Need Help Modifiyng Freeplay

[Lonious]

But this is a starting character - it's the start of the game. What rank is Barbossa supposed to be as a privateer? For comparison, some character models can start you off as a full naval admiral and they only set you to level 16. In general, you start FreePlay at level 5 and it's then up to you what you do with your life.

Instead of having Blackbeard attack right at the start of the game, how about setting it up to happen much later? Try something like this:

Pchar.quest.fightblackbeard.win_condition.l1 = "location";
Pchar.quest.fightblackbeard.win_condition.l1.location = "KhaelRoa";
Pchar.quest.fightblackbeard.win_condition.l2 = "Rank";
Pchar.quest.fightblackbeard.win_condition.l2.operation = ">=";
Pchar.quest.fightblackbeard.win_condition.l2.value = 30;
Pchar.quest.fightblackbeard.win_condition = "fightblackbeard";

I'm not sure whether this will work because I don't know if condition "Rank" has ever been used in the game before, but it's defined in "PROGRAM\QUESTS\quests_check.c". The idea is that if you return to Cozumel when you're high enough level (at least 30), then you'll fight Blackbeard. How you progress from starting level 5 up to level 30 is up to you, that's the "Free" part of "FreePlay". You should be able to test it. Edit "InternalSettings.h", go to the bottom and enable cheatmode. Then start the game, sail away from Cozumel, press numeric keypad 4 which should level you up, keep pressing it until you hit level 30. Then sail back to Cozumel, where Blackbeard should be waiting for you.

If that doesn't work, there are other ways. One is to check your level whenever you arrive at Cozumel, if it's at least 30 then set up the battle, otherwise reset the check. Have a look at "quests_side.c", case "Blythe_gone_ship", which checks whether Nigel Blythe has at least a tier 7 ship and resets the check when you leave Puerto Rico waters if he hasn't. Another option, if a governor is offering a reward for defeating Blackbeard, is to do something with the governor's dialog. If you're at least level 30 then the governor can tell you to go to Cozumel to find Blackbeard.

By the way, there are now 5 films. You probably don't want to depict Barbossa as he was after film 5...

I just think some characters - like Davy Jones - should allow one to kick ass right at the start of the game. It's kind of in their character description. But, I'll take this into consideration I suppose.

 

[Grey Roger]

Davy Jones already does, he gets the Flying Dutchman right away. He could perhaps be given a level increase so that he's not penalised as much for starting with a tier 3 ship, but a 'model.minlevel' line in the entry for "DavyJones" in "initModels.c" would probably take care of that. Beyond that, if he's starting the game then he hasn't been cursed for very long, which is also implied by what the officer says in his cabin:

"Captain, are you certain you cannot be convinced to do the job we were supposed to be doing? Until this curse is lifted, we can never set foot ashore! And this whole fishy look is not so great either."

Davy Jones' starting year is 1665. The "Hoist the Colours" storyline starts in 1740. If you manage to keep playing for 75 years of game time, you'll probably be awesomely high level! (Though it's going to get boring because you can't ever set foot on land, and there's currently no mechanism to allow you to land after 10 years of game time.)

Meanwhile, most other characters who start off with powerful ships are naval officers whose definitions take them straight up to high rank, the promotion process in "NK.c" takes care of giving them the correct ship, and their 'model.minlevel' lines take care of setting them to suitable level. The exception is Cutler Beckett, who gets the Endeavour without corresponding stats, so he's seriously penalised and quite rightly too - he's totally incompetent as a ship commander in the third film.

 

[Lonious]

Davy Jones already does, he gets the Flying Dutchman right away. He could perhaps be given a level increase so that he's not penalised as much for starting with a tier 3 ship, but a 'model.minlevel' line in the entry for "DavyJones" in "initModels.c" would probably take care of that. Beyond that, if he's starting the game then he hasn't been cursed for very long, which is also implied by what the officer says in his cabin:
Davy Jones' starting year is 1665. The "Hoist the Colours" storyline starts in 1740. If you manage to keep playing for 75 years of game time, you'll probably be awesomely high level! (Though it's going to get boring because you can't ever set foot on land, and there's currently no mechanism to allow you to land after 10 years of game time.)

Hmm...why not set it to the 1730s? The Dutchman is obviously a 1600's ship, even the film people stated this. However, the game lore has Vanderdecken as the original captain - I'm thinking of putting Vanderdecken as that 1600s replacement, where the regular skeleton models would actually make more sense (he hasn't been cursed by Calypso) and the low level. And put the "Uncursed" Dutchman to use - I've replaced Will's ship with a regular Xebec because he isn't playing a Cursed storyline anyway.

The point is, when I pick Davy Jones, I want to feel like the Davy Jones from the movies - nigh unstoppable, a force feared in the seas even by men like Cutler Beckett...

Meanwhile, most other characters who start off with powerful ships are naval officers whose definitions take them straight up to high rank, the promotion process in "NK.c" takes care of giving them the correct ship, and their 'model.minlevel' lines take care of setting them to suitable level. The exception is Cutler Beckett, who gets the Endeavour without corresponding stats, so he's seriously penalised and quite rightly too - he's totally incompetent as a ship commander in the third film.

I can understand Cutler Beckett being low level military wise, but certainly not commerce wise. I'll give him all commerce perks and set his commerce to 10. Maybe up his level a bit as well. For the navy admirals, if they're going to get big ships at the start, they should already have high levels too - if you're a top admiral like De Ruyter or Nelson, you're going to be top dog in the Caribbean archipelago. I mean, they're already wearing their admiral uniforms, might as well give them an admiral start.

This is also the reason why I'm kinda hesitant to make Blackbeard appear later on in the Barbossa freeplay. He already has a frigate that's almost a match for "Queen Anne's Revenge". I'd prefer not giving the player the option to upgrade to a ship of the line when preparing for this iconic duel.

 

[Grey Roger]

Hmm...why not set it to the 1730s? The Dutchman is obviously a 1600's ship, even the film people stated this. However, the game lore has Vanderdecken as the original captain - I'm thinking of putting Vanderdecken as that 1600s replacement, where the regular skeleton models would actually make more sense (he hasn't been cursed by Calypso) and the low level. And put the "Uncursed" Dutchman to use - I've replaced Will's ship with a regular Xebec because he isn't playing a Cursed storyline anyway.

