Arrr.. this be right fun!

[Malibu Sally]

As I said in the "What I got for Christmas" thread, I got a copy of Sid Meier's Pirates! It's a remake of a game he made years ago. It's been out for a little over a year and I've always wanted to play, but one thing or another kept preventing it.

Anyway. I love this game. It is easy to learn, easy to control, and there are many different ways to play.

The game begins with movie about how the evil Marquis Montalban has taken your family and sold them into bondage before they could repay the family debt to him. You are the only one to escape and of course, you vow revenge. You then go to the charater creation screen.

There is no "character creation" like RPG's. You pretty much are stuck with the one guy. But you can name him whatever you want and then select the starting difficulty, area of expertise, and which era of pirating you want to play in.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Charcreation.jpg

The difficulty level can change during the game. If you are doing really well, there are times when you can advance to the next difficulty level. Likewise you can step backward to a lower level if you are doing poorly.

Once you have created your character, you choose who to sail to the new world with. The English, Spanish, Dutch, or French. This will determine which Caribbean port you start at, and also determines what nationality the others with view you as.

At sea, the crew mutinies against the cruel captain and you are elected as the new captain. You then sail into your starting port. From there, everything is up to you...

Jack McStabby's pirate sloop "Widdy"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Sloop.jpg
Yes, you can name your ships. Why Widdy? Because the master of screenshot posting of other games needs some kind of honor.;)


The Widdy encounters a filthy Spanish scow.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Battle1.jpg



That crew gave up after two broadsides of chain shot nearly took her masts off. So now we get to plunder her!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/plunder1.jpg


Since she was in fairly good shape, I kept her and took her as a prize to sell in Barbados:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/prize1.jpg


The Governor of Barbados was happy to see one less filthy Spaniard on the seas and gave me letters of marque to attack and plunder any enemies of England. So back on the water we go.... and soon find a nice fat French Merchantman. This crew did not give up after a few shots were fired, so boarders away! Me and the French Captain decided to test each other:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/swordfight.jpg


Since I chose swordsmanship as my area of expertise during character creation, the fight did not last long. The French crew gave up once they saw thier captain vanquished. So back to port with a big haul of trade goods and a little gold. The Governor of Barbados was thrilled. He gave me a promotion to Captain on the spot.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/promotion.jpg


more to come................

[Alumette]

I *SO* want this game!

*adds it to her wishlist*

Sally this looks cool! Can't wait to see more posts!

[The Widowed]

I should feel honored that you named the ship after me, huh? :D

I was considering getting this game and/or Elder Scrolls: Oblivion as soon as my financial obligations cleared up. I got to try the battle mode for Pirates on a CompUSA X-Box demo, and it was pretty neat...much more realistic than Puzzle Pirates or the Uncharted Waters games for the Sega Genesis ever had to offer. Sea Dogs had a comparable combat system, but I only got to try the Sea Dogs demo; The full version was impossible to find.

Too bad you can't customize your pirate captain in Pirates. So much for any possible Blackbeard, Jack Sparrow or Black Rose, Queen of the High Seas clones, I guess. :|

[Noble]

I pwned this game so hard that I could take warships that had over 200 with only a crew of 30. I HATED the dancing part though. Completely out of character for pirates.

[Xielos]

I eyed this game at the local Target, and debated it. I had $60 in gift cards, $20 of which were reserved for roller Coaster Tycoon 3. I decided against it, and went to the Best Buy and used my $30 gift card on Rise of Legends. Add that to my Warhammer 40k addiction, half finished Dead Rising, and the Exteel beta I'm not in, for the first time in my life I think I have too many games....

[Malibu Sally]

I pwned this game so hard that I could take warships that had over 200 with only a crew of 30. I HATED the dancing part though. Completely out of character for pirates.
Honest to god, Noble. Have you liked or enjoyed ANYTHING... Ever?

[Chain Lightning]

Sweet, I think I want to play this now also. Looks pretty nice. Keep the screenies coming, Sally.

[The Widowed]

Honest to god, Noble. Have you liked or enjoyed ANYTHING... Ever?
The short answer: NOPE! >:]

Really, Sally. It's Noble. This guy could have made Joan of Arc's execution even more depressing just by walking into Rouen. :p

[Noble]

Honest to god, Noble. Have you liked or enjoyed ANYTHING... Ever?

I only enjoy anything for a very short amount of time. It's my curse.

[The Widowed]

I only enjoy anything for a very short amount of time. It's my curse.
...therefore, long-term sexual relationships are not for you, huh? :P

[Noble]

...therefore, long-term sexual relationships are not for you, huh? :P

no relationships period.

[Malibu Sally]

What I'm really enjoying so far:

-The animations are really nice. The action flows smoothly. This is especially nice for me because this machine get a bit balky at times.

-The controls: Basically you just use the keypad for everything.

-I've only found one real bug, and it's not major or game breaking.... just a bit frustrating.(more on this later)

-There is no set way to play the game. You can be a cutthroat "attack and take everything" pirate, a privateer loyal to one of the four powers, a simple trader in goods(this has got to be the toughest thing to do and still get ahead), or you can focus strictly on the quests to rescue your lost family and get revenge on Montalban.

-The Music is really good: There is a LOT of background music in this game.



There are a couple of things that are a bit trying:

-Dancing: This can be a real pain. At the lowest level, it's rather easy... the UI lights up the correct button you need to hit ahead of time. At higher levels, you have to watch your partner's hands at all times so you can know what key to hit. There is also a timing factor. If you get it spot-on, you do a flourish when you move, which gives you a bonus in charming your partner

-Screenshots: This game does not have a screenshots folder, so when I snap a screenie, my clipboard is the only thing holding it. I have to save it before taking the next.(multiple screens of battles are not possible until I can find a way to automatically save screenshots to a folder and not to the clipboard)

-Governor's Daughters: There are three kinds you find. Rather plain, attractive, and beautiful. This ranking is based solely upon the size of her chest and how much of it is oozing out of her clothing. The "plain" ones are wrapped up in shawls and high neckline gowns. The "beautiful" ones have their boobs practically poking your eyes out.:rolleyes:

-The quest bug: Sometimes two different villains you are hunting are seen in the same town. When this happens, you have to take care of them in the order that you got them. The other villain won't appear anywhere until the first one is dispatched.(and the first one almost always leads you all over the damned Caribbean before you finally catch up) Usually, you can take care of any villain in any order your get them.

[Bitter Babe]

I have this game, haven't played it much though since the sound didnt work for me for some reason. The original is my favorite, I still have it for my Commodore 64.

[Krypto]

Heh, my sister rented this game from Blockbuster a long time ago, liked it so much she ended up buying it afterwards. I like it a lot too, but it gets really difficult when you get old.

[The Widowed]

no relationships period.
One-night stands and no-strings sex must be a breeze for you. :D

-There is no set way to play the game. You can be a cutthroat "attack and take everything" pirate, a privateer loyal to one of the four powers, a simple trader in goods(this has got to be the toughest thing to do and still get ahead), or you can focus strictly on the quests to rescue your lost family and get revenge on Montalban.
The privateer lifestyle's more my speed (and the one I've been going with ever since Uncharted Waters). It means fewer targets you can attack and plunder, but it also means fewer enemies who will jump you without warning in hopes of collecting the bounties on your head. It's also nice to always have those safe ports you can enter when your enemies start hounding you down; In Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons I buddied up with the Italians and the Spaniards, and I sacked every English, French or Turkish tub I could find. Then I'd sail into the nearest Spanish or Italian port, sell the freshly acquired ships and loot, head back to sea and do it all again. Life was good. :D

-Governor's Daughters: There are three kinds you find. Rather plain, attractive, and beautiful. This ranking is based solely upon the size of her chest and how much of it is oozing out of her clothing. The "plain" ones are wrapped up in shawls and high neckline gowns. The "beautiful" ones have their boobs practically poking your eyes out.:rolleyes:
I bet the difficulty scales accordingly, too; The beautiful ones are harder to catch than a mako shark on a 50-pound fishing line, but the plain ones will put out for you as soon as you say "Hello". Just like real life, huh? :D

I'll take one plain daughter, please...the more Spanish or Italian she is, the better. How big of a bed would I need for the captain's quarters? Maybe the game will let me bring her along.... :cool:

[Noble]

[QUOTE=The Widowed;203100]One-night stands and no-strings sex must be a breeze for you. :D

none of that either. I do have my morals.


The aging thing is the one major drawback I had for the game. I just wanted to keep playing without limits.

[The Widowed]

Fix your quote, Eeyore. :p

[Black Razor]

I have this one too ... the only two things that were annoying about it to me were the dancing and having to do the land combat when you take towns. The rest of the game was a complete blast. I was suprised to find .. at least for me .. I did the best with a small fast ship with a few guns vs a giant man-o-war with tons of guns. It actually has me very much looking forward to this Pirates of the Burning Sea. (http://www.burningsea.com/) Looks really similar but in MMO format. :razor:

[Malibu Sally]

A couple more screens:


Schmoozing with the barmaid at the tavern in Grand Bahama.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/barmaid.jpg

As you can see, the barmaids will spill all kinds of useful information. Usually about nearby pirates or the names and general courses of gold laden ships.



