Guides | sndna

Naval Action Guides

1. Boarding Tutorial

2. keyboard shortcut list

Shooting

Right Click on the side you want to fire from to enter firing mode

Space bar for single ranging shot

Left click for full salvo

Shooting Controls 2

Hold ALT while in aim mode to be able to look around you without moving your aim. Remember to stop moving mouse before you let go of ALT.

[ and ] are for full left and right broadsides, respectively. More specifically they fire the full broadside straight out of the side of the ship with no elevation. (assume this means outside of shooting mode?)

Spacebar (hold and release, not in aiming mode) shoot at 0 degree angle (for low distances) - EDIT This seems a little strange, don't see how this could work)

Gun Deck Control

F1 F2 F3 F4 to lock a deck for firing (decks 1 to 4 that is, a red cross will be shown on the deck that will not be firing).

Press the key again to unlock the deck (red crosses indicate lock)

Rudder

Double tap A or D for permanent left of right rudder setting, Tap once the opposite way from locked left or right and it will centre again.

Hold Rudder key A or D down to turn rudder temporarily. Let go and it will centre again.

Mast and Yard Controls

Tap W until you have the sail speed settings and right amount of sail canvas set

Tap S until you have ordered less canvas set to setting you want

Battle sails are activated by pressing "B" - same effect can be had by tapping W or S until you get to the same setting of course.

Manual Yard Controls

Q and E to adjust forward mast

Z and C to adjust rear mast

F to return to auto skipper

Telescope

Hold Left shift is telescope

Scroll mouse to adjust it to the zoom you want while holding shift down

Boarding Ships

G Board ship at lower speeds (this option will pop up when you are close and slow enough to enemy ship)

X Capture ship after successful boarding (your crew will transfer to the other ship) or neutral ship with no crew

Chat

Press Enter to enter chat mode and speak

had to press ESC to get out of chat

TAB to toggle team chat on and off after pressing enter

Special Statistics

L = show shot damage

K = show sounds

Fire Mortar

M to enter aim mode for mortar on mortar brig

Free Camera (could now be locked out for sea trials to avoid cheating?)

Home key disconnects camera to go looking for the enemy

Home key is spectator after dead

Z X up and down

Scroll for camera speed

Right or left click changes ship in dead free camera mode

Screenshots

P screenshot
F8 makes a huge 4K (3840 x 2160) screenshot, it may freeze your game client for a while.
TAB Holding tab down shows team status and side make up.

Misc

Ctrl H to hid interface

F11 bug report

How to reset Gun Batteries to default: thx Gman

I would add to this that to reset any gun battery to it's default position (such as broadsides to 90 degrees port and starboard, chasers straight forward and aft), aim your camera at said battery and, without entering aiming mode, hold down left mouse button. You will see the water highlighted with your current aim point. Continue holding down the left mouse button will swing your guns to default positions.

Also useful to tap the left mouse button to see what direction your guns are currently trained in.

3. ship crew and ranks

Open sea navigation

1) Attitude

I think most important is how do you approach the fact there is no pointer in map and travel is not super easy.

a) It is a challenge, it is not so hard and you will learn how to do it. Difficult things make games fun and learning new things is fun. And this is not so difficult, there are no currents, the wind has constant speed etc.

Getting from point A to point B it is an achievement. Be proud of yourself. You are sailor now. Not some kid playing MMO with **** arrow on ground navigating to another quest. You are better.

c) Navigation for historical sailors was important and it wasn't without problems. It is immersive. You can feel like real sailor.

d) Enjoy that you get lost. It is an adventure. You will get into unpredictable situations. It is fun. It is experience. It is unique. You will have stories to tell. Once i wanted to travel to Philipsburg but I ended in from of Gustavia, the capital of Swedes, our enemies. They attacked me before i could even approach the port to see its name. I was faster and i managed to escape. Then they attacked me when i wanted to get away. Four ships against my noob cutter. I realized i am not in the trading whip i wanted anyway and i wasted 10 minutes of sailing (lol moment) so i gave them their battle. I damaged two of them very hard and scored 2x my hp of damage before they sunk me. Got very nice xp afterwards. I would never experience it with GPS navigation.

