Hi there. Few questions for ya

[Multigun]

Thank you again for the clarification

Side Note: ha ha, nice touch with the "mysterious coin." And to heck with my curiosity, as I just HAD to loot it off a ship when I found it even though I saw what was coming a mile away (yes I already googled how to solve the curse.)

New question!

I'm not sure the proper naming term for them (which makes it hard to google for a solution ha ha), but the various "items" that give passive stats/attributes upgrades while in your inventory, looking for some clarifications for those. From what I can tell, only the Player/officer/captain with the items in their inventory will receive the passive bonuses correct? Can you put them in your ship inventory (or crew inventory?) instead and still receive bonuses?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

ha ha, nice touch with the "mysterious coin." And to heck with my curiosity, as I just HAD to loot it off a ship when I found it even though I saw what was coming a mile away

You couldn't have avoided that if you tried. Har, har, har!

I'm not sure the proper naming term for them (which makes it hard to google for a solution ha ha), but the various "items" that give passive stats/attributes upgrades while in your inventory, looking for some clarifications for those. From what I can tell, only the Player/officer/captain with the items in their inventory will receive the passive bonuses correct? Can you put them in your ship inventory (or crew inventory?) instead and still receive bonuses?

Item bonuses apply to the character carrying them.
But if you put them in the chest in your captain's cabin, they'll still work for you anyway.

 

[Grey Roger]

ATM, nearly all ships have long guns equipped, while in real, especially traders favored the Carronade since it was easier to handle. Is it possible to make a simple argument here? like If = Trader use Cannon_Type_Carronade or something like that?

It should be easy enough to change the entries in "Ships_init.c" to make smaller ships use carronades by default. (Several already do.) However, according to Wikipedia, the actual carronade (so named because it was produced by the Carron Company of Falkirk, Scotland) didn't exist before the 1770's, so they ought to be limited to the "Revolutions" and "Napoleonic" periods. Whether similar short-barrel, heavy calibre, lightweight cannons existed in earlier periods, let alone whether they were routinely used by civilian ships, I don't know.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

It should be easy enough to change the entries in "Ships_init.c" to make smaller ships use carronades by default. (Several already do.) However, according to Wikipedia, the actual carronade (so named because it was produced by the Carron Company of Falkirk, Scotland) didn't exist before the 1770's, so they ought to be limited to the "Revolutions" and "Napoleonic" periods. Whether similar short-barrel, heavy calibre, lightweight cannons existed in earlier periods, let alone whether they were routinely used by civilian ships, I don't know.

Really, if it's just a naming convention, then call them "Long Guns" and "Short Guns" for all I care.

 

[Grey Roger]

You couldn't have avoided that if you tried. Har, har, har!

Doesn't that depend on the "Realism" setting? I've seen them in a few chests, know what they do, and avoided picking them up. That might not be an option in "Arcade" mode but certainly seems to apply in "Realistic" mode.

Item bonuses apply to the character carrying them.
But if you put them in the chest in your captain's cabin, they'll still work for you anyway.

Note that there are two chests in the cabin (possibly three, depending on which version of the game you're playing). One is the weapons locker; item bonuses won't apply to anything left in there, but if you leave weapons or armour, your crew (not officers, the random other guys who appear on boarding decks) will take them. (If you like what the cursed coin does to you, you can find some more and put them in the weapons locker, then the crew will take them and become cursed too.) The ship's chest is the one in which you can put bonus items and still get the bonuses.

 

[Grey Roger]

Really, if it's just a naming convention, then call them "Long Guns" and "Short Guns" for all I care.

My point is, did short guns, of whatever name, exist in earlier periods? Other nations would have called their carronade equivalents something else, e.g. France had the obusier de vaisseau. As with Britain, though, that was limited to our later two periods.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Doesn't that depend on the "Realism" setting? I've seen them in a few chests, know what they do, and avoided picking them up. That might not be an option in "Arcade" mode but certainly seems to apply in "Realistic" mode.

It might do... don't remember the specifics now.

What I do remember is that it depends on whether the curse is actually active or not.
That differs between storylines; it is active by default in the Standard storyline and disabled in most of the other ones (including Free Play), I think.
You can check this in the main storyline files, since it should be set using a " storyline variable".

