Need Help Newbie Help - A short list of questions that I haven't found answers to, at least not in the FAQ.

[RLTYProds]

1. Is there a way to unassign officers from boarding duties via a menu? Or is the only process hunting them down individually and talking to them?
2. Will officers use medications Exchanged to them?
3. Could you increase your reputation with Pirates? If so, do they also have a ranking system? And what are the ways to earn their trust?
4. Is DirectSail supposed to have "Land Ho" and "Sail Ho" transitions? Or did I set my game up wrong? (To clarify, I do not mind this implementation. It's just that I see other comments saying that they were able to see islands come into view slowly while sailing continuously for hours, so I just have to wonder if my game is installed wrong or something).

That's all I have, so far. Thank you to everyone who made this mod, and I apologize if I sound very greenhorned.

Also, to any newbie who happens to read this and share the same problem as me in terms of interface navigation, I've made a simple tweaked DefaultControls.h that assigns familiar functionalities like main menu and character interfaces to their "usual" buttons (e.g. "Esc" for game menu and going back to previous windows and "I" for character interface). Please let me know if you're interested to learn how to tweak it yourself or if you want to have my tweaked file.

 

[Grey Roger]

1: Yes, take them out of your active party in the "Passengers" section of the F2 interface. Put them back again when you're about to go ashore.
2: Yes. They're more reluctant to use antidote until they've lost a lot of health due to poison, but they'll use bandages and cauterisation kits when they take damage.
3: If you're currently hostile, go to Turks Island or Tortuga (La Tortue) and talk to the governor. Then go to Nevis Pirate Settlement and talk to the head pirate to join the Brotherhood.
4: Yes, you should get a "Land Ho" transition when you move into range of another island, and you may get random ship encounters which will be announced by a "Sail Ho" transition.

No apology is needed for asking questions. We were all newbies at some time! One of the purposes of this forum is to answer just such questions as these, so if you have any more, please ask them.

 

[RLTYProds]

1: Yes, take them out of your active party in the "Passengers" section of the F2 interface. Put them back again when you're about to go ashore.
2: Yes. They're more reluctant to use antidote until they've lost a lot of health due to poison, but they'll use bandages and cauterisation kits when they take damage.
3: If you're currently hostile, go to Turks Island or Tortuga (La Tortue) and talk to the governor. Then go to Nevis Pirate Settlement and talk to the head pirate to join the Brotherhood.
4: Yes, you should get a "Land Ho" transition when you move into range of another island, and you may get random ship encounters which will be announced by a "Sail Ho" transition.

No apology is needed for asking questions. We were all newbies at some time! One of the purposes of this forum is to answer just such questions as these, so if you have any more, please ask them.

Thanks so much for the answers, for your kindness, and for the open arms! I am genuinely glad to be here! Have a great day as always!

 

[RLTYProds]

Good day! I'd like to ask nother question. Is Spain's naval flag supposed to be like the Scottish Cross of Burgundy? I've attached a screenshot.

I'm using the latest build (September 2, 2019). I've not tampered with any texture file, as well.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

That does indeed look familiar.
I've been told it makes sense.
Maybe @Grey Roger knows the details?

 

[RLTYProds]

Good day! I'd like to ask nother question. Is Spain's naval flag supposed to be like the Scottish Cross of Burgundy? I've attached a screenshot.

I'm using the latest build (September 2, 2019). I've not tampered with any texture file, as well.

A strange update to this "issue". I think it's worth mentioning that I was playing through Will Turner's quest, The Silver Train, in the year 1720. In the journey towards Petit Tabac, all Spaniard naval flags were what was shown in my screenshot. After finishing Petit Tabac and sailing back to Tortuga, the flags are back to being Spanish Cross of Burgundy's. It has me baffled. Oh well, at least they're back.

 

[DavyJack]

Good day! I'd like to ask nother question. Is Spain's naval flag supposed to be like the Scottish Cross of Burgundy? I've attached a screenshot.

I'm using the latest build (September 2, 2019). I've not tampered with any texture file, as well.

That is weird. They're supposed to be dark red or well, burgundy for Spain.

 

[The Nameless Pirate]

Well it does indeed make sense, it's a Spanish merchant flag used until 1762 or the late 1770's.
So yes, it is historically accurate.

Blue Civil Ensigns used until 1762 (Spain)

 

[DavyJack]

Well it does indeed make sense, it's a Spanish merchant flag used until 1762 or the late 1770's.
So yes, it is historically accurate.

