships in battle if successfull, so how you tag is quite important. a wrong tag and you may get the wrong wind or the target my escape or end up chasing you instead.

the battles are timed instances, usually one and a half hour max, sometimes others can join, sometimes there are limits. in battle instances you sail at normal speed, have to mind wind direction and different ship sail profiles, strength and weaknesses, attack and defense tactics. these take a while to master. you can capture or sink and loot other ships, npc or player. battles range from all out port battles in ships of the line to farming an npc fleet to a sudden raid on enemy coast or the lone privateer boarding a defenseless trader. anything goes. ganking is fine and there is usually not much fuss made about it. there's also a pve only server.

ships may be built with different wood types and have several upgrades. some woods are hard to get, and some rare resources may require clan work. upgrades and min-max stacking are a thing, sadly, but no ship lasts forever. ah, forgot to mention: when you sink or loose a ship you loose it, and everything in it. recently they added a small monetary refund, that's all.

imo the sea combat model is top notch, worth the game alone. it is both tactic and skill based, and very thrilling. graphically, the views are impressive. the coast and specially ports are a bit simplistic, but the skybox, the open sea and the ships are just beautiful in all sorts of weather. it is not rigorously historical but there is a great deal of effort into detail and into making it believable and fun. let's not forget it is an indy game, so the scope is limited but it's quite impressive for what it is.

it isn't f2p, actually, but i would say that the cool and detailed mechanics and its originality sets it apart from the mainstream fp2 gameplay anyway. you can get some perks through dlc, but it's not a blatant p2w either.
 
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Goose4291

Banned
Regarding the World of Warships comparison, isn't Naval Actions: Legends (F2P World of Warships with Wooden ships) still going ahead? I remember there being a beta for it about a year and a half ago.
 
Regarding the World of Warships comparison, isn't Naval Actions: Legends (F2P World of Warships with Wooden ships) still going ahead? I remember there being a beta for it about a year and a half ago.

it was cancelled, not sure if there is a plan to revive it. i liked it a lot because it was straight direct drop in combat without much hassle, but it seems it didn't have enough traction.
 
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