Age of Sail 2 - 3d ship models for PC wargame

[Martes]

Thanks, Glenn! I am very glad to see they work.

 

A couple of new close-up shots of La Belle Poule - that allow to appreciate the beauty of her hull form - 

 

 

 

[Glenn Cook]

Very nice! Amazing work considering the game’s age and the obstacles to its modeling.

Your early models add an extra bit of elegance to the game. I’ve been switching out models and building new scenarios and campaigns using the JSGME mod switcher. I’m sure you know that all the historic campaigns in AOSII can be imported into AOSIIPB (PB) and cleaned up via the editor. Despite its issues and dated graphics, it’s hard to stop playing a game with unlimited scenarios, campaigns, and over 2,500+ ship stats, including some unique ones like the turtle (sub) and paddle (steam) boat.

 

I like your idea of modeling a “bomb” (or mortar). I’ve been working on something similar, but a true plunging-fire heavy mortar would be great to have. Default PB already models very nice “fire-ships” (Akella calls them “branders”) and an “explosive vessel” (Akella calls this a bomb). I think PB is the only Age of Sail game to do so. Both are well-known naval tactics, particularly from the 16th to 18th centuries, but they weren’t used effectively in PB’s default scenarios. I found them useful for modeling historic scenarios like the “Battle of the Basque Roads (1809).” As far as I know, fire-ships and explosive vessels were used on a small scale in the War of 1812 by the British Navy and American privateers.

[Martes]

Apart from adjusting damage and maneuverability models in the game, I think it's the submarines that I found the most enjoyable part of the gameplay. They give that very Master&Commander-like functionality of towing something with the ship and using it to blow things up - especially that you don't need to detach the submarine to place a bomb, so they are automatically reloaded, and thus you can hunt the enemy subs (that are barely visible and vulnerable only to own bombs) or even try to sneak with a brig or sloop and mine the path of an enemy ship. Lots, lots of fun.

 

What I need for increasing replayability is some kind of automated converter from geospatial data to ingame maps. 

[Glenn Cook]

The submersible “Turtle”  was actually  used in the American revolution against a British warship in NY harbor.  The Turtle was one-man , hand-cranked wooden submersible that unsuccessfully attempted to attach a explosive. 
 

Edited October 16 by Glenn Cook

[Martes]

11 hours ago, Glenn Cook said:

The Turtle was one-man , hand-cranked wooden submersible that unsuccessfully attempted to attach a explosive. 

 

That's not how it works in the game. Well, mostly.

The submarine is awfully slow when released, and it leaves the explosive mine where it is on the map, not attaching it or anything. So you have to time the release correctly, because there is a pause between the placement and the explosion (that is intended to remove the submarine from the danger zone). The way it is implemented it is probably closer to torpedo experiments of 1803 and partly 1812. I also scaled the model down to about half original size, it looks more natural like that. And it's working best when in tow of a ship, not autonomously.

 

And, of course, you can create as many copies of them as you like. They just shouldn't be treated is as a historical unit, but rather as an ad-hoc device (which it is), and with understanding that such ad-hoc devices were an essential part of period warfare.

 

 

Edited October 16 by Martes

[Glenn Cook]

The original intent of the Turtle’s designer was to stealthily submerge beneath the enemy’s hull, drill a hole, and implant a gunpowder charge with a delayed flintlock fuse. However, the pilot couldn’t drill the hole (possibly due to copper sheathing) and had to abandon the attack.

What’s interesting is that, while making his escape, he was spotted and pursued. To evade capture, he released the explosive into the water as a distraction. It reportedly detonated later, causing a large explosion in the harbor but no damage to British ships. My guess is the floating package seen in the game (mine?) is the released  explosive. So it may not be as far off historically  as first thought. I wonder if the  Akella’s designers heard this story? They always liked to inject some historical theory and fun fantasy into their simulations.

