Caribbean Pirates: Seriously bad game design

[Stacy_Strong_5392338]

So I checked out the Caribbean Pirates after playing the game for almost a week. I tried to board a ship and found out I needed a map. So I found out how to get a map - 100 donations at my guild. Okay!

So after waiting until I had 100 donations, I claimed a map and boarded a ship. Then found out I needed someone from my guild with the other half of the map. Disappointed, I left the ship.

I came back with my guildmate. That's when I found out that just boarding the ship and leaving it meant I no longer had a map anymore. That's pretty bad game design and it irritated me. Fortunately, it was midnight and I could get up to 100 and claim another map. So I did and boarded the ship. I was literally in the process of telling my guildmate - who is in the same physical room as me - which ship to board to join me when I'm attacked by someone way above my level, killed, ejected from the ship...and now I don't have a map again.

So this part of the game is designed to just have you waste your time having no clue of what's going on and get you killed by people who can swat you like bugs. Are you certain that you're trying to build a fun game?

That is completely, utterly, ridiculously, and incomprehensibly stupid game design. That's the kind of thing that tells people like me that our time is being completely wasted in a terrible experience like this. I still have no idea what the deal is with the Caribbean Pirates. I don't know the rewards available, the mission that it presents, how strong I need to be in order just to try it out...nothing. All I know if that I've spent several days trying to figure out how to start this incredibly stupidly designed farce of a mission and I can't even get enough time to get my crew on board before being killed by people who have no business fighting someone who has been playing less than a week.

Games are made to be fun. There is no fun to be had here. If the goal was to create an incredibly annoying and awful time, then congratulations - you've created a game that leads ignorant players to the slaughter and refuses to allow us the chance to play the Caribbean Pirates section. Well, there are two ways to not play this game. One is to keep us from having the resources needed for a particular section. I doubt that you're shooting for what the second option is.

[smokingfox]

So I checked out the Caribbean Pirates after playing the game for almost a week. I tried to board a ship and found out I needed a map. So I found out how to get a map - 100 donations at my guild. Okay!

So after waiting until I had 100 donations, I claimed a map and boarded a ship. Then found out I needed someone from my guild with the other half of the map. Disappointed, I left the ship.

I came back with my guildmate. That's when I found out that just boarding the ship and leaving it meant I no longer had a map anymore. That's pretty bad game design and it irritated me. Fortunately, it was midnight and I could get up to 100 and claim another map. So I did and boarded the ship. I was literally in the process of telling my guildmate - who is in the same physical room as me - which ship to board to join me when I'm attacked by someone way above my level, killed, ejected from the ship...and now I don't have a map again.

So this part of the game is designed to just have you waste your time having no clue of what's going on and get you killed by people who can swat you like bugs. Are you certain that you're trying to build a fun game?

That is completely, utterly, ridiculously, and incomprehensibly stupid game design. That's the kind of thing that tells people like me that our time is being completely wasted in a terrible experience like this. I still have no idea what the deal is with the Caribbean Pirates. I don't know the rewards available, the mission that it presents, how strong I need to be in order just to try it out...nothing. All I know if that I've spent several days trying to figure out how to start this incredibly stupidly designed farce of a mission and I can't even get enough time to get my crew on board before being killed by people who have no business fighting someone who has been playing less than a week.

Games are made to be fun. There is no fun to be had here. If the goal was to create an incredibly annoying and awful time, then congratulations - you've created a game that leads ignorant players to the slaughter and refuses to allow us the chance to play the Caribbean Pirates section. Well, there are two ways to not play this game. One is to keep us from having the resources needed for a particular section. I doubt that you're shooting for what the second option is.

ok after reading this..

if you allrdy so frustrated here.. u better quit.. nice to know u

[Morgan le Fay]

It's not a bad game design, it's learning how to play it. Basically, don't board any ship until you have a partner to sail with and it's also wise to ask one of the larger members of your guild to help carry you across. This will help you two-fold. One to learn how to play Pirates and secondly, give you a power ballpark.

Look for guidance and assistance from the more experienced members of your guild, you will soon pick it up.

[Stacy_Strong_5392338]

So you're saying that the game isn't playable at all for the person who just logs on and tries to play. That newcomer will be endlessly frustrated by pitfalls and traps that are set in the game that can only be handled by people with long experience.

That, my friend - and I speak from 37 years of experience playing and writing video games - is very poor game design. When learning to play means helplessly walking into land mines that are poorly marked and come with penalties far in excess of the misstep, you've created a game that - by sheer logic of game theory - encourages timid and trepedacious play. That's a terrible, terrible idea. It means I can no longer tell my friends "Let's try this!" because now I won't know what landmine I may be walking into and what insane penalty I'm about to be subjected to without warning or recourse.

Thank you for letting me know that this is exactly the game experience that you're striving to achieve. You've helped me quickly learn not waste my precious time with this horribly designed experience. Good luck with your future endeavors.

[Nooberix]

Every game is a bit of a struggle at first for newcomers. No game you can just log in and start playing like a pro, you have to learn the ropes. You mentioned you were in a guild the smart thing to do is to ask your guild members for help. Come to the forums and see if there is a guide for newcomers. Just coming to bitch about how you struggle in a game you just started is a bit much isn't it?

[Stacy_Strong_5392338]

There's a wide difference between wanting to play like a pro and asking not to be catastrophically crushed without warning or possibility of success while still in the process of learning the mission itself.

The guild I'm in, btw, is mine. When the game taught about guilds, it gave an option to create your own and I did exactly that. If the fallback here is that I should talk to more experienced guild members, then perhaps there should be a level requirement for creating your own guild. As it stands, the game encourages newcomers to roll their own both through the tutorial and the membership caps.

