Butterblitz on Feb 4, 2016 wrote:

Ahoy!!

I am proud to admit that I have the Boochbeard Bundle and was one of the beta players and have been hooked by this game since it launched. I have had an active membership since this game went live and have enjoyed all the things that pirate has to offer. As beta was getting its start, a first P101 bundle was introduced. As stated for the purchase of this bundle, all items included in this package will be retired once the sale was over. I really liked this idea, for the simple sake that it made us owners, somewhat unique. It wasn't the fact that I was showing off by riding high on the back of a parrot. It was the fact that it was a one time gift from KI for backing the game at the start.

So now I come back to the game after a short delay only to find that there are 7 day parrot mounts. I'm not angry at the fact others are riding around on birds, but why does it have to be the same parrot mount? If the colors were different or a different skin, I wouldn't care.

Now I know that these mounts were only available during the birthday/Christmas time frame and I realize that the mounts will only last a few days but I wonder what others think about this. Should KI remove the mounts before the next birthday/Christmas gifts left for us? Should they change the colors or design? Or should they let other in on the parrot party?

As one who couldn't afford the Boochbeard bundle when it was offered, though I've been playing before launch date, let me say I was thrilled when KI generously allowed us to have the Parrot Mount ( even if it is a one week rental. )
I don't think any changes are necessary and I'm surprised at the tone of this post - how can this affect you as a "special" player? KI hasn't brought back the Boochbeard Bundle; no one else will be getting the Cat Pirate or Volcano House, so why be upset by a rental mount?
Parrot Party it is, me hearty!

Doesn't bother me at all. I'm riding around on the rental parrots and my permanent parrots are flapping about my pirates' houses, happy as clams (maybe happy as larks since they're both birds?). The color is unimportant to me; I often select mounts that complement my pirate's color scheme. For seven days I flap about on a bird that is going to vanish on me, often at an awkward moment. Once all the mounts are used up (some time in June, it looks like) I'll go back to whatever permanent mount that pirate had. My skarakeet and my cool volcano island are still unique. That cat pirate (and the ninja pig) are still super rare and special for me. Why should my enjoyment of the game hinge on whether someone else has a thing I have as well?

Butterblitz on Feb 4, 2016 wrote:

Ahoy!!

I am proud to admit that I have the Boochbeard Bundle and was one of the beta players and have been hooked by this game since it launched. I have had an active membership since this game went live and have enjoyed all the things that pirate has to offer. As beta was getting its start, a first P101 bundle was introduced. As stated for the purchase of this bundle, all items included in this package will be retired once the sale was over. I really liked this idea, for the simple sake that it made us owners, somewhat unique. It wasn't the fact that I was showing off by riding high on the back of a parrot. It was the fact that it was a one time gift from KI for backing the game at the start.

So now I come back to the game after a short delay only to find that there are 7 day parrot mounts. I'm not angry at the fact others are riding around on birds, but why does it have to be the same parrot mount? If the colors were different or a different skin, I wouldn't care.

Now I know that these mounts were only available during the birthday/Christmas time frame and I realize that the mounts will only last a few days but I wonder what others think about this. Should KI remove the mounts before the next birthday/Christmas gifts left for us? Should they change the colors or design? Or should they let other in on the parrot party?

Well, I wasn't expecting anyone to be scathing at the decision to let those who didn't have the opportunity to purchase a Boochbeard Bundle ride a pirate parrot for a week. It's a rental, for Pete's sake; there's no need to act as if it's an insult to you and others who are lucky enough to own the permanent mount. Besides, like Anecorbie said, it's just the mount, not the outfit, house, or gorgeous Cat Pirate that we folks can get our hands on.

As for your questions, no, the rental should not be removed from the gift boxes. It's a very generous opportunity for us to experience the mount, if only for a short while. I would not mind if KingsIsle decided to edit the colors of the rental, but they have much more important things to be working on at the moment (cough, cough, Book 15 and beyond) so it would be ridiculous if they chose to change something like that just because someone feels like their "unique" status is threatened.

In conclusion, I give a resounding AYE for temporary parrot-riding as it affects absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Ahoy!!