Dancing with the governor of St. Martins' daughter.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/dancing.jpg
She is one of the "plain" ones.(note the shawl) The "beautiful" ones look more like the barmaid above, but with nicer gowns. Yes Wids, the pretty ones *are* more difficult to catch. You have to dazzle them on the dance floor a crapload of times before you can get the "rescue Governor's daughter" quest. The plain ones are much easier to charm. You can get one to marry you in just a couple of game years instead of five to ten for the pretty ones.


The good ship "Apple Pie Hubbub" sending a curtain of iron death towards a fat, lumbering Spanish scow.(cookie for whoever first gets the name reference)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/APHubbub-1.jpg

Brigs, Brigantines, and Brigs of War are my favorite vessels for pirating so far. They have almost the same speed and maneuverability as Sloops and pack almost as big a punch as Frigates. They have pretty good cargo capacity too.

[ThunderMace]

no relationships period.
Jeebus, no wonder you're so angry!
You should have at least short term meaningless relationships just for your Mental Health.

And Keep the screenies comin' Sally. I'm almost convinced. I played that other Pirate game (not the Sid Meier one, I forget the name) and enjoyed that.

[The Widowed]

Apple Pie Hubbub? What happened to the Widdy? :eyebrow:

(No, I don't get the reference either. :p )

[Malibu Sally]

Apple Pie Hubbub? What happened to the Widdy? :eyebrow:

(No, I don't get the reference either. :p )
New ship, new name. I'll use Widdy again at some point. And shame be upon you for not getting the meaning of Apple Pie Hubbub.:P

[Malibu Sally]

I have this one too ... the only two things that were annoying about it to me were the dancing and having to do the land combat when you take towns.
Land combat is not so bad. The easiest way to do it is to take one unit and make a mad dash for the city gates. That way, if your side is losing badly, you can snatch victory away from the town defenders by taking the gate.

Now sneaking in and out of towns..... THAT is a pain.:D

[Malibu Sally]

Here is a short video clip of part of a sea battle and a swordfight....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1thwxuURNo

Apologies for the choppiness. Fraps causes massive slowdowns in this game. A real shame because the animations are really smooth and quick flowing.

[The Widowed]

Private Video. Invite me, you shiptease. :P

[Malibu Sally]

Private Video. Invite me, you shiptease. :P
Crap.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1thwxuURNo

Ok, try it now.:|

[Noble]

Apple Pie Hubbub? What happened to the Widdy? :eyebrow:

(No, I don't get the reference either. :p )

The widdy was sunk of the coast of no hope :P

EDIT - actually the might seem more fighting for a ship with my name

[The Widowed]

So by "Apple Pie Hubbub" are you referring to the song (http://www.amazon.com/East-Coast-Chip-Shop-Moss/dp/B00002MSJM) or the kinetic sculpture (http://krucoff.com/2006/08/apple-pie-hubbub.html)?

(Heh heh..."Staci the Mad". :D )

[Apollinaris]

I've had this game for a while, and yes it is quite fun. Your mileage may vary since while the sandbox the game is can be lots of fun, it can become boring too. Also I highly recommend not starting out at high difficulty but starting at low difficulty to get yourself a money base and then increasing the difficulty as your journey's end.

Oh yes, and your guy /does/ age. It's pretty cool how subtle the changes over time are. You don't even really realize he's gotten old until you compare him to the openning cinematic.

Oh yes, and try to get your hands on a Royal Sloop, those are lots of fun to use, especially if you prefer swordfights to cannon battles as you can just zoom right up to the other ship, weave through their cannon shots, and board them, exterminate their captain, and take the look and a nice new pristine ship.

Oh, and I never knew you could simply run up to the city gates. I've always been fighting the battles out but recruiting an obscene amount of soldiers. (Morale goes down when you recruit a bunch of new people during a voyage, since the old salts don't like to split their gold with a guy who's been with you for a week.) Then I send the hoard out of the boat, this limiting how many ways my gold get's split later. :) The best way to win the battles is to use the jungle cover and your buccaneer's effectively to soften up units, then finish them off with melee units. Also you can bombard city forts at sea with the space bar button which lowers the number of troops in the garrison.

[Malibu Sally]

So by "Apple Pie Hubbub" are you referring to the song (http://www.amazon.com/East-Coast-Chip-Shop-Moss/dp/B00002MSJM) or the kinetic sculpture (http://krucoff.com/2006/08/apple-pie-hubbub.html)?
Neither. No cookie for you yet. Though I like that sculpture.

[Malibu Sally]

I've had this game for a while, and yes it is quite fun. Your mileage may vary since while the sandbox the game is can be lots of fun, it can become boring too. Also I highly recommend not starting out at high difficulty but starting at low difficulty to get yourself a money base and then increasing the difficulty as your journey's end.
Yeah. I tried playing "Swashbuckler" level from the start.... big mistake. They expect you to take down a friggen war galleon with pinnacle and 20 crew. That ain't happening unless you are Jesus Christ incarnate with a sword.... and that's IF your little boat does not get smashed by a forty gun broadside. :rolleyes:



Oh yes, and your guy /does/ age. It's pretty cool how subtle the changes over time are. You don't even really realize he's gotten old until you compare him to the openning cinematic.
The oldest I've gotten was 43 before the game forced me to retire. Of course I did not buy any of those mysterious herbs and elixers the guy in the Taverns sometimes offered; maybe I'll start buying them and see how long I can go.



Oh yes, and try to get your hands on a Royal Sloop, those are lots of fun to use, especially if you prefer swordfights to cannon battles as you can just zoom right up to the other ship, weave through their cannon shots, and board them, exterminate their captain, and take the look and a nice new pristine ship.
I prefer a Brigantine to a Sloop. You sacrifice a smidgen of speed for huge boost to firepower, crew capacity, and cargo space. But then, I like the sea battles more. Nothing satisfies me more than de-masting Montalban's Royal Galleon, then sitting back and pumping grapeshot into her until there is only 1 crew left.... Then board and watch Montalban surrender after just one swipe of the sword. :D

When you beat Henry Morgan, be sure to keep his ship... it's a Large Frigate. Forty Guns, fast as hell, and only sloops and pinnacles are more maneuverable.

I've yet to see an English Ship of the Line. I'm going to play the Late Era, prey exclusively on the English and see if I can temp them into sending one out to fight.



Oh, and I never knew you could simply run up to the city gates. I've always been fighting the battles out but recruiting an obscene amount of soldiers. (Morale goes down when you recruit a bunch of new people during a voyage, since the old salts don't like to split their gold with a guy who's been with you for a week.) Then I send the hoard out of the boat, this limiting how many ways my gold get's split later. :) The best way to win the battles is to use the jungle cover and your buccaneer's effectively to soften up units, then finish them off with melee units. Also you can bombard city forts at sea with the space bar button which lowers the number of troops in the garrison.
It's still a good idea to have at least 150 men when you fight a land battle. Getting to the gates is not guaranteed to succeed. Especially if the city has cavalry units. They can cut around and hit your "gate crashers" with a flanking attack before they get close enough.

Didn't know about the spacebar while at sea... going to do that asap.:)

[Gold Rush]

I have had this game for awhile, too. I think I even bought either the updated version or the X-Box one. I loved the original.

Loved the Uncharted Water series. :)

While I like this game, it DOES seem to take up a LOT of my time, so that is why I haven't even played them. But these screenshots are making my mouth water (and it isn't the rhubarb pie ;p ).

Black Razor pointed out Pirates of the Burning Sea, isn't this game already out? I've seen it ONLY on Comp-USA shelves or maybe I am thinking of another pirate MMO game? I've been tempted many a time to buy it, but reading the back of the box, it seems like a limited MMO. :/

================================================== ======

Gold Rush

[Black Razor]

Nah PotBS is still in beta. Comes out sometime mid this year. Kinda a wierd MMO .. you play mostly as your ship. You do have an avatar though that you can run around port towns as to get missions and socialize. Not sure if theres any on foot combat.

Heres a link to there webbie. The game looks beautiful graphically. Pirates of the Burning Sea (http://www.burningsea.com/) :skull:

[Solario]

I pwned this game so hard that I could take warships that had over 200 with only a crew of 30. I HATED the dancing part though. Completely out of character for pirates.

We're a gang of vicious pirates, sailin' out to sea, when you hear our gentle singin', you will swiftly turn and flee!

[Poison]

I played this game for a long while before I got bored. I pretty much disliked the dancing, too, but was able to get it done more or less (and with some presents...). Still, lots of fun!

[Noble]

There are better pirate games out there. I can't remember what they were, but they were for X-box around the time when it had first come out.

I remember the old old old Sid What's his name's Pirates for the Commodore 64. That game was awsome. I don't care about grahpics and such, it just rocked. I played that for days upon days.

[NibblerJr]

Nah PotBS is still in beta. Comes out sometime mid this year. Kinda a wierd MMO .. you play mostly as your ship. You do have an avatar though that you can run around port towns as to get missions and socialize. Not sure if theres any on foot combat.

Heres a link to there webbie. The game looks beautiful graphically. Pirates of the Burning Sea (http://www.burningsea.com/) :skull:

That game looks interesting, but I wish you played as your avatar more, and you could go join your friend's pirate crew and all that.

[iggy880]

I had this game for a couple of years and it was soooooooooo great for like the first 3 or so months, and then when I came back to it it was like heaven. Nothing beats a good sea battle, and I got huge fleets, high rank, a hottie after practicing dancing, and then I love the Risk board raiding of a town...I just wish you could make it a Pirate settlement.


