YOUR CHARACTER AND SHIP

[Elrapido]

Ahoy, mateys!

My latest catch - not a ketch, but a vessel well worth the effort!
Fully upgraded and ready to plunder.

Avast, me lads, booty be waitin fer us on New Horizons!

(And I thought, Improved Xebecs were top notch - how dead wrong can you be?

)

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Ah, the Pirate Frigate! Exciting.

 

[HellSailor]

Ahoy!

In fact: There is a ship that simply kicks the planks out of the Improved Xebec just considering maneuverability...

As I played on in the quest line in a new game of "Tales of a Sea Hawk" you receive the Flushdeck Frigate "La Boussole" as a kind of quest reward... I don't want to spoil too much.

Getting such a superior ship pretty much at the start of the game feels strange to me, because with this ship you simply own the High (and Low and even the Mediocre) Seas.

The maneuverability of the Flushdeck Frigate "La Boussole" is insane - I suppose it is around 85... while an Improved Xebec reaches around 60 at best.
Maybe this has to do with the overall reduction of maneuverability for *all* ship types due to being more realistic... which was a very good game design decision you, the mod crew, made.

But I suppose this unique ship has been forgotten in the maneuverability reduction process. May that be the case?

If so: No harm done, no offense meant, I am just pointing out the things I notice and give feedback - as always.

I don't have to tell you, that the overall stats of the Flushdeck Frigate "La Boussole" are a total blast. Almost 500 crew members, 42 cannons of caliber 12... decent speed and a maneuverability straight outa hell - What more can a captain ask for?

But somehow the step from a Lugger to THIS ship appeared a little strange to me.
There were no ships in between except for the European Barque l'Oiseau you have to capture in the quest line...

Aaaaand I couldn't suppress the urge to attack merchant fleets, pirates and helping British warships against Spanish warships... before returning to Port Royale.
That gave me multiple Sloops-of-War, Xebecs, a Fluyt-of-War, a 5th-Rate-Warship, a Belladonna 3rd-Rate-Warship and a Raa Class Frigate, which are berthed ready at the shore of several islands. Weird. Da be bad mojo, mon!

By the way: In the new game I switched to the learning-by-doing-skill-system, because it is obviously better - you don't have to take care of the skill point distribution and the danger of minmaxing is not really there anymore.


Drink up, me hearties, yoho!
El Rapido

Speaking of "La Boussoule", i know that ship turns very fast.... you should really look this thread: http://www.piratesahoy.net/threads/an-unique-ship-very-special.21866/

There you can find that that type of ship is not unique.... there are a lot of ships which has an incredibly maneuverabilty, all of them you can find only in the standard storyline.

 

[Grey Roger]

I have a new favourite ship. The Endymion, alias Artemise, alias United States Frigate, depending on who you capture it from, or more precisely, its colour scheme. It has the speed of a normal frigate, though not quite its agility; it has the firepower of a battleship; and it has a nice big cargo hold. And that's before you add all the upgrades. (The inhabitants of Nevis Pirate Settlement, normally a surly bunch, become much more co-operative when you kick down the door, kill some of them and present your credentials to the boss pirate in the form of a demand for lots of money. That's how you get the corsair refit while being an officer of the Royal Navy. )

The net result is a ship which can outrun pretty well anything else afloat and even chase a schooner into a nearly opposed wind; can outgun pretty well anything less than a full battleship; has a big crew which can overwhelm pretty well anything in a boarding action, especially after a broadside of 24 pound grapeshot; and a cargo hold big enough to feed all those crew and guns on the way out, then bring plenty of loot back.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

That is beginning to sound perhaps a little overpowered?

Is that not almost the same ship as the Steam Frigate? How would THAT one work with all upgrades then?

Also, how did you convice the pirates that you are one of them, being a Commissioned Naval Officer?

 

[Grey Roger]

That is beginning to sound perhaps a little overpowered?

Is that not almost the same ship as the Steam Frigate? How would THAT one work with all upgrades then?

I haven't seen a steam frigate so I don't know what happens if you upgrade it. Presumably the steam frigate doesn't care about wind at all. The Endymion can't sail straight into the wind and neither can any other sail-driven ship, but it can sail about 45 degrees off. If the wind is coming from N, for example, then the Endymion can sail NE, especially when it has the Stays upgrade.

Don't forget, this is a state of the art late 18th - early 19th century ship. It's supposed to be over-powered compared to relics from the previous couple of centuries. Fast forward another century and an Audacious class ironclad would be even more over-powered.

