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Even More Sailing Suggestions

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Mr_Finchwood
May Member 2021

Mr_Finchwood

Posts: 42 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Greetings,

I know there are already so many voices trying to steer the development of the Sailing skill this way and that, and yet here are a few random ideas I've had that I might as well add to the conversation. Some of these have probably been discussed already, so my apologies for any redundancy. Use these ideas, or don't - I generally trust the devs to make good decisions.

* Varlamore - It would be interesting to see Kourend's southern neighbor be accessible ONLY through sea exploration.

* Atlantis - an underwater "continent" populated by mermaids and accessible through a narrow, hard-to-navigate passage. Could require the Fossil Island breathing apparatus to visit at first, but hopefully there would be a quest reward or diary (there will be a sea diary, yes?) perk that allows visitors to breathe underwater without it after a certain level.

* Isla Nublar (or a hilariously obvious ripoff thereof): Basically I think I should be able to visit Jurassic Park and face off against velociraptors in a minigame for Hunter XP.

* Volcanic Island: In lieu of a better nickname, I'm calling it Waponi Woo in honor of the classic film "Joe Versus the Volcano." In this area, the big volcano threatens to erupt and destroy the whole island civilization unless some kind of offering (orange soda I hope? Not a human sacrifice!) is made to appease the mountain and calm its wrath. After the accompanying quest, this would be a good basis for a Prayer / herblore / cooking training activity.

* Someone else on here had a thread about a Construction minigame where we build various earthworks and shelters to help the residents survive the eruption, with a big payoff in XP when the village is saved. This would also be a good volcanic island idea, though I understand if both together seems like too much.

* The Elves could have their own version of the Undying Lands?

* Quest(s) based on Sindbad the Sailor.

*Antarctica: Home of the evil Penguin Emperor/Empire

13-Jun-2023 16:04:33 - Last edited on 13-Jun-2023 16:35:39 by Mr_Finchwood

Mr_Finchwood
May Member 2021

Mr_Finchwood

Posts: 42 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Some other ideas that didn't fit:

* The Maelstrom: Random event consisting of a huge whirlpool that throws ships off course, placing them in a different, randomized, but safe, sea location, or possibly shipwrecks you on an island someplace... depending on how badly you fail the Sailing skill check, and/or depending on the health and seaworthiness of your vessel.)

* Where do Sea Trolls come from? Can we meet them the way we met the land trolls? Do they have names like "Kelpweed" and "Anchor?" Are they more or less intelligent than the trolls we've encountered before? Perhaps most importantly, how do the Wise Old Man's retirement plans fit into this?

* Dedicated PvP seas. An "ocean wildy" if you will. Arrr.

* Sirens and krakens as either slayer monsters, or demi-bosses (or both??)

* Manatee pet? Not sure how this would work on land, unless it can just float in the air. But everybody likes manatees!

* Water-skiing zombies or somesuch being pulled by dolphins. This could also be a random event.

* Albatross random event: Do you choose to shoot it down, or rely on it for good luck?

* Sailing minigame consisting of a multi-player PvP boat race. This would also probably require a quest to introduce it, and I imagine it's the kind of thing the people of Varlamore would be involved in.

* Surfing. No idea how to incorporate this into the game. Even if it's part of next year's Christmas event (Santa's on vacation!), somebody in OSRS should be surfing at some point.

* Adding a dock/pier to the POH, and park your boat at home.

* Retroactively grant Sailing XP for the Pirate quests, Bone Voyage, DS1, DS2, maybe Lunar Diplomacy, and so forth. Honestly, one of those quests could be retrofitted as an "introductory" quest before which a player cannot participate in Sailing... much like how it is with Herblore.

* It will be a challenge to connect the Mining and Sailing skills in a meaningful way. Maybe dredging? Somehow?

13-Jun-2023 16:28:54 - Last edited on 13-Jun-2023 16:32:40 by Mr_Finchwood

Mr_Finchwood
May Member 2021

Mr_Finchwood

Posts: 42 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I think it would be great to have an Atlantis spellbook available as medium to advanced content. These spells would include a few teleports to various sea locations and notable ports of call (with a few being unlocked along with their respective content I'm sure), and some would have to do with ship to ship (or ship to monster) combat, and still others would help determine the way that a ship runs. Examples:

