Games PC SID MEIER S-PIRATES User Manual

Table of Contents

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Book 1 - Getting Started.........	4
First Things First ....................	5
The ReadMe File ...................	5
Installation ...............................	5
Saving and Loading Games....	6
Options Screen ........................	7
Introduction .............................	8
Book 2 - The Basics ................	11
Starting the Game .................	12
The Main Menu....................	13
Useful Game Information ....	14
Book 3 - The Rules..................	15
Creating Your Pirate ..............	16
At Sea .....................................	19
Sea Battles..............................	34
Fencing and Swordplay ........	42
In Town..................................	47
Treasure Maps .......................	53
On Land.................................	55
Land Battles ..........................	58
Sneaking About Town ..........	64

Dancing with
the Governor’s Daughter	...... 67
Promotions .............................	71
Missions and Quests .............	74
Pirates of the Caribbean .......	77
Dividing the Plunder ............	80
Aging ......................................	82
The End.................................	84
Game Controls pages .........	86
Português (Quickstart)..............	88
Svenska (Quickstart) ................	94
Dansk (Quickstart).................	100
Norsk (Quickstart) .................	106
Suomi (Quickstart) ................	112
Credits ..................................	118
Technical Support ...............	123

BOOK 1

G e t t i n g S t a r t e d

Book One	SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®
F I R S T T H I N G S F I R S T

The ReadMe File

The Sid Meier’s Pirates! ® CD-ROM game has a ReadMe file where you can view both the License Agreement and updated information about the game. We strongly encourage you to read this file in order to benefit from changes made after this manual went to print. The ReadMe file is available once you install the game.

To view this file, double-click on it in the Sid Meier’s Pirates! directory found on your hard disk (usually C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier’s Pirates!). You can also view the ReadMe file by first clicking on the Start button on your Windows® taskbar, then on Programs, then on Firaxis Games, then on Sid Meier’s Pirates! and then on the ReadMe file.

I N S TA L LAT I O N

1.Start Windows® 98/Se/Me/2000/XP.

2.Insert the Sid Meier’s Pirates! CD-ROM game disc into your CDROM drive.

3.If AutoPlay is enabled, a title screen should appear. If AutoPlay is not enabled, or the installation does not start automatically, click on the Start button on your Windows® taskbar, then on Run. Type D:\Setup and click on OK. Note: If your CD-ROM drive is assigned to a letter other than D, substitute that letter.

4.Follow the remainder of the on-screen instructions to finish installing Sid Meier’s Pirates!.

5.Once installation is complete, click on the Sid Meier’s Pirates! icon on your desktop or click on the Start button on the Windows® taskbar and choose Program Files/Firaxis/Sid Meier’s Pirates! to start the game.

Note: You must have the Sid Meier’s Pirates! game disc in your CDROM drive every time you play.

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Book One

Installing DirectX®

Sid Meier’s Pirates! requires DirectX® 9.0c or higher in order to run. If you do not have DirectX® 9.0c or higher installed on your computer, click “Yes” when asked if you would like to install it.

S AV I N G A N D

L OA D I N G GA M E S

Saving a Game

You can save a game only while at sea or embarked on land - but not while in town or during a conversation or while in a battle. To save a game of Pirates!, hit Shift+ s. The Save Game screen appears, click on one of the 5 available locations to save.

Auto-Save

Pirates! saves your game automatically each time you enter a town, get involved in a battle, or quit the game.

Loading a Game

You can load a game only while at sea or on land. To load a game of Pirates!, hit Shift+ l When the Load Game screen appears Click on the game you wish to load.

You can also load a saved game from the main menu or from the information screens (see Information screen pages 25-27).

If CAPSLOCK is ON, you do not need to press the [Shift] key!

Book One

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

O p t i o n s S c r e e n

Getting There

See the Game Controls section on pages 86-87 to learn how to get to the Options screen.

What it Contains

Master Volume

Move this slider to control the overall volume of the game.

Music Volume

Move this slider to control the volume of the music in Pirates!

Sound FX Volume

Move this slider to control the special effects volume in the game.

Choose 3D Sound Driver

Select a different audio driver (may affect performance).

Picture Gamma

Move this slider to adjust the game’s brightness and contrast.

Water Detail

Move this slider to adjust the level of detail for the water including movement and reflections.

Change Video Resolution

You can choose the screen resolution in which you want to play

Pirates!

Enable Shadows

Defaults to on. Turning shadows off may give better performance on lower level computers.

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Book One

Enable Advanced Lighting

Defaults to off. Certain higher-level video cards will be able to display advanced lighting effects and softer shadows with a possible reduction in performance.

Modify your Ship’s Sails

Brings up a screen that allows you to choose your fleet’s sail emblem and flag.

Quit Game

Click on this to quit Pirates!

I n t ro d u c t i o n

Welcome to Sid Meier’s Pirates!

Welcome to the Caribbean, Captain! There's a whole new world here, a world full of adventure and ripe with plunder. Rich, fat treasure ships carry South American silver and gold back to Spain, and French, Dutch and English vessels carry booty only slightly less valuable. The boisterous buccaneer towns teem with lusty pirates seeking a bold commander to lead them to wealth untold. Constantly at war with one another, the Great Powers are always in search of doughty privateers to take to the seas and do their fighting for them.

