Hermes

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Joined: Sep 8, 2003

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Ocean Unification FAQ Reply to this Post

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Q: Which oceans are merging?

A: Midnight will merge with Cobalt, Viridian with Malachite, and Sage with Hunter. Opal and Jade will not be affected by this in any way.



Q: When will this happen?

A: If all goes smoothly in testing, we plan to merge the oceans early in January 2012. This may get delayed if we discover any issues that need addressing, but we will keep you apprised of the exact date once we have one.



Q: What happens to pirates, crews and flags with the same name? Who gets priority?

A: For pirates, crews, and flags, whoever created the name first will be given priority. If a rename is required, the suffix "-East" or "-West" will be appended, depending on which ocean the source pirate, crew, or flag is associated with.



Q: What if I don't like what my name was changed to?

A: Pirate renames will be added to the Rogue Mark Shop, and anyone who was automatically renamed will be granted a rename, free of charge. The free rename will also be granted to affected flags and crews. Please note that renaming your pirate will not work if you are currently participating in a tournament or competition. Once renamed, your old name will continue to be reserved until the next server reboot.



Q: How much will pirate renames normally cost from the Rogue Mark Shop?

A: 30 Rogue Marks.



Q: Can I keep my pirate name with "-East" or "-West" at the end if I prefer that, or do I have to rename?

A: You may keep the suffix, if you like; you are not required to rename your pirates.



Q: What if the pirate on the other ocean with my name is inactive?

A: If the other pirate has not logged in for 2 or more years, the name will be given to the active player. This information only applies at the time of the ocean merger. Our ongoing policy regarding dormant pirate names will not change.



Q: If I own both pirates, can I change which one has priority?

A: You can submit a petition from your older pirate and request a name change. This may not happen immediately, however, as the Ocean Masters will try to wait until you are online to make the change. In these cases, please be sure to use your complementary rename to reclaim the name as soon as possible so you don't lose the name to someone else.



Q: What if we both own houses on the same island?

A: There will be no duplicated islands, so this will not be an issue.



Q: What happens to allies if two flags have the same name?

A: The newer flag will have a suffix appended. They will still be completely separate entities, and their allies will be preserved.



Q: What happens with outstanding Doubloon Exchange offers at the time of merge?

A: All doubloon and PoE offers will be cleared before the oceans are merged.



Q: If the price of doubloons changes after the merge, can I get a refund since my doubloons/PoE are not worth as much now?

A: We will not be offering any refunds for trades made on the Doubloon Exchange.



Q: Will the other ocean's flags be able to blockade our islands? When?

A: Blockades will be turned off for a month after the merge. After a month, they will again be opened up and islands will once again be available for blockade from anyone on the new ocean. Exactly how this will affect BK blockades and scuttling is still to be determined.



Q: I have three pirates on each of the merged oceans. Will I still be able to access all of them?

A: All 6 pirates will be available to you when you log in. You will only be able to create a new pirate there, however, if you have fewer than 3 pirates on that ocean.



Q: What happens if two ships have the same name after the ocean merge?

A: This will be allowed, and their names will not be changed. Ship rename requests submitted through the Rogue Mark Shop will still need to be unique, though.



Q: What happens to Brigand King strength?

A: Brigand Kings that exist at the time of the merge will retain their strength. The strength of new Brigand King appearances will be be dynamically adjusted based on the performance of the merged ocean as a whole.



Q: What happens to standings and reputations? An ultimate on Malachite is not equal to an ultimate on Viridian. What about flag fame, crew fame, and crew notoriety?

A: Your history and internal score will be retained, but the standing will now be relative to everyone on the merged ocean. The standings will be recalculated in the next normal overnight cycle.



Q: What happens to the top lists and #1 trophies?

A: Top lists will be recreated at next cycle. All previously earned trophies are retained.



Q: What happens to commodity spawn rates, trinket values and tax rates?

A: These will be reset to defaults and will auto-adjust to appropriate values.



Q: Will there be any changes to fruit and gems?

A: There are no plans to make any changes.



Q: Will the Navy sail inter-ocean routes? Will we be able to memorize inter-ocean routes?

A: Inter-ocean routes behave just like inter-archipelago routes.



Q: Can I merge my memorization from two pirates who each have their old ocean memorized?

A: This will not be possible.



Q: The navigation portrait items are based on the percentage of the ocean that is memorized - will having achieved 99%+ stick around or will I lose the ability to hold that item? Will new trophies require many more league points to be memorized before the trophy is awarded?

A: The portrait items will now be based on the new total. Old portraits are unaffected, but new ones will require full memorization of the merged ocean.



Q: Will existing SMH maps at the time of pre-merge-shutdown transfer over?

A: These will transfer.



Q: Will there be an opportunity to change the names of the oceans?

A: Yes! We're looking for player ideas for the names of the new connected oceans. You can submit your ideas to us using this poll.



Q: Will we be able to test this before it's released?

A: To help iron out any potential issues and to give everyone a chance to provide feedback on the merge before it takes place, we are planning to make testing versions of the merged oceans available. These will run alongside the current oceans, but the test oceans will only be available for a limited time, after which they will be removed. Once we're satisfied with the state of the test oceans, we'll proceed with the official merge. We'll have more info on the testing process in a future announcement.



Q: What if I have a question that wasn't answered here?

A: Please post your question in the discussion thread here.

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[Edit 6 times, last edit by Prometheus at Feb 9, 2012 5:44:23 PM]