I'm cautiously optimistic, given that they hired Lusted, that CA may be humble enough to build on the fine work done by the Lordz on NTW I and II. I'm deeply leery of the naval combat, though. Ancient, oared combat would have been a much simpler hurdle to jump for both players and AI. It's not trivial to teach humans to sail, never mind properly fight a sailing ship, and CA's AI track record makes me skeptical that they'll be able to get a tactical naval AI that can handle winds and crossing the T. If they don't, why bother with the Age of Sail? Even if they do, it'll pwn almost every player for months until they come up the learning curve on frigate tactics. Why set yourselves up for failure like this?