Damn you Sally, now I want to find a way to put it back on my PC and play.

[Black Razor]

That game looks interesting, but I wish you played as your avatar more, and you could go join your friend's pirate crew and all that.

Well actually talking about it 'repeaked' my intrest so I was going around there site last night .. apprently there will be combat in ports as well. theres actually some screen shots of sword fights including one of a pirate fighting some red coat. It looks like they have gone a long way since I last checked the game. I will probably play it when it comes out just to kill time till other games I want to play come out. :razor:

[iggy880]

Oooh, I want in on the pirate beta, signing up now....woot.

[The Widowed]

We're a gang of vicious pirates, sailin' out to sea, when you hear our gentle singin', you will swiftly turn and flee!
A pirate I was meant to be! Trim the sails and roam the sea! (http://music.tritonius.com/ApirateIwasmeanttobe.mp3) :D

[iggy880]

Well I'm a member of the PotBS community now and when I get on my good desktop I'll register for beta, and hopefully enjoy it. Anyways, as I know it's off topic, why doesn't someone else who's actually in it already make a topic for that so we don't take over Sally's thread.

[razoras]

Only pirate game I've played is Puzzle Pirates. :(

[Malibu Sally]

Yeah.. quit polluting my thread with all this jibber-jabber about some *other* pirate game. :P

Soooo, back the adventures of Black Jack McStabby.

Privateering for the English was not paying off. I'd sail off and take a bunch of fat Spanish prizes only to find out that England and Spain had settled their differences by the time I got back to Barbados. So no promotions. Cheap bastards.:(

It was time to leave the English and their skinflintery. The French were close by and they had no problem with giving out promotions.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0117-20-38-42.jpg



So off to the tavern to recruit some cutthroats...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0117-23-02-18.jpg


I had a plan. You see, I happened to get a piece of a treasure map.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0117-27-14-64.jpg


We sailed south and tramped through the wilderness for almost a month before finding Kidd's treasure.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0117-29-45-39.jpg

PAYDIRT!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0117-30-00-39.jpg


Eight grand in gold is nothing to sneeze at. Naturally we kept it all.

[iggy880]

Sally, I had a great time as a Spanish pirate, I reached about the top, and had a huge ass ship as my prized ship, with a nice and large crew, god do I miss that game, I felt so powerful. My only gripe is that the Spanish cities, or at least the big ones, are all of the way on the east, and over like a long....I guess penninsula which is usually opposite of the wind and just a long tiring trip.

[Malibu Sally]

Back in Montserrat, it was time to make the move on the Governor's daughter. I danced my way into her heart and then had to rescue her from some motherless Spaniard named Colonel Mendoza. The time was then ripe to pop the question.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0117-20-55-28.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0117-21-12-25.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0117-21-22-78.jpg


Of course, the crew was in attendance and gave us a rousing cheer...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0117-21-26-39.jpg

I settled into a routine of sailing out of Montserrat and warring on the English and Dutch. Those darn Roastbeefs kept sending their gold saturated boats right past my port of call. I made a pile and a half of gold and tucked it away for the future. It was almost too easy.

But things began to sour. It all began when the captain of the town garrison began harassing my favorite barmaid. Something had to be done....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0118-17-47-23.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0118-18-00-04.jpg

Fortunately, my friend had my back...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0118-18-50-55.jpg

[Malibu Sally]

Things began to get ugly. I had managed to cause the English and Dutch to ally and be at constant war with France. Yay me! The downside was that the sea lanes were full of frigates and various other warships. They don't carry much gold, just lots and lots of soldiers. I even had to take refuge in South America amongst those awful Spanish for a few months.

The way home was a constant battle with one warship after another. My crew was slowly whittled down to a few men, but they were still happy.(mostly because we jumped two English treasure ships and were awash in gold) Badly battered, but not broken, we limped into port.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0120-01-09-16.jpg


My taste for high seas adventure was spent. I had a mountain of gold, and a loving wife. I split up the remaining gold with the crew and retired. Nope, I did not rescue any of my missing family and Montalban is still at large. I don't care. Let some other young rogue deal with him. Black Jack McStabby is out of the pirating business.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0120-04-31-38.jpg


I never could tempt the English into sending a Ship of the Line out to try and catch me.

[Black Razor]

Well I'm a member of the PotBS community now and when I get on my good desktop I'll register for beta, and hopefully enjoy it. Anyways, as I know it's off topic, why doesn't someone else who's actually in it already make a topic for that so we don't take over Sally's thread.

YAARRR! What proper pirate be makin a thread o' there own when they can freeboot anothers? But yeah okay. And good job on the end game Sally though shame on you for leaving your kin folk to die at the hands of some scurvey dogs. Tsk tsk. :skull:

[Apollinaris]

Well if I were to pick another ship I liked other than the Royal Sloop I would go with the heaviest ship in the Brig class, I think that's the Brig of War but I'm not sure. Never was a big fan of the Frigate line (Which included the Ship 'o the Line) Even if the frigates are quite fast for big ships, they're still big ships and aren't as nimble as I would like. I usually keep a Spanish Treasure Galleon in my fleet for transporting soldiers and loot.

[The Widowed]

What? Retired at age 28? What a wuss! "Die with your boots on," I always say! :P

So do you get to pick your profession at the end or is it handed down to you somehow?

[Xielos]

I watched a Pirates of the Carribean marathon today, and I really want this game now.....

[Malibu Sally]

What? Retired at age 28? What a wuss! "Die with your boots on," I always say! :P
A Pirate fights fer profit, and thar be precious little metal 'cept iron and lead in all them damn warships I spawned. Ye see... I be a victim o' me own success. I done so good preying on the Roastbeefs and Dikepluggers that they decided to saturate them seas with war vessels. The Frogs had no choice but to match. Thar be no way I be workin fer the greasy Spaniards, so retirement were lookin mighty attractive.:cool:




So do you get to pick your profession at the end or is it handed down to you somehow?
Nope, it's assigned. That's a hallmark of Sid Meier games. I find it funny that I retire from pirating to be a man of the cloth.(I guess "persuading" the congregation to donate is a piece of cake though):lol:

[The Widowed]

...Roastbeefs and Dikepluggers...
Are those the derogatory terms for Brits and Dutchies these days? As if the English were the only ones capable of cooking and eating roast beef. :lol:

[Malibu Sally]

As if the English were the only ones capable of cooking and eating roast beef. :lol:
Almost.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_words_for_British#Rosbif.2FRosbeef

I just added a couple of letters.;)

[Malibu Sally]

Just a few more and that is all.... I swear.:D



Finding a lost city:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/incacity.jpg


Uh oh... me make Cap'n Blackbeard angry....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Blackbeard.jpg


Another character retired.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/bishop.jpg


I made it a point to do concentrate on finding the family and getting Montalban. After that, it was searching for lost cities, buried treasure, and pirate hunting(Montalban is a cheating bastard when it comes to swordfights):cool:

[The Widowed]

You looked better as a parson. :P

I see you got the attractive daughter this time, too. Or is that the beautiful one?

[Malibu Sally]

You looked better as a parson. :P
I played longer this time because *someone* was pestering me about retiring too early last time. It's only natural that I get a higher ranking.

*throws Wids off the church steeple*




I see you got the attractive daughter this time, too. Or is that the beautiful one?
That's one of the "beautiful" ones. Note the lack of any attire above the shoulders and how her boobs are struggling to be free. :D

[The Widowed]

I played longer this time because *someone* was pestering me about retiring too early last time. It's only natural that I get a higher ranking.
I wonder how far you'll go if you work all the way into your 50's. >:]

*throws Wids off the church steeple*
*lands on Sally's car*

That's one of the "beautiful" ones. Note the lack of any attire above the shoulders and how her boobs are struggling to be free. :D
She is clearly a student from the school of "If you have it, flaunt it." :P

[Noble]

Alright, everyone who has this game should all be in a competition to see who can be the most notorious pirate. And, yes, I do mean pirate. No alliances with nations and such, and screw the main quest. I never did finish it, got like 3 map pieces. Anyway, I just acquired this game, so I'm down for this. Anyone else?

[Malibu Sally]

Alright, everyone who has this game should all be in a competition to see who can be the most notorious pirate. And, yes, I do mean pirate. No alliances with nations and such, and screw the main quest. I never did finish it, got like 3 map pieces. Anyway, I just acquired this game, so I'm down for this. Anyone else?
Too easy to cheat. Besides, we can't compete with you, Mr. "I pwnt this game so hard". :P

[Noble]

well, I'm on way through it once again. So I'll let you know how I do. Ended up my first round of pirating with over 100k gold, and now I'm on my second voyage with the same character, toting around a pirate gang of over 500, beating the shit out of every town I come across. Nearing 100k once again. Am at the top rank with the Dutch and French, now working on the English. The poor Spanish have only 3 major ports left, all of the others were converted to Dutch hahaha.

[Malibu Sally]

The Dutch must be loving you, Noble.


Anyway.... Pirates is cooling off right now. I kinda burned out on it by playing almost nonstop for a week. I'm working on something else at the moment:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Farragut.jpg

[The Widowed]

NEERRRRRRRRRRDDDDDD!!! :P

[Malibu Sally]

Saddup!!

