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NAME
ship - buy or control a sailing vessel
SYNOPSIS
ship board <direction or ship name>
ship exit [<direction>]
ship info ['brief', 'weapons']
ship scan
ship lookout [<'all'>]
ship direction <direction name>
ship speed <speed>
ship engine <engine type>
ship rigging <rigging type>
ship course list
ship course set <'course name' or number>
ship course cancel
ship course reroute <'course name' or number> <route #>
ship mark add <route #> <location name>
ship mark remove <location name or number>
ship cargo
ship cargo dump <cargo resource type> [<amount>]
ship salvage
ship target [<ship or sea creature name or number or 'attacker'>]
ship weapon
ship weapon priority <weapon bank name> <priority>
ship weapon uninstall <weapon bank name>
ship fire [<weapon bank name>]
ship anchor
ship christen <ship title>
ship plank <victim name>
ship officer <name or 'clear'>
ship locate
ship repair
ship recharge
ship refuel
ship drydock
ship recover
ship launch
ship contract [<number of crew members>]
ship yardinfo
ship transfer <character name>
ship flag <flag name>
DESCRIPTION
Ah, to sail the four seas of Alyria! The sea-faring Adventurer's
dream. Through use of Materia Magica's unique ship system, it is
possible to buy, control, sail, and even pillage the wide blue
oceans.
Ships allow one to voyage between continents and other landmasses.
Some ships are controlled by the denizens of Alyria (non-player
characters), such as the Merdraco, Hallowhold ferry, or Riddenmast
ferry. (See HELP <ship name> for more information on these ships'
routes).
Not all mariners have peaceful intentions, however. The seas
are home to hostile pirates that are known to attack unwitting
seafarers. Many of these pirates are known to carry valuable
treasure in their cargo holds. An enterprising crew could well
make a fortune for themselves as well as gain valuable experience
for engaging these pirates in ship combat.
To use a ship, you must have a title to one. Ship titles can
be purchased at cities with harbors and shipwrights, which are
usually found near or on the city docks. Ships are quite expensive,
running in the millions, and must be cared for just like any
large purchase.
Ships require much manpower to operate. Luckily, it is easy to
contract crew members at most ports. In addition, a captain may
designate worthy officers to help assist in commanding the vessel.
To sail a ship in a specific direction, the anchor must be
raised and the ship speed set. Be careful with the speed - if
you run into obstacles with your ship, you risk damaging it
and sinking. Most obstacles are visible - some, like underwater
coral reefs, are not, so you should use extreme caution when
exploring close to an uncharted isle or other location.
Ships take damage through their hull. Hull points are a measure
of how much damage the ship can take before it sinks. When a
ship reaches 0 hull points, it will sink. But fear not, sunken
ships can be RECOVERed at a shipwright for a hefty fee, and it
may be necessary in addition to recruit a new crew and to replace
any lost weapon upgrades.
When you board a ship, a prompt similar to this one will appear:
<50hull NWdir FLANK SEwind>
The prompt displays the current hull strength of your ship, the
direction you are currently traveling, the speed, and the wind
direction. If you have an onboard sextant (an available ship
upgrade) your current coordinates will appear on the prompt.
Additionally, if you are in an area where you can be targeted
by other ships for attack (or attack other ships yourself),
[SPK] will appear on the prompt in red.
Ships can be upgraded via options available at most shipwrights.
The upgrades available vary based on the shipwright, and some
upgrades may not be available at all locations. To purchase an
upgrade your ship must be docked at the shipwright's pier
somewhere, and you must be holding the title of the ship.
You must be holding the title of the ship to use most of the
ship commands. Holding the title designates you as the ship's
captain.
Explanations of ship sub-commands:
SHIP BOARD <direction or 'ship name'>
You may board a ship in an adjoining room by use of
'ship board <direction>'. If you wish to board a ship in the
same location as you, specify the ship name or use the generic
word 'ship' if you aren't sure.
SHIP EXIT [<direction>]
This command allows you to exit a ship in a specific
direction - if you want to exit to a dock or land, for
example. If you do not specify a direction you will exit
in the same location as the ship, which can be unfortunate
if you are susceptible to drowning.
SHIP INFO ['brief', 'weapons']
Displays detailed information about the current ship.
