Cannon Defense! (GASP!)
 

Yeah... A thread about Cannon Defense... I know you see plenty of these but please bear with me. Matchmaking for CD is nearly impossible in-game for me and normally even when it works out, the people are inexperienced and I don't make it past wave 13 or 14... Wave 13 being where I get my second, last, and horrible reward for my trouble... I don't go any farther because I realize it isn't going to work out in the long run and quit.

I've already tried posting in an existing CD thread but it seems to have basically died, as nobody had responded to my latest post even after 3 days of it just sitting there collecting dust... Thats 3 days that could have been spent planning for an actual CD run, but whatever! No sense dwelling on the past.

So I suppose you can see where this is going... I need people to play this game with... Dedicated players who know what they are doing, and can assist me in getting around or, if I'm lucky, PAST wave 56... Other prerequisites include being well rested, fed, having a drink on hand, and a bathroom break before we start... I already know how not having fulfilled all those prerequisites feels during a CD game... And that wasn't even during a legitimate CD run! Just one of those small and wimpy, don't-go-past-wave-13 runs mainly used for practice...

Obviously I don't want to settle for anything less than 4 really good cannon defense players. I have been practicing a lot, so I can officially hold my own in Cannon Defense and know how to spend money on ammo and use it appropriately... I know all that jazz about the Powder Keg and Firestorm... Leading my shots and whatnot... What to do if there is barely any gold left on the shore, which ships to let take it and which ships to be proactive about disallowing running away with your last bit of precious gold, which unfortunately is the only brick wall standing between an amazing set of cannon rams, or just... epic... epic failure and disappointment...

At this point all I need is an A-Team...
- Haunt Mansion Voice: "ANY VOULUNTEERS???"

I'd be more than happy to create MORE than a single CD run based off of this one Topic... I'll gladly do everything I can to keep this thread active and generate more awesome CD runs for a long period of time if that is what people want... Otherwise I'll just create a few good CD runs within this thread to get the rams we want and then leave it be to start officially collecting dust and avoid taking away from other topics listed within this POTCO Mini-Games area...

I also realize that time zones are a big issue in this... I'm so tired of CD not working out for me, I'd gladly just stay up late to accomodate people. Please, when posting an RSVP for this event, include your time zone so that I can get a good idea of the player base I am working with for this particular game I am trying to sort out tonight... or hopefully by tomorrow afternoon. Obviously I'd like to set up a day and meeting place eventually once we get who is playing, and what time zones those players are working with out of the way.

Well I guess thats it then... I've spent enough time sorting out the ingredients for this thread and mixing them together... Time to let it cook a little...

Can't say I haven't felt the same way at times. Thankfully, a nifty glitch has made it easier to find a group that can get to a decent wave. Otherwise though, it is just far too difficult.

To other player's credit; up until recently CD was not regularly played and demand for betters rams has never been at such a high. Not to mention that the strategy involved is usually very different compared to regular cannoning, and you have to take into account the massive memory and bug problems. By round 80 I will be getting under 4 FPS if I did not restart sometime in the middle of the game. Sad thing is, you can't restart after a certain round otherwise your team runs the risk of collapsing (the ice glitch makes it even more evident).

I just recently made it to 126. I'm CD'ed out, maybe when I haven't seen CD in a few months lol

Well gee... Not exactly the response I had hoped for, I'll be honest lol. However... Things change, so I'll continue to wait for whenever people are ready, and cross my fingers that this thread won't die before I find people for at least ONE game...

I might be able to help so pm me whenever your ready, on the higher rounds I start to lag though. I know what to do and what to spend money on. :psmiley35:

If you want, we can meet in game and I can try and get you some CD buddies, however my hours are really late.

I'm pretty much in the same boat as Nate. I've spent at least 15 hours in the past weekend playing CD, I really need to break for material runs.

So... One person able to officially (Blacksmith) and another person willing to help me look for extra people... (Stephen)

Its a start... I'm halfway there already... Only need 2 more players. People were telling me a thread like this probably wouldn't work out since CD is getting old for a lot of people. I was discouraged after the first two responses, but at this point I've got higher hopes for my cause.

