Flags

[Jack Rackham]

I have finally changed the code to use the national swedish flag instead of the personal one. That gave me a free spot and I also used the very
last (free) spot to add two new personal flags.


Now two questions:
1 the danish personal flag upper left corner

has a bird on it when placed on a ship:

Why, isn't it a danish flag?

2 the blue flag with a yellow bird, what's that?

 

[Grey Roger]

Fair enough, though it does mean that from now on, for a new personal flag to be added, an existing one will have to be lost. (Would a pirate flag work for the red one with the green circle and yellow crescents? There are already a few pirate flags with crescents.)

As for the birds:
1: No idea. I can't find any variant of a Danish flag with a bird like that. It may be a raven, though the Danish raven flags I've found don't look like that - the raven is black and usually in the centre, not in a quadrant. Make it a plain Danish flag - try the attached version. The pennant is also a plain Danish flag without a bird, so no change is needed there.

2: That's Jack Sparrow's personal flag after he leaves the EITC. The St. George's cross with the red bird is his personal flag at the start of the game, when he's an honest British merchant, then he takes the EITC flag when he joins the EITC, then he takes the blue flag with the yellow bird when he finds out that he's been sent to Antigua to collect slaves.

 

[Jack Rackham]

Would a pirate flag work for the red one with the green circle and yellow crescents?

No unfortunately not as I want to use it as a land flag.

There are already a few pirate flags with crescents.

Yes and I'm using them as ship flags.

1. Make it a plain Danish flag - try the attached version.

That will help to make things look better. Is it ok if I move the white cross a little to the left - like the swedish?

2. I need another new personal flag for Howard Pyle now...

 

[Grey Roger]

That will help to make things look better. Is it ok if I move the white cross a little to the left - like the swedish?

At first I was inclined to agree because the current Danish flag does have the cross offset. But then I found this:
Denmark: History of the Flag
So the present one with the centred cross is actually the correct flag for a merchant ship, at least for the 18th century. Or I could do a bit of Photoshopping and shift the cross a bit, then use the alpha channel to make the triangular indent for the naval version. Either way, I'll update the pennant to put the cross nearer to the left and make the vertical bar thinner, so that when it's stretched into a pennant on a ship in the game, the cross is better proportioned and nearer to the mast, similar to the British naval and merchant pennants.

2. I need another new personal flag for Howard Pyle now...

Could you do me a favour, please, and use one of the existing flags rather than add a new one? I was hoping that when the Swedish flag was released, it would free up a slot; instead, with that and the last blank slot gone, we're minus a slot instead of plus one. It would be nice to leave the expendable personal flags as slots free for others to use.

Perhaps Howard Pyle could use the blue flag with yellow chevron? That's the Sparre flag added by DeathDaisy some time ago and has Swedish roots. Which would mean he gets to continue the Swedish theme, DeathDaisy's work gets some more exposure, and we get to keep a slot free.

 

[Jack Rackham]

So the present one with the centred cross is actually the correct flag for a merchant ship, at least for the 18th century. Or I could do a bit of Photoshopping and shift the cross a bit, then use the alpha channel to make the triangular indent for the naval version. Either way, I'll update the pennant to put the cross nearer to the left and make the vertical bar thinner, so that when it's stretched into a pennant on a ship in the game, the cross is better proportioned and nearer to the mast, similar to the British naval and merchant pennants.

Perhaps Howard Pyle could use the blue flag with yellow chevron?

Sure why not. (As it's in my personal family tree too.)

I know I've used the last of the personal flags. When the time comes and someone needs a new one we have to decide which one to go.
Maybe I can be of help and let go of a flag, I have not added, but used.

 

[Grey Roger]

I've just found something odd about the Danish personal flag. I've an old version dating back to 2015 which is exactly what you suggested - no bird, cross offset to the left like a Swedish flag. The existing version is dated 2018. Which means someone intentionally changed it to a central cross with a bird in the top left quadrant! But whoever it was didn't update the interface flag to match.

Next time someone wants a new personal flag, first to go will be the British red and blue ensigns. Anyone wanting to fly a British flag ought to fly an actual British flag, which means they'll be treated as British by any ships in the vicinity and they'll also get the correct flag for their chosen period. But the special ones with the four leaf clover and the horn can stay, being the personal flags for "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower respectively.

After that, it's the one which looks like a mutated British flag with red background and blue cross, and which is actually the Russian naval jack. Being a jack, it should only be flown on a jackstaff. The proper Russian ensign is just a blue saltire on a white background, and that's also available as a personal flag.