musings of a new player

[the reverend]

Ok, ive got over my initial aggravation with this game and am now really starting to get into it. I do still have a few questions which i cant find an answer to looking round this forum and was wondering if you all might be able to shed some buddah like compassionate wisdom on them.

First off these are all questions for the unmodded version of POTC, i realise most of you play the build but i hope you can cast your minds back. I do have some questions about the build but ill post them seperately in the modding forum to keep matters simple.

1. The abilities menu for quick repair states that it will not repair fallen masts. ive heard fallen masts mentioned before but have yet to see this happen despite some serious bullying of smaller vessels. Is this a feature of the game? Was it a feature that has been taken out? Do you see this happen graphically or is it an assumption that if you have a 1% rigging value then youve lost your masts?

2. Is there a list of swords and their qualities posted anywhere? I currently have the Nick Sharpe (with an e or without?) blade and have seen a few officers with others but wonder if there is a metaphorical excalibur out there somewhere.

3. I like to keep my officers alive and have built a cadre up to 10 mellee. On land practising against the soldiers in ports they are unstoppable but are still cut down in ship to ship boarding actions frighteningly quickly. I would have thought they would be able to stay alive when crew sizes are at parity but i need a huge crew adavantage before boarding for any hope of them living. Is this normal? is there a way to prolong their life?

4. Was the game manual written by a blind, drunken monkey deep in an ether binge?

5. If so why?

6. When capturing a ship and taking it a prize is there any way to make that ship my personal flagship later on? The only way i have found to do this is sell it and buy a new one. This is long winded and loses considerable value in the process.

7. I have just realised that i have an open artois vasey quest in my book. I cant do anything with this because i didnt have a free officer slot when i saved him. If i hunt him down, slaughter him, drink his blood and defile his still warm corpse will this solve the problem?

thank you for your time.

 

[SirChristopherMings]

Reverend

I've been meaning to welcome you to the site, welcome to the site! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->1. The abilities menu for quick repair states that it will not repair fallen masts. ive heard fallen masts mentioned before but have yet to see this happen despite some serious bullying of smaller vessels. Is this a feature of the game? Was it a feature that has been taken out? Do you see this happen graphically or is it an assumption that if you have a 1% rigging value then youve lost your masts?  <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I believe it was a feature taken out of the game, but put back into the game by the modders, Why it isn't in the unmodded game is a good question because knocking down the rigging is a lot of fun. If you capture a ship that you have knocked down the masts on it, after you leave the area of the battle and doing a "sail to" a new one, you'll see a jury rigged mast on the captured ship.

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->2. Is there a list of swords and their qualities posted anywhere? I currently have the Nick Sharpe (with an e or without?) blade and have seen a few officers with others but wonder if there is a metaphorical excalibur out there somewhere.  <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Unmodded game:
1. Sabre,
2. Rapier,
3. Badelaire,
4. Cutlass,
5. Dagger,
6. Schiavona
7. Yataghan,
8. Maltese Knight,
9. Silver Leaf,
10. Piranha,
11. Highlander,
12. Dragon's Tongue,
13. Needle,
14. Conquistador,
15. Brazo del Colon,
16. Tizona,
17. Flamigera,
18. Saber of Nicholas Sharp,
19. Vagrant,
20. Squall,
21. Falchion,
22. Corsair's Pride
23. Windmill Slayer
That's basically their ranking in quality as well in the unmodded game. The easiest way to get the good swords, maybe the only way for some of them, is to edit the charactersinit.c file.

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->3. I like to keep my officers alive and have built a cadre up to 10 mellee. On land practising against the soldiers in ports they are unstoppable but are still cut down in ship to ship... Is this normal? is there a way to prolong their life?  <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sound pretty normal to me, I rarely if ever take my officers on a boarding action, unless I want them to die.

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->4. Was the game manual written by a blind, drunken monkey deep in an ether binge?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Yes.

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->5. If so why?  <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<a href="http://www.elite.net/~gurpal/tv/mickeyms.mid" target="_blank"> For the answer, Press here </a>

The intro is a little long, be patient... <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->6. When capturing a ship and taking it a prize is there any way to make that ship my personal flagship later on? The only way i have found to do this is sell it and buy a new one. This is long winded and loses considerable value in the process.  <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

You can assign your newly captured ship to be your flagship, I thought there was a swap ships menu item on the plunder bar in the original game. I don't remember precisely how at the moment, but I know it can be done.

