Troy Hewitt on Pirates of the Burning Sea

Troy Hewitt on Pirates of the Burning Sea

Feature

Flying Labs' upcoming pirate MMORPG is perhaps the most anticipated online title of the year. We chat with Troy Hewitt to learn all the ins and outs there are to learn.

Recently I wrote a preview of the much-anticipated multi-player game Pirates of the Burning Sea. The world of Pirates of the Burning Sea changes rapidly though, and by the time the preview was posted, a lot of things had changed already. After the very knowledgeable folks that frequent Flying Labs PotBS fan forum critiqued the article I felt the only way to set things straight, was to interview the developers themselves. I spoke to Flying Labs' Troy Hewitt who helped me to get to the bottom of things.

With that said, pull up a chair and join me as I chat with Troy and get to the real truth about this fantastic new game called Pirates of the Burning Sea.

Hooked Gamers: There has been some differing information on exactly when the game will be released. Could you give our readers a better idea of when it will come out?

Troy Hewitt on Pirates of the Burning Sea
Troy: *Grins* I could divulge that information but then I would have to swear you to secrecy and we all know how writers and members of the media enjoy having a big scoop by letting the cat out of the bag. Seriously, let me say that we will be announcing the release date at the upcoming PAX show in Seattle.

Hooked Gamers: Touché Troy! Lets try this one then shall we? I have heard different reports and I guess I am a bit confused on exactly how the game will be released. Will it be released in a boxed version along with Steam or both?

Troy: Good question, but unfortunately we are still working on that aspect of the game and definitive plans will materialize as we get closer to the actual release date. As we have scaled up the scope of the game, we’ve been looking at expanding our distribution reach. That process is still underway, so we’re not yet ready to talk about it. As you all may know, in the gaming business things change and plans that we think may be set sometimes change. For that reason we chose not to make an announcement at this time.

Hooked Gamers: Ok then Troy, let’s get to a few questions about actual game play as I know that our readers will be much more interested in that topic. Is it possible to -outside of the Nations system- form alliances or guilds? Are there any in-game mechanisms to support this?

Troy: Yes, in-fact that aspect of the game will definitely be one of the strong suits of our game. We have in-game support for player created guilds, although members are still required to be of the same nation. As for alliances, that’s left to player negotiation. We wouldn’t want to limit the player’s freedom by setting up a rules based formula for forming alliances. When players from different parts of the world come together they inevitably will form friendships and alliances. This part of the game deserves to be left open to the player and it will be encouraged as well.

Hooked Gamers: When the game is released, it will feature 3 Nations (England, France and Spain). Are there plans to add other Nations? Would it be possible to start your own Pirate Nation?

Troy: I like that question and it’s a very intriguing idea as well. In fact we do count Pirates as a nation, so in actuality there is a total of 4. There will also be other nations that figure prominently in the game in different areas, but players won’t be able to create characters of those other nationalities. These other nations may have a roll in the story line but the player will not be able to join or form their own nation outside of the above mentioned ones.