Solved Gunpowder use

[PapaDooks]

G'day folks
I did a search of the forum but didn't find any info about it so i was wondering if there was a table or if someone would tell me how to work out gunpowder use per shot kind of thing ?

not much point carrying 5 times more then i really need onboard and just being a giant bomb right

On a totally unrelated point. good to see ya still hear pieter

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Ahoy there, matey!

Gunpowder is defined in PROGRAM\Cannons\cannons_init.h or something like that. Writing from memory here.

Personally I just use the Auto Buy button which will automatically purchase a reasonable amount of ammunition.
You can tweak its behaviour in PROGRAM\InternalSettings.h .

 

[PapaDooks]

cheers mate. ben a while. how do i view the cannons_init file again ?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Notepad will do it.

 

[Grey Roger]

It's "Cannons_init.c". The thing is, that presumably tells you how much powder one cannon uses for one shot. You need to multiply that by however many cannons you have in a broadside, then figure out how many broadsides you're likely to need to fire between now and the next port, which depends on how many things you attack or how many attack you. Also, you may find the next port doesn't have any because the blacksmith has decided to issue a fetch quest; if you're in the habit of carrying an overstock of powder, you won't run short, and in fact will be able to take a lot of money from that blacksmith...

 

[Pieter Boelen]

What do blacksmiths need with gunpowder?

I seem to remember also that larger cannons require more powder. But the Shipyard interface tells you that, if I recall.

 

[PapaDooks]

cheers

i was more thinking along the lines of " my current cannons use X powder per shot so if i have A balls,B grape,C chain,D bombs then i need X(A+B+C+D) powder"

but then again i'll just leave the readin to the purser

 

[Pieter Boelen]

i was more thinking along the lines of " my current cannons use X powder per shot so if i have A balls,B grape,C chain,D bombs then i need X(A+B+C+D) powder"

That is what Auto Buy does behind the scenes.

 

[Grey Roger]

What do blacksmiths need with gunpowder?

Checking back on where I reported it (here), it was the blacksmith at Saint George, who specialises in firearms. I could have strung him along for ages and made a fortune if I hadn't quit the dialog in order to bring a few different officers into the active list so they could benefit from the reputation boost; that was what finally closed the quest and put a stop to the fleecing.

You might actually need less gunpowder than X(A+B+C+D). You may be carrying lots of grape and chain, while D will be 0 unless you got lucky in a fort. The reason you're carrying lots of grape and chain is for flexibility against different types of enemy, you might not be planning on firing the whole lot. Also, if you successfully board an enemy ship, you can help yourself to its gunpowder. On the other hand, A might be large because you have heavy guns and you're planning to use them on something tough, e.g. a fort. A 1st rate ship of the line goes through ammo at a fair old rate, especially if you have Cannons 10, all the gunnery perks, and a resilient target on the receiving end...

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Checking back on where I reported it (here), it was the blacksmith at Saint George, who specialises in firearms. I could have strung him along for ages and made a fortune if I hadn't quit the dialog in order to bring a few different officers into the active list so they could benefit from the reputation boost; that was what finally closed the quest and put a stop to the fleecing.

I just made a post in that thread so that we don't forget we still need to sort that out.

You might actually need less gunpowder than X(A+B+C+D). You may be carrying lots of grape and chain, while D will be 0 unless you got lucky in a fort.

Auto Buy even does that for you. If I recall, it is set up to NOT buy bombs and enough powder to fire 2/3rds of your total amount of ammunition.
Check the settings in PROGRAM\InternalSettings.h; I know it is in there somewhere.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I use my fingers to figure out how much shot and powder to buy. The ratio is really pretty simple.
4 pound cannons use 2 powder per shot
6 pound cannons use 3 powder per shot
9 pound cannons use 4 powder per shot
12 pound cannons use 5 powder per shot
18 pound cannons use 6 powder per shot
24 pound cannons use 7 powder per shot
32 pound cannons use 8 powder per shot

So if you buy 1,000 balls and you have 12 pound cannons you need 5,000 powder.