MANUAL AGE OF PIRATES 2

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Table of Contents System Requirements Known conflicts with other programs

Gameplay Tips Main Menu

New Game Hero types Select a nation Game options Customizing hero parameters

Profiles and saved games Profiles Load Game Save Game

Settings

Escape menu

Main game interfaces Characters P.I.R.A.T.E.S. RPG system Skills Personal Skills Ship Skills Other character parameters Abilities Passengers Officers

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Your ship and her shape

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Ship’s parameters Crew Companions Appointing a captain Exchange between ships Transferring cargo Changing captains Swapping ships Transferring the crew Cargo in hold On-board guns Repairs

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At sea At the shipyard The Quest Book Logbook Completed Quests

Relations

Nation relations matrix Bounty or merit Flag on the ship Trade Goods and prices Selling contraband

Equipment and items

Main character’s equipment Viewing maps Treasure maps

Living in the city Residence

Distinguishing governors and overnors-general Career

Brothel Church

Donations. Increasing reputation Improving health Port Control Leave ship Retrieve the ship

Fort and prison Tavern

Recruiting a crew Hiring officers Brawls and duels Renting a room The smuggler The freelancer The diplomat Reconciliation

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Shop

Trading licenses The privateer license Ransom for the city

Buying, selling goods Street dealers Buying, selling items

Moneylenders Shipyard

Buying and selling ships Price difference Repairs

Dungeons, caves, grottoes Search for treasures The undead

Game modes Land mode

Quick travel Combat system Life Health Energy Enemy life and energy Pistol rounds Attack types Assigning strike controls Looting corpses Stealthy movement Bounty hunters

Sea mode Ship status Mini-map Spyglass

Quick commands Managing your squadron

Sea battles

Ammo and gunpowder Targeting Damage to cannons Forfeiting battle – leaving ships behind


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Grappling Take the captured ship Let the surrendered ship go Stealthy sailing – remaining undetected Cabin and moving on the ship Chests for holding personal items Rest until morning or night Hiring slaves into the crew Managing officers Captives in the hold Send out a rowboat Learn goods prices Trading Play cards or dice Demand a “toll” Global map mode Encounters with enemy ships Encounters with peaceful ships

Storms

Bounty hunters

Capturing cities

Destruction of the fort and battle in the city Land assault Looting the city Raise a nation’s flag Raise a pirate flag above the city Appoint a deputy Remove a deputy Collect taxes Sieges and retaking the city Pay ransom for your city Transfer control of your city to the governor-general

Default controls Credits Limited warranty

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System Requirements To successfully run the game, your computer needs to meet the following requirements: • Operating system: Win XP/VISTA • DirectX: DirectX 9.0c or higher • CPU: Intel Pentium IV 1.5 GHz or Athlon equivalent • RAM: 256MB (1024 for Vista) • DVD-ROM: DVD Drive • Free HDD space: 8.5 GB Hard drive space available • Sound card: DirectSound compatible Soundcard • Graphics card: DX9 Graphics card, GeForce 4 or equivalent with 64 MB Ram

Known conflicts with other programs • QIP: Quiet Internet Pager – May somewhat slow the system down while receiving messages. If message popups are turned on (they aren’t by default), then on receipt of messages, the game crashes, whether in fullscreen or windowed mode. • Punto Switcher – Clicks, when pressing certain keys; crashes possible. Fixed by adding the game into the exception list, through Options/Applications. • Kaspersky Antivirus 5.0 – May run slowly with active file checking mode on; no crashes. • Kaspersky Antivirus 6.0 – May briefly slow down with active file checking on; no crashes. You can pause the program whilst you play: Preferences/file/ antivirus/preferences/additional/ pause tasks when launching application.

Gameplay Tips (Quick Reference) • Hire Officers as quickly as you can (you can find Officers who are looking for work in the Tavern in every town, just talk to them and they will offer their services) • When ashore be sure to have some Fighters with you (you can assign Officers to the role of Fighters, and then reassign them to ship duties once you board your ship, use the [F2] Ship menu to do this) • Hire regular crew members for your ship from the Tavern owner (talk to him and he will offer a crew for hire) • Ensure you have enough money to pay the crew wages • Before leaving port be sure that you have sufficient Food, Weapons and Medicine for the journey

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• Assign an Officer to be a Navigator and a Cannoneer on your ship (and then fill up the remaining roles as soon as you can) • Do not buy a ship in a Class that is beyond your Navigation Skill (in the [F2] Character menu right-click on the “Navigation” skill to see more information) • When you are offered a quest you should think about it long and hard before accepting or rejecting it, some quests will only be offered once, and other quests have grave penalties should you fail them) • When engaged in a Naval Battle against superior forces it is often better to flee than to try to fight • When engaged in a Naval Battle you can use the [R] key to speed up time, and then use the [+] key to speed up time up to a value of 6 times normal speed

Main Menu The main menu offers the following selections: • New Game – Starts a game from the beginning. • Load Game – Loads a previously saved game. • Options – Video, audio, and control settings. • Credits – A list of developers of the game, and those who took part in its creation. • Exit – Exit the game.

New Game


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To begin a new game, select a hero from the list.

Hero types • Adventurer • Corsair • Merchant

Select a Nation This defines your starting city, and the way other nations will tend to treat the player.

Game Options • Enter profile name – The name under which saved games will be stored. • Difficulty – Varies from “Sailor” to “Impossible”; ten levels in total, with “Captain” as the median. This affects the pace of your hero’s development, enemy strength, profit, and many other things. • Enemy Encounters – Changes the frequency of potential battles, especially the number of ships on the world map. • Auto reload pistols – In this mode, pistols are automatically reloaded during combat. Otherwise, you need to sheath your saber first. This mode affects all characters in the game. • Hardcore game – Not pumping enough adrenaline? Do you want to feel the full weight of your actions, like a real corsair? In this mode, you can only save the game on sanctified ground – that is, in churches. This mode requires some hard decisions, as you won’t be able to fall back on constant reloading. • Sea Battles – You can choose between “Dynamic battles” (fast speed, maneuvering, and cannon reload times) and “Tactical battles” (for the more contemplative player).

Customizing hero parameters After starting the game, the dialog on the deck will let you view and modify your hero’s status.

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Clicking the arrows will let you fine-tune your Capabilities, to build your own unique hero type. Your other skills and experience thresholds will automatically change, according to new PIRATES values. (See “PIRATES RPG system” section).

Profiles and saved games Profiles Each time you start a new game, you need to enter a new user profile, under which your saved games will be stored. Profiles allow several people to hold their saved games independently from each other. The profiles also keep track of game options.


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Load Game To load a game, select “Load Game” from the main menu or [Esc] menu. (See “Escape Menu” section for more details.) You will see the profile selection screen.

• Load Profile – Load selected profile. • Delete – Delete selected profile. • Exit – Back to the previous menu. After the profile loads, the save/load screen should appear. There’s no limit to your save slots, so go nuts if you like. Use the scroll bar to the right, to see all your games. The lower part of the screen shows which officers are in play, in the selected game.

• Profile – Select another profile • Load – Load the selected game. • Delete – Delete the selected game. • Exit – Back to the previous menu.

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Save Game The ‘’Save’ option is only available from the [Esc] menu. The interface is similar to the load-game interface, with a “Save” button in place of the “Load” button. To save a game, select an empty slot then hit “Save”. If you select an already-occupied slot, a box will ask you if you want to overwrite the old game.

Settings

• Video settings – Slide the sliders to set the game’s overall gamma, brightness, and contrast. • Sea details – Designate your preferred oceanic complexity. Higher levels make the sea feel smoother; lower levels improve your computer’s performance. • Foliage Quality – How complex do you want your trees? Uncheck all options to increase your computer’s performance. • Sounds – Can’t hear the voices? Hate the music? Here, you find your own balance. • Controls – Fiddle with your mouse, and set your movement rate. • Button settings – Map your own controls for sea and land movement. To change a key binding, double-click the action (or select it and press [Space]), then tap your preferred key. • Restore the default buttons – Return everything to factory settings.


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To save your changes, click the “OK” button. To discard changes, hit the “Cancel” button.

Escape menu The “Escape menu” is basically the same as the main menu. You can call it up at any time by pressing the [Esc] key on the keyboard.

From this menu, you can save your current progress, load a previously saved game, or change your settings. Important: Provided “Hardcore Game” mode is off, you can save your progress at any time, except in the midst of a boarding operation or an attack on a fort.

Main game interfaces The [F2] key brings out the main system menus. These include: • Characters – Manage your hero, officers, companions, and passengers. • Ships – Manage the hero’s ships, and the ships’ parameters, crew, and stored goods. • Journal – Ship’s log, game statistics, useful information, cashbook. • Nations – the interface of relations between the nations, bounty on the hero’s head, his reputation with the nations, ship’s flag management. • Trade – Trading log; a list of goods and prices, automatically updated during shop visits.

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• Items – Manage your hero’s equipment, view your journey maps, and study treasure maps. Press [F2] to open your last-viewed menu, then use the icon panel at the top to navigate.

A more detailed look at each interface follows.

Characters The first time you hit [F2], you will be presented with the character interface. Here, you may view the parameters of all characters under your purveyance, and manage the parameters of your main hero and officers.

As with your hero, each character in the game has her or her main Capabilities, Personal Skills, Ship Skills, and Personal and Ship Abilities. Major Capabilities affect the speed at which the character gains Skill points, and the Skills in turn affect the character’s Rank and Abilities.


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The hero’s rank is your indicator of the character’s personal development. It changes in steps, as experience is amassed. The hero’s Life points also increase with rank; the specific increase is determined by Endurance. As the hero increases in rank, he will more frequently encounter stronger enemies and better items.

The P.I.R.A.T.E.S. RPG system The hero’s development is directly dependent on his starting PIRATES Capabilities. Capability values run from 1 to 10. At the game’s beginning each hero has a balanced set of Capabilities and the default settings are optimal for the development of your chosen character, but an experienced player can reassign values from 3 to 10 to each of the PIRATES Capabilities, from a pool of 42 points. (If you like, that’s six points for each statistic.) By reassigning Capabilities values you can create a unique hero, suited to your own personal style of play. • Power – Hit harder, throw farther, and carry more. Affects how much stuff you can lift and carry, and your amount of health. This is the defining characteristic for Skills that require great physical effort, especially heavy and medium weapons, and cannon Skills. • Insight – The ability to see and hear. You need a good eye for naval combat, because it can be difficult to hit the broad side of an enemy ship. Greatly affects the Accuracy and Stealth Skills. • Reaction – Affects movement coordination and sleight of hand. A clumsy man will catch his saber in his own sheath, or a boarding hook in his pants. Important for such Skills as light and medium weapons, pistols, and boarding. Affects your maximum amount of energy. • Authority – The sum of a courageous, scarred face and a properly applied tongue. A leader need not rob a merchant of his best merchandise, as the merchant will give it freely. He will attract the best followers, and be greeted in every port by the most beautiful women in the Caribbean. Leadership is an essential attribute for Skills such as Authority and Trade. Affects the number of officers willing to join. • Talent – Knowledge, wisdom, and the knack for fast decisions. A sharp character will have no trouble reloading his weapons or bargaining for lower prices. Using navigational devices also requires some thought. Affects Trade, cannons, navigation and – most importantly – the pace at which the hero progresses in rank and gains new Abilities. • Endurance – Crucial for any man looking to make his way as a pirate. And it’s just as important to their potential clients. Repairs and defense largely depend of this characteristic, as do weight endurance and the gain of health points.