Also, how did you convice the pirates that you are one of them, being a Commissioned Naval Officer?

I didn't. I convinced them that I was better than them. Kick down the door, kill some of them, demand lots of money from the boss - or in other words, land troops.

Even more fun was capturing a second such ship and visiting Martinique. The second frigate was little use in a fight because the fouled up perk system prevents a companion captain from getting or using numerous perks, starting with all the sailing and gunnery ones, but that wasn't too important here because that ship's job wasn't to fight. After I'd taken out the fort myself and stormed the town, it was time to visit the store and (after numerous crashes and reloads, see the bug report about looting a store) stuffing the other frigate's nearly empty hold with free gold. At this point I figured the shipyard might have something to donate as well, so I went and helped myself to a couple of ships from there, then filled them with gold too. A few days in the company of the lady blacksmith got a few blades polished up, after which the store and shipyard were back to normal. So I sold the storekeeper all his gold back, then sold the shipyard both his ships back. And then left under a false French flag, otherwise I'd have had to fight the fort and do it all over again...

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I haven't seen a steam frigate so I don't know what happens if you upgrade it. Presumably the steam frigate doesn't care about wind at all.

The steam frigate is a regular sailing ship with an engine in it. She's based on the USS Constitution and therefore should have very similar stats to the Endymon frigate.
However, where an ordinary sailing ship cannot sail into the wind, you can use the steam engine at that time to gain an extra advantage.

I didn't. I convinced them that I was better than them. Kick down the door, kill some of them, demand lots of money from the boss - or in other words, land troops.

But... They still shouldn't be installing that Corsair Refit if you do that. Right?

The second frigate was little use in a fight because the fouled up perk system prevents a companion captain from getting or using numerous perks, starting with all the sailing and gunnery ones, but that wasn't too important here because that ship's job wasn't to fight.

Didn't Levis fix that quite recently? Do you have the latest ZIP from the post in my signature?

 

[Grey Roger]

The steam frigate is a regular sailing ship with an engine in it. She's based on the USS Constitution and therefore should have very similar stats to the Endymon frigate.

It should certainly look similar to the Endymion then, since USS Constitution is one of the optional paint schemes for the Endymion. So yes, in that case a fully upgraded steam frigate ought to be similar to a fully upgraded Endymion apart from the steam engine.

But... They still shouldn't be installing that Corsair Refit if you do that. Right?

Apparently they do. When there are lots of armed men in red uniforms wandering around the town and a battery of 24 pounders in a ship just outside, it's probably a good idea to do what they're told. What you can't do is install a new governor, otherwise it's not a pirate shipyard any more and they forget how to do the corsair upgrade.

Didn't Levis fix that quite recently? Do you have the latest ZIP from the post in my signature?

I have it, though it may not be taking effect as I didn't start a new game. Companion ships are less significant to me than to those players who like to form up fleets anyway. The only reason I normally put an officer in charge of a ship is so I can take it to the nearest port and sell it, or in this case use it as a mobile store-room. Which is why any officer found in a tavern or wandering the streets will do - it doesn't matter if he's a navigator or a surgeon, all he needs to do is have his face in the ship's captain window so that the ship doesn't sink when I've finished capturing it.

 

[Grey Roger]

Meanwhile, back to the subject of this topic here's the stats screen for the Endymion with full upgrades:


Reading the Wikipedia articles about the Endymion class and similar ships, the reason it seems overpowered is probably that it's slightly too modern for the "Revolutions" time period. The Endymion went into service in 1797, which is somewhere in the later half of our "Revolutions" era. It was indeed an impressive ship with 24 pounder cannons and a top speed of 14.4 knots, the highest speed recorded for a ship in the Age of Sail. It only had a crew of 300, not the 600+ seen on the ship in the game, though reducing the crew to 300 in the game would make it much easier to capture in the first place.

 

[Grey Roger]

The steam frigate is a regular sailing ship with an engine in it. She's based on the USS Constitution and therefore should have very similar stats to the Endymon frigate.

It doesn't. It's smaller, has only 46 guns to the Endymion's 56, and has a smaller cargo hold.

And what's a steam frigate doing in 1780? According to the Wikipedia article, the first one wasn't launched until 1815. But some time traveller has brought one back to the "Revolutions" time period because I found it among a large American patrol, and now it's safely locked up in Kingston.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

And what's a steam frigate doing in 1780? According to the Wikipedia article, the first one wasn't launched until 1815. But some time traveller has brought one back to the "Revolutions" time period because I found it among a large American patrol, and now it's safely locked up in Kingston.

