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<div style="padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 5em; padding-right: 10em; text-align: left; color: gray; ">"Every successful video game is eventually reduced to an acronym in the popular lexicon."</div>
<div style="padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 5em; padding-right: 10em; text-align: left; color: gray; ">"Every successful video game is eventually reduced to an acronym in the popular lexicon."</div>
<div style="padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 10em; padding-right: 10em; text-align: right; color: gray; ">—Tony Lovell</div>
<div style="padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 10em; padding-right: 10em; text-align: right; color: gray; ">—Tony Lovell</div>
[[File:WTF_SearchlightNov2020.jpg|thumb|right|600px|A destroyer is caught in a searchlight]]
'''With the Fleet''' is a first-person WW1 naval simulation.  It is very social, very realistic and quite literal:


<video id="z6JRQauZvis" height="373" width="640" desc="Demo, August 2016" frame="true"/>
* No orbiting cameras &ndash; players use their eyeballs
'''With the Fleet''' will be a massively-multiplayer naval simulation with a first-person perspective set in the period 1890-1925.  It is under active development and is currently in a prototype form that is intermittently demonstrable.
* No typing chat &ndash; players talk to each other
 
* No ships devoid of humanity &ndash; dozens of AI- and player-sailors work together on each ship
'''I would like to collaborate with talented 3D artists who are familiar with Unity3D.'''
* No HUDs or GUI busyboxes &ndash; players manipulate the 3D equipment of their ship in the most literal way that is still pragmatic


==What is the Status?==
==What is the Status?==
Recent Windows and MacOS playtests demonstrate multiple player- and AI-actuated sailors walking the deck of a destroyer, using the equipment on board and conversing via VOIP and speech recognition.  Development continues toward creating a global game continuously running and able to support large battles with multiple players aboard each ship.


I have modeled an ''Acheron''-class destroyer and demonstrated VOIP, speech recognition, and networked play on an architecture that should permit large scale battles.  It is coded in C# on Unity3D, which permits solid end-user builds on Windows and MacOS.  The 4-in gun and 21-in torpedoes are functional.
Anyone who feels they might be able to contribute artwork, coding, or other expertise are welcome to inquire to join a playtest.


My immediate goal is to make the destroyer more richly functional, and to demonstrate the basic gameplay premise more fully so that I can use the app to seek funding to complete a first edition software title.  I have done a lot, but have much more ground to cover.
==Design Principles==
<video id="3mVpFVNef78" height="373" width="640" desc="Demo, August 2020" frame="true"/>
'''With the Fleet''' will be a massively-multiplayer naval simulation with a first-person perspective set in the period 1890-1925.  It is under active development and is currently in a demonstrable prototype form.


==The Minutiae:  Design Principles==
My design tenets repudiate those of pretty much every other naval game.
These are my general beliefs.  Many are flexible, but they guide my decision-making.


* Ideally, a ship could operate entirely under AI crew control.  It is more realistic to expect that a few player officers could command a ship with a largely AI crew.
* each player is a sailor, not a ship
* Ideally, formations of ships should be able to steam in proper formation.  Victory should belong to those players who do not allow their force to devolve into a naval demolition derby.
* you have a role &ndash; some players command others
* While a game cannot eliminate out-of-band communication, communication between ships will take the form of signal hoists, wireless telegraphy, flashing lamp, semaphore, etc
* you see from your sailor's eyes, not from a voyeuristic ship-orbiting camera
* Every essential "sinew" shipboard role will have AI sailors on hand to undertake them, as these skeleton crews enable continuous gameplay.  Players will be able to take over such duties.
* there will no neon "HUDs" overlaying the screen
* Ships which find they need more players, as when they have sighted the enemy, will be able to sound "Action Stations", which will result in mobile text messages and app notifications to alert suitable players to log in, rolling out of their hammocks to enrich the player density
* you will feel like you belong to a "band of brothers"
* The interface will have little in the way of HUD (neon screen overlays), with some exceptions.  Name tags may help identify other sailors.  Players should know which ship they are on, what its heading is, and what time of day it is.  Other ships that are proximate and well-known to the player might also be tagged.  Players may have some indication of their general locale, e.g.: "the North Sea", "Portsmouth"
* you will learn something
* Aboard ship, there will be no visible cursor or pipper.  A keypress will reveal it.
* the pace will be slow &ndash; the action will be momentous
* There should not be GUI busyboxes for things that can be implemented via literal simulation.
* submarines and aircraft are ancillary to the real fun
* You will be heard by those who would hear you if you spoke in the simulated context.  There will be no magic chat channels.
* You see from your own eyes.  Gameplay should not prominently feature ship-orbiting cameras.
* You will know only what a person in your place should know.  Reasonable constructs will exist to support players who have just logged in:  how many players are on board their ship?  Is their ship presently in a formation, or in contact with enemy/unknown vessels?  Is it at action stations?
* Your ship should only have the fuel and ammunition it should have.  There should be no spam attacks of torpedos.
* Players will not be equal.  They will choose from distinct roles available to them.
* Players will be incentivized to save their ship rather than to sink enemy ships.
* Players with seniority in a ship or formation should have controls to prevent other players from squandering their forces.  They should be able to delegate their authority to other trusted players.
* Players will come to generally know their shipmates well.  Ship commanders will regard their peers as a "band of brothers".
* Submarines are not a design priority
* Aircraft are not a design priority


