sail - multi-user wooden ships and iron men
sail [-s [-l]] [-x] [-b] [num]
sail is a computer version of Avalon Hill's game of fighting
sail originally
developed by S. Craig Taylor.
Players of sail take command of an old-fashioned Man of War
and fight
other players or the computer. They may re-enact one of the
many historical
sea battles recorded in the game, or they can choose a
fictional
battle.
As a sea captain in the sail Navy, the player has complete
control over
the workings of his ship. He must order every maneuver,
change the set
of his sails, and judge the right moment to let loose the
terrible destruction
of his broadsides. In addition to fighting the
enemy, he must
harness the powers of the wind and sea to make them work for
him. The
outcome of many battles during the age of sail was decided
by the ability
of one captain to hold the `weather gage'.
The flags are:
-s Print the names and ships of the top ten sailors.
-l Show the login name. Only effective with -s.
-x Play the first available ship instead of prompting for
a choice.
-b No bells.
sail is really two programs in one. Each player starts up a
process
which runs his own ship. In addition, a driver process is
forked (by the
first player) to run the computer ships and take care of
global bookkeeping.
Because the driver must calculate moves for each ship it
controls, the
more ships the computer is playing, the slower the game will
appear.
If a player joins a game in progress, he will synchronize
with the other
players (a rather slow process for everyone), and then he
may play along
with the rest.
To implement a multi-user game in UNIX Version 7, which was
the operating
system sail was first written under, the communicating processes must use
a common temporary file as a place to read and write messages. In addition,
a locking mechanism must be provided to ensure exclusive access to
the shared file. For example, sail uses a temporary file
named
/tmp/#sailsink.21 for scenario 21, and corresponding file
names for the
other scenarios. To provide exclusive access to the temporary file, sail
uses a technique stolen from an old game called pubcaves by
Jeff Cohen.
Processes do a busy wait in the loop
for (n = 0; link(sync_file, sync_lock) < 0 && n < 30;
n++)
sleep(2);
until they are able to create a link to a file named
/tmp/#saillock.??.
The ``??'' correspond to the scenario number of the game.
Since UNIX
guarantees that a link will point to only one file, the process that succeeds
in linking will have exclusive access to the temporary
file.
CONSEQUENCES OF SEPARATE PLAYER AND DRIVER PROCESSES [Toc] [Back]
When players do something of global interest, such as moving
or firing,
the driver must coordinate the action with the other ships
in the game.
For example, if a player wants to move in a certain direction, he writes
a message into the temporary file requesting that the driver
move his
ship. Each ``turn'', the driver reads all the messages sent
from the
players and decides what happened. It then writes back into
the temporary
file new values of variables, etc.
The most noticeable effect this communication has on the
game is the delay
in moving. Suppose a player types a move for his ship
and hits return.
What happens then? The player process saves up messages to be
written to the temporary file in a buffer. Every 7 seconds
or so, the
player process gets exclusive access to the temporary file
and writes out
its buffer to the file. The driver, running asynchronously,
must read in
the movement command, process it, and write out the results.
This takes
two exclusive accesses to the temporary file. Finally, when
the player
process gets around to doing another 7-second update, the
results of the
move are displayed on the screen. Hence, every movement requires four
exclusive accesses to the temporary file (anywhere from 7 to
21 seconds
depending upon asynchrony) before the player sees the results of his
moves.
In practice, the delays are not as annoying as they would
appear. There
is room for ``pipelining'' in the movement. After the player writes out
a first movement message, a second movement command can then
be issued.
The first message will be in the temporary file waiting for
the driver,
and the second will be in the file buffer waiting to be
written to the
file. Thus, by always typing moves a turn ahead of the
time, the player
can sail around quite quickly.
If the player types several movement commands between two
7-second updates,
only the last movement command typed will be seen by
the driver.
Movement commands within the same update "overwrite" each
other, in a
sense.
