I am finding Trireme commander fun. A couple of screenshots

Started by Destraex, November 16, 2017, 06:04:17 PM

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Destraex

I am finding Trireme commander fun. Have been looking for a game that does ancient galley warfare well and this may be it. Mare Nostrum was a big letdown for me, being a board game knock off with dice throws instead of realism. But this may have what it takes to satisfy my ancient galley warfare curiosity.
This game puts you in control of an ancient Galley in the Greek/Persian wars era, specifically Salamis. It is a simulation in every sense.

The interface is very rough around the edges though. I even had to reboot the game to rank up for the next mission, which seems intended!
This game is based on actual data from the The Trireme Trials conducted in 1988 of an actual reconstruction of an Athenian Trireme made with plans left behind by the Athenians.

It takes you through a series of trials before making you a Trireme captain and then ultimately commanding the actual battle of Salamis - where the Greeks defeated the Persians in one of the decisive battles in history. The battle of Salamis in this game is said to have the actual numbers involved and is the excuse used for the very rudimentary graphics being needed.

The creator is a PHD and a military historian as well as rower himself.
You can hear him give instructions during tutorials in his "scottish" accent. This made me think of a particular movie, but now set in ancient times.... take your pic. The 300 or Hunt for Red Oktober. Scottish accents are good for a lot of things. Actually I would probably not be able to tell between scottish and broad english accents anyways. He sounds more like Thomas the Tank engines compare, ringo star in the first tutorial. Which is all I have done. I don't think Ringo was scottish.
Ok now it all makes sense:
"Turcan: Historically my family is from Scotland, fishermen and boat builders. Though I was born in London, I was actually brought up back in Scotland. I was sucked back into the economic engine of London after graduating, and spent some pretty fun 10 years there working on my first computer games in between occasional other employment. 10 years was enough though, and I emigrated to the USA in 1995, family in tow. At the time the geography of the Pacific Northwest appealed to me more than the history that Europe has to offer."

http://www.peterturcan.com/




"They only asked the Light Brigade to do it once"

Toonces

"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Toonces

As far as I can tell, 18 clams via the website.  Sounds pretty neat and unique.
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Destraex

Yeah. It cost me $30 or so AUD.
Note, I have only played the initial Helmsman scenario so I have no idea how good the game will be moving forward to the actual combat.
I am just already enjoying rowing around the trireme. It kind of feels graphics wise like I am in a wireframe game from the late 80s.
There are no people animated, no rowers or marines seen on deck. The Trireme model is also very simplified. The eyes for some reason are not on the side of the bow, the beak is not as sloped as it should be.
So graphically it leaves a bit to be desired. I had trouble figuring out where exactly the training area was in the initial scenario and rowed out to sea. But it was right beside me. The LOD and jaggy lines that were the docks did not allow me to see clearly that they were not just docks.

P.S. I am yet to find a ship oars command to avoid raking.
"They only asked the Light Brigade to do it once"

ArizonaTank

#4
Peter Turcan!!!!  Yesss!!!  He has been designing PC wargames since almost the beginning of DOS gaming. 

His first naval game Dreadnoughts was one of my first "loves"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnoughts_(video_game)

He also did some very innovative Napoleonic battle games in the late 80s.  They were kind of like Scourge of War...with 1980s graphics...but it worked wonderfully.

Great find, I will purchase just on the strength of his history with PC wargames.
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
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Destraex

I had heard that he did some earlier games and was very respected.
"They only asked the Light Brigade to do it once"

Destraex

I just ran into the dock after winning the race :(
Last race I think I ran into the dock as well... because it told me I ran out of time. But after running into the dock having raced at top manageable speed (I am not great at it yet but manage a good clip). THere is no way I ran out of time... but I did run into the dock and got the same out of time message. After running into the dock I got another message saying my rowers had recovered. A lot of good that will do me :)

Very enjoyable. Although I would like a timer, speed indicator and a rower strength indicator. Those are things you have to play by ear in game. Adds a certain suspense to the game. Getting a voice message telling me that my rowers are exhausted and will now only be able to achieve cruise speed.

Next I want to experiment with raising oars at full speed and seeing how far I can coast while resting rowers. The AI seem to do this a lot.







"They only asked the Light Brigade to do it once"

Destraex

Who knows. Once I know all the physics in this game and understand them. I might find Mare Nostrum more palatable. But I really needed to understand the physics before accepting the dice roles of mare nostrum at face value. But if this game turns out to be amazing at the battle stages. Their might not be a need for mare nostrum's dice rolls.

Yay did not run into the dock. Turns out I was over-complicating things by trying to actually dock the vessel too perfectly. All I had to do was come to a full stop near the dock.
"They only asked the Light Brigade to do it once"

em2nought

Quote from: Toonces on November 16, 2017, 06:14:49 PM
Whoa, neat find!

Ditto, thanks for posting.  I once had a book that had rules for a galley wargame plus directions on how to build some underscale representative galley's for it.  They used 28mm figures for boarding parties.  Looking for it, I just found this nifty little idea using matches https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/693515/war-galley-free-game-naval-warfare-using-only-matc  Playing this you could even light up the enemy. lol

Stolen elections have consequences.


Destraex

How cool is this! :)
I got an email from the developer.

"Sean, Trireme Commander update. First use Control Panel to remove your current copy, then install this one. Your rank should be preserved in the change.
Mouse wheel rotates view. Mouse wheel + right button zooms view. Accelerated time option in Settings (though be warned this reduces the accuracy of the sim), and scenario finished menu includes option to go back to scenarios (with promotion). Thanks for the feedback, and enjoy!"
"They only asked the Light Brigade to do it once"

MengJiao

Quote from: ArizonaTank on November 17, 2017, 09:57:39 AM
Peter Turcan!!!!  Yesss!!!  He has been designing PC wargames since almost the beginning of DOS gaming. 

His first naval game Dreadnoughts was one of my first "loves"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnoughts_(video_game)

He also did some very innovative Napoleonic battle games in the late 80s.  They were kind of like Scourge of War...with 1980s graphics...but it worked wonderfully.

Great find, I will purchase just on the strength of his history with PC wargames.

I remember Turcan from decades ago.  His WWI ship game was fantastic and easy to mod.  Plus he had the right guns on the right ships which is unusual.

Destraex

"They only asked the Light Brigade to do it once"