Thanks Stephen, honestly, but I'm over trying to hunt down people to play CD in-game. It never fails that I'll look around asking for like an hour and, on the rare occasion somebody actually wants to play, they tell me they won't go to the high waves with me... Thats why I'm posting here, unless you mean you have people on your guild or friend list you know for sure would be willing to help, and we aren't just going to wander aimlessly about a crowded server looking for players who are both quite experienced, and able to stick with me until high waves, which I am also capable to doing alone... Here, I can validate EVERY little detail before the game even starts. I've stated before, I can change my time to work with anybody else's time... Just a matter of a few more people telling me they're WILLING to actually play with me... We can work out specific times and dates later, when we've figured out a game is ACTUALLY going to exist at some point... Thats why I haven't listed Time/Date yet.

So yeah... Hopefully other people will respond and I'll find my next 2 players that way.

Or... the second option would be...

Stephen: If you know 2 more people that could help me (Perhaps including yourself ONLY IF YOU WANT TO. Please don't force it just because I'm really eager to get this done. I'm only bringing that up because I figure you could change your mind eventually, and want to leave the opportunity open for you... Save you a seat if you will.), that would solve my issue right here and now, and save me a whole lot of trouble... You would also probably be doing your buddies a favor getting them in on this... As annoying as CD can be, the rewards are usually worth the effort spent getting to high waves... Sometimes even the not so high waves.

I believe the reason that I am not getting QUITE the total response I expected is the fact that most of the people here reading this probably have a bunch of really nice rams already, and don't care for CD anymore. I'm getting left in the dust here. Kind of annoying actually... All I want them for is normal usage. I am a REALLY REALLY casual player and don't care for competitive gameplay through SvS... I don't even have an SvS rank higher than the first or maybe second last time I checked... Lol. Helping my friends with Hunters and Warships is actually what sparked an interest in new rams for me. I need my Cannon Skills' performances to be boosted by rams so that I can feel like I'm actually DOING something against hunters and warships... I feel like my cannons are only tickling them (Warships mostly... I can provide some legit support for Hunters most of the time), and that other people and my captain's broadsides do more of the work.

But enough of my temporary, and probably unwarranted pessimistic babeling... Lets just figure this out once and for all, go have some fun, and earn rewards doing it...

Hmm... Well, I do enjoy Cannon Defense. It's pretty addicting, and I have been searching for a game. I'm not the best, but I could probably get the job done with some friends that are good. Could be a good learning experience. My only problem is when you will do it. I have swim practice that goes on until about 6-7ish PST. I know that is when you guys all get on at Central Time. And I am leaving for the coast this week starting Wednesday. But shoot me a time. I would be willing to have some fun. Just a word of warning though, I am a bit sketchy on times, but if I get it locked in I will be able to make it.

I now have 2 people helping me officially (assuming we can sort out times and dates without any speed bumps) and potentially the third person, Igor Greybeard, has been talking with me about it through Private Messages. I requested he reply here at some point. I think if he ends up being willing to do this then we might have our Cannon Defense game officially set up Ladies and Gentlemen... Or... Gentlemen and Gentlemen... (I don't think times and dates will be a big issue so long as we plan ahead appropriately.)

This has been a pretty big triumph for me overall! I've almost done what people told me would take a LONG long time in just a few days. Pretty great considering how bad I need this taken care of... It has really been bugging me.

It is early morning for me now, so I'm staying up to keep a watchful eye out for the responses of those who have implied they are willing to PERSONALLY assist me. Anybody else willing to should post a response here AFTER I create a post in this thread requesting you to if you don't mind... I just want to make sure your posts about wanting to play aren't lost in previous posts, and are recieved by me when I officially start setting up a NEW CD game.

So with that being said... I am going to be looking for responses from the following individuals...

Blacksmith, Slasher and Igor Greybeard...
Looking forward to hearing from you three soon so I can lock this game, or keep it open for new applicants.
Thanks!

I'll help out. My main pirate has a mastered cannon, and I really wouldn't mind a Revenant Ram if we get that far. Only problem for me is time zones - I live in the UK so later American time zones won't work for me. I think I could do 4pm EST and earlier, and for me, the earlier the better, or I'll start falling asleep at my keyboard. :P

