Working on ships_init.c

[Doober]

Does anyone know what this code is for?

refShip.RigType = "Gat"

I am trying to understand the rigging code better, but this doesn't seem to go with any ship unless is overrides the "Fri" rigtype for frigates. Anyone have any ideas on this?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

The RigType is used for setting the ClosestPoint and BestPoint values.
ClosestPoint is the closest angle the ship can sail into the wind (in radians, I suspect).
BestPoint is the point of the wind where the ship makes the best speed (also in radians, I think).

There's also some code in place to auto-aim lower on Xebecs to prevent shooting over them,
which is triggered by the RigType "Xebec".

Then there's some additional code for RigType hidden in SEA_AI\AIShip.c:

// NK realistic sailing -->
float RS_GetRigTypeDivisor(string sDet, float fOffWind)
{
float fDivisor = 1.0;
switch(sDet)
{
case "Fsc": return(RS_GetRigTypeDivisor("Gat", fOffWind) + RS_GetRigTypeDivisor("Slo", fOffWind))/2; break; // NK new div for JMV's fast sch.
case "shn": return RS_GetRigTypeDivisor("bri", fOffWind); break; //return(RS_GetRigTypeDivisor("Gat", fOffWind) + RS_GetRigTypeDivisor("Slo", fOffWind))/2; break; // NK new div for AM shnyava
case "btn": return(RS_GetRigTypeDivisor("bri", fOffWind) + RS_GetRigTypeDivisor("Slo", fOffWind))/2; break; // NK new div for AM brigantine
case "Xeb":
if(fOffWind > 0.01) { fDivisor = sqrt(sqrt(sqrt(sqrt((fOffWind * 0.9) ^ 3)))) * 0.9785; }
else { fDivisor = 0.25; }
break;

case "Tar":
if(fOffWind > 0.01) { fDivisor = sqrt(sqrt(sqrt(sqrt((fOffWind * 0.9) ^ 3)))) * 0.9785; }
else { fDivisor = 0.25; }
break;

case "Sch":
if(fOffWind > 0.01) { fDivisor = sqrt(sqrt(sqrt(sqrt((fOffWind * 0.9) ^ 3)))) * 0.9785; }
else { fDivisor = 0.25; }
break;

case "Lug":
if(fOffWind > 0.01) { fDivisor = 1.2433*fOffWind ^ 3 - 2.7092*fOffWind ^ 2 + 2.0879*fOffWind + 0.3779; }
else { fDivisor = 0.38; }
break;

case "Gal":
if(fOffWind > 0.01) { fDivisor = 0.7467 * fOffWind ^ 3 - 1.9657*fOffWind ^ 2 + 1.839*fOffWind + 0.3803; }
else { fDivisor = 0.38; }
break;

case "Gat":
if(fOffWind > 0.01) { fDivisor = 1.2433*fOffWind ^ 3 - 2.7092*fOffWind ^ 2 + 2.0879*fOffWind + 0.3779; }
else { fDivisor = 0.38; }
break;

case "Cor":
if(fOffWind > 0.01) { fDivisor = 1.2433*fOffWind ^ 3 - 2.7092*fOffWind ^ 2 + 2.0879*fOffWind + 0.3779; }
else { fDivisor = 0.39; }
break;

case "Car":
if(fOffWind > 0.01) { fDivisor = 1.2433*fOffWind ^ 3 - 2.7092*fOffWind ^ 2 + 2.0879*fOffWind + 0.3779; }
else { fDivisor = 0.39; }
break;

case "Bar":
if(fOffWind > 0.01) { fDivisor = 1.2433*fOffWind ^ 3 - 2.7092*fOffWind ^ 2 + 2.0879*fOffWind + 0.3779; }
else { fDivisor = 0.39; }
break;

case "Yac":
if(fOffWind > 0.01) { fDivisor = 1.2433*fOffWind ^ 3 - 2.7092*fOffWind ^ 2 + 2.0879*fOffWind + 0.3779; }
else { fDivisor = 0.39; }
break;

//default:  // scheffnow - bfd
if(fOffWind > 0.01) { fDivisor = 0.7467 * fOffWind ^ 3 - 1.9657*fOffWind ^ 2 + 1.839*fOffWind + 0.3803; }
else { fDivisor = 0.38; }
}
return fDivisor;
}

That looks a bit too complicated for me to understand.

 

[Doober]

Yes, my understanding is that unless a ship specifically has a rigtype designated, it will look at the shiptype and use that determine rigging. The only thing is that with a "Fri" rigtype and a "gat" rigtype, I'm not sure which one the frigate is looking towards and also why there would be the distinction between the two. The only thing I can think of is that the light frigate (called a corvfrig) is pulling the "fri" designation while all other frigates are pulling the "gat" designation. If this is the case, it doesn't make much sense that a regular frigate could sail closer to the wind than a light frigate.

Just my musings, if anyone has any thoughts on it, I would love to know.

The other question I had was that the ships seem to carry heavier guns in the game than what they did in real life. If the other modders are interested, I can do the research on the ships and correct that, the only thing is that people might think that the ships are a tad under gunned as very few ships ever carried 32 lb guns and even 24 lb guns were rare. Frigates generally carried 12 lb cannons. Even if a ship did carry the big heavy guns, they usually only carried a few of them with the rest being lower caliber. Any opinions on adjusting the guns?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I have moved this thread to the Build Alpha & Brainstorming forum so that everybody can pitch in.
Personally I don't have much knowledge on rigging or historical cannon affairs,
but I'm hoping somebody else can give you some useful feedback.

 

[Bava]

If the other modders are interested, I can do the research on the ships and correct that,...

That would be great, mate!

And you´re right, most common guns on frigates until the end of the 18th century were indeed 9 or 12 pounders. Here´s an list of english ships and their armarment, hope this helps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_frigate_classes_of_the_Royal_Navy

Btw, the first real 24 pounder frigates (not razees) were the swedish Bellona class frigates in the 1790s, followed by the french Forte-class and the english Endymion.