After much work, we here at BRS are proud to say that the BRS Defiant is certified and on sale in both the marketplace and in vendors sprinkled around Anty and PD.
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It was a bright and sunny early spring day as the newly launched Intrepid sat tethered to her dock, impatiently awaiting to head to sea. This was a ship that instinctively knew where it wanted and needed to go. The hull had taken up and the leaks were negligible, rigging had been run, and sails bent on. By the afternoon tide, she would be headed out to see what she and her crew were capable of. By afternoon the winds had settled, blowing well from east at a good 10 knots and the spray off of Intrepid's bow was kept to a minimum by it's sharp and clean entry. A pod of dolphins escorted us out beyond the breakwater and the sea welcomed a new ship to play in it's waves.
Intrepid has been launched and will be undergoing testing thru the end of April. Expect to see her at many battles as we dutifully look for missing details, small bugs, and gross exaggerations of a what a 10 gun should do. Hopefully all will go according to plan and this brig sized ketch will join the fleets of pirates and navies alike. The next ship in the Western style is in the rezzer. As soon as Defiant is approved, this 10 gun ship will go to Trials and Approvals. The name Intrepid has a long naval and space faring history. Dating into the far past with such famous vessels as the 1747 HMS Intrepid, a 64 gun 3rd class ship captured from the French, Another 64 gun 3rd rater launched in 1770. The USS Intrepid, a 4 gun Bomb Ketch captured from the French and used in the US Barbary wars. The HMS Intrepid of 1850 was a sloop fitted with a steam engine and a "wooden screw" for arctic expedition, She was abandoned to the ice in 1854. In 1855 another wooden screw HMS Intrepid followed. She carried six guns for fighting in the Crimean War and sold off in 1964.
Next came modern steam ships, all three in his majesty's service. The HMS Intrepid launched in 1891 was a "Protected Cruiser used to lay mines. She was sunk as a blockade in 1918. The next was a destroyer launched in 1936 and lost in 1943 to an air attack. On her heels came the Aircraft Carrier USS Intrepid, launched in 1943. After an illustrious career, is a museum ship in New York City. In 2004 the Singaporean Royal Navy launched the RSS Intrepid, a Stealth Frigate. She is still in service at this time. Not all Intrepids were used in war though. There was an America's Cup Defender with the fabled name that raced in 1963 and the Lunar Command Module of Apollo 12 was named Intrepid. Getting into the realm of Science Fiction, The United Federation of Planets have used several ships named Intrepid, including the third ship of the NX class. This was followed by a sister ship the (in)famous Constitution Class ship USS Enterprise, and of course the lead ship to the Intrepid Class that counted the USS Voyager among it's number. Intrepid has a long and storied name on ships that both sailed the seas and the stars. When launched, she will hopefully carry that tradition into deep Second Life and the battles found there. Salmacis, the sister ship to Narcissis, has been approved in both Antiquity and Pirates Destiny. This ship is a "classic" sloop in the western tradition. Six guns in their usual positions, a sturdy fore and aft rig with the bonus of a working topsail, and all the lovely features you expect from Black Rose. There dwelt a Nymph, not up for hunting or archery:
unfit for footraces. She the only Naiad not in Diana’s band. Often her sisters would say: "Pick up a javelin, or bristling quiver, and interrupt your leisure for the chase!" But she would not pick up a javelin or arrows, nor trade leisure for the chase. Instead she would bathe her beautiful limbs and tend to her hair, with her waters as a mirror. -Ovid, Metamorphoses. Salmacis is also the unseen shuttle craft in the original Alien movie. Sister ship to Narcissus, it seems apt to name this ship, sister to my own Narcissus, Salmacis as well. The BRS Salmacis is a traditional sloop designed along Northern European and Continental American lines. This makes it a fairly conventional and traditional looking ship in SPD battles. As a sloop it only has Six guns and 20 Hit Points to keep her deck above the waves. In the rigging department, She has a working topsail. This gives her a slight boost in speed when running before the wind and also allows the Narcissus to back sail at anything less than Seventy-Five degrees off of the wind. She does give up some maneuverability due to this, but her ability to sail backwards more than makes up for it. 1: As a six gun class ship, she only has 20 hit points. You need to use her speed and maneuverability when dealing with larger ships. 2: the two casks on deck are for the gunners to sit on. These will put the gunners on the sides of the ship, where they can use the SL camera controls to target their gun. 3: Thirty-Seven degrees is as close to the wind as this sloop can get. To attempt to get closer will slow the ship to a stop as she falls into Irons. 4: The Square Topsail only works over seventy-five degrees, giving this ship a slight boost in downwind sailing. Under Seventy-five degrees she falls into a different kind of irons as she slowly drifts backwards. 5. . With the new Camera system in place, your initial view will be just forward of your AVI's head. You will need to "scroll" the view your mouse to change this. The on screen Camera controls will not allow you to do this and will turn the camera up towards the rigging if you do. The ESC will reset the view back towards the bow of the ship, but will not change the distance you set it at. 6. There are two version of Salmacis in the sea-bag. The regular "full figured" ship in all her fighting glory and a "moored" version that lacks the sails and scripts. This version will look nice at the dock while not taking up precious script time or Land Impact. I am happy to provide help in how to modify the ship within the battle rules. Please just send me a notecard so I am sure to get it. ~xi larnia Head Naval Architect Black Rose Shipyard. Better all around dynamics, much lower land impact, and just as pretty as she was when first launched. Still just as hard to master as an all broadside schooner can be.
