Wednesday, September 7, 2011

iAdmiral 1.3 released

Another update is available, this time bringing the iAdmiral up to version 1.3.

There are quite few new features, including the Realistic Mode which can be switched on making the ships behave more... er... realistic. In this mode ships may no longer freely turn on the spot, but have greater capacity to sail against the wind. Sail damaging amunition plays greater role in this mode, and it is explained in detail in a included video tutorial.

There are also 3 new ships - the small and weak Pinnace, the versatile Fluyt, and the powerful Fast Galleon.

Two additional scenarios showcasing those ships are included.

Another important thing, you can now try iAdmiral for free using the Lite version now available on the AppStore here. It includes absolutely all features of the original, but is limited to just 3 scenarios.

Enjoy!

18 comments:

  1. Do you have an email for contact?

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  2. You can contact me here: sarkunx (at) gmail.com

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  3. This is so very very close to being an absolutely fantastic 'Age of Sail' turn based strategy game.  All the elements are there including wind direction, movement and turning points, cannon/men/hit point stats etc.  Round, chain and grape shot.  Grappling and boarding.

    Everything you'd expect from wargame representing this period in a simple easy to use interface and lightly implemented rule system to keep the games fluid and fast whilst providing the theme and flavour of naval combat in this era.

    So why not 5 stars?

    Double broadsides need a reloading period of 1 turn.  It might sounds picky but it would make all the difference.  Currently you can pivot a ship more or less on the spot and get a double broadside on the same target which is pretty cheesy and completely ruins the tactics of the game.

    Additionally there needs to be some sort 'raking' bonus (where your ship can fire on a target without being in the targets arc of fire).  Currently there's no incentive to go for raking manoeuvres.  You simply stay static pivoting and double broadsiding.

    Make these 2 simple changes and you have yourself the finest wargame of any period I've seen on the apps store to date.

    It really is (almost) that good.

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  4. @Yojimbo: have you tried the 'realistic mode'? I believe it pretty much limits the 'turn on the spot' ability for all but the nimblest of ships (brig, pinnace)...

    The raking bonus is an awesome idea. And not that difficult to implement. It just might get into the next version :)

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  5. Hi Piotr,

    Firstly thanks for the very prompt response.

    Yes I should have stated that my review was based on realistic mode On.

    Like you mention it doesn't resolve the problem for small vessels in that they can pivot in the same hex. Even for larger vessels they can perform a similar action by simply moving 1 hex.

    The point is historically a vessel wouldn't be able to fire a double broadside against the same target. The instances of double broadsides were where a ship was facing separate targets both port and starboard.

    It just gives an A-historical feel to the combat and tactics. If you can resolve that by placing a reloading delay on one of the broadsides after a double and incorporate the raking bonus (as a ship will expose itself to raking after performing a pivot to a certain extent making it more risky) then it could resolve this issue.

    Something worth considering.

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  6. Hi, enjoying the App.

    However, with realistic mode off, all vessels are supposed to be able to sail against the wind with a big penalty..

    However, as of the current version, that doesn't seem to be the case.

    I'm not a die-hard realist, and found it very frustrating on a lot of the scenarios when your ship is stuck up against an island, or the win is against you, and you can do absolutely nothing (and in easy mode the enemy ships rarely come to you).

    I spent one game clicking end turn about 30 times in a row twiddling my thumbs through the Ai turns just waiting for the wind to change so i could do something.

    I know it's not realistic... That's why i have the realistic setting off..

    Also- any chance in the future you might have the option of random maps and the ability to create your own fleet based on a points system?

    There are only so many scenarios...

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  7. With realistic mode off, only small ships may sail against the wind - that's their main advantage.

    I know that some scenarios may become drawn out, when the wind just refuses to go in your favor, but due to its random nature, this just must happen sometimes - when you're really unlucky. OTH the randomness of it adds to replayability - sometimes a scenario becomes very easy when the wind is perfect for you all the time. This must happen if wind direction is random.

    Skirmish mode... will happen. But it will require a lot of new game logic, so not very soon. It is however a great stepping stone to online multiplayer...

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  8. Ok, it looks like i had my wires crossed because the instructions movie indicates big ships can only move against the wind with realistic mode on... Oddly.

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  9. Just one slight clarification to the 'raking' suggestion.

    Raking bonus ought to apply where your ship can fire on a target and that broadside is not in an enemy vessels' arc of fire. The idea behind raking is that the crew firing the broadside can do so unhindered by enemy fire and thus can take more time to improve accuracy.

    Additionally whilst we're on the subject of arc's of fire, could I suggest a rule that a friendly ship anywhere in your arc of fire ought to block line of sight for that broadside as captains were very reluctant to risk hitting friendly intervening vessels due to the lack of precision of cannon of that period.

    As this adds a degree of complexity to the line of sight rules you may want to consider it just for Realistic Mode.

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  10. @David P: in reality, all sailships could sail against the wind *to some extent*. However, this game being played on hexes - I've got only 6 possible directions. So some simplifications had to be made.

    @Yojimbo: I get the raking idea. Additionally, ships were sturdiest along their sides - so a close range salvo straight into the stern... ouch. Just like in the movie Master & Commander.

    And friendly ships DO block line of sight - if they obscure more than the half of the target hex. Again, this being based on hexes, in some situations is clearer than in others.

