Hello All:
I was talking to Nathan about making the Realistic Sailing more realistic and he thought this should be a main thread. So, I'd like to present some ideas on things that could be added to make it all more realistic. If you some ideas of your own, write 'em down and perhaps we can all come up with some solutions.
`Battle-sails`, All Sails
As it stands now, you only have two commands regarding speed. We all know that this was certainly not the case. In addition to adding one sail at a time, you could reef the sails to make them shorter, thus reducing speed. The ability to either reef, or add sails individually would greatly increase the freedom allowed to various captains.
Why reduce sail?
The obvious question that comes out of the first idea is "why would I want to go slower?" Apart from the situations when you want to go slower for strategic purposes, there is the pure sailing element. That being, too much sail means that you will catch a lot of wind. If the wind is too strong, you might carry away a mast.
Encounter Distance:
Currently, you need only be 500 yards from an enemy to "escape to sea." 500 yards is a little low considering in `real-life` an 18pdr could penetrate 2 feet of oak at 1300 yards. 500 yards is still very much in the danger zone. By increasing the distance to 2000 yards, however, the strategic situations of the game are more realistic and exhilarating. The simple maneuvers we all know to gain those extra 100 yards against a faster ship no longer work. Instead, we must run and be deadly efficient with our stern chasers to damage rigging or carry away a mast. Running, is now more intense, takes longer, and requires a sharp eye on the wind, and a deep understanding of how your particular ship handles.
Leeway:
The 12 knot wind is blowing on your starboard quarter. Your `square-rig` loves every second of this fine sailing as you keep your heading as straight as an arrow. Realistic? No. In real life ships drifted to lee… that is, if the wind was blowing from port, then the ship would automatically drift to starboard. Just like sails catch the wind, the hull catches the wind too. Obviously, each ship varies in its drift to leeward; those with large poops and `fore-castles` drift quite a bit, while the smaller hulls drift less. Regardless, all ships slide to the leeward direction.
Leeward Shore:
Like fighting around islands? With drifting to leeward you'll dread it. When you have an open sea, the drifting isn't so bad; but when you have a leeward shore, if you're not careful, and you don’t know your ship, you could find yourself driven onshore.
Storms:
Continuing with the idea of too much wind knocking down masts, in storms you had to not only be careful of carrying away a mast, but you also had to be certain you were sailing with the wind dead astern. Remember, the wind directs the swells. If you ride the swells so that you are hit in the stern you are in good shape. If you get hit along the side, however, you run a very high risk of being rolled over. The breaking of waves over the sides of the ship is called "breaching." When this begins to happen, the ship will founder and go straight down. If you have carry away a mast in a storm, you lose your steerage and the next wave that hits your stern will send you off course. The next will hit you amidships and breach to, sending you down with all hands. Storms become intense and dangerous, with an actual goal. No mare dropping all sail and riding it out as you spin off to oblivion. Instead, you are watching the wind, listening to the sound of the rigging, and fighting to keep your head on course.
So, those are just a few ideas on how to make sailing more intense. The hard part is coding it. Ideas?
I was talking to Nathan about making the Realistic Sailing more realistic and he thought this should be a main thread. So, I'd like to present some ideas on things that could be added to make it all more realistic. If you some ideas of your own, write 'em down and perhaps we can all come up with some solutions.
`Battle-sails`, All Sails
As it stands now, you only have two commands regarding speed. We all know that this was certainly not the case. In addition to adding one sail at a time, you could reef the sails to make them shorter, thus reducing speed. The ability to either reef, or add sails individually would greatly increase the freedom allowed to various captains.
Why reduce sail?
The obvious question that comes out of the first idea is "why would I want to go slower?" Apart from the situations when you want to go slower for strategic purposes, there is the pure sailing element. That being, too much sail means that you will catch a lot of wind. If the wind is too strong, you might carry away a mast.
Encounter Distance:
Currently, you need only be 500 yards from an enemy to "escape to sea." 500 yards is a little low considering in `real-life` an 18pdr could penetrate 2 feet of oak at 1300 yards. 500 yards is still very much in the danger zone. By increasing the distance to 2000 yards, however, the strategic situations of the game are more realistic and exhilarating. The simple maneuvers we all know to gain those extra 100 yards against a faster ship no longer work. Instead, we must run and be deadly efficient with our stern chasers to damage rigging or carry away a mast. Running, is now more intense, takes longer, and requires a sharp eye on the wind, and a deep understanding of how your particular ship handles.
Leeway:
The 12 knot wind is blowing on your starboard quarter. Your `square-rig` loves every second of this fine sailing as you keep your heading as straight as an arrow. Realistic? No. In real life ships drifted to lee… that is, if the wind was blowing from port, then the ship would automatically drift to starboard. Just like sails catch the wind, the hull catches the wind too. Obviously, each ship varies in its drift to leeward; those with large poops and `fore-castles` drift quite a bit, while the smaller hulls drift less. Regardless, all ships slide to the leeward direction.
Leeward Shore:
Like fighting around islands? With drifting to leeward you'll dread it. When you have an open sea, the drifting isn't so bad; but when you have a leeward shore, if you're not careful, and you don’t know your ship, you could find yourself driven onshore.
Storms:
Continuing with the idea of too much wind knocking down masts, in storms you had to not only be careful of carrying away a mast, but you also had to be certain you were sailing with the wind dead astern. Remember, the wind directs the swells. If you ride the swells so that you are hit in the stern you are in good shape. If you get hit along the side, however, you run a very high risk of being rolled over. The breaking of waves over the sides of the ship is called "breaching." When this begins to happen, the ship will founder and go straight down. If you have carry away a mast in a storm, you lose your steerage and the next wave that hits your stern will send you off course. The next will hit you amidships and breach to, sending you down with all hands. Storms become intense and dangerous, with an actual goal. No mare dropping all sail and riding it out as you spin off to oblivion. Instead, you are watching the wind, listening to the sound of the rigging, and fighting to keep your head on course.
So, those are just a few ideas on how to make sailing more intense. The hard part is coding it. Ideas?
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