[15:49] <[SoS]Toshiro|OnBIRair> <Cyxult> What sort of rewards can we expect for missions, other than your generic "experience and doubloons"?
[15:50] <[FLS]Jess> You can expect to see everything from the mundane to the comical to the really kick ass.
[15:50] <[FLS]Jess> Upgrades for your avatar and ship, consumables to use in combat, and a whole host of things that will be part of the storyline.
[15:50] <[FLS]Jess> I think I've mentioned this before, but there is a series of missions where you have to infiltrate other evil pirate gangs.
[15:50] <[FLS]Jess> To do that you have to board his ship and steal a valuable item from him. Once the mission is complete, you can use that item as a piece of outfitting.
[15:51] <[FLS]Jess> Think shartooth pendants, tiger paws, and hats of all sort
[15:51] <[SoS]Toshiro|OnBIRair> peglegs?
[15:51] <[FLS]Jess> You'll also be able to get commendations from the important people you work for
[15:52] <[FLS]Jess> And if you collect enough of these, you can turn them in for really big loot items
[15:52] <[FLS]Jess> Think "royal favors" from the lords of Europe
[15:53] <[FLS]Jess> Yes, Peg legs too
[15:53] <[SoS]Toshiro|OnBIRair> yay
[15:53] <[FLS]Jess> I can't wait for those missions
[15:53] <[FLS]Jess> Oh they're so good
[15:54] <Jarvel|QuestionTaker> Zion: I enjoy being in a cultural mix, will servers have name like blackbeard and what not or are they going to be seperated by "this is a US sever, this is a UK server" type thing? If the latter is true, are there going to be international servers?
[15:55] <[FLS]isildur> The server names will be a mix of famous pirates and Caribbean islands. We were going to just use famous pirates, but there just aren't enough recognizable names to cover all the servers we're planning.
[15:55] <[FLS]isildur> Note that I said 'planning'. No promises on number of launch-day servers; that's an Ops question, and I'm just a lowly designer.
[15:55] <[FLS]isildur> We will have local servers in Europe, at least; I don't know the details of our other local server clusters. However, we won't restrict you from playing on any server you like. We're locating some in Europe and some in the US for performance and network reasons, not to cut you off from international friends.
[15:55] <[FLS]isildur> Here's a scoop for you: our first US servers will be named 'Blackbeard' and 'Rackham', and our first EU servers will be named 'Black Bart' and 'Bellamy'. Assuming, of course, no-one overrules my name list.
[15:56] <[FLS]Aether> You heard it here first.
[15:56] <Jarvel|QuestionTaker> Dont know if this questions is easy to answer, but does FLS already have something planned for R2 (of R3,4,5,6,7,8,9??)?
[15:57] <[FLS]isildur> AHAHAHAHA. Yes. Design is starting work on post-release features this month, and we have a laundry list about a mile long of stuff to add. The question is not 'do we have things planned' but really 'what order should we do all this amazing stuff in?'
[15:57] <[FLS]isildur> I laugh because the meeting I just escaped from was largely concerned with our priorities post-launch.
[15:58] <Xaphod> a psychic!
[15:58] <[FLS]isildur> We're going to be doing regular updates with more content, more interesting features, and more fun stuff.
[15:59] <Jarvel|QuestionTaker> <M3ta> - FLS has been in constant contact with the community, but according to some forum posts, it appears that there is a lot of flexibility in a lot of issues, however, FLS does look unflexible regarding some others. IF (big IF) the community agrees that some important aspects regarding ingame balance need tweaking, will FLS eventually consider in at he medium term?
[16:00] <[FLS]isildur> We always consider feedback from the users. There are places where we have a larger-scope-picture of the whole game than any individual user, so often when we seem inflexible, it's because we're looking at a larger scale or a longer term. But there certainly have been major changes to the game that have come right out of user feedback.
[16:01] <[FLS]isildur> As a minor example of something I'm working on right now, I'm tuning and adjusting the distribution of resources in French ports based on some very smart and dedicated beta testers analyzing the current setup for flaws.
[16:02] <[FLS]isildur> However, there are always limits. Even if the whole community demands elves, it ain't gonna happen. We're pretty confident, though, that when you all get your hands on the actual game, we'll all be on the same page in terms of what features the game needs, and what features it doesn't.
[16:03] <[FLS]isildur> To jump back to the earlier question, which relates to this one: one of the features we're working on in Design is guild warehouses, and that's pretty much entirely from player feedback. Beta testers have said 'we *need* this', so we're investigating it as a shortly-after-launch feature.
[16:03] <Jarvel|QuestionTaker> <santacruz> one short question: Can we expect Expansion packs?