==See Also==
==See Also==
{{refbegin}}
{{refbegin}}
* [[Sim:WTF/Player_Client|Cheat sheet for playtesting]]
* [[Sim:WTF/Blog|Developer's Blog]]
* [[Sim:WTF/Blog|Developer's Blog]]
* [[Sim:FAI|Videos of Fleet Action Imminent]], the "prequel"
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3UIaMpy31AFn8H1z4IDXMEsY1oYhyiYw Youtube Playlist of Development videos]
* [https://join.slack.com/t/navalsimsonunity/shared_invite/enQtNTIzODY1MTM3MDYwLWJlYjg5NDA1MWI5MTI2YmQzOTA4OTllNjkwNmU4ZDgwMjM0Yjg1ZDY4NjU5NTMyMjVmYWZiZDk3YjA1N2M3MGY Slack for people developing Naval sims on Unity3D]
* [[Sim:FAI|Videos of Fleet Action Imminent]], the single-player "prequel", which was broader in scope
<!--* [https://join.slack.com/t/navalsimsonunity/shared_invite/enQtNTIzODY1MTM3MDYwLWJlYjg5NDA1MWI5MTI2YmQzOTA4OTllNjkwNmU4ZDgwMjM0Yjg1ZDY4NjU5NTMyMjVmYWZiZDk3YjA1N2M3MGY Slack for people developing Naval sims on Unity3D] -->
{{refend}}
{{refend}}

Latest revision as of 18:01, 17 November 2022

"Every successful video game is eventually reduced to an acronym in the popular lexicon."
—Tony Lovell
A destroyer is caught in a searchlight

With the Fleet is a first-person WW1 naval simulation. It is very social, very realistic and quite literal:

  • No orbiting cameras – players use their eyeballs
  • No typing chat – players talk to each other
  • No ships devoid of humanity – dozens of AI- and player-sailors work together on each ship
  • No HUDs or GUI busyboxes – players manipulate the 3D equipment of their ship in the most literal way that is still pragmatic

What is the Status?

Recent Windows and MacOS playtests demonstrate multiple player- and AI-actuated sailors walking the deck of a destroyer, using the equipment on board and conversing via VOIP and speech recognition. Development continues toward creating a global game continuously running and able to support large battles with multiple players aboard each ship.

Anyone who feels they might be able to contribute artwork, coding, or other expertise are welcome to inquire to join a playtest.

Design Principles

<video id="3mVpFVNef78" height="373" width="640" desc="Demo, August 2020" frame="true"/> With the Fleet will be a massively-multiplayer naval simulation with a first-person perspective set in the period 1890-1925. It is under active development and is currently in a demonstrable prototype form.

My design tenets repudiate those of pretty much every other naval game.

  • each player is a sailor, not a ship
  • you have a role – some players command others
  • you see from your sailor's eyes, not from a voyeuristic ship-orbiting camera
  • there will no neon "HUDs" overlaying the screen
  • you will feel like you belong to a "band of brothers"
  • you will learn something
  • the pace will be slow – the action will be momentous
  • submarines and aircraft are ancillary to the real fun

See Also

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