Will Turner uses the uncursed Dutchman because when he took over the ship, the curse was lifted. Making Vanderdecken a playable FreePlay character is unwise because you'd need to disable Vanderdecken's shipyard - it would look silly for Vanderdecken to buy ships from himself. In any case, whoever is in command of the uncursed Dutchman doesn't need skeletons, weedy or otherwise, due to not being cursed - remember how, in the film, the crew returned to normal human appearance when Will took over? Skeletons are for the curse of Cortes.

The point is, when I pick Davy Jones, I want to feel like the Davy Jones from the movies - nigh unstoppable, a force feared in the seas even by men like Cutler Beckett...

That's what cheat mode is for.

I can understand Cutler Beckett being low level military wise, but certainly not commerce wise. I'll give him all commerce perks and set his commerce to 10. Maybe up his level a bit as well. For the navy admirals, if they're going to get big ships at the start, they should already have high levels too - if you're a top admiral like De Ruyter or Nelson, you're going to be top dog in the Caribbean archipelago. I mean, they're already wearing their admiral uniforms, might as well give them an admiral start.

De Ruyter and Nelson both start at considerably lower rank than admiral. Nelson, in particular, starts off as a lieutenant in command of the brig HMS Badger, which Horatio Nelson really did command in 1778, and in the waters near central America too. Playing as either De Ruyter or Nelson, you'll earn your promotions up to Admiral, receiving various ships which your real-life counterpart commanded. But there are some other admiral character models available which should indeed get a suitable start. Their 'model.minlevel' lines should set them to a suitably high level, giving them some skills and ability points; and their 'model.minrank' lines should set their naval rank, which in turn should give them an appropriate ship through the normal promotion mechanism, as well as some officers and companion ships.

This is also the reason why I'm kinda hesitant to make Blackbeard appear later on in the Barbossa freeplay. He already has a frigate that's almost a match for "Queen Anne's Revenge". I'd prefer not giving the player the option to upgrade to a ship of the line when preparing for this iconic duel.

Presumably this is just for your own game? If so, you can of course do whatever you like, and if you run into difficulties then I'll try to help.

Otherwise I'd be very wary of giving players too much equipment and too many upgrades at the start of a game, let alone starting the game with a battle against a key character like Blackbeard. Players might not even want to fight the battle, they might just want the outfit and the ship.

 

[Lonious]

Will Turner uses the uncursed Dutchman because when he took over the ship, the curse was lifted.

Which curse? Will basically took Davy Jones' place in the films. He has the exact same role, just without all the tentacles and sea monster hybrid crewmen.

The Will Turner model also has the hat from the first movie, meaning it's the Will before he took over the Dutchman, so I thought of making the play mode more consistent.

Making Vanderdecken a playable FreePlay character is unwise because you'd need to disable Vanderdecken's shipyard - it would look silly for Vanderdecken to buy ships from himself.

True, but Vanderdecken shouldn't be able to buy ships anyway - he's supposed to be trapped at sea ferrying the dead...

Presumably this is just for your own game? If so, you can of course do whatever you like, and if you run into difficulties then I'll try to help.

Thanks for your continued help mate. Really none of this will be possible at all on my own. Actually, if possible, I'd like these freeplays to be included in future updates since imo it enriches the experience of this mod.

Otherwise I'd be very wary of giving players too much equipment and too many upgrades at the start of a game, let alone starting the game with a battle against a key character like Blackbeard. Players might not even want to fight the battle, they might just want the outfit and the ship.

I like to see it as giving you more options. You could "roleplay" as some important character of the films, which means putting the player in the shoes of that person including his acquired experience and skills, if only for the starting conditions. IMO makes things more unique. On the other hand, one could always start out from the very beginning, by misspelling the name.

As an aside, here's another thing I've been thinking for a while. Actually editing the standard storyline's references to the movies. Though this is kind of another ball-game, another topic for discussion, but I don't think it'd be that hard afaik. But I'll understand if anyone objects, as this would mean outright changing the story and final boss of the original game.

 

[Grey Roger]

Which curse? Will basically took Davy Jones' place in the films. He has the exact same role, just without all the tentacles and sea monster hybrid crewmen.

That is exactly the curse I mean - tentacle face and hybrid crewmen, the result of not doing his job of ferrying the dead. Will Turner presumably accepted the job, which restored both ship and crew to their uncursed appearances.

The Will Turner model also has the hat from the first movie, meaning it's the Will before he took over the Dutchman, so I thought of making the play mode more consistent.

Hmm... how do you fancy turning your hand to character modelling? Have a look at this:
Retexture a Gm-model
If you transplant Will Turner's face onto the "chameleon" model and change the colours of the clothes, you'd have a reasonable approximation of Will Turner at the end of "At the World's End". Then give the uncursed Dutchman to that one. As for the existing model, perhaps give him "Corvette2" as a ship, named "The Adventurer". That's what NPC Will Turner gets in the "Silver Train" sidequest - which, incidentally, should probably either be disabled or have the characters changed if you're playing as Will Turner.

True, but Vanderdecken shouldn't be able to buy ships anyway - he's supposed to be trapped at sea ferrying the dead...

That would mean giving him the same curse as Davy Jones, namely being unable ever to set foot on land, which is probably the reason almost nobody plays as Davy Jones. Besides, Davy Jones' curse is controlled by possession of Davy Jones' chest, which Vanderdecken probably shouldn't have.

Actually, if possible, I'd like these freeplays to be included in future updates since imo it enriches the experience of this mod.

I like to see it as giving you more options. You could "roleplay" as some important character of the films, which means putting the player in the shoes of that person including his acquired experience and skills, if only for the starting conditions. IMO makes things more unique. On the other hand, one could always start out from the very beginning, by misspelling the name.

Wouldn't it be better to set them up as starting characters? You could then role-play the characters as they develop into what you see in the films. Or in the history books. Thus, you don't play Admiral Nelson right from the start, you play Lieutenant Nelson and work your way up to Admiral. Playing a governor who sits in his residence all day is boring, so how about setting up Silehard as a social climber and let the players use whatever means they see fit to earn both gold and title?

There are other ways to develop FreePlay characters besides customising their starting equipment and skills. Take a look at this:
Trophies in the Free Play mode
I'm already working on a quest for the social climber which involves paying a hefty bribe, then doing a small job, to earn a knighthood without having to get a Letter of Marque and work your way through the ranks. All you need is to raise the money by whichever means you like. However, if you come up with a better quest for the social climber, that could be used instead.

