This is a great game! I love the bright graphics and pirate humor. Issue: waiting time As the game progresses, the time to upgrade buildings and defenses keeps getting longer. So, how can we keep the game interesting at the later stages while we're waiting (and waiting) for upgrades? I don't know if this issue has been studied before, but I'd guess some people will stop the game when waiting times become too long (some people in our guild haven't logged on in over a year!). Potential solution: fun pirate facts Advanced players can choose to enable a "pirate library" with an assortment of interesting pirate facts, trivia, short pirate bios, and lessons in pirate lingo (anything brief, fun, and pirate-related can go on these fact pop-up cards). For example, one pop-up bubble can be a very short bio (and pic) of the real life Blackbeard or the famous lady pirate Anne Bonny. Other pop ups can explain the meaning of words such as "avast" or how to respond when someone says "ye scurvy bilge rat". There could be fun facts related to pirate hierarchy or the "Golden Age of Piracy" or what's inside grog. If you think this idea could be useful and interesting (and easy to implement) to help players cope with waiting times in the advanced stages of the game, please let me know and I can think of more specific ideas for these pirate trivia pop up facts.
There is a bit of a bio in all the LP info pages, describing their origins. Many are based on real pirates.
You lost me at "some people in our guild haven't logged on in over a year!" I don't even do errands. I'm not sure I would do trivia.
I agree with @Christy; 'not logged on for a year!!' is unacceptable.. Our members are lucky if they last a week without a prior warning. There are many willing and active members out there that are looking for active guilds, the Captain/QM's just need to room for them.
