Official:FAQs
From YPPedia
Contents |
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a number of different aspects of Puzzle Pirates that might be of interest to a new Pirate.
Three Rings
Three Rings is the company that made Puzzle Pirates. You can learn more about the company and our other projects at our website.
Making Payments
Our most frequent questions relate to pricing. For subscription questions please see our Subscription FAQ. If you have a question relating to our Doubloon Oceans see the Doubloons FAQ. Feel free to contact us directly if you have any specific issues that you need human help with at Puzzle Pirates Support.
Game Questions
What are your high-level design goals
A few of our design goals in creating Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates are:
- Fun over realism
- Usability over technology
- Bring the player into strong social and political groups quickly and elegantly
- Provide a rich set of rules for interacting with the environment and other players
- Support high-level player politics to generate gameplay and competition at all levels
- Encourage different play styles, don't require a substantial time commitment
- Simplify, abstract, simplify. Simmer. Add secret spices
We're applying these in the context of our Puzzling endeavours and the general patterns of massively multi-player design.
Tell me about Yohoho!'s gameplay
Yohoho! has unique, fun gameplay based on a combination of persistent MUD-style online games and fun puzzle games! While you can explore and interact with your character, when you accept a challenge, you launch a themed Puzzle game. For example, if you accept a Pirate's challenge to a swordfight, you'll both pop up the Swordfighting puzzle and go head to head! When your opponent clears blocks to strike a blow, pieces rain down on your board!
There are a large variety of Puzzles to enjoy, both competitive—such as Swordfighting—and more relaxing, for example Drinking. In addition, when you sail vessels in Yohoho!, each Pirate takes up a Duty station with an associated Puzzle—for example, Sailing, Navigation, or Bilge-pumping.
What you won't find in Yohoho! is repetitively hitting a key, having to kill the same poor beast over and over again to go up a 'level'. We don't have numbered levels, and we don't have 'experience points'. Although we will have some monsters in the future, they are the rare and dangerous guardians of exotic Treasure Islands. Of course, these monsters too will be defeated by skilled Puzzling by you and your fellow Crewmates.
Are there missions or quests?
Players can take a variety of missions ranging from learning how to play the puzzles on the high seas to furnishing your pirate hideaway. Players can also sail on the Navy, eventually commanding their own vessel to attack and pillage Brigands. These jobs provide good practice for a young player, and can pay a handsome wage of gold. These missions can be found on any Notice Board.
As hinted at above, in the future we'll be adding Adventure Islands which will provide a bevvy of Quest-like activity for eager Pirates.
Will there be Grand Events and a Story?
Three Rings is committed to a good customer experience, and part of that is proper in-game support and facilitation of 'grand tale' events. That includes stirring things up occasionally by orchestrating major shifts in the world, particularly as we add new gameplay and expand the accessible Ocean by introducing maps to new Archipelagoes. Rather than trying to stuff the Puzzle Pirates' society into a pre-planned storyline, these events will happen in reaction to and in concert with the endeavours of the players on each distinct Ocean.
Do Pirates have experience or levels?
As you travel the world and improve your Puzzling abilities you will gain improved Standing and Experience Ratings for your Pirate. These Ratings are accrued for individual puzzles and 'Accounts' of your deeds. As your Pirate gains the respect of her fellows, she'll be offered greater Rank in her Crew, and perhaps even a title, such as 'Gunner'.
Standing is determined relative to the other Pirates, like a chess rating, both for your home Archipelago and for the entire Ocean. It can therefore go up and down relative to the distribution of player skill.
Experience is a more traditional measure of the player's endeavours, consistent with RPG experience, but specific to the particular Puzzle or Account. We do not have an overall 'level' or other generic experience rating.
Is there a tutorial?
Each new Pirate is introduced to the game via an interface that guides them to their first adventures. For many, this will be in the Navy, where you can practice your puzzles without the interference of other Pirates or attacking pirate ships. The Navy provides a tutorial introduction to each of the Puzzle included in the game. New pirates can also take introductory missions to learn the basic duty puzzles.
Are there updates to the game?
Yes, new features are added all the time. When there is an update the game client will automatically download the latest release. You can view the history of releases in the Release Notes.
Puzzle Questions
What do the Puzzles do in the game
The Duty Puzzles generally make the boat go faster, increasing your chances of successful pillaging.
How can I tell if I'm doing well?
Each Puzzle gives you plenty of feedback. As you play the game, you'll see textual updates flashing across the screen that will let you know how well the puzzle is going. In most cases, you'll also be able to see information from an icon next to the puzzle that will turn golden as your performance improves.
Do I have to play puzzles against other players?
No. On land you never have to play a puzzle against another player. If someone challenges you and you don't want to play against them, simply refuse the challenge.
You can also avoid player-versus-player play at sea by sticking to the Navy. Any other vessel at sea bears the possibility of player-versus-player puzzling. Navy vessels cannot be attacked, the chances of being attacked at sea by other players are generally slim. Most Pirates prefer to pick plunder from the wealth-laden Brigands.
Crews and Flags
Tell me about the Pirate Crew
A Pirate's Crew is an intimate group of fellow Pirates who join together and agree to common articles. Whilst a Crew has a Captain and other Officers, many crews are democratic, as they were in the Golden Age of Piracy.
How big is a Crew?
Successful pirate Crews range from around ten Pirates to over a hundred scurvy dogs. Larger groups are generally coalitions of Crews represented by a Flag.
What tools does Yohoho! provide Crews?
We've included a bevy of tools to support budding crews. There are three types of crew: Democratic, Oligarchic (Officer votes) and Autocratic (the Captain rules, Aaar!) Democratic and Oligarchic crews can vote on issues, including changes in leadership and the crew articles. There's full Crew chat (and Vessel chat) at all times. Crews have public and private web pages, and we plan to add private Forums for their squabblings over booty.
What's a Flag?
Each Crew sails under a Flag. A Flag is a political structure representing an affiliation of crews under a common banner. Flags generally have a King or Queen at their head. Crews may be required to pay a tribute to their Flag, but will almost certainly receive benefits in return.
Flags can rule Islands, indeed the major Ports of Yohoho!'s Archipelagoes are ruled by Great Flags. A successful flag can build new settlements, and even seize existing Ports by launching a blockade against the incumbents.
Trading and Commerce
Can I own property?
Absolutely. All Pirates start out with a shack. As your adventure continues, you can upgrade to various sumptuous living quarters as you see fit. You can also own ships and, if the trading bug gets you, you can purchase a stall or Shoppe to sell your wares.
What kind of shoppes can I own?
Yohoho! supports a variety of lucrative trades, such as Shipwright, Tailor, or Ironmonger (for the making of those indispensable cannon balls.)
How does Trading work?
Islands in Yohoho! produce Commodities, which may be traded between islands by the industrious Pirate. In addition these Commodities are sometimes found on Brigand Ships, or even stolen from other Pirates.
Shops require these Commodities to produce finished goods, which are needed by Pirates. For example, Sugar Cane is grown on Islands, harvested by Towns, traded, then acquired by a Distillery to be turned into Rum, another traded Commodity. As any fool knows, Rum is required to keep a ship of Pirates sailing happily, and woe betide the Captain that runs out of Rum on the open seas.
Can I be a Trader or Merchant, rather than a Pirate?
Yohoho! doesn't distinguish merchants or traders as a separate 'character class', but there's nothing to stop you from avoiding the trappings of Piracy and sticking to an honest (or mostly honest) existence as a Merchant.
What about Treasure and unique items?
There's all sorts of treasure to be gotten on the high seas. Ye can trade for precious gems, or pillage for a certain rare commodity. And ye never know what ye'll gain from fighting some fierce monsters on far away islands.
The World of Yohoho!
Where is Yohoho! set?
Yohoho! is set in the fathomless sweep of the Great Ocean. Climbing from beneath its waves are the Archipelagoes, chains of green and golden islands.
How big is the world?
The Great Ocean is vast, unfathomable, and terrifying. Yet the Archipelagoes are smaller, their Seas more easily mapped by explorers.
And that's just one Ocean! Puzzle Pirates currently supports six Oceans: Midnight, Cobalt, Viridian, Sage, Hunter and the German server Opal.
How many Pirates can sail an Ocean?
Well over one thousand simultanous Pirates can sail in the same Ocean.
Are there multiple Oceans (Servers or 'Shards')?
Yes. The game currently includes Midnight, Cobalt, Viridian, Sage, Hunter and the German ocean Opal. Over time we'll continue to roll out new Oceans as demand increases. Each Ocean world is entirely distinct, so their geography, politics and so on will diverge over time. It is not possible to transfer Pirates, Crews or other entities between Oceans.
Can I get lost at Sea?
No! To sail between Islands you must have access to a Sea Chart or Map. Such Maps are valued prizes, especially those rare maps that chart out unexplored Archipelagoes, rich with unexploited resources.
Can players change the world?
Absolutely! Players can establish new settlements, and old settlements may fall into disrepair.
