I decided to pre-order this game the other day because I like the whole pirates theme and have been looking forward to it since they announced it. Well, I finally was able to download and install the game on January 7, 2008. After playing for a few hours I found myself disappointed, but continued playing on. It appears as if the walking around aspect of this game was developed only a few months ago...it feels VERY unpolished. This is something a college student would display as his final presentation, not something a gaming studio would come out with.
This ship combat on the other hand was interesting and fun at the same time. Sure it may be slow, but it's supposed to be. I enjoyed the pace of my battles and my overall experience with the open seas was a good one. Even though I haven't played this game that much because of work and college, I can tell that it will most likely be the same as I progress in levels.
In the end, I believe I will just cancel my pre-order and just save my money for something else. For the record, I've played almost every MMO since UO (even WWII Online) and unfortunately, this game just doesn't capture my attention early on, which is scary. I'll see how this game is about 6 months to a year after launch.