*pokes Widdy in the eye*
http://cache.deadspin.com/sports/eyepoke.jpg

[RedSwitchblade]

Star Trek: To boldly go where no lack of a sex life has gone before!

Though, I'm guilty as well... *sad panda*

[iggy880]

That's one of the "beautiful" ones. Note the lack of any attire above the shoulders and how her boobs are struggling to be free. :D

I've had better, beautiful Spanish daughter.....HELLO LATIN LOVER!!!!!!!

[Malibu Sally]

I've had better, TINO!!!!.....HELLO LATIN LOVER!!!!!!!
http://www.zonicweb.net/badalbmcvrs/tino.jpg

Fixed that for you. :P :lol:

[Noble]

I played the newest Star Trek game out there and I didn't like it too much. I'm more in the large scale space battles like Star Wars: Empire at War. That game rocked hard core in space battle sims!

[Malibu Sally]

I played the newest Star Trek game out there and I didn't like it too much.
Still batting 1000 I see. :rolleyes:

[The Widowed]

I'm more in the large scale space battles like Star Wars: Empire at War. That game rocked hard core in space battle sims!
But, ultimately, you didn't like that one either. Did I call it or what? :P

[Black Razor]

Every career I have ran in pirates I ended up single cause I cant get the dancing down. >.<

[The Widowed]

But at least you didn't end up dancing on the end of the hangman's noose, am I right? :D

[Noble]

But, ultimately, you didn't like that one either. Did I call it or what? :P

Actually I did like that one. The multiplayer aspect just gets old relatively quickly because it's hard to find a quality game.

[iggy880]

Fixed that for you. :P :lol:

Your lucky your hot Sally, otherwise I might convince Krypto that you're interested :D

[Gollum_ARG]

There is quite a big modding community on Pirates! http://www.hookedonpirates.com/ Mods, skins and whatever there.

[Malibu Sally]

Yay! I can have a lady pirate now!

I think............. hmmm.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0911-48-07-29.jpg

All it does is paste a woman's face on the guys body. The dialogue still calls me "Mister" too. But that is not the worst part.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0911-53-55-40.jpg

Great. Bulldykes on the high seas.( I think I quite a CoH supergroup for similar goings-on):look:

[The Widowed]

All Roastbeef women look like that! Didn't you know? :P

[Malibu Sally]

And Dutch, French, Spanish, etc....

[iggy880]

All it does is paste a woman's face on the guys body. The dialogue still calls me "Mister" too. But that is not the worst part.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-0911-53-55-40.jpg

Great. Bulldykes on the high seas.( I think I quite a CoH supergroup for similar goings-on):look:

I'm not seeing the problem Sally, whats the worst part?

[Xielos]

:lmao:

[Gollum_ARG]

Hot.

[Malibu Sally]

Ok, I lied.... more screenshots! Yay!

One of the ways to play is to be the "Avenging Soul" type. You can make a career out of just rescuing the lost family members and taking your revenge on the Evil Marquis de la Montalban.

There are two villains to contend with; Baron Raymondo and Montalban himself. Montalban is the one who ruined your family at the beginning of the game and Raymondo is the one is holding your sister, uncle, aunt, and grandfather captive in remote locations.

To begin the quest, you can travel from tavern to tavern hoping that the mysterious traveler has some information to sell(at ridiculous prices), you can charm some governor's daughter to whisper some secret information(requires being a god on the dance floor and even then, she may not say anything), OR... you can take advantage of a little used part of the game... namely sailing to the nearest Jesuit mission and talking to the abbot:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1110-55-36-54.jpg

He charges nothing for the information and you don't have to woo him with fancy dance moves and jewelry.


Now all you have to do is track down Raymondo. He is usually gone by the time you get to the city he was last seen in, so you have to get the tavern bartender to tell you where he was headed. If you have a fast ship, you can sometimes catch him en route to the second city, but usually you have to chase him to several towns before catching up.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1111-50-28-41.jpg

Beating Raymondo can be a bit tricky. He sails in a fully upgraded War Galleon with a crew of about 175. He can severely reduce your crew size by the time you board. This is important in the higher difficulty settings because the larger the disparity between your crew and his, the faster he moves in the swordfight. You also have to mix defensive and offensive moves in the swordfight. If you are too aggressive, he will cut you to ribbons.

When you finally beat him, he gives you a piece of a map to find one of your family members.( his ship also carries a crapload of gold to keep your crew happy) Once in a while, the fragment has enough information on it to find the person, but usually you need two, three, and sometimes four pieces to mount a rescue. How do you get more pieces? You start all over again. Visit a mission and find out where Baron Raymondo was last seen. Yes, it is silly that it is the same guy. They really should have created a bunch of different villains for the rescue quests.

Anyway, you usually have to beat Ramondo two or three times for each family member. The downside, like I said, is having to beat the same guy over and over. The upside is that he always carries a LOT of gold.

The rescue mission itself is a bit of an anti-climax. You anchor your ship and locate the hiding place and a cinematic takes over and shows you rescuing the family member.(though you can get horribly lost if you misread the map)

Once you rescue the first family member,(your sister) she gives you a clue to the whereabouts of Montalban. You have to track him down like you did Raymondo.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1112-15-42-24.jpg

All the cautions about fighting Raymondo apply in spades with Montalban. His ship is a super-upgraded Flag Galleon. Most of the movement restrictions for large ships don't apply to his. It can turn on a dime and can outrun all but the fastest vessels. The only movement restriction his ship has is that it is slow going into the wind, so attacking from upwind is a wise desicion.

His ship carries 40 guns. Be careful on approach. One broadside can instantly sinkany vessel smaller than a frigate. On the higher difficulties, it becomes harder and harder to avoid getting hit before boarding. He can easily reduce your crew to nothing or demast your ship.

His crew is usually 225 to 275 men. If he outnumbers you by 100 or more, he moves like lightning in the swordfight. When fighting, chops or slashes seldom land against him. He is too quick for those slow attacks. You have to wait for him to attack and hit the correct defensive move to block, then hit him with a quick thrust attack. Here is a shot of a fight that did not go well for me....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1112-15-48-77.jpg
This fight was over withing seconds of taking the screenshot. I had to start all over.

When you beat him, you get a fragment of a map to his secret base. Just like Raymondo, you have to beat him two or three times to get enough pieces to find the location:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1112-56-10-77.jpg


Then you have to actually find the base:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1112-56-18-19.jpg


THEN you have to fight an army of indians guarding the base:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1112-58-39-83.jpg


Once the indians are beaten you get to, once again, face Montalban:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1113-00-13-55.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1113-00-15-69.jpg

continued......

[Malibu Sally]

.... highlights of the final battle with Montalban:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1113-00-20-02.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1113-01-40-76.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1113-01-41-71.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1113-01-43-79.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1113-01-44-93.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1113-01-46-94.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1113-01-48-26.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1113-01-50-99.jpg


Victory!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1113-01-57-08.jpg


Apologies for the bizarro color banding at the bottom of a few of those shots. Some strange computer glitch was interfering with the game.

[Gollum_ARG]

You actually made me reinstall this game, Sally.

Here is a better female mod... it actually gives a female body.. it seems.. http://royfox2.googlepages.com/royfox%27sprettycaptainexpansion

[Malibu Sally]

Here is a better female mod... it actually gives a female body.. it seems.. http://royfox2.googlepages.com/royfox%27sprettycaptainexpansion
It looks ok. I'm liking the look of the mods I'm using now better though.


Now if only that K Bob guy would make his modmaker program available again.

[Gollum_ARG]

What are you talking about? It is available... HERE (http://www.hookedonpirates.com/guide/kbob/files/modmaker-0.1.1.zip)

In the mean time...

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/8844/piartebishoprz1.jpg

[The Widowed]

Sheesh, Gollum. You really did it all, didn't you? :)

[Gollum_ARG]

Yep. :) Missed a few ranks and only did a part of the lost cities quests. But Billy Bob GoldBoot was getting old and slow. I did pick Medicine as my starting skill to help with the long life. :)

[The Icy One]

I played in on Xbox, I liked it.. have thought about buying it for PC.. how much is it down to?

[Malibu Sally]

What are you talking about? It is available... HERE (http://www.hookedonpirates.com/guide/kbob/files/modmaker-0.1.1.zip)
How did you find that? The Kbob page has no link to it whatsoever when I go there.

[Gollum_ARG]

I can't give away my sources.... >:]



I just followed a link from the main hookedonpirates.com site... I think. :think:

[Malibu Sally]

I just followed a link from the main hookedonpirates.com site... I think. :think:
Must be hidden. I see a link to the manager and the tutorial, but nothing to the program itself. :(

[Malibu Sally]

Crap. The Modmaker only works on the Governors' daughters. I was hoping to mod the player character. Doing it from scratch takes programs that don't work and have no instructions, skills I don't have, and a thicker skin because the assholes over there talk down on anyone that does not have an already expert level of ability. What a bunch of dicks.:(

[Gollum_ARG]

Must be hidden. I see a link to the manager and the tutorial, but nothing to the program itself. :(

Here. at the bottom of the article. HERE (http://hookedonpirates.com/guide/kbob/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1120254873&archive=&start_from=&ucat=5&)

And yeah, I tried modmaker and I really couldn't do anything interesting. Probably using the .pak unpacker and then opening those files with modmaker can work. *shrugs*

[Malibu Sally]

Probably using the .pak unpacker and then opening those files with modmaker can work. *shrugs*
I tried that. The problem is that whoever wrote the program assumed that whoever uses it already knows what they are doing. I looked over the "how to" pages in the mod section and they are just vague enough to be gibberish to someone like me. PLUS.... the unpack program seems to be buggy. It won't unpack the files and I get Windows error messages.

