The first individual to board the Merlin-class cutter airship becomes pilot unless they explicitly sit at another station, such as a gun or the aft bench.
Starting Up
- While standing at the ship’s wheel, say MERLIN to show the menu.
- Click “Get HUD” to get the control HUD attachment.
- Start the ship’s engine in one of these ways:
Click the “E” button on the HUD, or
Say START in chat.
You are now ready to fly.
Adjusting Your Sit Position
While at the ship’s wheel, click it to open the sit adjustment menu.
Controlling Altitude
You can control altitude using the knobs on the bottom of the Merlin control HUD. These knobs indicate the desired change in altitude, ranging from the lowest on the left to highest on the right. The centre knob maintains the present altitude. So for example, if you want to descend, click a knob to the left of centre.
Your present altitude is indicated on the control HUD.
Alternatively, you may use your keyboard:
- Holding [Page Up] or [E] will make the airship rise gradually.
- Holding [Page Down] or [C] will make the airship sink gradually.
You can also use the UP and DOWN chat commands (see the section on chat commands).
Controlling Speed
You can control speed using your keyboard:
- Press the up-arrow or [W] to increase the throttle by one setting.
- Press the down-arrow or [S] to decrease the throttle by one setting.
The current throttle setting is indicated on the control HUD by the dial on the right.
Steering
You can steer the airship provided it has forward or backward speed.
- Press the left-arrow or [A] to turn left.
- Press the right-arrow or [D] to turn right.
Shutting Down
To end your flight, click the “E” button on the control HUD or say STOP in chat. Your airship will shut down the boiler, lock the propeller, and anchor itself in place.
Using the Control Panel HUD
The Merlin-class cutter airship includes a control and instrumentation attachment called a “HUD”. You use the HUD to control your airship and to get information such as altitude and throttle.
To get the control HUD, say MERLIN to open the menu, then click “Get HUD”.
Issuing Commands in Chat
The following is a list of commands that may be issued in chat to which your Merlin-class cutter airship will respond. Commands (shown here in upper case) may be chatted in either upper or lower case.
Basic Commands
MERLIN
Say this to open a menu of configuration options.
HELP
Say this to see this instructional text.
START
Say this to start the airship’s engine and ready the craft for flight.
STOP
Say this to stop the airship’s engine and anchor the craft in place.
LOCK <OWNER | GROUP | ANYONE>
Say this to control who may pilot your airship in your absence: only you (owner), only individuals whose active group matches the airship (group), or anyone. For example, to prevent anyone other than you from piloting, say, “LOCK OWNER”.
EJECT
Say this to eject all avatars from the airship. The airship vanishes in approximately thirty seconds after ejection.
T
Say this to drop a torpedo. (See the section on combat for correct torpedo use.)
Flight Commands
UP <# of meters>
Say this to ascend to the number of meters that you specify above your present altitude. For example, say, “UP 25″ to ascend twenty-five meters. Nota bene: Maximum altitude is 4096 meters, above which your airship will simply vanish into the aether. Scientists are still exploring the reason for this phenomenon. Reports of crew vanishing cannot be substantiated, but caution is advised.
DOWN <# of meters>
Say this to descend to the number of meters that you specify below your present altitude. For example, say, “DOWN 25″ to descend twenty-five meters. Nota bene: Minimum altitude is determined by the ground or another solid object.
LAND
Say this to descend until you encounter either the ground or another solid surface, such as a landing platform, a rooftop, or somebody’s head.
Autopiloted Tour Commands
AP START
Say this to initiate the autopilot. The airship will read all waypoints from its notecard and attempt to follow the specified route. (See the section on tours for more information.)
AP STOP
Say this to cancel an autopiloted tour that may already be in progress and take manual control. (See the section on tours for more information.)
WP
Say this to make the airship say it’s present position in the form of an autopilot waypoint. You can copy this text from chat, verbatim, if you are building an autopiloted tour route. (See the section on tours for more information.)
