• New Horizons on Maelstrom
    Maelstrom New Horizons


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Mod Release Dialog Camera, Quests Fix, Larger Text, Time Fix, and Other Patches

Pieter Boelen said:
Out of curiosity, what do you think about the blue interface that's still an option in the mod?
That one keeps most of the original aestethic, while adding the new functionality.

We did try to do that too and there are many options to switch new functionality off.
But to get really close to the original game, sticking to an older mod is the only option.
At some point (specifically Build 14) it really went above and beyond the source material.
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I didn't actually know there are switches to turn off undesired new features in the settings of the mod(s). That sounds advanced and like a really neat idea -- and it's probably something that should be highlighted more in the docs (general info/summary). :bow

And, yeah, I understand how it gets difficult to maintain this the larger the project's scope and the work involved gets -- the further we get from the original game's design and content.
 
Cerez said:
I didn't actually know there are switches to turn off undesired new features in the settings of the mod(s). That sounds advanced and like a really neat idea -- and it's probably something that should be highlighted more in the docs (general info/summary). :bow
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There's a whole menu to tweak player preferences. Plus a code file where you can tweak even more.
Basically, our intention has always been to make the mod as good as it can possibly be for all sorts of different people.
In other word: If we do anything that some people don't like, we'll happily put a toggle on it.
And if people request a change that doesn't already have a toggle, we'll try to add one.
After all, who are we to say what the players should enjoy? It should be their choice, not ours! ;)

Cerez said:
And, yeah, I understand how it gets difficult to maintain this the larger the project's scope and the work involved gets -- the further we get from the original game's design and content.
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That's definitely true and there are indeed things in the mod that are practically "un-toggle-able" (I know; that's not an actual word! :rofl ).
For example, the more realistic worldmap is fixed. But then... I don't know why anyone would want to stick to the old, small, inaccurate one... :wp
 
To anyone who is actually playing with these patches applied, be sure to give me your feedback, guys, as I have no motivation to continue working on this if I don't see that people find it useful.
 
Cerez said:
To anyone who is actually playing with these patches applied, be sure to give me your feedback, guys, as I have no motivation to continue working on this if I don't see that people find it useful.
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You may want to consider posting your mod here: Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales Windows game
Or on the PA! Facebook/Twitter/YouTube pages. That should help a lot with visibility. :doff

Cerez said:
Risking that I'm going to be disliked for saying this, and speaking for myself, I prefer when a mod doesn't change a game's original look, add its own branding, and change/tweak other gaming elements (I'm a "purist" that way), only that which it's supposed to change. I never liked the original user interface for POTC, but I still have trouble swallowing the changes.
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Related to that remark, you might like to have a look through the screenshots in this article:
Guide - The PotC Build Mod: A History in Interfaces
 
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Thanks Pieter, but I don't really have the time nor the interest to promote these patches elsewhere online. I'm relying on word of mouth and people using it here to further this project.

This is just a hobby project for me -- one that I'm taking seriously in terms of development.
 
Cerez said:
Thanks Pieter, but I don't really have the time nor the interest to promote these patches elsewhere online. I'm relying on word of mouth and people using it here to further this project.
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I know the feeling; promotion is a whole different beast and something that nobody here really seems very interested in doing.
Unfortunately the end result is that many people here work really hard, but their work never ends up reaching its intended audience.
It's a crying shame; we really need someone to do promotion for us all, so that the developers don't need to split their focus...
 
Hey I just wanted to tune in and say that I find this mod and your fixes awesome! (also props to all the developers here on Pirates Ahoy and all their other projects) For a long time when AoP came out I really really struggled between loving and hating that game. It had so much potential but fell short on so many things, oh boy. Still to this day when i go back and replay it I am amazed how awful the sword-fighting controls are, so unresponsive and jerky. BUT the animation fix you provide does help quite a bit! Thanks so much for your work. I enjoyed the Historical Immersion Mod v5, though I'd prefer playing an improved version of the vanilla game now and then, here's where your work comes to the table. Can't wait to really dive in.
It would be really really cool if you keep this going. I know exactly how modding in your freetime works and can sometimes be super frustrating and time-consuming and that it's not always possible to really keep on going with a project, especially when facing a lot of different things in life.

Best Mr.Zz

ARRRRREdit:

I actually tried if including some of your mods into the Historical Immersion Supermod v.5.0 Standalone, and as far as i can tell the ones I tried (Animation fix, Seagull fix, Captain coming through) seem to work fine!

I'll try some other ones when I find time, but I am sure some of them will conflict with changes or fixes already present in the HISv5-Mod.
 
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Thanks so much for your warm, useful, and encouraging feedback, @Mr.Zz! <3

I know that @Modder01 expressed interest, previously, in applying some of these patches to the Supermod, and I've been working in collaboration with the HIS team to try and fix one of the most complex bugs in the vanilla game: 'Smoke on the Water'. ;)
 
Hi ,
(Sorry if this post is old,but it is from 2018)
Just wanted to add a big thank-you to Cerez, for all the work your doing on this and I hope your still working on it. I got AoP and CoAS from GOG a while back. I have only have spent a few minutes trying them out . I'll try out your mods as soon as I can find time. I want to play the original game before the larger mods,so yours sound ideal.
P.S. Spending a lot of time with SD,I know just what it's like to work hard on something like this and wonder if anybody else cares. Let me know if your looking for any SD mods.

Of course, thanks to everyone who modded/fixed these old games.
 