When the curse isn't active, you don't get the whole "skeleton at night" behaviour at all.
So then a cursed coin becomes just a temporary bad-luck bringer that you can easily sell with no consequences.

My point is, did short guns, of whatever name, exist in earlier periods? Other nations would have called their carronade equivalents something else, e.g. France had the obusier de vaisseau. As with Britain, though, that was limited to our later two periods.

Regardless of historical accuracy, I think it is good from a gameplay point of view to give players different choices.
Plus it might be more difficult to remove them than you might like, so why bother? They don't do any harm so might as well keep them.

 

[Multigun]

Thanks for the clarifications! And yes, I am debating on staying cursed for funsies. Downside is crew morale from what I read though, and just don't feel like dealing with that more.

Doesn't that depend on the "Realism" setting? I've seen them in a few chests, know what they do, and avoided picking them up. That might not be an option in "Arcade" mode but certainly seems to apply in "Realistic" mode.

For what it's worth I am playing in Arcade. I don't know if it gave me the option to avoid it, as I just clicked loot without thinking too much about it other then "well, this will be interesting".

Yet another question!

I haven't gotten to the stage of the game yet where I am attacking Forts, but I read that Sea Dogs: Carribean Tales you can attack settlements and towns, take them over, and install your own government (more or less). Can something like that be done with New Horizons as well? I like the idea of world (Caribbean) domination

 

[Homo eructus]

You can take over towns and decide which nation will rule them (or keep them for yourself) but there's not much else to do with them in terms of management. I think you can lower and raise taxes in your owned towns but nothing else I think

 

[Pieter Boelen]

And yes, I am debating on staying cursed for funsies. Downside is crew morale from what I read though, and just don't feel like dealing with that more.

Being cursed yourself from only one coin will have a negligible effect on crew morale.
On the other hand, if you know how to lift the curse, then you probably know how to make the curse far, far worse.
But YOU as player are in control of how bad you want to make it. I always liked the idea of "cursing yourself on purpose", but not spending the actual coins.
Then you can make use of the advantages and when you're sick of the disadvantages, then you can lift the curse again whenever you want!
Assuming you DO still, by then, have ALL the coins left. But I'd definitely suggest you try that some day and see what happens.

I haven't gotten to the stage of the game yet where I am attacking Forts, but I read that Sea Dogs: Carribean Tales you can attack settlements and towns, take them over, and install your own government (more or less). Can something like that be done with New Horizons as well? I like the idea of world (Caribbean) domination

@Homo eructus is exactly right.

Town Capture is totally possible, but once you've got them, there isn't much else to do with them.
Nobody will try to take them back from you either. And high taxes just reduces the morale of the crew you cna hire in that town.

 

[Grey Roger]

What I do remember is that it depends on whether the curse is actually active or not.
That differs between storylines; it is active by default in the Standard storyline and disabled in most of the other ones (including Free Play), I think.

And that's my point. I've been playing the "Standard" storyline, a.k.a. "Tales of a Sea Hawk". I haven't changed it - alright, I have changed it to fix a few bugs, but I haven't touched anything to do with the curse. I've found a few cursed coins in chests, left them there, and not been cursed. This is in "Realistic" mode, "Seadog" difficulty.

I've a vague memory of us having a discussion about the curse, the net effect being that the coin automatically jumps into your pocket in "Arcade" mode but you have to actively choose to pick it up in "Realistic" mode. That way, in "Realistic", anyone who wants the curse, or who is careless enough to grab everything in sight, will be cursed; while those who don't want the curse can just leave the coins alone.

Regardless of historical accuracy, I think it is good from a gameplay point of view to give players different choices.
Plus it might be more difficult to remove them than you might like, so why bother? They don't do any harm so might as well keep them.

True enough. It wouldn't even be a matter of simply removing them, but of limiting them to the later periods - good luck with that! So I suggest leaving things as they are - long guns by default except on those ships which already have carronades by default, and if players want to switch from one type to another then they're free to do so. Maybe make carronades default on such smaller ships as can only appear "Revolutions" or "Napoleonic" periods, if there are any.