* Port Sarim (Home Teleport)
* Remove Barnacles - utility / makes ship move faster for a small period of time.
* Come About! - Basic ship to ship combat spell
* Confuse Compass - scrambles opponent's navigation controls for a short time
* Salt Spray - Combat spell useful against certain water-based monsters (dags, sea trolls, squid, Piranhas, etc.) the same way that Crumble Undead works against undead monsters. For logical consistency, this could also instantly (or nearly so) kill rockslugs?
* Shiver me timbers! - Combat spell that freezes an opponent vessel in place, similar to how Ancient ice spells work on land.
* Puddle Jumper - (alright it's a Stargate reference... sue me.) Utility spell allowing the user's ship to skip forward a significant amount, perhaps to avoid combat? This would be especially useful if sailing in PvP waters. I imagine the range of the jump would be only slightly longer than the range of the most powerful cannons. This would require a SIGNIFICANT cooldown period.
* Tidal Wave - Advanced combat spell inflicting heavy damage on an opponent's ship.
* Submariner - This would allow the ship to sail underwater (and therefore undetected) for a short time. I don't know if both this AND "Puddle Jumper" would be good together, so you may want to choose one.

The requirements for these spells could be based on runes alone (for the lower level spells), but anything that affects whole ships (which would presumably be available at higher levels) would rely on a sea-themed material like shells (Hunter?) or coral (mined?), stored onboard.

13-Jun-2023 18:48:38 - Last edited on 13-Jun-2023 19:10:37 by Mr_Finchwood

Mr_Finchwood
May Member 2021

Mr_Finchwood

Posts: 42 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
For what follows, keep in mind I voted for "Sailing" when it was polled.

The more I think about, I find myself wondering how exactly one trains the "Sailing" skill?

First, let's get something out of the way here: if it's simply a matter of removing and rebuilding the mast of your ship over and over again, then this skill is simply the clone of Construction that nobody really ever wanted. At that point, just expand the POH logic to include Player Owned Ships (we'll have to work on the acronym though, won't we?)

Another possibility is that one could gain XP simply through the act of traveling around Gielinor via ship itself. But then again, wouldn't that make it feel like an Agility clone? Sail around this course a thousand times to level up?? No, thank you!

So in real life, what actual skills are required in order to successfully sail? There's knot-tying to be done, sails to mend, and so forth... but isn't that just crafting? And I'm sure there would be provisions (grog? hard tack?) to store, but that's just a matter of fishing and cooking.

Then there's meteorology: understanding weather patterns, winds, tides, currents, and so forth... but when was the last time any of us saw it rain in Runescape? Does Gielinor even have a moon in order to generate tides?

Piracy maybe? But no... that's really just combat xp.

That leaves navigation, but I'm not sure this is the kind of concept that can be integrated into a clickable "action" that can be associated with an XP drop, so much as it's something we all do every time we get on the game. If I want to go from Edgeville to Varrock, I walk east. Easy peasy. Would we get XP only for discoveries and completed voyages? What then, do the risks look like if we navigate incorrectly?

All the skilling actions I can think of are already pretty well covered by other existing OSRS skills. What activity is uniquely "Sailing" skill material?

26-Dec-2023 17:59:11

Mr_Finchwood
May Member 2021

Mr_Finchwood

Posts: 42 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Mr_Finchwood said :
All the skilling actions I can think of are already pretty well covered by other existing OSRS skills. What activity is uniquely "Sailing" skill material?

I guess what I'm trying to say here is this: I'd rather have content without a new skill than have a bogus and ill-conceived new skill. Devs, PLEASE consider your options carefully. If you can pull this off and have found ways to differentiate this skill from all the others, that's great. I'm super excited about the possibilities!

BUT... there's no shame in backing out of your promise to give us a Sailing skill in 2024 if it means you avoid breaking the game in the process. If you were to give us all new quests, an ocean full of wonderful encounters and lands to explore, new mechanics for interacting with the world and with other players, but at the end of the day we still only had the same 23 skills we've had for years, I think most players would be very satisfied with that decision.

Good luck. We're all counting on you.

Edit: And by the way, if you decide not to roll out a Sailing skill, we do still have some good options that have been proposed in the past, though I don't see how shamanism isn't just a repackaged blend of magic, prayer, herblore, and crafting. I also don't see how taming is a whole skill of its own... it would poll much better if it were combined into a "scholarship" skill that leans heavily into knowing the lore of OSRS, with aspects of shamanism, invention, divination, summoning, and so forth mixed in to balance it out. That, or... if you desperately want to give us new skills, you can always revert to Artisan.

Thanks for putting up with my small essay on the pitfalls of introducing new skills into an established and already very well-rounded MMORPG.

26-Dec-2023 18:08:00 - Last edited on 26-Dec-2023 18:13:45 by Mr_Finchwood

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