HISTORICAL INFO [Toc] [Back]
Old Square Riggers were very maneuverable ships capable of
intricate
sailing. Their only disadvantage was an inability to sail
very close to
the wind. The design of a wooden ship allowed only for the
guns to bear
to the left and right sides. A few guns of small aspect
(usually 6 or 9
pounders) could point forward, but their effect was small
compared to a
68-gun broadside of 24 or 32 pounders. The guns bear approximately like
so:
b----------------
---0
up to a range of ten (for round shot)
An interesting phenomenon occurred when a broadside was
fired down the
length of an enemy ship. The shot tended to bounce along
the deck and
did several times more damage. This phenomenon was called a
rake. Because
the bows of a ship are very strong and present a
smaller target
than the stern, a stern rake (firing from the stern to the
bow) causes
more damage than a bow rake.
b
00 ---- Stern rake!
a
Most ships were equipped with carronades, which were very
large, closerange
cannons. American ships from the revolution until the
War of 1812
were almost entirely armed with carronades.
The period of history covered in sail is approximately from
the 1770s until
the end of Napoleonic France in 1815. There are many
excellent books
about the age of sail (see REFERENCES).
Fighting ships came in several sizes classed by armament.
The mainstays
of any fleet were its ``Ships of the Line'', or ``Line of
Battle Ships''.
They were so named because these ships fought together in
great lines.
They were close enough for mutual support, yet every ship
could fire both
its broadsides. We get the modern words ``ocean liner'', or
``liner'',
and ``battleship'' from ``ship of the line''. The most common size was
the 74-gun two-decked ship of the line. The two gun decks
usually mounted
18 and 24 pounder guns.
The pride of the fleet were the first rates. These were
huge three
decked ships of the line mounting 80 to 136 guns. The guns
in the three
tiers were usually 18, 24, and 32 pounders in that order
from top to bottom.
Various other ships came next. They were almost all
``razees'', or ships
of the line with one deck sawed off. They mounted 40-64
guns and were a
poor cross between a frigate and a line of battle ship.
They neither had
the speed of the former nor the firepower of the latter.
Next came the ``eyes of the fleet''. Frigates came in many
sizes mounting
anywhere from 32 to 44 guns. They were very handy vessels. They
could outsail anything bigger and outshoot anything smaller.
Frigates
didn't fight in lines of battle as the much bigger 74's did.
Instead,
they harassed the enemy's rear or captured crippled ships.
They were
much more useful in missions away from the fleet, such as
cutting out expeditions
or boat actions. They could hit hard and get away
fast.
Lastly, there were the corvettes, sloops, and brigs. These
were smaller
ships mounting typically fewer than 20 guns. A corvette was
only slightly
smaller than a frigate, so one might have up to 30 guns.
Sloops were
used for carrying dispatches or passengers. Brigs were
something you
built for land-locked lakes.
SAIL PARTICULARS [Toc] [Back]
Ships in sail are represented by two characters. One character represents
the bow of the ship, and the other represents the
stern. Ships
have nationalities and numbers. The first ship of a nationality is number
0, the second number 1, etc. Therefore, the first
British ship in a
game would be printed as `b0'. The second Brit would be
`b1', and the
fifth Don would be `s4'.
Ships can set normal sails, called Battle Sails, or bend on
extra canvas
called Full Sails. A ship under full sail is a beautiful
sight indeed,
and it can move much faster than a ship under Battle Sails.
The only
trouble is, with full sails set, there is so much tension on
sail and
rigging that a well aimed round shot can burst a sail into
ribbons where
it would only cause a little hole in a loose sail. For this
reason, rigging
damage is doubled on a ship with full sails set. Don't
let that
discourage you from using full sails: I like to keep them up
right into
the heat of battle. A ship with full sails set has a capital letter for
its nationality. E.g., a Frog, `f0', with full sails set
would be printed
as `F0'.
When a ship is battered into a listing hulk, the last man
aboard
``strikes the colors''. This ceremony is the ship's formal
surrender.
The nationality character of a surrendered ship is printed
as `!'. E.g.,
the Frog of our last example would soon be `!0'.
A ship has a random chance of catching fire or sinking when
it reaches
the stage of listing hulk. A sinking ship has a tilde `~'
printed for
its nationality, and a ship on fire and about to explode has
a `#' printed.
Captured ships become the nationality of the prize crew.