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  11. "And friendly ships DO block line of sight - if they obscure more than the half of the target hex. Again, this being based on hexes, in some situations is clearer than in others. "

    I understand that aspect but I'm talking about going one step further in that if a friendly ship is *anywhere* within a broadsides arc of fire it will block line of sight even if not obscuring more than half of the target hex. The reason is I've had numerous situations where I or the AI have had a friendly ship very close to the target but not obscuring and we were permitted to fire.

    Realistically a captain wouldn't have fired under those circumstances because the risk of friendly fire was too great. By introducing this rule it means players and the AI will have to keep a tight line and only break at a certain moment in the battle when a good enough opportunity presents itself. Otherwise if they get themselves in a disorganised tangle with some ships forward of others, they will restrict the amount of overall firepower they can bring to bare.

    Breaking line was one of the most difficult and crucial decisions a captain had to make during an engagement. To represent this you'll need to ramp up some of the penalties (like the one I'm suggesting) if they get it wrong to create the tension over gaining and holding the initiative as well as rewarding good timing.

    No disrespect but the naval tactics in the game currently is a bit of a free for all with no real benefits or penalties maintaining an organised formation. You simply treat each ship on an individual basis and try to maximise its firing opportunities without too much regard for the big picture.

    If you can capture the flavour of 'ships of the line' formations and tactics in iAdmiral by some slight rule tweaks you'll be on a real winner.

    As a side note I hope I don't come across as too critical of the game. If I didn't think it had great potential I wouldn't be investing my time providing this level of feedback.

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  12. Yojimbo, are you playing on an iPad or iPhone? Because I am afraid we are hitting the limitations of the platform right here - current ship mobility and cannon range is determined by what can actually fit on the iphone screen without zooming out - so that players don't miss the opportunity to shoot something because they didn't see it. And while line formations exchanging broadsides are an awesome sight, they probably won't happen in iAdmiral, as the ships have relatively short gun ranges - the formations would have to be really small to actually be useful.

    On another note, I do not want all the battles to become two lines of ships pounding each other into oblivion.

    As a final note on formations, one feature I seem to be cutting out of every version are ship squadrons - which would benefit from sticking close to each other. So some formation management would be there.

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  13. I'm playing on both the iPad and iPhone. I don't see the display size of the screen as an issue. If you can see the target ship you must be able to see an intervening friendly ship so I don't think a player would miss an opportunity to shoot because they couldn't see the friendly ship which is closer.

    "And while line formations exchanging broadsides are an awesome sight, they probably won't happen in iAdmiral, as the ships have relatively short gun ranges - the formations would have to be really small to actually be useful."

    The above statement makes me think that I haven't explained the point I'm trying to make very clearly. The gun ranges are absolutely fine and appropriate for the level of the game. I'm not suggesting implementing formations on a grand scale or anything like that. Simply by penalising a player for having ships at varying distances with some in the firing arcs of others will make the players pay more attention to how they manoeuvre and position their ships. It's a very simple change which would have a profound effect on the tactics to represent the period much more closely.

    "On another note, I do not want all the battles to become two lines of ships pounding each other into oblivion."

    Neither would I and that's the beauty of this period of naval warfare. Most engagements may well commence in this or a similar fashion. But the admiral that can make better use of the wind, manoeuvre their ships more effectively to cross the enemy's 'T' and choose the right time to break line and seize those raking and double broadsides opportunities should be rewarded.

    I'm not seeing those sort of tactics at the moment because it isn't necessary. The most effective tactic currently is simply to pivot your ship in such a way that you can fire both broadsides at the enemy. This may involve moving 1 hex or on the spot but that's essentially it. It leads to a strange outcome in that the smaller vessels actually have greater firepower than the larger ships because the smaller vessels are more likely to be able to pivot and deliver both broadsides each turn.

    "As a final note on formations, one feature I seem to be cutting out of every version are ship squadrons - which would benefit from sticking close to each other. So some formation management would be there. "

    I think this is perhaps the crux of the miscommunication. I'm not suggesting a 'formation' feature or anything like that nor any *direct* bonus for being 'In Formation'. Just some slight rule changes as previously mentioned which entice players to maintain an organised formation because there are disadvantages in allowing your ships to drift apart. It increases the likelihood that they may block other allied ships field of fire and provide the enemy with raking opportunities because a lone ship may have an unsupported (exposed to the enemy) bow or stern.

    However there will be occasions where breaking formation could be worth it to divide the enemy's line or isolate an enemy ship and double broadside / rake them. That's where the tactical decisions come into it and a player will have balances the risks and benefits and make some hard choices.

    I'm absolutely convinced that this will deliver a much better flavour of the tactics during this period and hence a fantastic age of sail wargame without increasing the complexity unduly.

    What can I do to convince you?

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  14. Ok - I'm not saying no. I'll think about it, maybe do some tests. We will see what comes out of it.

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  15. Fair enough I can't ask for more than that. :)

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  16. I was just wondering how tests where getting on?

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  17. Sadly, a thing some call 'real life' caught up to me, and I have little time for iAdmiral right now...

    The things I had time to play with were the raking bonus, which is easy to implement and generally a good idea, so it will definitely be included, and the 'reload period' - firing both broadsides means that you can only fire one the next turn.

    Forbidding fire when a friendly ship is in a firing arc is a no - go. It would require the rewrite of all scenario files, and it confuses the hell out of AI. And I don't have time for that right now...

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  18. That's fair enough. As the song goes "2 out of 3 ain't bad" and the 2 you've picked are the more important ones.

    Looking forward to the update.

    Thanks.

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