Whirly Math Laboratory
This is a small laboratory fer conducting whirly math experiments. Ye have all the time ye need to decide which tokens to use, and ye don't have to wait fer yer sailors to generate them fer ye either! What's even better, ye don't have anybody shooting at ye while ye think.For more information see Lordkalvan's Whirlpool tutorial.
How to Use the Whirly Math Laboratory
Target Practice Games
created with NetLogo
How to Use the Whirly Math Laboratory
Set Starting Position
If ye don't care where yer sloop starts, then click Random Start and then follow the Set Tokens instructions.Set the Entrance to which side of the whirlpool ye want to start on (North, East, South, West, NE, SE, SW). If ye want yer sloop to be pointed into the whirly, set Orientation to Into. If ye want yer sloop to be next to the whirly so that a blue or gold token can get ye inside, then set Orientation to Parallel. O course, fer NE, SE, or SW ye will be on a corner.
To make the applet listen to the changes ye just made, click either the Start at Open or Start at Closed button. Ye can click these as many times as ye like.
When ye be satisfied completely with yer sloop's starting position, tis time to Set Tokens.
Changing the Heading
If ye want to try non-standard starting positions, ye can click Change heading after yer sloop is in position, so that it be pointing in a different direction. Each time this button is clicked, the sloop turns 90 degrees without changing position.Changing the Shape of the Sloop
There be three possible shapes fer yer sloop. Clicking Change shape of sloop cycles through all three shapes: sailboat, topview, and arrow.
Set Tokens
To place the tokens, click Change Tokens. As long as it shows as black (and the Go button does not show as black), ye can click in the vessel diagram the same way as ye do in sea battle. Clicking the squares cycles the tokens through none, blue (left), green (straight), gold (right). Clicking the circles cycles through none, cannonball, grapple. When ye are satisfied with yer tokens, click Change Tokens again to remove the black.Finally, click go. This starts using the tokens. Explanations of what is happening will appear in the output window.
Slowing the Action
If ye want more time to think and observe, ye can control the speed by dragging the slider bar at the top of the applet. The default is at the right (fastest). This can be done while the sloop is in motion, so ye can slow down just fer the parts that be tricky.Target Practice Games
There be three target practice games ye can play. Set the target? switch to On and then click Random start to play one of them. Tis a target, not a brigand, so it won't move and it won't shoot at ye.Bull's Eye!
In the Bull's Eye game, yer goal is to move yer sloop until it is on the same square as the target (and then stop). When this happens, the target vanishes.Grapple!
In the Grapple game, yer goal is to grapple the target. When this happens, the target changes color and yer sloop stops moving (even if it be in a whirlpool or has more token moves lined up).Fire!
In the Fire game, yer goal is to shoot the target as many times as ye like. Every time yer cannonball hits the target, flames burst out fer a short time.
Some images used in applet above were composited by Lordkalvan from screenshots taken from Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates, copyright Three Rings Design, Inc.
Please if ye spot any bugs, email otherwhen@frontiernet.net . Thankee!
The applet requires the latest JVM plug-in. It will not run on Windows 95 or Mac OS 8 or 9. Mac users must have OS X 10.2.6 or higher and use a browser that supports Java 1.4. (Safari works, IE does not. Mac OS X comes with Safari. Open Safari and set it as your default web browser under Safari/Preferences/General.) On other operating systems, you may obtain the latest Java plugin from Sun's Java site.
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