SHIP INFO BRIEF displays a compact version of ship info.
SHIP INFO WEAPONS displays just ship weapon bank information.
SHIP SCAN
Lets you climb to the top of the mast (or the highest point
of the ship) and returns a general map of the surrounding
area. The distance that can be scanned depends on visibility
- at night the distance will be reduced.
SHIP DIRECTION <direction name>
Changes the direction of the ship. If the ship is medium-
sized or larger, the ship cannot be going faster than speed
SLOW when you wish to change directions, or it stands a chance
of capsizing. Ships smaller than medium may change direction
at speeds of HALF or less without running the risk of
capsizing.
Acceptable directions are:
north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast,
southwest
SHIP SPEED <speed>
Changes the speed of the ship. The speed of a sailing vessel
is directly dependent on the wind direction - for example, if
you are sailing directly against the wind, the ship will move
very slowly. There is an upgrade available for most sail-
powered ships that reduces the drag of the wind when you
are sailing against it.
Ships powered by steam and magic engines do not use sails
so the wind direction doesn't impact them.
Acceptable speeds are:
stop, slow, half, full, flank
SHIP ENGINE <engine type>
Changes the active engine that the ship is using. This is
useful if you are sailing in a favorable wind and wish to
switch to sail power instead of steam power, for example,
thus saving fuel.
Acceptable types of engines (not all may be available for
your specific ship):
sail, steam, magic
SHIP RIGGING <rigging type>
Sets the ship rigging. With the proper rigging your ship
will be able to perform different tasks.
Acceptable types of rigging:
normal, weather, combat
In order to attack other ships or sea monsters your ship
rigging must be set to "combat".
In situations of adverse weather, the "weather" rigging
becomes appropriate, giving you more control over the
ship, but also reducing your maximum speed by half.
SHIP COURSE <course name or number, 'list', 'reroute' or 'cancel'>
Sets the current ship course, or cancels a current one. The
course location must have been set previously using the
SHIP MARK command. When a course is set, your ship will
automatically sail for the marked coordinates. The ship
will not, however, sail around obstacles, so you must
keep an eye out when using this feature.
Using SHIP COURSE REROUTE <#> lets you change the route
number of existing routes. Route numbers are used to
group sets of marks together.
SHIP MARK add <route #> <location name>
Marks the current coordinates for future exploration using
the SHIP COURSE command. You group marks together by
specifying a route number of your choice. Marks that
are grouped together become a "course", and the ship
will automatically move from course mark to course mark
until it reaches the end.
In order to mark a course, you must be holding a sextant
or your ship must have an onboard sextant upgrade installed.
You must be at the coordinates where the mark will be
specified.
You may remove unused marks by using the SHIP MARK REMOVE
<location name or #> command.
SHIP CARGO
SHIP CARGO DUMP <cargo resource type> [<amount>]
Displays the ship's cargo manifest, which shows what
cargo is currently stored on the ship. The information
shown includes units of cargo listed by resource type
as well as the weight of the cargo on the ship. The
more and heavier the cargo, the more reduced the ship's
top speed may become, or in the case of steam ships, the
more fuel you may burn to move the ship.
If you need to dump your ship's cargo for whatever
reason, you may use the SHIP CARGO DUMP command. This
will dump any amount of cargo you specify (or all of
that type of cargo, if not specified) into the ocean.
Dumped cargo is not retrievable.
SHIP SALVAGE
When a ship that is carrying cargo is destroyed, some
of the cargo may be left behind in the form of a large
steamer trunk floating in the water, possibly along with
other debris left from the destruction. The cargo that
is left behind may be salvaged into your ship's holds
by using the SHIP SALVAGE command in the same room as
the trunk. There must be enough room in your ship's holds
to contain the contents of the trunk.
SHIP LOOKOUT [<'all'>]
Allows you to receive information about nearby entities,
such as other ships or giant sea monsters, that may be
targetable for attack. SHIP LOOKOUT also shows you the
alignment of the ship or sea creature through its use
of color, as well as if a ship is prepared for combat
or not.
If you do not specify the 'all' argument, ship lookout
will not display ships that may be docked in shipyards.
SHIP TARGET <ship or sea creature name or number or 'attacker'>
Targets a nearby entity for attack. You may target other
ships (depending on the ship's PK status), or giant sea
creatures.