Then there are already a few special quests for specific characters - "The Natividad Incident" for Horatio Hornblower, "A Family Story" and "A French Companion" for José Joaquím Almeida. Hornblower gets his quest when he reaches the rank of Post Captain by normal FreePlay, while Almeida gets "A Family Story" when he reaches level 10. You could do something similar for Barbossa.

 

[Lonious]

Hmm... how do you fancy turning your hand to character modelling? Have a look at this:
Retexture a Gm-model
If you transplant Will Turner's face onto the "chameleon" model and change the colours of the clothes, you'd have a reasonable approximation of Will Turner at the end of "At the World's End".

Interesting. I'd take a look at that.

Then give the uncursed Dutchman to that one. As for the existing model, perhaps give him "Corvette2" as a ship, named "The Adventurer". That's what NPC Will Turner gets in the "Silver Train" sidequest - which, incidentally, should probably either be disabled or have the characters changed if you're playing as Will Turner.

"Corvette" does feel a bit too much as a starting ship. Will wasn't a navy captain...

That would mean giving him the same curse as Davy Jones, namely being unable ever to set foot on land, which is probably the reason almost nobody plays as Davy Jones. Besides, Davy Jones' curse is controlled by possession of Davy Jones' chest, which Vanderdecken probably shouldn't have.

Then there must be some trigger the chest does that could simply be placed on case Vanderdecken_continue lol.

I don't remember what was it that would free Jones from his job at all? Was he doomed to sea forever due to his affair with the goddess?

Wouldn't it be better to set them up as starting characters? You could then role-play the characters as they develop into what you see in the films. Or in the history books. Thus, you don't play Admiral Nelson right from the start, you play Lieutenant Nelson and work your way up to Admiral. Playing a governor who sits in his residence all day is boring, so how about setting up Silehard as a social climber and let the players use whatever means they see fit to earn both gold and title?

Maybe you're right. I just kind of think they're more unique if they start off in their own ways.

For example, Silehard already has the fancy blue governor's coat, it'd be weird if he started off with regular money. Anyone who's played the stock game is familiar with him. So they'll be expecting him to have that big manowar and be in control of the three colonies. Same with other rich characters like Beckett - he has a 1st rate, which means you're playing the Beckett who's already the head of the EITC.

I personally like to cut to the chase with freeplay, so to speak, for certain characters. If I wanted to start from the beginning, that's very easy. I'd just pick another model, or misspell their name.

On the other hand, I suppose it's possible...to make two versions of the character. Maybe make a beginner's version, like a more novice Beckett who's in command of an East Indiaman or the like.

You could do something similar for Barbossa.

For now I'm satisfied with the Blackbeard quest. It's why he joined England...

What I want to find out now is for cursed Barbossa. Putting back all 882 coins in the chest should remove the HP bonus and restore the need for food. Additionally, I think Cursed freeplays shouldn't have the crew demanding payment. Davy Jones' men weren't hired sailors, but slaves!

 

[Grey Roger]

Interesting. I'd take a look at that.


"Corvette" does feel a bit too much as a starting ship. Will wasn't a navy captain...

At the start, he wasn't a captain at all, he was a blacksmith. You could give him a lugger, a sloop, or some other basic starting ship. But only if you first create a new model based on his appearance in "At The World's End" who can then use the uncursed "Dutchman".

Then there must be some trigger the chest does that could simply be placed on case Vanderdecken_continue lol.

Of course, if you make a new model for Will Turner commanding the uncursed "Dutchman" then Vanderdecken doesn't need a FreePlay at all and can continue to run his shipyard.

I don't remember what was it that would free Jones from his job at all? Was he doomed to sea forever due to his affair with the goddess?

There was no way to free Jones from the job of ferrying the dead. His failed affair with Calypso was what doomed him to a fishy appearance. Will Turner had no issue with Calypso, accepted the duty, and lifted the curse of the fishiness, but he should still be unable to land except once every 10 years. Except that one reason for giving Will Turner the uncursed "Dutchman" at the moment is to allow players a way to get a "Dutchman" without being blocked from land!

Maybe you're right. I just kind of think they're more unique if they start off in their own ways.

For example, Silehard already has the fancy blue governor's coat, it'd be weird if he started off with regular money. Anyone who's played the stock game is familiar with him. So they'll be expecting him to have that big manowar and be in control of the three colonies. Same with other rich characters like Beckett - he has a 1st rate, which means you're playing the Beckett who's already the head of the EITC.

Silehard is just a fat guy in a blue coat. You can sometimes see similar characters wandering around town. Besides, being governor is the end of his career. (I did a bit of research into governors of Port Royale when I was writing "Ardent", to pick a suitable name for the governor for the storyline. Governor of Port Royale was usually a job for the rest of the man's life, which wasn't very long.) In any case, although Silehard is assigned the big man of war right at the game start, that's just for programming convenience. He never sails off in it because his job is to stay at home, govern his colony, and hand out Letters of Marque and promotions to deserving captains. He only leaves home and sails off in the big warship when he gives up his governor's job to go after the treasure. So you'd either need to block Silehard from going to sea, or remove all his governor benefits the moment he leaves port.

As for Beckett, there are in fact two models already. "Cutler_Beckett" gets the Endeavour but is set up as a merchant, so adding a 'model.minlevel' line to that model's definition would probably give him a boost to his "Commerce" skill plus some more ability points. Then there's "Young_Beckett" who doesn't currently have an assigned ship - perhaps give him ship type "HMS_Bounty", name "Lindesfarne", which is what Beckett has when you first meet him in "Hoist the Colours". If the player wants to start with "Cutler_Beckett" and wants money, he can simply sell the big warship and buy something smaller. Giving him the big ship and a load of money and a load of free skills means there's no point in playing him - there's nothing left to do, he's already done it.

I personally like to cut to the chase with freeplay, so to speak, for certain characters. If I wanted to start from the beginning, that's very easy. I'd just pick another model, or misspell their name.

FreePlay doesn't start quite from the beginning. You start at level 5, with a few skills appropriate to your chosen player type and a few points to spend on abilities. Beyond that, there are already a few characters who begin the game with some advantages, more advanced than a normal FreePlay start. In general, though, the whole point of FreePlay is that this is the start of the character's career and it's then up to the player to play that career however he likes.

For now I'm satisfied with the Blackbeard quest. It's why he joined England...

And as soon as he got the Queen Anne's Revenge, he tore up his Letter of Marque and reverted to piracy.

What I want to find out now is for cursed Barbossa. Putting back all 882 coins in the chest should remove the HP bonus and restore the need for food. Additionally, I think Cursed freeplays shouldn't have the crew demanding payment. Davy Jones' men weren't hired sailors, but slaves!

