Released Corvette V.2

[Armada]

Awesome looking work Armada. Looking forward to seeing her in-game!

Cheers, mate!

If we're going by space available, they should remove the guns from the lower decks to make room for cargo, but I can't see them doing that.
[...]
The main thing that I'd like to consider is to have the fast merchantmen visibly different from their navy counterparts.
Changing the calibre of the cannons is not going to do that. So by that reasoning, I'd say strip the cannons from her top deck.
At least that would allow players to see the idea of a stripped down navy ship.

This is more or less what I was wondering about. I can't see why one would remove the guns from the main deck, because it wouldn't be a great place to store cargo, and would leave the ship more vulnerable.
Equally, it seems unnecessary to remove the guns from the upper deck. The only guns a merchant ship won't need are chasers, and removing those would have a visual effect on the model.

Reducing the calibre won't have an effect, true enough... unless I change the cannon models being used on the upper deck.
The current ones could be used as the low calibre merchant guns, and for the navy version, they could be replaced with the same model as the chasers.

Another way the merchant version could look different is by the flags it uses. I believe merchant vessels wouldn't have used commissioning pennants, right? So they might only need the ensign on the stern flagpole.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

If used as a merchant ship, she'll already get the merchant ensign instead of the military one; that's not an issue.
Personally I'd find different models cannons on the decks and different flag configuration hardly an obvious difference.
Is there anything else that could be done?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I am still looking for that site where I found the discussion about what was done to the auctioned frigates, but my memory says that the extra bracing under the decks was removed to make room for more cargo after the guns were removed.

In game the thing is undergunned and it is best to use her speed to avoid combat while shooting out the opponents sails. I would prefer more smaller guns to a few larger guns. And yes it would be good to have a visible difference between the types.

 

[Armada]

If used as a merchant ship, she'll already get the merchant ensign instead of the military one; that's not an issue.
Personally I'd find different models cannons on the decks and different flag configuration hardly an obvious difference.
Is there anything else that could be done?

Hmm... how about painting a great big sign on the side saying "MERCHANT SHIP - BUGGER OFF, PIRATES!"?

Seriously though, there isn't much else I could change. Perhaps I could add more clutter on the upper deck, like the small bags and barrels we have on other ships?
The actual hull texture could be made to look weathered, though the FastMerchantman textures already do look sort of weathered.

I am still looking for that site where I found the discussion about what was done to the auctioned frigates, but my memory says that the extra bracing under the decks was removed to make room for more cargo after the guns were removed.

If you do find anything, I'd be interested to see the details.

Anyway, here's another render of the ship:

The main feature here is the griffin figurehead, which I've resized and adjusted to fit properly. This one shouldn't end up dragging its back legs through the water.
I've also retextured the headrails to use the same gold colour as the stern details, adjusted the anchor's size and position, resized the hawse and added hawse holes.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Hmm... how about painting a great big sign on the side saying "MERCHANT SHIP - BUGGER OFF, PIRATES!"?

Seriously though, there isn't much else I could change. Perhaps I could add more clutter on the upper deck, like the small bags and barrels we have on other ships?

I quite like that.
Should a merchant ship have the same level of decoration as a navy ship or more/less?

 

[Armada]

Should a merchant ship have the same level of decoration as a navy ship or more/less?

I guess purpose-built merchant vessels might be less ornate, but converted navy ships would probably maintain most of the decoration.
Then again, think of the Amsterdam. That was a purpose-built East Indiaman, from the same time period that I'm aiming for with the new Corvette, and that's pretty ornate.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Exactly why I was wondering. I seem to remember at least in The Netherlands, the earlier merchant ships had lots of decoration,
but the more "modern" ones were decidedly more sparse; the ones constructed after the main Golden Age was over.
Didn't something similar happen with naval vessels?

But then that doesn't seem to agree with the looks of the Amsterdam (1749) and the Batavia (1628).
The Dutch Golden Age was from 1588-1702, so the Batavia IS from that time, but the Amsterdam is from later.
So much for me trying to make sense of history.

 

[Armada]

Exactly why I was wondering. I seem to remember at least in The Netherlands, the earlier merchant ships had lots of decoration,
but the more "modern" ones were decidedly more sparse; the ones constructed after the main Golden Age was over.
Didn't something similar happen with naval vessels?

Yes, there was definitely a reduction in the amount of decoration used on navy ships, especially during the Napoleonic era. I think it was deemed too expensive and unnecessary.
A good example is how HMS Victory looked when launched... http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66475.html
... compared to the Napoleonic appearance everyone knows her for... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HMSVictory.jpg
... and then her even later appearance from the late 1800s to early 1900s... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Victory_Portsmouth_um_1900.jpg

It didn't stop there, either; modern navy ships are so bland! Forget stealth, where's the artwork?!
Here's one of my photos taken back in 2011 when entering Portsmouth. I think it speaks for itself...

 

[Armada]

I've just finished exporting all parts of the model to GM format, and I'm happy to say it worked as expected, with no ill side effects.
I'm away tomorrow, so I'll have to sort out locators and such on Sunday, before releasing the replacement for Corvette1.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Looking forward to it!

 

[Armada]

Locator work nearly finished; should have the files ready tomorrow or Wednesday.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

 

[Armada]

She's ready!

Spoiler

I've used Hylie's rigging from the FastMerchantman and only made slight tweaks, such as replacing the spanker, adding a mainstays'l and fixing rope errors.
The yards have been swapped with those from the Rossiya, which all seem to fit remarkably well. The only new one is the gaff on the mizzenmast.

