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1 | .\" Copyright (c) 1988 Regents of the University of California. |
2 | .\" All rights reserved. | |
4d916e9a | 3 | .\" |
91cff1e1 | 4 | .\" %sccs.include.redist.man% |
4d916e9a | 5 | .\" |
91cff1e1 | 6 | .\" @(#)sail.6 5.6 (Berkeley) %G% |
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7 | .\" |
8 | .TH SAIL 6 "" | |
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9 | .UC 4 |
10 | .SH NAME | |
11 | sail \- multi-user wooden ships and iron men | |
12 | .SH SYNOPSIS | |
13 | .B sail | |
14 | [ | |
57388e81 EW |
15 | .B \-s |
16 | [ | |
17 | .B \-l | |
18 | ] ] [ | |
19 | .B \-x | |
20 | ] [ | |
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21 | .B \-b |
22 | ] [ | |
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23 | .B num |
24 | ] | |
25 | .br | |
26 | .fi | |
27 | .SH DESCRIPTION | |
28 | .I Sail | |
29 | is a computer version of Avalon Hill's game of fighting sail | |
30 | originally developed by S. Craig Taylor. | |
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31 | .PP |
32 | Players of | |
33 | .I Sail | |
34 | take command of an old fashioned Man of War and fight other | |
35 | players or the computer. They may re-enact one of the many | |
36 | historical sea battles recorded in the game, or they can choose | |
37 | a fictional battle. | |
38 | .PP | |
39 | As a sea captain in the | |
40 | .I Sail | |
41 | Navy, the player has complete control over the workings of his ship. | |
42 | He must order every maneuver, change the set of his sails, and judge the | |
43 | right moment to let loose the terrible destruction of his broadsides. | |
44 | In addition to fighting the enemy, he must harness the powers of the wind | |
45 | and sea to make them work for him. The outcome of many battles during the | |
46 | age of sail was decided by the ability of one captain to hold the `weather | |
47 | gage.' | |
57388e81 EW |
48 | .PP |
49 | The flags are: | |
50 | .TP | |
51 | .B \-s | |
52 | Print the names and ships of the top ten sailors. | |
53 | .TP | |
54 | .B \-l | |
55 | Show the login name. Only effective with \fB-s\fP. | |
56 | .TP | |
57 | .B \-x | |
58 | Play the first available ship instead of prompting for a choice. | |
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59 | .TP |
60 | .B \-b | |
61 | No bells. | |
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62 | .SH IMPLEMENTATION |
63 | .I Sail | |
64 | is really two programs in one. Each player starts up a process which | |
65 | runs his own ship. In addition, a | |
66 | .I driver | |
57388e81 | 67 | process is forked (by the first player) to run the computer ships |
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68 | and take care of global bookkeeping. |
69 | .PP | |
70 | Because the | |
71 | .I driver | |
72 | must calculate moves for each ship it controls, the | |
73 | more ships the computer is playing, the slower the game will appear. | |
74 | .PP | |
75 | If a player joins a game in progress, he will synchronize | |
76 | with the other players (a rather slow process for everyone), and | |
77 | then he may play along with the rest. | |
78 | .PP | |
79 | To implement a multi-user game in Version 7 UNIX, which was the operating | |
80 | system | |
81 | .I Sail | |
82 | was first written under, the communicating processes must use a common | |
83 | temporary file as a place to read and write messages. In addition, a | |
84 | locking mechanism must be provided to ensure exclusive access to the | |
85 | shared file. For example, | |
86 | .I Sail | |
87 | uses a temporary file named /tmp/#sailsink.21 for scenario 21, and | |
88 | corresponding file names for the other scenarios. To provide exclusive | |
89 | access to the temporary file, | |
90 | .I Sail | |
91 | uses a technique stolen from an old game called "pubcaves" by Jeff Cohen. | |
92 | Processes do a busy wait in the loop | |
93 | .br | |
94 | .sp | |
95 | .ce 2 | |
96 | for (n = 0; link(sync_file, sync_lock) < 0 && n < 30; n++) | |
97 | sleep(2); | |
98 | .br | |
99 | .sp | |
100 | until they are able to create a link to a file named "/tmp/#saillock.??". | |
101 | The "??" correspond to the scenario number of the game. Since UNIX | |
102 | guarantees that a link will point to only one file, the process that succeeds | |
103 | in linking will have exclusive access to the temporary file. | |
104 | .PP | |
105 | Whether or not this really works is open to speculation. When ucbmiro | |
106 | was rebooted after a crash, the file system check program found 3 links | |
107 | between the | |
108 | .I Sail | |
109 | temporary file and its link file. | |
110 | .SH CONSEQUENCES OF SEPARATE PLAYER AND DRIVER PROCESSES | |
111 | When players do something of global interest, such as moving or firing, | |
112 | the driver must coordinate the action with the other ships in the game. | |
113 | For example, if a player wants to move in a certain direction, he writes a | |
114 | message into the temporary file requesting the driver to move his ship. | |
115 | Each ``turn,'' the driver reads all the messages sent from the players and | |
116 | decides what happened. It then writes back into the temporary file new | |
117 | values of variables, etc. | |
118 | .PP | |
119 | The most noticeable effect this communication has on the game is the | |
120 | delay in moving. Suppose a player types a move for his ship and hits | |
121 | return. What happens then? The player process saves up messages to | |
122 | be written to the temporary file in a buffer. Every 7 seconds or so, the | |
