How to Build - Ships

# **THIS ARTICLE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS**

## Overview

Ships are primary combat vessel and means transport goods on the server.

This article is intended give you basic ideas on how to go by constructing very own ship!

## Getting Started - Setting up to Build

Ships are built in the Dockyard, where need pick right size plot to build your intended design.

These are steps to prepare you for ship construction assuming you have not already looked these up.

* *Pick a Size and Type Ship you want*
All Ships on the server have specific types, which translates limits on size ship your building. This article cross-references with Submarines as well, but is focus on surface ships. Good source of idea is looking on websites like en.wikipedia, navsource, and modeling websites. You could build a ship history or make your own. These websites to name a few can give you clues on how to model your ship.

* *Know what your using to build your ship*
In the center of the shipyard is the Warehouse, where examples of blocks, equipment, weapons, and recipes you need to assemble things you need for your ship. This INCLUDES; Types of Minecraft Blocks. It is important to know what is what. Each block has its own weight, this includes recipes for Cannons/Turrets, Engines, and so forth.

* *Choose Your Plot*
All plots store anything you build, thus they are in way are virtual. You can go to any, load any allotted number schemed plots in any size plot. Note: Do not build Patrol Craft size ships in Battleship size plots. Its highly frown upon.

### Class and Main Signs of Ships & Submarine

* Ship Classes
* Submarine Classes

### What You Need

A ship general needs very basic things to operate.
These are;

* Hull - While this is mandatory you need think how your shaping it. It does count!
	+ Void Spaces / Air Pockets - You need them to float!
	+ Fuel - consumed by any running Diesel Engine or Boiler. 1 block = 1 ton
* Propulsion:
	+ Engine Telegraph - To set what your speed is and tell engine room how fast you want to go.
	+ Engines (Boiler + SteamEngine or Diesel Engine) + Signs for them
	+ Smoke Stack for the Engine - Engines need to vent exhaust out of working engine. Especially boilers, which need a path to outside per magma used.
	+ Drive Shaft and Propeller - Drive shaft connect from your engine to the propeller in the back. It simulates your ship's movement.
* Sign and block equipment:
	+ Main Ship Sign (See Types/classes above) - This tells your vehicle what kind vehicle it is and gives identity (name etc)
	+ Crew Sign - You need crew or your going be not going anywhere, a Vcrew Sign is needed. They man your essential parts of your ship (Ship's Wheel, Each Engine related sign.
	+ Helm Sign - You need know how fast your ship your going, which direction your going, and what your ship's current speed setting via Engine Telegraph.
	+ Ship's Wheel - The Ship's Wheel allows you to steer your ship.

Optionally, Weapons. Yes optionally. You could be making a cargo ship, why have some weapon? While not essential for a ship to work, essential to survive.

### Things to Watch Out For

Ships on the server, like all the other vehicles are complex in comparison to simply putting a sign on what you made and go.

* **All things have weight** - Assembled Equipment, such as Engines, Turrets with Guns in them, Torpedoes etc all have WEIGHT. Too much of it, you be sinking. When a ship bobs in the water, you could end up going down.
* **Types of Ships & Submarines have block Limits** - Each ship has a size they can go only up to. Once you write whatever type you choose "BC" or "DD", this vehicle will have the limits of the choosen class applied.

## Building Your Ship

The following are suggested methods of building a ship. You can do what you want. Its assumed you have already choose what TYPE of ship your making (Patrol Craft, Destroyer, Battleship, etc). Additionally, a visual ship building guide available to help with shaping Hull (main body) of the ship; How to Build - Ship's Hull

* *Step 1 - Use a Picture as a guide*
As it was aforementioned, you should look up designs of ships your interested in. Once you choose, look up deck plans, views from the top of the ship, and from the side. It's your choice, especially if your making a historical ship or fictional ship loosely based on real one. You can try such websites, like Shipbucket

* *Step 2 - Make side view Outline of your Ship - Keel*
So good method of building a ship is make a 2D template. It's not as complicated as it sounds. Your making outline of the center of the ship. Mainly the hull. The Keel, the backbone of the ship, is the very bottom of the ship.

* *Step 3 - Make Overhead Outline of your Ship*
So you going make a shape that will basic ally what your ship will be from top down. Fly to the top of your plot and look down. Start building a image what the ship be shaped. Depending on what your building, keep in mind most of the time, ships aren't shaped like rectangles, they have stretched oval-like shape.

