Difference between revisions of "Sim:FAI"

From The Dreadnought Project
Jump to: navigation, search
(Some Dot Commands)
(Redirected page to Sim:Main Page)
 
Line 1: Line 1:
The download link for the files is not on this page.  I do not want to make it public yet.  People helping me with the sim can email me for a link.  Please help me keep this from the public -- it is in an alpha state.
+
#REDIRECT [[Sim:Main_Page]]
 
+
==Installing the Sim==
+
 
+
===Install Java===
+
Using the link provided to you in email, install the 32-bit Java Runtime Environment (the .exe file).  You only need to do that once.
+
You can try NOT doing it if you think you have Java installed already, but the other may not work if it is 64-bit.
+
 
+
===Install the Sim===
+
The sim is a zipfile about 70 MB large.  The instructions below assume you are running Windows 7 -- others should be similar.
+
 
+
Print out these instructions now... the app only runs well in fullscreen for now, and so it may be hard to get back to these instructions.
+
 
+
# Download and unzip the date-stamped zip file from the separately-communicated download link to a convenient place anywhere on your system, e.g., "c:\Sim"
+
# Open a command prompt from the start menu by typing "cmd" in the search field and hitting enter.
+
# "CD" to the directory you unzipped into, e.g., "cd c:\sim"
+
# edit "setPath.bat" in notepad.exe and edit the line to show where you installed Java.  Save the file and exit Notepad
+
# from the command prompt, type "setPath" and hit enter.
+
# Now, say a short prayer and type "runFAI" and hit enter.  A little pop-up should appear.
+
# '''VERY IMPORTANT'''.... check the "full screen" checkbox and then select a resolution that is 16x9.  I have found 1600x900 to be a good resolution.
+
# hit enter and wait a bit.  you should hear waves and soon be on a platform near the conning tower of the Queen Mary model
+
# Click your mouse on the window (you have to do that for some reason)
+
 
+
==Walking around==
+
* '''W,A,S,D''' move you about
+
* '''Right mouse button''' squints and lets you see a bit further 
+
* '''B''' toggles the use of binoculars when your guy has them or any other optical thing he may have (e,g,, a gun telescope)
+
* '''N''' opens the typing chat for dot commands or speaking to other sailors
+
* '''Space''' makes your cursor visible (for opening doors or moving through magic hatches)
+
* '''Shift''' makes you run.  On Windows at the moment, you must press and hold Shift before hitting the other key for some reason
+
 
+
You can get into Queen Mary's turrets if you carefully move to where you can see the hatch on their roof.  Press Space to reveal the cursor and click on it.  Getting out is sort of broken.
+
 
+
If you fall overboard (or try to exit the Queen Mary's turrets and see a bug),  you can reboard by using a dot command in the (invisible) typing chat:  type slash (or "N" -- I had trouble getting Mardsen's keyboard's slash key to work)) to open it and then ".b" and a space and the call letters of the ship you want to board  (QM fpr Queen Mary, AC for Acheron, KA for Kaiser) and hit enter.  For instance, getting back on Queen Mary is done via '''n.b qm(enter)'''
+
 
+
==Speaking to AI Sailors==
+
You can try talking to crewmen you see (only when you are near them - the audio model is very literal and if you go too far away they will not hear you).  They only react to orders that are typed in a clear fashion, as their AI is very simple.  Note that the typing chat has no visible interface at the moment.  The other sailors will speak back to you in an audible voice (mine, actually).
+
 
+
When "speaking" by the typing chat, pressing Shift when you press Enter will cause you to speak not only to those nearby but also through a chest-worn portable telephone which is on the ship's main telephone network (only implemented on Queen Mary -- details later when the following grows old).
+
 
+
===Speaking to the Helmsman===
+
Talking to the helmsman can allow you to cruise around another ship to inspect it from other angles.
+
 
+
* steer northeast
+
* turn 2 points to port
+
* all ahead full
+
* all ahead half
+
* all ahead slow
+
* all stop
+
* zig zag 2 points
+
* stop zig zagging
+
 
+
Clicking on a man or usable equipment places you in that role.  For instance, if you become the helmsman, you will find that your arrow keys move the wheel.  '''Escape''' switches you back to being your walking officer
+
 
+
==Try Some Shooting==
+
 
+
===First, by giving otders===
+
* Go aboard Acheron (.b ac)
+
* If the crew is not at Action Stations and you see no crew at the gun, call the ship to action stations (.a 1)
+
* Let's just work with the crew at the forward gun.  Go near the forward gun so they will hear you.
+
* Locate another ship nearby to be our target.  You want to be about 1000-2000 yards away for this first exercise (ask your helmsman to "turn 2 points to port" (or starboard) if you want to open the range
+
* Press Space to reveal your cursor and click on the target ship.
+
* You will hear your sailor automatically tell the others to find the target.  They will train the gun toward it.
+
* Take a guess at the range and tell the sightsetter, e.g. "gun range 2000"
+
* Say "Fire" and the gunlayer should take a shot
+
* Look and see if it hits or misses.  You may need to call out a spotting correction, e.g.:  "Up 100" or  "down 200" or "left 8"  or "right 12"
+
* If you say "Open fire", the crew will fire repeatedly
+
* See if you can score repeated hits from about 1000 to 2000 yards.  A bug keeps the sights from working well at very close ranges.
+
* Once you're hitting, try changing course or speed to cause changes in range and deflection... see how spotting becomes more difficult as time-of-flight goes up.
+
* When done, say "stop tracking", or ... go to next lesson
+
 
+
===Play the Gunlayer===
+
* Move so your sailor is not in the line of fire
+
* Press '''Space''' to show your cursor and click on the telescope on the left side of the gun (or on the man using it).  You then become that man:  the gunlayer.
+
* Now, the '''B''' key toggles your telescope, '''[''' and ''']''' keys adjust its magnification, '''Enter''' fires the gun (if it is loaded), and your arrow keys elevate and depress the gun.
+
* when looking through the telescope, your mouse also elevates and depresses the gun
+
* Take a few shots... note that your sightsetter still needs a good range and deflection on the sight
+
* when done, say "stop tracking" and then "train fore and aft"
+
 
+
More later, maybe
+
 
+
==Some Dot Commands==
+
* '''.w (0 or 1)''' sets a cloudy day or a sunny day (choice of 2 poor skyboxes)
+
* '''.sea (0-9)''' sets a given Wind Force (keep it to 5 or below, or the bad hydrodynamics code will really do odd things)
+
* '''.winddir 0-360''' (set wind direction)
+
* '''.b (call letters)''' places the user aboard the named vessel.  I generally send out versions with QM AC and KA
+
* '''.r (call letters)''' reloads the models of a given ship and its fittings from disk.  Great way to check changes to your model
+
 
+
==Modeling?  Explore your model==
+
Walk around the models and look for defects.
+
 
+
You can find models within the media/models directory tree, e.g. media/models/QueenMary/Hull.obj 
+
 
+
Right now Marsden is working on the Queen Mary model, but I'd like to see Queen Mary and Acheron get a little or a lot better without huge polygon counts.  Kaiser mostly works as a target (no workable weapons).
+
 
+
==Do not circulate the Sim==
+
Please do not share these files or the download link with friends, but you can demonstrate it to anyone.
+

Latest revision as of 17:56, 15 January 2019

Redirect to: