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Ideas for the future!

And it is good to keep in mind that for the level of 'part-time' modding development(as opposed to full time game dev), getting the source code for a large AAA type game does not always mean 'instant' results. I remember when a bunch of us got the source code released for Call To Power 2 over on the apolyton forums(they still have a small active forum going on it today!) and once the glow of awesomeness(from the people that did a bunch of work in their own time to be able to give it to us etc) had worn off a bit, and we all looked and saw about 500,000 lines of quite complex C++, well the penny dropped and we were a bit overawed by the task ahead.

Still a bunch of stuff did come out of that and the Apolyton Mod would not have been possible without direct access to some of the core code. I would imagine progress is going to be slow on CoAS, but for sure if you are interested in coding games at all then having actual source code to look at is always hugely helpfull. We have been very lucky with PotC in the level and detail of modification that has been possible, and the coders that have all contributed down the years have done some amazing stuff - in a way we might not need the source code for PotC, to get a really awesome Build Mod 14 Full done, we are not really that far off that target i feel and it has come on leaps and bounds since build mod 12 which was when i first discovered the Build Mod. It has been amazing to see what has been possible without the source code and i take my hat of to all those many coders that have been here doing the hard work :cheers
 
Ahoy mates, I just thought I'd post a few more ideas that have dawned on me recently:

Hull springs a leak (coding required)
If a ship's hull takes enough damage (the 'sinking ship' icon appears), there's a chance that it will start taking on water and start sinking.
The only difference is that the ship sinks much more slowly, and the player is not killed at this point, but instead must make a decision on the best course of action.
If he doesn't make a decision in time... then it's off to the locker. These are the options the player must consider:

Option 1- Emergency repairs. The crew attempts to patch the leak while dumping the incoming water over the sides of the ship. This would require planks and the 'Basic Ship Defence' ability.
The ship would regain a certain amount of HP so it can continue engaging the enemy (if you're mad enough to keep fighting!). However, this option can only be used ONCE per battle.
Option 2- Light repairs. The crew attempts to patch the leak with anything they've got, while dumping water and cargo overboard.
This would not require planks, but requires the 'Sea Wolf' ability.* The intention is to lighten the ship in an attempt to increase maximum speed to escape the enemy. The ship stops sinking (icon stays visible), but does not recover any HP; instead the HP just stops depleting. With this option, there is a risk that the crew cannot control the leak for very long, so the ship may continue sinking and the captain will have to rethink the situation. Again, this can only be done once per battle.
Option 3- Abandon Ship! With no options remaining, the captain and crew leave the ship and its cargo to a watery grave. This works like the 'suicide button' mentioned earlier in this thread.

(No prizes for whoever can guess which recent nautical disaster inspired me to think of the above... ironic, isn't it? :urgh )
* Just guessing which ability would be suitable, based on my hazy memory. Please feel free to suggest a better one!

More detailed boarding decks (modelling required)
The main gun deck used during boarding sequences, and visiting your ship's deck, could be improved by adding hammocks for the crew (possibly with crew inside when visiting the deck).
There could also be more battle damage, as seen on most of the weather deck locations, with broken cannons, crates, blood stains etc.
It's just a thought for anyone wanting some fairly straightforward modelling to do which isn't as challenging as modelling new ships entirely.

So, any thoughts on the above? It's just random brainstorming, so I won't take offence if people dismiss the ideas.

NOTE: some of the links in the first post, to other ideas, no longer work, because the threads themselves appear to have vanished. :?
Can anyone confirm the threads listed are actually nowhere to be found, or am I imagining it? I get a '404 error' with four of the links, either way...
 
These options, are they in addition to the existing repair options or do they replace the existing ones?
 
For the boarding decks, Is it possible to add new ones? some of the new high detail ship models would actually be more detaileed than the stock ones (an example that comes to mind is the Movie HMS surprise, her deck would look far better than the stock corvette one that is used on some ships)
 
Hylie Pistoff said:
These options, are they in addition to the existing repair options or do they replace the existing ones?
Click to expand...
If possible, I'd say the normal repair options would be replaced by these new ones, but only when a ship starts sinking.
Under normal circumstances, the player could still use the regular repair options. The main differences with the new ones are that they don't continually repair HP,
and they involve dumping water over the side, which I think can be represented with particle effects (fire-drill style?).

Captain Armstrong said:
For the boarding decks, Is it possible to add new ones? some of the new high detail ship models would actually be more detailed than the stock ones (an example that comes to mind is the Movie HMS surprise, her deck would look far better than the stock corvette one that is used on some ships)
Click to expand...
It must be possible, because several of the decks in Beta 2 were not present in the stock game.
The only problem is that boarding decks and 3D sailing decks are designed to have different levels of detail.
For instance, the stock corvette-style deck has various damage effects and higher-quality textures and details than the stock corvette itself.
So to convert the HMS Surprise deck into a boarding deck, you might have to upgrade a couple of details (as well as removing the masts and parts of the hull the player can't see).
Still, I agree it would be well worth the effort, especially to enhance the feel of boardings in the late game periods. :ixi
 
Armada said:
Captain Armstrong said:
For the boarding decks, Is it possible to add new ones? some of the new high detail ship models would actually be more detailed than the stock ones (an example that comes to mind is the Movie HMS surprise, her deck would look far better than the stock corvette one that is used on some ships)
Click to expand...
It must be possible, because several of the decks in Beta 2 were not present in the stock game.
The only problem is that boarding decks and 3D sailing decks are designed to have different levels of detail.
For instance, the stock corvette-style deck has various damage effects and higher-quality textures and details than the stock corvette itself.
So to convert the HMS Surprise deck into a boarding deck, you might have to upgrade a couple of details (as well as removing the masts and parts of the hull the player can't see).
Still, I agree it would be well worth the effort, especially to enhance the feel of boardings in the late game periods. :ixi
Click to expand...
If someone is interested in that, i could sugest my cooperation as a modeller... (I can do modeling alone, but I won't do entire deck project alone :). )
 
SuperDurnius, I would offer my help, but I have no clue where to start. :shrug As a modeller, there probably isnt much I could do to help that you dont know how to do yourself already. I think that once my Volage is textured and ingame, though, a decent boarding deck could be made from it. It already has details like pinrails and a skylight and stairs and a bell and some other things, and there is a seperate forecastle and quarterdeck that could make a boarding action more interesting. :onya Also, the Posieden, Sophie, Neptunus, Greyhound, and speedy wouldnt be bad places to start either IMO

On a related note, I have been trying to convince the creator of a medium frigate to let it be used in the build mod. It is based off the same plans by chapman as the HMS Ajax Jack Harrison started awhile ago and that Bava started to build a beautiful 18 pdr frigate with. http://www.sjohistoriska.se/sv/Fordjupning/Marketstore/Ritning/?msobjid=0014538 Neither of those ships were finished, and unfortunately i dont think this guy I have been trying to convince is willing to let us use his ship. :? But he also created the interior for the ship, and it appears he made seperate models for each deck. They are superbely done and would be perfect for boarding decks if only we could convince him to let us use them. its all hypothetical I guess, but I thought I would mention it if anyone thinks they can convince him. Here is a link to the thread. http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=333&t=41265&start=60
 
Captain Armstrong said:
SuperDurnius, I would offer my help, but I have no clue where to start. :shrug As a modeller, there probably isnt much I could do to help that you dont know how to do yourself already. I think that once my Volage is textured and ingame, though, a decent boarding deck could be made from it. It already has details like pinrails and a skylight and stairs and a bell and some other things, and there is a seperate forecastle and quarterdeck that could make a boarding action more interesting. :onya Also, the Posieden, Sophie, Neptunus, Greyhound, and speedy wouldnt be bad places to start either IMO

On a related note, I have been trying to convince the creator of a medium frigate to let it be used in the build mod. It is based off the same plans by chapman as the HMS Ajax Jack Harrison started awhile ago and that Bava started to build a beautiful 18 pdr frigate with. http://www.sjohistoriska.se/sv/Fordjupning/Marketstore/Ritning/?msobjid=0014538 Neither of those ships were finished, and unfortunately i dont think this guy I have been trying to convince is willing to let us use his ship. :? But he also created the interior for the ship, and it appears he made seperate models for each deck. They are superbely done and would be perfect for boarding decks if only we could convince him to let us use them. its all hypothetical I guess, but I thought I would mention it if anyone thinks they can convince him. Here is a link to the thread. http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=333&t=41265&start=60
Click to expand...
IF you convince him to do give us his model... I will be the one, that might remodel his interior to locations, as decks and cabins...

But I don't know the ship-modeling part over here, so I won't be the one, that will convert the ship for swiming in this mod.
 
we should try to make it accurate though and make it so that only cannon hits on the hull near the water can cause a leak, just my thoughts.
 