123 | player process gets exclusive access to the temporary file and writes | |
124 | out its buffer to the file. The driver, running asynchronously, must | |
125 | read in the movement command, process it, and write out the results. This | |
126 | takes two exclusive accesses to the temporary file. Finally, when the player | |
127 | process gets around to doing another 7 second update, the results of the | |
128 | move are displayed on the screen. Hence, every movement requires four | |
129 | exclusive accesses to the temporary file (anywhere from 7 to 21 seconds | |
130 | depending upon asynchrony) before the player sees the results of his moves. | |
131 | .PP | |
132 | In practice, the delays are not as annoying as they would appear. There | |
133 | is room for "pipelining" in the movement. After the player writes out | |
134 | a first movement message, a second movement command can then be issued. | |
135 | The first message will be in the temporary file waiting for the driver, and | |
136 | the second will be in the file buffer waiting to be written to the file. | |
137 | Thus, by always typing moves a turn ahead of the time, the player can | |
138 | sail around quite quickly. | |
139 | .PP | |
140 | If the player types several movement commands between two 7 second updates, | |
141 | only the last movement command typed will be seen by the driver. Movement | |
142 | commands within the same update "overwrite" each other, in a sense. | |
143 | .SH THE HISTORY OF SAIL | |
144 | I wrote the first version of | |
eb6453a2 | 145 | .I Sail |
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146 | on a PDP 11/70 in the fall of 1980. Needless to say, the code was horrendous, |
147 | not portable in any sense of the word, and didn't work. The program was not | |
148 | very modular and had fseeks() and fwrites() every few lines. After a | |
149 | tremendous rewrite from the top down, I got the first working version up by | |
150 | 1981. There were several annoying bugs concerning firing broadsides and | |
151 | finding angles. | |
152 | .I Sail | |
153 | uses no floating point, by the way, so the direction routines are rather | |
154 | tricky. | |
155 | Ed Wang rewrote my angle() routine in 1981 to be more correct (although | |
156 | it still doesn't work perfectly), and he added code to let a player select | |
157 | which ship he wanted at the start of the game (instead of the first one | |
158 | available). | |
159 | .PP | |
160 | Captain Happy (Craig Leres) is responsible for making | |
161 | .I Sail | |
162 | portable for the first time. This was no easy task, by the way. Constants | |
163 | like 2 and 10 were very frequent in the code. I also became famous for | |
164 | using "Riggle Memorial Structures" in | |
165 | .I Sail. | |
166 | Many of my structure references are so long that they run off the line | |
167 | printer page. Here is an example, if you promise not to laugh. | |
168 | .br | |
169 | .sp | |
170 | .ce | |
171 | specs[scene[flog.fgamenum].ship[flog.fshipnum].shipnum].pts | |
172 | .br | |
173 | .sp | |
eb6453a2 | 174 | .PP |
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175 | .I Sail |
176 | received its fourth and most thorough rewrite in the summer and fall | |
177 | of 1983. Ed Wang rewrote and modularized the code (a monumental feat) | |
178 | almost from scratch. Although he introduced many new bugs, the final | |
179 | result was very much cleaner and (?) faster. He added window movement | |
180 | commands and find ship commands. | |
eb6453a2 | 181 | .SH HISTORICAL INFO |
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182 | Old Square Riggers were very maneuverable ships capable of intricate |
183 | sailing. Their only disadvantage was an inability to sail very | |
184 | close to the wind. The design of a wooden ship allowed only for the | |
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185 | guns to bear to the left and right sides. A few guns of small |
186 | aspect (usually 6 or 9 pounders) could point forward, but their | |
3bd672cc | 187 | effect was small compared to a 68 gun broadside of 24 or 32 pounders. |
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188 | The guns bear approximately like so: |
189 | .nf | |
190 | ||
191 | \\ | |
192 | b---------------- | |
193 | ---0 | |
194 | \\ | |
195 | \\ | |
196 | \\ up to a range of ten (for round shot) | |
197 | \\ | |
198 | \\ | |
199 | \\ | |
200 | ||
201 | .fi | |
3bd672cc | 202 | An interesting phenomenon occurred when a broadside was fired |
eb6453a2 | 203 | down the length of an enemy ship. The shot tended to bounce along |
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204 | the deck and did several times more damage. This phenomenon was called |
205 | a rake. Because the bows of a ship are very strong and present a smaller | |
206 | target than the stern, a stern rake (firing from the stern to the bow) causes | |
207 | more damage than a bow rake. | |
208 | .nf | |
209 | ||
210 | b | |
211 | 00 ---- Stern rake! | |
212 | a | |
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213 | |
214 | .fi | |
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215 | Most ships were equipped with carronades, which were very large, close |
216 | range cannons. American ships from the revolution until the War of 1812 | |
217 | were almost entirely armed with carronades. | |
eb6453a2 | 218 | .PP |
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219 | The period of history covered in |
220 | .I Sail | |
