The Emperors new boat?

So, Is anyone able to actually operate the new Flying Fizz, at anything other than "fun" mode, without a wwc setter?

Seems like it's been engineered to the point of being unusable.

It's a shame because last years model was sweet.

What's a "Flying Fizz"?

Or a "wwc setter"?

I guess this explains why Starboards has been running a few classes in how-to-sail-the-fizz? I wondered why this one was special ...
.

My Tako never ran backwards immediately upon rezzing it.

If this boat is so technologically superior and more realistic than anything that's ever been done before, one wonders why it needs its own artificial wind maker. After all, it's not like they set up giant fans on the shore for an RL regatta.

My RL Hobie Cat has.

I've had boats that shot off into the distance when rezzed.
Luckily I had the original of the 'Copy but NoMod' thing with the original unborked scripts.

I don't have the new Fizz but it is supposed to be much more realistic in its movement and response to things such as waves and excessive heeling. And if you know anything about the wind in SL, you know that you often need to set your own wind anyway, or use a motor.

Type "Competition mode" before you raise the sails
The only icky thing is without a windsetter your stuck with wind from the north at 16 kts

bah. "expert mode".
so there.

*sigh*

See. . .this is the kind of boat that makes sailing in SL unapproachable to new comers. (Which is probably the way certain folks like it.)

I got last years Fizz, and a very pretty wood textured tako. Neither one of them needed fake fake wind.

What I remember most about the videos I saw for the new Fizz is all the experts capsizing.

You can demo one of Jacqueline Trudeau's Trucor Beach Cats to see if it is more to your liking. They are a blast and I haven't heard anything but glowing reviews from anyone that has tried one.

Well, if you don't want realism, buy a non-realistic boat. The fact that experts are capsizing shows that we have to re-learn and adjust for the advance. If you don't want to have that much realism, go buy something else. Or stay in fun mode. Make up your mind.

Ok,, let me start off by saying i'm in no way involved with the design or work that has gone on with the fizz3. I'm an ACA man through and through.. devoted to sailing in SL.

Yes the Fizz is hard to master.. that's the idea. if we don't move the boundaries of sailing we all stagnate. the fizz is tremendously difficult to sail.. but it is possible. '

if you want an easy sail stay with the Tako.. its a great boat. If you want to move on there's the Tetra, the ACA and all the Wildwind boats not to mention Treudaus. If you want a real challenge sail the fizz 3 .

Im not a fan but i do appreciate the tremendous work that Mothgirl has put into this boat. the physics are mind blowing. I will be doing my best to get to terms with it. Sometime the most satisfying things aren't always easy.

if you want to start sailing try the Starboard's sailing lesson on a Sunday afternoon at 12. I warn you its addictive. but one step at a time.. you will get to the level of a fizz 3

Q

Most of the mainstream sailboats available today all run on a fake wind of some sort. They all have a factory preset wind so you don't need a wind setter to sail them. The use of wind setters is for the purpose of racing when it is required to ensure all boats are using similar conditions.

If you find an original tako or obscure boat that doesn't have any false wind at all you find that the SL winds are near useless due to constant direction and speed changes.

As for the Fizz 3 its the closest thing to real life sailing available. Its not a boat for new comers to sl sailing. It is extremely hard to sail, making it much more rewarding to sail in the long run. It is well built and well supported and in the not far future more boats will be released using its basic scripts. Its the tip of the sword, but it not for everyone, you have a choice if you don't like it don't buy it.

Oh I appreciate the effort that went into its creation. But it feels like it's been engineered to the point where it's unapproachable.

I didnt' have these problems with last years Fizz. It worked quite nicely.

As for SL winds being useless, I learned to sail my Tako in SL's constantly changing wind--adjusting the sail when necessary. Gravity, scripting and atmospheric effects have been upgraded. Why not the wind? Reinventing the wind seems like a step backward.

I also don't like seeing the Tako--the boat that brought sailing to SL--suddenly pushed aside like last weeks newspaper.

And as for having a choice in buying the new Fizz, unlike the Fizz 2, the Fizz 3 had no demo when I bought it. But since I was familiar with last years model I figured I had an idea what I was getting into. I certainly didn't expect it to suddenly be so unapproachable.

don't be beating down my second life! i can't sail in real life (but i sink really well), and if i went the Fizz or Tako route in SL it would be the same story!



now, excuse me as i feel strangely compelled to go listen to Ian Dury's "Sink My Boats"...

Actually, there is a Fizz 3 demo. I got it through the SL Sailing Association, or perhaps the Mowry Bay Yacht Club (I don't remember which). And Mothgirl is creating a shipbuilding kit, and is graciously licensing the fizz engine for use in a training boat that is in development by the Schiffsratten Yacht Club that is going to be free. That boat, the Shelly, is in beta testing right now.

While it may seem unapproachable, I appreciate the uptick in realism as it will make the overall experience more rewarding in the longer run.

Dammit!! 23rdDjin.. great one of Ian Dury's great tracks from 'Do it yourself' and the line at the begining "i got the feeling but i aint got the skill" may be appropriate.

Should the Fizz come with a skills health warning?.. 'do not to be use lightly' maybe?. Mothgirl is indeed working on the Shelly Fizz which quite rightly a simpler version of the Fizz for learner sailors. and SYC will be using them for new sailors comeing to thier excellent classes held at SYC on every Sunday at 12pm.

As to the sugestion that the tako has been dropped.. quite simply it hasnt, there are still Tako races, there are still boats being produced with this script at its heart. Many of the seasoned sailors in the sailing community love and cherish this little beauty. We find the fizz hard to deal with. We however are bitten by the bug.. and we will conquer it.

However.. and this is a big however... the genius behind the tako scrpits (Kanker Greenacre) is no longer in Second Life. therefore the evolution of the boat has come to an end. sad but true. So.. we have to move on.. hence the Fizz. We owe a huge ammount to Kanker. but shouldnt we move on? One could argue that the model T Ford was as good as motoring could get.. should we still be driving in those?

Q

Glowing review. I love my cat.

As far as I know, the FF3 was never advertised as a beginner's boat. That's going to be the job of the Shelly Fizz. I bough a FF3 a couple of days ago, and am having a ton of fun with it because it IS so challenging. You have to have all sorts, if you want to keep the sailing experience alive in SL.

As far as fake wind? I refuse to use a boat that doesn't have it. SL wind is so unpredictable, I'd rather go horseback riding than use it. Thinking back to the earliest days of SL sailing, and what those guys had to deal with only makes my admiration for them go up and up.

Mal

I can't imagine that "reinventing the wind" would be all that difficult. Right now it seems nearly random with changes to direction and speed. I once built a windmill that rotated with the wind and couldn't believe the nearly violent changes. What LL needs to do is "unrandomize" the wind, I guess. Or at least make subsequent vectors dependent on primary vectors, i.e. if Vector A is <45, 10 mph> then Vector B should rely upon Vector A somewhat, to become <43, 12> or whatever. As it stands, the vector changes are amazingly random and make sailing Not Fun (for me anyway. )