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• Success – What can you say about providence? Here but for the grace of God go we. Helps where all else has failed you. A bullet may miss its target, or an enemy will pass you by unaware. Affects pistols, Luck, and stealth Skills.

Skills The hero’s performance is dependent on his Skills. A character’s specific Skills are divided into Personal Skills, and Ship Skills. When you achieve a certain Skill level, you are also awarded Ability points (personal and ship related) and these allow you to add special Abilities to your character. You are free to choose your own Abilities, selecting the ones you prefer to develop your character. You can improve your ship Skills by employing skilful officers, but your personal Skills depend on your hero alone. Below, you will find a list of in-game Skills. Your Skill scores range from 1 to 100; their starting value (typically around 5-10 points) is determined by your Capabilities. Your Skill stats automatically improve as you use their corresponding skills. For example, fixing your ship at sea will boost your Repairs Skill, while gutting your enemies with a rapier should improve your mastery of light weapons. Note for advanced players: in the descriptions of each Skill the formula in parentheses at the end shows the dependence of Skill improvement on your PIRATES Capabilities. For example (A*0.9+T*0.1) indicates that the Authority Capability setting has a significant influence, and the Talent Capability setting, has a minor influence on the development of the specific Skill.

Personal Skills Authority

When people see that you are a reliable person under any circumstance, they begin to trust you. When that happens, the tavern starts to brim over with sailors eager to join you in your adventures, and your enemies surrender the moment they see your flag. If your authority is high enough, you can trust that your men will grapple even the Sea Devil himself. This skill depends on “Authority” and “Talent”. (A*0.9+T*0.1)

Light weapons The ability to handle light arms – mostly rapiers and small killing tools. It depends upon “Reaction” and “Insight”. (R*0.9+I*0.1)


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Medium weapons The ability to handle swords – arms that require not only power, but some skill as well. This relies on “Power” and “Reaction”. (P*0.6+R*0.4)

Heavy weapons You need to be in pretty good shape to handle axes, backswords, and other heavy swords. This skill relies on “Power” and “Endurance”. (P*0.9+E*0.1)

Pistols This Skill allows you to handle highly complex devices, capable of propelling small lead pellets over great distances. Effective use of pistols requires agility and a bit of luck. Who knows where a bullet will fly? Depends on “Reaction” and “Success”. (R*0.5+S*0.5)

Luck Providence and good fortune are of universal need. This all depends on “Success”. (S)

Stealth Sneaking past an enemy guard post, losing your pursuers on the endless field of the ocean, or striking an unsuspecting opponent out of the blue – these are the skills of a true captain. Yet none of it is possible without great “Success“ and “Insight”. (S*0.5+I*0.5)

Ship Skills

Navigation

The Skill to navigate a ship through storms and fog; the Skill to use navigational instruments and manage a squadron. At the hand of an experienced skipper, the biggest and the most menacing ship will fly like a bird. This depends on “Insight” and “Talent”. (I*0.2+T*0.8) Incidentally, for effective control, each ship class requires a certain minimum level Navigational Skill: • Class 1 requires 95 • Class 2 requires 80 • Class 3 requires 65 • Class 4 requires 40 • Class 5 requires 25 • Class 6 requires just 1

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It is important that you match your ship class to your Navigation Skill level, do not acquire a ship class that is far above your Navigation Skill because you will lack the Skill to outrun and outgun your enemies, and you will fall prey to their attacks. A deficit of Navigational Skill when in a high class ship also reduces the character’s other Skills and Abilities. The difference between the current and required Navigation values for a particular ship class (that is, the required value minus the current value) will have a negative impact on your character’s performance.

Accuracy One of the most important Skills for captains who sail the high seas. A real skipper will never waste cannon balls and powder on fish; every salvo must be delivered with precision! And when the salty wind disperses the acrid fumes from the bridge, the horizon must be clear as day! You can’t find good accuracy without “Insight” and some “Success”. (I*0.8+S*0.2)

Cannons Loading the cannon like a demon; promptly rolling it up, then cleaning, loading, and targeting once more, the sound of the salvo still ringing between the bulkheads, remembering to splash the barrel with water to avoid overheating ... No room for nonsense, amongst the flames and thunder – just loading, rolling, and firing! Requires “Talent” and “Power”. (T*0.6+P*0.4)

Grappling Close in on the foul vessel, connect your lines on the first throw, and unleash an avalanche on the trembling enemy. Storm the decks, and capture the vessel for your well-deserved prize. It all takes Skill and experience, but think of the loot it may bring! Requires “Reaction” and “Talent”. (R*0.7+T*0.3)

Defense As each day passes the crew becomes more accustomed to its charge, until each salted hide is worth ten barebacks from the tavern. A good skipper needs know how to protect his men from a foolish and unnecessary death. In mobilizing the crew for defense, “Endurance” is as important as reliable “Authority”. (E*0.5+A*0.5)

Repair When enemy orbs reduce your deck to splinters and your sails to cheesecloth, when a squall rends the hull and the wind rips the rigging like so many threads – this is when the value of a good handyman comes to light. The key here is “Endurance”, but some “Insight” certainly can’t hurt. (E*0.8+I*0.2)


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Trade This is the Skill to turn over something you bought for a pittance, and make a killing for the effort. It’s all about business acumen, knowing the richest trade routes, and maintaining friendly merchant relations. There’s no better relief for a headache than a plump pocket, as you will learn when the crew starts to ask its due. Depends on “Talent” and some “Authority”. (T*0.8+A*0.2) Note: Your may improve your Skill values by assigning officers with a higher value in the corresponding skills than your protagonist’s own. Another trick is using items with Skill bonuses. Your Skill values may be reduced by sickness, ship class penalty, items with negative bonuses, or lading yourself with more than you can carry.

Other character parameters • Rank – Your character’s level of personal prowess. It grows in stages, based on the experience you gather. With each new rank, your hero’s Life increases, depending on your endurance. As your rank increases, you will more often encounter powerful enemies and new items. • Life Points – Your indicator of the main character’s ability to withstand physical damage. The more life points you have, the more piercing, slashing, chopping, and gunfire you may withstand before succumbing to the Sea Devil. Your supply of Life increases with each new rank, based on your Endurance value. • Health – The indicator of your hero’s overall physical condition. Bad health lowers your hero’s statistics. Health depletes if the hero should be severely wounded, and it returns if he abstains from melee battles for an extended time. • Energy – A sign of your character’s endurance during hand-to-hand combat. All melee attacks expend some energy – meaning over the course of a battle, your character will exhaust himself, and will need to rest, to restore his strength. Your maximum energy depends on your character’s Reaction value. • Money – Your total trove of piasters. Your hero can stash money in his pocket, with select individuals, or in the form of a bank draft from a moneylender. • Reputation – Affects how other characters see you. Reputation can be high (that’s positive), neutral, or low. The reputation you earn depends on how you do what you do. Whatever your notoriety, it will tend to diminish over time, and your actions will be forgotten. People remember bad things longer than they remember good – no surprise there. If you sit on your heels for an age, eventually the world will see you as nothing but a run-ofthe-mill sailor.

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• Carried weight – The maximum weight that you can carry without encumbering yourself, thereby compromising your movement and dexterity. Depends on “Power” and “Endurance”. • Title – Shows how much your nation appreciates you. • Loyalty – This pertains more to officers than to your hero. An officer’s loyalty depends on what you do. Noble officers won’t take orders from a scoundrel for long, while rascals won’t tolerate being fenced in by a righteous busybody. • Nation – In the corner of your portrait, you’ll see a national flag. This is your allegiance, whether be it your point of origin or adopted, in the form of a privateer license. The flag on a ship is not necessarily representative of the allegiance of its captain; you can hoist whatever flag makes your life easier (see “Nations” screen), but the actual attitude towards your character depends on his allegiance and whatever bounty he might have on his head. Your Experience threshold indicates how many points you have earned toward the specified skill, rank, or ability, and how many more you need to reach the next level. Your Skills improve when you use them. So for every time you hit a target, your “Pistols” skill goes up. Regardless of the particular skill, the points you earn are then pooled in your rank or Abilities experience (depending upon skill type). Reaching a Rank and Skills threshold gives you a new rank; your hero’s life is increased, and you are granted Ability points to distribute as you deem fit.

Abilities


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Abilities are additional statistics that represent your specialization in a particular field. You may become an elite fencer, a master at the ship’s wheel, or a famous merchant. Some Abilities are not immediately available, as they rely on other Abilities that the player must first master. There are both personal and ship Abilities; Ability points are awarded upon achieving a certain threshold of personal or ship abilities. You should have access to most ship Abilities, depending on the statistics of your assigned officers.

Passengers On the left of the screen is a list of all characters affiliated with the player. The same list contains all possible officer positions. There are four types of characters in the game: • Passengers – Characters you are delivering to a particular destination, in exchange for a reward. Hired officers you have yet to assign to a position (free officers) are also considered passengers. • Officers – Characters that perform the duties of a ship’s officer. • Companions – Should you agree to escort a merchant vessel then the merchant captain will become your companion for the duration of the journey. Should you assign an officer to command one of your ships, he also will be considered your companion. • Captives – Characters held aboard your ship against their will; you can try to ransom them off, or offer them jobs, if they’re up to the work. If any of your passengers start to annoy you, you can take them captive as well. Also, those captains who surrender during a boarding exercise will become your captives. You can interrogate your captives in the hold; when you know who they are, you can contact the appropriate authorities for ransom. The biggest ransom is granted by the captive’s own governor, but the exact amount will differ from city to city.

Officers If the main character is less adept at a task, he can hire officers to do the job more effectively. For example, if you focus on Trade and Defense, you may need a Navigator and a Gunner, while an experienced seafarer will require a Treasurer and a Carpenter. The officer will improve your corresponding Skill by the difference between your and his levels in that Skill: if your navigation is at 33, and your officer is at 43, you will net 10 points. If your Skill has been so bolstered, the difference will be highlighted in green.

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Note: Any ship class penalty applies to your post-boosted navigation Skill. You can assign officers to the positions of Navigator, Bosun, Cannoneer, Doctor, Treasurer, Carpenter, or Fighter/Grappler. Depending on the officer’s position, only certain Skills and Abilities may be improved. There are a total of nine officer positions on the ship, plus one captain – that being your hero. You can assign up to three Fighter/Grappler officers. These officers will accompany your hero on land and during boarding, protecting him with their bodies, blades, and pistols. Make sure to equip them with enough bullets, life elixirs, and good, appropriate steel. Officers can also have the “Multitasking” or “Jack of All Trades” Abilities, which allow a single officer to hold two or three positions at once. This means that a mere three officers may be enough to bolster the hero’s Skills and Abilities, and aid him in combat.