Therefore, if
an American ship captures a British ship, the British ship
will have an
`a' printed for its nationality. In addition, the ship number is changed
to `&', `'', `(', `'), `*', or `+' depending upon the original number, be
it 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. E.g., the `b0' captured by an American becomes
the `a&'. The `s4' captured by a Frog becomes the `f*'.
The ultimate example is, of course, an exploding Brit captured by an
American: `#&'.
MOVEMENT [Toc] [Back]
Movement is the most confusing part of sail to many. Ships
can head in 8
directions:
0 0 0
b b b0 b b b 0b
b
0 0
0
The stern of a ship moves when it turns. The bow remains
stationary.
Ships can always turn, regardless of the wind (unless they
are becalmed).
All ships drift when they lose headway. If a ship doesn't
move forward
at all for two turns, it will begin to drift. If a ship has
begun to
drift, then it must move forward before it turns, if it
plans to do more
than make a right or left turn, which is always possible.
Movement commands to sail are a string of forward moves and
turns. An
example is `l3'. It will turn a ship left and then move it
ahead 3
spaces. In the drawing above, the `b0' made 7 successive
left turns.
When sail prompts you for a move, it prints three characters
of import.
E.g.,
move (7, 4):
The first number is the maximum number of moves you can
make, including
turns. The second number is the maximum number of turns you
can make.
Between the numbers is sometimes printed a quote `''. If
the quote is
present, it means that your ship has been drifting, and you
must move
ahead to regain headway before you turn (see note above).
Some of the
possible moves for the example above are as follows:
move (7, 4): 7
move (7, 4): 1
move (7, 4): d /* drift, or do nothing */
move (7, 4): 6r
move (7, 4): 5r1
move (7, 4): 4r1r
move (7, 4): l1r1r2
move (7, 4): 1r1r1r1
Because square riggers performed so poorly sailing into the
wind, if at
any point in a movement command you turn into the wind, the
movement
stops there. E.g.,
move (7, 4): l1l4
Movement Error;
Helm: l1l
Moreover, whenever you make a turn, your movement allowance
drops to the
lesser of what's left or what you would have at the new attitude. In
short, if you turn closer to the wind, you most likely won't
be able to
sail the full allowance printed in the "move" prompt.
Old sailing captains had to keep an eye constantly on the
wind. Captains
in sail are no different. A ship's ability to move depends
on its attitude
to the wind. The best angle possible is to have the
wind off your
quarter, that is, just off the stern. The direction rose on
the side of
the screen gives the possible movements for your ship at all
positions to
the wind. Battle sail speeds are given first, and full sail
speeds are
given in parentheses.
0 1(2)
/
-^-3(6)
/|
| 4(7)
3(6)
Pretend the bow of your ship (the `^') is pointing upward
and the wind is
blowing from the bottom to the top of the page. The numbers
at the bottom
`3(6)' will be your speed under battle or full sails in
such a situation.
If the wind is off your quarter, then you can move
`4(7)'. If the
wind is off your beam, `3(6)'. If the wind is off your bow,
then you can
only move `1(2)'. If you are facing into the wind, you
can't move at
all; ships facing into the wind were said to be ``in
irons''.
WINDSPEED AND DIRECTION [Toc] [Back]
The windspeed and direction is displayed as a little weather
vane on the
side of the screen. The number in the middle of the vane
indicates the
wind speed, and the + to - indicates the wind direction.
The wind blows
from the + sign (high pressure) to the - sign (low pressure). E.g.,
|
3
+
The wind speeds are 0 = becalmed, 1 = light breeze, 2 = moderate breeze,
3 = fresh breeze, 4 = strong breeze, 5 = gale, 6 = full
gale, 7 = hurricane.
If a hurricane shows up, all ships are destroyed.
GRAPPLING AND FOULING [Toc] [Back]
If two ships collide, they run the risk of becoming tangled
together.
This is called ``fouling''. Fouled ships are stuck together, and neither
can move. They can unfoul each other if they want to.
Boarding parties
can only be sent across to ships when the antagonists are
either fouled
or grappled.
Ships can grapple each other by throwing grapnels into the
rigging of the
other.
The number of fouls and grapples you have are displayed on
the upper
right of the screen.