Further searching on their mod forum reveals another program(this one is Firaxis approved) for unpacking the files. Only problem is that it is even MORE cryptic and vague to use. I saw a few posts asking what to do and the general response is "use the program"..... Big fucking help there.

It's almost like when I wanted to try CoH modding. The only real instructions available is fine for someone who already knows what to do, but is vague and confusing for a new person.

I'm at the "beginning arithmetic" stage and the only help I can get is at the "high school algebra" level.

[Gollum_ARG]

Well.. I know how to unpack the files with Fpk Packer. To do so:

1) Open FPK Unpacker
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/6153/1ci6.jpg
2) Browse for the Archive location. D:\Program Files\Sid Meier's Pirates\Assets\Pak0.FPK

3) Browse for the Import Location (This is basically the output folder, where your files will go after the unpacking) Note: You might not be able to type a new folder so create the output folder first, THEN select it.
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/9610/2ua1.jpg
4) Go to File --> Unpack
http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/1456/3zt7.jpg
5) Hit the unpack button hard! :P
http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/3185/4qg5.jpg
It unpacked 2025 files = 99.9MB
http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/4470/5ko2.jpg

Then used DXTBmp to open the .DDS file (I know found this DDS Plug-in for Photoshop (http://developer.nvidia.com/object/photoshop_dds_plugins.html) which I haven't tried yet.)
http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/9158/6vo7.jpg

I am guessing that the player character textures are somewhere there. And the actual modding process go as following. Unpacking, converting .dds file to .bmp or other format, reconvert as .dds, Pack and add to custom folder?

::UPDATE::

.dds plugin for PS works perfect.
http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/1655/7aq8.jpg

::UPDATE 2::
I think I can pretty much confirm that my guess was right.

[Gollum_ARG]

Wee.. modded for testing purposes some Dark Pirate patch I had downloaded.

Look. :P

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/2751/8wp3.jpg

Obviously...I turned the original face.. Green.

[The Widowed]

HULK PILLAGE! :lol:

[Gollum_ARG]

Heh.
http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/376/9xh2.jpg

[The Widowed]

HULK FAPICK! :D

[Black Razor]

Grrr ..you all have me playing this again. Its way to addictive. I was playing for 5 hours the other night and didnt know it.

[iggy880]

I need to find it again, and reinstal it. I now must be a successful pirate with a fully pimped out galleon(at least)....again

[Malibu Sally]

Grrr ..you all have me playing this again. Its way to addictive. I was playing for 5 hours the other night and didnt know it.
Heh heh.


I'm trying different "career" paths. Currently, I'm turning the Caribbean into a French playground. Though Santiago is one tough nut to crack. I've sent waves of Pirates and Indians into that town to soften it up, but the garrison replenishes to 500 men in the blink of an eye.

[Black Razor]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/BlackRazor/pirates.jpg

My most current. I could have kept going but old age and bad health was causing me to loose duels left and right. Decided to call it quits. Not bad though concidering I havnt played in a while. Think I will try a different approach when I start over.

[Malibu Sally]

Think I will try a different approach when I start over.
Do it in "Conqueror Mode"! You make mountains of gold, and get the satisfaction of making the Caribbean safe for whatever power you align with.:D

You also can do all the side quests at the same time. The only drawback is that the game forces you to retire fairly young. I think I'll try the medicine skill next to see if I can live longer and gain more wealth.

The results of the notorious Captain Bob:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1415-53-39-13.jpg



Composite screenshot of Captain Bob's Caribbean... 1600-1620 era:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/francemap.jpg

[The Widowed]

Ooh, that magistrate robe is the coolest. :)

So can you ever retire at age 30+ in some state of health better than "poor", or is the game ageist enough to subtly suggest that thirty- and forty-somethings can't be healthy? O_o

[Malibu Sally]

So can you ever retire at age 30+ in some state of health better than "poor", or is the game ageist enough to subtly suggest that thirty- and forty-somethings can't be healthy? O_o
It's not just physical health, but mental health. Once you reach 35, treasure maps become harder to follow.... Landmarks that don't belong begin popping up when you go ashore. At sea, you see ships that disappear when you approach; your aim with the cannon really starts to suffer too.

The oldest I've gotten before being forced to retire is 44. But really, by then, you have done just about everything there is to do.

[The Widowed]

Sheesh. That still doesn't seem right. How many long-haul truck drivers are forced to retire at age 38 because they just can't find the state of Wyoming on a map anymore, or because they start seeing Whataburgers anywhere besides the South, or because they can't back an eighteen-wheeler up to a loading dock anymore? And why are there so many truckers in their 40's, 50's and even 60's?

Sid Meier's a bloody ageist, I tell you! :P

[Malibu Sally]

Sheesh. That still doesn't seem right. How many long-haul truck drivers are forced to retire at age 38 because they just can't find the state of Wyoming on a map anymore, or because they start seeing Whataburgers anywhere besides the South, or because they can't back an eighteen-wheeler up to a loading dock anymore? And why are there so many truckers in their 40's, 50's and even 60's?

Sid Meier's a bloody ageist, I tell you! :P
Ummm.... how many long-haul truck drivers have to kill 30-100 men for every load they pick up? How many have to spend months on the road with a small army of ner-do-wells pestering them for some shore leave?:P

[The Widowed]

Ummm.... how many long-haul truck drivers have to kill 30-100 men for every load they pick up? How many have to spend months on the road with a small army of ner-do-wells pestering them for some shore leave?:P
Quite a few, actually. Did you ever see a trucker beat down ten guys singlehandedly with a tire tool just so he could have first dibs on a $1.50/mile pay rate? Neither have I, but I hear it's not pretty. :D

[Malibu Sally]

Quite a few, actually. Did you ever see a trucker beat down ten guys singlehandedly with a tire tool just so he could have first dibs on a $1.50/mile pay rate? Neither have I, but I hear it's not pretty. :D
Not the same thing and you know it. Now either get the game and play and post up screenshots, or begone! Before someone jams a three foot piece of steel through your belly. :P

[The Widowed]

*makes plans to design Long Haul Trucker: The Roleplaying Game*

[Malibu Sally]

*makes plans to design Long Haul Trucker: The Roleplaying Game*
http://www.scssoft.com/image/pttm/pttm_box.jpg

[Druid]

Has anyone made the rank of Govenor?

[The Widowed]

Red X. :P

Has anyone made the rank of Govenor?
I just wanna see the Pickpocket. Then I'll be happy. :D

[Malibu Sally]

Red X. :P
here is a link for you types that refuse to switch from clunky, old IE...

http://www.scssoft.com/image/pttm/pttm_box.jpg:P

[Druid]

Says I have no permission. And I am using Firefox.

[The Widowed]

Says I have no permission. And I am using Firefox.
Ditto. How about posting a pic which doesn't use some weird Elven language high-ultra-red security encryption script, Sally? :P

[Malibu Sally]

I just wanna see the Pickpocket. Then I'll be happy. :D
Oh very well....:rolleyes:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/pickpocket.jpg

[Malibu Sally]

Ditto. How about posting a pic which doesn't use some weird Elven language high-ultra-red security encryption script, Sally? :P
Jesus H. you people and you bizarro setups that don't allow images!:rolleyes:

http://www.scssoft.com/pttm.php

[The Widowed]

Jesus H. you people and you bizarro setups that don't allow images!:rolleyes:

http://www.scssoft.com/pttm.php
That's better. :)

Now get Mortician rank. :D

[Malibu Sally]

That's better. :)

Now get Mortician rank. :D
Buy the game and get it yourself.:p

[Gollum_ARG]

So, Sally, no modding attempts? I thought you would have the whole cast of Pirates of the caribbean by now. :P

[Malibu Sally]

So, Sally, no modding attempts? I thought you would have the whole cast of Pirates of the caribbean by now. :P
I'm still having trouble getting the unpacker programs to work. So much for trying to create the Dread Pirate Widdy. :(


In other news:

OMG! OMG! I finally got one!!!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-1611-38-47-89.jpg

Talk about absolutely SHREDDING any opposition! I can't wait to stuff all that hot iron death up Montalban's ass!>:]



Wait.... that did not sound right.:|

[The Widowed]

Excited much? :D

[Malibu Sally]

Yeah. Especially when a SOTL makes an appearance. This is only the second one I've even seen. They are extremely rare.

[Malibu Sally]

I still can't manage modding the graphics. But I have found some very interesting text files that can be changed.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-2210-04-06-42.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-2209-59-19-32.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-2209-57-30-29.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-2209-54-27-42.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-2209-54-20-54.jpg
........

[Malibu Sally]

.....continued:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-2209-54-15-31.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-2209-53-55-67.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-2209-53-44-78.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-2209-53-33-87.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/Pirates2007-01-2209-53-27-59.jpg

So anyone else want a town of their own? :P



One final thing: At last, I really *did* do it all....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/MalibuSally/Pirates/diditall.jpg

[Sebastian Kain]

Hahaha, who knew that the harem of interns island would be a wealthy dutch trading post.:lol:

[The Widowed]

What? No Sharkhead Isle? Madame Nabiha always used to kick around Sharkhead. :p

[Gollum_ARG]

So has anyone tried out this game?