2) How to do it

a) Keep attention to your surroundings. Always compare what you see with the map and always try to determine your current position. Try to guess the isle you can see by the looks of the shoreline. The map is accurate and represents it correctly. Also you will look at Caribbean. It is beautiful.

There are navigation points on map everywhere - ports on every mile of the coast. When you see a city name, you know exactly where on map you are.

c) When leaving port, look at map and decide where you want to go. Look at the direction (north, west etc.) and plan your path. You should always see navigation points, shore and ports on your way.

d) There is a compass and it is your best friend. Use it.

e) Before entering battle, remember your position and also how the shores around you look etc. It will come handy when you go out of battle and feel disoriented.

f) Don't go to open see unless you feel really comfortable with navigation.

g) When you need to go west for example and the wind blows in opposite direction, go NW and then switch to SW for the same time period. This way you don't deviate from general west direction.

h) Print a map of Caribbean or the are you sail in and put it on your desk. You can make notes on it etc. Maybe I will put the map here in future or some helpful developer share it with us...

4. quck faq questions

1. Three servers

PvP One (Europe)
PvP Two (North America)
PvE (North America) - Can only attack NPCs

2. One character per account
3. Character is shared across servers. Make a character on PvP one, and they will also be created on PvE and PvP Two
4. XP is shared between servers. Gold and ships are not.
5. Basic cutter is free to purchase and repair. Basic cannons are free, but can only be fitted on the basic cutter
6. XP is gained by dealing damage in battles and completing missions
7. Missions can be taken at any port. Mission location will be marked on your map.
8. Others can enter your missions
9. Rank dictates how much crew you have. If you want to have more crew you must level up.
10. No in game tutorial (yet). Check out the guides in this forum.
11. Sinking? Caught on fire? Press "8" to go into survival mode.

12. Everyone is at war. Just don't attack your Nation's fellow captains

13. If you are a National and you attack an ally, you will turn pirate.

14. Nationals can enter their own Nation's ports, Neutral ports, and Free ports.

15. Pirates can only enter Pirate and Free ports.

16. Free ports cannot be captured.

17. Pirate is free-for-all. Attack anyone you wish, if you dare.

18. There is no GPS/Current Position Marker in game. Use your map, compass, and landmarks to discern your location

19. Manual sails only work in Combat instances.

20. Trader ships cannot mount cannons, have smaller crews, but have larger cargo holds

21. "bp" = BluePrint, this is a ship blueprint, allowing you to craft said ship

I will continue to add points as time goes on and more common questions arise.
Cheers.

22. Manual sails are best saved for square-rigged ships (brig and up)

5. ship and gun class

Cannon Information:

Medium Cannon 4pd - Class 9, Caliber 4, Weight 1

Long Cannon 4pd - Class 9, Caliber 4, Weight 1

Medium Cannon 6pd - Class 8, Caliber 6, Weight 2

Long Cannon 6pd - Class 8, Caliber 6, Weight 2

Medium Cannon 9pd - Class 6, Caliber 9, Weight 2.4

Long Cannon 9pd - Class 6, Caliber 9, Weight 2.4

Medium Cannon 12pd - Class 5, Caliber 12, Weight 2.7

Long Cannon 12pd - Class 5, Caliber 12, Weight 2.7

Medium Cannon 18pd - Class 4, Caliber 18, Weight 3.2

Long Cannon 18pd - Class 4, Caliber 18, Weight 3.2

Medium Cannon 24pd - Class 3, Caliber 24, Weight 3.8

Long Cannon 24pd - Class 3, Caliber 24, Weight 3.8

Medium Cannon 32pd - Class 2, Caliber 32, Weight 4.3

Long Cannon 32pd - Class 2, Caliber 32, Weight 4.3

Medium Cannon 42pd - Class 1, Caliber 42, Weight 5

Long Cannon 42pd - Class 1, Caliber 42, Weight 5

Carronade Information:

Carronade 12pd - Class 8, Caliber 12, Weight 0.7

Carronade 18pd - Class 7, Caliber 18, Weight 1

Carronade 24pd - Class 5, Caliber 24, Weight 1.3

Carronade 32pd - Class 4, Caliber 32, Weight 1.6

Carronade 42pd - Class 3, Caliber 42, Weight 2

Carronade 68pd - Class 2, Caliber 68, Weight 3.3

Ship Information:

