Sea of Thieves

[SoCalDistortion]

 

[Falkirk]

Arrrrrr I'll be picking this up matey

[SoCalDistortion]

I am looking forward to it as well and following closely. The game looks like it has a solid foundation of features but still very barebones. The devs said in their last podcast that there would be a progression system, more involved combat as well as single man ships. Hopefully they nail it.   

[coden1ke]

Any word when to expect closed or open beta?

[SoCalDistortion]

People are playtesting now.  I'm already signed up as an insider 

https://www.seaofthieves.com/insider

 

[SoCalDistortion]

This current play session is live. Anyone who signed up to be an Insider should have received and invite.

[Ha'boo]

closed beta live

[coden1ke]

 

[coden1ke]

Curious, how many of ya are looking into getting this game?
To me it feels like of like an eve with friends and then the exploration part of the game is right up my ally. - Art style looks pretty good too. 

 

[kyaras]

It's not a bad looking game. Been looking at it. My only complains I have is it doesn't look like something I'm gonna play much past just playing with people. It's still early, but I'd like to see more PvE stuff. If they do that, I may consider getting it.

[Ojore]

You are right Luke it I think it would be more of a group play than a single player game but if enough of us play it could be a fun game. My roommate (SoCalDistortion forum poster guy) has been playing all of the beta's so far with another friend. I have looked at the game play and it seems fun but it there isn't any world events yet or anything like that it is group play from what I can see, I asked him to do another post in the next couple of days to give his review so far. From what I can tell playing with others is where it is fun but what you can do in game so far is:

1. Treasure hunt - It looks pretty cool you first get a treasure map and you have to solve a puzzle (examples would be like riddles, etc.) then you have to dig it out of the ground or find it in a sunken ship, etc. Then certain chests can do things to you while caring it (such as the you can get drunk so you can't walk straight or swim straight, or it does damage to you, etc, etc.). Last you can steal the treasures from others which leads to the next item to do.

2. Pirate other people - this could be stealing, killing or sinking others ships. People will do it to you so you do it back. The bigger your group the bigger your ship so there is an advantage if you have a lot of people. From what I have watched when seeing my roommate play his 2 man ship can't out run the bigger ships but they maneuver better, but more cannons so again disadvantage. The other item they just added is new guns so you can get a sniper rifle and snipe others on the other ships which is cool. The combat with cannons and guns and swords is pretty cool and it looks like that is the progression of the game is to buy better equipment by turning in the treasures to get money. 

3. exploring - from what I can see the map is massive, from islands to underwater exploring. and that also means tide, weather conditions, etc play a big part of the game. for example if you are at the helm and you set course but then get off the wheel and let it just go the boat will shift directions to the conditions and you will run off course so it takes team work to do anything. 

Overall I think this could be a really fun game if we can get a committed group for even a few hours a week especially (not saying every week you must be here just if we have like 10 people and 5 or more can show up for set game times it could be really fun), in saying that especially with the lack of games to play I'm itching for something new and fun to play so I am in, but I would suggest to become a insider and make sure you are an insider it is free to become you. It is a little confusing by just registering doesn't mean you are an insider you have to click on become an insider and register as an insider. I have gotten the last 3 beta invites but no one to play with yet (my roommate plays on console I don't know why ask him, he has a perfectly good computer capable of VR but refuses haha), BUT the game is already getting setup for cross-platform so he could play with us once the game goes live. https://www.seaofthieves.com/insider

He says that most likely the next beta will be open beta so become an insider ASAP just in case it would be fun to get enough of us to play and see if this is a game to fulfill our time while waiting on one of our MMO's we are signed up for. This game is coming out I think in the next month or 2 so very soon.

Oj

[SoCalDistortion]

The game is great! I had a very fun time play-testing with a friend on XBox. The graphics and water are amazing. Their storm system and storm effects are very well done. Going into a storm is reckless but necessary sometimes and if you are not prepared for leaks, your ship will likely not make it. Someone will be fixing holes below deck or bailing water. Staying in the middle of a heavy storm will also get your boat and potentially players struck by lightning.  

Every crew member can do anything they want on the ship. They can help raise/lower anchor, man the helm, be the navigator, man the sails, crows next etc...Being up on the crows nest and spotting another ships masts on the horizon gets the adrenaline rushing. My friend and I had a 20 minute battle one time sloop vs Galleon. We were power-turning by dropping anchor and doing a very good job dodging the Galleons guns. We got in our fair share of cannon shots in as well but eventually I made the crucial mistake of leaving the helm to help my mate patch a couple holes and bail water. Upon coming up from below deck, the Galleon had set itself up to ram us. We had 2 men on board and were killed easily. 

The treasure hunt system is fun but something needs to be added IMO. More on that below. You purchase maps from one of the 3 NPC factions. Usually it is an X marks the spot or riddle-type quest. You'll be using your compass, shovels and lanterns alot.

With all this being said, there is still some stuff I hope Rare figures out. The npc ai while pretty good is generally all the same type...skeletons with swords or guns... If a server doesn't have enough players for the PVP to keep it interesting, the game will become monotonous and die. The treasure hunting loop can get boring without some story or challenges along the way to break it up. I really hope they put some more variety of enemy AI into the game other than sharks and skeletons. There is a Kraken to fight but so far nobody has found it.