Another thread got me thinking...
What if the longer a ship was on a server and in use, the cooler you could make it look? It starts with the standard cosmetic options, but every half hour of game time there's an increasing chance that you find unique, non-purchasable cosmetics.
It would start with simple things like:
- Extra flags and pennants on all the lines.
- Painted trim and metallic fittings.
- Rugs and tapestries in the captain's cabin.
But eventually you could actually change the hull type and the sail configurations, making your ship look like a Junk from the orient, or a clipper ship.
These changes would remain with the ship as long as it wasn't scuttled and remained on the server. Sinking wouldn't matter. I could see crews looking for others to pass their ship to when they were finished, just because they didn't want to see it go.