Yes, it’s a world of high adventure, where brave and skilled men battle for treasure and glory. Those who succeed will achieve great fame and personal wealth - the bones of those who fail will forever lie in Davy Jones's locker.

To New Players

Greetings to our new players! Do not be alarmed at the size of this manual - though Pirates! features rich and subtle gameplay, it is also surprisingly easy to learn. If you check out the Game Controls pages you’ll be well on your way to piratical greatness. Then dive into a new game. If you get into trouble you can always hit shift+p to Pause and dig into the manual as necessary.

In the meantime, please bear with us for a moment while we talk to some old friends, and then we'll have you at sea in no time at all!

Book One

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

To Players of Earlier Versions of Pirates!

To fans of original Pirates! and Pirates! Gold - welcome back! We’ve made great efforts to update Pirates! for the 21st century, while keeping true to the gameplay and spirit of the original classic game.

In this version of Pirates! we have added a number of new game elements and changed or removed others, but a veteran of any of the older versions of Pirates! will be able to jump right into a game. Here’s a quick summary of the major changes to the game:

WHAT’S GONE

Ship versus Land Combat: Ship Versus Land Combat is gone. Now, when you choose to attack a town your men are deployed ashore and you engage the enemy in “Land Combat” (see pages 58-63).

WHAT’S CHANGED

Insufficient Crew: In the old version of Pirates! you had to have eight crewmen to man any vessel, and four additional crewmen to man each cannon. If you had not enough men to fire all of your cannon, the unmanned cannon never fired. If you did not have eight men to sail a vessel, that vessel surrendered or had to be abandoned.

In the current game each ship-type has its own “minimum effective crew” stats _ that is, the number of men you need to sail a vessel at full effectiveness (i.e., at full speed). You can sail a vessel with fewer than its minimum effective crew, but the ship will be much slower and less manoeuvrable. The ship can fire all of its cannon in battle, but it will take far longer for the reduced crew to reload the guns after firing.

Note that as a ship takes damage its minimum crew requirement increases.

WHAT’S NEW

Multi-Ship Combat: Occasionally you’ll encounter two ships sailing together in formation, typically a merchantman and an escorting war vessel. If you attack either of these vessels, your flagship will have to fight both of them at the same time.

Sneaking In and Out of Cities: The original game’s “die-roll” sneak has been replaced by an action sequence. If you attempt to sneak into an unfriendly city, the scene will change to display an overhead view of the city. You then have to guide your pirate through the streets, avoiding or knocking out the patrolling guards until you reach your destination.

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Book One

Dancing: To impress a governor’s daughter these days, a pirate must not only be wealthy and successful, but he must also be light on his feet. As you romance her, a governor’s daughter might invite your pirate to a ball. You will then move your pirate around the dance-floor, matching your partner’s movements in time with the music. Note: There are various “game items” available to assist the rhythmicallychallenged in this sequence. Speaking of which…

Special Items: During the game your pirate may be given (or allowed to purchase) a number of special items. Each item assists the pirate in a game task _ e.g., jewellery will help the pirate win the heart of a beautiful maiden, a fine sword will improve his duelling, and so forth. There are many such items available and the pirate may collect them all.

Crew Specialists: You may encounter various “crew specialists” during play. These include cooks, gunners, sail-makers, and so forth. Each specialist will assist you in important ways: the cook keeps your men happier during long journeys at sea; the sail-maker repairs sail damage after a battle; and so forth.

About this Manual

This manual is divided into various “books.” You are presently reading “Book 1 - First Things First.” “Book 2 - The Basics” tells you how to start a new game. “Book 3 - The Rules” tells you how to play the game.

BOOK 2

T h e B a s i c s

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Book Two

A Word

About

Your

Goals

which

means

-ended game,

-

Pirates!

is an open

Sid Meier’s

. If

you want to be a

peace

you can pretty

much

do what

you want

.

If

you want

not fight

with

anyone,

you can do so

.

ful trader and

on everybody,

you can

do that too

pirate

and take

governor’s

to be a reckless

to sweep every

hero, seeking

.

be a romantic

Or you can

. You

control your

own destiny

daughter

off of her

feet. And

so on

it.

you will with

Do what

the pas-

. Eventually

Your pirate

is not immortal,

however

. And

as he

their toll and

he will

grow older

he’ll

sage

of years will take

. At some point

of his skills

will begin

to diminish

in a young,

ages, some

who are interested

crewmen,

to recruit

to consider

find it harder

. Eventually you’ll need

.

captain

to lead them

healthy

and starting

anew

with another

captain

this pirate

retiring

his piratical

game

examines

pirate retires,

the

When your

him a

assigns

accomplished,

upon

what

he has

a

career,

and, based

successful,

he’ll earn himself

. If he’s been extremely

a Governor

retire to become

final ranking

and he may

place in the

Hall of Fame,

end his days as

a lowly bar-

he may

. If he’s less successful,

himself

.

-cleaner

keep or street

S ta rt i n g t h e Ga m e

1.First install the Sid Meier’s Pirates! program and the correct version of DirectX® as described in Book One.

2.Make sure that the Sid Meier’s Pirates! 1 CD-ROM is in your CDROM drive.