Putting 882 coins does indeed lift the curse, along with its associated side effects. Most Cursed FreePlays should still require the crew to be paid, but if I can find out where the salary is paid in game code, I may be able to arrange an exception specifically for Davy Jones. His crew may be bound by the curse to ferry the dead. Barbossa's crew are not, and if he wants to remain captain then he'd better pay them! That's why the whole crew were afflicted by the curse of Cortes, they'd all taken some of the coins as their share of the loot.

 

[Lonious]

At the start, he wasn't a captain at all, he was a blacksmith. You could give him a lugger, a sloop, or some other basic starting ship. But only if you first create a new model based on his appearance in "At The World's End" who can then use the uncursed "Dutchman".

Of course, if you make a new model for Will Turner commanding the uncursed "Dutchman" then Vanderdecken doesn't need a FreePlay at all and can continue to run his shipyard.

I think the Vanderdecken model deserves some sort of freeplay. I don't really have the skills to do modelling though. So I'm considering putting him in the 1600's with the following background: an ambitious if somewhat unskilled shipwright, who wanted to show off to the Dutch his prowess by constructing the impressive ship Vasa. He then goes on a daring voyage then realises his mistake in shipbuilding, during a storm. Refusing to back off, he and his crew are doomed to sail the seas forever by a supernatural entity for his arrogance until he can find a lady who loves him once every ten years. Or something to that effect.

In contrast to Davy Jones, although he's cursed and is thus unkillable and with a nigh invincible ship, he's to have mediocre skill points like the current version of Davy Jones does, since the setting is going to be right after the curse.

Putting 882 coins does indeed lift the curse, along with its associated side effects. Most Cursed FreePlays should still require the crew to be paid, but if I can find out where the salary is paid in game code, I may be able to arrange an exception specifically for Davy Jones. His crew may be bound by the curse to ferry the dead. Barbossa's crew are not, and if he wants to remain captain then he'd better pay them! That's why the whole crew were afflicted by the curse of Cortes, they'd all taken some of the coins as their share of the loot.

Could you point out to me where this code to reverse the curse is located? Or at least, a code that detects if the chest has 882 cursed coins.

As you know, I'm currently in the process of playing around with the POTC movie freeplays. A few questions if you don't mind:

- What's the code that would recognise if the player has entered the world map?
- I need a way to find where the quest ship locators in the islands are placed. They seem to be scrambled in Blender. What's the easiest way to figure this out?
- For the Lt. Norrington and Will Turner freeplays, I'm thinking of disabling the governor's daughter mod, and put only Elizabeth at the end when the player has reached a high rank. Maybe even swap the rival suitor's model for Will or Norrington depending on who you choose. Is there a way of doing this?

 

[Grey Roger]

I think the Vanderdecken model deserves some sort of freeplay. I don't really have the skills to do modelling though. So I'm considering putting him in the 1600's with the following background: an ambitious if somewhat unskilled shipwright, who wanted to show off to the Dutch his prowess by constructing the impressive ship Vasa. He then goes on a daring voyage then realises his mistake in shipbuilding, during a storm. Refusing to back off, he and his crew are doomed to sail the seas forever by a supernatural entity for his arrogance until he can find a lady who loves him once every ten years. Or something to that effect.

In contrast to Davy Jones, although he's cursed and is thus unkillable and with a nigh invincible ship, he's to have mediocre skill points like the current version of Davy Jones does, since the setting is going to be right after the curse.

I would advise against any of this. Vanderdecken's entire purpose in the game is his special shipyard, which is probably why his entry in "initModels.c" has been set up to be unplayable. Hardly anyone plays Davy Jones so there may not be much point in setting up another character that nobody will use. It wasn't Hendrick Vanderdecken who designed the Vasa but Henrik Hybertsson. The ship didn't undertake a daring voyage and then sink in a storm, it didn't even manage to leave port. And there won't be any involvement with a lady every 10 years unless you first figure out how to allow a character to go ashore once every 10 years.

You could perhaps try writing a short story rather than a FreePlay setup. Whether anyone would play a character who can only land once every 10 years is another matter, but setting up the voyage, supernatural entity, the 10 year timer and the encounter with the lady would work better in a storyline.

Could you point out to me where this code to reverse the curse is located? Or at least, a code that detects if the chest has 882 cursed coins.

PROGRAM\NK.c, function 'GetCursedCoinCount' shows how many coins are missing from the chest on Isla de Muerte. Function 'CheckCharacterCurse', also in NK.c, uses 'GetCursedCoinCount', the location and whether it's day or night, to set a character to use a cursed outfit and get a 300HP bonus, or to restore the original outfit and cancel the bonus. Don't try to change these as doing so is liable to break the game, especially for cursed characters in general.

As you know, I'm currently in the process of playing around with the POTC movie freeplays. A few questions if you don't mind:

- What's the code that would recognise if the player has entered the world map?
- I need a way to find where the quest ship locators in the islands are placed. They seem to be scrambled in Blender. What's the easiest way to figure this out?
- For the Lt. Norrington and Will Turner freeplays, I'm thinking of disabling the governor's daughter mod, and put only Elizabeth at the end when the player has reached a high rank. Maybe even swap the rival suitor's model for Will or Norrington depending on who you choose. Is there a way of doing this?

I'm not sure how to detect the worldmap specifically. "MapEnter" as part of a quest condition checks if you've left the island, either by worldmap or by direct-sailing to another island, e.g. in "Tales of a Sea Hawk":

Pchar.quest.Story_InvasionVideoAfterLeaveOxbay.win_condition.l1 = "MapEnter";
Pchar.quest.Story_InvasionVideoAfterLeaveOxbay.win_condition = "Story_InvasionVideoAfterLeaveOxbay";

... triggers the video when you sail away from Speightstown right at the start of the story.

I know nothing of Blender. Locators can be viewed using TOOL. The main snag is that the island model is in one file and the locators are in another.

The code for marrying a governor's daughter is a horrible mess. You could possibly disable the option to marry a governor's relative entirely by finding this section in "PROGRAM\DIALOGS\governor.c":

if (SetupMR(&PChar, &NPChar)) {
        dialog.text = GenerateMR(PChar, NPChar);
}

Try putting a further condition around that based on 'GetMySimpleOldName(PChar)'.