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->7. I have just realised that i have an open artois vasey quest in my book. I cant do anything with this because i didnt have a free officer slot when i saved him. If i hunt him down, slaughter him, drink his blood and defile his still warm corpse will this solve the problem?  <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yes, but the entry will still be there in your log book. Sorry.

 

[cwineman]

reverend,

I play the build, but I still remember the original somewhat. I recommend that you start with the build version now. In my opinion, and I think most here will echo it, you don't miss anything, or at least very little from the original game, by playing the build version.

1. I think fallen masts might be missing from the original version. At least I never saw a mast go down till I played the build versions. And its VERY satisfying to cripple a ship by taking out its masts, before boarding her. Yes, it happens graphically. It sounds cool too.

2. I think there is a link to a file with the swords listed, but I couldn't find it. Or I might be thinking of a list from an earlier post. I'm sure someone else will remember what I am talking about.

3. I like to keep officers alive too and had similar problems in the original version keeping my boyz alive during boarding situations. Basically, the only way I had luck keeping them alive was to have a much larger crew, or very experienced and powerful officers. You can also give your officers healing potions too. It wont help during the fighting situations that much. But it will allow them to recover health when you switch scenes and go from deck to deck.

4. Yeah, the documentation is `half-assed`. In fact its abysmal. For that matter, alot of things about the original game suck. The game controls stink, the dialog screens are poorly implemented and there are a bunch of bugs. But the game looks great, and there are `kick-ass` naval battles. And, like I said, many things are fixed in the build versions.

5. Why? Well, you can read some early posts/rants about the relationship between Bethesda, Akella, and Disney for the full history. Basically POTC was supposed to be Sea Dogs II(I've never even played Sea Dogs). At some stage in development, a relationship started with Disney and they tried to adapt this game to go along with the the POTC movie. This meant making late changes to `Disney-fy` things and I guess they had to rush it out so that the game would be released at the same time as the movie. So, we got stuck with a lot of suckiness.

6. Yes, you can make a captured ship your own. From that character screen, there is an option for "ship to ship transfer". From that option, there is a screen where you can "Swap ships". At least I hope I'm not lying. That ability might only be available from the build versions, but I'm pretty sure you can do it in the original.

7. Can't remember how the Voysey quest works. Plus there are bugs in the mission, so the way it worked for me, might not work for you. You might be able to go back to the pirate island and see if he's still hanging around. He might still offer to join you. Just make sure you have an open slot this time.

Good luck,

-cwineman

 

[CatalinaThePirate]

3.) Yes, give them healing potions - and it WILL help during fighting (I've seen it happen). But when your men are higher in level, give them ONLY the larger potions because otherwise the smaller potions won't be enough to stop a blow from an enemy that is stronger. They'll consume the smaller potions first before going on to the larger ones.

Get them better swords when you can, ones with high block skills. Also make sure they have great pistols, and build up their melee skills and luck right away.

Can't recall if the armor was stock PotC, but if you can buy armor, you should be able to do so for your men too.

 

[the reverend]

cheers for the welcome Sir Mings, glad to see some aristocracy round here old bean.

1. That sounds very cool indeed, i seem to recall it was a feature promised in the original Sea Dogs as well which never materialised. Guess im missing out not having the build.
2. Great thats just the sort of thing i was looking for my Lord. Sounds like me old sabre aint too bad then. I must say its appealing using the same blade to cut down those frenchies as i did in the original game. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="icon_wink.gif" />
3. Glad im not the only one. Guess ill leave em polishing the brasswork as i board and take the expendable `rif-raf` with me. Ive only just discovered how to exchange items with officers (guess what its not in the manual) so ill load em all down with potions and see how they do then. I didnt realise luck was a factor in mellee combat/boarding. Cheers cat ill start tanking up their luck as well.
4. Thought so.
5. Grumble grumble.......Disney.....grumble......rivers of blood.....grumble......revolution is nigh.......
6. Yes sir chris you can swap ships immediately after successful boarding but im then in a dilemma as to whether to swap into a badly damaged but higher ranking ship or stay in the old one. I dont like changing into a crippled vessel particularly if there are still some other ships yet to be defeated. Cwineman seems to think it possible to do this at a later stage but i dont remember seeing that option come up at all. Ill go and check but it sounds as though this is another advantage of the build. Hope i can get that.
7. Right watch out voysey im coming for you. Mess up my questbook will you eh?

Thanks for the great advice you are all very patient with this poor lubber.