I thought I would rewrite this post since everyone thought I was upset or had a complaint. So, I thought I would take "me" outta the equation.

Unique: One that stands out from the herd...Let's start with the ninja pig. Aside from the cat pirate, the ninja pig is the holy grail of companions. It can only be acquired thru a code ( map promotion in the early days, contests or giveaways, or if lucky enough to have a friend with an extra code.) Now, if KI introduced a 7 day companion system with the ninja pig involved, sure it would make the pirate community happy to have one at their side but would it take away from the uniqueness that is the ninja pig? What about Nausica? What if they introduced her in the crown shop? Wouldn't that take away the uniqueness from the empire bundle? Or the bears? I remember before the regatta if someone had Cap'n Swing's hat or jacket that they would stand out from the rest. Now that the regatta is dropping the outfit, I see A LOT of pirates with the purple hat or jacket. The player's suddenly lose their unique status only to become ordinary or common. I think that's why some gear cant be auctioned, it keeps a certain amount of unique to the players.

Should KI make everything in game available to all so that we all get a chance at the things we want? Or should they preserve certain things to make the players "stand out from the herd"?

Butterblitz on Feb 7, 2016 wrote:

Ahoy!!

I thought I would rewrite this post since everyone thought I was upset or had a complaint. So, I thought I would take "me" outta the equation.

Unique: One that stands out from the herd...Let's start with the ninja pig. Aside from the cat pirate, the ninja pig is the holy grail of companions. It can only be acquired thru a code ( map promotion in the early days, contests or giveaways, or if lucky enough to have a friend with an extra code.) Now, if KI introduced a 7 day companion system with the ninja pig involved, sure it would make the pirate community happy to have one at their side but would it take away from the uniqueness that is the ninja pig? What about Nausica? What if they introduced her in the crown shop? Wouldn't that take away the uniqueness from the empire bundle? Or the bears? I remember before the regatta if someone had Cap'n Swing's hat or jacket that they would stand out from the rest. Now that the regatta is dropping the outfit, I see A LOT of pirates with the purple hat or jacket. The player's suddenly lose their unique status only to become ordinary or common. I think that's why some gear cant be auctioned, it keeps a certain amount of unique to the players.

Should KI make everything in game available to all so that we all get a chance at the things we want? Or should they preserve certain things to make the players "stand out from the herd"?

I don't particularly care about standing out from the herd. If something is really cool, then everyone wants it - it's human nature. Wanting to prevent others from getting what you have is also human nature, but not a very nice part. Have you read the Dr. Seuss story of the Star-bellied Sneetches?

Does my Ninja Pig lose anything if someone else has a Ninja Pig? No -- they are NOT unique, there are several thousands of them running around, and many who own them don't even use them. Nausica is not unique, anyone can still buy the bundle. There is no way to predict that another Centaur companion will not be introduced, and if one is, that would be really, really cool

Nothing is taken away from a Permanent Mount by the introduction of Rental mounts. My Parrot is still a permanent mount, and in a few weeks, there will be fewer riders of them around as the rentals expire. So if I equip mine, will I be better than anyone else? No, I just had the money to spend on the mount and was in the right place at the right time to buy it -- it makes me old.

I TRULY envy someone who had the patience and persistence to farm Captain Blood and get all of his gear. All I ever got was the boots. If they added Captain Blood's Jacket to the Crown Shop, then I could see the problem, but in this situation, I don't see any problem at all.

Well, I must come to the support of Butterblitz. I can see that the original post may have come across as being a bit bitter over the temporary mounts being the same as (in apearance) the supposed, BB mounts. But he did state that he wasn't angry over this- just thought that maybe KI could have used a different skin for the temporary mounts to help preserve the uniqueness of the bundle parrot. He also just wanted to hear any opinions about KI offering up "everything" to all players.