You can download the first version (which only replaces Corvette1) here: CorvetteV3.0.7z

It includes the model files, the updated Bortoutcorvette1 texture, a revised Ships_init.c entry, and a tweaked common.ini which changes the name to 'Aurora class Frigate'.
Speaking of which, in Ships_init.c, you should also find PiratCorvette50 and CrimsonBlood and change their "refShip.SName" lines to "FrigateP", so they don't share the name.
It doesn't yet include an adjusted walk file, as I'm waiting until all versions are released, so I don't have to temporarily add a new walk file just for Corvette1.

Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything, but let me know if everything works. I'll also need someone to get a nice screenshot for the interface pic (preferably with anti-aliasing).

 

[Pieter Boelen]

She looks pretty great! Especially the new stern looks so much more real!

The only comment I might have is that her stern deck looks a bit empty.
No idea what could be added there, with the wheel being on the main deck though.
Actually, is it just me or did she lose her capstan on the deck?

See attached for an interface screenshot.

The Amsterdam is based on the old corvette too. Any chance you'll do a bit of an upgrade on her...?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

She has a clean rear deck! It was way too crowded before. Now there is room to run around to get a better view of the action.

The last update to the Amsterdam was 4 months ago, but it hasn't made it into the game yet.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

She has a clean rear deck! It was way too crowded before. Now there is room to run around to get a better view of the action.

True. I wasn't suggesting putting anything huge there; just something to break the cleanness. Maybe just a barrel would do? But why would there be a barrel there?

The last update to the Amsterdam was 4 months ago, but it hasn't made it into the game yet.

Rigging, right? Not her hull. I should have your rigging update in my game version already, to be included in Beta 2.4 some time soon.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Ayup.

 

[Armada]

D'oh! Wrong sails with reeflines! Seems I deleted the wrong refShip.GeraldSails lines; it should be rey_b2 and rey_b3 that are listed, not a2 and a3.
Pieter, could you please make that change and redo the screenshot? Sorry, I knew there would be something wrong...

The only comment I might have is that her stern deck looks a bit empty.
No idea what could be added there, with the wheel being on the main deck though.
Actually, is it just me or did she lose her capstan on the deck?

Some ships might have a skylight on the poop deck, but I'm not sure if this one really qualifies.
That's probably the only thing that would be sensible to add; other clutter like barrels and such wouldn't be safe to leave lying around up there.
Either way, I'd rather leave it as is. More work is more work.

I also dropped the capstan because there doesn't seem to be enough space for it on the upper deck.
Chances are it would go on the main deck, like the Rossiya, but I didn't model that deck for this ship.

The Amsterdam is based on the old corvette too. Any chance you'll do a bit of an upgrade on her...?

Oh man, not another one...
If I were to upgrade that ship, I maintain that it would be better to build a new one from actual plans.
I'd love to build her, too, seeing as I haven't worked on a merchant vessel before, and she'd work well in Hearts of Oak. AND I've visited the real ship.
But I also have the Bellona to finish, the Rossiya to upgrade, Bava's Southampton to rig... so it will probably have to wait.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

D'oh! Wrong sails with reeflines! Seems I deleted the wrong refShip.GeraldSails lines; it should be rey_b2 and rey_b3 that are listed, not a2 and a3.
Pieter, could you please make that change and redo the screenshot? Sorry, I knew there would be something wrong...

How is the attached?

Some ships might have a skylight on the poop deck, but I'm not sure if this one really qualifies.
That's probably the only thing that would be sensible to add; other clutter like barrels and such wouldn't be safe to leave lying around up there.
Either way, I'd rather leave it as is. More work is more work.

True, that.

I also dropped the capstan because there doesn't seem to be enough space for it on the upper deck.
Chances are it would go on the main deck, like the Rossiya, but I didn't model that deck for this ship.

Fair enough.

Oh man, not another one...
If I were to upgrade that ship, I maintain that it would be better to build a new one from actual plans.
I'd love to build her, too, seeing as I haven't worked on a merchant vessel before, and she'd work well in Hearts of Oak. AND I've visited the real ship.
But I also have the Bellona to finish, the Rossiya to upgrade, Bava's Southampton to rig... so it will probably have to wait.

I'm sorry to suggest you more work. But I'm also sorry to see my favourite ship lagging behind in detail.
She's not that bad, I suppose, and her new masts do look better. But still... low detail cannons, no gun-port hatches, etc. Bit of a shame...
I had hoped that adapting your Corvette 3.0 wouldn't take that much time and effort. The most obvious difference with the Corvettes is that her red lion figurehead is part of the hull model.
I suppose that doesn't make things any easier, does it?

 

[Armada]

How is the attached?

Perfect! Thanks.

I'm sorry to suggest you more work. But I'm also sorry to see my favourite ship lagging behind in detail.
She's not that bad, I suppose, and her new masts do look better. But still... low detail cannons, no gun-port hatches, etc. Bit of a shame...
I had hoped that adapting your Corvette 3.0 wouldn't take that much time and effort. The most obvious difference with the Corvettes is that her red lion figurehead is part of the hull model.
I suppose that doesn't make things any easier, does it?

The trouble is, the Amsterdam model we have is significantly different to the stock corvette. It looks as though the entire hull has been stretched along the y-axis and had more gunports cut below the existing ones, meaning it would be a nightmare to either fix its awkward shape or replace it with an even more heavily modified Corvette V3.0 hull.

Funnily enough, the built-in figurehead would be easy to replace, as would the headrails and other small details.
In this sense, I guess I could do a quick bare-bones upgrade of the bow and cannons, but the ship still wouldn't really be the Amsterdam, would it? I'd rather do the ship justice, if you know what I mean.
I have actually looked for plans of the Amsterdam before, but all I found was a very low-res image that would be useless, which doesn't help the situation.
If anyone can find (or has found) some high-res plans of the ship, that would at least give me something to work from...