Anyway, Norrington is never going to marry Elizabeth Swann because she doesn't care for him. And if someone playing Will Turner wants to try his luck with a random governor's daughter instead of waiting for Elizabeth, why stop him? This is supposed to be Free Play. Better might be to write a character-specific quest for Will Turner in which he can find Elizabeth Swann somewhere. Then you can do whatever you like and players can do whatever they want.

 

[Lonious]

I would advise against any of this. Vanderdecken's entire purpose in the game is his special shipyard, which is probably why his entry in "initModels.c" has been set up to be unplayable. Hardly anyone plays Davy Jones so there may not be much point in setting up another character that nobody will use. It wasn't Hendrick Vanderdecken who designed the Vasa but Henrik Hybertsson. The ship didn't undertake a daring voyage and then sink in a storm, it didn't even manage to leave port. And there won't be any involvement with a lady every 10 years unless you first figure out how to allow a character to go ashore once every 10 years.

I mean Flying Dutchman is kinda a copy already of "Vasa" so in my head-canon they're really the same ship. Plus Vanderdecken was the "original" captain of FD and he's Dutch so put two and two together = FD is the Vasa. It doesn't have to be perfectly consistent with the history...

You could perhaps try writing a short story rather than a FreePlay setup. Whether anyone would play a character who can only land once every 10 years is another matter, but setting up the voyage, supernatural entity, the 10 year timer and the encounter with the lady would work better in a storyline.

Yeah, that 10 year thing is kind of gonna be a problem.

PROGRAM\NK.c, function 'GetCursedCoinCount' shows how many coins are missing from the chest on Isla de Muerte. Function 'CheckCharacterCurse', also in NK.c, uses 'GetCursedCoinCount', the location and whether it's day or night, to set a character to use a cursed outfit and get a 300HP bonus, or to restore the original outfit and cancel the bonus. Don't try to change these as doing so is liable to break the game, especially for cursed characters in general.

The thing is I just discovered that the curse is removed when I put the coin in a chest. Of course, this isn't how it was in the movies. So for case Cursed Barbossa, I intend to remove the curse only once the main chest has 882 coins.

I'm not sure how to detect the worldmap specifically. "MapEnter" as part of a quest condition checks if you've left the island, either by worldmap or by direct-sailing to another island, e.g. in "Tales of a Sea Hawk":

Pchar.quest.Story_InvasionVideoAfterLeaveOxbay.win_condition.l1 = "MapEnter";
Pchar.quest.Story_InvasionVideoAfterLeaveOxbay.win_condition = "Story_InvasionVideoAfterLeaveOxbay";

... triggers the video when you sail away from Speightstown right at the start of the story.

I know nothing of Blender. Locators can be viewed using TOOL. The main snag is that the island model is in one file and the locators are in another.

I'll check that out.

The code for marrying a governor's daughter is a horrible mess.

Horrible mess? What do you mean?

You could possibly disable the option to marry a governor's relative entirely by finding this section in "PROGRAM\DIALOGS\governor.c":

if (SetupMR(&PChar, &NPChar)) {
        dialog.text = GenerateMR(PChar, NPChar);
}

Try putting a further condition around that based on 'GetMySimpleOldName(PChar)'.

Anyway, Norrington is never going to marry Elizabeth Swann because she doesn't care for him. And if someone playing Will Turner wants to try his luck with a random governor's daughter instead of waiting for Elizabeth, why stop him? This is supposed to be Free Play. Better might be to write a character-specific quest for Will Turner in which he can find Elizabeth Swann somewhere. Then you can do whatever you like and players can do whatever they want.

The reason is I kind of want to make things more unique. I don't want to be using the Will Turner model but feel like I'm just some generic character using Will Turner's outfit. I'd might as well just buy it from the tailor shop.

The things I'm looking to add to the freeplay aren't intended to limit the player's freedom. They're to make certain characters feel...more in-character, even if to a minimal degree. When I choose Will Turner, Cutler Beckett, or the Dark Teacher, I'm choosing them because I want to role play them, not because I want my character to just look like them.

Anyways, if it's too complicated, I might as well just try to disable the governor's daughter mod.

Regarding the map: the idea was to have Norrington chase Jack Sparrow with the Dauntless and get a reward if he succeeds. The Pearl is set to run away, by which time the world map is enabled - but then I am able to go back to re-start the chase...

LOCATORS - I've tried to use TOOL, and am able to open the island files, but when I open their locator files, I see nothing. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Grey Roger]

I mean Flying Dutchman is kinda a copy already of "Vasa" so in my head-canon they're really the same ship. Plus Vanderdecken was the "original" captain of FD and he's Dutch so put two and two together = FD is the Vasa. It doesn't have to be perfectly consistent with the history...

The Vasa was one of the inspirations for the design of the film Flying Dutchman, but the Dutchman is certainly not a copy. Take a look at the Flying Dutchman in the game or in the film, then look for pictures of the Vasa. Even disregarding features which could be due to the curse, such as the mouth-like double beak on the bow, there are significant differences.

I don't think Vanderdecken is mentioned in the films as the original captain of the Flying Dutchman. The film merged several sea myths - the Flying Dutchman, Davy Jones, and the Caleuche (ghost ship from the mythology of the Chilote). Davy Jones never had anything to do with the Flying Dutchman before the films. The part about ferrying souls of the dead is from the Caleuche myth. Van der Decken's curse was that, having been caught in a headwind while trying to sail round the Cape of Good Hope, he said that he'd be damned if he'd put into a bay and would continue to get around the Cape if it took him until Judgement Day, and that's what happened.

Yeah, that 10 year thing is kind of gonna be a problem.

The bit about the curse being lifted if Elizabeth Swann was faithful to Will Turner after 10 years is also in doubt. While that was the original intent of screenwriter Terry Rossio, it was ignored in a leaflet which accompanied the DVD of the third film and contradicted outright in the fifth film. Will Turner is bound to the Dutchman for eternity regardless of what Elizabeth does.

The thing is I just discovered that the curse is removed when I put the coin in a chest. Of course, this isn't how it was in the movies. So for case Cursed Barbossa, I intend to remove the curse only once the main chest has 882 coins.

That shouldn't happen by default. Check "PROGRAM\InternalSettings.h", specifically "CURSES_DISABLED". This should be 0 by default. If it's 1 or 3 then you should be able to dump all cursed coins into any chest and be rid of the curse. Otherwise you should find that you always keep one coin no matter how hard you try to dump it, except into the chest on Isla de Muerte when there are already 881 coins there.

Horrible mess? What do you mean?

