PotBS info off the port bow!

Browsing message boards like I normally do on a slow weekday afternoon I came across a post from Rick Saada.  In this topic posters were discussing the possibility that this is the last chance for the social soloer’s to have “their game” in this generation of MMOs.  Here’s what Rick had to say:

We’re trying reasonably hard to accomodate both styles of play. Most of the missions can be done either solo or in a group, and to some extent the enemies you face will scale with the force you bring in to the mission. City of Heroes does a pretty good job with this, and we’re following their model in that we’ll increase the number and difficulty of the enemies if you come in with a fleet. We also allow you to say “I want more challenge in my missions” and it will scale up the solo difficulty as well.

That said, we’re also putting in a “role playing story arc” which is pretty much your character’s path to follow solo. You can bring in friends, but it’s not required. It’s an ongoing mission sequence that runs the gamut from level 1 to 50, with recurring NPC’s that can become romantic interests, career rivals, mentors, etc. It’s sort of like a single player RPG played out in the midst of the MMO.

For the group lovers, the overall port conquest game will work best with groups. While you can contribute to throwing a port into contention as a solo player, taking on the NPC shipping around a port will often involve engaging multiple ships at once. Depending on what you’re sailing this could be hard to do alone.

If you are grouped with friends, there are certainly roles to be played by the smaller ships. “Level” isn’t present anywhere in the combat equations, but the ships you can sail are gated by level. The navy doesn’t give out 104 gun ships of the line to 1st level players! On the other hand, the smaller ships are more nimble, and can often chase down injured targets, pick at them from a safe location (say off the bow or stern) and the lumbering hulks may not be able to turn quickly enough to devastate them with a broadside.

So we’re trying to have something for everyone. I, for one, also like to play solo, and have been having a lot of fun doing it in the beta.

Rick Saada – FLS Dev

Perhaps the soloers will have their paradise.  It seems that PotBS is going to great lengths to ensure a very stable and balanced experience for all.  I like the fact that in combat none of the equations factor level.  Simply your type of ship, your ship’s outfitting, and skill at sailing will decide the victor.  That sounds good to me!