Hiring and appointing an officer Often you can find worthy candidates in taverns, sitting at tables and openly offering their services. Before you hire them, you can (and should) view their Capabilities, Skills, and Abilities. When you pay them what they want, they’ll become your Passengers. From there, using the [F2] “Characters” screen, you can appoint them to a position, or make them your companions by buying or capturing them each a ship. Each month, you need to pay your officers and crew a salary; sometimes men may ask for a bit more gold, or – should their loyalty plummet, categorically announce their resignation. To appoint an officer, double-click or press [Enter] on an empty slot. Select the desired candidate from the list, and press “Add officer”. Under the passenger list, you will see a Capabilities table, to aid you in your decisions. Appointing a companion will be covered in the “Your ship and her shape” section.


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Removing from post and dismissing To remove an officer from his post and make him a passenger again, doubleclick or select and press [Enter] on his picture in the passenger list. You can dismiss an officer in dialog. If an officer is a Fighter/Grappler, then you can do so on land; otherwise, you should go to the Wardroom on board your ship (when on your ship go to your Cabin, and then walk through the Cannon Deck to the Wardroom door and enter to meet your officers in person). You can dismiss a companion by removing him from his ship (see “Your ship and her shape”) and making him an officer; this will place him either on land or in the Wardroom.

Gaining experience for officers Just like the main character, officers gain Skill experience while performing actions featuring those skills. So an officer will improve in, say, light weapons if he is equipped with and actively uses a rapier. Companions will also improve their ship skills. Furthermore, any experience received by the hero will be distributed amongst all passengers: officers get 25%; companions, 16.5%; everyone else, 5%. If the character has the “Experience Exchange” ability, these values go up to 50%, 33%, and 10%, respectively. As his Skills improve, an officer gains new ranks; his life increases, and he gains new Ability points, which the player can distribute himself. Hint: The “Multitasking” ability allows an officer to occupy several positions at once.

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Officer’s equipment You can view the contents of each passenger’s pockets in the [F2]/Items screen. Yet you can’t exchange or equip items there; you can only exchange items when the hero and the officer are in the same location. Fighter/Grapplers follow the hero everywhere he goes, while other officers can be found in the Wardroom on your ship (if applicable). You must go to the officer and call up the command menu ([Enter]), then select “Trade” to bring up an interface not dissimilar from the looting window (see “Looting chests” section). Trading during combat is only possible if your hero has the “Experience Exchange” Ability. Items are equipped automatically; the officer chooses the best arms for his attributes. Hint: Always give your officers a few bottles of life elixir – this should allow them to survive difficult skirmishes. Another method: You can purchase shop items straight into an officer’s pockets by selecting their picture at the top of the Item Trading Menu and making a purchase for them; when trading is over, they will automatically equip them. You can’t sell an item that is currently equipped.

Loyalty and salary An officer’s loyalty is determined by his reputation and the hero’s actions. Virtuous men will grow distant if you commit “dirty deeds”, and vice versa. If the loyalty indicator in the [F2]/Characters screen falls to zero, the officer will leave the hero at first opportunity, and you will have no recourse to stop him. Each month you need to pay out the salaries, including to the officers, regardless of their current position. The more developed the officer’s Skills, the more money he will demand. Sometimes, after serving the hero for some while, an officer may have a change of heart and leave you for the life of freelancer. A small, one-time bonus may be enough to rein in such a wild spirit. Hint: Carefully track your officers’ loyalty; if you value your men and you’ve got a mission that you know will conflict with their morals, you would do well to plan your actions in advance.


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Your ship and her shape

A corsair’s ship is his home, his weapon, his livelihood, his pride and his joy. You can view the parameters of a ship’s captain by right-clicking the portrait at the top-left of the screen.

Ship’s parameters • Name – The ship’s name is displayed under her picture. To change the name, click it, delete the old one, and type in the new name. • Hull – The amount of damage the ship’s hull can withstand. A strong hull will help you to survive an armada and bring down a castle. Keep an eye on your hull’s condition, and repair it as required. If you’ve the planks to spare, you should be fine, given time to effect the repairs. • Sails – The amount of sustainable damage by the ship’s sails. You may want to keep a stock of sailcloth on board, just in case. • Speed – For some tasks, a decent ship speed is essential; tactical maneuvers and “playing catch” with merchants (a favorite pirate game) take quite a bit of thrust. Speed is affected by the cargo in the hold, the captain’s Skills, and any ship damage. • Maneuvering ability – In battle, a swift turn can save your ship and all on board, or allow you to perform two broadsides in the time that a galleon could perform but one. A ship’s maneuverability is affected by its cargo, the captain’s abilities, and any damage sustained.

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• Point of sail – This is how close to the wind a ship can sail. The higher this value, the closer to the wind the ship can travel. Ships with fore-and-aft rigging are better suited for traveling against the wind. • Hold – This is how much cargo the ship can carry, in relative volume-weight units. The more goods in the hold, the less agile and fast the ship. A huge hold is every merchant’s dream. To increase how much you can carry in the hold, you can always remove all those heavy cannons – if you can afford the risk. • Cannons/Culverins – Adjust the caliber and number of cannons and culverins on board. • Crew – The number of sailors in your crew. A minimal crew is required to control the ship; you are allowed to go over the maximum crew limit, but such a crowd increases the risk of mutiny. • Crew experience – The crew’s experience is divided into three categories: Sailors, Cannoneers, and Soldiers. See the “Crew” section (below) for more detail.

Crew A ship’s crew consists of all the occupied sailors on board. You can scout for sailors in taverns; during the day, there’s always someone willing to set sail with you. Their number depends on your character’s Authority – the more respected you are, the more people will want to join you. (See “Tavern”.) The crew’s experience is divided into three categories: Sea (ship handling), Gunner (cannon reload and accuracy), and Grappling (melee combat) experience. This means that every sailor can be a Sailor, a Cannoneer, and a Soldier, but his specialties may differ. A small, experienced crew may be far more effective than a boat brimming over with greenhorns. Crew gain experience in a particular category when they perform relevant tasks (maneuvering, shooting, grappling) – yet they also lose it, if they fail to exercise their skills for very long. A sailor’s proficiencies may depend on his nationality: the English are always good sailors, while France is famous for excellent cannoneers. Still, pirates can do anything in a pinch. If you need to, you can always strengthen your crew with any slaves you are carrying. To do this, you must be in your cabin; from the [Enter] menu, enter “Speak aloud” mode and select “Slave recruitment”. If any agree to join you, your crew will increase in number, but its morale and experience will suffer a bit. The crew receives a monthly salary, which depends on the ship’s class, the crew’s experience, and the hero’s Skills (“Authority” and “Trade”). If you fail to pay the requested sum, the crew’s morale will dwindle rapidly – though the “Iron Will” Ability slows the decay a bit. A rebellious crew will handle the ship poorly, won’t fight as well as it might, and you may even face a mutiny.


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The crew’s size is determined by the ship’s “Sailors” parameter. For example, 174: 25 / 159 means that the ship currently has 174 sailors; the minimal crew is 25 men; and the maximum is 159, which means that there’s a crew surplus. Therefore, the crew indicator is in red. A surplus of crew allows you to increase the overall productivity of an inexperienced crew, but leads to a lack of space, which damages morale. A below-minimum value will also be highlighted in red: an insufficient crew leads to an uncontrollable ship. The morale of a crew is a key concern of sea life. Its value affects a ship’s handling, cannon reload times, and grappling battles. A sharp drop in morale will surely lead to mutiny. Mutiny aboard a companion’s ship will lead to that ship leaving your squadron. Mutiny aboard your ship requires immediate action: your hero will appear on deck with his loyal officers, against the rebels. Also, mutiny is a risk when you are carrying more slaves than crew members. Of course the slaves’ weapons are worthless, but the slaves are worthless cargo if they’re dead. Every day the crew expends some provisions – fish, meat, biscuits, fresh water. A lack of provisions leads to famine, death of crew members, and a sharp drop in morale. Each day, 1 unit of provisions is consumed for every 10 sailors, and 1 unit for every 20 slaves. Your stock of provisions is displayed in days at the top-left corner of the “Ship” screen. Provisions are distributed independently for each ship: some might have too much, while some might not have enough – you will have to redistribute your stock through the exchange-between-ships menu. After battle, some sailors may die from wound or disease. To decrease your mortality rate, always keep a stock of medicine on board. Medicines are used automatically when needed; if you run out, you get a warning message. One way to keep up morale is by doling out a daily share of rum. To do this, you need 1 unit of rum for every 10 sailors. You can also improve morale by distributing a share of the loot, which you can do by pressing the “Raise morale” button. This button calls up a dialog screen, where you can see the cost of improving morale, 10% at a time.

Companions The hero’s squadron can consist of as many as five; one under the players control, the rest enrusted to his companions. A quest character can become a temporary companion, but your control over such a character is limited; you can’t simply dismiss him and sell the ship.

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Appointing a captain There are two cases where you may need to assign a captain: after buying a new ship at the shipyard, or after boarding and capturing a vessel. Later you can remove the officer and appoint a new one, using the exchange-with-ship screen.

Exchange between ships There are two ways to enter an inter-ship exchange. The first is through the [F2]/”Ships” screen: double-click (or press [Enter]) on the companion’s portrait. The second one is at sea, with ships board-to-board, through the “Exchange” fast command. The first method does not work during sea battle, while the second one gives you a chance to swap ships or transfer crew and cargo during combat.

Transferring cargo You can unload all cargo with a single click: “Take all goods”. If there is enough space, everything will be transferred; otherwise, you’ll simply take what you can carry. Keep in mind that the most expensive goods are transferred first; cheaper stuff comes after. To transfer specific goods, use the arrows in the list: left-click transfers 1 unit at a time; right-click, 10 units. Arrow keys perform quick unit transfers, and [Shift] + arrow keys will transfer all the selected goods.

You can dispose of excessive goods or read their description by doubleclicking, or pressing [Enter], on the goods in the list.


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Changing Captains When you close the exchange window, a ship without a captain will sink; any crew and goods left on such a ship will be lost, so be sure to transfer them before sending the ship to the bottom. Appointing a new captain is analogous to appointing an officer to a position – you select a person from the list of passengers. If your appointed officer is holding a position on your ship, he will be relieved. As with the hero, a companion is affected by his Navigation Skill and ship class penalty. You can view a captain’s characteristics by right-clicking his portrait.

Swapping ships The “Swap ships” button swaps the captains of two ships, meaning that your hero is transferred to a new ship. The goods in the hold and the crew of the ships remain as they were. Any personal items in the chests in your cabin are automatically transferred to the new room. Any captives in the hold are also led to the new ship.

Transferring the crew Transferring the crew is done using the arrows in the “Crew transfer” mode. The number highlighted in red signifies insufficient or surplus stock. After the transfer, the sailors’ experience is averaged.

