Get ready to set sail, Pirates!

It's getting close: the next season of epic battles on the high seas of SL!

I've been working on the new Brigantine design for three months now, and it's nearing completion; this is going to be a revolutionary new step forward from the older SPD ships.

The first big battle event should commence in a week or two.

The new ship (you can check it out in the shipyard at the center of Jinsil sim, it's the red and gold ship) has done away with the old HUDs, taking strides towards combat realism. The physics engine has been overhauled; pilots must now be careful in heavy crosswinds to not let their vessel capsize! As for gunners, they now will have at their disposal: 8 independently aimable guns (can be aimed both vertically and horizontally, within realistic limits) with exciting muzzle blast and smoke particle effects, more realistic reload times, and less restrictive ammunition limits. Because the cannon HUDs have been done away with, the cannons will (realistically) require more crew members to efficiently operate all of them, but this is in part made up for by the elimination of the old "Carpenter" repair HUD; the ship can only be repaired when docked. Also, it physically shows damage (torn sails, etc.) as it is hit, and can be damaged by other environmental factors (reefs, rocks, etc.)

The most breathtaking thing about the ship though is it's appearance. Using seamlessly integrated wearable technology, it is a fully functional ship with 250+27 prims; unprecedented detail still leaving sitting space for a crew of 4. It has a standard brigantine rig, with 5 square sails on two masts, a ketch style mainsail, 3 jibs, 2 lateral trisails, and an impressive forest of rigging line. Also of note are the working anchor and dock-tie lines.

We'll also be using some beautiful new muskets I've commissioned, which will work with the integrated safe-zone avatar melee combat system for boarding action.

Anyway, this is just a general announcement to rouse the PiratesOfSL out of hiding and rally some new interest in the coming events.

...i've seen this new boat and it's a fantastic design...pretty much every speculative "hey, could this be made to work?" large-vessel idea rolled up into a beautifully-integrated package...

...i can't wait to watch a fleet of them on the water!..