BOARDING [Toc] [Back]
Boarding was a very costly venture in terms of human life.
Boarding parties
may be formed in sail to either board an enemy ship or
to defend
your own ship against attack. Men organized as Defensive
Boarding Parties
fight twice as hard to save their ship as men left unorganized.
The boarding strength of a crew depends upon its quality and
upon the
number of men sent.
CREW QUALITY [Toc] [Back]
The British seaman was world renowned for his sailing abilities. American
sailors, however, were actually the best seamen in the
world. Because
the American Navy offered twice the wages of the Royal
Navy,
British seamen who liked the sea defected to America by the
thousands.
In sail, crew quality is quantized into 5 energy levels.
Elite crews can
outshoot and outfight all other sailors. Crack crews are
next. Mundane
crews are average, and Green and Mutinous crews are below
average. A
good rule of thumb is that Crack or Elite crews get one extra hit per
broadside compared to Mundane crews. Don't expect too much
from Green
crews.
BROADSIDES [Toc] [Back]
Your two broadsides may be loaded with four kinds of shot:
grape, chain,
round, and double. You have guns and carronades in both the
port and
starboard batteries. Carronades only have a range of two,
so you have to
get in close to be able to fire them.e You have the choice
of firing at
the hull or rigging of another ship. If the range of the
ship is greater
than 6, then you may only shoot at the rigging.
The types of shot and their advantages are:
ROUND Range of 10. Good for hull or rigging hits.
DOUBLE Range of 1. Extra good for hull or rigging hits.
Double takes
two turns to load.
CHAIN Range of 3. Excellent for tearing down rigging.
Cannot damage
hull or guns, though.
GRAPE Range of 1. Sometimes devastating against enemy
crews.
On the side of the screen is displayed some vital information about your
ship:
Load D! R!
Hull 9
Crew 4 4 2
Guns 4 4
Carr 2 2
Rigg 5 5 5 5
"Load" shows what your port (left) and starboard (right)
broadsides are
loaded with. A `!' after the type of shot indicates that it
is an initial
broadside. Initial broadside were loaded with care before battle
and before the decks ran red with blood. As a consequence,
initial
broadsides are a little more effective than broadsides loaded later. A
`*' after the type of shot indicates that the gun crews are
still loading
it, and you cannot fire yet. "Hull" shows how much hull you
have left.
"Crew" shows your three sections of crew. As your crew dies
off, your
ability to fire decreases. "Guns" and "Carr" show your port
and starboard
guns. As you lose guns, your ability to fire decreases. "Rigg"
shows how much rigging you have on your 3 or 4 masts. As
rigging is shot
away, you lose mobility.
EFFECTIVENESS OF FIRE [Toc] [Back]
It is very dramatic when a ship fires its thunderous broadsides, but the
mere opportunity to fire them does not guarantee any hits.
Many factors
influence the destructive force of a broadside. First of
all, and the
chief factor, is distance. It is harder to hit a ship at
range ten than
it is to hit one sloshing alongside. Next is raking. Raking fire, as
mentioned before, can sometimes dismast a ship at range ten.
Next, crew
size and quality affects the damage done by a broadside.
The number of
guns firing also bears on the point, so to speak. Lastly,
weather affects
the accuracy of a broadside. If the seas are high (5
or 6), then
the lower gunports of ships of the line can't even be opened
to run out
the guns. This gives frigates and other flush decked vessels an advantage
in a storm. The scenario Pellew vs. The Droits de
L'Homme takes advantage
of this peculiar circumstance.
REPAIRS [Toc] [Back]
Repairs may be made to your Hull, Guns, and Rigging at the
slow rate of
two points per three turns. The message "Repairs Completed"
will be
printed if no more repairs can be made.
PECULIARITIES OF COMPUTER SHIPS [Toc] [Back]
Computer ships in sail follow all the rules above with a few
exceptions.
Computer ships never repair damage. If they did, the players could never
beat them. They play well enough as it is. As a consolation, the computer
ships can fire double shot every turn. That fluke is
a good reason
to keep your distance. The driver figures out the moves of
the computer
ships. It computes them with a typical A.I. distance function and a
depth-first search to find the maximum ``score''. It seems
to work fairly
well, although it isn't perfect.
