DeRuyter

Absolutely! Exactly. Maneuverability was most impacted by damage to the running rigging - a brace gets shot away and you won't be turning that yard. My understanding also is that in NA the general % damage to sails is supposed to represent damage to rigging as well. Also masts didn't just fall from direct hits, rather the supporting rigging was shot away, more often than direct hits IMO.

You are talking about large fleet battles when the fleets were unable or unwilling to come to close action for the most part and then they broke off for the night. Fighting at night was rare with some exceptions when the battle started late (The Nile, Constitution vs. Cyane & Levant for example). The majority of fights 1v1 or smaller squadrons were over in a matter of hours or less. It is a major pita when you are lining up for a shot and darkness falls. Frankly I don't think it is something they can change though, in order to stay synced with the OW time.

@NethrosDefectus One way to answer this may be to capture and take over an AI ship and check if there is an ammo counter.

+1 My thoughts exactly. In particular an advanced sailing tutorial covering manual tacking and wearing. That should be before the advanced maneuvering with yards. I was surprised that the advanced maneuvers tutorial didn't cover tacking/wearing. I did also notice that it is not clear you can skip tutorials and come back later. I know the skip button is there but the question has been asked on the forum.

+1 That would be historical as well. In 1813 the Constitution didn't carry chain (double headed shot) for her carronades. They were normally loaded with grape & ball at close range anyway. Although carronade only armed ships (Niagara), particularly in the USN, carried dismantled shot.

For anyone questioning where this idea came from it has been discussed before, see this thread: For the historical context @Fluffy Fishy posted numbers on the HMS Victory in that thread: Figures for HMS Victory: Round, 32pdr: 2400. Round, 24pdr: 2800 Round, 12pdr: 4200 Round, 68pdr Carronade: 84 Grape, 32pdr: 90 Grape, 24pdr: 112 Grape, 12prd: 168 Grape, 68pdr carronade: 7 Case shot, 7 Grape in tin. Double headed (Chain/Bar), 32pdr: 90 Double headed, 24 pdr: 84 Double headed, 12pdr: 126 Paper cartridge (Gunpowder), 32pdr: 2580 Paper cartridge, 24pdr: 2996 Paper cartridge, 12pdr: 4728 From my post on the USS Constitution: In 1797 she carried 85 round shot per 24 lb gun and 15 chain per 24 lb gun. In 1813 she carried 100 round and 40 chain. I also note that no chain was carried for the carronades by either ship. Each navy had different standard load outs of specialist shot. Obviously now we have multiple repairs so that will have to be balanced, but @admin has already noted that will happen. The announcement is about limiting chain shot and does not even talk about how much chain shot you get, yet the doomsayers are out in force. At least wait and see how it effects your game play before ranting about the change.

Great idea +1 Would be nice to have flags in OW so you could see the nation as well.

Increase damage to crew whilst they are repairing just like when crew is in boarding prep. When crew is repairing there are more crew on deck and in the rigging and they should be more vulnerable. So you have a penalty for bad timing with the repair button. IRL ships waited for a lull in fighting or pulled out of battle line to repair. Also +1 for @Hethwill suggestion for WYSIWG: join timer = battle timer.

Isn't part of the problem the repair mods stacking - carpenters, perks etc., leading to 100% repair multiple times? Also as I noted in the other thread crewmen repairing rigging should be more vulnerable to damage like crew prepped for boarding. Line ships IRL tended to withdraw from the line to make major rigging repairs for example. Also @Cecil Selous idea of repairs not effecting structure is a good one.

That's just sad. They are there for traders, small ships and ships running when outnumbered. All valid reasons to have forts. Certain ports should probably only have towers and not the forts and towers.

Wait @Nick Thomadis forget about ships. What about the next "Ultimate General" title? Although I would say an Age of Dreadnoughts game would certainly be welcome.

Remember when the starting ship was the Lnyx? Lots of criticism that it was too hard for new players. Then came the cutter better but still players can't wait to get into the bigger ships. Tutorial exams are a good way to get players started on that track with some learning. If you want to skip tutorial great your start in cutter. Do the tutorial and you can get into a brig.

Exactly but a couple of points. These were mostly very close range fights. Specifically in the engagements above masts came down and rigging was damaged after being entangled and the standing rigging shot away weakening the masts. What would be rare is an entire mast coming down after being shot at with several rounds of 42 lb ball from 500m. Personally I haven't played since the recent patch so I don't know if that has changed in game. This is an example of sail control lines being shot away, but again a very close range engagement. (I'd also argue Chesapeake had multiple problems but I get your point).

10 knts was very fast for a sailing warship in battle. It is also faster than you think when you are on a collision course with another boat too. Normally it was not like in game where everyone is at full sails most of the time. Unless the wind was very light (Trafalgar) ships reduced sail for maneuvering reducing the speed at which the battles were fought. Additionally a collision at 10 knts would do considerable damage to both ships rigging. Comparing modern speed boats is really apples and oranges since they are much faster and more maneuverable, it is possible to zoom up and stop etc. I always thought that the coast guard hailed for you to stop first anyway. I am sure you have a video of a cutter boarding a drug runner at 20 knts then?

I checked a AI ship that I had before the patch and it had 1 perm slot. After the patch it turned Grey and had 0 perm slots. Don't know if this is always the case but AI ships were always Grey as incentive to buy crafted ships some patches ago.

AFAIK light carriages reduce the number of gun crew required. Maybe now there is a weight reduction affecting the ship but would it be enough to impact speed idk.

Actually heavy weather didn't stop battles. A little reading about a stormy battle involving the RL HMS Indefatigable vs. a French 74 (which could not open her lower deck gun ports) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_13_January_1797 While wave effect are modeled in game, wind effects are not.

One of the reasons to use reduced charges was to maximize splinters. Also as you noted a shot that theoretically should pen sometimes does not - the Cheasapeake v Shannon dual has documentation of this and that was fought at pistol shot range.

At what range?

Thanks - I should've thought of that one.

Do tell. I am curious. Anything to do with currents?

See Ink's post - bug fixes:

IRL accuracy more than pen. In game we have more accuracy so is that balanced by less pen maybe? In 1850s testing showed penetration of oak by 24pdr with 8 pound change at 500 yards range of 33 inches so 83 cm. I know that is land based testing with ideal conditions ofc. Having said that as @Hethwill noted it is more about battering the crew into submission so even a partial pen causing splinters and rigging damage often mattered more than a full pen.

The other point to consider is that she has been given the status as a 4th rate for gameplay purposes, just like Wasa, when IRL she was a 5th rate frigate just an unusually large one. @Fluffy Fishy Not sure if they consider sail area to displacement ratios in the ultimate calculations but that may well be a distinguishing feature from your average 74 at least as to speed and acceleration. I was not aware that President was used much after capture due to the damage she sustained hitting the bar off Sandy Hook. United States was also known to be a slow sailor due in part to the retention of the 42pdr carronades. What is clear is that there are a lot of variables within a ship class especially when they are built at different shipyards as were this class of ships. The issue of speed for me is somewhat muted by our static wind conditions - the logs show Constitution was capable of a good turn of speed in certain wind conditions. I suspect like a line ship she may suffer in light wind. Although I saw her hit 5knts in light winds under tops'ls during the bicentennial sail.

Wind changes IRL you can see minor wind shifts fairly often, in particular near land. But those would be small back and forth shifts 10-20 degrees or so. The wind can also shift dramatically such as when a land breeze gradually turns into a sea breeze, but that change could take a number of hours. You also can have steady wind with no shifts over the course of an entire battle. Basically small wind shifts are fine but large change in direction should be rare in the scope of a battle instance. @admin Speaking of wind - variable wind speed and weather conditions would help with ship differences. Not sure if Wasa discussion is OT here but - Just make Wasa a 3rd rate as she was, in particular armed with 32pdrs, and adjust BR accordingly. IMO should be a good reason to change a ships stats not because someone is unhappy their favorite ship sails differently now. Similarly even ships in the same class had differences and shouldn't be balanced for balance sake. BR changes should factor in as well.