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  1. #1

    [E3 Day 2] Interviews with IGN and PS Live

    For folks who aren't following the game's news and developments this week religiously, what's wrong with you there were a couple of interviews that happened today where members of the Skull & Bones team answered some questions and discussed more details about the game so far.

    Unfortunately, I don't have good links for you because the stuff I watched was crammed in with hours of other interviews with other game representatives, However, I do have text-based recaps for you!

    PlayStation Live interview with Ubisoft's Karl Luhe

    • The "Hunting Grounds" mode will have ten players in it at a given time (currently).

    • It is possible to attack and defeat AI fortresses, but they are tough challenges.

    • Reiteration: The game is an online game, so you're always in a shared world (one way or another).

    • There are various "gameplay customization" options, mostly in the form of weapons. Different long-range weapons (e.g. mortars, rockets), different broadside cannons, different bow chasers. Different weapons within each group have very different uses and characteristics.

    • You can cripple an opponent's speed and maneuverability by attacking their sails (and some weapons are better for that than others).

    • You can customize your crew, and crewmates give different buffs to you. You can also take out an opponent's ship notable crew members to remove some of their advantages.

    • The "Hub" / hideout is where you can customize your ship, consult the fortune teller, recruit crew mates.

    • Devs are aware of the potential issues of new players joining the game and encountering veterans with end-game ships. They are constantly looking at this to make sure the game has a strong "on-boarding" ability.

    • Currently, the game uses different sail colors to identify types of ships (e.g. white sails = merchants).


    IGN Live Interview with Creative Director Justin Farren

    • The Hunting Grounds was implied to let you enter as a pre-made group, as well as group up with players you encounter once you're "in."

    • Justin talked about how the devs want to have ships fill the roles of traditional RPG archetypes—Tanks, Support, DPS, etc.—so that their roles feel familiar and distinct to players.

    • Also reiterated the awareness of how important comparable match-making was, so that players have opportunities to go against ships of comparable level, and to emphasize letting relative skill (rather than disproportionate match-making) be the primary determinant in the outcome.

    • Emphasized that boarding is a "crew" maneuver and a "finishing" maneuver, not a "captain action" so to speak.

    • Player can explore their Hideout on foot, but that is the extent of foot-traffic.

    • The Hideout is yours and your own. You can advance / level up the hideout, in addition to improving your ships and crew.

    • Justin explicitly referenced creating your own pirate flag and otherwise personalizing your ship and experience.

    • Too early to talk about all of the mechanisms for in-game communication. Obviously there will be voice-chat, but other methods are in the works. Priority is to have communication options that are both easy for players and also immersive (Justin specifically mentioned communicating with flags).

    • Season after season of new content—new regions to explore, new unlockables, so that players can continuously evolve their fleet of ships.

    • "You're never alone in the world." They do have in-game stories, and they "want players to create their own stories." The campaign, however, is woven into the open world experience, and will evolve and progress through the seasons.

    • They're still thinking about how much information they want to "expose" about item rarity and cargo when it comes to "scouting" out other players' ships.

    • Talked about giving players unique rewards for performing well during a season of the game.

    • You can customize your own pirate captain from the get-go; not locked into pre-built characters.

    • You recruit different crew members which give different abilities and modifiers. They want the crew to have personalities so that players feel connections to them.

    • There is no mutiny on your ship... but within your larger "gang," maybe!

    • There is no "wildlife hunting" aspect. No whaling, hunting, etc. Focus is on sailing and pirating.

    • They have not yet set a cap on the level of ships. Want players to constantly be progressing and trying to improve their ship, and competing against the game's powerful empires and pirate bosses.

    • (Paraphrased): "If you take down gang members of a pirate boss and disrupt his operations and revenue stream, he's going to come looking for you. And when he does, you better be ready."

    • "Lots of live phases coming soon." You can register at the official website.

    • While you're out sailing around, you can get information about emerging opportunities for acquiring more / better loot.

    • Exploration is a major part of the game, but land-based gameplay is not a focus. It's about the ships.

    • They're still working on the "cost" and "risk" to getting sunk, but they want it to feel meaningful.

    • You can have multiple ships, but only use one at a time. If you're sailing with a friend, y'all might want to pick ships with good synergies.
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  2. #2
    and he clearly said in the IGN interview that you cant leave your ship and explore other islands...its all naval, and the hideout is the ONLY place you can walk around in...no hunting sea life, (guess not even diving, either), no island exploration, no manual boarding, its all about ships, ships and ships...loot and ships....jeez man -.-
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  3. #3
    Originally Posted by DeeK_KayE Go to original post
    and he clearly said in the IGN interview that you cant leave your ship and explore other islands...its all naval, and the hideout is the ONLY place you can walk around in...no hunting sea life, (guess not even diving, either), no island exploration, no manual boarding, its all about ships, ships and ships...loot and ships....jeez man -.-
    Correct, and given how much misunderstanding there seems to be about what this game is supposed to be, it's probably worth repeating and reinforcing that at every opportunity, so it's good to call attention to it.

    This has been a consistent and steady theme across the entire week of information. The game's focus is entirely on the naval experience, the "competition"-based atmosphere of trying to make yourself the biggest fish in the pond, and on the drive for more loot and constant player/ship/hideout/gang profression; the focus is not on recreating Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.
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  4. #4
    @DeeK_KayE

    At the moment... the way Justin answered that question I think there's still some wiggle room. Until they openly and explicitly state that naval warfare is the only form of gameplay period I'd still say there's a possibility for it. I think the hideout is a good start for it (and it looks gorgeous) that might ultimately lead to something else such as exploration / outposts / etc.

    I still think it's early in development to potentially be working on this in the background unknown to us gamers at the moment, especially with the pushed time frame for release.

    Time will tell!

    ~ Captain Jay
    The Crow's Nest
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  5. #5
    Originally Posted by Armament_Jay Go to original post
    @DeeK_KayE

    At the moment... the way Justin answered that question I think there's still some wiggle room. Until they openly and explicitly state that naval warfare is the only form of gameplay period I'd still say there's a possibility for it. I think the hideout is a good start for it (and it looks gorgeous) that might ultimately lead to something else such as exploration / outposts / etc.

    I still think it's early in development to potentially be working on this in the background unknown to us gamers at the moment, especially with the pushed time frame for release.

    Time will tell!

    ~ Captain Jay
    The Crow's Nest
    On the other hand, the official Q&A explicitly states that:

    Originally Posted by Q&A
    Your hideout will be the only island players can fully interact with. Skull & Bones is a game about the most exhilarating part of piracy: the hunt that happens at the helm of your ship. Thus, the main focus is your adventures at sea.
    Yeah, it's early in development, but it sure doesn't sound like they're entertaining the idea of budging on that particular item.
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  6. #6
    yeah man I'm just saying that they are making a mistake I know that this game is a naval game but what I'm trying to tell here is that it shouldnt just be a NAVAL game, you know?
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