* *Step 4 - Plan out your engines and smoke stack*
This is critical you get this right. Engines power your ship, you need make sure they have exhaust to the outside. What is tricky you need maintain a path, especially for Boilers to vent exhaust per magma. What's this mean? If you have 3 magma blocks in side your Obsidian encased boiler, you need make sure the path of those blocks to exit the the smoke stack remains 3 blocks. Path of blocks, must be 3 wide, must not narrow. Remember you need add also a Fuel Sign (so you can tell what you need) Steam Generator is also needed for electrical power (not required but can be issue without one if ship shutdown), batteries and a battery sign to measure power. (This will be needed for sensors (radar/detector/sonar) and other equipment. How to determine how much of engines you need: The maximum speed is, in engineering terms, as fast as the engines can push. Your craft gets slowed by drag. If the engine power is the same as the drag, you have reached maximum speed. If you want to know how much engine power you need to go a certain speed, you can use this approximate formula (use of a calculator is recommended): Front area \* Speed^4.1 \* 0.0005 = Engine power, with the units being blocks, knots and Horsepowers.

* *Step 5 - Build your superstructure*
This is the name of building your placing on top of the main deck (main floor) of your ship. In this place you should build places where your Bridge will be and locations of your weapons or other items you may want above the main deck.

* *Step 6 - Weapons placement*
Once the superstructure is done, you need place your weapons (turrets, torpedo launchers, or other weapons). Adding magazines to store ammunition for your various weapons and gun powder (these areas should be protected by heavier blocks if on larger ship, these is explosive blocks). Firecontrol and weapons directors for your weapons (cannons & aa-guns as of this writing) need to be placed.

* *Step 7 - Other Equipment*
Other items needed for your ship, such as fuel locations, battery signs, setting up your bridge with the main sign, Engine Telegraph, Helm Sign, Ship's Wheel, Radio, Radar, Sonar signs

* *Step 8 - Miscellaneous items*
This essentially other equipment not vital to a ship. Such adding berthing for your crew (this maybe mandatory later for vcrew), offices, store age for Cargo Blocks (used to fix the ship or food creation).

* *Step 9 - Testing*
All vehicles need to be tested to see if all the parts are working properly; See Testing below. Essentially this is includes if the ship is too heavy. This is also to see how fast the ship can travel (if it's fast enough, fuel used up too fast etc.)

## Testing Your Ship

Ships are complicate machines, they have a lot of components that make them work properly.
Tests of a ship can be done by going to /seatrails to allow you try out your ship should it past the initial Vehicle Startup Scan.

The following will explain some basic items you need adjust.

* Basic Ship Start Up Scan
When a ship or any other vehicle is activated for the first time (in drydock or in active vehicle area) the server will scan the vehicle sign that turned on. It will check all connecting parts that makes the vehicle up and report if there problem or give stats on what you have. If there issue, it will show "Failures" and these deficiencies (errors/broken things) need to be fixed.

* Weight Test
A ship needs to be setup so they balance. If a ship is low in the water (like 1 block before maindeck is underwater) it is not ideal to have the ship this way. The black line (waterline) is ideally where you want to have your waterline. All water vehicles bob up and down in the water, so is not problem if waterline bobs above this line by 1 block. More that can be issue.

* Speed
Ships that are going too slow may not enough or wrongly set up engines or boilers. It should be noted Diesel Engines are more ideal for smaller ships (up to Destroy Escorts) vs larger ships that more ideal use steam (except submarines which should use diesel electric & motors)

* Turret issues
Turrets in the game have been formulated so they can turn. Barrels will not turn into superstructure of a ship. A turret MUST be Square in dimensions. 6 x 6 for example. 6 wide, 6 long. Odd numbers 3 wide, 4 long for example will break turret should it TURN. See Turrets for details. Typically if they are not square, the glass plains making up the barrels will disconnected once turned or the ship physically changes facings.

## Server Commands for Plots

The server has commands you can use while working in your plot.
These commands can be seen by doing /plot Help

This is a short list of these commands.

* /plot - list all active plots you are currently have open. You can have more than on. This command only works in the Dockyard area.
* /plot tp # - this commands allows you to teleport to whatever plot you have. Doing the command /tp plot without a plot number, will automatically teleport you to your currently active plot. However, more than one will require you to use a number that listed in /plot command
* /plot release # - The command saves and releases the plot your working on or whatever number you inputted. If you should enter the command without a plot number, multiplots will be saved and released.
* /plot name # - This will allow you give a numbered plot a name. Such as name of your ship for example. If not done, only number will be listed and "No Name" will be shown.
* /plot addbuilder <player name> #plot ID - This command adds new player to your plot's permission to work and be able use all commands the plot allows including World edit. If only plot is open, the id number does not need to be added.
* /plot rembuild <player name> #plot id - This command removes a player whom is working in one your plots.

## Building Gallery

Parts of Engine Room in a Steam powered Ship.1-Magma Steam Engine and the Steam Path through the Smoke Stack.Example of Bridge with Active signsExampe of a bridge signs (inactive)
## Important Links

* Master Block Link - This is the List of blocks used make ships & other equipment
* How to Build a Ship's hull by Admiral Blok!