To me the ending questions in the OP were just someone wanting to hear others thoughts, not necessarily seeking whether he was right to question the matter. It just seems that he's been a bit blasted just for having an opinion & respectfully asking others for theirs. I mean there have been many posts & threads where players have requested that the Cat Pirate & Ninja Pig be offered to all others, which have been met with scores of "those companions are unique/special & should not be available to all". The argumentative response in this thread of, "don't be angry at the thought or idea of your mount losing it's uniqueness, & be happy for your fellow pirates getting the same chance"...but should that hold true for all supposed unique "things" the game has to offer?

I truly don't think the original post posted out of pure whining or complaining but more so just to state an opinion & genuinely wanting to hear what other player thought about it. I guess I don't quite get the bitter undertones directed towards Butterblitz, for merely asking what others thought. I took his posts as more of, "do supposed unique (& even discontinued) items lose that unique factor if they are made available to all" and "should KI continue to make them available"-- valid questions, to me. Not, "I don't want others to enjoy them, because I was supposed to be special." But that's just how I took it & I don't really get the "salt" thrown at him for asking some reasonable questions & wanting to hear others' thoughts.

ValkoorTheVictorio... on Feb 8, 2016 wrote:

Well, I must come to the support of Butterblitz. I can see that the original post may have come across as being a bit bitter over the temporary mounts being the same as (in apearance) the supposed, BB mounts. But he did state that he wasn't angry over this- just thought that maybe KI could have used a different skin for the temporary mounts to help preserve the uniqueness of the bundle parrot. He also just wanted to hear any opinions about KI offering up "everything" to all players.

To me the ending questions in the OP were just someone wanting to hear others thoughts, not necessarily seeking whether he was right to question the matter. It just seems that he's been a bit blasted just for having an opinion & respectfully asking others for theirs. I mean there have been many posts & threads where players have requested that the Cat Pirate & Ninja Pig be offered to all others, which have been met with scores of "those companions are unique/special & should not be available to all". The argumentative response in this thread of, "don't be angry at the thought or idea of your mount losing it's uniqueness, & be happy for your fellow pirates getting the same chance"...but should that hold true for all supposed unique "things" the game has to offer?

I truly don't think the original post posted out of pure whining or complaining but more so just to state an opinion & genuinely wanting to hear what other player thought about it. I guess I don't quite get the bitter undertones directed towards Butterblitz, for merely asking what others thought. I took his posts as more of, "do supposed unique (& even discontinued) items lose that unique factor if they are made available to all" and "should KI continue to make them available"-- valid questions, to me. Not, "I don't want others to enjoy them, because I was supposed to be special." But that's just how I took it & I don't really get the "salt" thrown at him for asking some reasonable questions & wanting to hear others' thoughts.

As always, Valkoor, you are very fair-minded. He did ask others' opinions, and heard them. I suspect that the folks that agreed with him whole-heartedly just didn't see the original post, or didn't bother to respond. Part of that may be the flavor of the original post -- it did seem a bit "Why is my special thing not special any more?" when it really is still just as special. Our responses tended to the "It's still special" side, but they may have been a bit firmer than warranted if OP's intent was as you read.

Ahoy!!

I just wanted to say thanks to all for your posts to this subject. But once again, let me state that I'm not upset or feel gypped because this happened. Part of me wants the BB to come outta retirement so I can buy it for my other pirates, while another part of me thinks it should remain the same. But the true message of the post isn't about...me. I know that my original post might've come off as harsh or brash, but while I was writing it, I had a calm voice in my head, not one of anger or seclusion. But I must admit, my writing skills aren't as eloquent as it should be and at the time of writing my first post I was compromised on time.

Thank you Valkoor for seeing the true meaning in what I was trying to discuss. Although, I can see why others would be put off by me by thinking I was complaining about this subject matter. Pirates are in fact very passionate about their loot they receive.

But its still a subject that I mull over from time to time. One of the things I like about this game is the originality they give to us to design our pirates stats and epics the way we want. Instead of a cookie cutter approach that all Musketeers are built the same. It gives a certain unique feeling that not all pirates are the same.

So in conclusion, this game, as in life, has a certain uniqueness per player. From the costumes we don or the epics we choose, to the mounts or the companions that follow us...I contemplate...stay genuine or stay the same as all....???