Yacht - LD Gun Class 8 - 9

Lynx - LD Gun Class 8 - 10

Cutter - LD Gun Class 8 - 9

Pickle - LD Gun Class 8 - 9

Privateer - LD Gun Class 8 - 9

Brig - LD Gun Class 7 - 9, Back Gun Class 7 - 9

NavyBrig - LD Gun Class 7 - 9, Back Gun Class 7 - 9

Snow - LD Gun Class 7 - 9, TD Gun Class 8 - 9, Front Gun Class 7 - 9, Back Gun Class 7 - 9

Mercury - LD Gun Class 7 - 9

Cerberus - LD Gun Class 6 - 9, Back Gun Class 7 - 9

Renommee - LD Gun Class 6 - 9, TD Gun Class 7 - 9, Back Gun Class 6 - 9

Surprise - LD Gun Class 5 - 9, TD Gun Class 7 - 9, Front Gun Class 6 - 9, Back Gun Class 6 - 9

Belle Poule - LD Gun Class 4 - 9, TD Gun Class - 5 - 9, Back Gun Class 7 - 9

Frigate (Cherubim) - LD Gun Class 4 - 9, TD Gun Class 5 - 9, Front Gun Class 7 - 9

Trincomalee - LD Gun Class 4 - 9, TD Gun Class 5 - 9, Front Gun Class 5 - 9

Constitution - LD Gun Class 3 - 9, TD Gun Class 4 - 9, Front Gun Class 4 - 9, Back Gun Class 4 - 9

Bellona - LD Gun Class 2 - 9, MD Gun Class 3 - 9, TD Gun Class 5 - 9, Front Gun Class 2 - 9, Back Gun Class 2 - 9

Pavel - LD Gun Class 2 - 6, MD Gun Class 3 - 9, UD Gun Class 6 - 9, TD Gun Class 6 - 9/5 - 8, Back Gun Class 3 - 9/ 3- 8

Victory - LD Gun Class 1 - 6, MD Gun Class 2 - 6, UD Gun Class 3 - 9, TD Gun Class 4 - 9, Front Gun Class 2 - 9, Back Gun Class 2 - 9

Santisima - LD Gun Class 1 - 6, MD Gun Class 2 - 6, UD Gun Class 4 - 9, TD Gun Class 5 - 9, Front Gun Class 2 - 9, Back Gun Class 2 - 9

Key:

1. LD = Lower Deck

2. MD = Middle Deck

3. UD = Upper Deck

4. TD = Top Deck

6. gun reload times

7. basic guide to crafting ships

Progression

Every captain can build ships.

The initial prototype progression is set from lvl 1 to lvl 50. Players get XP for crafting materials and vessels.

Blueprints (recipes)

Builders have to be learn how to make better vessels by building ships.

For example: You won't be able to understand (learn) how to make Superfrigates by building Lynxes. But make enough Lynx class ships and you might learn how to make a Privateer.

Universal knowledge exists only for these basic vessels:

Lynx
Cutter
Brig
Snow
Cerberus
Frigate

All other vessels have to be discovered by making basic ships. We might drop frigate from the list in the future.

Buildings

To be able to make things you need an outpost. You can craft in any port that has your outpost in it.

We decided to not introduce buildings until conquest and port changes mechanics is tested. Maybe buildings will never appear in the game - we don't know that yet.

Labor hours

Every captain gets a certain number of labor hours per day. Labor hours can be stored to a limit. The higher your level the bigger is the hours limit - replicating growing efficiency of your production methods. This is also a very good protection against crafting bots.

Ship blue print design.

We decided to move away from large hull, small hull design that existed in Potbs for example and moved to a weight based system. We spent a lot of time to research the topic and used historical references in determining the materials. We also limited the number of components combining them into groups and might expand them in the future after UI rework. But it is detailed enough already.

Here is what our crafting is based on + references from some other books. There might be some mistakes in our deduction but in general we were able to deduct the system that provides ship compositions consistent to historical references. Feel free to correct us its easy to change.