Blue Civil Ensigns used until 1762 (Spain)

Oh, I see so in 1762, they've prohibited the use of it since so many merchant ships are using that version. Awesome! And the use of the red saltire on white ensign was traditionally used as a sign for war that's why merchant ships began using different versions of it to avoid being hostile with other nations, etc. thus including that white and blue burgundy flag.

 

[Grey Roger]

Good day! I'd like to ask nother question. Is Spain's naval flag supposed to be like the Scottish Cross of Burgundy? I've attached a screenshot.

No, the naval flag should not look like that because that's the merchant flag. The naval version is more like the Irish St. Patrick's cross:

Although similar in colours, the Cross of Burgundy is not the same as the Irish or Scottish crosses, as those do not have the small branches on each limb that you'll see on the Burgundy crosses.

The Burgundy cross was the naval flag during the reign of the Habsburg dynasty, which for our purposes is "Early Explorers", "Spanish Main" and "Golden Age of Piracy" periods. In reality, the dynasty ended with Carlos II who died without any children, which led to the War of the Spanish Succession. When that was over, the new king was Philip of Anjou, now Philip V of Spain, first of the Bourbon kings. The naval flag was replaced by a new flag, which remained in use until 1759:
State and War Ensign 1701-1759 (Spain)
You'll see a version of this on Spanish naval ships if you play in the "Colonial Powers" period, which is when the "Tales of a Sea Hawk" storyline is set. As shown by @The Nameless Pirate, merchant ships continued to use the blue/white Burgundy cross, so you'll still see it on Spanish merchant ships during "Colonial Powers".

 

[RLTYProds]

Ahh, thanks so much for enlightening me! Naval history is very interesting. I'd like to buy a book about it, and would be glad to hear book suggestions via PM as to not derail the thread

Also, I apologize for my late reply. As much as I'd like to say I was on a week-long vacation somewhere nice and sunny, I was actually waiting for my ISP to fix our entire block's internet connection. Glad to be back, anyways.

To continue the thread's purpose:

1.) Is there a reason as to why Grand Turk's forts are still held by pirates during the "Colonial Powers" era while the settlement itself is held by the British? (Well, at least the flag, the governor, and the guards are British, as well as the ships surrounding the island are British as well. No pirates in sight, besides the fort). It makes entering and exiting the colony very dangerous as a fledgling pirate or as a British merchant, since if the ships don't damage you, the fort will.

2.) Will other colonies be able to take other colonies/take back what you annexed from them? If not, are you planning to put in this feature (if it is even possible)?

3.) Is there a way to obtain all the outfits in one go? I like to keep my roster of heroes and ne'er-do-wells both varied and interesting. I won't mind a bit of cheating/console tinkering.

That's all I have for now. I sincerely thank you all, very much!

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Naval history is very interesting. I'd like to buy a book about it, and would be glad to hear book suggestions via PM as to not derail the thread

You mean in general?
Or are there particular elements that you find especially interesting?
There are so many different sub-subjects to think of!

1.) Is there a reason as to why Grand Turk's forts are still held by pirates during the "Colonial Powers" era while the settlement itself is held by the British? (Well, at least the flag, the governor, and the guards are British, as well as the ships surrounding the island are British as well. No pirates in sight, besides the fort). It makes entering and exiting the colony very dangerous as a fledgling pirate or as a British merchant, since if the ships don't damage you, the fort will.

Huh? That sounds bizarre!
How can you tell the fort is still pirate?
Do you have a screenshot/zipped save game?

2.) Will other colonies be able to take other colonies/take back what you annexed from them? If not, are you planning to put in this feature (if it is even possible)?

No and no.
It's definitely possible to add that and it would make some sense, but nobody stepped up to do it.

On the other hand, everybody regardless of experience is welcome to join the modding.
We're always happy to help and most of us started knowing virtually nothing as well.
So you could consider experimenting with this yourself! Perhaps it'll be easier and more fun than you'd expect.

3.) Is there a way to obtain all the outfits in one go? I like to keep my roster of heroes and ne'er-do-wells both varied and interesting. I won't mind a bit of cheating/console tinkering.

You can set 'DEBUG = true;' using the console.
I just double-checked and that should indeed make all character models available in the Choose Outfit menu.

Warning: it's a lot!

 

[RLTYProds]

You mean in general?
Or are there particular elements that you find especially interesting?
There are so many different sub-subjects to think of!

I'd like a general, historical look at the ships themselves, please! Seeing the Man-of-War anatomy on one of the in-game books greatly spurred my interest in the topic, so I'd like to see a book talking about the different ships from different eras while providing each ship's "anatomy" would be great! Thanks, in advance!

Huh? That sounds bizarre!
How can you tell the fort is still pirate?
Do you have a screenshot/zipped save game?