To target the entity that attacked you most recently,
specify the 'attacker' argument.
To see a list of nearby targetable ships and creatures,
use the SHIP LOOKOUT command.
To see who you currently are targeting - if anyone -
use the SHIP INFO command.
SHIP WEAPON
Displays a list of currently installed weapons banks, the
ammunition they use, range, potential damage, accuracy
percentage, the time it takes to reload between shots, the
current time remaining to reload, and highlights depleted
ammunition resources in red lettering.
By default, ships do not come with weapons installed.
They must be purchased at a shipwright. Some shipwrights
carry different weapons than others, depending on
availability. Weapons available to ships include
cannon, ballistas (ship-sized crossbows), fire launchers,
and harpoons.
Weapons take specific types of resources to fire. These
resources must be in the ships' holds. The most common
resource is black powder, but other ship weapon-related
resources include cannon balls, ballista bolts, and
sulfur mix.
Harpoons, when fired and successfully landed, can have
a grappling effect on the target ship, keeping it from
moving at all or moving away quickly while the harpoon
stands fast within the hull.
When a ship is hit with a successful fire launcher
volley, the ship may catch fire. Each round the ship is
on fire, additional damage to the ship may result.
SHIP WEAPON PRIORITY <weapon bank name> <priority>
As it is only possible to fire one weapon bank at a time, it is
useful to designate a "firing order". This command sets a the
priority of a specific weapon bank to a number from 0 to 10.
Higher priority weapon banks will be selected for firing first
when the SHIP FIRE command is issued without specifying a
weapon bank. A priority of 0 means that this weapon will never
be automatically chosen.
SHIP WEAPON UNINSTALL <weapon bank name>
A weapon bank can be uninstalled from the ship by
using the SHIP WEAPON <weapon bank name> uninstall
command. Uninstalling a weapon removes it permanently
from the ship.
SHIP FIRE [<weapon bank name>]
When an entity is targeted using the SHIP TARGET command,
the SHIP FIRE command may then be used. If no weapon bank is
specified, the weapon with the highest set priority that is
currently available and is in range of the target will be
fired. The accuracy of the shots depends on the distance
between you and the target, as well as the weapon bank's base
accuracy rating. The closer you are to each other, the more
accurate your shots will be.
When the weapon bank is fired, all weapons available in
that bank are fired at once.
In order for you to fire a weapon, you must have enough
resources in the ship's cargo holds to fire at least one of the
weapons from that weapon bank.
You must have at least 10% of your ship's maximum crew
members in order to use the ship's weapons.
Use the SHIP WEAPON PRIORITY command to configure weapon
priorities.
SHIP ANCHOR
Drops or raises the ship's anchor. Lowering the anchor
will keep the ship from drifting in whatever direction
the current is moving. In order to use some of the ship
commands, you must be anchored at a dock with a shipwright.
The ship may not be able to anchor in deep water.
SHIP CHRISTEN <ship title>
Christens the ship with <ship title>. Once christened, a
ship cannot be renamed by anyone, including new owners.
SHIP PLANK <victim name>
Forces an undesirable off your ship.
SHIP OFFICER <name or 'clear'>
This command designates one person as an acting officer aboard
your ship. Officers have access to most ship commands while
aboard the vessel. Officers can be useful for distributing the
responsibility of commanding a ship. All actions performed by
an officer are remembered and automatically taken into
consideration when dividing experience from ship combat.
SHIP LOCATE
When a ship is lost at sea, the SHIP LOCATE command, used
properly at a shipwright, will have the shipwright tell you
where your ship is located within the world. If the ship is
drydocked, the shipwright will tell you which shipwright
has your ship.
SHIP REPAIR
When anchored at a pier with a shipwright, this command will
instruct the harbormaster to repair your ship. Depending on
how much damage your ship's hull has acquired, this can be
quite expensive.
SHIP RECHARGE
When anchored at a shipyard that provides shield recharging
services, this command will instruct the dock wizards to
fully recharge your ship's shields. Shield recharging is
typically more expensive than hull repair.
