Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The MSS Auriga is complete


We currently have to wait for the latest build of ICS2 in order to get out our three attack subs as they require a specialized type of explosive script not yet released, but in the meantime we worked on our exploratory model. The MSS Auriga does not have any weapons systems equipped, however you can stuff three of your friends in and take a tour of the deep blue. It is sold at our shop in Cape Wrath as well as SL Exchange

After all that we will either work on our Vengador battle cannon or the next three ironclads(casemates).

Thursday, August 21, 2008

(repost) Three New Steampunk(ish) Submarines

The Reek of Cordite, the Crash of Steel.. again

As the historic record in this journal would indicate, I have been playing around with ironclads and in world nautical combat for well over a year now. During that time, I've come to know the good gentlemen at Murkami Steamworks quite well, and always am happy to do a little beta testing for their new releases. I often bug them about the latest and greatest-- and shamelessly pester them to get cracking on more proper historical hulls. Recently they astounded me by taking ironclad combat firmly into a new dimension, under water. The HUNLEY had always been part of the lineup, that is certain-- but as a historical design she had to sail up close to her target to release the deadly spar torpedo attack. Often, this results in the Hunley going down with the target ship.


Fiskdale, Holland, Sturbridge

The recent release of THREE new hulls takes Murakami Steamworks in a direction both old and new... old, in that the three new hulls are the second generation STURBRRIDGE, HOLLAND and FISKDALE (the original three ships of Murakami Steamworks). New, in that these submarines will each feature a "stand-off" style weapon-- either a ship's gun, a mine dropper, or a torpedo attack. All of these hull designs could conceivable change the face of ICS combat. Imagine steaming into a minefield that wasn't there three minutes ago. Or being struck by a torpedo from a submarine firing from half a sim away. Or having a submarine rise up from the depths behind you, on your blind side, and fire into a vulnerable spot on your hull. Yes, these new hulls operate in a manner quite akin to a WWI level submarine rather than the ACW technology of David or Hunley.


Old Hull namesakes and New submarines

These steampunk subs should be on the market as you read this.. how they will effect battles remains to be seen.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The new ships are rolling out

The third generation of ships have arrived. We now have three new ironclads for sale and they improve greatly on previous designs. The MSS Tyrann, MSS Kotetsu and MSS Lavanco can all be purchased at our shop as well as SL Exchange. These ships and the ones that follow will not be of historical design. We found that can be a bit limiting in terms of creativity, although in the future after we get a good number of 3rd gen ships released we may go back and remake some of our historical models.

So now with all the groundwork out of the way, ships will take far less time to complete. In fact we have already started on the next batch of ships. The MSS Holland, MSS Fiskdale, and MSS Sturbridge (we seem to always release our ships in sets of 3...not sure why that is). These will be submarines that will be armed with torpedo launchers as well as a unique secondary weapon. The MSS Holland will have a pair of machine guns that can be utilized against ships and aircraft. The MSS Fiskdale will have a set of depth charges that it can deploy, great for ambushing both surface vessels and submersibles. The MSS Sturbridge will have a large dorsal cannon it can use when it surfaces.


Here are some pre-textured designs of the MSS Holland and MSS Sturbridge.