3.If you have a Sid Meier’s Pirates! icon on your desktop, double-click on it. If not, click on the Start button on the Windows® taskbar and choose Program Files/Firaxis/Sid Meier’s Pirates! to start the game.

4.The introductory movie and title screens will appear. Watch them through, or press any keyboard button or click a mouse button to

skip ahead to the main menu.

Book Two

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

T h e M a i n M e n u

The main menu contains the following entries,. You can select an entry using your mouse or keyboard.

Play Sid Meier’s Pirates!

Pick this if you want to begin a new game of Pirates! from scratch.

Load a Game

Resume a game that you began earlier. You can access games that you saved manually as well as auto-saved games.

Change Your System Options

Change the game’s default audio and video settings, and game controls. See ”option Screen “ on pages 7 details.

Visit the Firaxis Web Site

Visit Atari’s Pirates! web site, where you can register your copy of Pirates! You will also find an exciting community of fellow pirates as well as player-generated content, game hints and tips, and other cool

Pirates! stuff.

Visit the Hall of Champions

View the Pirates! Hall of Fame, where your top game scores are recorded.

Quit the Game

Exit Pirates! and return to your Windows desktop.

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Book Two

U s e f u l Ga m e

I n f o r m a t i o n

Pausing the Game

Press the Pause key (“Shift-p”) to pause the game during an action sequence - while sailing the Caribbean, engaged in a ship battle, land battle, or duel, while ashore with a landing party, while dancing, and so forth. Time is already frozen while you’re on an information screen, at a menu, or in a conversation, so you don’t need to pause then.

BOOK 3

T h e R u l e s

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Book Three

The Memoirs

of Captain

Sydney

if ye

ye must

follow

that

three

rules

be only

There

.

wants to be

a pirate

. A happy crew

always

keep your

crew

happy

an unhappy

while

First,

‘em,

if ye ask

.

on the world,

will take

a Dutch

herring boat

apart

fightin’

. If ye got the

crew will fall

hit ‘em from

windward

if ye be

Second,

always

anyone

- and

beat

almost

you

can

gauge

weather

.

away

a lot easier

losin’

ye can run

.” He’ll

trust

a man

named,

“Raymondo

Third, never

at ye.

as look

as soon

kidnap

yer family

C r e a t i n g Yo u r P i r a t e

Game Era

You can choose from several historical game-eras available. For your first few games we suggest that you choose the default era : The Buccaneer Heroes —1660 is the only era available on Apprentice difficulty.

Nationality

There are four nationalities to choose from. You begin with a “Letter of Marque” from your choosen nation, making you a legitimate privateer in its interest. This is important in the early portion of the game as all of that nation’s cities are opened and friendly to you. As the game progresses you can purchase or be given “Letters of Marque”

Book Three

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

from other nations. It is not unknown for a pirate to turn on his own nation if he gets a better offer from somebody else!

ENGLISH

English is one of the easiest nationalities to play in the default era (The Buccaneer Heroes-1660). You start the game with friendly ports in highly useful locations, and since England is almost always at war with Spain, you can usually gain quick English promotions by attacking Spanish vessels and cities.

FRENCH

France too has a number of strategic ports - Tortuga is a great place from which to harass southern Cuba - and she’s often at war with Spain.

DUTCH

This is not the easiest nation to play. The Dutch have far fewer ports than the other nations (though Curacao makes a fine base for trading with or attacking Spanish cities on the Spanish Main). Further, the Dutch are not quite as often at war with their neighbours, so Dutch promotions can be hard to come by.

SPANISH

This may be the toughest nationality to start with. Spain has by far the most ports on the game, which leaves you fewer targets to attack (a problem only if you wish to remain loyal to Holy Spain). Likewise, the juiciest target vessels in the Caribbean are often Spanish: if you want to remain loyal, you’ll have to make your fortune attacking the less wealthy English, French, and Dutch ships. On the other hand, Spain is nearly always at war with somebody - privateering can be extremely profitable.

Your Name

Type your pirate’s name into the space indicated.

Difficulty

Choose one of five difficulty levels:

•Apprentice (the easiest level)

•Journeyman

•Adventurer

•Rogue

•Swashbuckler

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Book Three

The difficulty level affects a number of aspects of the game. The higher the difficulty level, the tougher your opponents in action sequences - ship battles, dueling, and so forth. In addition, it is harder to recruit crewmen and keep them happy at the higher levels. On the other hand, as the difficulty level rises you get to keep a larger portion of the booty when you divide the plunder. Once in the game you can raise or lower the difficulty level only when you divide the plunder.

Choose Your Skill

The following skills are available to you:

FENCING

This helps your pirate in one-on-one duels against enemy swordsmen.

GUNNERY

This helps your pirate defeat enemy ships in sea combat.

NAVIGATION

This helps you get better speed at all point of sailing.

MEDICINE

This “skill” delays the effects of aging on your pirate.

Once you have chosen you pirate’s skill, you are ready to play! The scene changes, and you find yourself at sea, just outside of a port of your nationality.

