We only have one type of sail plan in the game: Square sails. But what if there were more?
With this question in mind, I have created concepts for all sail plans I could find that would work within the game.
They are ordered starting with the most conventional sails and ending with more outlandish designs.
Square Sail
This is the only sail plan we have in the game right now. (Or more accurately, my very simplified recreation of it.)
Studsail
It’s a square sail with more sails next to the sails. The sails on the side are called studsails. This sail plan is very similar to the square sails, it is just a bit wider.
Junk Sail
There is one potential problem with junk sails; They don’t unfurl like square sails. With a square sail, you drop the sail from the top down to unfurl it. With a junk sail, you hoist the sail from the bottom up to unfurl it. A junk sail would always obstruct your view, regardless of how unfurled it is.
Lateen Sail V1
All masts carry lateen-sails, turning the brigantine into a caravell and the galleon into a xebec. The masts seem to tall with this sail plan. And there is another problem when it comes to ropes. As the sail rotates to switch sides, the lower corner flips from one side to the other. At this point, a rope attached to this corner would clip through the mast.
Lateen Sail V2
Mostly a square sail, with only the lowest sail of the aftmost mast replaced with a lateen sail. This turns the brigantine into a bilander and the galleon into a... well... more realistic galleon? This hints towards a problem with this sail plan; It is somewhat inconsistent with the rest of the game, because real galleons carry a lateen by default.
Staysail
It’s square sails with extra sails between the masts. The sails between two masts are called staysails, the sails between the foremost mast and the bow are called jibs. This sail plan has the same problem as the Lateen Sail V2 – real galleons, brigantines or sloops carry jibs and staysails by default.
Crabclaw Sail
These sails were used by many Austronesian cultures. They were definitely around during the age of piracy (and long before), but were almost exclusively used on multihull vessels like catamarans and outrigger boats. I don’t see this as a problem though, as Sea of Thieves isn’t overly concerned with realism anyways. And you can raise the same criticism towards the junk and lateen sail v1 too. One major advantage of this sail plan over square sails is that it barely obstructs the view from the helm.
Ljungström Sail
The biggest problems with this sail plan are:
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Without a yard, it is hard to read how much it is turned.
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It wasn’t invented until the 20th century and only ever used on small yachts with a single mast.
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With the sail wrapping around the ship, it obstructs the view a lot.
More Sails?
These are all sails I could find that met my restrictions. These restrictions are:
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They use the same mechanics. The default position catches wind that comes directly from behind and the sail can be turned ~90° to either side. (This restriction rules out many fore-and-aft-rigged sails like Bermudas and Gaffs.)
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The arrangement and height of the masts remains unchanged.
If you know of any other sails that could work too, please tell me.
How they could work
I imagine these sail plans as being purely cosmetic. There would be no changes in speed, turning or handling and they would work just like the regular square rig. The only differences would be in visibility and hitbox.
These sails would have their own cosmetic variants. This is due to two reasons.
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Designs that work for one sail might not work for another.
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There are over 150 different sails in the game. Recreating all of them for new sail plans isn’t practical.
Conclusion
What do you think of these sails? And which one is your favorite?
My favorite is the lateen sail v1, followed by the junk sail. But the easiest to implement would definitely be the studsail.
Thank you for your time. I am looking forward to your feedback.