Thanks @Captain_Vane! Your support means a lot, and, of course, this content/thread is still as relevant as on the day it was first posted. My passion for Caribbean Tales has NOT died out. I have plans to continue working on it with a (better, open) main story rewrite, and dialogue expansions (interactive casual dialogues with citizens that reflect time of day, weather, faction status/fame, previous association, their nationality, occupation, personality, and other details) for the English language gameplay to enrich the open world experience.

Work on these patches will also continue, with a fix for "smoke on the water", more (small) bug fixes, and perhaps a comprehensive real-time sailing feature (so that we can sail to locations slowly, in person).

I've also started the series with the original game, SD1, and despite its age I really liked what I saw, but when I tried CT, it blew my mind and proved to be just what I was looking for! I am, of course, interested in exploring SD1 mods, and seeing how they improve gameplay, or what new content they add to the original game, which still captivates me and I still hold in high regard. You'll find I've recreated/"ported" some of the features of SD1 in these CT patches, such as the dialogue camera angle when speaking with people in the taverns, and the ol' boatswain voice on the player's ship. I've also added an improved version of COAS's first person dialogue feature (adapting it to the chosen player character's varying level of height/eyesight). But perhaps the one thing I am proudest of in my work here is that in CT, now, you'll have a realistic simulation of time and weather, with the citizens' AI also being aware of it, which I find adds a whole new level of immersion to the open world gameplay. I hope you'll enjoy the fixed/expanded, patched game. Feel free to give the unpatched game a go beforehand, so you can appreciate the changes, just be sure not to (expect to) transfer any saves from the unpatched game to the patched one. Feedback, even critical, is, of course, welcome.
 
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The Nameless Pirate said:
So this game is going to finaly have a good main storyline! :thumbs1
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Hahhaha! Well, that's what I'm hoping to be able to accomplish, anyway... To write out the pre-defined (and dodgy) storyline -- since this game really doesn't need a forced single-player experience -- and instead make the conversations and chance events personal (like the treasure-meeting, and the challenging of the pirate leader) and leave them independent and open-ended, so the player remains entirely free to do what they want to do in the game. It's more of a clever redux than a comprehensive, scripted missions rewrite, but it should do well to improve the game's open-world story experience regardless -- and to "unchain" it, as it were.

But I'll make this a separate patch from the current pack, since it does change the original story-gameplay experience considerably. It'll come bundled with the planned interactive dialogue expansion.
 
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Good to hear your still motivated. Not sure if you have them or not, so just in case, you can get the SD1 mods here:
SeaDogs Hoseheads mod

I've temporarily put up some old walkthroughs and misc stuff here:
sd_stuff.zip
It can be hard to finish without a walkthrough. You often need to visit remote islands and talk to bartenders etc.

If I can make 2 small suggestions regarding SD1,
To me,the most important thing with SD1 is to make sure you've got the log-russ-italic font working (imo, the atmosphere is ruined without it).
Second most (to me) is to remap the sword fighting keys to use 2 hands. I used left for blocking and feint keys, right on numpad for rest.

If I ever learn CT/CoAS internals enough,I've been toying with the idea of someday porting the SD1 campaigns and mods to them for kicks. Much to learn first though.

thanks again for these great patches.
 
Thanks @Captain_Vane. I'm pretty sure you can reconfigure the keys in both CT and COAS to be two-handed for fighting -- both games have a comprehensive keymapping section in the game's settings menu, and I was able to get even my Logitech gamepad configured to do everything I needed to in the game! As for the font, unfortunately there's no way to make the "log-russ-italic.ttf" file work with CT's font system (which is texture/image-based). Someone would need to recreate the font's alphabet as a game texture file (which is delicate work but can be done in an image editor like Photohop by importing/using the original font file itself). (There's a Windows tool we have hosted here, called the TX Convertor, that can turn a compressed TGA.TX texture file into a TGA image file, and vice-versa. CT's font textures are located in the "RESOURCE/Textures/FONTS" folder.)

I like your idea for recreating the SD1 campaigns. It's a lot of work, and there's quite a bit to learn, but it should be an interesting challenge.

You're welcome. ^_^
 
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I managed to make that font and the ini file but it's not integrated into your mods yet and I got hooked on ERAS for now. Would you like me to upload it here for you to work with?Not sure when I'll get around to "packaging" it as a mod.
 
Captain_Vane said:
I managed to make that font and the ini file but it's not integrated into your mods yet and I got hooked on ERAS for now. Would you like me to upload it here for you to work with?Not sure when I'll get around to "packaging" it as a mod.
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Nice, congrats! :cheers Sure, if you like. I'll certainly have a look at it, and others may find it interesting/useful as well.
 
Well,here it is. I even whipped up a readme file. Just let me know if you need anything changed (including the license)

Edit: I removed the file.I don't want to risk highjacking this thread. I'll leave it up to Cerez whether or not to include it in her mods.
 

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Does anyone know the current status of this mod? I've tried to install it on my GOG 1.5 release of the game and I'm not having any luck--whenever I tamper with any files I am getting a Microsoft C++ run time error and a crash to desktop when I try to start the game. I've also tried to take only a few fixes at time but no dice there either, same issue. The vanilla version works just fine for me so it must be something I'm doing wrong. Any advice? All I am doing is simply copying the files over to the correct location and selecting the "replace" option when it prompts me. I'm on windows 10 and I can definitely provide any more system information if needed. Thanks!
 
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