Have a look at this:
Improving gameplay for female player characters

The reason is I kind of want to make things more unique. I don't want to be using the Will Turner model but feel like I'm just some generic character using Will Turner's outfit. I'd might as well just buy it from the tailor shop.

The things I'm looking to add to the freeplay aren't intended to limit the player's freedom. They're to make certain characters feel...more in-character, even if to a minimal degree. When I choose Will Turner, Cutler Beckett, or the Dark Teacher, I'm choosing them because I want to role play them, not because I want my character to just look like them.

There's nothing preventing you from doing that. It's your choice how you play these characters. The point is to not force that choice on other players who may want to play them differently. That includes not requiring that anyone who doesn't want these "improvements" has to change the character's name.

Anyways, if it's too complicated, I might as well just try to disable the governor's daughter mod.

Or just choose not to talk to governors' nieces and daughters.

 

[Lonious]

There's nothing preventing you from doing that. It's your choice how you play these characters. The point is to not force that choice on other players who may want to play them differently. That includes not requiring that anyone who doesn't want these "improvements" has to change the character's name.

So these enhancements can't make their way into an update? How about putting this into vote? I personally feel like it would expand the experience of the mod. Reverting a starting character to a generic state is as easy as taking out one letter or adding another to the name. I'm slightly surprised that no one would want this option like you imply.

 

[Grey Roger]

You can easily set up a poll. Start a new thread, preferably in the "Build Beta and Brainstorming" section. When you start a new thread, you can choose whether it's a discussion or a poll:


If you set it to be a poll, you'll find boxes for a question and a response. When you add a response, another box for a further possible response appears.

Start the thread, set the poll, describe in detail what you want to do, and wait for answers...

 

[Lonious]

You can easily set up a poll. Start a new thread, preferably in the "Build Beta and Brainstorming" section. When you start a new thread, you can choose whether it's a discussion or a poll:
View attachment 40383

If you set it to be a poll, you'll find boxes for a question and a response. When you add a response, another box for a further possible response appears.

Start the thread, set the poll, describe in detail what you want to do, and wait for answers...

So, I just noticed that pirate ships are neutral to me if I choose Davy Jones. This is despite the code SetAllHostile. Would there be a way to fix this?

 

[Grey Roger]

Pirates are neutral because Davy Jones is set to be a pirate. If you change him to be a different nation, that nation will be neutral to you. If you attack that nation's ships, you'll probably turn pirate, at which point pirates become neutral.

The comments in the poll seem to indicate that most people may like the idea of customised FreePlay starts but don't like the overpowered starts. So here are a few suggestions which you may take or reject as you see fit:

Dark Teacher: the one in the sidequest is level 10, so it's reasoanable to start at level 5. Your minions have just finished building the temple (according to the cabin officer dialog which you already wrote) and you're about to start your nefarious career. Don't start with the tier 3 Mefisto, a ship which everyone else gets only by completing the longest sidequest in the game. Start with something smaller - perhaps a "Brig2" named "666", or a "Barque2" named "Hundred Devils" - those are the ships which attack the Montanez in the sidequest. Or perhaps a "Barque3_50", which is the jackass bark, more agile than the average barque and with a black and red hull - all it needs is crimson sails to make it an ideal Satanist ship. Then write a character-specific sidequest which leads you to acquire the Mefisto.

Silehard: forget about making him a governor. The game does not support governor play at all. You can't do the basic jobs which a governor does for a player such as pardon enemies of the state, or award letters of marque and promotions. Then there's the background stuff which a real governor would do. Ever seen the reports in tavern news about events such as floods or expeditions? The governor would be responsible for handling those. Then there's routine maintenance of the colony. ("Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales" has something of that - if you capture a colony, you can find various buildings in ruins which you can pay to repair, then get their functionality. PoTC doesn't even do that.) A governor's job involves a lot more than sitting on his chair raking in tax money, and he certainly wouldn't have time to go sailing round the Caribbean. So make him a social climber and explore his rise to power by whatever corrupt means the player likes.

Cutler Beckett: perhaps set "Malcolm Hatcher" to use "Robert Fletcher_dialog.c" so that he gets custom dialog, then allow the player to choose between the Endeavour or the cash equivalent. "Ships_init.c" should show you how much the ship costs. Perhaps Beckett borrows the ship from the Royal Navy and has to pay a lot of money as security, or you choose not to take the ship and to keep the money instead.

Will Turner: you could start him off as player type Swordmaster, then he gets a polished swept-hilt rapier plus a gold cuirass. It should be possible to disable governors' relatives if you're in Port Royale town hall, but allow the player to marry another governors' relative if he wants. Change "John Clifford Brin" to be Weatherby Swann. Put Elizabeth Swann in the townhall and give her dialog to propose marriage, but only after the player reaches a certain level. (If you do that for the existing Will Turner model, I'll see about making a new character model for Will Turner as captain of the uncursed Flying Dutchman.)

But basically, if you change the custom FreePlay starts so that they don't start at high level, I'd be happy to include them in a future update. And I suspect that the folks who voted against it in the poll would change their votes too.

 

[Lonious]

Pirates are neutral because Davy Jones is set to be a pirate. If you change him to be a different nation, that nation will be neutral to you. If you attack that nation's ships, you'll probably turn pirate, at which point pirates become neutral.

He's set to NationsAllHostile. Surely the intent was to make everyone hate and run from him? He's Davy Jones, after all. Not some pirate.

If I attack pirate ships as Davy Jones, they'll turn hostile to me permanently despite me using their flag. Why not have this be the default from the start?

The comments in the poll seem to indicate that most people may like the idea of customised FreePlay starts but don't like the overpowered starts. So here are a few suggestions which you may take or reject as you see fit:

Dark Teacher: the one in the sidequest is level 10, so it's reasoanable to start at level 5. Your minions have just finished building the temple (according to the cabin officer dialog which you already wrote) and you're about to start your nefarious career. Don't start with the tier 3 Mefisto, a ship which everyone else gets only by completing the longest sidequest in the game. Start with something smaller - perhaps a "Brig2" named "666", or a "Barque2" named "Hundred Devils" - those are the ships which attack the Montanez in the sidequest. Or perhaps a "Barque3_50", which is the jackass bark, more agile than the average barque and with a black and red hull - all it needs is crimson sails to make it an ideal Satanist ship. Then write a character-specific sidequest which leads you to acquire the Mefisto.

I've already lowered most of their levels to around 10.