Voyage Century Online (http://www.voyagecenturyonline.com/getting.php)

I don't have much time right now to try it out, but maybe someone can and then say how it is...

[Gold Rush]

Argh!

Another interesting MMO. Beta seems free as well. Must resist the Piratey goodness!

==============================================

Gold Rush

(Anyone wanna try this? I may succumb if someone drags me down)

[Gollum_ARG]

installing it now. I'll post some screenies and my impressions later on. :)

[Gold Rush]

A friend of mine reminded me of Koei's attempt to possibly make an MMO about either thier Dynasty Warriors franchise or Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

What does this have to do with Pirates?

Researching this, I found this paragraph :

Nevertheless, Matsubara and the other panelists agreed that Japanese online game developers will still have to expand overseas to recoup the considerable cost of developing and maintaining their games. Koei is looking to expand its PS2 and PC MMO titles -- both Nobunaga's Ambition and the upcoming Uncharted Waters Online -- into Korea and China as well as North America in the coming year.

Full article here. (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_zd1up/is_200406/ai_ziff129980)

Although, they may've chaned tracks, as pointed out in this article here. (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_zd1up/is_200311/ai_ziff112821)

And yeah, I am playing Voyage Century, too, atm. :)

=============================================

Gold Rush

[The Widowed]

-Screenshots: This game does not have a screenshots folder, so when I snap a screenie, my clipboard is the only thing holding it. I have to save it before taking the next.(multiple screens of battles are not possible until I can find a way to automatically save screenshots to a folder and not to the clipboard)
Little known fact: Fraps takes screenshots too. Hey, look, Sally!

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9924/AoP_HeySally.th.gif (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=AoP_HeySally.gif)

Real genuine authentic pirate chick. :D

No girly faces plastered onto manly bodies here, no ma'amsirreebob.

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/1985/AoP_Sailing2.th.gif (http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=AoP_Sailing2.gif)

36 guns and plenty of sail. She's a fine, fine ship.

Oh, yeah. I modded Pirates all to hell! I'm so cool. :cool:

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/9872/AoP_World.th.gif (http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=AoP_World.gif)

And here we have the world map as my feisty crew and their feisty captain depart the port of St. Martin and set sail for Martinique. Or something.

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/8171/AoP_Stats1.th.gif (http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=AoP_Stats1.gif)

...and here we have the more concise Pirates! character sheet, with...crew and...stuff...oh, hell, I might as well come clean. This game's Age of Pirates: Carribean Tales, and I got it on sale at CompUSA. The only reason it's on sale is that CompUSA's going out of business, and I couldn't resist. Yarrr.

Internet ratings for Age of Pirates range from the good to the great (except for those pretentious fools at Metacritic and their piddly 4.7/10 rating. "No, we really are a respectable game review site and not a bunch of hacks who scavenge off of other review sites, really!" And 1UP too. Hear this, 1UP: If it wasn't for Sharkey's "Memoirs of an Urban Vigilante" column, I wouldn't read your site at all. Oh, wait...I don't! Because Sharkey hasn't updated his column in a frickin' century, that's why!

Anyway, pirate stuff. AoP gives you two characters to choose from: Blaze Shark (the pirate dude) and Beatrice Shark (the pirate chick). As the overarching story goes, those two are siblings who were children to some great bad-ass archpirate who wanted to take his gobs of plundered gold and start his own nation. Naturally, the other nations posse'ed up and kicked his ass, but not before he palmed his kids off on two different families and gave each kid half of a treasure map with the other sibling's name scrawled on it in hopes that the siblings would try to find each other through the map halves, complete the map, find Daddy's treasure and use it to finish what Daddy started.

Ooh, smell that? That's intrigue cookin'. :)

Naturally, each sibling has his or her own starting cinema (and naturally Beatrice, being the girly girl that she is, weeps about feeling alone in the world as she sits on the dock, while Blaze is all stoic and manly about it). But you know, I really wish I could have at least picked a name for her. So I settled for bestowing unto my current game's profile the name I wish I could have bestowed unto my seafaring lass: Faustine Di Montegalia (or "Montegalia" for short), my protagonist from Puzzle Pirates. :D

In true Montegalia fashion, I tried to find some Italians for her to buddy up with. Alas, there hasn't been an Age of Sail-related game which included Italy as a seafaring presence since Uncharted Waters...which is a shame, considering how those filthy Italian merchant-princes had their hands in so many oceanic trade routes in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. So I settled for France...or at least what I thought was France, because I overlooked the flag with the fleur de lis on it and went right for the red, white and blue banner which is colored like the current French flag but apparently belonged to Holland at some point....

So my darling Beatrice Shark is a Dikeplugger. Take that, Black Jack McStabby! :P

(So how's the character customization in Sid Meier's Pirates, anyway? I noticed that Black Jack McStabby and Jose Gaspar didn't exactly have the same look to them. :think: )

Sure, we know Dutch people as those harmless little European elves with all the wooden shoes and the windmills and the tulips, but if all these pirate games are any indication, the Dikepluggers were some bloodthirsty devils way back when. So being Dutch isn't a bad deal. It beats being a friggin' pirate, right?

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/5008/AoP_Stats3.th.gif (http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=AoP_Stats3.gif)

Speaking of pirates, they hate her guts. So do the English. The English were cool with her at first, but then Holland picked a fight with England for some reason, the two nations went to war and if any Dutch ship ventures anywhere near an English port with a fort in it, the fort--and any English ships in the area--will do everything in their power to blast the snot out of the Dutchies. Did I mention that Faustine...I mean, Beatrice is Dutch? Yeah. I hate it when passengers offer to pay buckets of dough if I drop them off in an English port. Decisions, decisions....

At least the Spanish love her, and they love Holland too. It probably has something to do with all those Spaniard-versus-pirate sea battles where I jumped in and helped the Spaniards beat back the pirates. Really, I was just in it for the loot, that's all. :)

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/9226/AoP_Stats2.th.gif (http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=AoP_Stats2.gif)

The character screen also has submenus for your ships, your trade goods and supplies, your gear and, of course, your people: Crew, passengers, captains joining your fleet and any captives you have taken for ransom. As you can see from this pic, there's not a lot of money to be made in ransoming people off, especially if the captives are pirates. But if you're going to try anyway, just ride that captive into an enemy port (preferably one without a fort that will blow your ship to flinders while you have it moored), drop him off and get paid. Easy enough.

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/6774/AoP_MoMoney.th.gif (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=AoP_MoMoney.gif)

As always, the game's freeform with your choice of profession. Pirate, privateer, trader, slaver, smuggler, bounty hunter, conqueror, seafaring taxi driver...so many options. And while you're getting gold from missions and fights and all, you're also getting experience. So are your officers, who get a percentage of whatever you earn. And everytime they level, they expect you to give them a raise. Whatever. It's usually cheaper to pay a Level 10 navigator who was with you when he was Level 5 than it is to pay a navigator who was Level 10 from the moment you met him.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/69/AoP_Missions.th.gif (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=AoP_Missions.gif)

Yellow exclamation points mean that a person has a job/quest/mission for you. Question marks denote people who are important to some mission you're on, yellow question marks for guys you have to talk to along the way and gray question marks for the guys who gave you those missions and expect you to return once the missions are completed. Yes, your raise-mooching officers get gray question marks, even if their "quests" consist entirely of choosing either "Yes, you can have a raise" or "No, I pay you too much as it is". :p

More screenshots come tomorrow. For now, sleep depravation has taken its toll. G'night, everyone. :)

[Malibu Sally]

*reviews the entire thread and takes careful note of each and every snide and demeaning post Wids made about my game*

*sees that Wids has found a new pirate game and decided to share*

*time for payback*









So..... you thought the red, white and blue flag was French. And what imaginary land did you think used the fleur de lis? What a n00b! :P

Your ship has green sails. No one used green sails. What is wrong with you? :P :P

[The Widowed]

*reviews the entire thread and takes careful note of each and every snide and demeaning post Wids made about my game*
*waits for Sally to make a list of such, lest her claims be unsubstantiated* :p

*sees that Wids has found a new pirate game and decided to share*

*time for payback*
Oh, sure. I give you a bona fide pirate chick who doesn't look like a transexual from the Age of Sail, and this is how you repay me? Ingrate. :p

So..... you thought the red, white and blue flag was French. And what imaginary land did you think used the fleur de lis? What a n00b! :P
It's called "the French flag is so bland, I overlooked it." :P

Your ship has green sails. No one used green sails. What is wrong with you? :P :P
Actually, green sails were used by some free traders who claimed no allegiance to any government or merchant body; If the gold was good, they would take your wares anywhere you needed them to go. In a way, they were the owner-operator 18-wheeler drivers of their day. :)

Plus, green sails look so purty. And when you're an independently wealthy sea captain who specializes in selling "salvaged" ships to shipyards all the world over, you can dye your sails any damn color you please. :P

[Malibu Sally]

*waits for Sally to make a list of such, lest her claims be unsubstantiated* :p
The list is already made.... just look at all the posts you made in here. :p



Oh, sure. I give you a bona fide pirate chick who doesn't look like a transexual from the Age of Sail, and this is how you repay me? Ingrate. :p
Speaking of ingrates, did you hear the one about the Guru who paid the artist fee for another Guru to appear in the Guruverse poster because said Guru was grousing about lack of funds? And how the giftee Guru then suddenly came up with funds after the money was sent and got a second character in the poster? And how that Guru has yet to utter ONE WORD OF THANKS to the first Guru but continued to pester the first Guru about stupid crap like how their account was on hidden mode? Just asking. :P



It's called "the French flag is so bland, I overlooked it." :P
It's called inattentiveness.



