Did anyone answer my question about the naval warfare, or did I miss it?
Anybody tried the Naval Combat yet? I'm not a big ship guy, but it might be fun to try it out once in a while. That was always one of my pet peeves about the previous TW games- letting the game auto-decide all the naval engagements.
They are fun enough. Visuals are beautiful on High/Ultra settings and they even look good below that, frankly.
Standard considerations are given for wind direction and ship rigging (sloop rigs perform much better than square rigs, for example, "on the wind").
Formations are really the key to success and all the period tactics work like they should - Cross the T, etc - so long as you have and hold the "weather gauge."
I find that, for purposes of fighting, anything less than a 4th rate is pretty much useless. Sloops, brigs and even small, 28-gun frigates will sail on the wrong side of the surface a bit too easily for my tastes.
The capture system is bugged in that if a ship surrenders you dont always take it as a prize, as was designed to be the case.
Otherwise, its not just an ancillary feature because the economy is much more complex than in previous TW games. Superiority on the water is arguably more important than on land considering both the importance of trade theaters (Ivory Coast, East Indies, etc) and the vulnerabilities of trade lanes.
Thats what I like - the importance.
For example, instead of simply opening a "trade agreement" with another country and receiving phantom income like in Rome/Med/etc, the process requires multiple steps and can be affected by multiple factors.
Trade theaters such as the Ivory Coast or East Indies, produce goods like (surprise) ivory and spices. Sugar is produced in South America. The North American colonies produce fur, timber, etc.
These are all goods in demand but, in and of themselves, are worthless unless you can sell them.
So - using sugar as an example, here is the way it works:
1.) Acquire trading "port" along Brazilian coast, get sugar.
2.) Trade lane carries sugar back to London.
3.) London signs a trade agreement with Prussia.
4.) An English port and a Prussian port become "connected" via another trade lane.
5.) The sugar is transported from the English port to the Prussian port and sold, producing income, which flows back to London.
Along the way, there are several points of vulnerability. Your Brazilian trading fleet can be attacked, your Brazilian trade lane can be raided, your European import lane can be raided, your European export lane can be raided and both ports can be blockaded.
Beyond that, revenues change with market supply and demand and the presence or absence of monopolies.
So - it helps to have a squadron of 72's patrolling the waters to "speak" with any would-be opportunists.
I like it.