Commands are given to sail by typing a single character.
You will then
be prompted for further input. A brief summary of the commands follows.
COMMAND SUMMARY [Toc] [Back]
f Fire broadsides if they bear
l Reload
L Unload broadsides (to change ammo)
m Move
i Print the closest ship
I Print all ships
F Find a particular ship or ships (e.g. `a?' for all
Americans)
s Send a message around the fleet
b Attempt to board an enemy ship
B Recall boarding parties
c Change set of sail
r Repair
u Attempt to unfoul
g Grapple/ungrapple
v Print version number of game
^L Redraw screen
Q Quit
C Center your ship in the window
U Move window up
D,N Move window down
H Move window left
J Move window right
S Toggle window to follow your ship or stay where it is
Here is a summary of the scenarios in sail:
Ranger vs. Drake:
Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Ranger 19 gun Sloop (crack crew) (7 pts)
(b) Drake 17 gun Sloop (crack crew) (6 pts)
The Battle of Flamborough Head:
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
This is John Paul Jones' first famous battle. Aboard the
Bonhomme
Richard, he was able to overcome the Serapis's greater firepower by
quickly boarding her.
(a) Bonhomme Rich 42 gun Corvette (crack crew) (11 pts)
(b) Serapis 44 gun Frigate (crack crew) (12 pts)
Arbuthnot and Des Touches:
Wind from the N, blowing a gale.
(b) America 64 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(20 pts)
(b) Befford 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(26 pts)
(b) Adamant 50 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(17 pts)
(b) London 98 gun 3 Decker SOL (crack crew) (28
pts)
(b) Royal Oak 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(26 pts)
(f) Neptune 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(24 pts)
(f) Duc de Bourgogne 80 gun 3 Decker SOL (average crew) (27
pts)
(f) Conquerant 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(24 pts)
(f) Provence 64 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(18 pts)
(f) Romulus 44 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(10 pts)
Suffren and Hughes:
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Monmouth 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(24 pts)
(b) Hero 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(26 pts)
(b) Isis 50 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(17 pts)
(b) Superb 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(27 pts)
(b) Burford 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(24 pts)
(f) Flamband 50 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(14 pts)
(f) Annibal 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(24 pts)
(f) Severe 64 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(18 pts)
(f) Brilliant 80 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(31 pts)
(f) Sphinx 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(27 pts)
Nymphe vs. Cleopatre:
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Nymphe 36 gun Frigate (crack crew) (11 pts)
(f) Cleopatre 36 gun Frigate (average crew) (10 pts)
Mars vs. Hercule:
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Mars 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(26 pts)
(f) Hercule 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(23 pts)
Ambuscade vs. Baionnaise:
Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Ambuscade 32 gun Frigate (average crew) (9 pts)
(f) Baionnaise 24 gun Corvette (average crew) (9 pts)
Constellation vs. Insurgent:
Wind from the S, blowing a gale.
(a) Constellation 38 gun Corvette (elite crew) (17 pts)
(f) Insurgent 36 gun Corvette (average crew) (11
pts)
Constellation vs. Vengeance:
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Constellation 38 gun Corvette (elite crew) (17 pts)
(f) Vengeance 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts)
The Battle of Lissa:
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Amphion 32 gun Frigate (elite crew) (13 pts)
(b) Active 38 gun Frigate (elite crew) (18 pts)
(b) Volage 22 gun Frigate (elite crew) (11 pts)
(b) Cerberus 32 gun Frigate (elite crew) (13 pts)
(f) Favorite 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts)
(f) Flore 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts)
(f) Danae 40 gun Frigate (crack crew) (17 pts)
(f) Bellona 32 gun Frigate (green crew) (9 pts)
(f) Corona 40 gun Frigate (green crew) (12 pts)
(f) Carolina 32 gun Frigate (green crew) (7 pts)
Constitution vs. Guerriere:
Wind from the SW, blowing a gale.