Otherwise they'd ONLY be in the Napoleonic time period which would make them so rare that they might as well not be in the game at all.

 

[Grey Roger]

They were rare. The real Horatio Nelson would probably have been as surprised as I was to encounter a steam frigate in 1780.

What you get in "Revolutions" that you don't get in earlier periods is the Endymion. Reserve the steam frigate for Napoleonic, then that period becomes more distinct from "Revolutions" than just having a different political map. It gives the player an incentive to try the final time period.

Besides, the steam frigate marked the beginning of the end of the age of sail. It is therefore fitting for the ship to make its first appearance in the final era of PoTC.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

As you wish. Easily done.

 

[Redbeard]

...I was gonna post a picture of my new 6th rate frigate. Ah how our brief time together was so sweet.

It all began as I entered Kralendijik waters. Just minding my own business, sailing in my slightly beat up, definately over-used Bermuda Sloop. She's been good to me for charter missions, but I really need to move up in the world. After all, I can now sail tier 5 ships. Anyway, there I was, wind at my back, sun in my eyes, when out of nowhere.... pirates. In a frigate and a Snow Brig.

Now you might be thinking that 10 guns, 4 on each side, probably isn't the best for a situation like that. You'd be right. I ran with my tail between my legs, straight for Kralendijik's inviting fort and lovely cannons. I was pleasantly suprised to find a naval patrol as well. It wasn't long before the 6th rate Frigate (a tier 5 woo!) surrendered. I engaged the lovely pirate captain. (I kind of wish I could have taken her alive. ) After a hard fought victory I found myself the proud new owner of one beat up Frigate. I will always adore Frigates and Brigs. Probably from my time spent in other piratical games and media.

Yet, just as I docked, my dreams where dashed, and the crashed. It crashed before I could even save. An hour long fight that amounted to nothing, and a sweet ship that was only mine for a few minutes.

Ah well, such is life.

 

[Grey Roger]

Frigates are certainly my favourite type of ship in PoTC, being both reasonably well armed as well as fast and agile enough to make them enjoyable to sail. And I've had a similar problem to you - completed a battle, earned a nice new ship, then the game crashed. As soon as the battle is over, save game! One of these days I'm going to learn to do that as well...

 

[Redbeard]

*sniffle*

What RNG taketh away, RNG gives.

I found myself around Kralendijik again. Yet again, I came across a sloop and a 6th rate Frigate. Except that this time, I had no help. I watched as some English Bark's got chewed apart by the pirates, ignoring my measly 4 nine pounders, the Frigate just kept coming. I lured her to the fort which promptly ignored the behemoth and focused on the sloop. Roaring orders for grapeshot, I made several passes until the fort was focusing on the Frigate. As the pirate ships made a run for the horizon, my torn up sails where let loose. I gave chase and to my surprise the 6th rate surrendered! Overjoyed I boarded and gave the captain my terms. He of course, refused. After a fierce battle, I found myself the proud new owner of a beat up frigate with 22% hull.

Remembering the debacle of last time, I decided to save. Or rather tried. Seems one cannot save at sea, or at least under my current settings. Instead of trying the port again, I went to a nearby bay, and disembarked.

No crash. Frigate saved, and later on repaired.

You have no idea how liberating it is to be out of that Bermuda sloop. 4 gun broadsides in a fast ship might sound enjoyable to some, but now I feel like I can really make a difference in the Caribbean.

Anyway, sorry about the long story. As soon as I figure out how to post a screenshot, this thread shall be filled with the biggest ship I've ever taken. Hopefully Im in store for bigger and better things. Thanks for reading about my change in fortunes.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Save at Sea is not possible while you're still in combat range.
Were there still any hostile ships around?

 

[Ayur]

Yesterday I got at my Commodore and I just wondering because Britain now is at "Normal" to everyone, except pirates of course. I can't even fight to any other nation without gettin my reputation worse and the Pirates only got Tier 5 to tier 8 ships thats quite.boring can I do anything against that?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Yesterday I got at my Commodore and I just wondering because Britain now is at "Normal" to everyone, except pirates of course. I can't even fight to any other nation without gettin my reputation worse and the Pirates only got Tier 5 to tier 8 ships thats quite.boring can I do anything against that?

Somebody else ran into the same thing before: Solved - Incite War through Console | PiratesAhoy!
That thread contains some console commands you can use to manually trigger some wars.

 

[Ayur]

Thanks for help Pieter sorry I doesn't saw that article yet.