"Many players have got to your level in about 5 months which I don't think is too bad on average. "

  As I said before, i am a normal person, i don´t play 18/20 hours a day.  the way I see, in BBO you don´t get smashed by the deep pockets of the item mall users, but you get hammered by hardcore kids who do nothing but sit by the computer and play. And there is nothing you can do about it.

  I desagree with many things regarding the VCO Item mall, but I think is a way for daily (but not hardcore) players not be always the victim.

BTW: My BS is lvl 10 now.  :-))))

   I play VCO since april/2007 and have spent, so far, U$ 200 for me and my wifes´s account, which means we spend about U$ 10/month each.

  And we have high level chars, supporting chars, etc.

 This talk that you spend more in IM than with a monthly fee seems very void for me.

  I think you gotta be pretty dumb to pay for a game that can be played for free. Many people can spend U$ 200/month in this game, but I have spent, so far, less than this in my whole VCO experience, which is abou to complete 10 months.

  Nobody is forced to buy Item Mall stuff with RL money. You can buy in-game, from other players. I if you don´t want to buy them at all, there´s still a lot of fun. A serious gamer can play VCO without IM stuff and still make a very strong char. It only takes dedication.

  I believe this idea that you spend more in Item Mall than you would with a monthly fee cannot be set as absolute. By my own exemple. I play with my wife since april/2007. From that time, we spent U$ 199 in item mall credits. It´s less than U$ 10 a month, if we consider we are two people playng. I would have spent 50% more if we were in BBO, paying their monthly fee of U$ 15.

Originally posted by Alice47

Don't forget the afk option, you can lvl up while you are sleeping!!

   I don´t know if thing in BBO are different than in VCO, but logging, mining or fishing cannot be done afk, ´cause the sources get exhausted very fast. You have to be changing collecting places constantly.

  Well, well, well....an honest question and exposition of a point of view answered with a hostile "go play something else and never show your ugly face in there...".

  My brother plays WOW and I never felt not a little compeled to join him. The main reason is because Diablo 2 is the only RPG I have ever played before VCO. I´ve always been more an strategy gamer, and was this proclivity of mine that broght me to VCO. I was looking exactly for a game where you could be a merchant, not only a warrior and I always loved historical games. Fantasy crap is not my cup of tea either, so VCO was my obvious choice.

 And I see that relying on a guild to do for you what you don´t enjoy doing for yourself is a nice solution, but the question remains. The crafting in the game is a piece of cake, once you have the mats. But to get the mats, is another story. It demands hours of work, for days, weeks, months in a row. If you chose to be a blacksmith, you do your thing in 10 minutes. If your role in the guild is being a logger, then you´ll be commited for hours a day of your gaming time. It seems to me the places for Blacksmiths, tailors, alchemists and shipbuilders will be the firsts to be filled in every guild, and the role of planting, logging, mining and fishing will be left for those who come late.

  Quite uncertain, imho. Even if you chose to make those raw material makers out of a account everyone in the guild uses, you will be breaking the TOS about the account sharing issue.

  The doubt remains. How is the obtaining of mats in game, for real? It works, even for high levels? Simple question, no need of flaming.

   I have been playing VCO for about 9 months. In this time, I´ve realized that, if you want to progress in the game, you really need supporting chars. I thought of how many, and I came with a number: 5

Your main char.

One merchant supporter.

One seller/crafter

One logger

One miner.

Some recent VCO changes pleased me, but others really are annoying, like the new quests for which you need item mall stuff, and the RL cash (and very expensive) phase 3 books.

But how can one change to BBO if the perspective is you have to use your main char to do everything? At the most, you got to have a second char, in the same account, so there is no interaction between them.

  I believe this game is at its beggining, and there may have little high level players. But this ones, how do they get mats they need for their gear?

 I sometimes think of moving to BBO, because of all the crap IGG is bringing into VCO. But the simple Idea to spend most of my gaming time logging or mining, and not really playing, keeps me far.

Originally posted by Ceolas

A trial server is in the works, as is an optional monthly payment fee.

  But I have a big interest in historical games, which brought my eye to this one. But, after everything I read about it, we can only say this game has a very bad reputation.

  Despite of that, I would really like to try it, ´cause the historical aspect is very interesting.

  However, I believe that the only way to attract, not just me, but many other players, is the free trial period. I really don´t feel much compeled to pay for a game which has so many detractors and so little supporters. I don´t spend my money blindly, I would have to take a good look, then make up my mind.

  And not in a Trial server, but in the real game, with the possibility to keep my char(s) if I chose to buy the game.

  I believe every company which trusts the quality of the game it runs offers a trial period. RB could do the same for RV. Not just me, but I´m sure many others could join the game. 

  I am not exactly a casual player, I play on daily bases, but I don´t have 20 hours/day to do so, that´s why I think VCO is my best option, ´cause of Item Mall and multiple accounts.

   Yes, I know some guys spend hundreds of dollars monthly to keep up, others play most of the day, and some do both.

  Still, you can match them even not being hardcore, only taking a little more time and make some choices wisely.

 BTW. I never meant that everyone who likes to play a lot has no life, altough I think 18 hours/day leaves very little time for anything else. I play a lot, when I can, ´cause I love this game. Simple as that.

   I respect everyone who chose this game over VCO, but everyday, when I come back from work, did everything I have to do and sit by the PC to play, my thoughts always are: "What will I do today? Level up my ship in BF? Level up my weapon, and where? Camp a few bosses? Board Smmuglers? Explore for findings? Do a commercial task,out for money and eloquence?" 