[16:04] <[FLS]Jess> I think the answer is yes, you can expect expansion packs. But in those we will really focus on larger upgrades of content—new classes, new areas to explore, new fighting styles
[16:05] <[FLS]Jess> We will be doing regular content patches that will just come free with the first game. New missions, other new fun things to do.
[16:05] <[FLS]Jess> We won't do an expansion pack unless we feel we've upgraded the game significantly to warrant it.
[16:09] <Jarvel|QuestionTaker> <Guybush_Threepwood> Not sure if this is ok as a question. Can you send crew members to go and steal loot from a ship you're attempting to board. so if does go wrong, you at least got some plunder!
[16:11] <[FLS]isildur> You can't, although we had a plan for sub-objectives during boarding. Like 'loot the captain's quarters' or 'destroy the powder room'. We may still come back to those ideas, because they're awesome, but we want to polish the basics of boarding as much as we can before release, instead.
[16:11] <Jarvel|QuestionTaker> <Cyxult> This next one is for Jess; "As a developer, what was your lowest point, and highest point, in the development of Pirates of the Burning Sea?"
[16:12] <[FLS]Jess> Wow, that's a tough one.
[16:13] <[FLS]Jess> The low point was probably while we were out looking for distribution partners. We must have gone to every publisher on the planet, talking to all of them about the game.
[16:13] <[FLS]Jess> We had our favorites, and at one point it looked like we had a deal done that we were really excited about.
[16:13] <[FLS]Jess> But for reasons we still don’t really comprehend, it fell apart.
[16:14] <[FLS]Jess> It was a real blow, and for a while I started to question the integrity of our work. It was rough.
[16:14] <[FLS]Jess> Of course, we eventually signed with Sony, and those bad feelings went away pretty fast ?
[16:14] <[FLS]Jess> The best moment, so far, I think would have to be at either GenCon or NY Comic Con this last year.
[16:14] <[FLS]Jess> There were so many fans just mobbing our booth.
[16:14] <[FLS]Jess> People were so excited. And it was so nice to be surrounded by so many people who loved the game. Nothing is better than that.
[16:14] <[FLS]Jess> Of course, shipping the game will be a pretty good moment too!
[16:17] <Jarvel|QuestionTaker> <Xaphod> was he surprised at the amount of hostility on the forums towards the SOE decision?
[16:17] <[FLS]Aether> By he, Xaphod means me.
[16:17] <[FLS]Aether> No, we weren’t surprised. SOE has had some challenges in the past, and there is no denying that there are people who are unhappy with some of the choices that have been made.
[16:17] <[FLS]Aether> My bet was that we would have about 3 weeks of concern, but in time, we would win people over with the facts: SOE’s platform publishing is a fantastic opportunity for Pirates of the Burning Sea.
[16:18] <[FLS]Aether> In reality, it took about two weeks for things to settle down.
[16:18] <[FLS]Aether> Some people will never be happy with the decision, and we understand that.
[16:18] <[FLS]Aether> In the end, we control our product, we make our own decisions- and mistakes.
[16:18] <[FLS]Aether> SOE is a fantastic resource for us, and they have been invaluable in supporting our convention season antics and an incredible asset to our marketing efforts.
[16:18] <[FLS]Aether> Not to mention that they are really just great people to work with.
[16:19] <[FLS]Aether> No, I didn’t drink the koolaid, I’m just telling it like it is.
[16:19] <[FLS]Aether> Will we miss those fans that choose not to join us when we disembark? Yes.
[16:19] <[FLS]Aether> Absolutely.
[16:19] <[FLS]Aether> Ultimately, my hope is that they will come to their senses, understanding that this partnership means great things for our plucky little company and this fantastic game that we’ve worked very hard on.
[16:19] <[FLS]isildur> There was no koolaid, but there were some very nice little sandwiches. Perhaps I've said too much.
[16:20] <[FLS]Aether> And cookies, there were cookies.
[16:21] <[FLS]Aether> With that being said, I want to remind everyone that we will be at SOE's Fan Faire, on the Thursday August 2nd - 5th.
[16:21] <[FLS]Aether> Jess Lebow, Rusty Williams, Drew Clowery, the lovely Theresa Pudenz and myself will be in attendance.
[16:22] <[FLS]isildur> I won't. Sigh. It's a hard decision: Vegas, or pregnant wife? Ok, not *that* hard of a decision.
[16:22] <[FLS]Aether> So, if you have a chance, come say hello. Otherwise, keep your eyes on the headlines for a new round of exclusive interviews and fun and frolic from the FLS Dev Team.
[16:23] <[FLS]Aether> And now, our time comes to a close. Thanks to Jess and Isildur for joining us today, and to all our friends at Booty Island for inviting us to chat.
[16:23] <[FLS]Aether> We'll do this again soon, I promise.
Impromptu DEV CHAT: Booty island gets the scoop on server names!
Linear Mode