[Martes]

18 minutes ago, Glenn Cook said:

To evade capture, he released the explosive into the water as a distraction. It reportedly detonated later, causing a large explosion in the harbor but no damage to British ships. My guess is the floating package seen in the game (mine?) is the released  explosive. So it may not be as far off historically  as first thought.

In 1803 the British, and in 1812 the Americans were widely experimenting with all kinds of floating explosives with various mechanic timers, that ranged from a barrel to a boat full of explosives with fixed sails. The intention was to launch them during the tide in the direction of anchored ships, and if I recall correctly, one such attack in 1812 was almost successful, but the explosive was spotted and shot from the ship. And both types of those devices are, surprisingly, present in the game. You can use a towed submarine to drop explosive barrels (they won't move, but you can position them relatively accurately), you can dive the submarine under a stationary vessel and release the explosive there, that will act as attached to the hull, and you can make an explosive torpedo from a small ship by assigning an appropriate quality in the database editor.

Edited October 17 by Martes

[Martes]

And then there is a case of Fulton's second submarine (the one he offered the British admiralty in 1805):

 

 

[adiverslife]

On 3/21/2020 at 5:52 PM, Martes said:

Another ship in my "monstrous frigate" series: the HMS Vernon (1832):

 

 

Considered at that time an experimental frigate, she was very large (similar in size to 80-gun ship), and one of the first to be constructed with some ergonomics in mind (space between decks increased to 7 feet, for example), and carried her guns at 10 feet above the waterline. The stern is also interesting - it's actually an extended round (elliptic) construction with a very conservative sternboard attached to it to make the appearance more classic.

I have a weakness for the works of William Symonds, apparently.

This is fabulous. I am looking for a rezee'd 3d Model of a ship called the HMS Barham. The Barham was razeed around 1827 and went from a 74 gun ship to a 50 gun ship. The Barham ran aground on the island of Bonaire in 1829. The Barham was the flagship of the British navy in the West Indies at the time. This looks very much like it. Do you have a 3D Model which includes sails unfurled? 

 

On 2/5/2020 at 4:10 PM, Martes said:

And I went into rebuilding the 74 for a reason.

 

I used the Vindictive plans on the hull of the Colossus (which will explain a slightly different gunport arrangement and a straight stem). The elaborate semi-elliptic stern with hanging quarter galleries is especially interesting.

 

So we have a frigate of a size of a battleship, with comparable armament, built to 1830's specification over a hull with lines designed in 1740's. Lacks only steam engine for complete madness, and even that's not impossible.

 

For me it was a long dream, to actually and properly razee something

 

 

Interesting, that most of the large post-war British frigates, starting with the Vernon, were, more or less, similar to those converted frigates, both in size and in armament, as if the Admiralty, after long decades got the idea that it just may be easier to design a large frigate from the beginning, than to build a two-decker and then cut it.

 

[adiverslife]

This is fantastic. I am researching the HMS Barham which started out as a 3rd rate ship of the line and was the flagship of the British Navy in the West Indies. It was razeed in 1826 and ran aground on Bonaire in 1829. Do you have a 3d digital Model of this with unfurled sails? Your model looks very close to the Barham. I am researching the ship for a film I would like to make. 

[Martes]

13 hours ago, adiverslife said:

Your model looks very close to the Barham.

 

See this post for the latest state of the razee model - 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/20250-age-of-sail-2-3d-ship-models-for-pc-wargame/?do=findComment&comment=1053647

 

 

I did not model the rig and sails, they're ingame models that are assigned in a configuration file.

 

Strictly speaking, the Barham is the only razee configuration I did not do, i.e. unlike her sisterships she had a conventional square stern (they all were built a bit differently, because this was an experimental series, and sometimes the sterns were altered along the way).

see the whole gallery here - https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/object?vessels[0]=Barham (1811) 

 

But she certainly wasn't wrecked in 1828 (although they seem to have been messing with her bottom at some point in Curacoa), she was pretty active in 1830s in Mediterranean.

 

 

 

Edited October 19 by Martes