We are a semi-casual 5-man GIM. I really enjoy activities that can contribute to my group, so I had fun being ahead of my group in sailing level and then taking the gang on a large group-charting expedition. I was similarly excited for deep sea trawling.
I used the new sailing island with rune rocks to grind out a second rune ship, and did the cannon work to farm cotton nets & a chum spreader. I convinced the group to all get 84 sailing 87 fishing, which is pretty steep. Bluefins are strong though, so it seemed worth. We also used the new super fish pots, which are a winner.
Trawling seems the perfect activity to do with friends: one drives, one moves the nets, everyone fish! Unfortunately, we discovered that the "navigator" can only drive the ship on the rudder, not give orders to the NPC like the captain can.
This would require them getting off the nets regularly, and missing out on all the fishing that happens while the boat is moving. So I ended up doing both tasks, while my party could not help & sat on the nets with a several-minute AFK. The night was still a success, but could be improved.
The below suggestions are edited down for discord length. I posted a full version here:
https://reddit.com/r/2007scape/comments/1rfjywj
My most important change:
- Let the host allow guests to give crewmates commands.
This would allow one guest to tell best girl Spotter Virginia where to go, while I operate the nets. This would make group trawling a very chill activity.
Less important changes:
- Trawl nets are a bit of a noob trap.
- Trawl crates have some rough edges.
- Fathom stone / pearls should reduce the need for plugins.
Broader suggestions:
- Boat permissions ought to be simpler.
- Boat permissions ought to be clearer.
- Explain boat permissions prominently in-game.