Searching for Master and Commander

I am new to subsim.com and subsim games in general... I have been playing Silent Hunter now for about 3 months and love it. Just cant get enough.

I was curious if there was a game out there that had the game style and control of Silent Hunter but for a game that resembles that of Master and Commander the far side of the World... so a game based back in the Napoleonic Wars.

Thanks for any tips.

[joegrundman]

man that would be great. I think SH4 would be a great theater for a master and commander mod, and I'd be prepared to put time into it.

The concept of lone frigate operations works well with the SH system, but the problem for a mod conversion is that the effect of wind doesn't appear to be properly modelled on the game and therefore you'd find it difficult to move your ship in an authentic way

too bad, and i don't know of any other games that specifically captures that sort of isolated age-of-sail experience.

EDIT: And welcome to SUBSIM pupuplader

Found SH3 in a discount bin in a game store, $10 what a steal. How does SH4 compare to it?

I dont do any modding, but is it possible to look at what type of weather is going on and then give a speed value associated with that

[joegrundman]

Hmm it may be possible to find a way around the problem with a bit of thought. Maybe i'll start with getting the model working first..

SH4 you can also get quite cheaply now, it's a very nice game

Would a mod like this work better for SH3 or SH4?

[joegrundman]

SH4 has the better graphics...but apart from that, in most ways the games are similar to mod.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Welcome to SUBSIM pupuplader


RDP

Thanks for the cordial greetings.

I have never modded before, and I understand that attempting a project like this is laughable with my skills.

However, Im stubborn.

Any ideas on where/how I should get started? Is there a walkthrough for a simple mod or anything? Or is it more start tinkering and hope for the best scenario.

[joegrundman]

The easiest way to start this process would be to convert the flying dutchman ghost ship in SH4 to be player controllable. Then create some specialised scenarios with other of the same models and tinker with stats until you have what feels like a realistic damage model for round shot.

I think I'll try and do this in the next few days

Once you have this, then the real work starts.

You'd need to find a way to approximate the effect of wind on maximum speed, and the arc at which you may not sail upwind - if this is even possible! And if not, one has to ask oneself how necessary it is for the game to still be fun.

You'd need models: lots of models and for that you need people with the patience to learn how to use 3d modelling software like Wings3D

You'd also need to produce a campaign layer

and much much more.

It would be a very large undertaking.

How stubborn are you?

Well we will soon find out if I have what it takes.

SH4 is on its way from amazon so for next couple of days I will only have SH3.

For the weather problem... In SH3 you can ask the navigator what the weather conditions are and he will tell you wind speed and direction. For wind speed with a little research of the speeds actual ships could obtain you can set a maximum speed to it from the corrisponding wind speed.

The game already calculates what the wind direction as well, we can take this and we can tell what direction the ship is already pointing by taking its own compass readings. Then we set it up so the farther off parallel from the wind is a deduction in the max speed until you are at a stand still.

I dont know if the stock wind speed and directions that the game gives us will be effective, it depends on how stable they are. They need to be somewhat comparable to global wind patterns, with the ability of randomization.

[Sonarman]

Originally Posted by pupuplader

I was curious if there was a game out there that had the game style and control of Silent Hunter but for a game that resembles that of Master and Commander the far side of the World... so a game based back in the Napoleonic Wars.

Hi Puplader & welcome aboard!"
Probably your two best bets are the forthcoming games East India Company and Empire Total War which will both cover the Napoleonic war at sea. I'm not sure how much simulation they will offer but they both sound like great detail orientated games.

If you are desperate for something straightaway you could search the bargain bins for older games like "Age of Sail: Privateers Bounty" or even further back "Man of War II", "Wooden Ships and Iron Men" and if you fancy pure strategy try Salvo a demo is available here. On the MMO front "Pirates of the Burning Sea" allows you to play as a naval officer, although its quite an expensive option. Check out the "Pirates" section in the Other Naval Games section for more age of sail titles.

[AJ!]

Is East India Company still in development?

On the site the last screenshots were added back in 2006 and no more media has been released since then. and the last update was back in sept of last year.

It seems like a very slow moving game to me

[Sonarman]

HI AJ!,
Yes, it's now been taken up by the great Dutch publisher "Lighthouse Interactive" (who handle the Ship Simulator series and the forthcoming WWII tank Sim "T34 vs Tiger" ) and is very much still in development for a proposed Q4 release.

The developer has been answering some questions on the Lighthouse forum recently.

Sonarman, I never found the controllablity with any of the games you mentioned in comparison with the SH3. Thats just my personal opinion, now I dont know if East India Company will be the same but because of its slow progress and the fact that I have SH3/SH4 to mod I think that modding SH3/4 into something is the approach that I am going to take.

[Sonarman]

Originally Posted by pupuplader

I have SH3/SH4 to mod I think that is the approach that I am going to take.

I'd love to see what you come up with, your idea sounds great, good luck.