I've been able to determine its faction via the spyglass. It's also waving the Pirate faction flag model on top of the fort, and it also fires at me when I hoist any other flag aside from the Pirate flag. I've attached the save.

Also, while we're on the topic of the Pirate faction, I've once reported on this forum that my save was not displaying the town names properly (it shows #town_name#) and pirate ships were using the "Type: pirate_ship Ship" label when sunk. The "town names" problem has since been fixed by creating a new save, but the pirate ship mislabelling still occurs on any save, new or old.

On the other hand, everybody regardless of experience is welcome to join the modding.
We're always happy to help and most of us started knowing virtually nothing as well.
So you could consider experimenting with this yourself! Perhaps it'll be easier and more fun than you'd expect.

I'll definitely consider doing that! I've had my share of modding for other games, so I hope I can also contribute to this community in that way.

Warning: it's a lot!

Just the way I like it Thanks so much!

Addendum: Can you please tell me how to add the debug lines in the console? I'm afraid I'll mess something up. Thank you!

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I'd like a general, historical look at the ships themselves, please! Seeing the Man-of-War anatomy on one of the in-game books greatly spurred my interest in the topic, so I'd like to see a book talking about the different ships from different eras while providing each ship's "anatomy" would be great! Thanks, in advance!

I'll start out with a disclaimer: I myself never read any such official book.
What I did do though last year is to start an education here: EZS info engl.
Because I didn't have the time due to having a regular day job already, I didn't finish it. Not yet anyway.
But I did get a lot more understanding and am hoping to build on that again some other time because it's SUPER cool!

Also cool: Anyone can sign up for this school and get into these ships for real.
Won't be easy and there's basically no money in it. But it's pretty awesome.

Anyway, the course book (which is sold nowhere) about Square Rigged Sailing does recommend some other books.
The English ones listed are:

- Masting & Rigging by Harold A. Underhill (ISBN 0-85174-173-8)
Clipper Ships & Ocean Carrier, with plans, working drawings and details of nineteenth and twentieth century sailing ships.
(This is considered the "Bible" by Klaas Gaastra, current captain of the three-masted barque "Europa".)

- The Lore of Sail by Int. Maritime Experts (ISBN 0-87196-221-7)
Maritime Dictionary in drawings, also available in Dutch, Swedish & German.
(Pocket book also exists.)

- Seamanship by John Harland (ISBN 0-87021-955-3)
Seamanship in the Age of Sail. An account of ship handling of the sailing man-of-war 1600 - 1860, based on contemporary sources.

- Tallships Down by Daniel S. Parrot (ISBN 0-07-139092-8)
The last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore I and Maria Asumpta.

- Bridge Management for Small Ships by Daniel S. Parrot (ISBN 10-71550070)

I haven't read any of those, but I think it's fair to consider them highly recommended.
Up to you what you'd consider the most interesting to start with.

I've been able to determine its faction via the spyglass. It's also waving the Pirate faction flag model on top of the fort, and it also fires at me when I hoist any other flag aside from the Pirate flag. I've attached the save.

Also, while we're on the topic of the Pirate faction, I've once reported on this forum that my save was not displaying the town names properly (it shows #town_name#) and pirate ships were using the "Type: pirate_ship Ship" label when sunk. The "town names" problem has since been fixed by creating a new save, but the pirate ship mislabelling still occurs on any save, new or old.

Uhm... @Grey Roger, does any of that make sense to you?

I'll definitely consider doing that! I've had my share of modding for other games, so I hope I can also contribute to this community in that way.

AWESOME! You'll certainly be very welcome to.

Relevant code for this would be:
The 'DoDailyUpdates' function from calendar.c eventually can trigger the LaunchRandomTownEvent function in Towns\Towntable.c .
The 'CaptureTownForNation' function is called when you take a town for yourself, but can also be used to give it (back) to another nation.
Example:

CaptureTownForNation("Grand_Turk", ENGLAND);

Which, come to think of it, might be quite a useful thing for you to try and trigger through console.
It should reset the Turks fort to be English to properly match the town.
Alternatively, use 'PIRATE' and see if EVERYTHING turns to Pirate instead.

I personally found the few simple things described here to be very powerful:
Tutorial - Modding Tips & Tricks
Together, this unlocks most of the accessible game code and the main limits are your imagination and your perseverance.

Prior coding experience helps, but is not a requirement. And actually, PotC makes for a great learning ground.
Many people, including myself, learned here 'on the job (well... hobby)'.
And these days, all that knowledge and experience really does come in handy on my ACTUAL paid job.