I personally wouldn't want to change the Dark Teacher's ship. I intend him to be identical to the one in the sidequest. After all, shouldn't Beckett's ship be downscaled if the idea is for everyone to start out from the beginning?

Instead, I propose another idea - have another animist character, "animists2", with a similar start, but as a "Rebel" instead of "Sword Master", and with a small ship like a barque (with sails set to crimson). Perhaps have him named Jordano, then have the starting officer be the Teacher. But he'd start much in the same way as the Teacher.

Silehard: forget about making him a governor. The game does not support governor play at all. You can't do the basic jobs which a governor does for a player such as pardon enemies of the state, or award letters of marque and promotions. Then there's the background stuff which a real governor would do. Ever seen the reports in tavern news about events such as floods or expeditions? The governor would be responsible for handling those. Then there's routine maintenance of the colony. ("Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales" has something of that - if you capture a colony, you can find various buildings in ruins which you can pay to repair, then get their functionality. PoTC doesn't even do that.) A governor's job involves a lot more than sitting on his chair raking in tax money, and he certainly wouldn't have time to go sailing round the Caribbean. So make him a social climber and explore his rise to power by whatever corrupt means the player likes.

I understand what you mean, but the game actually does allow "governor" play...to an extent: you're allowed to capture colonies for yourself, unlike in the original game where you could only loot the towns.

So, the idea is this Silehard technically owns the colony, but decided to have someone else run it for him, and seize the manowar for himself for whatever the player decides to do with it.

Will Turner: you could start him off as player type Swordmaster, then he gets a polished swept-hilt rapier plus a gold cuirass. It should be possible to disable governors' relatives if you're in Port Royale town hall, but allow the player to marry another governors' relative if he wants. Change "John Clifford Brin" to be Weatherby Swann. Put Elizabeth Swann in the townhall and give her dialog to propose marriage, but only after the player reaches a certain level. (If you do that for the existing Will Turner model, I'll see about making a new character model for Will Turner as captain of the uncursed Flying Dutchman.)

This idea sounds interesting. I'll try this.

However, I kinda hate seeing him wear a cuirass. That's why I gave him a jerkin instead.

To add, would it be possible to set some discount for the Jamaica blacksmith for this?

But basically, if you change the custom FreePlay starts so that they don't start at high level, I'd be happy to include them in a future update. And I suspect that the folks who voted against it in the poll would change their votes too.

Yeah, I already lowered the levels. I think the idea was so that you wouldn't be so overwhelmed by enemy boarders, thugs, and soldiers in the beginning if you were an elite character like an admiral. But since most enemies' hitpoints and skills are actually set to match yours anyway, this probably shouldn't matter much.

What are your thoughts on some starting quests like hunting for Blackbeard (in the case of Barbossa) or Jack Sparrow (in the case of Commodore Norrington)?

 

[Grey Roger]

He's set to NationsAllHostile. Surely the intent was to make everyone hate and run from him? He's Davy Jones, after all. Not some pirate.

If I attack pirate ships as Davy Jones, they'll turn hostile to me permanently despite me using their flag. Why not have this be the default from the start?

Do you mean that, having attacked a pirate ship, all pirates are then hostile in all future encounters? Or do you mean that, if you attack one pirate ship of a group, the rest turn hostile? I'd be surprised if the first were true - relations were rewritten long ago so that they depend entirely on flags, and although it's possible to set the game to always see through a false flag, I only know of this being done in quest code, not in regular play. That means a non-pirate character can hoist a pirate flag and sail into Grand Turk, necessary for some storylines and a sidequest.

But if you meet a group of pirate ships while under a pirate flag yourself, and then attack one of them, the whole group should indeed turn hostile.

See what happens if you set Davy Jones to PERSONAL_NATION. In theory, he'd then be flying your choice of Personal flag rather than Pirate flag. But the Flying Dutchman has no flag locators, so you won't see a flag anyway. If you're personally hostile to pirates, that should make them attack you when you meet them.

I've already lowered most of their levels to around 10.

Can't you put them to 5, which is normal FreePlay? That is not the absolute beginning. Beginning is level 1, which is how you start in most storylines. The whole point of having FreePlay start at level 5 is that it's not the beginning, you already have some experience due to your character background.

I personally wouldn't want to change the Dark Teacher's ship. I intend him to be identical to the one in the sidequest. After all, shouldn't Beckett's ship be downscaled if the idea is for everyone to start out from the beginning?

That is what I suggested for Beckett - either give him a smaller ship plus money, or the big ship without the extra money. There is also the "Young_Beckett" model, who could be set to have ship type "HMS_Bounty", named "Lindesfarne", which is what he has in the "Hoist the Colours" storyline.

Incidentally, I tried adding a "Minlevel" line to Beckett's definition. It sets me to the correct level and gives me the right number of ability points, but although it gives me extra skills, it doesn't focus them on the merchant player type's primary skills as much as I'd like. So, set Beckett to level 10 and assign skills yourself. A character starts off with 1 in everything and then gets 2 skill points per level, so balancing him for level 10 means you have 20 points to split. You could, for example, give him 10 in Leadership and Commerce, then either set two other skills to 2 or one other skill to 3. (Don't increase his Sailing skill. Beckett might be an expert business leader but he's an idiot at sea, which is why all he can do in "At The World's End" is whimper about "just good business" instead of firing both broadsides.)

Instead, I propose another idea - have another animist character, "animists2", with a similar start, but as a "Rebel" instead of "Sword Master", and with a small ship like a barque (with sails set to crimson). Perhaps have him named Jordano, then have the starting officer be the Teacher. But he'd start much in the same way as the Teacher.

Better yet, just have the Dark Teacher as the rebel. The idea of having a character-specific quest to get the Mefisto is to give the player something to do, rather than starting the game with everything already done.

Jordano never gets an "Animist" outfit. There's no need to make a custom start for him, he barely has any time in the sidequest.

I understand what you mean, but the game actually does allow "governor" play...to an extent: you're allowed to capture colonies for yourself, unlike in the original game where you could only loot the towns.

That's not governor play. You're setting yourself up as the head of a new, independent state. But you're not the governor of any of the colonies, you assign your officers as governors.

So, the idea is this Silehard technically owns the colony, but decided to have someone else run it for him, and seize the manowar for himself for whatever the player decides to do with it.

Remember that in the original storyline, Silehard does not use the manowar until the end. Ewan Glover tells you how he sent the ship off on some unknown mission instead of using it to defend Speightstown, but Silehard wasn't sailing on it. When Silehard took over the manowar, he quit his position as governor.