Yes, I know, how exiting. Another sloop from Black Rose Shipyards. Look at the bright side, it's a new gun configuration and the start of a new family of ships. Unlike my Mediterranean Lateens and the Asiatic Junks, this is a more traditional Northern European and American style ship. It has a how sprit, a working square sail (on a sloop no less!), a gaff mainsail, and stern guns! Wait you say? Stern Guns on a sloop? How did you fit stern guns on a ship with only 6 guns? Well, there you so is the rub. A sloop only has the ability to carry six guns, and as you can tell from the pic, it already has two bow chasers. The only way I could fit two stern chasers was to only put one gun on each side. Sloops were never meant for broadside battles anyway. Narcissus, named after the shuttle that Ripley used to escape in the move Alien, is really meant for an aggressive captain with a death wish (I might be joking here). You basically bear down on your target, fire both bow chasers, hit them with the single broadside cannon as you pass, and turn turn slightly to unload both stern cannons. They also work a treat against any captains that want to follow too closely firing their bow cannons at you. Yes, the square sail works, giving a helpful boost when running before the wind and it can be used to back the ship to ease tacking or to put yourself into a better attack position. It also looks good!
With the imminent approval of the BRS Narcissus, I felt it would be a good idea to put it in the rezzer so everyone could get a look at it. While there, the Attivo refit and BRS Ning Po were also added. No time line on when those ships will be released yet, only sometime later in 2022. BRS Narcissus BRS Attivo Refit BRS Ning Po They can be found here: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Curacao%201700/118/93/13
Just click on the anchor and scroll through all the ships we have to offer and will be offered soon Due to a small miscommunication, Lei Zi has been approved for a couple of weeks and I never knew. Most likely got lost in the holiday Shuffle. So, without Further adieu, I officially announce that this ship is now for sale and if you want a demo ship, please contact me. One half of the approval process is over. Lei Zi has been approved for battle in Antiquity, now all that remains is for Pirates Destiny to finish up their testing and decide of the ship is worthy or not.
In Chinese Mythology, Lei zi, the wife of Lei Gong (雷公), was the Goddess of Lightning, using flashing mirrors to send lightning across the sky. She is one of five gods that work together to produce storms. As a ship, Lei Zi is fast. Her slender shape slices through the water propelled by her powerful Chinese Lug rig. Like many ships used in Asia, she is shallow drafted to deal with the conditions found along the coast and up the rivers of China. To compensate she has both an (off) centre board and a rudder that drops deep beneath her hull, harnessing the waves to steer a true course. Forward, she has two bow chasers like most ships. These are then backed by six broadside guns arranged three per side. Far back on her stern are another pair of guns placed as stern chasers to discourage enemy ships from following too closely. A "Junk" style ship like most found throughout Asia at the time, she is very seaworthy with watertight compartments throughout the hull, sails that can be easily lowered and reefed (but not in game) if the wind pipes up, and a fenestrated rudder that can be lifted clear of the water for dealing with shallow harbors and intentional groundings. |
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