Actually, green sails were used by some free traders who claimed no allegiance to any government or merchant body; If the gold was good, they would take your wares anywhere you needed them to go. In a way, they were the owner-operator 18-wheeler drivers of their day. :)
I find your fascination with truck drivers disturbing.:yoy:



Plus, green sails look so purty. And when you're an independently wealthy sea captain who specializes in selling "salvaged" ships to shipyards all the world over, you can dye your sails any damn color you please. :P
It also advertises your presence like a giant billboard. Good luck sneaking up on some fat English prize with those lime green "Look! It's dread pirate Widdy" call signs on your masts. :P

[The Widowed]

The list is already made.... just look at all the posts you made in here. :p
What? These are my helpful and supportive posts. You haven't really seen my snide posts yet. :p

Speaking of ingrates, did you hear the one about the Guru who paid the artist fee for another Guru to appear in the Guruverse poster because said Guru was grousing about lack of funds? And how the giftee Guru then suddenly came up with funds after the money was sent and got a second character in the poster? And how that Guru has yet to utter ONE WORD OF THANKS to the first Guru but continued to pester the first Guru about stupid crap like how their account was on hidden mode? Just asking. :P
I thought I said "thank ya" on a few occasions. I got my tax return, though. Want $40? Give me your Paypal, Stacithemad. :P

By the way, you're still Hidden. Trust me, nobody's stalking you. They're all on Bitter Babe. :P

It's called inattentiveness.
It's called "Holland has an eye-catching flag". :cool:

I find your fascination with truck drivers disturbing.:yoy:
Hey, truck drivers keep America moving. I've had to work with dozens of them in the past, and they have to put up with a lot of crap from the braindead four-wheelers who ride the same roads as they do, so truckers are cool in my book. Except for my ex-stepfather, but he was a bastard through and through and he busted his back and quit trucking decades before my mother met him, so he doesn't represent the truck driving profession and therefore doesn't count. :think:

It also advertises your presence like a giant billboard. Good luck sneaking up on some fat English prize with those lime green "Look! It's dread pirate Widdy" call signs on your masts. :P
They instill fear, that's what they do. "Oh, bloody hell. That evil pirate bitch is coming to take our vessel again. Take however many limes and crumpets we can and abandon ship, lads." I'm at the point where if it's smaller than a corvette, the craven dogs on board surrender as soon as my mariners set foot on their decks, be they Rosbeefs or pirates alike. >:]

[Pinny]

*grabs popcorn and watches sally and wids duke it out internet style*

[Malibu Sally]

What? These are my helpful and supportive posts. You haven't really seen my snide posts yet. :p


I thought I said "thank ya" on a few occasions. I got my tax return, though. Want $40? Give me your Paypal, Stacithemad. :P

By the way, you're still Hidden. Trust me, nobody's stalking you. They're all on Bitter Babe. :P


It's called "Holland has an eye-catching flag". :cool:


Hey, truck drivers keep America moving. I've had to work with dozens of them in the past, and they have to put up with a lot of crap from the braindead four-wheelers who ride the same roads as they do, so truckers are cool in my book. Except for my ex-stepfather, but he was a bastard through and through and he busted his back and quit trucking decades before my mother met him, so he doesn't represent the truck driving profession and therefore doesn't count. :think:


They instill fear, that's what they do. "Oh, bloody hell. That evil pirate bitch is coming to take our vessel again. Take however many limes and crumpets we can and abandon ship, lads." I'm at the point where if it's smaller than a corvette, the craven dogs on board surrender as soon as my mariners set foot on their decks, be they Rosbeefs or pirates alike. >:]
So much to respond to. Better make a list:


Helpful and Suggestive? Telling someone their axe is ugly does not in any way help them chop wood.
I never saw any. They must have been disguised. And no, I don't want money. I thought I was doing a favor for someone in need.
... and Scarfy, and Go Go, and Endless one, and Lummy................
So you admit to being distracted by bright colors. Hmmm. That explains the sails too. :P
An unhealthy fascination is an unhealthy fascination no matter how you try to explain it away. :P
It instills fits of hilarity, not fear. But I suppose it's the end result that matters. All hail Dread Pirate BoBo the Clown and his Krewe of madcaps! :D

[Malibu Sally]

*grabs popcorn and watches sally and wids duke it out internet style*
*stuffs Pinny in a box and tosses him overboard* :P

[The Widowed]

And now, the countering argument to "Widdy is a big meanie and he hates me for playing Pirates. *sniffle*" >:]

I should feel honored that you named the ship after me, huh?

I was considering getting this game and/or Elder Scrolls: Oblivion as soon as my financial obligations cleared up. I got to try the battle mode for Pirates on a CompUSA X-Box demo, and it was pretty neat...much more realistic than Puzzle Pirates or the Uncharted Waters games for the Sega Genesis ever had to offer. Sea Dogs had a comparable combat system, but I only got to try the Sea Dogs demo; The full version was impossible to find.

Too bad you can't customize your pirate captain in Pirates. So much for any possible Blackbeard, Jack Sparrow or Black Rose, Queen of the High Seas clones, I guess.
Here I express my surprise with having a ship named after me, then explaining my experiences with pirate games before questioning the apparent lack of character model customization in Pirates.

The short answer: NOPE!

Really, Sally. It's Noble. This guy could have made Joan of Arc's execution even more depressing just by walking into Rouen.
Here I deride Noble for his pestilent negativity. But really...who doesn't? You've done it too, Sally. :P

...therefore, long-term sexual relationships are not for you, huh?
Dissing Noble again.

One-night stands and no-strings sex must be a breeze for you.

The privateer lifestyle's more my speed (and the one I've been going with ever since Uncharted Waters). It means fewer targets you can attack and plunder, but it also means fewer enemies who will jump you without warning in hopes of collecting the bounties on your head. It's also nice to always have those safe ports you can enter when your enemies start hounding you down; In Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons I buddied up with the Italians and the Spaniards, and I sacked every English, French or Turkish tub I could find. Then I'd sail into the nearest Spanish or Italian port, sell the freshly acquired ships and loot, head back to sea and do it all again. Life was good.

I bet the difficulty scales accordingly, too; The beautiful ones are harder to catch than a mako shark on a 50-pound fishing line, but the plain ones will put out for you as soon as you say "Hello". Just like real life, huh?

I'll take one plain daughter, please...the more Spanish or Italian she is, the better. How big of a bed would I need for the captain's quarters? Maybe the game will let me bring her along....
...and deriding Noble once more before I explain my preferred lifestyle on the virtual high seas and offer speculation on the difficulty of seducing the daughters of important political figures.

Fix your quote, Eeyore. :p
Taking the p1ss out of Noble yet again. He makes it so easy, doesn't he?

Apple Pie Hubbub? What happened to the Widdy?

(No, I don't get the reference either.)
Here I question your choice of "Apple Pie Hubbub" for your new ship's name. And you never did explain that name, you know....

Private Video. Invite me, you shiptease.
Here I gently remind you to alter the settings on your YouTube video.

So by "Apple Pie Hubbub" are you referring to the song (http://www.amazon.com/East-Coast-Chip-Shop-Moss/dp/B00002MSJM) or the kinetic sculpture (http://krucoff.com/2006/08/apple-pie-hubbub.html)?

(Heh heh..."Staci the Mad".)
Here I speculate about "Apple Pie Hubbub" again while having a chuckle at your cute YouTube handle.

A pirate I was meant to be! Trim the sails and roam the sea! (http://music.tritonius.com/ApirateIwasmeanttobe.mp3)
Sing along with me, now! :singdance

What? Retired at age 28? What a wuss! "Die with your boots on," I always say! :P

So do you get to pick your profession at the end or is it handed down to you somehow?
Here I heckle you about your decision to retire from your glorious profession and settle for a more mundane way of life. Wuss. :P

Are those the derogatory terms for Brits and Dutchies these days? As if the English were the only ones capable of cooking and eating roast beef. :lol:
Here I question the origins of your "Roastbeef" and "Dikeplugger" slurs. :p

You looked better as a parson.

I see you got the attractive daughter this time, too. Or is that the beautiful one?
Here I gently advise you to return to a humbler and better dressed profession as a parson while asking about your sexual prowess.

I wonder how far you'll go if you work all the way into your 50's. >:]

*lands on Sally's car*

She is clearly a student from the school of "If you have it, flaunt it."
Here I explain the beautiful daughter's most likely reasoning behind her mode of dress and wonder about the prospect of working into one's golden years, all while landing on your car (after you tossed me from the church steeple, you big meanie...).

NEERRRRRRRRRRDDDDDD!!!
Here I chant the non-Trekkie's traditional anthem of recognition of all things Star Trek.

