Virtual Skipper

GinTonyx · mousse Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 5

Hello Forum,

I am new here, but I've been sailing VSK4 for about 3 months.

A few days aga I had an interesting incident with a match-race map I did myself racing against an online opponent.

On the last tack windward to the finish line I was in front on port bow, sailing hard toward the wind, some length away from the lay - line. My opponent was following on the same course. Then he tacked to starboard, and he tacked very far away. He was almost going the opposite direction I was going. Then he tacked again and from what I saw he sailed directly into the wind. I thought something like "that's a bad idea". But it turned out to be a great idea: he was not loosing any speed! He was sailing straight into the wind, and of course the finish line. Then I thought, heck, a shift. So I tacked myself and managed to almost reach his stern. The wind I had then was still the same I had when he tacked the first time. I could not believe it. So I taked again and took the same course he was going: straight into the wind. I was quickly loosing speed but he kept going on the same course with flopping fock. I could only regain speed by backing off and letting him go.

I asked my opponent how he was doing this and he replied something like "what? Im not sailing into the wind ".

Have you ever seen something like this? How can this be?

- A bug?
- A cheat?
- A very local shift?

I double-checked the map. The wind vectors are all very parallel throughout the entire course.

Please tell me what you think... Even if I am stupid or something, I can deal with that. But I cannot deal with someone straight sailing into the wind!

-Gin

andynz · Posted: 01 Aug 2007 21:56 Post subject:

Yes it has been seen in VSK4 multiplayer where one boat has a different wind to the rest of the fleet.

It is a bug that I have not seen reoccur in VSK5.

UlteriorModem · Capitaine Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 153

Wait a minute...

You can 'see' wind vectors on the map ?

GinTonyx · mousse Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 5

I can see the wind vectors in the map editor. I could even change them there...

andynz · Posted: 02 Aug 2007 22:20 Post subject:

Witch Doctor · Capitaine Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 168 Location: USA

You could see the wind direction arrows in the editor in VSK4. You could only edit the individual arrows in tropical or nordic maps, though.
_________________
We have enough youth. What we need is a fountain of smart!

Steve Jobs · mousse Joined: 15 Dec 2011 Posts: 2

I think its a bug.I have never seen in VSK5. but in VSK4 there is option to edit directions..

ArchieP · Guest

Someone else said that sailboats can actually sail faster than the wind. There are a few steps between here and the final mystery, so lets start with a simpler situation. The shape of the boat makes it very easy to go in the forward or backwards direction, but very difficult to go sideways. Thus as long as the wind is more or less in the Easy direction, and the sail is perpendicular to it, the wind will "push" us along. The very first sailboats used what is called "square rigging" which means the sail was a square sheet that was always "pushed" along by the wind. As long as the wind was blowing in the direction that you wanted to travel in, you were home free, but if you wind changed directions, you had few options other than to let down your sail and wait.

neaegnatia · mousse Joined: 26 May 2013 Posts: 1

i think it is clearly a cheat:)