Games PC SID MEIER S-PIRATES User Manual
Table of Contents Sid Meier’s Pirates!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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
Book One Sid Meier’s Pirates!
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FIRST THINGS FIRST
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
Programs, then on Firaxis Games, then on Sid Meier’s Pirates! and then
on the ReadMe file.
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taskbar, then on
Getting Started
INSTALLATION
1. Start Windows®98/Se/Me/2000/XP.
2. Insert the Sid Meier’s Pirates! CD-ROM game disc into your CD-
ROM 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
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 CD-
ROM drive every time you play.
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taskbar, then on Run. Type
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Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Installing DirectX
Sid Meier’s Pirates! requires DirectX®9.0c or higher in order to run. If
you do not have DirectX
click “Yes” when asked if you would like to install it.
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9.0c or higher installed on your computer,
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Book One
SAVING AND
LOADING GAMES
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.
Book One Sid Meier’s Pirates!
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Options Screen
Getting There
See the Game Controls section on pages 86-87 to learn how to get to
the Options screen.
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!
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.
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!
Sid Meier’s Pirates!
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Book One
Introduction
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!
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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.
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.
Sid Meier’s Pirates!
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Book One
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
The Basics
A Word About Your Goals
Sid Meier’s Pirates! is an open-ended game, which means
you can pretty much do what you want. If you want to be a peace-
ful trader and not fight with anyone, you can do so. If you want
to be a reckless pirate and take on everybody, you can do that too.
Or you can be a romantic hero, seeking to sweep every governor’s
daughter off of her feet. And so on. You control your own destiny.
Do what you will with it.
Your pirate is not immortal, however. Eventually the pas-
sage of years will take their toll and he will grow older. And as he
ages, some of his skills will begin to diminish. At some point he’ll
find it harder to recruit crewmen, who are interested in a young,
healthy captain to lead them. Eventually you’ll need to consider
retiring this pirate and starting anew with another captain.
When your pirate retires, the game examines his piratical
career, and, based upon what he has accomplished, assigns him a
final ranking. If he’s been extremely successful, he’ll earn himself a
place in the Hall of Fame, and he may retire to become a Governor
himself. If he’s less successful, he may end his days as a lowly barkeep or street-cleaner.
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Book Two
Book Two Sid Meier’s Pirates!
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The Main Menu
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.
Starting the Game
1. First install the Sid Meier’s Pirates! program and the correct version
of DirectX
2. Make sure that the Sid Meier’s Pirates! 1 CD-ROM is in your CD-
ROM 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
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.
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as described in Book One.
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taskbar and
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!
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Book Two
Useful Game
Information
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
The Rules
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Book Three
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!
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The Memoirs of Captain Sydney
There be only three rules that ye must follow if ye
wants to be a pirate.
First, always keep your crew happy. A happy crew
will take on the world, if ye ask ‘em, while an unhappy
crew will fall apart fightin’ a Dutch herring boat.
Second, always hit ‘em from windward. If ye got the
weather gauge you can beat almost anyone - and if ye be
losin’ ye can run away a lot easier.
Third, never trust a man named, “Raymondo.” He’ll
kidnap yer family as soon as look at ye.
Creating Your Pirate
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”
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
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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 swords-
men.
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!
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At Sea
The Memoirs of Captain Sydney
The Caribbean is like one of them high-born Spanish ladies: ye can
love her, but ye can’t trust her. One minute she’s as placid as a sea-cow and
yer sailin’ along as easy as kiss-my-hand, everybody leanin’ on the rail and
spittin’ to leeward; the next she throws a hurricane at ye, and yer runnin’
as if all the hounds of hell was on your trail, swearin’ that if ye gets out of
this alive ye’ll never set foot on a boat again.
But ye always do go back to her, see? Because, despite her bein’ an
untrustworthy, ungrateful, murderous wench and all, ye bloody well do love
her, more than ye love life itself.
Arg. And that’s all the bloody poetry ye’ll be gettin’ out of me today,
cully. And pour me another pint o’ rum, by the Powers!
The Navigation Screen
This screen displays a portion of the Caribbean. The view remains
centred on your ship at all times.
Cities
Land
Landmark
Storm Clouds
Your Ship
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!
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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.
Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!
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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.
How to Sail
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.
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
Unhappy
Happy Content
Mutinous
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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!
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Information Screens
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
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).
This screen keeps a running list of your actions and accomplishments
as well as other events happening in the world.
Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Status Screen
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Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!
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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!
Perils of the Sea
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Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!
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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.
The Memoirs of Captain Sydney
I remember once we was fightin’ this French frigate -
heh, running for our lives from this French frigate is more like
the truth. We was in my brig, Happy Reaper, and the winds
was light and steady from the southeast. I had just bought me
a set of those new cotton sails and we was doin' fine - stayin'
ahead and maybe even gainin' a few yards on her, when my
lubber of a helmsman Blind Johnson ran us right into the nas-
tiest storm I've ever seen. We lost over half our sails, and now
the big Frenchman was gainin' on us.
Fortunately, we was able to keep ahead of her for anoth-
er hour, just long enough for the sun to set. By the Grace of
Providence we lost her in the darkness.
What did we do then? Well, first thing I did was to
change course and head for Nevis, where we could get our hull
fixed right and proper. And then I had me kind of a private dis-
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.
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.
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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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:
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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.
Dutch
French
Missionary
English
Indian
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.
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!
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The Memoirs of Captain Sydney
It must have been in ’65, or maybe ’66, me ‘n’ crusty old Cap’n
Briggs were jawin’ about which ship was best for piratin’ in.
“A Royal sloop,” sez I. “The bugger’s fast in light airs, can turn
on a farthing, and 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,” he added. “What’s the point o’ gettin’ plunder if you 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 senile old son of a farmer and I called
him a grass-eatin’ butterball, and the discussion became sort o’ animated. 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 ship that carries enough guns to make
‘em count.
Book Three
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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.
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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Book Three
Sea Battles
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
Statistics
Enemy Vessel’s
Statistics
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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.
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.
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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Book Three
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.
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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 Sydney
I said it before: a good pirate fights only when there’s profit in
it, or when he’s not got no other choice.
When a pirate’s fightin’ fer a profit, he’s got to remember that
every ball he puts into the other ship lowers her resale value, and that
a single lucky shot can sink even the strongest hull. Me, I always liked
to put a couple of long-range rounds into the enemy, for to put the fear
o’ heaven in the crew, then range in close off her bow or stern, cut her
crew down with grape, then board and take her at sword-point.
Exchangin’ manly broadsides with a merchant ship might make
fer a good song or legend, but I prefers money in the bank.
Now when fightin’ fer survival, on the other hand, the situa-
tion’s exactly the opposite. If I been chased down and forced into a
fight with some blasted pirate hunter in a beastly huge warship, my
job is to disable or sink her - be d____d to the value o’ her hull. I gets
treasure off of merchant ships - I fights warships fer to live to enjoy
that treasure.
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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Book Three
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.
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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.
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).
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.
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