(a) Constitution 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts)
(b) Guerriere 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (15 pts)
United States vs. Macedonian:
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) United States 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (24 pts)
(b) Macedonian 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (16 pts)
Constitution vs. Java:
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Constitution 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts)
(b) Java 38 gun Corvette (crack crew) (19 pts)
Chesapeake vs. Shannon:
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Chesapeake 38 gun Frigate (average crew) (14 pts)
(b) Shannon 38 gun Frigate (elite crew) (17 pts)
The Battle of Lake Erie:
Wind from the S, blowing a light breeze.
(a) Lawrence 20 gun Sloop (crack crew) (9 pts)
(a) Niagara 20 gun Sloop (elite crew) (12 pts)
(b) Lady Prevost 13 gun Brig (crack crew) (5 pts)
(b) Detroit 19 gun Sloop (crack crew) (7 pts)
(b) Q. Charlotte 17 gun Sloop (crack crew) (6 pts)
Wasp vs. Reindeer:
Wind from the S, blowing a light breeze.
(a) Wasp 20 gun Sloop (elite crew) (12 pts)
(b) Reindeer 18 gun Sloop (elite crew) (9 pts)
Constitution vs. Cyane and Levant:
Wind from the S, blowing a moderate breeze.
(a) Constitution 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts)
(b) Cyane 24 gun Sloop (crack crew) (11 pts)
(b) Levant 20 gun Sloop (crack crew) (10 pts)
Pellew vs. Droits de L'Homme:
Wind from the N, blowing a gale.
(b) Indefatigable 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (14 pts)
(b) Amazon 36 gun Frigate (crack crew) (14 pts)
(f) Droits L'Hom 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(24 pts)
Algeciras:
Wind from the SW, blowing a moderate breeze.
(b) Caesar 80 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(31 pts)
(b) Pompee 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(27 pts)
(b) Spencer 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(26 pts)
(b) Hannibal 98 gun 3 Decker SOL (crack crew) (28
pts)
(s) Real-Carlos 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27
pts)
(s) San Fernando 96 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (24
pts)
(s) Argonauta 80 gun Ship of the Line (green crew)
(23 pts)
(s) San Augustine 74 gun Ship of the Line (green crew)
(20 pts)
(f) Indomptable 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(27 pts)
(f) Desaix 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(24 pts)
Lake Champlain:
Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Saratoga 26 gun Sloop (crack crew) (12 pts)
(a) Eagle 20 gun Sloop (crack crew) (11 pts)
(a) Ticonderoga 17 gun Sloop (crack crew) (9 pts)
(a) Preble 7 gun Brig (crack crew) (4 pts)
(b) Confiance 37 gun Frigate (crack crew) (14 pts)
(b) Linnet 16 gun Sloop (elite crew) (10 pts)
(b) Chubb 11 gun Brig (crack crew) (5 pts)
Last Voyage of the USS President:
Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) President 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (24 pts)
(b) Endymion 40 gun Frigate (crack crew) (17 pts)
(b) Pomone 44 gun Frigate (crack crew) (20 pts)
(b) Tenedos 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (15 pts)
Hornblower and the Natividad:
Wind from the E, blowing a gale.
A scenario for you Horny fans. Remember, he sank the Natividad against
heavy odds and winds. Hint: don't try to board the Natividad; her crew
is much bigger, albeit green.
(b) Lydia 36 gun Frigate (elite crew) (13 pts)
(s) Natividad 50 gun Ship of the Line (green crew)
(14 pts)
Curse of the Flying Dutchman:
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
Just for fun, take the Piece of cake.
(s) Piece of Cake 24 gun Corvette (average crew) (9 pts)
(f) Flying Dutchy 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43
pts)
The South Pacific:
Wind from the S, blowing a strong breeze.
(a) USS Scurvy 136 gun 3 Decker SOL (mutinous crew)
(27 pts)
(b) HMS Tahiti 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43
pts)
(s) Australian 32 gun Frigate (average crew) (9 pts)
(f) Bikini Atoll 7 gun Brig (crack crew) (4 pts)
Hornblower and the battle of Rosas bay:
Wind from the E, blowing a fresh breeze.
The only battle Hornblower ever lost. He was able to dismast one ship
and stern rake the others though. See if you can do as
well.