Book Three

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

At S e a

The Memoirs

of Captain

Sydney

ladies: ye can

high-born Spanish

like one of them

The Caribbean is

she’s as placid

as a sea-cow and

trust her. One minute

love her, but ye can’t

leanin’ on the rail and

-my-hand, everybody

yer sailin’ along as easy

as kiss

a hurricane

at ye, and yer runnin’

she throws

spittin’ to leeward;

the next

that if ye gets out

of

trail, swearin’

of hell was on your

as if all the hounds

.

this alive ye’ll never

set foot on a boat

again

her bein’ an

despite

back to her,

see? Because,

But ye always do go

well do love

wench and all, ye bloody

untrustworthy,

ungrateful,

murderous

.

her, more than ye love

life itself

out of me today,

all the bloody poetry

ye’ll be gettin’

Arg. And that’s

pint o’ rum,

by the Powers!

cully. And pour

me another

The Navigation Screen

This screen displays a portion of the Caribbean. The view remains centred on your ship at all times.

CITIES	STORM CLOUDS
	YOUR SHIP
LAND

LANDMARK

WHAT’S ON THE NAVIGATION SCREEN

Your Ship: Your ship appears in the centre of the map. If you have more than one ship, your “flagship” is in the lead and the other vessels are following her.

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Book Three

Other Ships: Other ships will appear on the map when they get within sight of your vessel. Each ship has a coloured strip, sail emblem and flag denoting its nationality: black for pirates, yellow for Spain, Orange for the Dutch, red for England, and blue for France. If unsure, you can learn a ship’s nationality and type by approaching the other vessel or by moving your cursor over it.

Land: The islands and continents in the Caribbean.

Cities: The map displays the cities currently in sight. The name and nationality appear above the city, and you can get an idea of the city’s military strength by the size of the fortifications guarding it.

Shoals: Shallow rocks which might damage large vessels if the ships sail over them.

Clouds: These indicate heavy winds. You can use them to speed your journey.

Storm Clouds: These are dangerous storms which frequently appear in the Caribbean, particularly during hurricane season. These storms are accompanied by heavy winds a cunning sailor can use to speed his journey; however, if you get too close to such a storm you risk serious sail damage to your vessel.

Landmark: Landmarks like these dot the Caribbean. Pirates often refer to such landmarks when drawing treasure maps. Certain landmarks are visible only by land parties on shore.

Fame Counter: This displays your pirate’s current fame rating. The higher the fame rating, the more successful the pirate.

Gold Indicator: This display your current gold

amount.

Food Indicator: This displays how much food your crew has available.

Crew Size Indicator: This tells you how many men you have in your crew.

Morale Indicator: This displays your crew’s current morale.

VERY HAPPY

HAPPY

CONTENT

Book Three

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Wind Speed Indicator: This indicates how fast the wind is blowing.

Wind Direction: This shows you the wind’s current direction.

Quest Icons: These provide links to any current quests, missions, and treasure maps you have.

H o w t o S a i l

Steering Your Ship

The ship’s helmsman steers the vessel by turning the ship’s wheel, which is attached to the ship’s rudder by a series of rope pulleys (some smaller ships are steered by wooden tillers). Use the Helm Control keys (number pad 4 and 6) to steer your vessel.

Port and Starboard

As every pirate knows, port is to your left when you are standing on a vessel facing forward. Starboard is to your right. (An easy way to remember this is that the words “left” and “port” both have four letters in them.)

Change Sail

Your sails can be in one of the two configurations: full sails or reefed sails. A ship with full sails has spread as much canvass as possible to move as quickly as possible; reefed sails slow the ship down but improve her handling in tight waters.

Push the Full Sail (number pad 8) and Reefed Sail (number pad 2) buttons to switch between the two configurations.

UNHAPPY

MUTINOUS

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Book Three

Manning Your Ship

You need a certain minimum number of sailors to man your ship at peak effectiveness. If you have fewer than that number of crew, your ship will be slower and your crew will take longer to reload cannon during combat.

If you have multiple ships in your fleet, you need enough crew to meet the crew requirements for all ships. If you don’t have enough, your fleet sails slower and your flagship is less effective in combat.

Note: You usually begin a game of Pirates! aboard a sloop. You need eight crewmen to sail and fight this ship effectively.

Using the Wind

A vessel's hull design and sail configuration determines its sailing characteristics. In general, ships with square sails such as the frigate or merchantman tend to perform best when sailing "large" - that is, running before the wind (for instance, in a running broad reach). Ships with triangular sails such as the pinnace or barque tend to perform best when sailing "by the wind" -- that is, running roughly perpendicular to the wind (say, in a broad beam reach).

Best Point of Sailing

Book Three

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Enter City

To enter a port city just steer your ship into the city. Depending upon conditions you might sail right in and anchor peacefully at harbor, or, if the town is hostile, the city’s forts might open fire on you. You then have the options to sail away, attack the town or sneak in.

Disembark onto Land

Steer your ship into a point on the shoreline where you want to disembark. The game will ask you to confirm that you want to go ashore, and your crew will then form a landing party (see “On Land,” below, for more details).

Attack Ship

This is what being a pirate is all about! Over the course of the game you’ll often find yourself wanting to launch an attack against some other ship you encounter at sea. See below for details on ship encounters and combat.

Press the Attack button (number pad 5) or run into ship to initiate an attack against a nearby vessel.

Pause

Press “Shift-p” to pause the game. Note that no time passes when a menu is on-screen, when you’re in a city, and when you’re viewing an information screen. You only need to pause the game when you’re at sea, on land, or engaged in an action sequence (ship battle, dueling, dancing, or in a land battle).

Zoom

You can zoom in to get a closer view of your ship, or zoom out to see a larger expanse of the Caribbean. Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.

Chase View

In “chase” view, the camera changes from the standard overhead view to a position behind and just slightly above your ship. Press the Change View button (number pad 9) to toggle between chase and regular views.

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Book Three

Change Your Flagship

When you begin a game of Pirates! you have just one ship. Once you capture another vessel and choose to keep it, you’ll then have two ships in your fleet. Your original vessel is designated your “flagship.” It is the vessel in the lead; any other vessels trail behind her. You can change your flagship via the Change Flagship button (Tab) or by going to the Fleet Status screen.

Maximum Fleet Size

You can have up to eight ships in your fleet (including your flagship). If you defeat an additional ship, you’ll have to abandon one of the current eight if you wish to add the new ship to your fleet.

Crew Requirements

Each vessel in your fleet requires a minimum number of crewmen to sail at peak performance. If you have fewer than that number, your sailing speed and combat performance will suffer. If you have more than the minimum number of crewmen, the additional sailors take part in any sea battles you get yourself into.

Fleet Speed

In general, your fleet sails approximately as fast as your flagship in the present wind conditions. However, slower vessels will reduce your fleet’s overall speed.

Abandoning Ships

The best way to get rid of a ship is to put into a city and sell it to a shipwright. However, you may sometimes find it necessary to abandon a ship while at sea - because you have insufficient crew or because you’re being chased by a faster and stronger opponent, for example. You can abandon ships only from the Fleet Status screen (see next page).

Book Three

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

I n f o r m a t i o n S c r e e n s

There are a variety of information screens available to you while at sea. See the Game Controls pages to learn how to access them.

Fleet Status Screen

On this screen you can see all of the ships in your fleet as well as their upgrades, crew size, and damage status. You can also change flagships, rename your ships and abandon unwanted vessels.

Captain’s Log

This screen keeps a running list of your actions and accomplishments as well as other events happening in the world.

		SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®		Book Three	Book Three		SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®
		Status Screen					Quest Log

This screen displays your pirate’s accomplishments, including how many promotions he’s received, how many Top Ten Pirates he’s defeated, how many buried treasures he’s discovered, his personal wealth, and so forth.

World Maps

This map displays your fleet’s current location in the Caribbean. You can zoom the map with the mouse wheel and scroll by moving the mouse to the edge of the screen. You can click on city names to find out what you know about the cities. (You can sometimes purchase information about cities from mysterious travelers in taverns, or you can always visit them yourself.)

The Quest Log shows the name of any villain you might be pursuing, what he did to you (e.g., kidnapped your sister), plus any other information you might have on him.

Treasure Maps

During the game you may acquire one or more treasure maps. You can view them on this screen. See “Treasure maps” on pages 53-54 for details.

Top Ten Pirates List

This displays the ranking of the ten most dangerous pirates in the Caribbean.

SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

Book Three

Perils of the Sea

The Memoirs

of Captain

Sydney

frigate -

once we was fightin’

this French

I remember

is more like

this French frigate

heh, running

for our lives from

Happy

Reaper,

and the winds

was in my brig,

. We

. I had just bought me

the truth

was light

and steady from

the southeast

fine - stayin'

and we was doin'

new cotton sails

a set of those

a few yards

on her, when my

even gainin'

ahead and maybe

into the nas-

ran us right

Blind Johnson

lubber of

a helmsman

half our sails, and now

I've ever

seen. We lost over

tiest storm

on us.

was gainin'

the big Frenchman

-

we was able to

keep ahead

of her for anoth

Fortunately,

the Grace of

for the sun to set. By

er hour,

just long enough

.

Providence

we lost her in the darkness

I did was to

Well, first thing

did we do then?

What

get our hull

we could

for Nevis, where

change

course and head

dis-

of a private

then I had me kind

. And

fixed right

and proper

.

cussion

with Blind Johnson

.

But that’s another

story

CREW UNREST

Pirates are a fickle lot. In the beginning of a voyage they’re fairly easy to please as long as you keep them fed and keep bringing in the treasure. Sooner or later - depending upon your success and the difficulty level of the game - they’ll become restless. They’ll start thinking that it is time for you to go to a city and divide the plunder (see “Dividing the Plunder” on pages 80 -81), so that they can blow all of their loot in the nearest tavern.

You can prolong a voyage for quite a long time by keeping the booty flowing in fast and furious, but no matter how successful you are, the crew will eventually want to go home. Your first mate will take you aside and tell you that it might be time to divide the plunder.

If you ignore this advice and continue the voyage, your crew’s morale will begin to fall. (The Morale Indicator on the Navigation screen displays the crew’s current morale.) Eventually they'll begin to desert,

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SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®

taking their share of the treasure with them. If you are at sea and have multiple ships in your fleet, they may steal one of the extra ships. Or they might run off the next time you go to port.

MORALE BOOSTERS

Some ship’s officers and special items help you keep your crew’s morale high and allow you to lengthen your voyage.

HUNGER

Your crew needs to eat. Food is readily available for purchase at a merchant’s warehouse, or you can take it from a captured vessel. The Food Indicator on the Navigation screen (see page 19) shows how many months of food you carry. You can look at the Status Screen to see your exact Food tonnage.

When you run out of food, your crew will begin to starve. They’ll put up with this for a short while, but soon their morale will start to plummet. If left unchecked, they’ll begin to desert your command.

Once you acquire more food your crew’s morale will stop its decline. Their morale may rise once the treasure begins flowing in again.

Ship’s Cook: A ship’s cook can stretch the crew’s rations, keeping them fed on a smaller portion of your Food cargo. Cooks can sometimes be captured from defeated ships.

STORMS AT SEA

The Caribbean is an unpredictable sea. The sky may be clear and the winds moderate at one moment, while in the next a sudden tropical storm might appear, ripping your sails apart. This is especially true during hurricane season, which runs from around June to November.

White Clouds: White clouds represent small squalls or storms that are not especially perilous and that are accompanied by strong gusts of wind. Good sailors can “ride” these clouds to gain a temporary increase in speed at little risk.

Black Clouds: These represent full-blown tempests. Any ship caught within a black cloud risks serious damage to both her sails and hull. These major storms are accompanied by heavy winds. A careful captain can gain a temporary increase in speed by moving alongside the clouds but being careful not to blunder inside.

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WEATHER GLASS AND BAROMETER

These special items will help you avoid storm damage while sailing near or through storms. A mysterious traveler might have one of these items for sale, from time to time.

Ship Encounters

There are many ships sailing on the Caribbean - merchantmen bringing goods to wealthy cities, treasure ships carrying wealth untold back to Europe, fishing vessels loaded with cargo, mighty warships looking for the enemy, and of course pirates and privateers. As you travel about you will inevitably encounter other vessels - how you interact with them will in large part determine your ultimate success or failure.

SEEING OTHER VESSELS

A lookout atop a ship’s mast can see a surprising distance - sometimes for miles, depending upon time of day and weather conditions. Whenever a vessel comes within your lookout’s sight range it will appear on the map. You can tell quite a lot about a ship by its appearance.

Each ship displays a coloured stripe and flag showing its nationality:

DUTCH

ENGLISH

FRENCH

INDIAN

MISSIONARY

SPANISH

In addition, a vessel’s hull-type tells you something of its purpose: dark hulled vessels are warships, while lighter-hulled vessels are merchants.

Each vessel-type has its own unique model.

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Note that the ship’s nationality and type are also displayed when you roll your cursor over the vessel.

COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER VESSELS

Some vessels may have messages for you as you approach. Enemy vessels might order you to stand clear, or they might demand that you stand and fight. Neutral or friendly vessels might pass along the latest news or gossip.

If a ship has anything to say, the message will appear once the vessel has gotten fairly close to your fleet. The message is also displayed when you roll your cursor over the other ship.

ATTACKING OTHER VESSELS

Once you are close enough to initiate an attack against another ship, you can press the Attack key (number pad 5) or run into the ship to begin the battle.

ATTACK CONFIRMATION POP-UP

The Attack Confirmation pop-up allows you to specify which ship you are attacking, if multiple targets are within attack range. It also allows you to change your flagship (if you are sailing with two or more vessels). Finally, it allows you to cancel the attack if you’ve thought better of things.

BEING ATTACKED BY OTHER VESSELS

It is quite likely that you will make more than a few enemies during your career. If you attack a nation’s shipping, that nation may send out a warship to put an end to your depredations. If you’re carrying enough loot, any pirate passing by might decide that you’re a juicy target. And if you steal a pirate’s buried treasure, he’ll attack you on general principles.

				SID MEIER’S PIRATES!®			Book Three
	The
	Memoirs of Captain Sydney
	It must have been in ’65, or
	Briggs were jawin’			about		maybe ’66, me ‘n’ crusty old Cap’n
				which ship was best for piratin’ in.
	“A Royal sloop,” sez I.
	on a farthing, and			“The bugger’s fast in light airs, can turn
				carries enough guns to put the fear			o’ heaven in
	them fat trade
		galleons the Dons carry their gold in.”
	“Sydney,” sez he, “you’re				crazy. A brig o’ war is more like it.
	Maybe it isn’t as fast as your
				sloop, but it carries near’ twice as many
	men and cannon. And cargo too,”						point o’ get-
	tin’ plunder if you					he added. “What’s the
			can’t carry it back home with you?”
	“It’s ye who are pig-bitin’					mad,” sez I. “The brig’s a good ship,
	I’ll warrant, but what in
				blazes do you want all them guns fer? The
	whole purpose o’ piratin’ is to				run yer ship alongside the enemy and
	capture her with as little fuss as
					possible. Oh ye may need to put a cou-
	ple o’ balls in her to make
				her come to her senses, I warrant, but a great
	16-gun broadside from
				yer precious brig is as like to sink her as it is
	to make her surrender.
				Where’s yer profit then, ye daft fool?”
	Well, then he called me a						and I called
	him a grass-eatin’			senile old son of a farmer
			butterball, and the discussion became sort o’ ani-
	mated. We didn’t solve the
				question then, and we ain’t since, neither.
	In the end, I guess a good
				pirate picks a ship what matches his
	strengths: if ye be a good sailor,
				pick a ship that’s fast and nimble; and
	if ye be a strong gunner, pick a
	‘em count.			ship that carries enough guns to make

WARNING NOTICE

As a ship seeking to fight you approaches, it will sometimes announce its intentions. This gives you the opportunity to try to gain an advantageous position for the upcoming combat, or to turn around and run to safety!

The warning message will appear once the ship is close enough or when you roll your mouse cursor over the enemy.

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CANNON-FIRE

When an enemy ship gets within range, it may begin firing its cannon at you. This cannon-fire can damage your flagship and the other ships in your fleet. The pursuer will continue to fire at you until you sail out of range or into a harbor _ or until you choose to fight back.

FIGHTING BACK

If you wish to fight your pursuer, press the Attack key (number pad 5) or run into the ship. See “Attacking Other Vessels” section, above, for details.

Fight or Flight

There is no law that says that you have to fight anybody who wants to take you on: If your ship is damaged or you’re badly outmanned or outgunned or you’re carrying a treasure that you don’t want to risk losing, by all means run away!

If you can find a “point of sailing” in which you’re faster than your opponent, you can simply outdistance him. Once you are well far away he may lose your trail or simply give up the chase.

Alternatively you can duck into a city: chances are that he’ll be gone when you next leave port. But then again, he may not be. So it might be a good idea to repair your ship and recruit extra crew before you leave.

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S e a B a t t l e s

Overview

The game mechanics of ship battles are quite simple: you steer your ship, you raise or lower your sails, and you fire off broadsides. The challenge lies in learning how to use these simple tools to their best advantage in the ever-changing sea.

YOUR SHIP’S	ENEMY VESSEL’S
STATISTICS	STATISTICS

THE ENEMY

VESSEL

YOUR SHIP

MEN OVERBOARD

Controlling Your Ship

See the Game Control sheet for the specific keys and mouse commands you use to control your ship in battle.

STEERING YOUR SHIP

You steer your vessel with the Helm Control buttons (number pad 4 and 6), same as you do when you are at sea.

CHANGE SAILS

Your sails can be in one of two configurations: full sails or reefed sails.

Press the Full Sails (number pad 8) or reefed Sails (number pad 2) to switch between those sail configurations.

Full Sails: A ship with full sails has spread as much canvass as possible to move as quickly as possible. Ships with full sails tend to suffer more sail damage during combat, particularly when the opponent is using chain shot.

Reefed Sails: A ship with reefed sails has lowered some of her sails to protect them from enemy cannon-fire, particularly from broadsides of chain shot. In addition, ships with reefed sails have a tighter turning radius than ships with full sails. However, ships carrying reefed sails move significantly slower than ships under full sails.

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FIRE A BROADSIDE

Ships of this era are armed with rows of cannon along either side of the hull. The placement of the cannon means that ships cannot fire at targets directly forward or aft, but only at targets to either side. When you order your ship to fire, your men check to see if there is a target available in either of your broadsides and then fire off the appropriate port or starboard cannon. If there are several targets in your broadsides, your men fire at the closest opponent. Incidentally, a ship’s cannon are evenly split between her port and starboard broadsides. That means that she can fire no more than half of them in any one broadside.

Press the Fire Broadside button (number pad 5 or Space bar) to fire your loaded cannon.

RAKING SHOTS

A “raking shot” occurs when cannon-balls hit the target’s bow or stern and travel along the ship’s fore and aft axis. Raking shots do more damage than shots hitting a ship’s side.

RELOADING THE CANNON

Your crew automatically reloads the ship’s cannon after firing a broadside. The crew reloads with the same type of ammunition as the cannon had before, unless you instruct them to do otherwise (see below).

The time it takes to reload is determined by the number of crew. More crew means faster reloads - less crew means it's time for evasive manoeuvres.

The Cannon Status Indicator tells you how many of your ship’s cannon are presently loaded. You don’t have to wait for all of your cannon to be reloaded to fire.

CANNON AMMUNITION

There are three primary types of ammunition available for your cannon: round shot, chain shot, and grape shot.

Round Shot: This is a standard cannon-ball. When you begin a battle, your cannon are loaded with round shot. Round shot has the longest range of any of the ammunition-types. While it can hit any portion of a vessel, it tends to do most of its damage to the enemy’s hull or cannon.

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Chain Shot: Chain shot consists of two smaller balls linked together by a chain. When fired, the balls tend to separate and begin spinning, primarily doing damage to the enemy’s sails. Chain shot has a medium range: it fires a shorter distance than round shot, but longer than grape shot.

Grape Shot: Grape shot is the classic anti-personnel load. Basically the crew loads the cannon with a bunch of musket-balls and iron filings, turning the weapon into a massive shotgun. Grape shot is particularly effective at injuring the enemy’s crewmen. Grape shot has a very short range.

CHANGING CANNON AMMUNITION

When the battle begins, your ship’s cannon are loaded with round shot. If you have the other ammo-types available, you can switch between them at will.

Press the Round Shot key (number pad 3), the Grape Shot key (number pad 1), or the Chain Shot key (number pad 7) to load your cannon with the appropriate kind of ammunition.

Ammunition Availability

All ships are equipped with round shot, but some lack either or both of the other two types of ammo. If you find yourself in a vessel lacking a particular type of ammunition, you might be able to find a shipwright who can upgrade your ship with the missing ordnance.

DAMAGE EFFECTS

A ship struck by enemy cannon fire takes damage to one of the following: its hull, sails, crew, or cannon. The part of the ship damaged is determined by a damage algorithm: certain ammo-types have a greater chance to damage specific parts, though collateral damage to other parts of the vessel are possible no matter what shot is used.

Hull Damage: As a ship takes damage to its hull, the ship’s speed and manoeuvrability degrade. If the hull is totally destroyed, the ship sinks.

Sail Damage: As a ship takes sail damage its speed and manoeuvrability decline. If the sails are totally destroyed, the vessel is no longer under any control, and it may surrender at your next approach.

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Losing Crew: As crewmen are knocked out, it takes the surviving crew longer to reload the ship’s cannon after firing a broadside.

Losing Cannon: As a ship loses cannon she’ll have less of them to fire at the enemy. (But you probably guessed that.)

GRAPPLING AND BOARDING ACTIONS

When a ship rams another vessel, the ramming ship’s crew rushes aboard the enemy ship to battle her crew. While they battle it out, you take on the enemy captain in a daring swordfight. The battle ends when you or the enemy captain surrender.

See the next section, “Fencing and Swordplay” for details on this heroic conflict.

The Memoirs of

Captain

I

said it before: a good

Sydney

it, or

pirate fights only

when there’s profit

when he’s not

got no

in

other choice.

When a

every

pirate’s fightin’ fer a

profit, he’s got

ball he puts into the

other ship

to remember that

lowers her

a single lucky

resale value,

shot can sink even the

and that

to

put a

strongest

hull. Me, I

couple of long-range

always liked

rounds into

o’ heaven in the

the enemy, for to put

crew, then range in

the fear

crew

close off her

down with grape,

bow or stern, cut

her

then board and take

her

Exchangin’

at sword-point.

manly broadsides

with a

fer

merchant ship might

a good song or

legend, but

I

make

prefers

Now

money in the bank.

when fightin’ fer

survival,

on the other hand, the

tion’s exactly the

opposite.

If

situa-

I

fight with

some

been chased

down and forced

blasted pirate

hunter

into a

job is to

in a beastly

huge

disable or sink her -

warship, my

be d____d to the

treasure off

of

merchant

value o’ her hull. I gets

ships - I fights

that

treasure.

warships fer to live to enjoy

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RESCUING CREW

When a ship loses crew, some of them may be blown overboard where they cling to wreckage and plead to be rescued. You can retrieve floundering crewmen by running your vessel over their location.

PICKING UP CARGO

A ship that takes an especially hard shot may have some of its cargo blown right overboard into the sea. You can retrieve lost cargo by running over the barrels. Each retrieved barrel adds 50 gold to your treasury.

HOW THE BATTLE ENDS

A sea battle can end in victory, defeat, or a draw.

A Draw

The contest will end indecisively when the opponents are too far away to see each other. Generally, this means that the weaker ship has successfully outrun its pursuer.

In addition, nightfall might end the battle (if it goes on for too long without decisive results).

If a battle ends in a draw, you return to the Navigation screen, your opponent nowhere in sight. If you took damage during the battle, that damage remains until you have your ship repaired by a shipwright. And if you lose crewmen, your numbers will remain diminished until you recruit replacements in a tavern.some replacements.

Defeat

You can lose a battle in two ways: your ship is sunk, or you are captured during a duel with the enemy captain. Both results are unfortunate.

Going Down with the Ship: If you have only one ship and it is sunk in battle, you will find yourself marooned without your ship, gold, or crew. A passing ship will eventually pick you up and you will be able to start anew with a fresh ship and crew. You’ll still have any treasure maps you’ve acquired, but that’s all.

If your flagship is sunk but you have additional vessels in your fleet, one of them will pick you up out of the water (becoming your new flagship). You’ll lose a portion of your crew, cargo and treasure, but you’ll keep all of your specialists and special items (and treasure maps).

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You cannot lose money that you previously banked while dividing the plunder. You can lose only the money currently with your fleet.

Being Captured: If captured during a boarding action, you’re thrown into jail until you escape or are ransomed. Once out of prison you reunite with your surviving crewmen and any ships and treasure they managed to salvage from the catastrophe.

Victory

You win a ship battle by sinking or capturing the enemy ship. Any victory enhances your reputation as a fierce and dangerous pirate; however it is by far more profitable to capture an enemy vessel than it is to sink her. When you sink an enemy vessel, everything she carries goes to the bottom with her. When you capture her, you acquire the ship’s cargo, any gold aboard, any special items or special crewmen she carries, plus the ship itself.

Here’s how it works.

Enemy Sailors Volunteer to Join Your Crew: Depending upon your reputation and current wealth (and upon the difficulty of the game), several crewmen from the captured vessel may volunteer to join your crew. If you accept them, your crew-size increases accordingly. If not, they get put ashore with all of the other captured sailors. (This happens automatically.)

Specialists Join Your Crew: If the captured vessel happens to be carrying a specialist that you don’t currently possess, he is quickly “persuaded” to join your crew.

The Plunder Screen

On the plunder screen you can choose to keep the captured vessel or abandon her. You can also take some or all of the prize’s cargo. You get all of the ship’s gold automatically.