So what has changed?

iceman00

I've been away for the past few months, so what's really changed?  I'm not sure whether or not I'm going back.  (I admit, i have a top of the line computer, and the only game I play lately is OOTP Baseball 9 lol)

 

What does the economy look like nowadays?

Are there any changes in PvP?

More importantly, what's the population like since the merges?

I played on Blackbeard as one of the big pvpers of my society, and had a blast when the numbers were relatively equal in PvP.  I still remember the most fun I had was one night when 10 british PvP'ers over about an 8 hour span held off at least 90 pirates.  This was insanely fun.  The only problem was it got boring after you pvp'ed 4 hours a day for a week.  There was no variety (exactly the same people constantly) and it got boring. 

I guess what I'm asking with the game, is there anything more at level 50 than grabbing 5 of your mates and going PvP'ing?

SirXaph

The economy seems to be working as well as always; now there are more craftable outfitting items (the uncommon greens are now craftable).  There should also be more cash in the system now that insurance is in, meaning that labor becomes more of a concern, but hopefully making it that more things get sold.

Well it's very early days for 1.5 but the people I've spoken to are finding that the addition of insurance means they're engaging in PvP a lot more than they did because they have less to lose.

Population is.. not too sure, I know it's not as great as it could be but Flying Lab are starting a major marketing and free trials push very soon so that should hopefully improve things, because at the end of the day the vast majority of gamers simply haven't heard of PotBS.

Other things that have changed: the interface is friendlier, the client faster and more stable, there's been a complete skill overhaul meaning everyone gets more and better skills, there's a new class - the Buccaneer pirate class and a couple of epic missions.

Vetarnias

My subscription expired on the 23rd, and I didn't play much during the previous month, but I was getting a distinct impression that nothing had changed much since launch, and that nothing is likely to change in the short term.  Even though I have just cancelled my subscription to Age of Conan, I am not planning on returning to PotBS until the feedback has improved.

Maybe that comes from playing on the French side, but the servers struck me as empty whenever I logged in.  Population-wise, levels seem to have returned to what they were pre-merger (in other words, Light Light Medium Light practically everywhere).  Activity on the official forums also seems to be down, now that the civil war between the hardcore and the PvEers over "ambush gameplay" has subsided, and that insurance is an inevitability.  Of note in your case is that there is much talk on the Blackbeard forum of transferring away due to the massive imbalance of server populations.

The economy was pretty much dead, and it is questionable whether insurance will change any of that, since the economic woes seemed to be the result of in-society production and economic-player exodus: Goods don't sell, and those that are available are posted at exorbitant prices.  Insurance will probably lead to even more inflation but with no additional supply.  An economic player could make some very good money, but I can't see why they would want to play a game in which all the non-economic content is PvP.

My main concern has never been PvP, but when I left, red circles were pretty much depleted.  Perhaps insurance will change that; perhaps not.  But I'm afraid that the endgame at 50 will never be more than what you fear it is, outside of port battles (which apparently have a lot of trouble getting filled up these days).