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Cargo in hold You can view a description of goods by double-clicking the items, or pressing [Enter]. To dispose of unwanted supplies, use the arrows or type a number in the provided form; confirm by hitting “OK”.

On-board guns You can manage the guns on your ship by double-clicking the “Cannons/ Culverins” field in the ship’s parameter list.


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Your ship may be equipped with cannons or culverins, of 12, 16, 24, 32 or 42-caliber rounds. You can specify the number and layout of the guns; the ship type determines the maximum number and caliber of the guns. Cannons have better damage, rounds, and reload times, but smaller shooting radius. All guns are considered goods, and the number is displayed in the hold as cargo. Equipped guns are not seen in the hold, and you cannot dispose of them or sell them until you dismount them with the “Remove All” button. Guns are heavy things, so to make some extra room for commerce, you can cut down on their number, leaving only a token defense in case of emergency. You can exchange all your guns by pressing the “Remove all” button, selecting a new type from the list, and hitting “Fix all”. You can add or remove guns on starboard, port, bow, and stern, using the corresponding arrows. During combat, guns can be disabled by a direct hit from an enemy cannonball or bomb, or from a failed salvo on your part. The guns’ rounds can vary: small cannons (12-pound) have small rounds, larger calibers can fire more punchy munitions. You can replenish your stock of guns by transferring any spares from the holds of enemy ships, or by buying them at a shipyard. You cannot dismount of equip guns during combat, or while looting a prize ship; first you will have to appoint a captain to the ship and leave combat.

Repairs During your travels, your ship may be damaged by storms, enemy fire, or collision with rocks and coastal reefs. Damage can be inflicted on the hull, sails, or occasionally the masts.

At sea To repair your ship out of port, you need a good stock of planks and sailcloth. Repair speed depends on your “Repair” Skill and various carpenter Abilities. A good carpentry officer will allow you to rebuild your ship quickly and effectively. Unfortunately, there is no way to repair a mast at high sea.

At the shipyard To repair at port, you don’t need planks or sailcloth; all you do is select what percentage of damage you want to repair, and pay for the service. The ship’s masts are repaired automatically at the shipyard. Each ship still takes a while to repair, but it’s quicker than doing it yourself in less than ideal conditions.

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Speed and maneuvering A ship’s handling is affected by several factors: wind strength and direction, the captain’s “Navigation” Skill, the crew’s experience, hull condition, weight in the hold – yet generally the most important factor is the sails. A ship with damaged sails cannot move quickly, and struggles to maneuver. Speed is also affected by sail position. Sails can assume three distinct positions: struck, battle positions, or full sail. Maneuverability is affected by inertia: a higher speed leads to a higher turn speed, but a wider radius. It is easier to maneuver with sails in battle position. A ship’s current and maximum speed and maneuver values are shown in the [F2]/”Ships” screen. For example, in the speed field, 11.50/16.30 means that the ship itself is capable of reaching 16.30 knots, but with the current captain and crew expertise, and the cargo and damage at hand, the speed will not exceed 11.50 knots. The current value does not take into account sail position, or wind strength and direction. Sailing ships are propelled by force of wind, so in theory the stronger the wind, the faster the ship goes – yet sailing upwind and downwind have different effects on a ship’s speed. A ship cannot move directly into the wind. Each ship has a particular “Point of sail” – or, the minimal angle to the wind that the ship can sail. A higher value means the ship can sail at a shallower angle to the wind. Ships with fore-and-aft rigging are better suited to sailing upwind.

The Quest Book This screen allows the player to view the ship’s log, which the hero fills in automatically.

Logbook This journal shows a list of active missions. You can expand any entry into a full event log by double-clicking or pressing [Enter]. Each entry is time-stamped; the oldest entries are at the bottom, the newest at the top.


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Completed Quests This tab holds all the quests completed by the player.

Relations

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Nation relations matrix There are three types of diplomatic relations: • Friendly • Neutral • At war Along the top and left are sovereign flags; at the intersections are their relationships. The hero belongs to his affiliated nation – be that his nation of origin or the holder of his current privateer license (if any). Whatever diplomacy applies to your home nation column applies to you as well, keeping in mind any bounty on your head.

Bounty or merit The way you’re seen by a nation, its citizens, and its soldiers may change. Deeds that people perceive are in their benefit will raise your reputation, while bad deeds may earn you a bounty on your head. As there is no end to bounty hunters, this means constant pursuit on land and at sea. Yet you can reduce a bounty, through good deeds or outright bribery – which may help restore the peace, somewhat.

Flag on the ship Your affiliated nation is either your place of origin or the nation that holds your privateer license (if any). You can check your affiliations in the [F2]/”Character” screen. In the [F2]/”Nations” screen, you can view the flag on your hero’s ship, which you can change at sea to conceal your real identity. An enemy vessel can still be recognized by ships at sea or guards at port; it all depends on your hero’s Stealth value. If your own state has a bounty on your head, you’re considered at war even with them. Who is considered an enemy depends on current diplomatic relations and any bounties in play. Fast travel does not work while behind enemy lines.

Trade There is little end to the goods for sale. You are therefore granted some leeway when it comes to trade. Some goods are produced locally, so prices are low; others need to be imported, driving up price and demand. Some goods may be banned altogether, depending on a governor’s whims.


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You can profit on simple price differences, buying cheap and selling higher. There is more money to be made by smuggling, but this is a slippery slope. Of course, the most profitable deals come when you take your goods for nothing ... It’s up to you to dwell on the logistics there.

Goods and prices As you shop around, you will encounter a range of prices. The lists of goods and prices you encounter are archived for your convenience in the [F2]/”Trade” screen. These lists contain a table for different cities: stock levels, sell and buy prices, and type (import, export, or contraband). The information is somewhat time-sensitive, since commerce has its own in-game life. Still, it allows you to research and make some basic mercantile decisions. Hint: Don’t be shy about asking prices from merchants at sea, and take note of tavern rumors. Prices are based on supply and demand: if a shop’s stock is perpetually low, then prices will go up. Conversely, goods that are constantly sold result in a surplus, which leads to price drops. With time, the market balances out. Important: Looting a city will lead to a sharp drop in stock levels, meaning that prices will start to rise.

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Selling contraband For whatever political reasons, some goods are technically banned – meaning you will be unable to sell such above board. Likewise, you can buy them, but the price will be outrageous. Because of this, merchants out for a quick fortune swarm to contraband like moths to a flame. The tradeoff for the profits is the risk of getting caught by a patrol. You are best off heading to a tavern and making arrangements with a professional smuggler, then unloading your cargo in a deserted bay. A patrol may catch you on land, or it can be waiting for you at sea, near the exit from the bay.

Equipment and items This interface allows the player to view his characters’ and passengers’ possessions; choose a new saber, equip a cuirass, or study a treasure map or island schematic. Items held in the chests in your cabin can be viewed only from the cabin itself, through the looting interface. The [F2]/”Items” screen shows items the hero carries on his person.

Main character’s equipment Your hero can equip four items: a saber, a pistol, a looking-glass, and a cuirass. To equip an item, just select it from the list and press “Equip”. Officers


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choose their equipment automatically, after you exchange items with them or buy something from a shop. Items with an effect on Skills – +10 to Authority, for instance – work when they in a character’s pocket. The exception here is wearable items (such as a cuirass), which need to be equipped for the effects to become active. Also, there is a unique artifact, called the “three skulls”. The effects are activated only when all three skulls are assembled – which is to say, you have them all on your person simultaneously.

Viewing maps To view a schematic map, select it from the list and hit the “Equip Item” button, to open a new map window. You can buy maps from item vendors in town.

Treasure maps You look at treasure maps the same way you do normal maps, but instead of an outline you will see a depiction of where the treasure is hidden. If you can find a vendor, sometimes you can buy treasure maps in the tavern. There’s no telling how real they are, though. Also, as time passes, the treasure may corrode down to junk.

Some treasure maps may be split into several pieces. To know where you need to go, you need to have at least two pieces of the map. Sometimes you can find map pieces in treasure chests. The map will automatically assemble itself, as you collect the pieces.

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If the treasure is located in a dungeon, opening the chest may lead to the appearance of pirate skeletons. These are a few of the people killed by the fellow who hid his treasures. And now they’re passed on to you.

Living in the city Cities are the hubs for all Caribbean society. In cities, you can repair your ships, recruit officers and sailors, buy and sell goods, enlist in the service of the local governor, sign a contract to escort a ship, and many other things. Townspeople know all the latest gossip, usually. In general, each city has: • A port • A residence • Shops • A shipyard • A Moneylender • A tavern • A port control • A brothel • A church • Residential houses • Nearby fort, with a prison In friendly cities you can use “fast travel” (hit [Enter] to call up the command menu), select the “Go quickly to ..” icon and you will be prompted to select your destination, using arrows.

Residence In the residence, you will find the city’s Governor, who at this very moment may well be receiving the Governor-General – the King’s representative of all state colonies in the New World.

Distinguishing Governors and Governors-general A governor is the mayor of a city and surrounding territories; his interests are limited to keeping his district in order, and doing his part to benefit his country in general.


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The Governor-General is the King’s representative in the New World; he may be touring the cities of his empire. His interests are much broader than those of a simple governor. Missions from the Governor-General may be far more difficult, and involve a lot of responsibility. Also, he is responsible for promoting your hero. The Governor-General will not deal with a captain without a privateer’s license. Receiving a privateer license – For loyal service to your city, in the form of completing several missions for your governor, you may be granted a privateer license. This patent is your ticket to potentially more profitable missions from the Governor-General. Initially, the hero’s nation is unimportant for receiving a license, since there are various back doors to acquiring one. You can simply bribe a fellow who knows a guy who may help you. Ownership of a license changes your affiliated country. In effect, it is your business license, and therefore the start of your career.

Career Having received a patent, you become a privateer. And for your loyal service, the Governor-General can promote you to any of the following: • Commander • Captain • Commodore • Admiral If you should lose your patent – which may only happen if you attack your own countrymen – you also loose all your titles and achievements. If you receive a new patent, you will begin again, with nothing. The speed of your career-climbing depends on the quality and terms of the missions you complete.

Brothel Pretty self-explanatory; ultimately, the solution to all a corsair’s needs. Sure, your reputation may suffer a bit, but nothing like a good rest to get you back on your feet again. You can also treat your crew, which surely will improve morale on deck. You can flirt with a doll, and if she takes a liking, there’s no telling what secrets she might unfold. Of course, not all cities are so enfranchised...

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Church Pirating can be hard on the conscience, it’s true. The nice thing about the church is they’ll forgive anyone – more or less. Which in retrospect isn’t so different from the above establishment. Except a bit less jolly. Apart from simple churches, there is also the Holy Inquisition, but... best keep away from that, frankly.

Donations – Increasing reputation Donations and righteous deeds improve the hero’s reputation. The bigger the sum, the better.

Improving health The exclusive knowledge gathered through the centuries by church scholars allows the holy fathers to perform true miracles of healing. If your maximum health has somehow been docked, and will not recover on its own, the priests are the only ones who can help you.

