Breakbulk Cargo Ship MV Meier Duchess
Hello World!
PLEASE READ THE FULL DESCRIPTION BEFORE COMPLAINING/ASKING QUESTIONS, CHANCES ARE YOUR COMMENTS/CONCERNS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ANSWERED!!
As I haven't figured out how to format the description like the other polished and flashy creations on the workshop you'll just have to deal with this monolithic block of text. I'll figure it out someday!
History:
Following the Allied victory in WWII the Meier Belt's trio of fast prewar cargoliners were either on the bottom of the ocean or were well-worn troopships in need of some TLC. After limping along with two ships to operate the company's US East Coast to the Caribbean routes, in 1958 the Meier Belt began to shop around for some replacement ships as their competition, notably the Moore-McCormack and the Grace Line were stealing away passengers on their flashy new cruise ships. Settling on a modified version of Hamburg-Sud's Cap San class cargoliners the Meier Belt went on to build 3 such ships in their Meier nobility class, the Meier Duchess, Meier Princess, and Meier Countess.
All would feature deep holds and massive 4 cylinder diesel engines, as well as plush if not a little cozy passenger accommodations. Their party piece was speed, in an era where most passenger ships rarely went past 20 knots, the Meier Belt's new competitors topped out at 22 knots on sea trials. The three ships were well liked by passengers and crew alike and served well into the 1970s when the three were sold in favor of two container ships built by Bethlehem Steel. Throughout the 80s the ships would bounce around different breakbulk operators as the dominant form of ocean shipping when they were built became obsolete. The once proud flagships of the Meier Belt would end their days on the ship breaking beaches in India and Turkey, closing an extravagant if not financially viable chapter in the company's history.
Operation:
The ship is deliberately simple to operate, and can very easily be run in singleplayer, as about everything can be operated from the bridge. However, to operate the ship you must start in the engine control room.
Once there you must flip the relevant breakers on the bulkhead opposite the main engine controls, they're labelled as to what they power, but for things to function correctly you MUST flip the "battery tie in" breakers, "controls" breaker, and "engine room" breaker, and the one marked "lights" wouldn't hurt either.
It should be noted that the main engine DOES NOT HAVE A GENERATOR attached to it in any way whatsoever, so the two generators are the ONLY WAY to generate electricity. Conveniently the ship doesn't drain the batteries too quickly so if you forget the Duchess can run on battery power for some time, but its necessary to have at least one of the two onboard generators operating at all times!
On the port wall of the engine control room adjacent to the ladder are the bilge and ballast controls, simple to use, the fill level of each of the four tanks is noted with a dial, the keys above it fill the tank, the ones below empty it. Its not the quickest system in the world so if you intend to roleplay a heavy load, best to empty the tanks in advance (or empty them whilst in the editor!)
On the Starboard bulkhead are the fore and aft firefighting pumps, energized by the key (needs the breaker to be on first). These bring pressurized water to red hoses in the holds in case some the cargo therein spontaneously combusts. The firefighting system for the engine room is fully automatic once the fire mains are brought up to pressure, simply turn the two valves on the ceiling and the whole room will be quickly and efficiently doused.
In terms of damage control there are welders and fire-extinguishers scattered throughout the ship, especially in critical areas, so trouble can be quickly addressed, you'll find the welders for the engine room on the aft bulkhead of the lower deck.
Now on to the Bridge
The Bridge can be accessed via two ways (a bold move for such a small superstructure don't you think) either through the passenger areas or the crew spaces. Regardless of how you get there, you'll be greeted by a radar set (the box with the big ole xml rocket protruding from it) as well as a delightful manual plotting machine found on the workshop. The radar unit is Mr. NJersey's reliable model altered with a lua code to make the screen look less 21st century, links to be found in the "Credits" section, but are relatively self-explanatory and simple to operate. On the bulkhead you'll find light controls for most of the ship, as well as a breaker and climate control so the passengers don't get too cold on the odd Arctic voyage.
looking out the windows to that graceful bow, on the upper left is your heading, below to the left is a console for the ships' bow thruster, center is the ship's nameplate and a handy nav. ball, and below the bridge windows is your current speed in knots. Behind the helm is the alcove for the Radio operator and behind him is the teensy but tasteful Captain's cabin, complete with an award winning fishe.
Because I found both automatic and manual telegraphs too finicky for my liking the ship's speed control is done via a clutch so you won't move at all till the throttle is above ~32%. Beside the "telegraph" is a key for engaging the reverse gear.
And that's about it! Please enjoy this nearly 2 year long labor of love which I think hasn't turned out that badly! Any comments/constructive criticism/complaints about broken things are appreciated, but please read through the description beforehand!
(I am fully aware of the buggy hatch covers, I don't know why they are like this, I've tried several different iterations and these are the most stable yet)
Credits:
To all the Lads and Lasses on the Stormworks Universalis' Leinburg server for prompting the creation of this ship as well as the great people over at Great Lakes Industries for supporting its development and completion!
FJWarner for creating a style of interior design/detail that is quintessentially Stormworks, your ships served as great inspiration for me!
This analog plotter: [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3019702522&searchtext=chart]https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3019702522&searchtext=chart[/url]
This Lua video modifier: [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2841993101&searchtext=TV+screen]https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2841993101&searchtext=TV+screen[/url]
This Radar: [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1899288562&searchtext=radar]https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1899288562&searchtext=radar[/url]
And lastly, please don't reupload without permission!!