I am not coming on simply to complain. I am giving the game designers solid feedback on their game. This is my gift to them for the few days that I've enjoyed the game. Customer feedback like this should be treasured since it can be used to build a better product. Most people in my position simply never log in again and the game designers never know why. I'm stating it clearly and distinctly for them. Whether they use that information or not is up to them.

[mattp169]

There's a wide difference between wanting to play like a pro and asking not to be catastrophically crushed without warning or possibility of success while still in the process of learning the mission itself.

The guild I'm in, btw, is mine. When the game taught about guilds, it gave an option to create your own and I did exactly that. If the fallback here is that I should talk to more experienced guild members, then perhaps there should be a level requirement for creating your own guild. As it stands, the game encourages newcomers to roll their own both through the tutorial and the membership caps.


I am not coming on simply to complain. I am giving the game designers solid feedback on their game. This is my gift to them for the few days that I've enjoyed the game. Customer feedback like this should be treasured since it can be used to build a better product. Most people in my position simply never log in again and the game designers never know why. I'm stating it clearly and distinctly for them. Whether they use that information or not is up to them.

CATASTROPHICALLY CRUSHED???????
you lost a map
you got sunk
its part of the game
ive lost thousands of maps
and been sunk hundreds of times

Get over it and move on
what happened to you is part of the learning experience

If you didnt start on a brand new server on day 1 then you must not have ever been a part of a game like this. This is you expecting something to be different base don our own experiece and thinking this game should follow the model of what you have seen in the past.

Get over it
Its not like other games. Sure some things are the same as other games. But its not that game or that other game or even that other other game.

This game is so noob friendly at this point, compared to the first day of LIVE, that it isnt funny.
Did you think having 4 opportunities to sail means you should get 4 complete sails a day?
NO they are opportunities to sail, which is a clue in itself that you may not make it, that you may get attacked or something is going to happen to prevent you from completing the sail. That is simple logic. I am the first one to complain when things are poorly explained, but pirates is not poorly explained. Its a minor part of the game and if you lost a map and got sunk on your first 2 tries - BOO HOO. Do you need spoon fed everything to figure out a game?

your expectations are unrealistic and if the devs listen to your complaint and take it seriously and change pirates to make it even more noob friendly it will probably be at the expense of the loyal paying customers - all because a few people are spoiled and need pampered and expect everything they TRY to do in a game to be successful.

You sir need to stop playing around on the forum and play the game and figure it out.

[Stacy_Strong_5392338]

Good luck with your game. I wish you success.

Here's a few places where you lost me as a customer. Use them as you see fit:

1) The forum moderators should treat issues as a customer service situation. Recognize that the customer is giving you the gift of bothering to tell you about their experience rather than simply walking away without a word. You have the opportunity to make a friend and a customer. In my case, you failed to do so and have lost a customer. You failed because your first response was simply to brush off my concerns.

2) I highly recommend to everyone who said things such as "Boo hoo!" that you'll be more successful in everything you do if you react positively instead of negatively. I gave this game a solid week to earn my business and gave the designers and players a chance to demonstrate their worth. Some people, such as Kae, have demonstrated that marvelously. Others, not so much. I have respect for Kae and people like him. I have pity for those others.

Since this is the game and the environment that you wish to generate, I bid you farewell and good luck.

[Nooberix]

Good luck with your game. I wish you success.

Here's a few places where you lost me as a customer. Use them as you see fit:

1) The forum moderators should treat issues as a customer service situation. Recognize that the customer is giving you the gift of bothering to tell you about their experience rather than simply walking away without a word. You have the opportunity to make a friend and a customer. In my case, you failed to do so and have lost a customer. You failed because your first response was simply to brush off my concerns.

2) I highly recommend to everyone who said things such as "Boo hoo!" that you'll be more successful in everything you do if you react positively instead of negatively. I gave this game a solid week to earn my business and gave the designers and players a chance to demonstrate their worth. Some people, such as Kae, have demonstrated that marvelously. Others, not so much. I have respect for Kae and people like him. I have pity for those others.

Since this is the game and the environment that you wish to generate, I bid you farewell and good luck.

Wow we will be catastrophically crushed if you leave the game :P

[mattp169]

Good luck with your game. I wish you success.

Here's a few places where you lost me as a customer. Use them as you see fit:

1) The forum moderators should treat issues as a customer service situation. Recognize that the customer is giving you the gift of bothering to tell you about their experience rather than simply walking away without a word. You have the opportunity to make a friend and a customer. In my case, you failed to do so and have lost a customer. You failed because your first response was simply to brush off my concerns.

2) I highly recommend to everyone who said things such as "Boo hoo!" that you'll be more successful in everything you do if you react positively instead of negatively. I gave this game a solid week to earn my business and gave the designers and players a chance to demonstrate their worth. Some people, such as Kae, have demonstrated that marvelously. Others, not so much. I have respect for Kae and people like him. I have pity for those others.

Since this is the game and the environment that you wish to generate, I bid you farewell and good luck.

keep you pity we don't need it from you. You are being rude to the players and devs- YOu act all high and mighty. You say things like you have 31 yeards of game experience. You try to come off as an authority and that you are better then the rest of us. You sir are a poor poor example of a human being. Acting like you are teh good guy and we are teh bad guys. Your original post is so full of side ways rude remarks to the devs and loyal players. Most of us are smart enough to see your comments for the rude bashings they are, and when we respond in kind you offer your pity. Please just leave the game, I hear farmville is recruiting new players.

The mods here volunteer to take care of teh forums and enforce teh forum policies set forth by uCool. They are not customer service reps for uCool. You have a customer service issue sent in a support ticket. I mean its not hard to figure that out. The forums are ,where in every game I have been in, players talk to players and share with each other.

Morgan you may want to close this thread before I go off, Im trying really hard to be good, but this guy is pushing my buttons.