Port Control Every city with a shipyard also has a port control.

Leave ship If your hero has several ships, he can temporarily leave his companions at port. This will disband the crew, but any companions and cargo will remain intact. You can leave up to three ships in one port. Dock fees are based on its class; the higher the class, the more you’re charged for your ship’s safety.

Retrieve the ship You can retrieve your ship from the head of port. Altogether, you can own up to sixteen ships – yet can only sail with five at a time. There are times for leaving your favorite ship at port, if, for instance, you want to avoid attracting attention on some mission.

Fort and prison The fort is located outside the city, and therefore immune to quick travel. To reach the fort, you need to jaunt outside the city gates and through the jungle.


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Every fort has a prison. If you’ve nothing better to do, and you’ve a streak of anarchy in you, you can try to release the prisoners. The guards generally don’t like that, however.

Tavern Here you can listen to the latest rumors, or recruit some salty dogs to your cause. Also, the innkeep can always find you someone who needs an escort or transport. Also, if you like, you can find all manner of lowlife: shady map merchants, the smuggler couched out in the corner there. And of course, you can pal around with the other customers: draw a pint of ale and throw the dice around.

Recruiting a crew While talking to the barman, you can ask him about sailors. This will bring up a recruitment interface, where you can select your ship and recruit or fire sailors. This is only available during the day.

Hiring officers Your prospective officers may be sitting right there at a table, and you need only ask; they will tell you who they are and what they expect from you. Mind, there may be no sailors to find – but if they are there, they won’t budge all day. If you’re not flush enough to hire right off, you can leave, earn or borrow a bit, and return to do your hiring. You can view a man’s statistics before hiring him; all you need do is ask.

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Brawls and duels In the tavern, you may be drawn into a bar fight. Alternatively, you can initiate one yourself. From here, there are several ways events can unfold. If you brawl right there in the tavern, you will scare away all the customers. You can set a time to duel outside the city. Or, if the duelist has his own ship, you can do a ship duel in coastal waters.

Renting a room Ask the barman about accommodation, and you can rent a room for the night – or for the day, if you prefer. Or you can simply sit in the bar, or sleep in your cabin on the ship.

The Smuggler Sometimes, amongst the regular barflies, you can find a smuggler – who may act as a fence, to help you sell banned goods. Or, if you’re out a ship, you can always ask him for a ride. After you make a deal, you need to find your way down to the harbor, where the smugglers will be waiting for you.

The Freelancer Sometimes, between pints, you may bump into a hero much like yourself. If you get on well enough, then you may be able to do a cooperative mission – or he might become your officer, or even join you as a companion, with his own ship. You may meet the same sailor again later, elsewhere, when you’re both a bit more experienced. Alternatively, if you offend the fellow, you may wind up in a duel. Important: You can create your own list of corsairs and names in the RESOURCE\INI\texts\english\HeroDescribe.txt file.

The Diplomat In pirate taverns, you may find a diplomat, who can restore your good relations with a country, lower a bounty on your head, or help with some documents.

Reconciliation As an adventurer, you are sure to attract a few bounties on your restless head. After a while, your life may become intolerable, as you won’t be able to turn around without bumping into a hunter. If your through-line to the governor is


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cut off, the diplomat may be your savior – for a fee. Furthermore, reducing any bounty on your head will take some time (5 to 15 days), and the agent will ask for the full sum up front. It’s your decision...

Trading licenses If you want to cut it as a merchant trader, you need access to as many shops as possible – yet it can be difficult to trade in enemy lands. A trading license will allow you to pass checkpoints and freely enter enemy cities. You can also acquire a license from the Governor-General, if his missions require you to enter foreign townships. Licenses can be valid for 30, 60, or 90 days, and are priced accordingly.

The privateer license If you are too impatient to earn a license lawfully, you can simply buy one from a diplomat.

Ransom for the city If you should take a city for yourself, and then grow tired of fending off the subsequent rain of sieges, it’s time to hit up your local diplomat. He can arrange a ceasefire, though it will cost you dearly.

Shop Here you can buy and sell all manner of goods. Some goods may be officially unavailable, but you can always find what you’re looking for – granted, in the case of contraband, only in limited quantities. Merchants can also assign you various tasks.

Buying, selling goods When you buy or sell goods, you do so in relation to your specified ship. Purchases go straight to your hold. Use the up and down arrow keys to scroll the list. Red goods are contraband; blue are imports; green are exports. Double-click or hit [Enter] on a table row to call up a trading menu. Type in a positive integer to set the number of goods to buy, or a negative integer to sell. The left and right keys change the quantity by packs, and [Shift] + left/right arrow keys set the maximum allowed quantity. Hit [Enter] for okay, or [Esc] for cancel.

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Hint: To quickly sell everything, use the up/down arrow keys to navigate the list, then [Shift] + right arrow key, then [Enter].

Street dealers Merchants do not all keep to formal shops; you can also trade with the many street dealers. They can provide you with anything – elixirs, a new saber, ammunition, or maps.

Buying, selling items Trade between parties occurs from the following menu.

As before, use the up and down arrow keys to scroll the list; you can view the item description under the table cursor. Double-click or hit [Enter] on a table row to call up a trading menu. Type in a positive integer to set the number of


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goods to buy, or a negative integer to sell. The left and right keys change the quantity by packs, and [Shift] + left/right arrow keys set the maximum allowed quantity. Hit [Enter] for okay, or [Esc] for cancel. Important: The list of items for sale does not include any currently equipped items.

Moneylenders Nearly every city has its moneylenders; what would commerce be without loans? If you are desperate enough, they can lend you a certain amount, at a fixed rate. How much, depends on your rank and repute. At the beginning of the game, this is a solid enough way to gain some starting capital. If money is burning a hole in your pocket, you can deposit it with a lender, for safe-keeping. There is no time limit, and the longer you save your money the more interest it will accrue. Keep in mind that if the city is looted, the lender may lose all his deposits. Lenders may also be a source of missions, as someone is always defaulting on a loan somewhere.

Shipyard Every port has a shipyard. If your ship is damaged, you can repair it here. Alternatively, you can buy a brand new ship, for yourself or for your companion.

Buying and selling ships To buy a new ship, you need to have a prospective captain. Select an empty slot in the list at left, then a ship from the list at right. Then if you’ve got the money, hit the “Buy” button to complete the transaction. If the selected character already commands a ship, then it will automatically be sold, with the price difference put toward your purchase.

Price difference At any time, a shipyard may have several ships of the same make, but at different prices. The price depends on the ship’s statistics, which are unique for each ship. Also, the hero’s Skills and Abilities may affect the price. The price you get for your old ship depends on its condition and ... well, technical legal status. If it’s not legitimate, it’s not worth as much, while if it’s got a squeaky-clean record, it could pull a high price tag. Keeping in mind that different shipyards may have

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different prices on the same ships, you can make some profit by bringing ships from one city to another.

Important: When you sell a ship, the hold contents and guns are not included in the price. You will have to sell them separately.

Repairs The ship can receive damage during a battle or a storm. You can fix it yourself with planks and sailcloth, but it will take forever, and fallen masts are beyond any field repairs. So when possible, it may be preferable to swing by a shipyard. To do this, select at left a ship that needs repairing; if it is damaged, a “Repair” button will be available.

You can set what percent you want to repair – though your finances may set a practical limit.


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Dungeons, caves, grottoes Dungeons, catacombs, grottoes, caves – the Caribbean is riddled with ‘em! But rarely found in cities.

Search for treasures Treasure is quite often hidden in caves and grottoes; good luck finding it without a map.

The undead In caves and dungeons that never see the light of day, you will find artifacts better left where they lie. You can recognize them by an eerie wail, and a spinning, shimmering orb. Approaching them will raise the dead, who as a rule are altogether grumpy when disturbed.

Game modes City of Abandoned Ships has three distinct modes – land, sea, and global map. Each mode has its own controls and special features.

Land mode Quick travel In friendly cities, you can use quick travel to leap amongst the major attractions. To do so, hit [Enter] to call up the command mode, then select the “Go quickly to ...” icon:

After this, select your destination using the arrow keys:

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Combat system Sometimes, there’s no talking your way out of a situation. The combat system gives you three types of strikes, two kinds of parrying, a block, one circular strike that serves as both attack and defense, the use of firearms, and a backward or side dash.

Life A character’s hit points determine how much damage he can take. Your hit points increase with each new level; some added Skills will also raise them a bit. During a fight, your hit points are represented by a red strip in the top-left corner, to the left of your character’s portrait. You can restore hit points during battle, by using elixirs – whether through the [Enter] menu, or with a hotkey.

Health Health is an indicator of your hero’s general physical condition. When his health worsens, your hero’s abilities also deteriorate. His health worsens if he takes many hits, and it recovers if he avoids hand-to-hand combat for an extended period. If it falls below excellent, the character begins to suffer from diminished Skills, which in turn diminish his Abilities. Health generally restores itself, albeit slowly. The process moves fastest when you do absolutely nothing – keep in bed – and is twice as slow at sea. The “Iron Constitution” ability doubles your recovery rate. A golden background to the health indicator shows health has been restored to maximum. However, the maximum can itself be lowered by serious wounds (scars and severe injuries which, even after full restoration, have an effect in a fight). Priests in churches can restore your health to maximum, but not very often, not very much, and not very cheaply. Sometimes you may need to visit


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two or three priests for your “golden” health to turn “white” – and even then, you still need to wait for your health to return to “excellent golden”.

Energy You can’t fight forever; sooner or later, exhaustion will take you. The amount of energy you’ve got depends on your hero’s “Reaction”; the higher the value, the more you can do. Each move takes a certain amount of energy, so you watch how you spend your effort in a fight. Your available energy is represented by a blue strip to the right of your hero’s portrait. If you don’t have the energy, you can’t attack. The energy gradually replenishes throughout a fight, so if you find yourself expended, try blocking or parrying until you find your second wind. Some Abilities may cut down on the energy you expend, or let it replenish more quickly.

Enemy life and energy During fights you will also see your enemies’ hit point and energy indicators. When you or your allies strike an enemy blow, a number will appear over that enemy’s head, indicating the damage dealt.

Pistol rounds At the top-left of the screen, above the portraits, you will note a number of stars; these indicate the rounds in your pistol.

A red star indicates an expended round, signifying that the pistol is still recharging.

Attack types • Strike – A simple thrust; deals little damage. • Lunge – A strike with a bit more weight behind it. Deals more substantial damage, yet also requires more time to execute. • Crushing strike – Requires a lot of energy and a wide swing; very slow, but deals a lot of damage and can penetrate any block. • Circular strike – Requires an average amount of energy, and deals some damage to all characters around you. A character hit by a circular strike sways backwards a bit, giving your character some room for maneuver and an opening for counterattack. • Parrying – Forces the opponent’s blade to the side; does not require energy, and guards against crushing strikes. A successful parry will break the opponent’s rhythm, and spend a lot of their energy.

