I am downloading the game now. Until it is done i will write some things about my inital thoughts of the game.
I have played a sailing game called Sailaway. A game with a lot of potantial but that fails to breakthrough, it is slowly dying. The good stuff with that game, Sailaway, are competitions and a global map with all ships where you can teleport freely and choose where to sail. Global chat, active community with lots of orgs. The bad stuff with the game, that prevents it from being a success are that NPCs doint exist, that there are nothing to discover and explore ingame, and no incentives to do so (nothing to gain and no quests). And if you mismanage while sailing that has no consequences at all. No damage, no sinking, no starting all over with mission, etc. Sailing is simple while hard at the same time, due to AI that assists. Extremely simplified ultra realism. :-)
I was thinking about that game when discovering Nautis this morning (via Schnellboot on Youtube).
I would like a game like that, without the bad stuff, but with large ships, in a global open world -map or in smaller maps, with stuff to see and explore.
Soooo.
1) What are your plans regarding multiplayer?
2) What are your thoughts about quests, like making sure the ferry docks so cars can leave the ship, unloading stuff, using the togboat to tug stuff, transports to transport stuff to harbours, etc etc.
3) There is a free roam. What will there be to discover and explore?
3) On the roadmap you have written: communication. That seems like something for multiplayer. Thoughts about that? Harbour offices (like flight towers on flight sims)?
4) Damagemodel, damage, consequences for wrong action? (Tugboats to help noob players get loose if they are stuck in shallow water, perhaps?)
5) Walking inside the ship or on deck? Visit machine room, etc?
6) Will instruments and panels in the future be more realistically placed. Like for example Virtual Sailor does it?