Well as I've said, the 3 people who officially chose to participate were Slasher, Blacksmith, and I'm 97.6% Igor Greybeard... As I am still waiting on his response.
HOWEVER...
Dark Pixie... If somebody drops out or Igor tells me he isn't going to participate, then obviously you're the first person I'd go to as a replacement.
If I can't use you to replace one of the 3 people who already showed an interest in the game I am setting up, I can't place you in this particular game... I hope you understand. I'm obligated to keep the people who originally joined in this game out of common courtesy.
But I ALSO said before that I was going to use this thread to try to do MULTIPLE cannon defense games, so if you don't make this one, I'm prioritizing you as a potential player on the NEXT CD game I set up.
I hope that works for you. Sorry for the inconvenience... Remember though, if somebody drops out of this I'll ask if you can fill in before I ask anybody else, Dark Pixie.
Igor is not the only person I am waiting on a reply from now that I think on it. Blacksmith has yet to reply as well, so there are a couple chances for you actually at the moment.
I am going to send a private message to Blacksmith at some point to confirm his interest in this event. I need to know whether to drop him from this, or allow Dark Pixie his spot, since she not only expressed a willingness to join, but told us of a SPECIFIC ram she wanted within her post... Seems like a legitimate need to play to me.
And the same goes for Igor. Like Blacksmith, I don't just want to assume HE still wants to play either even though he showed an interest. Things change. I want to be accomodating as possible, and if Igor is unable to play I can just give you the spot currently reserved for him...
Good hunting.

That's alright mate, I realised I probably wouldn't be able to participate immediately, and I can wait. Thanks for putting me on the list. :)

Picking Up The Pace
 

(If you want the main point of this, read the bold...)

Still waiting for responses from 2 people.

As much as I like giving everybody a chance to respond and play, several people haven't responded to me for 3 days now.

I might give it a day or 2 more, and then I might need to start giving spots away to people who I can tell have more time for this on their hands based on their responsiveness in my thread and to my Private Messages. We haven't even determined everybody's availability so we can even BEGIN the process of picking dates and times, which will be a hassle in itself. I already have 2 people reserved.

Rest assured, the people I drop from this game will simply be prioritized to be added to the next game, unless they do not want to be added...

I am trying to be as fair as I can with waiting patiently and adding and dropping people as nescessary, however, with College Algebra classes starting soon on TOP of my job, I can only be so accomodating at this point. If I run out of time and don't activate this CD game before my classes start, odds are it will be even more difficult to make happen in the near future, and I've come to far for that after almost a year of failure in finding a CD game that grants me more than an Iron Cannon Ram. Can't really be a help to my buddies with a Ram like that...

SINCERELY looking forward to responsiveness at this point... Thanks in advance.

- Jeremy

Igor waves
 

Igor sniff air... *sniff* *sniff* Igor smell gun powder!!!!

I'm going to give Blacksmith another day to decide whether he wants to join this particular game or not, then I'll have to find somebody to replace him (Dark Pixie, probably) so that we can get this game started before I turn 97. Lol.

Rest assured Blacksmith will be prioritized as a player in the NEXT CD game if he does not decide to play in this one, or if he remains unresponsive to my private messages.

Looking forward to your response, Blacksmith, as you were the first person to show an interest in joining, and I have yet to hear back from you.

Igor ask you call for the A-Team?

*Igor lights a cigar*

*cheesy 80s theme music in back ground*

Igor say you got it! Igor and Helga Greybeard will come out of retirement to help you out mate!

Igor say Igor loves it when a plan comes together

I'm a good CD player, gotten to the high rounds many, many times, and picked up Rev Ram... so if you need me, I'll be available.

Pretty much everybody who I previously mentioned can no longer play in this game. Wow. Things certainly change fast...

Blacksmith isn't responding, so I need to give his spot to somebody else.

Dark_Pixie said she wouldn't be able to participate immediately in an earlier post, which means this game. (She'll be in the next game if she still wants to.)

Slasher left Wednesday to go to the coast, putting his status to unavailable.

So basically the only people left, and the people I am now asking to participate are...

- Igor Greybeard (Already knows about this and is locked in.)
- Helga Greybeard (Assuming she knows about this and is willing as well.)
- Captain Sharktooth (Going to message as confirmation coupled with the message regarding times and dates for this, since I am assuming he still wants to play, but must be sure to validate, as, AGAIN, things change and he might have become unvailable for reasons unknown, like Blacksmith.)

With that being said, I am locking this game officially to any more applicants and will quickly send messages to all official participants so that we can set up a time and date.

It is the weekend. There couldn't possibly be a better time to begin. Lets avoid procrastination and figure out how we are going to work this.

It has been 6 days... I think I'm due for my CD game after all my hard work lol. Lets make it happen.

I'll help just need place and time!

I'm back!!! Sorry... I'm back now though! I should be able to. I just need to know when...

I can do a CD game with a couple of days notice, provided that it's no later than 4pm EST, beecause of time differences.

Edward The Great, Dark Pixie and Slasher: Sorry for the inconveniences and misunderstandings but at this point I've got 3 people locked in to play because I honestly thought you guys were just going to remain unable to join until later down the road, where as I needed the game set up ASAP.

