I could not resist. I spotted this a week or so ago looking for Silent Hunter III with sailing ships. I held out all I could reading and watching videos till I broke down. At least for me this is a serious gaming drug.
http://www.navalaction.com/#ageofsail
High res photos, imgur said NOPE! So I put them on drop box in a folder.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/07vh24ql8ent ... 45rfa?dl=0
Only PvE and PvP battles are running with the open world to follow. I know I will get my money's worth, even if the games fails, just from all the battles!
Ship operation has a bit of a learning curve. The cannons must be manually aimed; this often requires one cannon shot to gauge distance till you know your volley will land. There are four types of shot to inflict different damage (kill crew, destroy sails/masts, close range).
Sailing and sail manipulation with changing wind/sea conditions took a while to figure! The smaller vessels are much more forgiving but once you reach square sails you had to learn tricks to avoid getting stuck facing the wind.
I could not run the graphics on high/ultra but it is still beautiful! My first > 30 ship battle my jaw hit the floors, just awesome to behold and watch the combat.
Some other neat game features, taking on water/bailing, boarding, spotting scope...
Lastly, the combat pacing is a blessing for my terrible internet I have not had any lag!
TLDR - Very detailed sailing combat sim not recommended unless you really, really enjoy the subject or it is complete.