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• Deceptive strike (feint) – Like parrying, but takes longer to execute. If successful, allows you to catch the enemy’s weapon and immediately strike back. • Block – Allows you to withstand any strike except a crushing blow. It doesn’t use any energy. You can block at any time, even interrupting your attack if you can see that it will be unsuccessful. A block can sometimes be penetrated with a common strike, if the opponent has some special Abilities. • Pistol shot – Deals some damage, and forces the enemy back. There are different types of pistols, and you need bullets to shoot; reloading during a fight depends on the game settings, and is typically only performed with your blade sheathed. • Dash – Lets you pop away from your opponent, back or to the side, to escape a hit or the fight itself. Fencing weapons are divided into three categories: rapiers (light), sabers (medium), and swords and axes (heavy), each with its own mastery. Each category has its advantages and disadvantages: heavy arms deal a lot of damage, but are the heaviest, and thus expend more energy to use; light arms put little burden on the fighter, but do little damage to the opponent. At all times the player has access to all three attack types, and all three types of defense. The controls are bound to the three mouse buttons, and you can switch between attack and defense with the [Shift] key. Saber combat offers plenty of room for you to devise your own tactics – aggressive slashing, or defensive lunging. You can further diversify your style with Abilities. For example, the “Berserker” ability allows you to go berserk for 20 seconds, wherein you may hack through any defense and take no notice of enemy blows.

Assigning strike controls To simplify the controls, there is a key that, when pressed, switches between attacking and defensive actions. By default, piercing and circular strikes are assigned to the left mouse button; crushing and feint to the middle button; and slashing and parry to the right. Blocking, shooting, and dashing are assigned to separate keys.

Looting corpses Enemies and officers who die in combat will sprawl across the ground; if you hit [Enter] and select the “Search body” command, or press the hotkey ([1], by default) while next to them, you can enter the corpse-searching mode, which is similar to the item trading menu. If you hit the “Do not search” button in the looting menu, you will prevent this body from being searched again. Be careful, as you may lose valuable items this way.


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Stealthy movement It is hard to sail into an enemy port, as its fort will tend to fire relentlessly the moment you show sail. You can try to fool the defenders with a different flag, but another idea is to secretly enter the city through the jungle, particularly during the night. Watch out for patrols and guards at the gate, though.

Bounty hunters If you commit a lot of crimes against a country’s ships or citizens, any bounty on your head will just grow and grow, which will make you all the more appealing a target for bounty hunters, both on land and at sea. At sea, you can try to flee or wage a naval battle. On land, you can try to fib yourself out of a situation, or simply remove the hunters’ heads. If you start to tire of all this, you need to visit your local diplomat, who may be able to reconcile you with the nation you’ve peeved so dearly.

Sea mode All naval battles and attacks on forts are performed in Sea mode. Any encounter on the global map will trigger a switch to the Sea mode, where the battle will take place. You can switch between two views in Sea mode: • Third-person view – View your ship from the side. Use your mouse to rotate the camera around the ship, and zoom in and out with the scrollwheel. • First-person view – See it all from the eyes of your captain.

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Ship status In the top-left of the screen you will see indicators of your ship status, and of your squadron’s. The icon in the center shows the ship herself. The red bar represents the hull condition; the blue one, sail condition. The number in the white oval shows your crew number. Under the circle is the ship’s name. The stars above the ship icon show the ship’s class.

Mini-map The mini-map shows the wind direction in relation to your ship, the locations of enemy and friendly ships, as well as island outlines, if you happen to be near one. • Friendly ships are shown in green; enemy ships in red; and sunken ship in blue. Neutral ships are gray. • Below the mini-map, to the left, you can see the wind speed; to the right, your current speed and rigging. • Shaded zones around the ship’s outline show the range of cannons, with the current ammo type. • The ammo type is displayed in a small square under the mini-map. It also shows the number of shots of this type remaining. • The icons that encircle the mini-map show the status of your cannons. When all icons are green, the deck is ready for a salvo. If your cannons are damaged, some icons will be red.


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Spyglass One of the items you can use is the Spyglass. With its aid, you can glean some information about an enemy ship. The amount of information you receive and zooming strength depend on the spyglass type. The better the spyglass, the more information you may learn about the ship.

Important: You can only use the spyglass in first-person mode. To use the spyglass, press [Ctrl]. Any information about the ship you are viewing is displayed at the bottom of the screen. At the bottom-left is the ship status, her allegiance, hull and sail condition, ship speed, number of cannons, and the type of ammo she is using. At the bottom-right are the captain’s characteristics, but you can only see this information with the very best spyglass.

Quick commands Press [Enter] during sea mode to access the ship’s quick commands. To execute a quick command, select it with the arrow keys and hit [Enter]. The quick commands are as follows: • Moor – Appears when you are close to a friendly port. Hit this to jump to the nearby city or bay. • Sail to – Quickly sail to a fort, city, bay, or other ship. Has a certain functional radius; also, doesn’t work during combat. • Map – Go to the global map.

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• Reload – Lets you reload your cannons. From the list, select the type of ammo you want. • Sails – Change the ship’s rigging. Select the rigging from the list that pops up. • Grappling – Appears when a vessel is close enough to board. • Cabin – Select this to go to your captain’s cabin. From there, you can move between other ship locations (the Cargo deck, the officers’ Wardroom, etc.). • Cancel – Exit the quick command list. Important: While you are in the quick commands mode, you cannot control your ship.

Managing your squadron When your squadron consists of more than one ship, you order the other ships through quick commands. To switch between quick commands for your ship for the squadron, use the up/down arrow keys.

• Attack – Appears when enemy ships are nearby. An order to attack the selected ship and sink it. • Grappling – Appears when enemy ships are nearby. An order to shoot grapeshot at the selected ship. • Defense – Give an order to defend the friendly ship in question. • Sail away – Give an order to flee the battle. • Remove sails – The ship will remove the sails and await further order. • Fire-ship – Give an order to approach the enemy vessel and then set the powder room on fire. The explosion will be more powerful if you have a lot


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of powder in the hold. Naturally, this sacrifices the ship. The captain can save himself, if he has the “Lifeboat rescue” Ability. • Cancel – Exit the quick command menu.

Sea battles You can win in a sea battle either by sinking the enemy vessel, or by capturing it. The principle firepower of 17th century sailing vessels is concentrated in the board cannon batteries, therefore it is most effective to target the enemy while your boards are facing them. Apart from board cannons, ships also have fore and aft cannons, which serve as additional firepower during maneuvers. Aft cannons are also quite effective against pursuers.

Ammo and gunpowder To destroy your enemies, you have four types of ammo at your disposal: cannonballs, bombs, chain shot and grapeshot. All types of ammo require gunpowder, so make sure you always have plenty. • Cannonballs – The cheapest, simplest, and most reliable ammo, suitable for almost any type of target, for either defensive and offensive use. But they are most effective against an enemy hull or against forts. Cannonballs have the longest range of all ammo. • Bombs – The most expensive and destructive ammo, bombs are cast iron balls, filled with powder, garnished with a fuse. After the shot is fired, the bomb explodes, blasting the crew with shrapnel, setting the rigging on fire, and shattering the hull. • Chain shot – These were created to destroy rigging and sails. Chain shots are two iron balls connected by a chain or a pole. During flight, a chainshot spins around, entangling rigging and breaking masts. • Grapeshot – Small metal pellets, rather like a huge blunderbuss; deals terrifying damage to a crew. Since grapeshot is only good at close range, it is recommended to use it immediately before grappling. To switch between ammo types, use the 1, 2, 3, and 4 keys. The moment you select a new ammo type, the crew will start reloading them, so it is most effective to change your ammo just after a successful volley. The bosun will always relay your order to the team with his booming voice, as well as informing you when a board is ready to fire.

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Targeting When controlling your ship in third-person mode, all you have to do is position your ship so that the enemy is inside your cannon range, and press the fire button. Your gunners will target the cannons themselves. All cannons that have enemies in range will fire. The accuracy of your shots in third-person mode depends on your “Accuracy” Skill. When you are controlling the ship in first-person mode, you control the targeting yourself. You set the vertical angle for the cannonball shot using your on-screen target; the higher the angle, the further the balls will fly. The direction of the shots is the direction you are facing. When you set an angle that will result in a hit on the enemy, the target will turn red. The shot will be made only in the direction you are facing, even if there are enemies that other cannons might hit. If you don’t see a target crosshair, it means that you cannot shoot in that direction. You must remember that after you give an order to shoot, the cannonballs will not fly in that direction immediately, so if you are targeting a fast ship, take the speed into consideration. Important: If you accidentally target a friendly ship, the target crosshair will become green. Also important: The crosshair will light up when your cannons are directed at a ship’s hull. If you want to shoot at the ship’s masts and sails, raise the crosshair a bit.

Damage to cannons Bad gunpowder, unskilled gunners, or a low-quality cannon build can sometimes cause the guns to explode. The probability of a gun exploding during a shot depends on your “Cannons” Skill and the gun’s type. Guns of larger calibers are tougher, and cannons are tougher that culverins. More often, guns will be destroyed by cannonball and bomb collisions. You can replace damaged guns in the [F2]/”Ship” screen. (See “On-board guns”.)

Forfeiting battle – Leaving ships behind During a battle, the hero’s ship may exit the enemy cannons’ shooting radius, which will activate the “Map” icon. If there are still companion ships engaged in the battle, then instead of exiting to the map mode, you will be asked if you want to “Leave your ships?”. You can return to the battle, or leave your ships and exit combat.


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Grappling A true corsair will strive to board and capture an enemy ship, as there’s nothing to gain from a sunken ship, yet the goods she carries, not to mention the ship herself are always of value. To successfully board a ship, first you need to get in close enough that your crew can toss their grapples. The distance they can throw depends on their “Grappling” ability, and it can be improved by additional Abilities. As soon as an enemy ship is available for grappling, a quick action icon, showing a grapple, will appear next to the mini-map. To enter combat mode, hit the quick command key (Spacebar, by default). Sometimes a nearby enemy ship may try to grapple you. If it succeeds, you have no choice but to engage them in battle. Having grappled an enemy ship, you will appear on its deck, where you and your crew must defeat the enemy crew. The number of sailors taking part in combat depends on the ratio between the two crews, but it cannot exceed the limit for the grappling deck, which is calculated from the ratio of your crew against the enemy crew. For example, if your crew is 100 strong, and the enemy has 150 people, then you will have 10 soldiers on your side, while the enemy will have 15. If the hero has Fighter/Grappler officers, they also will engage in combat. It is important to have a supply of “Weapons” in your hold. Unarmed sailors will suffer greater losses. Having enough “Medicine” on the ship will lower your losses from wounds, after grappling. Your sailors’ “Soldier” experience affects their Skills and Abilities in melee combat, so veterans and masters, even if outnumbered, will be much more effective than rookies. Keep an eye on your stock of Weapons and Medicine, and resupply all ships in your squadron as necessary, since all of the above is true for your companions as well. You can evaluate the number of people aboard an enemy ship using the spyglass, and if they have advantage in numbers, you can fire grapeshot at their ship. As soon as the last enemy dies on deck, and your sailors holster their sabers, you can begin the next stage of taking over the ship – a duel with the captain. Using the quick command (Spacebar), you will appear in his cabin, where you will face the captain one-on-one. At times the captain may not have the guts to face you, and decline your challenge. In that case, you will enter the ship looting interface straight away, and the captain will surrender to your mercy.