Capturing towns: there is one other thing you can do when you've captured a town. You can rename it. Last time I played "Tales of a Sea Hawk", I set out to make myself the boss of all pirates, and made sure they all knew it because by the time I'd finished, "Pirate Settlement", "Smugglers Lair" etc. had all become "Hawk Settlement", "Hawks lair" etc. All your base are belong to ME!

 

[Pieter Boelen]

And that's my point. I've been playing the "Standard" storyline, a.k.a. "Tales of a Sea Hawk". I haven't changed it - alright, I have changed it to fix a few bugs, but I haven't touched anything to do with the curse. I've found a few cursed coins in chests, left them there, and not been cursed. This is in "Realistic" mode, "Seadog" difficulty.

I've a vague memory of us having a discussion about the curse, the net effect being that the coin automatically jumps into your pocket in "Arcade" mode but you have to actively choose to pick it up in "Realistic" mode. That way, in "Realistic", anyone who wants the curse, or who is careless enough to grab everything in sight, will be cursed; while those who don't want the curse can just leave the coins alone.

As I said, I don't remember anymore what we did. Is the curse ALWAYS disabled now on Realistic Mode then?
Check PROGRAM\Characters\characters_init.c or PROGRAM\Locations\init\IslaDeMuerta.c .
It is one of those two files that contains the "global control" for it, if I recall.

So I suggest leaving things as they are - long guns by default except on those ships which already have carronades by default, and if players want to switch from one type to another then they're free to do so. Maybe make carronades default on such smaller ships as can only appear "Revolutions" or "Napoleonic" periods, if there are any.

Editing ships_init.c should indeed be easy enough.

 

[KillPhil]

Well I read through wikipedia a bit and it seems that the ancestor of the Carronade somehwat where the Demi-Cannon and Demi-Culverine. But I think the problem here is: If we go realism on the Carronades now, we would have to go realism on all guns. Long Guns weren't a thing in the early periods either. We could probably use different names for them in the different periods, but else I think just leaving the system as it is now is the best solution.

 

[Multigun]

Hello, back again. Thanks for all the info as always! Didn't even realize there was a whole forum post on capturing colonies already made that I stumbled on after everybody had already posted. Sorry about that!

Speaking of colonies though. Do I need to worry about who I install as a governor and/or Fort Commander? As in does level, class, reputation, etc impact anything? Can those officers later be retrieved and/or replaced by others if necessary?

Second question, I'm working on Opium Smuggling - A Smugglers Life For Me. I've reached the end of the walkthrough for this quest. I reported my findings to the Governor, left (as the walkthrough instructs), came back and...nothing happens (no new dialogue options)? Quest Book says to keep searching for more clues. Walkthrough says the quest ended at that point, so I'm not sure where to go from here. Any help, link, directions, etc would be greatly appreciative.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Do I need to worry about who I install as a governor and/or Fort Commander? As in does level, class, reputation, etc impact anything?

For the governor, it doesn't matter at all. For the fort commander, you may want to install a good Gunner.

Can those officers later be retrieved and/or replaced by others if necessary?

I'm afraid that once they're placed, they're stuck.
Tried to fix that at some point in the past, but that was harder than I had hoped and since it isn't very important, I just locked them in place.
If I recall, I added a warning to the relevant interface so at least you'll know.

Second question, I'm working on Opium Smuggling - A Smugglers Life For Me. I've reached the end of the walkthrough for this quest. I reported my findings to the Governor, left (as the walkthrough instructs), came back and...nothing happens (no new dialogue options)? Quest Book says to keep searching for more clues. Walkthrough says the quest ended at that point, so I'm not sure where to go from here. Any help, link, directions, etc would be greatly appreciative.

@Talisman, do you happen to know?

 

[Talisman]

Second question, I'm working on Opium Smuggling - A Smugglers Life For Me. I've reached the end of the walkthrough for this quest. I reported my findings to the Governor, left (as the walkthrough instructs), came back and...nothing happens (no new dialogue options)? Quest Book says to keep searching for more clues. Walkthrough says the quest ended at that point, so I'm not sure where to go from here. Any help, link, directions, etc would be greatly appreciative.