The ship will consist of the following components in crafting

Frame

Frame Parts - (futtocks, ruders, keel, kelsons, floor timbers, cant frames, scarphs, cills, and other parts): can be made of Fir, Teak, Oak, Live oak
Planking - (self explanatory) - oak
Rudder parts - (all wooden and metal elements of the rudders) - oak + iron
Knees - (certain ships require knees to support decks) - made of compass wood
Tar - (tar and pitch) - made of Fir

Rigging

Rigging Parts (Masts, Yards and other wooden parts) - made of pine
Canvas rolls (Sails) - made of hemp (maybe of american cotton too)
Cordage - (all ropes + oakum) made of hemp + tar
Blocks - all types of blocks required for the ship (made of lignum vitae)

Fittings

Cables and Howsers
Iron fittings (all minor metal parts from small like nails to heavy like anchors)
Wooden fittings (all wooden parts from decks to wooden nails + furniture) - oak
Ballast (stone)
Furnishings - certain ship require special fittings, especially decorated ones. Those are made from red wood, gold and silver.

Resources and Materials.

Resources are produced by ports as before. Materials can only be crafted by players.

Example:

Hemp - resource; Tar resources
Hemp + Tar = produces cordage - cordage is a material.

Players who don't like to travel themselves can place purchase orders or sell orders for materials that will override NPC pricing for resources. If your order price is the highest everyone who sells oak in that port will sell to you.

Quality and crafting notes

Ship builder will be able to increase the quality of the vessel if his level allows. Quality of the ship improves inherent characteristics + provides extra slots for upgrades.

To increase the quality one special resource is needed - called crafting notes.

Crafting notes represent inspiration that a crafter can suddenly get when making ships and write it down. These notes can drop when making a ship.
Sometimes you can capture such crafting notes from enemy captains who found something about their ship and wrote it down. You can use those notes in the construction then.

Changes to upgrades

Hidden upgrades: Inherent characteristics of the vessel that were created when making a vessel. Good or bad weather, drunk woodworkers, bad mood, defects in construction can make ship worse or better. Those are completely random and will improve only with the crafting level (from the next patch) currently they are completely random except for wood type.
Permanent upgrades: Upgrades like extra planking, or speed trim - that can only be installed once. They are destroyed if you take them off.
Replaceable upgrades: Upgrades like Pellew sights - that can be easily removed and brought to another vessel.

Other changes

Bots will only have ships that are available through the universal recipes. Bots will no longer sail constitutions or mercury brigs. Those ships will have to be crafted or bought from crafters. Stores will also not have such ships anymore.

ps. we will try to make it with upgrade recipes this patch if not they will roll out in 1.5 weeks.

8. ship crafting path

9. DAmage model 4.0

Key new features

Penetration classes

Penetration exists now, but needs to be expanded for faster development and additions of new features. It also needs to be improved to allow for more customization of ships and weaponry. Cannons and ships will have a penetration class that will determine the ability to go through the armor. We believe that will provide more tactical diversity to combat. Ship armor will not be unified any longer. There will be weak spots to be exploited. Heavy planking at the waterline will make ship of the line more effective against lower level ships.

Angles and ricochets

Hitting a ship at narrow angle will ricochet from the ship hull. Longer guns with higher cannonball velocity will have better chances to penetrate at angles. This will make positioning very important. This feature is completely new and gameplay might change significantly and will require testing.

Exact colliders and positioning of internal modules

We are moving to the exact collision models that fully represent the shape of the hull. Same will be done with important internal modules. To blow up a bow magazine or break a frontal pump you will need to shoot at the front part of the ship.

Pass through shots

Gun ports will be implemented in the damage collider models. If the cannon ball does not hit anything it will pass through the ship and could hit the next target.

Crew damage

Crew damage will also change significantly as crew will no longer be a unified mass of people. Crew will be located deck-by-deck creating the situations where you destroyed everyone on the top deck leaving intact gun crews on the gundeck. This system also will allow for potential expansions of detailed crew management if the need arise.

Ballistics changes

We were very unsatisfied with the ballistics of carronades and frog like double shot and have reworked the formulas to allow better customization of cannons and fast additions of new features. Reload penalties will be added to certain types of shot. New system could also allow for types of powder charge type weight if this feature is be needed. Gun sights experiments will continue and we will test a couple of implementations of the sights next year.