221 | is approximately from the 1770's until the end of Napoleanic France in 1815. | |
222 | There are many excellent books about the age of sail. My favorite author | |
223 | is Captain Frederick Marryat. More contemporary authors include C.S. Forester | |
224 | and Alexander Kent. | |
225 | .PP | |
226 | Fighting ships came in several sizes classed by armament. The mainstays of | |
227 | any fleet were its "Ships of the Line", or "Line of Battle Ships". They | |
228 | were so named because these ships fought together in great lines. They were | |
229 | close enough for mutual support, yet every ship could fire both its broadsides. | |
230 | We get the modern words "ocean liner," or "liner," and "battleship" from | |
231 | "ship of the line." The most common size was the the 74 gun two decked | |
232 | ship of the line. The two gun decks usually mounted 18 and 24 pounder guns. | |
233 | .PP | |
234 | The pride of the fleet were the first rates. These were huge three decked | |
235 | ships of the line mounting 80 to 136 guns. The guns in the three tiers | |
236 | were usually 18, 24, and 32 pounders in that order from top to bottom. | |
eb6453a2 | 237 | .PP |
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238 | Various other ships came next. They were almost all "razees," or ships |
239 | of the line with one deck sawed off. They mounted 40-64 guns and were | |
240 | a poor cross between a frigate and a line of battle ship. They neither | |
241 | had the speed of the former nor the firepower of the latter. | |
eb6453a2 | 242 | .PP |
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243 | Next came the "eyes of the fleet." Frigates came in many sizes mounting |
244 | anywhere from 32 to 44 guns. They were very handy vessels. They could | |
245 | outsail anything bigger and outshoot anything smaller. Frigates didn't | |
246 | fight in lines of battle as the much bigger 74's did. Instead, they | |
247 | harassed the enemy's rear or captured crippled ships. They were much | |
248 | more useful in missions away from the fleet, such as cutting out expeditions | |
249 | or boat actions. They could hit hard and get away fast. | |
eb6453a2 | 250 | .PP |
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251 | Lastly, there were the corvettes, sloops, and brigs. These were smaller |
252 | ships mounting typically fewer than 20 guns. A corvette was only slightly | |
253 | smaller than a frigate, so one might have up to 30 guns. Sloops were used | |
254 | for carrying dispatches or passengers. Brigs were something you built for | |
255 | land-locked lakes. | |
256 | .SH SAIL PARTICULARS | |
257 | Ships in | |
eb6453a2 | 258 | .I Sail |
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259 | are represented by two characters. One character represents the bow of |
260 | the ship, and the other represents the stern. Ships have nationalities | |
261 | and numbers. The first ship of a nationality is number 0, the second | |
262 | number 1, etc. Therefore, the first British ship in a game would be | |
263 | printed as "b0". The second Brit would be "b1", and the fifth Don | |
264 | would be "s4". | |
265 | .PP | |
266 | Ships can set normal sails, called Battle Sails, or bend on extra canvas | |
267 | called Full Sails. A ship under full sail is a beautiful sight indeed, | |
268 | and it can move much faster than a ship under Battle Sails. The only | |
269 | trouble is, with full sails set, there is so much tension on sail and | |
270 | rigging that a well aimed round shot can burst a sail into ribbons where | |
271 | it would only cause a little hole in a loose sail. For this reason, | |
272 | rigging damage is doubled on a ship with full sails set. Don't let | |
273 | that discourage you from using full sails. I like to keep them up | |
274 | right into the heat of battle. A ship | |
912eda45 | 275 | with full sails set has a capital letter for its nationality. E.g., |
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276 | a Frog, "f0", with full sails set would be printed as "F0". |
277 | .PP | |
278 | When a ship is battered into a listing hulk, the last man aboard "strikes | |
279 | the colors." This ceremony is the ship's formal surrender. The nationality | |
280 | character | |
912eda45 | 281 | of a surrendered ship is printed as "!". E.g., the Frog of our last example |
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282 | would soon be "!0". |
283 | .PP | |
284 | A ship has a random chance of catching fire or sinking when it reaches the | |
285 | stage of listing hulk. A sinking ship has a "~" printed for its nationality, | |
286 | and a ship on fire and about to explode has a "#" printed. | |
eb6453a2 | 287 | .PP |
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288 | Captured ships become the nationality of the prize crew. Therefore, if |
289 | an American ship captures a British ship, the British ship will have an | |
290 | "a" printed for its nationality. In addition, the ship number is changed | |
291 | to "&","'", "(", ,")", "*", or "+" depending upon the original number, | |
912eda45 | 292 | be it 0,1,2,3,4, or 5. E.g., the "b0" captured by an American becomes the |
3bd672cc | 293 | "a&". The "s4" captured by a Frog becomes the "f*". |
eb6453a2 | 294 | .PP |
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295 | The ultimate example is, of course, an exploding Brit captured by an |
296 | American: "#&". | |
297 | .SH MOVEMENT | |
298 | Movement is the most confusing part of | |
299 | .I Sail | |
300 | to many. Ships can head in 8 directions: | |
301 | .nf | |
302 | ||