Take the captured ship If you have a free officer on your ship, you can assign him to control the newly-captured vessel. The officer you assign to this position must have good Navigation, Accuracy, Cannons, and Defense skills. But if you don’t plan to keep the ship in your squadron, and just want to sell it in the nearest port, you can disregard the officer’s skills.

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You can take the ship by pressing the “Appoint captain” button; if you don’t see such a button, you will have to press the “Remove captain” button first, after which you will have to decide the captain’s fate – keep him as a captive, or kill him. After you appoint an officer, you will have to redistribute the crew, by pressing the “Crew transfer” button – similarly to transferring crew between companion ships.

Let the surrendered ship go If you successfully complete your boarding operation, then there’s no one to let go, and unless you appoint an officer, the ship will simply sink. But if the captain and his crew surrendered without a fight, or during combat they decided that resistance is futile, you will have several options, regarding their fate. You can take everything of value from the hold and let the captain and what’s left of his crew go in peace. They will be tame when they regain control of the ship, and will try to leave combat as soon as possible. You can also remove the captain from his ship, take him captive, or kill right there and then. You can take the crew as slaves, or throw them overboard. Each of these decisions affects the hero’s reputation in a different way, and can also sway the officers’ loyalty one way or another.

Stealthy sailing – Remaining undetected While at sea, you can change your flag to appeal to your enemy. This may allow you to travel unmolested, and approach to within grappling range without entering combat – or to trade with the enemy, or enter a city without engaging the fort in combat. All you need is a corresponding set of flags, and these can be attained by selecting the “French Flag”, “Spanish Flag”, etc. in your Ship Abilities panel on the main “Character” screen. At the beginning of the game, the hero always has a choice between two flags: the “Jolly Roger” or the flag of his starting nation. The ship’s class, the number of companions, and the Stealth Skill all affect the probability of not being recognized. You cannot change your flag on land or during combat, so change it in advance, while enemy ships are still far away.

Cabin and moving on the ship While your ship is at sea, you can go to your private cabin. Simply select “Cabin” from the menu:


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From there, you will have the option to visit other ship locations, such as the Wardroom or hold.

Chests for holding personal items

Your cabin has several chests where you can keep your personal items or money. The chests allow you to keep as many items or as much gold as you want. When you switch ships, your personal items from the chests are automatically transferred to your new cabin.

Rest until morning or night You can also rest in the cabin. Your health won’t return as quickly as in a nice tavern bed, but at least you don’t have to pay. To rest in your cabin, select “Speak Aloud” from the command menu (Enter), and then select the corresponding reply in the dialog.

Hiring slaves into the crew If your hold contains slaves, you can recruit them into your crew. This will slightly decrease your crew’s morale and experience. The number of slaves that may agree to join you depends on your Authority. To use this function, select “Speak Aloud” from the command menu, then select the corresponding reply.

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Managing officers You can manage your officers from your ship’s Wardroom. You can get to the Wardroom from your cabin, through the Cannon Deck. There you will find your officers; you can start a dialog with any of them. If an officer is no longer needed, or is simply too expensive for you, you can relieve him. Only the larger ships have a Wardroom. Any Fighter/Grappler officers will always be in the captain’s cabin.

Captives in the hold Any captives you collect will be held in the ship’s hold. You can speak with them as well. You can turn a captive into a slave, or release him and allow him to reach land (if your ship is not far from an island), which may improve your reputation. You can hit your captives, or you can throw them overboard. But be careful, since their fellow captives might try to defend them, and even start a fight! If your captive is a pirate, you can hire him as an officer – that is, of course, if he agrees to serve you. Also remember that city governors may pay a decent ransom for your captives – especially if the captive is one of their own nationals.

Send out a rowboat While at sea, you can send out a rowboat to a friendly or neutral ship. To do this, hit [Enter] and bring up the command menu. There, hit the following button:

If your ship is close enough to the ship you want to send the boat to, you will see that ship in the list. On the other ship, you will have to start a dialog; first with the captain, as the sailors will not speak to you. If you meet a squadron of several ships, the captain may send you to the flagship of that squadron, as he may not be authorized to discuss important issues with you. The captain of the flagship may tell you the prices of his goods, or various rumors; you can trade, or play cards or dice with the captain (if he pleases); you can also demand a toll for passing by.

Learn goods prices If you are sending a boat to a merchant ship, you may learn when the ship is coming and the prices in the shops there. To do this, select the “Where are you coming from?” question in the dialog.


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Trading To trade, select the “Shall we trade?” dialog option. If the captain agrees, you will see a familiar menu. The interface will show the goods on each ship; the goods that the captain does not want to trade will be displayed in red.

Play cards or dice You can play cards or dice, provided you have enough cash and the captain accepts your invitation.

Demand a “toll” You can try demanding money outright, by choosing the corresponding reply in the dialog. This method is rather risky, as the captain may refuse to pay you, forcing you into an unwanted sea battle. It is important to note that if you take the “toll”, your hero’s relationships with that nation will change, yet the hero’s home nation’s relationships will not. So if you have a license, you don’t have to worry about losing it if you perform this action.

Global map mode The global map mode allows you to quickly travel between the islands of the Caribbean archipelago and the mainland colonies. The global map controls are the keys [W],[A], [S] and [D]. To switch to sea mode, hit [Spacebar] or [Enter], to bring up the command menu and select the following button:

To switch to the global map from sea mode, hit [Enter] and press the following button:

There are two modes for viewing the global map, and you can switch between them using the [Tab] key. In the first mode, the camera is centered on your squadron and follows it. In this mode, you can zoom the camera in and out using the mouse wheel. In the second mode, the camera is not focused on your squadron, and you can pan it as you wish, but you cannot zoom in or out.

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On the global map, you can encounter storms as well as other squadrons, both friendly and not.

This interface shows you the direction of the wind (shown by the arrow), its strength (blue indicator, beneath), and the time of day. Below the icon, you will notice a bar, showing your crew’s morale. If the bar is red, your crew is at the verge of mutiny. The rosier your crew’s spirits, the greener the bar will be (as in the picture above).


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Below the morale indicator, you can see the number of days of provisions your squadron has remaining. The timeframe given is based on your pooled provisions, so if you see an alert that a specific ship lacks some essential goods, you will need to transfer what it needs using the goods exchange interface.

Encounters with enemy ships When you close in on an enemy ship, the following icon will appear over on the right of the screen:

Hit [spacebar] to select a quick command, and the sailor on lookout will tell you the squadron’s flag, numbers, and nature (patrol, merchants, etc.). You can choose to keep sailing, or to attack. If you are unable to avoid the ships, the “Sail on” button may not be available; in that case you will no option but to fight. At very close range, the enemy ship may attack first – in which case the lookout will again report to you, and give you a choice of action. Occasionally, you may encounter a battle in progress, that you can leap into. In that instance, your lookout will alert you as to who is fighting whom.

Encounters with peaceful ships Encounters with peaceful squadrons are almost identical to those with enemy ships, except (logically enough) they will not throw the first stone. If you find friendly ships on the global map, then you will see this icon to the left of the wind indicator:

Hit the spacebar to use quick command and learn how many of what kind of ships you’re looking at. As with enemy squadrons, you can switch to sea mode, or choose to sail by. In this case, however, the “Sail on” button is always available. Important: On the global map, squint closely at the flag and sails on the ship icon to tell its nationality. As each ship class has a unique icon, you can also try to guess the make of the squadron’s flagship.

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Storms

You may encounter a storm on the global map. If you get close, you will see the following icon:

Hit the spacebar to bring up the command menu and switch to sea mode, and the storm will manifest right before your eyes. Your ship will suffer slight damage (depending on your hero’s Skills), and your hero will gain some experience. After some time, the global map icon will reappear and you will be able to return to the map or moor at land. Important: If you get caught in a storm during battle, you will have to remain in combat. It’s best that you avoid such a situation, as you will be unable to return to the global map until you sink the enemy ships. Keep in mind that your ship will continue to receive damage, and sea battles during a storm are very difficult, which increases the risk of failure.

Bounty hunters If you manage to greatly anger some nation, then it may send bounty hunters after your head, and they will follow you on land and at sea. And if you can some-


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how deceive or bribe them on land, you will have to fight them after an encounter on the global map, since the “Sail on” button will be inactive. Of course, you always have the option of running away if they can’t catch up with you. You can read more about bounty hunters in the “Diplomat” and “Relations between nations” sections.

Capturing Cities Sooner or later your hero will have to face the need to capture a city. It may be a mission from the governor-general, or player’s own wish. Port cities are guarded by a fort, and sometimes by military ships that might be near the port at the time. Jungle settlements do not have forts, and you can only capture them over land. Different city forts have varying numbers of guns and garrison. Every fort is equipped with powerful cannons with a large shooting radius, that might be much better than the best ship guns. Usually these are 42- and 48-pound cannons loaded with bombs.

Destruction of the Fort and battle in the City During battle, you will have to destroy most of the fort’s cannons. The number of cannons you must destroy depends on the game difficulty setting. As soon as this happens, a “Landing” quick command icon will appear next to the mini-map, which will take you to the next stage of your assault – a fight with the remains of the garrison, inside the fort itself. Apart from destroying the cannons, you can target the fort with grapeshot to decrease the number of soldiers in the garrison. After you destroy the cannons, grapeshot will have no effect on the fort. The more sailors you have, and the more experienced they are, the easier it will be to break the defenders’ resistance. The Allied Troop Landing Ability will include the crews of your companions’ ships into your storming force. The presence of Weapons goods in your hold is extremely important. Unarmed sailors will suffer greater losses. Having the Medicine goods in stock will lower you losses from wounds after storming the fort. This also applies to your companions taking part in the assault. After squashing the fort garrison resistance, the hero enters the city with the remains of his forces, where he will have to battle the city guards to get into the governor’s residence. The hero enters the residence together with his officers, and he may find the remaining guards in there, or the governor alone, if his advantage in numbers is great enough. In the dialog with the governor you can choose the city’s fate – looting or raising a different flag above it (take the city yourself, or give it to another nation).

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Land assault The capturing of the city begins from the jungle at the city gates. From the Enter menu, select “Speak Aloud” and then the “Start capturing the nearest city” reply. The assault will start if your ship is not in port (else the fort will just sink it) and you have enough men. Next, you will have to battle the guards at the gates, after which you and your followers enter the city to fight the remaining guards on the streets and in the residence, as in a sea assault. Note: If the fort in a port city remains intact, you can loot such a city, but not capture it.

Looting the city After choosing to loot the city, you will receive a certain ransom before you start the actual looting. You can loot a third of the goods available at the shop at the moment you capture the city. If the fort is intact, you can loot one-sixth of its goods. The rest of the goods are taken away and hidden by savvy citizens. The controls in the looting interface are the same as in the shop, but without the price columns. Hint: You can always check the shop’s stock levels, to tell beforehand if looting will be worthwhile.