 

[Nigel_of_Ires]

Sail up next to you ship and you should see an icon with some stuff on it and arrows. Access it, it allows you to exchange goods with the other ship, and from there you can also do "swap ship." I am 99 percent sure thats the correct procedure, and it can be done without the build.

 

[cwineman]

Cat,

Yeah, the healing potions will be used during a fight, but for me the `on-deck` battles last about `10-15` seconds. So, my officers were usually dead before they could regain any health. Good advice on improving an officer's weapons too. In the original version, could you also give officers gems, rings, and whatnot that would improve their stats as well?

Nigel is right about the boarding. I thought you could do it from the character screen. Guess that's only in the build versions.

reverend,

I can't tell if you know this or not from your posts, but you can assign a captured ship to an officer. That way, you can put an officer on board a damaged ship and have it sail away while you finish off other enemy ships. After the battle, you can sail up to the captured ship as Nigel suggests and make it your own. Or to be extra careful, wait until you are in port before you swap ships.

 

[CatalinaThePirate]

<!--`QuoteBegin-cwineman`+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cwineman)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->In the original version, could you also give officers gems, rings, and whatnot that would improve their stats as well? [/quote]I don't recall exactly, but I would think so, yes. If you can get these items for your own, you can give them to your men, too.

 

[the reverend]

cheers nige just tried that and you are spot on. I thought changing ships would be done from the F2 based menus like the last un. That makes things a lot easier. Also tried giving gems rings etc to officers which is no problem but they dont seem to have any special efects apart from looking pretty, that must differ between versions. My officers also dont like to use the quad pistol for some reason, and will stick ridgidly to their two barrel not allowing me to change it out. Having tried both i can see their point.

 

[SirChristopherMings]

Reverend,
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->2. Sounds like me old sabre aint too bad then. I must say its appealing using the same blade to cut down those frenchies as i did in the original game.  <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I'm inclining more and more over time to Cwineman's way of thinking, that the game without the Build isn't worth devoting a lot of time to. The Nicholas Sharpe Sabre is good, but there ae better blades in the original game. The trouble is that you can't get the better blades, but every foe you face has a Windmill Slayer or a cutlass that has a piercing ability that makes your life miserable. I think the Falchion is about the strongest attack blade that you could obtain, there's one in the Oxbay Caves, actually, and the Conquistador was the strongest defense blade, but I could only get that one by swapping with officers.

In the Build the modders made a Sabre called the Atwood... (senior moment, can't recall the name of the Atwood blade. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":?" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" /> ) and there is the Bosun's Mate which is a very nice cutlass. The best part of the Build is that you can actually get these nice blades.

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->6. Yes sir chris you can swap ships immediately after successful boarding but im then in a dilemma as to whether to swap into a badly damaged but higher ranking ship or stay in the old one. I dont like changing into a crippled vessel particularly if there are still some other ships yet to be defeated.  <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Am I remembering this right, in the original game you could swap ships at the shipwright's? <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":?" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" /> So if you capture a ship, assign an officer, sail it back to port, go to the shipwright, swap ships there and then sell off your old ship, I'm pretty sure you can do that too. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mellow.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":|" border="0" alt="mellow.gif" /> <!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->(guess what its not in the manual)  <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

You can say that again! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/whippa.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="whippa.gif" /> The one better is when it tells you something that is incorrect, or suggests something that didn't make it into the game. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/huhh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="k" border="0" alt="huhh.gif" />

 

[the reverend]

LOL yeh that pretty much takes the biscuit.
I think ill definitely grab the build, i just need to do a bit of housekeeping first to make room. Despite all the glaring faults i must say im loving this game more and more, those sea battles are really beautiful and they've fixed the annoying cannon fire from SD. I seem to remember it used to just fire out straight from each cannon so a small rowing boat approaching bow on to your huge `Man-O`-War would survive your broadside unscathed.

 

[CatalinaThePirate]

Officers using the quad pistol need to have Master Gunman ability, IIRC.

And if you enjoy the game NOW... You'll REALLY enjoy it with the Build... Everyone involved in putting the Builds together did such a wonderful job to make this game TRULY a worthy successor to Sea Dogs...

 

[the reverend]

yeh im getting pretty excited by the prospect, i want to see those masts falling and jury rigs set up. The idea of rank, land, marriage, costumes etc seems a cracking idea to make the post campaign environment a fun and involving challenge, i dont mind restarting as i havent got that far in the campaign anyway. As soon as i got my frigate i just turned into a tyrant.

I'll raise a mug o rum to the build. Cheers everyone who developed it for putting in that extra effort which should have been there in the first place. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />