Breakfast Topic: Whar be the naval battles, matey?
by Krystalle Voecks 
Sep 19th 2007 at 8:00AM
Arr mateys! For those that be not in the know, today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, and we be dedicatin' much a' today to those seafarin' scallywags, the pirates! That said, writing like that for any length of time makes my brain twitch, so you'll have to pardon me while I simply keep with the overall theme and instead wish you all a happy Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yarr!Warming up for Wrath of the Pirate King, err Lich King, I've been revisiting my old copies of the Warcraft RTS games. One of the things that I always enjoyed from Warcraft II was the fact that I got to build boats, load my Orcs and Trolls up and go pounce on the unsuspecting Alliance. (My friends seemed to enjoy doing much the same by pouncing on my little Horde villages in return when we'd play together.) In replaying the games now, I've gotten to once again load up those boats and sail around, torching oil platforms and raiding towns. With the talk of the buildings that will be destroyable in WotLK, I can't help but wonder -- where are our naval skirmishes? In WoW, you can ride the same boats with the opposite faction from Booty Bay to Ratchet. But at no point do you get to jump on a boat and attack the other faction's boats or take out shipyards.
I can't be the only one who liked the ship battles from days of Warcraft yore. So for today's Breakfast Topic -- If they offered ship-based PvP, would you play it? How about if you were helping your side to cut the other side off from "resources" kind of like a ship-based version of AB? Did you like the sailing action in the previous RTS games too? How would you like to see ship battles enacted, were Blizzard to do them in the future?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bavius Sep 19th 2007 8:15AM
I for one would love to see naval combat. It's somethin' I've been holding out for awhile now. The only thing I enjoyed about SWG was space dog fights and the multi-manned ships were fun when you managed to work cohesively. I think that getting players to play cooperatively to operate just one boat might be a chore though... maybe they'll add a mini game by way of the darkmoon faire? Remot control toy boats you can dual with near ponds.
Aggreko Sep 19th 2007 8:15AM
I'd quit school just to do some Naval Pvp and possibly like shoot cannons and swing from a rope to the other ship. :)
It would be cool if they added that, and also Gnome flying machines anyone? eh? Rain hell up the poor little Alliance. Muahahah
jappaex Sep 19th 2007 8:17AM
ah.....the good ol' days of WC2 where death knights were a troop, boats could be used, and graphics were wicked(lol).
yes i wholeheartedly agree with you! WHERE IS IT BLIZZ!?! WHERE?!?!
Nati Sep 19th 2007 8:19AM
I posted a suggestion on the WoW suggestions forums a while ago about this exact thing, with a battleground revolving around the construction of a ship to blast the other team's fortress with:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=106679429&sid=1&pageNo=1
It got some replies, most seemed to like it.
nirikun Sep 19th 2007 8:19AM
I'd definitely get on an Alliance ship and go blast some pretty Blood Elves into the sky, if I were able to do. It'd be VERY fun, but it'd be terribly hard to implement effectively.
Sadly, I don't think we'll blowing each other up with ships anytime soon.
But we will be blowing each other up with big, shiny siege weapons. Lake Wintergrasp for the win. :P
Safety Dancer Sep 19th 2007 8:20AM
IKD about world...err sea pvp, but a bg about naval battles would be bonafide bad ass
Amagoi Sep 19th 2007 8:35AM
My friend and I have this joke concept of a new battleground that would come with the Great Sea/Naga expansion.
New battleground: The Maelstrom!
It would basically be the fight scene between the Black Pearl and The Flying Duchman in the maelstrom at the end of POTC3.. but in WoW. I'd play the fuck out of naval pvp.
Beth Sep 19th 2007 8:55AM
I don't even like PVP that much, but I would play the life out of naval PVP.
The only problem I'd see with that would be figuring out the mechanics of how the ships would work.
Hollywood Ron Sep 19th 2007 9:23AM
C'mon, Blizz! Let's make the secret third team project "Seacraft"!
Aubrey Sep 19th 2007 9:39AM
Me thinks they are savin' it for th' Great Sea expansion, arr!
Dotixi Sep 19th 2007 9:44AM
PVP doesn't affect anything else in game, so who cares about PVP navel battles? Azeroth is static...
Hazimus Maximus Sep 19th 2007 9:48AM
I would love to see war declared in Azeroth between the orcs and humans again. Maybe its just me, or my PvE server. But I would love to log in, walk out of Firebrew's tavern in Ironforge and see a bustling atmosphere of a city readying for war (kinda like that one explansion? what as the name of it?) Turn in ore, cloth, for the "war effort".
Furthermore, go to the airport, jump on a transport gyrocopter and be automatically equipped with a parachute... and they drop you over a battleground and you can see seige weapons firing below you and it looks like all hell has broken loose. Think of parachuting in over the opening battle in Gladiator against the barbarian horde.
Maybe I'm just a dreamer, maybe it's what they invision the seige battlegrounds as being, I dunno.
Missions for rogues to inflitrate enemy territory to assassinate, steal documents, etc...
I just want it to feel more epic, instead of logging in to try and grind my way to 49 before the night is over. :)
Paw Sep 19th 2007 9:48AM
I would take part in naval battles. How the mechanics would work I have no idea. Possibly, it could be implemented as a form of BG. To give it some of that RTS WC feel, you start on your shore with piles of lumber. You and your group have to click-build on the piles until all have been incorporated and the ship is thus "built". Everyone climbs aboard and the ship sets sail for the enemy. If the enemy has yet to finish their boat, your vessel automatically heads for their encampment. If you wipe the other side before they can set sai, bonus honor. Else both sides meet at sea. There would be a mechanic for aiming and shooting the cannon. The ships would pass one another automatically for a time. Depending on the severity of the damage dealt, the battle could end with guns only, but that would be difficult, so in most cases the ships would meet and boarding parties would head over to try to take the enemy ship. Get to the "Captain" and take him out (say the Captain is a NPC elite several levels above the level range of the BG, and surrounded by body guards) and the ship is yours.
Vestras Sep 19th 2007 9:49AM
I can see a few ways to run a ship for a PVP situation. You have 2 docks, each with one ship and some land connecting the two across a few little islands. It would work like AV in that you have to kill some NPCs and mobs to get the supplies (Cannon balls, blast powder, etc) and maybe free the crew, etc. Once all the turn ins are done, you start the ship moving with diffrent tonk like control interfaces. I think the ships would beon an automatic course, but all the other activities depend on the group: Firing the cannons, mending the sails, putting out fires on deck. If both ships get going, they lock together and you have an old fashioned pirate attack at sea where both teams duke it out to kill the other teams captain, and then sink the boat.
On a relted note, There are not enough boats in the game. Where are all the old style WC2 ships? mostly only ever see alliance ships.
Joe Sep 19th 2007 9:58AM
I agree with everyone else that Naval pvp would rock. I would literally spend tons of hours playing, if it were similar to AV of old where you had to complete turn's, etc to advance forward and win the game.
I like the idea's that both 12 & 14 mentioned b/c they both have the same basic idea which sounds like great fun and good times.
I also like some of the idea's that 13 mentions as well, but his is less about naval and more about another BG all together.
Bring it on Blizz, you can do it, let's see a Sea Expansion with this incorporated. PLZ PLZ PLZ...."Yes I'm beggin and I know it's pathetic!!" =P
KateJaneway Sep 19th 2007 10:25AM
There's all this armor "of the Whale". But did you ever wonder, WHERE ARE ALL THE WHALES?!
Johan Forn Sep 19th 2007 10:29AM
According to the lore and even ingame, Stormwind should've got a port and naval fleet. There's even an Admiral standing in the War Room. Not to mention KUL TIRAS!
Tim Sep 19th 2007 10:39AM
Naah, I want ships for guilds that 1) unlock areas of the game unavailable to regular, un-guilded players and 2) can be sunk by opposing guilds. Guild federations etc. along the lines of Aldor/Scryer. Have huge rewards for winning big battles and if you lose, your ship is out of commission for a week or whatever.
Qanaesin Sep 19th 2007 11:52AM
It would be cool if it was for guilds and the guild had to pull together a large number of gold to purchase a boat and then you could have guild vs guild ship battles.
Santo Sep 19th 2007 11:58AM
Yar, there ought be a Piratin' themed expansion comin' up the keel before too long. Blizzard done said they be thinkin' 'bout a woodworkin' profession, and what do ye think them Ships of the Line be made of?