Little help - age of sail battle shouts and call backs. Moderated

[DeRuyter]

Well, from my own experience on sailing ships I can tell that thee is not so much chat across the decks. The commading offcier gives an order and the order has to be executed.

Not much to chat about when you are pulling a rope or stuff.

 

That's my experience as well, but often you do have an acknowledgment of the command. For example the helmsman always repeats a steering command. Also didn't you sing shanties while hauling lines?

 

For example: Officer: Hard a starboard; Helmsman: hard a starboard aye sir, or Steer ENE with the reply: ENE aye sir.

 

Master and Commander did a goo job with commands - "We shall beat to quarters!"  Someone else posts other quotes.

 

Also when checking depth of water - "sound the lead" or cast the lead.

 

Some quick samples of sail handling commands:

 

"Avast!" - stop what you are doing

 

"That's well" - sail handling line is properly set

 

Make fast or belay - to secure a line to its' pin or bit.

 

Haul away -  start hauling on a line - usually followed by shanties or 2-6 heave to keep tempo.

 

Sheet home - haul the sheets until the sail is taut.

 

Clew up - haul the clew lines until the sail is raised into the yard (not furled).

 

About ship! or Ready about - Command to prepare to tack ship.

 

Hard-a-lee or Hard-a-weather - helm is taken to extreme position to either side of the ship.

 

Brace about or Let go sheets and braces - bracing the yards up on a new tack.

 

Sequence: "Let Go the Sheets and Braces!, Slack Windward Brace and Sheet!, Haul Lee Brace and Sheet!, Make All!"

 

Mains'l haul - another command for tacking sequence.

 

Make all - command after a sail evolution is complete.

 

Make sail or Shorten sail.

 

There is a whole sequence of commands for tacking and wearing.

 

Gunnery commands for individual gun crews:

 

Cast loose

Sponge your piece

Worm your piece

Load cartridge

Ram cartridge

Load round

Ram round

Prick and Prime (before flintlock firing mechanism)

Run out

Make ready to give Fire - Fire!

 

or from the Captain or LT to the gundeck:  Fire as your guns bear!

[HardyKnox]

Immediately upon entering Battle Instance ....

 

"WE SHALL BEAT TO QUARTERS!" followed by drum roll.

 

~ HK ~

[Captain Boneboys]

"Raise the Anchor Ball" when at anchor (with animation, if you please).

 

This term will live with me forever and a day, I believed that the first had ordered "raise the anchor boy" which I accordingly commenced to do.

The grinding of the works wakened the Captain who lept from his sleep in a panic aboard to put stop to the process.

 

True story...

[Edward Canaday]

This sounds counter-intuitive, but I'm a big fan of "Silence fore and aft!"  Perhaps at the end of a run of random talk.

[Henry d'Esterre Darby]

Edit - will post again later after seeing Admin's response.

[Powderhorn]

When taking on water, why not some voices directed towards the Captain (us) - "One foot of water in the well!" or, as it gets more, "Four feet of water in the well!"

 

With leaks, "Waisters to the pumps!"

 

Less situational, as mentioned, simple commands of reassurance to the men - "Steady...!"  "Hold fast!"

[PG Monkey]

All hands on deck

[Eishen]

PLEASEEEEE I WANT TO DO THE SPANISH VOICES

i can record it by my self in my home studio! for free guys !!!

ARRIAR LAS VELAS!!!!

BRIBON!!

 

 

I really think this is a example of feature that should be implemented by nation... english voices on a spanish/French ships will seem very strange to say the least .... If this is not feasible players should be able to turn off voices 

[Fenris]

HEAVE HEAVE HEAVE...maybe to warn you, idk, cannons are in 4-5 seconds ready to fire.....

[Potemkin]

Starboard battery ready/standing by

Port battery ready/standing by

"Cut away the rigging!" OR something to that effect when a mast topples

Apologies if any of these were already suggested.