303 | 0 0 0 | |
304 | b b b0 b b b 0b b | |
305 | 0 0 0 | |
306 | ||
307 | .fi | |
308 | The stern of a ship moves when it turns. The bow remains stationary. | |
309 | Ships can always turn, regardless of the wind (unless they are becalmed). | |
310 | All ships drift when they lose headway. If a ship doesn't move forward | |
311 | at all for two turns, it will begin to drift. If a ship has begun to | |
312 | drift, then it must move forward before it turns, if it plans to do | |
313 | more than make a right or left turn, which is always possible. | |
eb6453a2 | 314 | .PP |
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315 | Movement commands to |
316 | .I Sail | |
317 | are a string of forward moves and turns. An example is "l3". It will | |
318 | turn a ship left and then move it ahead 3 spaces. In the drawing above, | |
319 | the "b0" made 7 successive left turns. When | |
320 | .I Sail | |
912eda45 | 321 | prompts you for a move, it prints three characters of import. E.g., |
eb6453a2 | 322 | .nf |
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323 | move (7, 4): |
324 | .fi | |
325 | The first number is the maximum number of moves you can make, | |
326 | including turns. The second number is the maximum number of turns | |
327 | you can make. Between the numbers is sometimes printed a quote "'". | |
328 | If the quote is present, it means that your ship has been drifting, and | |
329 | you must move ahead to regain headway before you turn (see note above). | |
330 | Some of the possible moves for the example above are as follows: | |
331 | .nf | |
332 | ||
333 | move (7, 4): 7 | |
334 | move (7, 4): 1 | |
335 | move (7, 4): d /* drift, or do nothing */ | |
336 | move (7, 4): 6r | |
337 | move (7, 4): 5r1 | |
338 | move (7, 4): 4r1r | |
339 | move (7, 4): l1r1r2 | |
340 | move (7, 4): 1r1r1r1 | |
eb6453a2 | 341 | |
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342 | .fi |
343 | Because square riggers performed so poorly sailing into the wind, if at | |
344 | any point in a movement command you turn into the wind, the movement stops | |
912eda45 | 345 | there. E.g., |
3bd672cc | 346 | .nf |
eb6453a2 | 347 | |
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348 | move (7, 4): l1l4 |
349 | Movement Error; | |
350 | Helm: l1l | |
eb6453a2 | 351 | |
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352 | .fi |
353 | Moreover, whenever you make a turn, your movement allowance drops to | |
354 | min(what's left, what you would have at the new attitude). In short, | |
355 | if you turn closer to the wind, you most likely won't be able to sail the | |
356 | full allowance printed in the "move" prompt. | |
357 | .PP | |
358 | Old sailing captains had to keep an eye constantly on the wind. Captains | |
359 | in | |
360 | .I Sail | |
361 | are no different. A ship's ability to move depends on its attitide to the | |
362 | wind. The best angle possible is to have the wind off your quarter, that is, | |
363 | just off the stern. The direction rose on the side of the screen gives the | |
364 | possible movements for your ship at all positions to the wind. Battle | |
365 | sail speeds are given first, and full sail speeds are given in parenthesis. | |
366 | .nf | |
eb6453a2 | 367 | |
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368 | 0 1(2) |
369 | \\|/ | |
370 | -^-3(6) | |
371 | /|\\ | |
372 | | 4(7) | |
373 | 3(6) | |
eb6453a2 | 374 | |
3bd672cc EW |
375 | .fi |
376 | Pretend the bow of your ship (the "^") is pointing upward and the wind is | |
377 | blowing from the bottom to the top of the page. The | |
378 | numbers at the bottom "3(6)" will be your speed under battle or full | |
379 | sails in such a situation. If the wind is off your quarter, then you | |
380 | can move "4(7)". If the wind is off your beam, "3(6)". If the wind is | |
381 | off your bow, then you can only move "1(2)". Facing into the wind, you | |
382 | can't move at all. Ships facing into the wind were said to be "in irons". | |
383 | .SH WINDSPEED AND DIRECTION | |
384 | The windspeed and direction is displayed as a little weather vane on the | |
385 | side of the screen. The number in the middle of the vane indicates the wind | |
386 | speed, and the + to - indicates the wind direction. The wind blows from | |
912eda45 | 387 | the + sign (high pressure) to the - sign (low pressure). E.g., |
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388 | .nf |
389 | ||
390 | | | |
391 | 3 | |
392 | + | |
eb6453a2 CL |
393 | |
394 | .fi | |
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395 | .PP |
396 | The wind speeds are 0 = becalmed, 1 = light breeze, 2 = moderate breeze, | |
397 | 3 = fresh breeze, 4 = strong breeze, 5 = gale, 6 = full gale, 7 = hurricane. | |
398 | If a hurricane shows up, all ships are destroyed. | |
399 | .SH GRAPPLING AND FOULING | |
400 | If two ships collide, they run the risk of becoming tangled together. This | |
401 | is called "fouling." Fouled ships are stuck together, and neither can move. | |
402 | They can unfoul each other if they want to. Boarding parties can only be | |
403 | sent across to ships when the antagonists are either fouled or grappled. | |
404 | .PP | |
405 | Ships can grapple each other by throwing grapnels into the rigging of | |
406 | the other. | |
407 | .PP | |
408 | The number of fouls and grapples you have are displayed on the upper | |
409 | right of the screen. | |
410 | .SH BOARDING | |
411 | Boarding was a very costly venture in terms of human life. Boarding parties | |
412 | may be formed in | |
413 | .I Sail | |
414 | to either board an enemy ship or to defend your own ship against attack. | |
415 | Men organized as Defensive Boarding Parties fight twice as hard to save | |
416 | their ship as men left unorganized. | |
417 | .PP | |
418 | The boarding strength of a crew depends upon its quality and upon the | |
419 | number of men sent. | |
420 | .SH CREW QUALITY | |
421 | The British seaman was world renowned for his sailing abilities. American | |
422 | sailors, however, were actually the best seamen in the world. Because the | |
423 | American Navy offered twice the wages of the Royal Navy, British seamen | |
424 | who liked the sea defected to America by the thousands. | |
425 | .PP | |
426 | In | |
427 | .I Sail, | |
428 | crew quality is quantized into 5 energy levels. "Elite" crews can outshoot | |
429 | and outfight all other sailors. "Crack" crews are next. "Mundane" crews | |
430 | are average, and "Green" and "Mutinous" crews are below average. A good | |
431 | rule of thumb is that "Crack" or "Elite" crews get one extra hit | |
432 | per broadside compared to "Mundane" crews. Don't expect too much from | |
433 | "Green" crews. | |
434 | .SH BROADSIDES | |
435 | Your two broadsides may be loaded with four kinds of shot: grape, chain, | |
436 | round, and double. You have guns and carronades in both the port and starboard | |
437 | batteries. Carronades only have a range of two, so you have to get in | |
438 | close to be able to fire them. You have the choice of firing at the hull | |
439 | or rigging of another ship. If the range of the ship is greater than 6, | |
440 | then you may only shoot at the rigging. | |
441 | .PP | |
442 | The types of shot and their advantages are: | |
443 | .SH ROUND | |
444 | Range of 10. Good for hull or rigging hits. | |
445 | .SH DOUBLE | |
446 | Range of 1. Extra good for hull or rigging hits. | |
447 | Double takes two turns to load. | |
448 | .SH CHAIN | |
449 | Range of 3. Excellent for tearing down rigging. | |
450 | Cannot damage hull or guns, though. | |
451 | .SH GRAPE | |
452 | Range of 1. Sometimes devastating against enemy crews. | |
453 | .PP | |
454 | On the side of the screen is displayed some vital information about your | |
455 | ship: | |
456 | .nf | |
457 | ||
458 | Load D! R! | |
459 | Hull 9 | |
460 | Crew 4 4 2 | |
461 | Guns 4 4 | |
462 | Carr 2 2 | |
463 | Rigg 5 5 5 5 | |
464 | ||
465 | .fi | |
466 | "Load" shows what your port (left) and starboard (right) broadsides are | |
467 | loaded with. A "!" after the type of shot indicates that it is an initial | |
468 | broadside. Initial broadside were loaded with care before battle and before | |
469 | the decks ran red with blood. As a consequence, initial broadsides are a | |
470 | little more effective than broadsides loaded later. A "*" after the type of | |
471 | shot indicates that the gun | |
472 | crews are still loading it, and you cannot fire yet. "Hull" shows how much | |
473 | hull you have left. "Crew" shows your three sections of crew. As your | |
474 | crew dies off, your ability to fire decreases. "Guns" and "Carr" show | |
475 | your port and starboard guns. As you lose guns, your ability to fire | |
476 | decreases. "Rigg" shows how much rigging you have on your 3 or 4 masts. | |
477 | As rigging is shot away, you lose mobility. | |
478 | .SH EFFECTIVENESS OF FIRE | |
479 | It is very dramatic when a ship fires its thunderous broadsides, but the | |
480 | mere opportunity to fire them does not guarantee any hits. Many factors | |
481 | influence the destructive force of a broadside. First of all, and the chief | |
482 | factor, is distance. It is harder to hit a ship at range ten than it is | |
483 | to hit one sloshing alongside. Next is raking. Raking fire, as | |
484 | mentioned before, | |
485 | can sometimes dismast a ship at range ten. Next, crew size and quality affects | |
486 | the damage done by a broadside. The number of guns firing also bears on the | |
487 | point, | |
488 | so to speak. Lastly, weather affects the accuracy of a broadside. If the | |
489 | seas are high (5 or 6), then the lower gunports of ships of the line can't | |
490 | even be opened to run out the guns. This gives frigates and other flush | |
491 | decked vessels an advantage in a storm. The scenario | |
492 | .I Pellew vs. The Droits de L'Homme | |
493 | takes advantage of this peculiar circumstance. | |
494 | .SH REPAIRS | |
495 | Repairs may be made to your Hull, Guns, and Rigging at the slow rate of | |
496 | two points per three turns. The message "Repairs Completed" will be | |
497 | printed if no more repairs can be made. | |
498 | .SH PECULIARITIES OF COMPUTER SHIPS | |
499 | Computer ships in | |
500 | .I Sail | |
501 | follow all the rules above with a few exceptions. Computer ships never | |
502 | repair damage. If they did, the players could never beat them. They | |
503 | play well enough as it is. As a consolation, the computer ships can fire double | |
504 | shot every turn. That fluke is a good reason to keep your distance. The | |
505 | .I | |
506 | Driver | |
507 | figures out the moves of the computer ships. It computes them with a typical | |
508 | A.I. distance function and a depth first search to find the maximum "score." | |
509 | It seems to work fairly well, although I'll be the first to admit it isn't | |
510 | perfect. | |
511 | .SH HOW TO PLAY | |
512 | Commands are given to | |
513 | .I Sail | |
514 | by typing a single character. You will then be prompted for further | |
515 | input. A brief summary of the commands follows. | |
