Balance Constraints: Lessons from Pirates

Lecturer: David Ryan Hunt, Flying Lab Software

Lessons from Pirates is the balance equivalent of a postmortem. In this lecture, we’ll explore a year of beta and a year of live development for Pirates of the Burning Sea. The focus is split between a high-level take on balance, the balance process at Flying Lab Software and a detailed look at the balance history of the game.

What sorts of problems did we encounter in Pirates? Why did we have these problems? How did we attempt to solve them, and how well did those solutions work? What problems do we still face? These are questions are all discussed in the lecture, covering issues such as global Conquest, careers and skills, ship speed, PvP mechanics and realism.

Intended Audience: System designers, especially ones interested in balance

Prerequisites:

Format: Lecture

Track: Design

Date/Time: Wednesday, May 13, 5:00 PM

Room: Harbor

Hunt - Balance Constraints Lessons From Pirates.pdf