(b) Sutherland 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(26 pts)
(f) Turenne 80 gun 3 Decker SOL (average crew) (27
pts)
(f) Nightmare 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(24 pts)
(f) Paris 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27
pts)
(f) Napoleon 74 gun Ship of the Line (green crew)
(20 pts)
Cape Horn:
Wind from the NE, blowing a strong breeze.
(a) Concord 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(27 pts)
(a) Berkeley 98 gun 3 Decker SOL (crack crew) (28
pts)
(b) Thames 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43
pts)
(s) Madrid 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27
pts)
(f) Musket 80 gun 3 Decker SOL (average crew) (27
pts)
New Orleans:
Wind from the SE, blowing a fresh breeze.
Watch that little Cypress go!
(a) Alligator 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43
pts)
(b) Firefly 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(27 pts)
(b) Cypress 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (14 pts)
Botany Bay:
Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Shark 64 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(18 pts)
(f) Coral Snake 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts)
(f) Sea Lion 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (24 pts)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea:
Wind from the NW, blowing a fresh breeze.
This one is dedicated to Richard Basehart and David Hedison.
(a) Seaview 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43
pts)
(a) Flying Sub 40 gun Frigate (crack crew) (17 pts)
(b) Mermaid 136 gun 3 Decker SOL (mutinous crew)
(27 pts)
(s) Giant Squid 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27
pts)
Frigate Action:
Wind from the E, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Killdeer 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts)
(b) Sandpiper 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts)
(s) Curlew 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (16 pts)
The Battle of Midway:
Wind from the E, blowing a moderate breeze.
(a) Enterprise 80 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew)
(31 pts)
(a) Yorktown 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(27 pts)
(a) Hornet 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew)
(24 pts)
(j) Akagi 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27
pts)
(j) Kaga 96 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (24
pts)
(j) Soryu 80 gun Ship of the Line (green crew)
(23 pts)
Star Trek:
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Enterprise 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew)
(75 pts)
(a) Yorktown 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew)
(75 pts)
(a) Reliant 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew)
(75 pts)
(a) Galileo 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew)
(75 pts)
(k) Kobayashi Maru 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew)
(75 pts)
(k) Klingon II 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew)
(75 pts)
(o) Red Orion 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew)
(75 pts)
(o) Blue Orion 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew)
(75 pts)
Dave Riggle wrote the first version of sail on a PDP 11/70
in the fall of
1980. Needless to say, says Dave, the code was horrendous,
not portable
in any sense of the word, and didn't work. The program was
not very modular
and had fseek()s and fwrites()s every few lines. After
a tremendous
rewrite from the top down, he got the first working version
up by 1981.
There were several annoying bugs concerning firing broadsides and finding
angles. sail uses no floating point, by the way, so the direction routines
are rather tricky. Ed Wang rewrote the angle() routine in 1981 to
be less incorrect, and he added code to let a player select
which ship he
wanted at the start of the game.
Captain Happy (Craig Leres) is responsible for making sail
portable for
the first time. This was no easy task, by the way.
sail received its fourth and most thorough rewrite in the
summer and fall
of 1983: Ed Wang rewrote and modularized the code (a monumental feat) almost
from scratch. Although he introduced many new bugs,
the final result
was very much cleaner and (?) faster. He added window
movement commands
and find ship commands.
sail has been a group effort.
Dave Riggle
Ed Wang, co-author
Craig Leres, refitting
CONSULTANTS [Toc] [Back]
Chris Guthrie
Captain Happy
Horatio Nelson
and many valiant others...
Avalon Hill, Wooden Ships & Iron Men.
C.S. Forester, Captain Horatio Hornblower Novels, (13 of
them).
Alexander Kent, Captain Richard Bolitho Novels, (12 of
them).
The Complete Works of Captain Frederick Marryat. Of these,
especially
Mr. Midshipman Easy
Peter Simple
Jacob Faithful
Japhet in Search of a Father
Snarleyyow, or The Dog Fiend
Frank Mildmay, or The Naval Officer
Probably a few.
OpenBSD 3.6 December 30, 1993
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