eb6453a2 | 516 | .bp |
3bd672cc | 517 | .SH COMMAND SUMMARY |
eb6453a2 CL |
518 | .nf |
519 | ||
520 | 'f' Fire broadsides if they bear | |
521 | 'l' Reload | |
3bd672cc EW |
522 | 'L' Unload broadsides (to change ammo) |
523 | 'm' Move | |
524 | 'i' Print the closest ship | |
525 | 'I' Print all ships | |
526 | 'F' Find a particular ship or ships (e.g. "a?" for all Americans) | |
eb6453a2 CL |
527 | 's' Send a message around the fleet |
528 | 'b' Attempt to board an enemy ship | |
eb6453a2 CL |
529 | 'B' Recall boarding parties |
530 | 'c' Change set of sail | |
531 | 'r' Repair | |
532 | 'u' Attempt to unfoul | |
533 | 'g' Grapple/ungrapple | |
3bd672cc | 534 | 'v' Print version number of game |
eb6453a2 | 535 | '^L' Redraw screen |
3bd672cc EW |
536 | 'Q' Quit |
537 | ||
538 | 'C' Center your ship in the window | |
539 | 'U' Move window up | |
540 | 'D','N' Move window down | |
541 | 'H' Move window left | |
542 | 'J' Move window right | |
543 | 'S' Toggle window to follow your ship or stay where it is | |
eb6453a2 CL |
544 | |
545 | .fi | |
546 | .bg | |
547 | .SH SCENARIOS | |
3bd672cc EW |
548 | Here is a summary of the scenarios in |
549 | .I Sail: | |
550 | ||
eb6453a2 CL |
551 | .br |
552 | .SH Ranger vs. Drake: | |
553 | .nf | |
554 | Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
555 | ||
556 | (a) Ranger 19 gun Sloop (crack crew) (7 pts) | |
557 | (b) Drake 17 gun Sloop (crack crew) (6 pts) | |
558 | .SH The Battle of Flamborough Head: | |
559 | .nf | |
560 | Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
561 | ||
562 | .fi | |
563 | This is John Paul Jones' first famous battle. Aboard the Bonhomme | |
564 | Richard, he was able to overcome the Serapis's greater firepower | |
565 | by quickly boarding her. | |
566 | .nf | |
567 | ||
568 | (a) Bonhomme Rich 42 gun Corvette (crack crew) (11 pts) | |
569 | (b) Serapis 44 gun Frigate (crack crew) (12 pts) | |
570 | .SH Arbuthnot and Des Touches: | |
571 | .nf | |
572 | Wind from the N, blowing a gale. | |
573 | ||
574 | (b) America 64 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (20 pts) | |
575 | (b) Befford 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) | |
576 | (b) Adamant 50 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (17 pts) | |
577 | (b) London 98 gun 3 Decker SOL (crack crew) (28 pts) | |
578 | (b) Royal Oak 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) | |
579 | (f) Neptune 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) | |
580 | (f) Duc Bougogne 80 gun 3 Decker SOL (average crew) (27 pts) | |
581 | (f) Conquerant 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) | |
582 | (f) Provence 64 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (18 pts) | |
583 | (f) Romulus 44 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (10 pts) | |
584 | .SH Suffren and Hughes: | |
585 | .nf | |
586 | ||
587 | Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
588 | ||
589 | (b) Monmouth 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) | |
590 | (b) Hero 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) | |
591 | (b) Isis 50 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (17 pts) | |
592 | (b) Superb 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (27 pts) | |
593 | (b) Burford 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) | |
594 | (f) Flamband 50 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (14 pts) | |
595 | (f) Annibal 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) | |
596 | (f) Severe 64 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (18 pts) | |
597 | (f) Brilliant 80 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (31 pts) | |
598 | (f) Sphinx 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (27 pts) | |
599 | .SH Nymphe vs. Cleopatre: | |
600 | .nf | |
601 | Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
602 | ||
603 | (b) Nymphe 36 gun Frigate (crack crew) (11 pts) | |
604 | (f) Cleopatre 36 gun Frigate (average crew) (10 pts) | |
605 | .SH Mars vs. Hercule: | |
606 | Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
607 | .nf | |
608 | (b) Mars 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) | |
609 | (f) Hercule 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (23 pts) | |
610 | .SH Ambuscade vs. Baionnaise: | |
611 | .nf | |
612 | Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
613 | ||
614 | (b) Ambuscade 32 gun Frigate (average crew) (9 pts) | |
615 | (f) Baionnaise 24 gun Corvette (average crew) (9 pts) | |
616 | .SH Constellation vs. Insurgent: | |
617 | .nf | |
618 | Wind from the S, blowing a gale. | |
619 | ||
620 | (a) Constellation 38 gun Corvette (elite crew) (17 pts) | |
621 | (f) Insurgent 36 gun Corvette (average crew) (11 pts) | |
622 | .SH Constellation vs. Vengeance: | |
623 | .nf | |
624 | Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
625 | ||
626 | (a) Constellation 38 gun Corvette (elite crew) (17 pts) | |
627 | (f) Vengeance 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts) | |
628 | .SH The Battle of Lissa: | |
629 | .nf | |
630 | Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
631 | ||
632 | (b) Amphion 32 gun Frigate (elite crew) (13 pts) | |
633 | (b) Active 38 gun Frigate (elite crew) (18 pts) | |
634 | (b) Volage 22 gun Frigate (elite crew) (11 pts) | |
635 | (b) Cerberus 32 gun Frigate (elite crew) (13 pts) | |
636 | (f) Favorite 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts) | |
637 | (f) Flore 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts) | |
638 | (f) Danae 40 gun Frigate (crack crew) (17 pts) | |
