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Pirates, a naval warfare game inspired by Sid Meier's Pirates

piwodlaiwo.github.io

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Re: Pirates, a naval warfare game inspired by Sid Meier's Pirates

#51

Post by chongli »

carpo wrote: post #45
dbingham wrote: post #9

That was fun, but the AI and the balance need some work. It's too easy to win as the small boat. You just stay ahead of your opponent and then turn back and strafe periodically. It would be much more challenging if you added wind and realistic sailing dynamics. If wind direction vs sail orientation mattered to your speed and boat characteristics weren't as simple as smaller = faster then I think it would be much bett…

If I remember correctly, the original was like this too. I always used the sloop and would often beat much larger ships.

Yeah so the other factor missing is gun calibre and ship hull reinforcement/design. The reason sloops didn’t dominate against ships of the line came down to these factors, as well as sheer number of guns.

A sloop’s guns were generally so light the balls would bounce off the hull of a ship of the line. The sheer weight of firepower in return would shred a sloop to pieces. Add on to that the fact that heavier guns can achieve longer range when trained at the right angle, and a sloop can’t really get anywhere near a ship of the line and live to tell the tale.

Re: Pirates, a naval warfare game inspired by Sid Meier's Pirates

#52

Post by itintheory »

supertroop wrote: post #37

“the emperor wishes to see you posthaste!” This immediately reminded me of the 1980s Apple game Taipan and of course it is playable online: https://www.taipangame.com/

Huh. I remember playing a very similar game on Apple II, but I believe it had a Dutch / European theme, and was called something like "Ooperhoofd". I can't find any reference to it online. Maybe it was a 'modded' version of this? That one, and Odell Lake[0] were the best disks in the library computer lab in middle school.

[0] https://classicreload.com/apple2-odell-lake.html

Re: Pirates, a naval warfare game inspired by Sid Meier's Pirates

#53

Post by iweczek »

JMiao wrote: post #29

my kid has 50+ hours in sid meier's pirates and told me they stare at the world map in their classroom and try to locate towns and ports in the caribbean when they're bored. i will show your game to them, though i am certain the first thing they will ask for is chain shot. not to discourage your good work, but here's another project worth checking out if sid meier's pirates is your thing. https://tinywind.io/

Nice, I still remember that map even though I haven't played the game in decades :) tinywind looks very cool, thanks for sharing.

Re: Pirates, a naval warfare game inspired by Sid Meier's Pirates

#54

Post by iweczek »

carpo wrote: post #45
dbingham wrote: post #9

That was fun, but the AI and the balance need some work. It's too easy to win as the small boat. You just stay ahead of your opponent and then turn back and strafe periodically. It would be much more challenging if you added wind and realistic sailing dynamics. If wind direction vs sail orientation mattered to your speed and boat characteristics weren't as simple as smaller = faster then I think it would be much bett…

If I remember correctly, the original was like this too. I always used the sloop and would often beat much larger ships.

yes, i also always chose the Sloop and would usually win.

Re: Pirates, a naval warfare game inspired by Sid Meier's Pirates

#55

Post by theropost »

I remember playing Pirates on my 8086 in the 1980, mono-chrome screen, and I was amazed a a kid. Sid Meier's games were always a step above, and so immersive feeling for their day. I started a project from that too (one of many I suppose). I also was inspired by the KOEI games on SNES - Uncharted Waters.

It needs polish, content and more work but the kids like it.

https://ship-voyage-4zn.pages.dev/

Re: Pirates, a naval warfare game inspired by Sid Meier's Pirates

#56

Post by iweczek »

chongli wrote: post #51
carpo wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I remember correctly, the original was like this too. I always used the sloop and would often beat much larger ships.

Yeah so the other factor missing is gun calibre and ship hull reinforcement/design. The reason sloops didn’t dominate against ships of the line came down to these factors, as well as sheer number of guns. A sloop’s guns were generally so light the balls would bounce off the hull of a ship of the line. The sheer weight of firepower in return would shred a sloop to pieces. Add on to that the fact that heavier guns can…

I plan on adding wind dynamics. The largest ship has 1 more cannon, do you think I should add more? or perhaps longer range on the larger ship cannons?

Re: Pirates, a naval warfare game inspired by Sid Meier's Pirates

#57

Post by iweczek »

dbingham wrote: post #17
dbingham wrote: post #9

That was fun, but the AI and the balance need some work. It's too easy to win as the small boat. You just stay ahead of your opponent and then turn back and strafe periodically. It would be much more challenging if you added wind and realistic sailing dynamics. If wind direction vs sail orientation mattered to your speed and boat characteristics weren't as simple as smaller = faster then I think it would be much bett…

On further play, really the only match up where I had any trouble was large vs large. (As a side request, it would be nice to be able to choose your opponent!) With both small and medium, you can just strafe back and forth in front of your opponent if you're faster than them. With medium and large, you can just circle them and absorb more punishment than them when you're larger than them. Multi-player would solve the…

Thanks for playing and the feedback. I plan on adding wind dynamics very soon. Letting you choose opponent instead of random should be easy. Multiplayer with more than 1 would be interesting, I like that idea!

Re: Pirates, a naval warfare game inspired by Sid Meier's Pirates

#58

Post by iweczek »

CrimsonCape wrote: post #44

It would seem relatively easy to tie speed to the direction the boat is facing. The more perpendicular you are to the 'wind direction' the faster you move. Or make the fastest velocity 45 degrees from wind direction, for a bit more realism. Basic sailing physics can add to the fun.

Thanks for the feedback, adding wind dynamics is on top of my list :)
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