Released 20 gun privateer schooner

[Captain Armstrong]

Its really late her so im going to keep this reply short:
I agree completely with you about the sailing characteristics of the prince, its really great to havve your first-hand expertise for this stuff Im not sure what you mean about there being no carronades ingame, they are in mine, and have been for awhile do you play COAS? because I have POTC, maybe that explains it? The prince historically carried 18-pdr carronades, but that would probably be equivilant to 6pdr long guns. The current carronade to long gun ratio ingame is wrong, and I hope to change that. I think it is base on 12pdr long guns being equivilant to 24 pdr carronades (in terms of the ships they can be used on) But I think it would be far more accurate to have long 12 pdrs = 32pdr carronades, and I hope to change that soon. as for other ships being overpowered, I hope to change that too, I have for my own game for quite some time, and Im tired of having to change it again every time a new build comes out :urgh ( the thing is I make xebecs and warships/lineships unencounterable too, so I have to change that bit back before it could go into the build mod)

 

[Armada]

How can I cut it if booleans dont work?

Right, here's an illustration of the really easy method I would use:



Like I said before, start by making a plane (Create->Polygon Primitives->click the box next to Plane) with plenty of subdivisions as above.
Then, line up the edges of some of the subdivisions with objects like cannons, masts and gratings.
Now select the faces of those sections, as above, and delete them. The final result looks like the image on the right, with gaps where the objects would be.
Does that make sense?

Could you fix her spanker too whenever you get the new version exported? I also think it would be good to give the generic united states class frigate windows like on the Endymion and Acheron, if its not too much trouble.
- and just to clarify, this revised model should be used for all the constitution based ships

Yep, I can sort that out as well.

The current carronade to long gun ratio ingame is wrong, and I hope to change that. I think it is base on 12pdr long guns being equivilant to 24 pdr carronades (in terms of the ships they can be used on) But I think it would be far more accurate to have long 12 pdrs = 32pdr carronades, and I hope to change that soon. as for other ships being overpowered, I hope to change that too, I have for my own game for quite some time, and Im tired of having to change it again every time a new build comes out :urgh ( the thing is I make xebecs and warships/lineships unencounterable too, so I have to change that bit back before it could go into the build mod)

Maybe you should mention those issues in a separate thread as well, so we can discuss how to make those changes.
I agree there's a lot of work left to do with balancing certain ships' stats, so now that we're left with only the best ones in Beta 2, that should be pretty achievable.

 

[Post Captain]

Hmm... I wasn't aware of the carronades in POTC. In COAS, there's no good way to account for the lack of carronades, compensation wise. I supported adding carronades, but about half of the people who replied were against the idea for some reason.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

The ideas about ship speed and handling, and carronades are all handled in ships_init.c and can be easily edited. This ship can be set up to have carronades standard.

 

[Captain Armstrong]

Armada- thanks for explaining that, im working on the path using that method right now Ill post something more detailed about it in the fixing the build mod ships thread once Craiggo has the Prince.
Post captain- thats really a shame, theres really no reason to not have them I wonder if some of the POTC carronade code or whatever it is could work in COAS with some adjustments...
Hylie- Thanks! I'll take a look at that and see what I can do!

Edit-finshed the path, and I'm naming the files for export. in Inzanes tutorial it assumes that the lowermost sails should be taken in for battle sails. that wouldnt work for a ship with a fore and aft rig like this, and I would also like to take in the royals and course on the foremast, but I cant name several files rey_a2, so is there a way around this? can I assign which sails to be taken in for battle sails somewhere later on? :?

 

[Armada]

Edit-finshed the path, and I'm naming the files for export. in Inzanes tutorial it assumes that the lowermost sails should be taken in for battle sails. that wouldnt work for a ship with a fore and aft rig like this, and I would also like to take in the royals and course on the foremast, but I cant name several files rey_a2, so is there a way around this? can I assign which sails to be taken in for battle sails somewhere later on? :?

I don't think it's actually a strict naming system; probably "more like guidelines than actual rules".
You should be able to assign whichever yards you want to be rey_a#, as long as the number is different, and set all others to rey_b#, rey_c# etc.
For example, you could have, from top to bottom: rey_a2, rey_a22, rey_b2, rey_c2 on mast2, if you want the top two sails as the battle sails.

 

[Captain Armstrong]

I don't think it's actually a strict naming system; probably "more like guidelines than actual rules".
You should be able to assign whichever yards you want to be rey_a#, as long as the number is different, and set all others to rey_b#, rey_c# etc.
For example, you could have, from top to bottom: rey_a2, rey_a22, rey_b2, rey_c2 on mast2, if you want the top two sails as the battle sails.

Haha good to hear it! So I could, for example, furl the top sail and the bottom sail on a mast for battle sails?

 

[Armada]

Yes. You could test it out on the Constitution in-game if you want. Just rename the appropriate rey models and their geometry locators on the masts.

 

[Post Captain]

It might also be a good idea to take in the upper main and mizzen stays'ls, if possible. I don't agree with the stays'ls chosen and the staysl's excluded from the original sail plan at all, even when all the sails are set.

 

[Armada]

I don't think it's possible to have stays furled for Battle Sails, unfortunately.
They're attached directly to the mast models so that they don't move, and attaching them to a yard would make them move around with the wind.
We could, however, remove some of the stays if you think they're not really needed.

