Ship of the Line · published · build 26288774
# Ship of the Line – Update Notes
This update introduces the **1793 Siege of Toulon**, improved sailing physics, persistent historical consequences in Career Mode, expanded ground combat, new visual effects, and important stability and performance fixes.
## New Historical Scenario: Toulon 1793
Experience the dramatic night assault on Toulon during the French Revolutionary Wars.
- **Fight for Fort Mulgrave:** Lead French Republican forces against British, Spanish, and Neapolitan defenders in a large-scale land and naval operation.
- **Capture the Arsenal:** Seize the harbour and recover French warships before Allied forces destroy them.
- **Choose Your Side:** Defend the fortifications and evacuate the fleet as the Allies, or reclaim Toulon as the Republic.
- **Historical Battlefield:** Reconstructed coastal terrain, forts, artillery batteries, harbour facilities, and the town of Toulon.
- **Dynamic Objectives:** Capture and defend strategic flags while the fate of 26 French warships hangs in the balance.
## Improved Sailing Physics
- Sailing ships no longer rotate unnaturally while nearly stationary.
- Turning now depends on rudder effectiveness, water flow, wind, and sail forces.
- Stationary sailing ships now drift with the wind.
- Improved tacking behavior and AI navigation against the wind.
- Career battles now use regional and seasonal historical wind patterns.
## Career Mode Improvements
- **Persistent History:** Ships sunk or captured in battle remain lost in the Career world, changing the composition of future historical battles.
- Historical battles may be altered or canceled if participating nations no longer have enough ships.
- Fixed historical battles appearing multiple times or being available when the player cannot participate.
- Enemy nations now pursue captains based on recent hostile actions rather than sending their entire main fleet.
- Nearby friendly and allied naval squadrons can now respond when a captain is being hunted. Support depends on rank.
- Corrected historical ship ratings across sailing ship classes.
- Improved recovery when a captain loses all available ships.
## Ground Combat and Battle Improvements
- Fort flags can now be captured and recaptured, with control shown on the minimap.
- Fort artillery can engage both ground troops and ships.
- Improved infantry melee combat, including numerical superiority and flanking.
- Troop visibility now responds to nighttime conditions, moonlight, rain, fog, and storms.
- Gunfire can reveal troop positions at night.
- Improved nighttime lighting across terrain, troops, and fortifications.
- Fixed allied naval forces accidentally targeting friendly ground troops.
## Gunnery and Visual Effects
- Chain shot and grape shot now have distinct visible projectiles and flight behavior.
- Magazine explosions on turret-equipped ships can now throw turrets into the air.
- Ship windows glow with warm interior lighting at night.
- Improved ship flags and distant ship appearance.
- Fixed damaged broadside guns not being destroyed properly.
- Improved ship separation in crowded waters.
## Campaign Improvements
- Shipyards can now construct larger hulls as their facilities are upgraded.
- Improved early American shipbuilding availability, including frigates at Boston and Philadelphia.
- Fixed AI fleets remaining anchored indefinitely.
## Important Bug Fixes
- **Fixed ships instantly sinking after the game was paused or minimized.**
- **Fixed custom battles failing to start with certain ship names.**
- Fixed several port loading and visual issues.
- Fixed a brief stutter when a ship was hit for the first time.
- Improved stability during large battles.
## Crash Reporting and Performance
- Added a new crash screen with clearer, localized error information.
- Players can choose whether to send a crash report and restart. Reports are only sent with permission.
- Improved rendering performance in large naval and ground battles.
- Reduced graphics memory usage for ground units.
- Optimized flags, ship details, and stationary vessels.
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**Thank you for your continued support and bug reports!**
Several important fixes in this update, including the instant-sinking issue and custom battle startup errors, came directly from your reports.
Your feedback continues to help shape Ship of the Line! :)