What are your thoughts on some starting quests like hunting for Blackbeard (in the case of Barbossa) or Jack Sparrow (in the case of Commodore Norrington)?

I'd say that those are perfect for character-specific sidequests. You can then require that the character has progressed to high enough level before being allowed to take the quest. Again, give the player something to do later in the game rather than doing everything right at the start.

 

[Lonious]

Do you mean that, having attacked a pirate ship, all pirates are then hostile in all future encounters? Or do you mean that, if you attack one pirate ship of a group, the rest turn hostile? I'd be surprised if the first were true - relations were rewritten long ago so that they depend entirely on flags, and although it's possible to set the game to always see through a false flag, I only know of this being done in quest code, not in regular play. That means a non-pirate character can hoist a pirate flag and sail into Grand Turk, necessary for some storylines and a sidequest.

But if you meet a group of pirate ships while under a pirate flag yourself, and then attack one of them, the whole group should indeed turn hostile.

See what happens if you set Davy Jones to PERSONAL_NATION. In theory, he'd then be flying your choice of Personal flag rather than Pirate flag. But the Flying Dutchman has no flag locators, so you won't see a flag anyway. If you're personally hostile to pirates, that should make them attack you when you meet them.

I'll try that.

That is what I suggested for Beckett - either give him a smaller ship plus money, or the big ship without the extra money. There is also the "Young_Beckett" model, who could be set to have ship type "HMS_Bounty", named "Lindesfarne", which is what he has in the "Hoist the Colours" storyline.

Are you sure about that? Cutler Beckett is the richest and most powerful character in the films. If I want to play as him, I want to feel like him.

The Young Beckett could be the one where you start out earlier in his career.

Better yet, just have the Dark Teacher as the rebel. The idea of having a character-specific quest to get the Mefisto is to give the player something to do, rather than starting the game with everything already done.

I'd prefer him as a Sword Master because that's what he is in the side quest.

Plus he's the leader of the cult, not one of the minions. He's been their leader even before he walked into the Caribbean - remember how the priest tells Nathaniel that his cult got destroyed in Italy. I'd like to keep Mefisto for this particular model. It's the iconic ship for this iconic character.

Jordano never gets an "Animist" outfit. There's no need to make a custom start for him, he barely has any time in the sidequest.

My idea was just to give the "animists2" a similar unique start, with your ideas of a beginning minion instead of a powerful leader.

Remember that in the original storyline, Silehard does not use the manowar until the end. Ewan Glover tells you how he sent the ship off on some unknown mission instead of using it to defend Speightstown, but Silehard wasn't sailing on it. When Silehard took over the manowar, he quit his position as governor.

He didn't quit his position, merely sailed off on it temporarily. There's nothing in the original game to suggest he quit. Just that the mansion was locked for the time being. By all intents he would've resumed office had he come back.

Here's what I think seems to be going on - I want certain freeplay characters to be the way they were at their peak, you think their transformation should happen later on. But how will this transformation take place? Quests will need to be written for that, but I'm not experienced in writing quests. Plus, as I've said, for instance, the Dark Teacher's rise to power already happened before his journey to the Americas; Silehard already wears his governor's outfit; Beckett and Norrington start out with first rates; Davy Jones starts out with the Dutchman, Blackbeard with the QAR, Barbossa with the cursed Pearl; and so forth.

 

[Grey Roger]

Are you sure about that? Cutler Beckett is the richest and most powerful character in the films. If I want to play as him, I want to feel like him.

The Young Beckett could be the one where you start out earlier in his career.

Young Beckett is indeed when he's starting out, which is why he has neither a load of money nor a big ship.

Cutler Beckett certainly has the armed merchantman Lindesfarne in "Hoist the Colours". When you first meet him, he gives you the job of escorting him from Speightstown to Port Royale. Later on in the story, he arrests you and burns the Wicked Wench, then sends you off on the Lindesfarne to be hanged at Port Royale. Presumably he's not on board at the time because this is where you're caught in a storm, rescued by Davy Jones, and given the resurrected Black Pearl.

I'd prefer him as a Sword Master because that's what he is in the side quest.

Plus he's the leader of the cult, not one of the minions. He's been their leader even before he walked into the Caribbean - remember how the priest tells Nathaniel that his cult got destroyed in Italy. I'd like to keep Mefisto for this particular model. It's the iconic ship for this iconic character.

In fact, now I think about it, it's not the iconic ship for Dark Teacher because Dark Teacher doesn't have any ship! The Mefisto is commanded by Dark Captain.

Looking at some other predefined characters, starting Dark Teacher at level 10 wouldn't be too bad. Give him a xebec. In reality, that type of ship operated in the Mediterranean, not the Caribbean. As you say, he fled from Italy, i.e. the Mediterranean, making him possibly the only character with a genuine reason to have a xebec.

He didn't quit his position, merely sailed off on it temporarily. There's nothing in the original game to suggest he quit. Just that the mansion was locked for the time being. By all intents he would've resumed office had he come back.

The fact that he sailed off is enough evidence that he quit! A governor has no time to sail half way across the Caribbean, he pays captains to do it for him.

Here's what I think seems to be going on - I want certain freeplay characters to be the way they were at their peak, you think their transformation should happen later on.

Exactly. Start at medium level and let the player have something to do during the game. Otherwise what's the point of playing these characters? Their journeys are already complete. It's time to start a whole new game before you've even set sail.

But how will this transformation take place? Quests will need to be written for that, but I'm not experienced in writing quests.

I can help with that. Or you can look at existing quests to start with. Everyone has to start somewhere...

Plus, as I've said, for instance, the Dark Teacher's rise to power already happened before his journey to the Americas; Silehard already wears his governor's outfit; Beckett and Norrington start out with first rates; Davy Jones starts out with the Dutchman, Blackbeard with the QAR, Barbossa with the cursed Pearl; and so forth.

The Dark Teacher may have some background but that doesn't mean he's all that high level. He was chased out of Italy by Jaoquin de Masse, and he's level 8. Silehard has a fancy blue coat, it's not necessarily a governor's outfit. Beckett starts out with a first rate, not much money, and no idea how to handle a big ship. Davy Jones starts out with the Flying Dutchman and a curse which means he can't go on land. So most characters who start off with a big advantage have some disadvantage to balance it. One exception at present is Will Turner in command of the uncursed Dutchman, who can go on land unlike his film counterpart, probably because otherwise nobody would play him just like nobody plays Davy Jones.