 

[Captain Armstrong]

Thats really a shame :urgh I was hoping I could furl all the stays and a Jib or two as well...no one has ever done it? I suppose Jibs would act the same way? Post captain, are you talking about the sail just above the main spanker/gaff? I should be able to furl that the same way as the square sails, because there is a tiny boom that it attaches to way up on the mainmast.

 

[Post Captain]

I think the sail you are referring to is on Prince. Its formal name is the "main gaff tops'l," also called the "jumbo," in slang. (like a main/mizzen tris' l--tri pronounced like triangle-- is called a spanker. In the Prince's case, though, it would just be called the mains'l. The gaff-rigged sail on the foremast is the "fore tris'l,"also known as the "Spencer") Based on what I think you want to do, I feel that it should remain set, as long as the t'gallant is also set. It's hard to tell, though, without seeing all the sails set first. Since this particular rig doesn't exist any more, It's harder for me to determine those things than it is with schooners, brigs, and ships.
I was referring to the stays'ls on the Constitution, and I think for historical accuracy, it might be better to remove/replace some of them. It seems to me that they were just randomly selected off the sail plan. Most of them are either useless 99% of the time, and can only be used in the lightest of breezes. If you're up to it, I could give you a list of the stays'ls that should be included.

Oh, and I think the stays'ls on some models do furl in battle/foul weather settings. It might be possible based on what I've seen in COAS.

 

[Captain Armstrong]

ah yes well I intended to keep the spencer sail set (the gaff-looking sail on the foremast right?) along with the main spanker/gaff, fore topsail, fore t'gallant, and 1-2 Jibs. we will have to see how much of that is possible of course (specifically the Jibs) I think I could give the staysails on the constitution a shot, but I can't promise I'll get to it right away. It would be convenient to do that after Armada has converted my improved model ingame, and I could fit it in when I adjust the square sails (taking in royals, setting the spanker) But I'm not sure when that will be. You could list them off though, in case you forget over time.
And I'm glad to hear youve seen it! ill have to check next time I play potc

 

[Post Captain]

I agree with your plan, but having all three heads'ls set (they are actually one forestays'l and two jibs) would relieve pressure on the helm and increase maneuverability. And you won't have to worry about taking them in. I would recommend taking in the main topmast and t'gallant stays'ls, if possible, since they would have hindered maneuverability when tacking, being half way between the bow and stern.
And yes, the Spencer is the trapezoidal gaff rigged sail on the fore mast. You don't hear that term often because they are only called spencers when they are on square rigged masts, and are very uncommon. (The Pilgrim is the only replica I know of that has one.) They are, for the most part, very nice, easy to handle sails.

And don't worry about the stays'ls for now, I can always present the list later. Those have been bugging me for far too long for me to forget.

 

[Captain Armstrong]

good to hear about the forestays'l and Jibs, and I agree completely about the staysails I have heard of spencers before, though I didnt think of this one as a spencer because the Prince looks so schooner like.

 

[Post Captain]

The Spencer is just one of those technicalities. The foremast is composed of three spars, so it's a hermaphrodite brig. It would in fact be a tops'l schooner by definition if the foremast were composed of just a foremast proper and foretopmast. Once you get to a certain point this stuff gets awfully confusing. My favorite confusing piece of information is the distinction between cutters and cutters, and pinnaces and pinnaces. (ship's boats vs. sailing vessels) I also like how most vessels have two foremasts, but only have one.

 

[Captain Armstrong]

It certainly does! i always wondered if the ships boats and the sailing vessels had a common ancestor or something? hard to see how they are similar otherwise Armada or someone knowledgable about ship exporting- do I need to create a baselocator as mentiioned on post 3 of this thread? http://forum.piratesahoy.net/index.php/topic/14886-storm-engine-moddeling-basics/ If so, where do I need to move the objects specifically? SuperDurnius just said he would explain later, but hasnt yet.

 

[Armada]

Yeah, that unfinished tutorial has always bothered me... anyway, yes you do need a 'base locator' at (0,0,0). As he said, the name of the locator doesn't matter.
It's actually the bare minimum required to export a model- you can parent all parts of an object (e.g. the hull) to it an use the export plug-in straight away, but the locator itself doesn't export.
You need to do that for each object (masts, yards etc) separately, but it can be done using one MB file and exporting only a specific selection each time.

As for "moving the objects", I think that's a bit misleading.
It just means you need to make sure everything is in the place you want it to be once exported (i.e. ship hull is placed so that its waterline is level with the base locator).
However, you'll need to move all the masts, yards and any extras to the position they should be in as standalone model files.
For example, the masts would have their ends at (0,0,0), and yards would also be in the centre.
Objects like the path can either be moved to (0,0,0) and have a locator in their original position, or be left where they are and positioned with a locator at (0,0,0) instead.

If the above sounds confusing, use GM Viewer to look at other examples of ship models with 'view locators' turned on.
That way you can get a feel for how the models should be positioned (and the locator work Craiggo has to do ).

One more thing, what units are you using in Maya? (to check, go to Window->Settings/Preferences->Preferences->Settings)
If you're in centimetres, you'll need to make the model exactly 100 times bigger before exporting. If you're in metres, then the model is the correct scale for the game.

 

[Captain Armstrong]

Thanks! I think that makes sense I scaled the prince with the Vincejo and Greyhound, so I think its in the right units, but ill double check anyways.

 

[Captain Armstrong]

Ok, so when I try to export the file doesnt save and a blank document called error.txt is made instead, I have tried several different parts and the same thing happens, any suggestions? ALso when I create a locator it doesnt seem to appear at all, though according to the bar at the bottom a locator is created, would that have anything to do with it?