Firstly, I love how the devs are asking the community to brainstorm with them.
Second, a lot of good replies in here already.
Third, I'd just weigh in with the idea that it matters a lot what kind of SoL would be involved. Like others pointed out, the 74 became the mainstay of many navies because of its excellent blend between power and practicality. I would wager that any three gundeck ship would be rather more unwieldy than a two gundeck (weight above waterline). So if we're talking about ships of line, then a well-built 74 was probably a decent handler for its size, whereas a really big ship would stray into the 'handle like a bus' territory. The whole thing about the Santisima being only fit for static defence is most likely a little bit exxagerated by now, but there is a definite historical basis for it.
I don't think a smart 74 would be easily outmanoeuvred by a frigate. And even if its possible, the large amount of gun barrels looking at the frigate turns any mistake or hesitation on the part of the frigate captain into a painful affair. So the smart move is always to just stay away from the thing. Could a small or medium frigate 'sterncamp' a very large three-deck battleship given the right circumstances in real life? Probably. For a while at least. But what's the point? One mistake and you're going swimming.
I think the game's sailing and damage model will ultimately be enough to force people into making the correct strategical fight-or-flight decisions in the open world, punish their mistakes and reward their skill.
As for actual technical aspects of handling, that's way out of most of collective leagues to accurately speculate on. There's probably all sorts of ship technical stuff involved that determines how agile a ship is. Have you guys considered contacting specific historians or ship engineers? There's surely a few out there who would love to help and weigh in (send em a free copy of the game when it's done )
Firstly, I love how the devs are asking the community to brainstorm with them. Second, a lot of good replies in here already. Third, I'd just weigh in with the idea that it matters a lot what kind of SoL would be involved. Like others pointed out, the 74 became the mainstay of many navies because of its excellent blend between power and practicality. I would wager that any three gundeck ship would be rather more unwieldy than a two gundeck (weight above waterline). So if we're talking about ships of line, then a well-built 74 was probably a decent handler for its size, whereas a really big ship would stray into the 'handle like a bus' territory. The whole thing about the Santisima being only fit for static defence is most likely a little bit exxagerated by now, but there is a definite historical basis for it. I don't think a smart 74 would be easily outmanoeuvred by a frigate. And even if its possible, the large amount of gun barrels looking at the frigate turns any mistake or hesitation on the part of the frigate captain into a painful affair. So the smart move is always to just stay away from the thing. Could a small or medium frigate 'sterncamp' a very large three-deck battleship given the right circumstances in real life? Probably. For a while at least. But what's the point? One mistake and you're going swimming. I think the game's sailing and damage model will ultimately be enough to force people into making the correct strategical fight-or-flight decisions in the open world, punish their mistakes and reward their skill. As for actual technical aspects of handling, that's way out of most of collective leagues to accurately speculate on. There's probably all sorts of ship technical stuff involved that determines how agile a ship is. Have you guys considered contacting specific historians or ship engineers? There's surely a few out there who would love to help and weigh in (send em a free copy of the game when it's done )