SHIP DRYDOCK
When anchored at a pier with a shipwright, this command will
instruct the harbormaster to drydock your ship. What this
means is that your ship will be put in a kind of 'storage'
from whence it can later be removed by using the SHIP
LAUNCH command at the dock's shipwright. Most shipwrights
charge a fee for this. It is a good idea to drydock your
ship if you are done using it for awhile, as it will be kept
safe until your return and free from weather damage.
Please note that if you leave your ship docked at a dock with
a shipwright or anchored in an unusual place for longer than
four months (hasn't been used in four months, basically), the
ship will automatically be drydocked either at the present dock,
or at the Runic Shipwright and must be launched to be put back
in the water. This is to save space at the piers for active
ships and keep abandoned ships out of the way.
SHIP RECOVER
If your ship gets damaged enough to the point where it
is destroyed, this command will instruct the shipwright to
send out for a wizard who can magically resurrect your
ship from the murky depths. As expected, this costs
quite a bit, so be sure your bank account can handle it.
SHIP CONTRACT [<number of crew members>]
When you are anchored at a pier with a shipwright, you may
hire crew members to staff your ship. Crew members are
required for use of weapons as well as making your vessel
go as fast as it possibly can. Different ships require and
can support varying amounts of crew members. Ships can
sail at full speed with up to 75% of their maximum crew
members.
When crew members are hired, they accept a base fee for
their services as well as a share of any spoils from
plunder.
Keeping the crew members happy is the Captain's job -
SHIP INFO will show the current morale rating of
the crew. If the morale rating falls below a certain
amount, crew members may start deserting you. Morale
can also affect the top speed at which your ship can
sail, and how fast your ship's weapons can be reloaded
when they are fired. Morale will definitely drop if crew
members are killed during combat, if the crew becomes
overly bored, if they aren't making enough money from
plunder, or if they have been at sea for excessively
long periods of time without docking.
To boost morale, be sure to dock at ports as often as
you can (to give the crew members time to stretch their
legs and visit the local taverns and houses of ill repute).
Morale can also be raised by plundering treasure gained
from defeating other ships or sea monsters, as your
crew members receive a cut of that.
If the number of crew members is not specified, it will
be assumed you wish to fully re-hire for all available
crewmember slots on the ship.
SHIP YARDINFO
When you are anchored at a pier with a shipwright, this command
will show you the shipyard information, as well as current
prices for fuel, repair work, crew members, dry docking, and
other services provided by the shipyard at your ship.
SHIP LAUNCH
Removes the ship from drydock storage at a shipwright's
and returns it to the pier.
SHIP REFUEL
Pays to have your ship refueled. You must be anchored at
a dock to do this.
SHIP TRANSFER
Transfers the title of your ship to the person of your
choice. This person must be at the same location as you,
and the SHIP TRANSFER command must be performed in the
presence of a shipwright. Currently, there are no fees
for ship title transfers.
SHIP FLAG <flag name>
Raises or lowers a certain flag banner on your ship. Your
ship must be equipped with the flag-mount option, which
comes with a wide variety of flags. Commonly available flags
are:
twin-moons sigil rune vandyne
tellerium templeton pirates-cove decara
seahag irda-isle jolly-roger smiley-face
agrippa-crest vendredi-crest undya-crest vashir-crest
telleri-crest bloodbane-crest maldra-crest truce
red blue yellow green
black orange rainbow dira
ithrilis maradas gath clan
alliance
If you are in a clan, you may use the "clan" flag, which will
show your clan name to others in situations where they can view
your ship's flag. If you are in a clan that is in an alliance, you
may use the "alliance" flag, which will show your alliance name to
others in situations where they can view your ship's flag.
SEE ALSO
shop, control winds, merdraco, hallowhold, riddenmast
| Player-contributed annotations for SHIPS |
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| Date posted: 04-28-2003 08:52 am by Dwyn |
later on a private ship will be very useful, as you can get to many places with a ship that the merdraco and Worm doesnt.
|
| Date posted: 04-28-2005 09:44 am by Pika |
A necessity for getting to the underground through the whirlpool if there aren't worldgates open, and you don't have a HOME there.
|
| Date posted: 03-23-2006 05:40 pm by Blitzen |
With the addition of several new SHIP commands, the features of ship combat and cargo are coming to realization.
Shipwrights are now accompanied by a trader, who sells ammunition for ship weapon systems. It is also likely that they are used for trading ship cargo.
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