  I really don´t see myself thinking: "Today I´m gonna do some logging till lvl 31, or mine till I make brass, or fish till I get normal eaglewood, etc". This  "do it all yourself" aspect of the game is the biggest trouble form me. And I have a normal life, I could never match an 18 hour/day player.

  In my pace, after 8 months of VCO, I have accomplished many things, I have a level 8(going 9) BS, Dragon weapon, etc, and a good source of equipment and raw materials from my alts. How long it would take for me to reach the same level in BBO? 3 years? More? Sorry, for me it doesn´t work.

 But I wish luck and joy for those who chose BBO.

   I am not a very PvP oriented player of VCO, I like to taste the game in full, not just in a little aspect. But if you´re in for PvP, you have opportunities. The guy who started this topic, for exemple, created a guild in the DaGamma&Cook server that goes deeply into PvP. And the game allows you to. This guild has over 70 hostiled guilds, and can attack all the tasked members of them without penalty. Plus, every weekend you have siege war, where you can fight as much as you want. There are guild wars, as well, with much PvP.

  Of course, even for a non PvP player like me, some restrictions are annoying, for exemple: If attack a player, you gain notoriety, but you can pray your pink name away. If you kill him, altough, you get red name and has to spend  time in jail. I think this is too much restriction. If you kill one guy, you should be allowed to pray this kill away, but you can´t.

  I believe in the long run this may not be an PvP oriented game, but only because its historical roots, the objectives of the game, but you can have it, if you want, and are willing to deal with it.

    I am a normal person that plays VCO. In RL I have a job, a wife(who plays with me), a family and the normal social commitments that follow.

  How could a guy like me make a strog char in the game if there was none of these controversial features of the game, such as item mall and multiple accounts? I mean, I have limited time to play, how could I ever match guys that play up to 18 hours a day, that have no social commitments but the ones of the game? I would be doomed, condemned to have a weak and poor char, that would be the perfect victim for PKers and so.

   That would kill the game for me in the long run. And this is what I believe is the major trouble with Bounty Bay: you´ll always be owned by those fanatics that do nothing but play. And there´s no way to counterbalance this.

  Watching my expends in VCO Item Mall, I realized I spent, so far, less than U$ 10/month, for me and my wife. If we were in BBO, would we have spent less? I don´t think so.

  Therefore, the conclusion I reach is simple. Despite of some annoyances of VCO(the cartoon stuff being the biggest) , there is absolutely no reason to change for BBO, ´cause I would always be falling behind.

   As a VCO addicted, I have to ask if there is anyone  playing this game for real? How does it feel to have to do everything by yourself, like, mine, log, fish, etc?

  Is anybody actually leveling up in this game?

   I am an addicted VCO player,  and love pirate like games. But before I started to that, I took a close look to this game and its conception looked a lot like the Ascaron game Port Royale. I love this game, and I would like, from who has played them both? Is my impression correct? Is this game an online Port Royale?

  Hi. Simple answers:

1. No

2. Yes, is one of the options of the game for weapons. Go to skill tutor and buy the hability of using a gun.

3. You have armour. The begginer clothing is standart.

   If you don´t like ships, battle, exploring, etc, don´t even try this game. It is mostly about it. And to answer a question above, yes, you can grapple a ship and bring the combat to melee.

    This, of course, is not a game for insecure teenagers who have the desperate need of afirmation and have to kill everything that moves in the game(if player controlled, better).

     What most attracted me in this game is that you are not forced to be a warrior, you can choose different paths, you can play in many ways. To fight is fun, but to be a merchant, or an explorer, is also fun.

      I think people who love the slaughter of orcs and alikes, and have the desperate need to attack other players, shall not even bother about these game. But those who seek something more historical,  mature and complex, can give this game a try.

     BTW: I´d like to know how you can create an alt t make the 30 million quest. Unless you find a way to make you low-leveled alt to destroy a skeleton armed ship and kill the shogun, you won´t make it.

  I´ve been playing Voyage Century for a while, and despite the annoying stuff(bugged quests, lack of support, cartoon item mall stuff) I don´t see much reason to move to BBO. And, if it is as the releaser promise to be, I wouldn´t change even if it were Free to Play.

  The reason is basic. Anyone playing for a while knows one thing. It takes forever for you to go along with your char in VCO without supporting chars. And the possibility of multiple accounts, besides the P2P stuff, is what will keep preventing people to move. Unless you want to spend hours and hours of gameplay mining,  cutting trees, fishing, etc, and really play(sail, fight, etc) seldomly, you will take forever to progress. In BBO, since you have to pay for you account, you probably will have the right to a single account with two chars, that cannot interact with each other(you can login with only one at a time). It will have a devastating effect on the population of the game in the long run, ´cause lvl up a logger or a miner to collect(for exemple) lvl 8 materials is a work for weeks in a row.

   There will come a time when people can upgrade their ships or buy new equipments, and will have to stop playing and start collecting for weeks. Sorry, but who has the patience for that?

   I´ve been playing for 6 months, And if I try to think how it would be if my char had to do everything for himself, all I see is him taking 3 years or more to reach his actual stage. Doesn´t worth it.

   There are other unclear aspects, but they don´t worth mentioning, since the already said blocks the interest in the game without further consideration.

   For those who decide to try, all I can say is: save yourself the time. Go to VCO at once, ´cause you will love the game, and this one is free and much fuller of possibilities.