The Daily Update at the Com

[TinCow]

For something to concern you about this game aussiegiant, deeply concerns me, I haven't played empire since they did the july 10 patch, but if it is indeed that bad I may have to install a realism mod aswell! which would be a first time for me as I like trying to get a close to original experience as possible, but yes, I thought the heavier cannons fired or could at the very least fire further than lighter ones, because the more gunpowder you put in the lighter cannons the bigger chance of them exploding? I have absolutely no idea, not a history or gun buff

With the exception of carronades (which are already included in the game), in general the bigger guns got, the farther they shot. The same improvement held true for ships as well: the larger they were, the better they were in all areas. Larger ships could hold more sails, which resulted in higher top speeds. Larger ships could hold more guns and larger guns, which resulted in more firepower and longer ranges than smaller ships. Finally, larger ships were more stable platforms due to their size, which gave them better accuracy than smaller ships.

There are, of course, many exceptions to the above due to changes in ship designs over the years. Ships only increased in speed as they got larger if they expanded lengthwise. If they got wider and (especially) taller, the increase in size could result in a drop in speed. In addition, the type of guns mattered dramatically, not just their numbers. Instead of explaining this myself, I will quote N. A. M. Rodger's The Command of the Ocean, p. 417:

In the case of frigates, however, the number of guns is not a good measure, partly because it included the light guns on quarterdeck and forecastle which could could easily be changed, but mainly because it concealed the most important factor, the calibre of the main battery. Though a thirty-two does not sound much more powerful than a twenty-eight, the twenty-eights had a 9-pounder main armament and the thirty-twos, 12-pounders, giving a broadside 50 per cent heavier. These ships in turn were followed in the American War by the first 18-pounder frigates, rated as thirty-sixes or thirty-eights, but with more than double the broadside of the twenty-eights. It is therefore most useful to refer to frigates, as many contemporaries did, by their main battery calibre, and especially to distinguish the 18-pounder 'heavy frigates' from their predecessors.

The point of all this is simply that CA have taken what was truly a very interesting system of naval warfare in which technological innovation played a massive role in the power of ships, and they have turned it into an arcade system with no basis whatsoever in reality. While often this can be accepted as a sacrifice to gameplay, in this situation the actual historical reality would provide far more interesting and satisfying gameplay if it was followed accurately. For instance, the French tended to build ships out of greener and lighter wood, which resulted in tight ships that were very fast, often faster than their British counterparts. However, the unseasoned wood was not as durable and thus did not stand up as well in battle and the ships had far shorter working lives. Indian shipyards had access to rare, extremely dense woods like ebony, which were expensive but could take far more punishment in a battle and were also nearly impervious to rotting. Stuff like that is perfect fodder for making factions different and unique, and making naval warfare interesting... and it's been completely ignored.

The whole idea of building up to 1st rates is absurd. Naval fleets had main battle ships, frigates, and smaller ships throughout the entire period covered by the game. The improvements came about through advancements in naval architecture, gun design, provisioning, etc. A 1st rate from 1700 would have been shot to kindling by a frigate from 1799, and it had nothing to do with the simple number of guns on board.