By adding 'regular' quest coding you could, for example, add a sequence of events where some rumours start about a mounting expedition against a town,
then trigger a fleet in front of the fort there and if you don't get there in time the town changes hands (while on the worldmap).
But if you do get there and win the sea battle, it doesn't happen.

This probably wouldn't be the simplest feature to start out with, but I reckon I've got a fair handle on what code tweaks would be needed to make it happen.
I don't have the time to actually do it, but with your enthusiasm and my hints, I'd give this one a reasonable chance of success.

Good though to consider the potential for a 'whack a mole' effect on gameplay, which probably @Grey Roger and/or @Hylie Pistof can better describe than me.

Just the way I like it Thanks so much!

 

[RLTYProds]

What I did do though last year is to start an education here: EZS info engl.

It's AMAZING to find out these kinds of things exist! I'll see if we have similar courses that's available locally.

I haven't read any of those, but I think it's fair to consider them highly recommended.
Up to you what you'd consider the most interesting to start with.

Welp, down the rabbit hole I go. Just in time for Christmas, too Thanks so much for the detailed suggestions! I'm certain I saw a couple of these titles in my local used bookstore.

I don't have the time to actually do it, but with your enthusiasm and my hints, I'd give this one a reasonable chance of success.

Thank you for your reasonable amount of confidence! Alright! I've copied your notes and bookmarked your links. I will start cracking at this soon. I'm very excited to mod for another game. I'll keep in touch with you and the others on probably another thread for help and advice (which I surely will need). Once again, thanks so much!

 

[Pieter Boelen]

It's AMAZING to find out these kinds of things exist! I'll see if we have similar courses that's available locally.

Yes, it is!
But as far as I've been led to believe, that Enkhuizen one is pretty much unique in the world.

People from all over the world and all sides of life come there.
It's truly a culturally diverse bunch getting to work on those tall ships.

For me it was easy because it's close(ish) to where my parents live.
But based on the two months I spent there, I can imagine why some people from completely different countries consider it worthwhile to come all the way to Enkhuizen for it as well.

And the extra beauty of it: there's no rush!
Some people who attended started in their fifties; after a lifetime of doing desk jobs or stuff like that.
They really try to make it as low-level and welcoming as possible.

Welp, down the rabbit hole I go. Just in time for Christmas, too Thanks so much for the detailed suggestions! I'm certain I saw a couple of these titles in my local used bookstore.

I literally just typed exactly what it said in the front of that course book.
So no need to thank me for those details.
I didn't write them.

Thank you for your reasonable amount of confidence! Alright! I've copied your notes and bookmarked your links. I will start cracking at this soon. I'm very excited to mod for another game. I'll keep in touch with you and the others on probably another thread for help and advice (which I surely will need). Once again, thanks so much!

Indeed a different thread would make more sense.
And we did discuss this before. See here:
Planned Feature - Town under attack
Even if it didn't quite materialize yet, maybe the posts there could help get your creative juices flowing.

 

[The Nameless Pirate]

What I did do though last year is to start an education here: EZS info engl.

It's AMAZING to find out these kinds of things exist! I'll see if we have similar courses that's available locally.

Yes, it is!
But as far as I've been led to believe, that Enkhuizen one is pretty much unique in the world.

People from all over the world and all sides of life come there.
It's truly a culturally diverse bunch getting to work on those tall ships.

For me it was easy because it's close(ish) to where my parents live.
But based on the two months I spent there, I can imagine why some people from completely different countries consider it worthwhile to come all the way to Enkhuizen for it as well.

And the extra beauty of it: there's no rush!
Some people who attended started in their fifties; after a lifetime of doing desk jobs or stuff like that.
They really try to make it as low-level and welcoming as possible.

Nice, I would really like to get the chance of going there or somewhere similar.
Don't know if I will ever get the chance, but one can dream.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Nice, I would really like to get the chance of going there or somewhere similar.
Don't know if I will ever get the chance, but one can dream.

All it takes is time and money and the enthusiasm to make it happen.
Clearly you already have one of those three.
And I know you're still young, so you've got plenty of another ahead.
The third is something you can work on.
Impossible it is not!

 

[The Nameless Pirate]

All it takes is time and money and the enthusiasm to make it happen.
Clearly you already have one of those three.
And I know you're still young, so you've got plenty of another ahead.
The third is something you can work on.
Impossible it is not!

Time will tell...

I have the enthusiasm so guess it's a start, but it won't be for practical reasons just something I am passionate, for now I must focus on other goals.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Makes sense.
Setting the right priorities makes all the difference.
Thankfully there's no need to do everything at the same time.