639 | (f) Bellona 32 gun Frigate (green crew) (9 pts) | |
640 | (f) Corona 40 gun Frigate (green crew) (12 pts) | |
641 | (f) Carolina 32 gun Frigate (green crew) (7 pts) | |
642 | .SH Constitution vs. Guerriere: | |
643 | .nf | |
644 | Wind from the SW, blowing a gale. | |
645 | ||
646 | (a) Constitution 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts) | |
647 | (b) Guerriere 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (15 pts) | |
648 | .SH United States vs. Macedonian: | |
649 | .nf | |
650 | Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
651 | ||
652 | (a) United States 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (24 pts) | |
653 | (b) Macedonian 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (16 pts) | |
654 | .SH Constitution vs. Java: | |
655 | .nf | |
656 | Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
657 | ||
658 | (a) Constitution 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts) | |
659 | (b) Java 38 gun Corvette (crack crew) (19 pts) | |
660 | .SH Chesapeake vs. Shannon: | |
661 | .nf | |
662 | Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
663 | ||
664 | (a) Chesapeake 38 gun Frigate (average crew) (14 pts) | |
665 | (b) Shannon 38 gun Frigate (elite crew) (17 pts) | |
666 | .SH The Battle of Lake Erie: | |
667 | .nf | |
668 | Wind from the S, blowing a light breeze. | |
669 | ||
670 | (a) Lawrence 20 gun Sloop (crack crew) (9 pts) | |
671 | (a) Niagara 20 gun Sloop (elite crew) (12 pts) | |
672 | (b) Lady Prevost 13 gun Brig (crack crew) (5 pts) | |
673 | (b) Detroit 19 gun Sloop (crack crew) (7 pts) | |
674 | (b) Q. Charlotte 17 gun Sloop (crack crew) (6 pts) | |
675 | .SH Wasp vs. Reindeer: | |
676 | .nf | |
677 | Wind from the S, blowing a light breeze. | |
678 | ||
679 | (a) Wasp 20 gun Sloop (elite crew) (12 pts) | |
680 | (b) Reindeer 18 gun Sloop (elite crew) (9 pts) | |
681 | .SH Constitution vs. Cyane and Levant: | |
682 | .br | |
683 | Wind from the S, blowing a moderate breeze. | |
684 | ||
685 | (a) Constitution 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts) | |
686 | (b) Cyane 24 gun Sloop (crack crew) (11 pts) | |
687 | (b) Levant 20 gun Sloop (crack crew) (10 pts) | |
688 | .br | |
689 | .SH Pellew vs. Droits de L'Homme: | |
690 | .nf | |
691 | Wind from the N, blowing a gale. | |
692 | ||
693 | (b) Indefatigable 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (14 pts) | |
694 | (b) Amazon 36 gun Frigate (crack crew) (14 pts) | |
695 | (f) Droits L'Hom 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) | |
696 | .SH Algeciras: | |
697 | .nf | |
698 | Wind from the SW, blowing a moderate breeze. | |
699 | ||
700 | (b) Caesar 80 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (31 pts) | |
701 | (b) Pompee 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (27 pts) | |
702 | (b) Spencer 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) | |
703 | (b) Hannibal 98 gun 3 Decker SOL (crack crew) (28 pts) | |
704 | (s) Real-Carlos 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27 pts) | |
705 | (s) San Fernando 96 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (24 pts) | |
706 | (s) Argonauta 80 gun Ship of the Line (green crew) (23 pts) | |
707 | (s) San Augustine 74 gun Ship of the Line (green crew) (20 pts) | |
708 | (f) Indomptable 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (27 pts) | |
709 | (f) Desaix 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) | |
710 | .SH Lake Champlain: | |
711 | .nf | |
712 | Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
713 | ||
714 | (a) Saratoga 26 gun Sloop (crack crew) (12 pts) | |
715 | (a) Eagle 20 gun Sloop (crack crew) (11 pts) | |
716 | (a) Ticonderoga 17 gun Sloop (crack crew) (9 pts) | |
717 | (a) Preble 7 gun Brig (crack crew) (4 pts) | |
718 | (b) Confiance 37 gun Frigate (crack crew) (14 pts) | |
719 | (b) Linnet 16 gun Sloop (elite crew) (10 pts) | |
720 | (b) Chubb 11 gun Brig (crack crew) (5 pts) | |
721 | .SH Last Voyage of the USS President: | |
722 | .nf | |
723 | Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
724 | ||
725 | (a) President 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (24 pts) | |
726 | (b) Endymion 40 gun Frigate (crack crew) (17 pts) | |
727 | (b) Pomone 44 gun Frigate (crack crew) (20 pts) | |
728 | (b) Tenedos 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (15 pts) | |
729 | .SH Hornblower and the Natividad: | |
730 | .nf | |
731 | Wind from the E, blowing a gale. | |
732 | ||
733 | .fi | |
734 | A scenario for you Horny fans. Remember, he sank the Natividad | |
735 | against heavy odds and winds. Hint: don't try to board the Natividad, | |
736 | her crew is much bigger, albeit green. | |
737 | .nf | |
738 | ||
739 | (b) Lydia 36 gun Frigate (elite crew) (13 pts) | |
740 | (s) Natividad 50 gun Ship of the Line (green crew) (14 pts) | |
741 | .SH Curse of the Flying Dutchman: | |
742 | .nf | |
743 | Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
744 | ||
745 | Just for fun, take the Piece of cake. | |
746 | ||
747 | (s) Piece of Cake 24 gun Corvette (average crew) (9 pts) | |
748 | (f) Flying Dutchy 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43 pts) | |
749 | .SH The South Pacific: | |
750 | .nf | |
751 | Wind from the S, blowing a strong breeze. | |
752 | ||
753 | (a) USS Scurvy 136 gun 3 Decker SOL (mutinous crew) (27 pts) | |
754 | (b) HMS Tahiti 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43 pts) | |
755 | (s) Australian 32 gun Frigate (average crew) (9 pts) | |
