For the Historical Buffs

[Clinch]

Just curious for those of us interested in the historical side of things (and not so much the mmo type play) what we can expect.  I hope this isnt covered in another thread but unfortunately Im too busy/lazy to look for it.  A few questions

 

1)Will historically accurate battles (ie-correct order of battle, fixed wind direction and speed) be available at some time?

 

2)If answer to #1 is no, then would it be possible to mod this with the current game engine?

 

3)Is the game going to be easily modifiable? I mainly am asking about damage moddifiers, armor, etc..  I think sailing mechanics are beautiful but possibly some people may want a more historical game over arcade.

 

At any rate, I think you guys have done a fascinating job thus far and im really looking forward to this game.

[Thomas Blackwell]

Well, if they do recreate historically accurate battles, only the ship configuration at the beginning, the location, and the weather will be accurate. After that, as the battle gets underway, things will happen that didn't happen in the real world battle. Trafalgar for example, what if Victory loses a mast, or the larger Franco-Spanish fleet was victorious? It would not feel like a historically accurate battle because it grows steadily less accurate as time progresses.

In my mind, the world of Naval Action is in a parallel universe, with a timeline that is anything but fixed. It is down to the people of this parallel earth to create their own history. Let this game stand out as a world within itself, rather than as an inaccurate historical simulator. That said, if the developers do add in historically accurate battles, I'm not opposed to it, I just think that there are better ways to spend their time, like creating epic arc missions and battles unique to their world.

As for mods, I really couldn't say. I know more about particle physics than I do about programming.

[Clinch]

Well, if they do recreate historically accurate battles, only the ship configuration at the beginning, the location, and the weather will be accurate.

 

That is pretty much all i was looking for

[Chunx]

"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective view point it's more like a big ball of wibbley wobbley... timey wimey stuff...."

Essentially yes, I think it will be set in the same time frame but nothing is fixed. There may be historical people in the game you recognise but with the added help of certain players at the right place and time things could definitely go very differently.

 

 

[H.Hornblower]

I think a good way to approach this would be to have 'Historical Situations.' 

Players begin a battle in the same situation as is historical - Fleets are accurate, ship armament is accurate and prevailing weather conditions are accurate. After that, it is down to player choice and some chance. 

 

In this way, players would face the same or similar decisions as historical figures faced, but would not be forced into doing the same things. The game doesn't need to be accurate to the point where it qualifies for academic citations, but accurate enough to feel like anything that happens in the game 'might have happened.' 

 

Just my thoughts, anyway.