Just saw that (posted a thread about it), I have been in the Alpha from the very start and love SoT but was having trouble selling it to my friends.
Too cartoony.
Not enough game.
Needs COOP.
Being their main issues, for £7.99 a month i think it may well have a lot more players, It also may have a Lot more trolls and its a game that can be trolled hard.
All valid concerns - I guess it depends what you want from a game? I guess I see it as something that you can drop in and out of and would be fun for a couple hours as a casual gamer - I have a fair few other games on the go when I want to grind and spend hours working towards something more serious (FO4, Witcher 3, EfT, tempted by MH:W) so this will be more of a nice distraction when my brain is fried after work and I just want to chill out doing something stupid with friends. I guess the cartoon-y graphics kind of add to that, but I have to say I think the art style has a really unique charm to it from the screenshots I've seen. I guess "Not enough game" could mean lack of progression, but I don't think that's the idea with this - it seems the intention is more that you get a couple of mates together and see what happens along the way. Not sure what they mean about needs co-op - have they looked at the sailing mechanics for large ships?
I see what you mean re. trolls, but can you really be trolled that hard if you have a pre-made crew? surely it would just lead to more battles, which could be half the fun? I hope that's not the case, but I'll wait and see what happens. In any case, if you/your mates are short a deckhand I'll gladly come a'pludering with ye
(sunglasses are the closest I could get to an eye patch...)