That would be ideal to make things realistic, but I don't think the game can 'detect' where a ship's hull has been hit (but I might be wrong).
For that reason, I suggested making leaks only possible when the ship has lost enough HP for the 'sinking ship' icon to appear.
That way, we can trigger certain events because the HP is something the game can continuously measure.

Still, I'd like to hear what Pieter has to say about the plausibility of the idea, before getting into specifics... :wp
 
There might be possibilities there and it could be interesting.
"Man the pumps" and then HP is re-generated up to a non-sinking level while crew is taken away from the cannons and the sails.
I won't be trying my hand at coding this though.
 
I wasn't expecting you to try anything yourself; I was just interested to know if it was possible.
Maybe one day, if I have the time, I could look into some of the most basic aspects of the idea through code... but I still have a lot to learn in that area. :mm
 
SuperDurnius-even if I can convince him to let us use any part of his ship, it will take time, and he hasnt replied for a week or so now. So I would say go ahead and start modifying the decks of the Suprise, Poseiden, Sophie, Neptunus, Greyhound, Speedy or some other ship that you think would work well whenever you find some time. :onya does anyone know who got the new boarding decks into beta 2?
 
Hello all,

I've been playing the latest Build all week and I am overjoyed, as always. The improved relationship between ship and wave direction in the storms has sparked a few thoughts about making other physical interactions more realistic. Please forgive me if these have already been discussed:

Cannon and Fire Smoke direction: Currently the smoke from cannons remains in place as though there is no wind. What if, after a cannon was fired, the smoke was carried away in the direction of the wind? It is a minor detail, but I think the effect could be quite stunning. Smoke from fires on ship are currently streaming opposite of the direction of movement. What if they could stream in the direction of the wind, as do the flags?

Storm Sails ability: I wonder if it would be realistic to include a Storm Sails perk in addition to that of Storm Helmsman. Only this would be an Ability that could be activated during a storm to help reduce the time it takes to point your ship into the wind. This might not be always useful since I believe I have noticed that the waves and the wind do not always come from the same direction.

Ship's Launch option: I make a habit of collecting survivors and flotsam, but I find it cumbersome with my ship. Your addition of the Abandon Ship possibility when the main ship sinks makes me wonder if it would be possible to have an Ability to set out in a long boat to collect these goodies.

Fair winds!
-Westley
 
Cannon smoke being carried away by the wind sounds like a great idea!
What's more, I reckon it's easy to do. If the steamship smoke effects can float away with the wind, so can other types of smoke.
I'll do some experiments and see what happens. ;)
I checked the fire effects, and it seems they are affected by wind direction already; it's just not so obvious when sailing at a decent speed.

I'm not entirely sure about the other two suggestions, though.
I guess with Storm Sails, you could have a temporary boost in manoeuvrability, which would help you to correct your course.
Launching a lifeboat without sinking your ship seems less achievable, I think. There might be a way of doing it, but we haven't figured it out yet. :shrug
 
Would it not be more possible to have an ability command of sorts to collect all items within a certain radius from the ship.

The command could only be available if you are standing still (no sails) and are out of battle (and of course not in a storm/twister).

You could have it take increasingly more time the further it gets. For a radius of 30 yards round the ship youd have 30 seconds, 60 yards 1 minute or something in that direction.
 
I recall Merciless Mark tried to have the smoke wind-dependent and failed.
On the other hand, indeed I DID get the steamship smoke to move in a wind-sensible direction.
The code for that was annoying to write though since there's a lot of sines and cosines involved.

Reduce the amount of time to turn your ship? You mean like a temporary turnrate increase?

We've had that last one suggested several times before. I think it might be possible.
We'd have to generate an additional ship, which can be done as proven by the DirectSail encounters.
However, a reload would probably be required, losing the current ships and floating goods/survivors.
Then we'd have to swap between the player ship and the new one,
which can also been done as that already happens with the Ship Exchange interface.
So there might be possibilities there, but nobody really figured it out yet.
Don't think anybody really tried either though.
 
Pieter Boelen said:
I recall Merciless Mark tried to have the smoke wind-dependent and failed.
On the other hand, indeed I DID get the steamship smoke to move in a wind-sensible direction.
The code for that was annoying to write though since there's a lot of sines and cosines involved.
Click to expand...
I knew it seemed too easy to be true. I've only adjusted particles.ini in RESOURCE/INI/PARTICLES, but not managed to get the smoke to move with the wind.
Where's the rest of the code for this, regardless of how complex it is? I could always try something to see if we can get some decent results. :hmm
 
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