[Rychu Karas]

(can't wait for implementation, amazing idea, for sure it significantly improve immersion of the game)

*****

[Wesreidau]

"Clear for action" could be called at the start of a battle screen.

 

Beyond specific shouts and call backs, more effects are generally needed. Very specific shouts and calls become repetitive, but sound effects can carry the same information without attaching voices to them.

 

When crew are killed we need to hear some screams, death cries, loud thumping noises, calls for the surgeon, etc etc. Bonus points if I can hear my victim's ship screaming for a surgeon.

 

Likewise active leaks need some splashing noises with lots of vigorous swearing. Footsteps in water and splashing around as my ship floods will help reinforce the urgency.

 

Why can't I hear the pumps?

 

Shot coming in through the stern should have some shattered glass, just to make our blood curdle when we get raked.

 

I'd like the use of whistles and bells expanded as well because they are immersive between nationalities and clearly signal events to the player, just as they should.

[maturin]

 

 

Why can't I hear the pumps?

That would be an annoying sound, but we should definitely be able to SEE the pumps working. Streams of water coming out of the scuppers to indicate the threat of flooding.

[Wesreidau]

It is an annoying sound. It is the sound of your impending doom.

[Æthlstan]

The calls should be done in the language of nation you sail for, in my opinion. 

 

Pirates calls should not be as short and concise, not as militaristic, I feel, but then again there were pirate captains that ran a crew the same way the Royal Navy did\

 

 

Repeat backs should be verbatim. 

 

"Sand the decks"

 

"Sand the decks, aye!"  

Adding captain to the end of that is more of a hollywood thing. Everyone knows the captain is giving the order, and orders are sometimes given out very rapidly, so concise repeat backs confirm the order was received and allowed the captain or boatswain or whoever to get out the next order as quickly as possible.

 

In cases where you have your fleet following you, you are acting as a flag officer. So you would give orders to your flag captain and then he would handle the actual operations of the ship

 

Admiral: Signal to Trincomalee, engage (demast/sink/etc) Bucentaure

Flag Lieutenant (or flag captain): Aye, sir.  Signalman, hoist signal, engage Bucentaure.

 

Signalman: Hoist signal, engage Bucentaure, aye sir.

 

 

I should also mention that the command was just "Beat to quarters" not "Drum beat to quarters"

 

 

And perhaps, upon entering battle instances, your sails should be how they were on the open world, to maintain immersion and continuity.

 

For each desired sail operation, there was a list of steps that had to be ordered. I have not sailed on a square rigged ship, but, going from no sail to full sail each group of sail was ordered individually, and Im not quite sure what order that would be. 

 

However, the captain would give orders to his boatswain, "Raise topgallants and royals," and the boatswain would handle all the step by step orders to accomplish that task. 

Edited October 21, 2016 by Æthlstan

[Sven Silberbart]

"Scout! Do you still have contact?" .. "Yes, Sir."

"Are you ready for a fight?" .. "Yeahhhhh!"

"Whats your orders captain?" .. "We should send them some iron balls!"

[M G]

I'd like to hear crew members screaming things like:

"Those press gang bastards have done for me."

"W...we......we're going to do WHAT?"

"You're holding on to the wrong bloody line!"

"You there, stop dangling from the yard arm."

"When you said "Release your sheet" I thought you said something else. Sorry about the mess."

"I'm afraid your tea on the deck will have to wait, Sir."

"Bloody pirates. Right, better hide the silverware."

[DeRuyter]

Here is another sample of sail setting commands on a tall ship:

 

To set topsail (tops'l). I think graphically in game the sail falls but IRL the yard is hoisted.

 

Officer:

 

 "Stand by to set tops'ls"  Response from division chief:  "Tops'ls Aye"

 

"Weather Clew Sheet home"

 

"Lee Clew Sheet Home"

 

"Heave around the Halyard"

 

Once the officer is satisfied with the set of the sail(s) : "That's well, belay"