The following is based on Beta 4-1 ( dated 16 May) - I don't know if there have been any changes to the code for this quest since then )

For handing in the reports to the Governor the code in quests_side.c is :-

case "Made First Smuggling Report":
       if(CheckAttribute(pchar,"quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest"))
       {
         if(!CheckAttribute(pchar,"quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.made_first_report"))
         {
           GiveItem2Character(pchar,"smuggling_first_report");
           AddQuestRecord("smuggleguild", 5);
           pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.made_first_report = true;
         }
       }
     break;
   
     case "Hand in First Smuggling Report":
       ChangeRMRelation(pchar, sti(pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.nation), 5);
       AddMoneyToCharacter(pchar, 2500);
       AddXP(pchar, SKILL_SNEAK, 1000, XP_GROUP_OFFIC);
       TakeItemFromCharacter(pchar,"smuggling_first_report");
       AddQuestRecord("smuggleguild", 6);
       pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.gave_first_report = true;
     break;
   
     case "Hand in Buyers List":
       ChangeRMRelation(pchar, sti(pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.nation), 5);
       AddMoneyToCharacter(pchar, 1500);
       AddXP(pchar, SKILL_SNEAK, 500, XP_GROUP_OFFIC);
       AddQuestRecord("smuggleguild", 12);
       pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.gave_buyers_list = true;
     break;
   
     case "Made Second Smuggling Report":
       if(CheckAttribute(pchar,"quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest"))
       {
         if(!CheckAttribute(pchar,"quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.made_second_report"))
         {
           GiveItem2Character(pchar,"smuggling_second_report");
           AddQuestRecord("smuggleguild", 11);
           pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.made_second_report = true;
         }
       }
     break;
   
     case "Hand in Second Smuggling Report":
       ChangeRMRelation(pchar, sti(pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.nation), 5);
       AddMoneyToCharacter(pchar, 3500);
       AddXP(pchar, SKILL_SNEAK, 1200, XP_GROUP_OFFIC);
       TakeItemFromCharacter(pchar,"smuggling_second_report");
       AddQuestRecord("smuggleguild", 13);
       pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.gave_second_report = true;
     break;
   
     case "Hand in Final Smuggling Report":
       //ChangeRMRelation(pchar, sti(pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.nation), 5);
       SetRMRelation(pchar, sti(pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.nation), RequiredNextRankDirect(GetRank(pchar, sti(pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.nation))+1) );
       AddMoneyToCharacter(pchar, 2500);
       AddXP(pchar, SKILL_SNEAK, 1200, XP_GROUP_OFFIC);
       AddQuestRecord("smuggleguild", 14);
       CloseQuestHeader("smuggleguild");  // TALISMAN - added to close Header at Current end of Quest
       pchar.quest.smuggling_guild.governor_quest.final_report = true;
     break;

the final dialog with the governor ( when you go back to see him after handing in the final report ) is

code in Governor.c

case "FinalReport":
       dialog.text = DLG_TEXT[96];
       link.l1 = DLG_TEXT[97];
       link.l1.go = "exit";
       AddDialogExitQuest("Hand in Final Smuggling Report");
     break;

which gives the dialog

"Have you had any time to look at the reports I made?",
"As a matter of fact, I did. And I think you've provided us with all the information we needed. Maybe we need more information later. But for now this will do. As a token of gratitude, please accept this little gift.",

and should give the quest book entry from smuggleguild.txt

text.t14=I've finished the task for the governor for the time being, but there might be more in the future!

and close the quest book header

This should be the current end of the quest


If you do not get the dialog with the governor - quest book entry & closed header - then I suggest going back to a Save before you hand in the Final report and try again to see what happens. ( try waiting for a day before going back to the governor after handing in the final report )




P.S.

If the quest book says

text.t13=The governor was pleased to see the report and I received a nice reward. I should investigate further to see if I can find any further clues.

then you have handed in the 2nd report and need to hand in the last report ( I think - it has been several months since I played the quest )

 

[pedrwyth]

@Multigun A bit late - but for future reference perhaps...

The loading screen tips are stored individually as tga.tx texture files in RESOURCES/Textures/Tips and I have never seen a list.

...Turns out I had but didn't remember - so just came across this (again)

Mod Release - The loading screen tips | Page 2 | PiratesAhoy!

This time I have created a file of them!