756 | (f) Bikini Atoll 7 gun Brig (crack crew) (4 pts) | |
757 | .SH Hornblower and the battle of Rosas bay: | |
758 | .nf | |
759 | Wind from the E, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
760 | ||
761 | The only battle Hornblower ever lost. He was able to dismast one | |
3bd672cc | 762 | ship and stern rake the others though. See if you can do as well. |
eb6453a2 CL |
763 | .nf |
764 | ||
765 | (b) Sutherland 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) | |
766 | (f) Turenne 80 gun 3 Decker SOL (average crew) (27 pts) | |
767 | (f) Nightmare 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) | |
768 | (f) Paris 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27 pts) | |
769 | (f) Napolean 74 gun Ship of the Line (green crew) (20 pts) | |
770 | .SH Cape Horn: | |
771 | .nf | |
772 | Wind from the NE, blowing a strong breeze. | |
773 | ||
774 | (a) Concord 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (27 pts) | |
775 | (a) Berkeley 98 gun 3 Decker SOL (crack crew) (28 pts) | |
776 | (b) Thames 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43 pts) | |
777 | (s) Madrid 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27 pts) | |
778 | (f) Musket 80 gun 3 Decker SOL (average crew) (27 pts) | |
779 | .SH New Orleans: | |
780 | .nf | |
781 | Wind from the SE, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
782 | ||
783 | Watch that little Cypress go! | |
784 | ||
785 | (a) Alligator 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43 pts) | |
786 | (b) Firefly 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (27 pts) | |
787 | (b) Cypress 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (14 pts) | |
788 | .SH Botany Bay: | |
789 | .nf | |
790 | Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
791 | ||
792 | (b) Shark 64 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (18 pts) | |
793 | (f) Coral Snake 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts) | |
794 | (f) Sea Lion 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (24 pts) | |
795 | .SH Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: | |
796 | .nf | |
797 | Wind from the NW, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
798 | ||
3bd672cc | 799 | This one is dedicated to Richard Basehart and David Hedison. |
eb6453a2 CL |
800 | |
801 | (a) Seaview 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43 pts) | |
802 | (a) Flying Sub 40 gun Frigate (crack crew) (17 pts) | |
803 | (b) Mermaid 136 gun 3 Decker SOL (mutinous crew) (27 pts) | |
804 | (s) Giant Squid 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27 pts) | |
805 | .SH Frigate Action: | |
806 | .nf | |
807 | Wind from the E, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
808 | ||
809 | (a) Killdeer 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts) | |
810 | (b) Sandpiper 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts) | |
811 | (s) Curlew 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (16 pts) | |
812 | .SH The Battle of Midway: | |
813 | .nf | |
814 | Wind from the E, blowing a moderate breeze. | |
815 | ||
816 | (a) Enterprise 80 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (31 pts) | |
817 | (a) Yorktown 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (27 pts) | |
818 | (a) Hornet 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) | |
3bd672cc EW |
819 | (j) Akagi 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27 pts) |
820 | (j) Kaga 96 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (24 pts) | |
821 | (j) Soryu 80 gun Ship of the Line (green crew) (23 pts) | |
822 | ||
823 | .SH Star Trek: | |
824 | .nf | |
825 | Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze. | |
826 | ||
827 | (a) Enterprise 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) | |
828 | (a) Yorktown 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) | |
829 | (a) Reliant 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) | |
830 | (a) Galileo 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) | |
831 | (k) Kobayashi Maru 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) | |
832 | (k) Klingon II 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) | |
833 | (o) Red Orion 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) | |
834 | (o) Blue Orion 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) | |
835 | ||
836 | .SH CONCLUSION | |
837 | ||
838 | .I Sail | |
839 | has been a group effort. | |
eb6453a2 | 840 | |
3bd672cc | 841 | .SH AUTHOR |
eb6453a2 | 842 | Dave Riggle |
3bd672cc EW |
843 | .SH CO-AUTHOR |
844 | Ed Wang | |
845 | .SH REFITTING | |
eb6453a2 | 846 | Craig Leres |
3bd672cc | 847 | .SH CONSULTANTS |
eb6453a2 CL |
848 | .nf |
849 | Chris Guthrie | |
850 | Captain Happy | |
3bd672cc | 851 | Horatio Nelson |
3bd672cc EW |
852 | and many valiant others... |
853 | .fi | |
854 | .SH "REFERENCES" | |
855 | .nf | |
856 | Wooden Ships & Iron Men, by Avalon Hill | |
857 | Captain Horatio Hornblower Novels, (13 of them) by C.S. Forester | |
858 | Captain Richard Bolitho Novels, (12 of them) by Alexander Kent | |
859 | The Complete Works of Captain Frederick Marryat, (about 20) especially | |
03d6e220 KB |
860 | .in +6n |
861 | Mr. Midshipman Easy | |
862 | Peter Simple | |
863 | Jacob Faithful | |
864 | Japhet in Search of a Father | |
865 | Snarleyyow, or The Dog Fiend | |
866 | Frank Mildmay, or The Naval Officer | |
867 | .in -6n | |
eb6453a2 | 868 | .SH BUGS |
03d6e220 KB |
869 | Probably a few, and please report them to "riggle@ernie.berkeley.edu" and |
870 | "edward@ucbarpa.berkeley.edu" |