As soon as I am done with the first game, I am going to be setting up another and you guys can play then. An even larger problem is, at the moment, EVERYTHING I SAY is currently being approved by moderators, so I have to wait a relatively long period of time before my post is even available to be seen... THEN I have to wait for a response after first responding late MYSELF, and then respond back to THOSE responses. Its fun.

I feel like I'm a dog chasing my tail trying to get all this worked out. It seemed like such a simple concept at first, but then again, since when has anything involving Cannon Defense ever been anything less than crazy difficult? I've not even figured out times and dates amd yet I'm so close. It took me days and days just to find out for sure who was playing and who wasn't with all the craziness of constantly changing schedules and responsiveness from people.

Yet I've been able to keep some level of organization in my thread generally, so thats something.

With that being said, I hope you'll consider joining the next game. This is the first time I've tried to organize a CD game FOR REAL so I never expected anything to go perfectly (It clearly didn't).

Captain Sharktooth. Need your response to my PM when possible.
I'm assuming Igor is speaking on Helga's behalf as well, as they share the same last name, and since Igor already made an attempt to meet me in the game (which I logged off of, RIGHT as he was walking up behind me to say hi apparently... [I was on medication and it was late so I got tired earlier than I would have liked so I logged off]) that means they're still in this, and I only need to speak with YOU at this point so we can begin... whenever?

I totally understand.. You are doing great. I haven't ever even thought of planning something like this. I'll be waiting here. If anybody fails to join or your ready for the next CD, I'm ready :D

You've got to be kidding me.
 

Last night I crashed on Andaba. When I logged back on, I appeared next to 3 experienced cannon defense individuals (WOOHOO!) who had lost their 4th player because he had to leave. They were in need of a 4th player so they asked me.

The entire game we all sat and did nothing because somebody used some kind of glitch with the Ice Shot where you lay infinite amounts of ice that never disappears, and covers the entire playing field. As ice slowly damages anything that passes over it, that means any ships, even the big ships, were nearly INSTANTLY killed upon spawning into the game. I got to wave 56 doing this because I had to leave in the middle of the game to take my brother to the doctor. He wasn't feeling well, but before I left I picked up the famed Fleece Cannon Ram. :icon_treasure_chest

Now... I realize that Chain Shot +3 and Critical Strike Rank 3 isn't exactly the best I could have asked for, but it WAS ON MY LIST of rams that I wanted to take away from the game that I am currently setting up.

The game I am planning now is still on... But I feel compensated now for all my trouble planning this out... Shiny new Ram!

I also managed to pick up the Murauder Cannon Ram earlier on which grants you Infinite Chain Shot, Chain Shot +2, and Firebrand + 1... Somebody somewhere really wanted me to improve on my Chain Shot skills... Lol. Am I that bad at slowing ships down?

Best thing that has ever happened to me right after a total server crash... Actually it is the ONLY good thing that has ever happened to me after a crash now that I think of it.

Igor say gratz mate

Nice job!!

General notice: The current CD game has been moved to this weekend instead of just trying to attempt it earlier and the next game has obviously has been moved to the weekend following.

/Sad /Sad /Sad ***Spamming***
 

Weeks of stressful planning to make this CD game happen, and on the weekend we attempt to play it, the CD game crashes us no matter which CD fort we visit, and no matter which server we choose...

CD is the ONLY thing I have been playing the game for to earn some cannon rams to sail with, and use to cannon for friends' ships. I can't play CD, and I don't have a good Ram for anything but tearing down sails SLIGHTLY easier. So what am I even paying for this game for anymore? Talking? Running around killing enemies for weapons I don't need anymore? NO No no... I'll pass on that...

POTCO may have just got on my nerves for the final time.
It is as if they can't fix something without breaking something else.

Reminds me of Ice Age The Meltdown when that squirrel thing is trying to plug the holes in the ice wall that has water pouring out, and every time he plugs one, a new hole opens and water gushes out of THAT hole. Or maybe the wack-a-mole game at that pizza place near my house... Darn those moles.

A big thanks to those of you who attempted to participate, and those of you who officially met me in the game to make the countless attempts we made to try to get the CD game to work without all of us crashing at the load screen.

I think what makes this entire situation so tragic is how much effort was put into it. This was so undeserved it isn't even funny... Maybe it would have been KIND of funny if I didn't make like... a 2 page long thread about a SINGLE stinking CD game setup or something crazy like that..

