If a ship attaches a white flag, it could lock the harpoons and cannons for a period of time, allowing a team to surrender their boat and acknowledge their death rather than scuttling. It could encourage more player interaction during assaults, particularly for Reapers (who might need incentive to not just sink it anyway) who could posture and threaten and loot the boat and send would-be victims on their way.
A surrender flag
@tumultuousness
This definitely could allow players to keep their supplies intact and not lose 300 cannonballs to a sink. But I think whether you put up a surrender flag or not, if someone is attacking you and trying to sink you, you putting up the surrender flag isn't going to stop them from sinking you. They already came this far, and they want that satisfaction of seeing someone's ship sink.If anything it might incentive's players to board your ship and strip you of your supplies, since you can't fight back there's no reason for them to sink you immediately, and they might decide to loot your entire boat of everything.
It could work and there might be some people who will stop attacking you because you put up a surrender flag, but I think most people wouldn't care and would just see it as an easy target.
You can do this already technically, it just isn't enforced by any game mechanics. Raise a white flag, stop firing back, and get on the Speaking Trumpet and declare your surrender. Just like in real life, it is possible that your opponent doesn't accept your surrender and continues to take you out, others might accept and board to take some loot, others might strip some of your supplies, some might do a mix of those.
Communication is really key in interactions in this game. Among the reasons I always use the game chat and not a party (plus it makes stealth more interesting to me). Of course some people will be vile on that front, but you take each encounter on a case by case basis (and since it is a game with some conduct guidelines you can report those who go too far).
I've had these encounters in game before, and have accepted the surrender of crews before. But there has to be some kind of communication if it is going to happen.
@kaijoi Yeah, i think that's the point. You acknowledge your loss and maybe get to keep doing whatever carebear think you were up to. Let them board and loot your barrels. Give you a chance to shoot them while looting, etc. You can't take the option if you have an emissary flag. If you surrender, it locks your weapon slots for 5min, but also penalizes a reaper from killing you. They can take your chests and loot your barrels, but maybe it wont be in their interest to interrupt your TT after that.
@tumultuousness said in A surrender flag:
If a ship attaches a white flag, it could lock the harpoons and cannons for a period of time, allowing a team to surrender their boat and acknowledge their death rather than scuttling. It could encourage more player interaction during assaults, particularly for Reapers (who might need incentive to not just sink it anyway) who could posture and threaten and loot the boat and send would-be victims on their way.
good idea
This is nice ,but the problem isn't the ship it's the crew. If there was a way to disable players so they can't attack back such as laying down there weapons then i'm sure surrenders will be accepted more often.
Also some players pirate ships just for supplies.
I mean, like I said, you can already do this, it just isn't enforced by some mechanics and you have to negotiate it. And much like in reality, since it isn't enforced by mechanics, not everyone will accept your surrender.
But do feel free to do so, I'd personally accept it until you go back on your word, then I'm sinking you with no quarter.
@tumultuousness Why should anyone give their enemies this satisfaction? Sail away, throw your loot overboard one after another so they don't bother to stop and pick it up and then scuttle. Because if they board after a surrender, you can be sure that they won't leave you any of your treasure. When they do the same to your ship's supplies, you better scuttle anyways.
Also I won't expect them to spare any quest items of mine, of course they'll take them and later throw them somewhere overboard so they sink into the abyss.Even if it's a gentleman crew, why give them any reward if it's possible to avoid that?
@tumultuousness we made it few times using microphones. Enemies know that they have no chance in fight so we just boarded them, took their supplies and treasure and sailed away. Both sides were happy :D
@avecrux Yeah, in some ways it's a more a punishment for the bloodthirsty and an incentive to get more PvE'rs in willing to risk hours of progress in the TT's. People who would otherwise just scuttle could have another option that involves conversation. It would need to be bound to some mechanics that enforce some level of pacifism, but if you were going to scuttle, why not risk being forced to put your hands up for 5min with a white flag and hope the other guys take pity on you/dont find the sport in bothering you/see if you want help. The more interaction, particularly voice/text interaction, the better.
The only way I see this working is if other ships get a penalty for sinking ships who surrendered.
In the age of piracy sinking ships wasn't the standard, they raised the black to signal the other ship they're pirates and the other ships's response would determine if a battle would follow or if they would surrender and be boarded. Sinking them wouldn't be the optimal outcome for pirates as it brought more risks and less profit.
Now if you want this to work in SOT the attacking ship would need to be punished somehow for sinking a surrendered ship to actually make it attractive to leave the other ship floating. Like maybe a bounty system, where sinking surrendered ships would mark you on the map like the reapers flag does only it can't be removed. The bounty would rise with every ship sunk thus making it attractive for others to hunt them down.
Ships flying the reaper flag wouldn't care about this because they're visible anyway and need to sink you for your emissary flag but others might be persuaded to only board you and keep you afloat.
@tumultuousness that's why i am suggesting every new pirate to use a microphone because communication leads to much better adventures.
If you put up a white flag while im chasing you, i I personally wont sink you. But I'm also the kind of reaper that won't attack unless you sail as an emissary... with the emissary update they marked the pvp players and their prey such that unmarked ships should be ignored by the reaper faction as they are (should be) those who dont want to fight or are doing a tall tale.
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