ShipShaper wind and waves dictate propulsion speed, heel angles, and water displacement whenever you take a vessel into world view. Developer Tomas Sala built an environmental simulation into ShipShaper: Falconeer Chronicles where ocean swells interact with hull geometry, weight distribution, and rigging profiles. Adjusting environmental dials immediately tests whether your vessel can withstand severe weather or capsize beneath surging breakers.
Understanding how ocean swells, wind angles, and buoyancy calculations interact helps you build ships that stay upright across open waters and coastal shallows.
How to Control Wind, Waves, and Weather
You can customize environmental conditions in world view using the interactive water compass located adjacent to the ship controls. This widget alters atmospheric intensity and sea state in real time:
- Click the view mode eye icon near the color wheel to enter world view.
- Locate the large compass displayed on the water surface.
- Rotate the outer arrow around the dial to change the wind and wave direction.
- Drag the outer arrow outward to stretch it, increasing wind speed and swell height.
- Click the center button on the compass to toggle a storm, adding up to 20% more wind force to the simulation.
- Drag the inner radial dial to adjust the time of day.
- Use the up and down arrows on the compass interface to adjust your vessel's location.
Storm winds generate heavier sea spray, increase wave heights, and exert greater lateral leverage against your masts and superstructures.
Wind Dynamics and Sail Mechanics
Sails in ShipShaper are functional propulsion surfaces that calculate actual canvas area, sail angle, and rigging style against local air currents. Different sail configurations react uniquely depending on how you orient your vessel relative to the wind arrow.
| Sail or Rigging Type | Ideal Wind Angle | In-Game Behavior and Furling Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Square Sails | Running downwind | Delivers peak drive downwind; automatically furls when not sailing loosely with the wind |
| Fore-and-Aft Sails (Gaffs, Jibs, Staysails) | Across the wind | Maintains propulsion across the wind; staysails require open mast stays |
| Studding Sails | Direct downwind | Provides supplemental downwind speed; furls when turning off a direct tailwind |
| Bare Poles | Any heading | Sails fully taken down; relies solely on engine power or drifts with current |
| Storm Sails | Heavy weather / Storms | Reduced canvas surface area; minimizes heel angle to prevent capsizing |
| Combat / Fighting Sails | Maneuvering / Combat | Balanced canvas configuration for tactical handling without extreme roll |
Beyond individual canvas cuts, the simulation accounts for wind shadows and aerodynamic disruption. If your vessel sails downwind of another ship's rigging, the leading ship blocks incoming air, stalling your sails until you clear its wake. Sails also visibly flutter whenever they lose airflow or while cycling through furling and unfurling transitions.
To moderate sail power during navigation, use the sailing telegraph on your screen to cycle between bare poles, storm sails, combat sails, and full sail. Sail propulsion does not combine with engine output; under full physics, whichever system produces greater horsepower takes precedence.
Ocean Swells, Ship Wakes, and Coastal Surf
Water in ShipShaper reacts dynamically to shorelines, forward motion, and hull displacement. Rather than treating the sea as a flat texture, the game calculates wave displacement and surface agitation:
- Dynamic Wakes: Vessels push a distinct bow wave and leave a V-shaped wake across the surface. Wake size scales directly with vessel speed, while stationary hulls leave calm water.
- Wave Reflections: Wakes spread outwards, collide with nearby vessels to induce rolling, and bounce back off rocky outcroppings and islands.
- Coastal Surf: Waves entering shallow waters near coastlines transform into rolling surf, kicking up shoreline splashes and increasing chop.
- Submerged Craft: When diving with submarines or sinking below the waterline, craft leave minimal wake disturbances compared to surface operations.
Water settling logic wraps waves around your hull contours rather than allowing open water textures to clip straight through closed upper decks.
Buoyancy, Keels, and Preventing Sinks in Full Physics
Ship stability changes drastically depending on whether you navigate in Easy Physics or Full Physics mode. In Easy Physics, hull clipping and excessive listing are forgiving, and your ship will not sink regardless of unbalanced superstructures. In Full Physics, mass, buoyancy, and freeboard clearance are strictly enforced.
Every placed component carries weight based on its physical dimensions. Heavy naval artillery, ironclad armor plating, boilers, and superstructures mounted high above the waterline raise the vessel's center of gravity. When tight turns or broadside storm winds heel the ship over, low decks can dip below water level. Deck flooding calculations sample the highest points across six distinct areas of the hull, ensuring that cosmetic cutouts do not trigger premature sinking while keeping lowboards vulnerable to taking on water.
To keep top-heavy designs upright in heavy seas, use the Keel Items category within the Item Library:
- Ballast Keel: Mounts dense ballast low on the keel line. This lowers the ship deeper into the water but substantially increases roll resistance against high superstructures.
- Keel Fin: Adds lateral resistance beneath the center line to suppress rolling without adding excessive hull weight.
- Twin Keels: Places dual fins along the underbelly, doubling stabilizing counter-forces for wide or multi-hull designs.
- Diving Rudders and Leeboards: Stabilize hull roll when deployed underwater, with larger and deeper placements providing stronger righting moments.
If open broadsides or low gunports are positioned too close to the waterline, they automatically seal during moderate rolls to block incoming water, though severe lists will still flood and sink an unstable vessel.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I stop my ship from rolling over during a storm?
Turn on the stabilizer or switch from Full Physics to Easy Physics if you want an unsinkable experience. To stabilize a ship under Full Physics, open the Item Library, select the Keel category, and place a ballast keel or keel fins along the centerline under the hull. Additionally, reduce sail area via the speed telegraph to storm sails or bare poles to eliminate wind heel.
Do engines and sails stack their top speed?
No. Under the game's full physics simulation, engine horsepower and sail propulsion do not add together. The game calculates the drive from both systems and propels the ship using whichever source generates the greater force.
Can waves damage or sink squadron ships?
Waves can sink allied squadron ships if Full Physics is active and their designs are top-heavy, poorly trimmed, or lack sufficient deck freeboard. In the sandbox, you can salvage sunken squadron vessels by approaching the wreck with a vessel equipped with a controllable crane.
Why do my broadside gunports close by themselves in rough seas?
Broadside gunports feature dynamic hatches that track your cursor in world view. However, if your hull rolls deeply or sits low in the water, the ports automatically shut to prevent ocean waves from washing into the hull and causing catastrophic deck flooding.