I'm not overreacting am I? I hope not. I would like to think I have the right to be this annoyed that the only time I have free time which I freed up ONLY to play CD, is now gone because CD decided to stop working... because it felt like it? I can't even express how rediculous it is. I wonder how many other people have planned so hard for a CD game and had it ruined this way? Everything was perfect... The way I met up with you guys... The time zone... How quickly we found an empty CD zone on Padres... We even all new exactly how the game was going to go down! Then... *Flushing Noise*

Anyways I'm going to go calm down a bit. Again, thanks for participating and I apologize if this seemed like an overreaction. For all I know CD could be up and running by tomorrow, but what if it isn't? I might as well get my ranting out NOW so that Pirates Online Staff (by some small chance) may have it catch their eye and realize how EXACTLY they have inconvenienced me as a paying customer, with all the work I put in to this garbage.

I'm glad I was least able to play the "See How Big Of A Thread For CD You Can Make Before You Fail Horribly" game.
Thanks guys... If this doesn't work out this weekend, sorry about making you free up time only to have it not work out... I realize you probably could have done countless other things with the several hours you put aside JUST to help me... Some random guy. Means a lot to me really.
If this does end up working at some point tonight or this weekend, I sincerely thank you for providing me with the game.


Goodbye for now...
:pirate_flag:Eric Sunloather:pirate_flag:

FYI guys, I'm going to be on Abassa Tortuga at around 9:00pm est. so feel free to meet up with me there and we can try this again like we did last time. I have not had the time to log on today to see if CD works correctly but I will find time after breakfast to log on real quick and check for you all! Wouldn't want EVERYBODY to crash and maybe mess up their game for a long period of time... I'll take that punishment.

And by the way- My last post was edited for trolling? Care to explain? I can't even tell what was edited out. I'm not mad because I'm sure I overlooked some kind of posting guideline but... If you told me here or maybe in a Private Message what I did wrong it would help me be more proactive about exactly what I post in response to people...

I've read the whole post that was made about Trolling but to be honest I didn't even know what it meant until I read that, so clearly I wasn't making an ATTEMPT to troll. I'm still not sure I remember what all was said in that post about it actually. I just know it was a big big big definition.

Guess I'll go back and read that post again then, huh...

Anyways good luck meeting up with me tonight at 9:00pm est. Again, it will be Tortuga. I haven't changed that. It seems to be a place where a lot of people meet anyways so why not...

And on a slightly unrelated note I've changed my Cannon Skills to prioritize faster firing and reload but kept barrage, so now I'll have some more confidence... Heh.

Anyways see you later guys... Happy plundering.

Hope you have better luck but CD has been down to me on both Regular and test since yesterday evening. And of course online support does not work Sundays.

Eric How far did you get with cannon defense on Sunday night?

Cannon Defense seems to be fixed on Test. Wonder how long it will take for it to be fixed on Regular. Very disappointing.

Warning note from Game Notes was removed, so I thought the problem had been resolved. But I was wrong. As of 11:15 PST on Monday 1/23 when you try Cannon Defense you become locked up.

POTC Cannon Defense still down 11:30 AM 1/24. Come on support team it has been eleven days!

I don't know what the point of the notice was... They worked on test but nothing on live yet. Basically the notice was just words saying don't do CD for the weekend but nothing is gonna change. It will probably be fixed soon since it was included in the test release notes. Just wait until they move them into live.

Eleven days is nothing. There has been other issues that have lasted weeks and months... LOL

FYI Do not abandon hope. Last night I got a Revenant, a Phantom, 2 Gunners and a Greyhound Ram. This was eventhough I got knocked off the CD twice. We made it to about level 78. After talking to an old friend about CD, she introduced me to an expert in CD. Four of us did it.

Cannon Defense Gunner.
 

I won't go so far as to call myself an Expert Cannon Defense Gunner, but I would certainly class myself as Seasoned and High Quality. I know the various ammunitions available, how and when to use them and I can hold my own in a Good Crew.

I do live in Australia so my Timezone will likely effect my availability to many players, however as an oddity I work nights and come online during the early hours of the morning ; Usually somewhere between 3-7am Logging on and most days online until around 10am (Australian Time)

Obviously NOT every day I feel up to doing Cannon Defense, however I'd like to put my hand up to assist those seeking a game, any time I'm feeling up to it, I'm always willing to try and assist those (regardless or personal skill) who need it.

Feel free to Private Message me or reply to this thread if interested.


Kriss.