Adding masts and sails to boats to increase coolness

[Nakranoth]

I don't know that they should be manditory addicions... (like an engine for a car)... but if they're optional we'll likely maintain the diversity in who can afford to sail. Besides, for a lone person, a lower end boat still takes around five years of gameplay to build... no short term goal there.

[Missy]

I don't know that they should be manditory addicions... (like an engine for a car)... but if they're optional we'll likely maintain the diversity in who can afford to sail. Besides, for a lone person, a lower end boat still takes around five years of gameplay to build... no short term goal there.

Funny how your opinon changes when it comes to boats. Five years to build a boat is damn quick compared to how long it takes to build a bike or a car. Not that there's a shortage of wood. (And hey, we're trying to increase cooperation I thought? Why you so worried about the lone boat builder when in truth he ought to be having to ask someone to help him build his boat as it makes the most sense, + he probably needs a crew.)

[Pie]

I don't think it should be just a luxury item, it should effect the speed of the boat positavely.

[Nakranoth]

You misunderstand... I like diversity. So I want both types in nearly equal proportions...

Lets see... just checked the numbers on it, and a darter is currently only 2 days of labor cheaper than a tandem, and it's twice as much as a bike or rickshaw.

Big boats should (and are) expensive enough to need two or more people to make, just like motor vehicles should, and do take more than one person to effectively put together. But the little stuff still needs to be there to support fledgeling merchants who can't afford the big stuff. Not all commerce in Cantr is City to City, so not all vehicles should be designed for city to city trading.

[Sicofonte]

Just wandering.


An example of sails made with cotton:


A dinghy can be made in around 15-25 days. Let's say 20. And it "weights" 5 kilo. I'd suggest sails of 1 kilo for each 5 kilo of the ship (plus some wood, maybe half a kilo, for the mast).

One kilo sail would be then a "small sail".
And two kilo a "large sail"? (plus one wood kilo for the mast)

A Raker then could have... two large sails of two kilos each one? (plus the two wood kilos for the masts)


The cost of this sails would be...

Assuming a generous output of 30 cotton-cloth grams per day in a location with cotton, a sail of 1 kilo cotton-cloth would be... 30-40 days for the cloth for a small sail, without the mast and the time to sew the sail and buildd up the mast.

If the sail doubles the base speed (from 15 to 30 in a dinghy), I wouldn't think it as a drastically boost, given the high effort to get it.


With hemp, those 30-40 days would be... maybe 5 or 6 days?.

Pffff....

Seeing this numbers, I'm sure that a sail of hemp would bring a DRASTICALLY boost, so... the sails should require alot more cloth, or the boost would be shot down.

In that case, to make a sail with cotton/silk would be a loss of time anyhow.

Oh, what a disappointment...

(yeeeees, none of my characters knows about hemp)

[Solfius]

wouldn't a ration of 5:1 for hull:sail weight drastically unbalance the vessel? bearing in mind that a sail will be high above the centre of gravity and when the wind would catch it, that would be an additional force.

[Pie]

What if the speed is only added on 1/3rd? But I would think that the speed added by each sail to each boat would be differen't, like as mall sail would 1/3rd a dingi's speed, but wouldn't do much for a galleon.

[Nakranoth]

It honestly needs to add constants, not multipliers... else you either have it useless on small ships, or overpowered on larger ones.

[Pie]

No, not a multiplyer, a variable adder. Like, if its on a galleon, a small sail only adds 5, but if it's on a dingi, it will add like, maby 15 or so.

[Nakranoth]

I think the much more sensible thing to do would be limiting small sails to small boats, medium to medium, and large to large... like that they can really all have nearly identical codeing.

[Pie]

nice idea. *thumbs up*

[Gran]

there's no great differences between the type of sails, are?

Arrr matey...

[km17]

i think the title of this thread is missleading...

[Pie]

(should I change the title?)

I'd think that we should make alot of differen't sails, so that when weather is added (as I've said before) we can have sailing be alot harder, and more of a profetion. (I just hope that weather includes having a set direction of wind for sertain areas)

[Sicofonte]

Suggestion for avoiding the weather on navigation.

Without dealing with the complex issue of the weather, we can introduce a new skill (navigation) that will represent the ability to take advantage of the winds (in sailed boats) and sea currents.

In any kind of boats and ships, the better navigation skill of the characters on deck would affect the speed (base or resulting?) with the traditional +/- 20% (or similar).

On sailed boats, the better navigation skill of the characters on deck would affect the sail bonus speed (before calculating the resulting speed) with the traditional +/- 20% (or similar).