But, ultimately, you didn't like that one either. Did I call it or what? :P
Noble, you bring it all on yourself, I swear to Goddess. Acting like the derision doesn't bother you just makes us try harder, you know. We're not going to be impressed into going away by your sham emotional invulnerability; If you were really emotionally invulnerable, then you wouldn't be such an Eeyore in the first place. Just stop acting like a completely needy git with ADD and everything will be peachy. Sheesh. :rolleyes:

But that's still not a slam against you, Sally.

But at least you didn't end up dancing on the end of the hangman's noose, am I right?
Here I place Black Razor's inability to dance in Pirates in its proper perspective.

All Roastbeef women look like that! Didn't you know?
Here I use humor in an attempt to salve the sting you feel from having a "female" pirate who is, shall we say, less than suitable.

Sheesh, Gollum. You really did it all, didn't you? :)
Here I approve of Gollum's sheer mastery of Pirates.

HULK PILLAGE!
Here I laugh at Gollum's green-skinned pirate...

HULK FAPICK!
...and at the file name used to create said green-skinned pirate. :D

Ooh, that magistrate robe is the coolest. :)

So can you ever retire at age 30+ in some state of health better than "poor", or is the game ageist enough to subtly suggest that thirty- and forty-somethings can't be healthy?
Here I laud your magistrate garments while inquiring about Sid Meier's suspected age-related bigotry.

Sheesh. That still doesn't seem right. How many long-haul truck drivers are forced to retire at age 38 because they just can't find the state of Wyoming on a map anymore, or because they start seeing Whataburgers anywhere besides the South, or because they can't back an eighteen-wheeler up to a loading dock anymore? And why are there so many truckers in their 40's, 50's and even 60's?

Sid Meier's a bloody ageist, I tell you!
Again, I suspect that Meier is an ageist (though he's not exactly a spring chicken himself) while contrasting the aging of his pirates against that of long-haul drivers.

Quite a few, actually. Did you ever see a trucker beat down ten guys singlehandedly with a tire tool just so he could have first dibs on a $1.50/mile pay rate? Neither have I, but I hear it's not pretty. :D
The truck driver's native tenacity witnessed.

*makes plans to design Long Haul Trucker: The Roleplaying Game*
What it says on the tin.

Red X.

I just wanna see the Pickpocket. Then I'll be happy. :D
Here I alert you to your botched image URL while subtly asking you to completely biff the game and get Pickpocket rank.

Ditto. How about posting a pic which doesn't use some weird Elven language high-ultra-red security encryption script, Sally?
Again, your pic was broken. :p

That's better.

Now get Mortician rank.
Here I approve of the expedience with which you repaired the URL for your pic while requesting that you make an exhibition of the mortician's garments.

Excited much? :D
Here I tease you over the "HMS HOLY ****ING ****".

What? No Sharkhead Isle? Madame Nabiha always used to kick around Sharkhead.
Here I recommend Sharkhead Isle as one of your custom island names, as it would properly homage one of your City of Villains characters.

Check and mate, chickadee. :cool:

[Malibu Sally]

Don't confuse things with the facts.(I learned that from Fox Noise)

But I never said you were mean. So there. :P

[DartZader]

Just saw this topic for the first time, and indeed SM's Pirates does indeed rule. *looks over at the copy sitting on the shelf right next to me* Though, if you like this game, you might want to try to track down the game Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons for the SNES. It's basicly the same idea, except with like... six different characters with six different stories (For example, an English privateer, Dutch explorer, etc), and instead you've got the entire world to explore (Like 'discover' Easter Island). The GFX ain't super, but the gameplay is wicked awesome.

Known as Daikoukai Jidai II in Japan, this game is perhaps the most famous of the series. Even though an English version exists, it still has not managed to achieve the mainstream popularity Pirates! had. There is only a relatively small following outside of East Asia.

Also set in the 16th century, this game is a sequel to the first title and was released for SNES and Sega Genesis System in 1994. It was the last part of the series to be ported for PC. It also saw releases on Sega Saturn and PlayStation in Japan exclusively.

In this game, there are six protagonists to choose from, each of them representing a different path or career featured in the game. They are listed as follows:

* João Franco: Son of Leon from the first game, a Portuguese explorer sent by his father to follow the family's footsteps and discover the secrets of the lost Atlantis continent.
* Catalina Erantzo: Former Spanish naval officer turned pirate, she avenges the loss of her brother and her fianceé and suspects that the Franco family is behind this scheme.
* Otto Baynes: English naval officer, a privateer sent by Henry VIII in a secret mission to defeat the Spanish Armada and prevent Spanish hegemony in the European continent.
* Ernst Von Bohr: Dutch teacher and cartographer, he is set to make a journey to far lands and with this experience create a map of the entire world.
* Pietro Conti: Italian treasure hunter, he inherited a huge debt from his father and is set to travel for treasures and other secrets in order to cover the debt.
* Ali Vezas: Turkish merchant, he grew up as an orphan in extreme poverty. With the help of his friend, he decides to become a trade merchant and find his lost sister.

While the game is more or less open-ended, developing the character's career is necessary to advance the plot.

[The Widowed]

But I never said you were mean. So there. :P
:think:

*reviews the entire thread and takes careful note of each and every snide and demeaning post Wids made about my game*
:P

[The Widowed]

Just saw this topic for the first time, and indeed SM's Pirates does indeed rule. *looks over at the copy sitting on the shelf right next to me* Though, if you like this game, you might want to try to track down the game Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons for the SNES. It's basicly the same idea, except with like... six different characters with six different stories (For example, an English privateer, Dutch explorer, etc), and instead you've got the entire world to explore (Like 'discover' Easter Island). The GFX ain't super, but the gameplay is wicked awesome.
Preaching to the choir here. I rocked UW2 with Catalina! I was playing the game on my computer (on Genecyst, a Sega Genesis emulator) and I wasn't far at all from sailing up the Amazon River and confronting Goldbeard (or whatever his name was) with my five Galleons so that Catalina could finally have her revenge. But then I backburnered the game for a while, and before I could start playing again my D:\ drive fried and took all of my games with it (except for Puzzle Pirates, which was on my C:\ drive). So Goldbeard never met his comeuppance. :(

Koei has made some great games though. Did you ever play Gemfire? :)

[Malibu Sally]

Sometimes it's hard to tell when you are teasing, Wids. :(

[The Widowed]

Sometimes it's hard to tell when you are teasing, Wids. :(
These guys are usually pretty good indicators: :p :P >:] :lol:

[Stalking Shadow]

These guys are usually pretty good indicators: :p :P >:] :lol:

Smilies are the death of language.

[Pinny]

:) :o :( :p O_o :cry: :yoy: :naughty:

[Stalking Shadow]

:) :o :( :p O_o :cry: :yoy: :naughty:

Hey.

Hey.

Cut it out.

[The Widowed]

Smilies are the death of language.
But they convey three things which text alone cannot: Facial expression, tone of voice and body language, not necessarily in that order. And remember: Those three aspects are facets of language and communication too. :p

[Stalking Shadow]

But they convey three things which text alone cannot: Facial expression, tone of voice and body language, not necessarily in that order. And remember: Those three aspects are facets of language and communication too. :p

We've managed to get this far without smilies in all written communication. To riff off the Greg Giraldo: pick up a letter from the Civil War written by average Joe Rifleman and compare it to a Gulf War II Myspace posting by Mike Jarhead.

It's totally possible to emote through written words. Heck, you can even do it with sarcastic emphasis. Is that so very hard?

But I'm derailing a thread that's supposed to be about pirates. What's the word on that "Voyages" game? Is it worth downloading?

[Malibu Sally]

But I'm derailing a thread that's supposed to be about pirates. What's the word on that "Voyages" game? Is it worth downloading?
*clunks Shadow with a belaying pin* <no smiley because that destroys the language>

[razoras]

What's a belaying pin? Is that what people in Star Trek meant by "Belay that order?" Kind of a future way of saying "My foot is asleep, and it feels like pins and needles."

[Malibu Sally]

What's a belaying pin? Is that what people in Star Trek meant by "Belay that order?" Kind of a future way of saying "My foot is asleep, and it feels like pins and needles."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belaying_pin

Belaying pins were apparently commonly used as improvised weapons on both military and civilian ships. Certainly their shape and weight would make a formidable short-range club.
http://pamir.chez-alice.fr/Voiliers/Classe_A/Pamir/Images/belayins.jpg

[The Widowed]

*clunks Shadow with a belaying pin* <no smiley because that destroys the language>
Well played, Sally. Well played. Care for a lime? :D

[Malibu Sally]

I prefer pineapple or breadfruit. ;)

[The Widowed]

We're out of pineapple and breadfruit is the Devil. How about a kumquat? :p

[Malibu Sally]

Whaddya mean breadfruit is the devil? I demand further explanations!

Give your kumquats to Chris. :P

[The Widowed]

Whaddya mean breadfruit is the devil? I demand further explanations!
Well...it's a fruit...but it's like bread. And it's...like bread...that grows on trees. Only an infernal mind could have conceived of something so clearly unnatural. >:]

Give your kumquats to Chris. :P
He's allergic. I'll give him the breadfruit instead. :p

[Stalking Shadow]

I'd post in this thread but apparently I'm unconcious.

[The Widowed]

Oh, okay...I'll back up and see about resuming the thread from where we left off. Sally's conscious, by the way. :p

Oh, wait...I'm thinking of the D&D thread. Okay, I'll have to post more screenshots in this one. :think: