Sid Meier's Pirates README
Last updated 11-November-2004 PDFed by Keamos
(Note the TOC won't work--but it's there for a reference)
A.INSTALLATION & SETUP:
1.Minimum System Requirements
2.Installing the Game
3.Starting the Game
B.TROUBLESHOOTING:
1.General system issues
2.Video issues
3.Sound issues
C.MANUAL ERRATA AND ADDENDUM:
1.Manual Errata
2.Saved Games
3.Custom User Content
4.INI Files
D.SUPPORT INFORMATION:
1.Instruction Manual
2.Atari Web Sites
3.Technical Support
4.End User License Agreement
5.Trademark and Copyright
E.SPECIAL THANKS
1.Pirates Public Beta Team
INSTALLATION & SETUP
Minimum System Requirements
Operating System: |
Windows® 98/Me/2000/XP |
Processor: |
Pentium® III 1.0 GHz or higher |
Memory: |
256 MB RAM |
Hard Disk Space: |
1.2 GB Free |
CD-ROM Drive: |
4X Speed |
Video: |
DirectX® 9.0c-compatible 64 MB video card with Hardware T&L support |
Sound: |
DirectX® 9.0c-compatible sound card |
DirectX®: |
DirectX® version 9.0c (included) or higher |
Installing Pirates!
Prior to Installing the Game
Before attempting to install Sid Meier's Pirates!, please verify that your computer meets the minimum requirements listed above.
We also recommend preparing your hard drive for installation by running ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter prior to installation. These utilities are part of Windows and can identify and resolve problems with your disk drive which could hinder installation and/or playing of the game.
To launch these programs and optimize your hard disk drive:
1.Open "My Computer".
2.Right-click the disk drive you wish to install the game onto (usually C:)
3.Select the "Tools" tab.
4.Click "Check Now" to launch Scandisk.
5.When Scandisk has completed, follow steps 1-3 and click "Defragment Now" to launch Disk
Defragmenter.
Note that defragmenting your disk drive can take a long time. It's a good idea to start disk defragmenter and let it run overnight.
Installing the Game
To install Pirates!,
1.Insert Disc One of Sid Meier's Pirates! (the "Install Disc") into your CD-ROM Drive.
2.If autoplay is enabled on your system, a window will appear, giving you the option to Install the game. If nothing happens when you insert the CD into the drive, you will need to open "My Computer", double-click your CD-ROM drive letter, then double-click Setup.exe.
3.Once the setup process begins, follow the on-screen prompts to install the game.
User Permissions
You must be logged in as a user with administrative privileges to install Pirates!. However, once installed, you do not need administrator privileges to play the game, provided you installed the game for all users.
DirectX® Detection & Installation
During the installation of Pirates!, your system will be scanned to determine whether you have DirectX® 9.0c or later installed. If you do not, you will be asked whether or not you wish to install it. Note that DirectX® 9.0c or later is a minimum requirement for running Pirates!. If you decline to install it during the installation process, you will not be able to run the game until you have installed it.
CD Key
When installing Pirates!, you will be promoted to enter a "CD Key" to continue. This CD Key is a unique key assigned to your CD which can be found on the CD packaging. The CD Key must be entered exactly as it appears on the packaging or the game will not install.
If the installer tells you the CD Key you have entered is invalid, re-check the spelling and try again. If, after checking and re-entering the CD Key multiple times, the game still will not accept the key, you will need to contact support.
Starting the Game
There are a few ways to start the game.
1.Insert Disc Two of Sid Meier's Pirates! (the "Play Disc") into your CD-ROM Drive.
2.If you answered yes when the installer asked you whether you wanted to create a desktop shortcut, you can double click that shortcut.
or
1.Insert Disc Two of Sid Meier's Pirates! (the "Play Disc") into your CD-ROM Drive.
2.Click on the Start Menu, then select "Programs" (or "All Programs" if you're running Windows XP), then select "Atari", then "Sid Meier's Pirates!", then select the "Sid Meier's Pirates!" icon.
TROUBLESHOOTING
General system issues
Optimizing gameplay on slower computers
If you are experiencing slowdown, try turning the detail levels for all graphical options down to the minimum, and then adjusting them one by one until you achieve an acceptable balance between visual quality and game performance.
This table describes the differences between detail levels:
Water Detail levels
1 (Lowest) No water shader
2Water shader with no reflections
3Water shader with ship reflections
4(Highest) Water shader with ship, cloud, and port reflections
Object Detail levels
1 (Lowest) Low detail ships; No crew duelers on dueling decks.
2Adds background duelers to dueling.
3(Highest) Adds animated sails, dismasting animations./TD>
World Detail levels
1 (Lowest) Terrain only.
2Adds surf.
3Adds accent trees.
4Adds tree canopy.
5Adds caustics near shoreline.
6(Highest) Adds sparkle effect.
Note that disabling shadows and shaders (in that order) has the greatest impact on the game's performance, so these options are a good place to start when tuning the game's performance.
Video Issues
General Video Troubleshooting.
Outdated or incorrect video drivers are the cause of the majority of video issues. Before contacting support, ensure you have the latest production (release) drivers for your video card.
ATI Technologies
Intel
Matrox
NVIDIA
S3 Graphics
SiS
Specific Video Card Troubleshooting.
Card |
Issues / Workarounds |
Matrox |
Issues: Shadow issues, flickering, visual artifacts, missing objects, texture problems |
Parhelia P750 |
|
|
Solution: Matrox is working on new drivers which should address these problems. In |
|
the meantime, disabling shadows and shaders should help alleviate the problem. |
ATI Radeon |
Issues: Choppy or out-of-sync cinematic videos |
|
Solution: Users should turn video performance to "Performance" within the Radeon |
|
driver control panel. (Display Properties > Settings > Advanced > ATI 3D) |
I get a message that says "Unable to initialize DirectX." when I try to launch the game.
Possible solutions to this problem include:
1.Make sure you have DirectX 9.0C or greater and that it is working properly.
2.Make sure you have the latest video drivers for your video card.
3. Try running Pirates! in Safe Mode (use the Pirates! - Safe Mode shortcut on the start menu).
Sound issues
If you are experiencing sound problems, including volume issues, missing audio channels (i.e., no sound comes through your center speaker channel), crashes, or any other audio issues, we recommend switching your sound driver to the default MILES Fast 2D Driver.
MANUAL ERRATA AND ADDENDUM
Manual Errata
Barques and Pinnaces (Sails)
Triangularly rigged ships (Barques and Pinnaces) were not historically able to reef their sails. In the interests of gameplay, we have enabled reefing of sails on these ships, however, the sails will always look as though the ship is at full sails, even if the sails are reefed.
Letters of Marque:
The manual incorrectly states that "You must have a Letter of Marque from a nation to be given a mission by officials of that nation". This is incorrect. You may be offered missions even without a Letter of Marque.
Tobacco:
The tobacco trade good has been removed from the game.
Quest Log
The manual incorrectly states that the Quest Log screen can be accessed through the tabs in the in-game pause menu. All quests can now be accessed conveniently by clicking the icons on the quest bar on the main navigation screen.
Caps Lock Key
With Caps Lock on, any letter keys pressed on the keyboard respond as if the Shift key has been held down.
Land Battles
The manual incorrectly states that, after losing a land battle, you can be captured and will be forced to spend six months imprisoned. This is incorrect. You will never be placed in jail after an unsuccessful land battle, but you will lose a portion of the crew you brought into the battle.
Mutiny
The manual states that unhappy sailors will "begin to desert every time you leave a port - taking their share of the treaure with them." This is incorrect. When leaving port, unhappy crew may indeed desert the party, but will not take any portion of your treasure. Only full-fledged mutinies, which take place at sea, will result in deserters making off with some of your treasure.
Ship Upgrades and Repairs
The manual states that at certain ranks, players can receive ship upgrades or repairs for free. In game, however, the governors will tell you these upgrades or repairs will be performed "at cost". The governors
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