A Living Fleet
This update brings major improvements to combat AI, historical naval battles, and fleet tactics, based on valuable feedback from our players.
Ships will no longer simply fight to the death. Captains now make decisions based on the battle situation and their individual personalities, while fleets cooperate more realistically.
1. Combat AI & Fleet Tactics
- Individual Captain Personalities: Each captain has unique traits and decision-making tendencies, influencing whether they fight, retreat, or surrender.
- Realistic Retreats & Surrenders: Heavily damaged ships may withdraw or surrender instead of fighting until they sink.
- Surrender Demands: Ships may cease fire and demand the surrender of severely damaged enemies.
- Improved Fleet Cooperation: Allied ships now coordinate flanking attacks, provide cover, support boarding actions, and maintain battle formations.
- Organized Fleet Retreats: When the situation becomes unfavorable, some ships may form a rearguard to cover the fleet's withdrawal.
2. Historical Naval Battle Improvements
- 18 Historical Battles Reworked: Battles including Trafalgar, the Glorious First of June, and the Battle of the Nile now feature objectives reflecting their historical circumstances.
- More Diverse Victory Conditions: Victory is no longer limited to destroying enemy ships. Fleet preservation, delaying actions, and capturing enemy vessels can now determine the outcome.
- National Naval Doctrines: Captains behave differently depending on their nation's naval doctrine and historical era.
- Career & Campaign Integration: National strategies and fleet missions now influence combat AI, while significant actions taken by NPC captains are recorded.
3. Combat Balance
- Reduced fire damage and increased firefighting effectiveness to prevent excessively frequent ship losses.
- Adjusted small-arms damage to reduce unrealistic crew casualties.
- Fixed an issue where captured ships were no longer counted toward capture objectives after joining the player's side.
4. Campaign & UI Improvements
- Fixed an issue where replenishing the crew of a new ship caused previously replenished ships to lose crew again.
- Changed fleet movement routes on the world map to crimson lines for better visibility.
- Improved fleet information displays and supply cards in the open world.
- Improved the readability of world map reports and decision records.
- Command buttons now automatically expand into a second row when necessary.
- Expanded the tutorial to better explain gunport opening and firing mechanics.
- Improved Admiralty supply order routing to prevent assignments to shipyards that cannot be reached within the required time.
5. Graphics & Content
- Main Menu Overhaul: Added a new title logo and a real-time cinematic background featuring HMS Victory.
- Improved hull materials and visual details for ironclads and steel-hulled ships.
- Corrected inappropriate deck crew placement on certain ship types.
The main goal of this update is to move beyond naval battles focused solely on destroying enemy ships and create a more authentic experience where captains make independent decisions, fleets cooperate, and every battle has a meaningful objective.
Thank you to everyone who continues to share feedback, suggestions, and bug reports. Your support helps make Ship of the Line better with every update!