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Raise a nation’s flag In the dialog with the governor, you can choose to capture the city for yourself, or in the name of another country; depending on your decision, a new banner will be raised. You will be presented the choice to transfer the city’s custody if you have captured the country as part of a mission, or have a corresponding privateer license. After a while the city will be repopulated; the garrison will be restaffed, a new governor will be installed, and the city will be absorbed into the colony in question.

Raise a pirate flag above the city If you choose to keep the city for yourself, a pirate flag will go up. After a while the citizens will return to the city, but there will be no governor. You will have to appoint a deputy, from amongst your officers. You must remember that the aggrieved party will not abandon its efforts to retake the city, so you should expect fairly regular business calls.

Appoint a deputy A captured city requires a deputy. You can appoint him in a dialog with one of your officers in the city or in the residence, by selecting the reply: “I hereby appoint you my deputy in this city!”. Note: The deputy is excluded from the list of your officers, he is not paid a monthly salary and he is not counted in the limit of officers you can hire based on your Authority Capability.

Remove a deputy The deputy will always be in the residence, but in a dialog with him you can select the “I need you on board, so I am relieving you from duty” reply. Then he will become an officer once again.

Collect taxes In the dialog with your deputy you can select a reply about taxes that you may collect. The amount you can collect will depend on your Authority and Trade Skills, as well as the city itself. There are small cities that will not give you much in tax money, and there are big ones that will bring you more money. The sum is accumulated every day, and you can collect it whenever you want to.

Sieges and retaking the city The squadrons that will come to try to retake the city from the hero will besiege the city for some time. The hero might be able to make it in time to

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rescue the city and fight the enemies. If the hero is not quick enough, the city will go back to its lawful owner. The deputy will be executed, and all the money he collected will go into the city treasury. Is the hero had deposits with the local Moneylender, they are confiscated.

Pay ransom for your city If your hero has several cities, then sieges that start at the same time will not allow him to rescue all of them, if the cities are far apart. Some of the cities might be captured. You can talk to the diplomat about stopping a nation’s attempts to retake a city you captured, which will stop enemy squadrons trying to besiege the city. The price of such a service is high, indeed, but the bureaucratic problems the diplomat has to solve are great as well. If you pay such a ransom for a city, it will not be attacked again and will remain in hero’s custody forever, unless you decide to transfer the control over it to the Governor General of one of the sides.

Transfer control of your city to the Governor-General You can transfer a city that you captured for yourself to one of the countries. The city need not to be bought out with the aid of a diplomat. In the dialog with the governor-general, you can select the corresponding reply about transferring a captured settlement, and select your city from the list. Your hero will be rewarded for such an action, and the nation’s relationship with him will improve.


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Default controls General Switch 1st person / 3rd person modes Acceleration Open character interface Open ‘’Escape’’ menu Open ‘’Quick command’’ menu Quick save Quick load Execute quick command Screenshot

[TAB] [R], [+] and [-] [F2] [Esc], [F1] [Enter] [F6] [F9] [Spacebar] [F8] (only 32 bit modes)

Sea first-person Move forward on deck Move back on deck Turn ship left Turn ship right Raise sails Lower sails Execute a cannon salvo Viewing scope Zoom in mini-map Zoom out mini-map Load cannons with cannonballs Load cannons with grape shot Load cannons with chain shot Load cannons with exploding shot

Right mouse button Middle mouse button [A] [D] [W] [S] Left mouse button [Ctrl] [E] [F] [1] [2] [3] [4]

Sea third person Zoom camera on the ship Zoom camera away from the ship Turn ship left Turn ship right Raise sails Lower sails Execute a cannon salvo Zoom in mini-map Zoom out mini-map Load cannons with cannonballs

Mouse wheel Mouse wheel [A] [D] [W] [S] Left mouse button [E] [F] [1]

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Load cannons with grape shot Load cannons with chain shot Load cannons with exploding shot

[2] [3] [4]

Land controls Perform action (talk to a character) Left mouse button Walk forward W, Right mouse button Walk back [S] Move left [A] Move right [D] Switch between walk/run modes [Shift] Draw sword (turn combat mode on) [E] Browsing answers in dialog Arrow keys, mouse wheel Selecting answer in dialog [Spacebar], Left mouse button ‘’Berserk’’ Ability [F] Use ‘’health potion’’ [X] Search a corpse [1] Show the name and parameters of the closest character [F12]

Character control in combat Move forward Jump back Move left Move right Draw/sheathe sword Shoot the pistol Switch strike modes Block Piercing strike / Circular strike Crushing strike / Feint Slashing strike / Parry

[W] [S] [A] [D] [E] [Q] [Shift] [Spacebar] Left mouse button Middle mouse button Right mouse button

Global map mode Forward Back Move left Move right Change map mode Zoom in / zoom out camera Go to sea (battle)


[W] [S] [A] [D] [TAB] Mouse wheel [Spacebar]

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City of Abandoned Ships project Akella

VP Development: • Dmitri Arkhipov

Director, External Projects Department • Sergey Belistov

Director, Testing Department • Denis Yepifanov

Sales & Marketing • Svetlana Gorobets • Grigory Vladimiro

PR Managers • Pyotr Golovin • Irina Semyonova • Olga Pak

Seaward.ru

3D-Modeling

People’s Quest

• Yury Rohach • Alexei Ryabov • Pavel Rohach • Elena Sablina

• Ivan Lazarevich • Denis Borodaev • Mikhail Volkov

Texturing

• Ivan Lazarevich

• Yury Rohach • Andrew Rohach

Art • Andrew Rohach • Innocenty Shevchenko • Andrew Ivanchenko • Nikolai Lobzov

Intro Video • Yury Rohach

Subject Video • Maxim Kulakov

Animation • Pavel Barnev

Project Leader

Programming

• Edward Zaitsev • Yury Rohach

• Edward Zaitsev • Mikhail Volkov • Ivan Shcheblykin • Nikita Kurnosov

Lead Designer

Subject

• Edward Zaitsev

• Edward Zaitsev • Pavel Karpov • Maxim Kulakov

Atr-director

Designer • Alexei Bobrovnikov

Editing texts Music created by • Nikolay Makarov • Rock band «Doroga Vodana» • Alexei Nikiforov

Sound directors • Sergei Tsypin • Alexei Nikiforov

Montage • Alexander Krasavtsev (“In-line studio”) • Anton Levkov

Actors • Igor Kornilov • Victor Solodkov • Valentin Samokhin • Ella Volkova • Victoria Nakleskina • Lilia Fomicheva • Vasily Pehov • Alexei Nikiforov • Anton Verbitsky • Maxim Kulakov

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Sound Engine • “FMOD Ex Sound System” “Firelight Technologies”

Testing • Andrei Larionov • Sergei Mayorov • Sergei Tsypin • Alexander Sergeyev

• Artem Rodin • Dmitry Ivanenko • Sergei Kosterin • Vyacheslav Smirnov • Anton Kovalenko • Yevgeny Kudryavtsev • Boris Zakoyan • Fedor Checherov • Sergey Romanov • Eugene Taran

• Yevgeny Ivanov • Gennady Ivanisov • Pavel Knyazev • Alexander Nesterov • Igor Devil • Maxim Nazarov • Maxim Kulakov • Vasily Pehov • Sergei Zenin • Vladimir Grankin

Playlogic International Executive Vice President

Legal & Production Specialist

• Rogier W. Smit

• Maaike Chanowski

Chief Technical Officer & Production Director

International Sales Director • Lee Shuffield

• Dominique Morel

Sales Manager

Chief Marketing, Licensing & Sales Officer

Marketing Manager

• Russell Beadle

• Pierre Yves Thiercelin

• Beco Mulderij

Chief Legal and Compliance Officer

PR Manager

• Catharina Prak J.D.

Producer • Poria Torkan

Product Support Services Manager • Hoang-Minh Luu


• Rick van Beem

Logistics Manager • Marius Snellink

Junior Product Manager • Erik Coenen

Design & DTP • Marijn Wegman

Illustration • Tom Thiel • Sven Papenbrock

Voicerecording • Universally Speaking

Testing Team • Stefan Snip • Robin de Visser • Quantic Lab • Bug-Tracker

Localization • Gamelocalization.net • Pearse Finnegan

Additional Artwork By • Playlogic Game Factory

Special thanks to • Willem M. Smit, Chief Executive Officer • Everyone at Playlogic International

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Limited Warranty Playlogic International warrants you, the original purchaser of the Game, that this Game will perform substantially as described in the accompanying manual for a period of 90 days from the date of fi rst purchase. If you discover a problem with the Game covered by this warranty within the 90 days period, your retailer will repair or replace the Game at its option, free of charge, according to the process identifi ed below. This limited warranty: (a) does not apply if the Game is used in a business or for a commercial purpose: and (b) is void if any diffi culties with the Game are related to accident, abuse, virus or misapplication. Returns within 90 day period Warranty claims should be made to your retailer. Return the Game to your retailer along with a copy of the original sales receipt and an explanation of the difficulty you are experiencing with the Game. At its option the retailer will either repair or replace the Game. Any replacement Game will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period or 30 days from receipt, whichever is longer. If for any reason the Game cannot be replaced or repaired, you will be entitled to receive your direct (but no other) damages incurred in reasonable reliance but only up to the amount of the price you paid for the Game. The foregoing (repair, replacement or limited damages) is your exclusive remedy.

Limitations This limited warranty is in place of other express or statutory warranties, conditions or duties and no others of any nature are made or shall be binding on Playlogic International, its retailers or suppliers. Any implied warranties applicable to this Game or the media in which it is contained are limited to the 90 day period described above. TO THE FULL EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, NEITHER PLAYLOGIC INTERNATIONAL, ITS RETAILERS, SUPPLIERS ARE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNTITIVE, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE POSSESSION, USE OR MALFUNCTION OF THIS GAME. THE FOREGOING APPLIES EVEN IF ANY REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. Some countries/jurisdictions do not allow limitations as to how long an implied warranty lasts and/or exclusions or limitations of incidental or consequential damages so the above limitations and/or exclusions of liability may not apply to you. This limited warranty gives you specifi c rights, and you may also have other rights that vary from country/jurisdiction to country/jurisdiction. For questions regarding this warranty contact your retailer or Playlogic International at: Playlogic International N.V. World Trade Centre C-Tower 10th Floor, Strawinskylaan 1041 1077 XX Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Support For questions regarding this game please contact Playlogic International at: http://www.playlogicgames.com/support

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Notes


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72

AGE OF PIRATES 2 – City of Abandoned Ships © 2009 Playlogic International N.V. All rights reserved. Developed by Akella and Seaward. Produced by Akella. Published by Playlogic International N.V. Playlogic is a registered trademark of Playlogic International N.V. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. “Age of Pirates” is a Trademark of Feenix Gmbh, Karlruhe – www.feenix.de


2/6/2009 11:56:01 AM

MANUAL AGE OF PIRATES 2

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