Sloop > Galleon > Wan-o-War??????
I would really love to see something even larger than the Galleon; as while it is big, it can't support more than 4 players as the game stands. With the Emergency break anchor maneuver and a little team work (not actually that much) a Galleon can easily keep a Sloop in its firing arc to take it down. {{Quick aside I would like said maneuver to actually cause damage to the ship by popping open some already repaired wholes on the lower deck because of the stress the ship undergoes when this happens.}} This new ship would named the Man-o-War after the "floating fortress" of ye olde days.
The main advantage of having a ship this large would of course be the higher crew capacity, and damage output. A maximum crew of 8 is allowed, but a crew of 4 I could see scraping by piloting it if they were good. But with the increased size, durability, and power, comes the cost of turning speed. Even fully utilizing the new jib and driver sails (discussed later), as well as the anchors would still lead to a well captained Sloop to out maneuvering you in the open ocean - being able to stay in your blind spots. Also, being so large, the Man-o-War would have to park further out from islands so as to not take damage from running aground. This problem is solved by having a row boat hanging off the back, behind the captain's quarters. Allowing small parties to row over to land without much fuss.
Over all, I think it would make an excellent addition to the game for those big groups of friends who want to sail on one ship instead of finding each other on several.
I imagine the design would go a little something like this;
Top Deck:
- Three masts, similar to the Galleon, but each is one square of canvas taller, with the rear mast also sporting a crows nest with a miniature swivel cannon (still taking a single cannonball to load it) for offering a small amount of rear-facing fire.
- Two new "rudder" sails, the first connecting the forward mast and the bowsprit (the stick jutting out the front). the second would connect the stern and rear mast. These sails were commonly used to help a ship to turn as they would catch the air as a vessel turned and slow it down. The front "rudder" sail was called a jib, and the rear a driver. These new sails could act just that way, but to dissuade them from always being kept up, they could completely obscure the captain's view and slow the ship going forward.
- Three cannons on each side of the deck with about one full second of travel time between each.
- Primary Capstan (anchor wheel). Six spokes stick out from it, but even under full power the anchor would take 12 seconds to reel back in, and 5 to drop. Note: this does not fully stop the ship, but does DRAMATICALLY reduce speed. To get the ship to fully stop the secondary capstan on the top-middle deck must also be deployed. Deploying the main anchor at full speed will open half of any patched holes on the Lower Deck.
Top-Middle Deck:
- Four cannons with a spacing similar to the ones on the top deck, but with the option of being in a deployed or stored state. Deployed opens the hatch which allows a very small view for those aiming the cannon to see out, and the barrel of the cannon is rolled up to stick out for a slightly more restrictive firing arc than the cannons above, but with the benefit of being protected form returning cannon fire.
- A central cage for this deck contains all the cannon ball barrels as well as a secondary ammunition and weapons crate. This cage's door will swing open freely to anyone who is a part of the crew by simply pressing up against it, but will not budge for anyone outside of it, unless they obtain the captain's key which is done by interacting with the captain's desk in the captain's quarters (covered later).
- One forward facing cannon with the same deployed and stored positions as the rest on this deck. This might be tricky as the figurehead on the ship might be compromised in most situations by this unless each figurehead for this type of ship is custom made to fit around this port opening.
- Secondary Capstan, which is located just forward of the ammunition cage. This capstan is the four spokes version found on the Galleon and can probably use that same asset. Dropping it has approximately half the effect of the primary capstan, in regards to speed but will cause no damage to the ship if deployed at full speed. Takes the same amount of time to raise and lower as the Galleon anchor.
Lower-Middle Deck:
- Containing the designated barrels for all resources (planks, foods, ammunition, weapons, etc.) with the exception of cannon balls which are reserved for the top-middle deck cage. These barrels are arranged around the deck hugging the walls with an open space in the middle for any cargo that can't fit in the cramped ammo cage above.
- At the front end of the ship on this deck, there is a small room with a secondary map on a table exactly like on the Galleon. This room also contains a barrel for grog, a chest of ammunition, and a weapons cabinet to swap out your load out.
Lower Deck:
- Two cages stand at the very back of this deck where each can hold up to two mutineers. These are two brigs standing side by side.
- The rest of this small-ish deck is taken up by hammocks which act as the spawn points for the crew.
- In the area behind the stairs is where you'll find the equipment and clothing chests for the ship.
Captain's Quarters:
- A wall mount world map, with current voyages and missions having their appropriate papers stuck to the walls via daggers beside it for easy viewing.
- The captain's desk sits towards the back of this room. Where voyages and missions are proposed and voted on, this desk also holds the captain's key which ship invaders will have to obtain by interacting with the desk. The key is needed by invaders if they wish to gain access to the ammo cage on the top-middle deck.
- On either side of the captain's quarters, there is a small walkway lined with railing to prevent falls. This leads to the overhang at the rear of the ship. There, a row boat can be found swaying from its ropes, waiting to be lowered into the water. The row boat will be capable of holding a maximum of 4 people. One controlling the rudder for direction, one or two for rowing with two giving the boat more speed, and one standing in front free to use any equipment or weapons they have on them, or simply look bad a*s like a certain Captain Morgan as the boat comes ashore. Getting up and down would be controlled by two hook attachments on the end of ropes leading to the p**p deck. Interacting with either hook attaches the row boat automatically if it is close to the ship (2 meters or so?) then, the boat can either be dragged with the Man-o-War, or raised back up by winding the rope using a crank found at the very back of the p**p deck, behind the ship's wheel.
imgur.com
