remaining incognito?

[blackrabbit]

Besides changing flas while out to see to sneak into a port what are some of the ways you can not be recognized while in town? I was trying to play on a higher lelve than I usually play and people were recognizing me to fast so it was hard to smuggle goods. I didn't have that high of rep yet either. Would changing clothes help with staying incognito?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

The chance of being recognized at sea depends on:
. Difficulty level
. Luck (=sneak) skill
. Fame level
. Distance to other ship

At a great distance, you're not likely to be recognized, but the closer you come, the higher the chance to be recognized.
I take it your fame is still low (only just started a new game, right?), so you will need to build up your luck skill.
As Malcolm Hatcher will tell you during the Standard storyline tutorial:

Luck will improve when you play card games in taverns. Also, you'll make it better when finishing quests and still remaining alive. Or, finally, by talking with encountered people; but beware, captain, when your Luck is low, some of them will probably try to steal your belongings.

On land, there is no such recognition modification.
There IS, however, this dialog that can be triggered by talking to random town folks:

"Hmm.. I have seen you before.. during a ship skirmish some time ago, on a quarterdeck, I think... Yes, and with a black flag.... HEY, you are the devious bastard who sailed close to our ship and then suddenly hoisted the Jolly Roger !!! ALARM! A pirate in disguise! ",
" Should have killed ALL witnesses of my piratical past..",

This dialog will only be triggered if you actually deliberately hoisted a pirate flag at sea.
How to prevent getting this dialog? Well, don't hoist a pirate flag! If you want to attack friendly ships at sea
without getting a reputation hit, let them know you want to attack them by hoisting the flag of a nation that is enemy to them.
You will not be recognized for this (though maybe we should code it in so that you can).

Alternatively, try to avoid conversations with random town folks (generally recognisable because they all carry weapons).
However, sometimes they will address you when you come close, so you probably won't be able to avoid this forever.
Wearing different clothes has no impact on this even in the slightest.

 

[Andyintore]

Just a question...

Can we hoist a nation flag instead of a pirate flag?

I mean, if im under a fake portuguese flag and want to hoist my britanic flag, can i do it by the hotlink or it will hoist only a pirate flag?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Through the [Enter] menu, you can only hoist a pirate flag.
If you want to hoist any other flags, you do it through F2>Nation Relations.
It's a bit more clicks, I admit.

 

[Andyintore]

Well, its a game about piracy, so it is understandeable that we can only hoist pirate flags...althought i prefer to play a britanic or portuguese sailor instead of being a pirate properly said.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

As I just said, you CAN hoist other flags. It's just a couple more clicks.
You do that through this interface:

Note the Raise: [British] [Personal] buttons.
This allows you to raise your own flag (always possible) or a British flag
(button grayed out because I already was flying British colours at the time).
You can raise other flags by selecting another nation and then clicking the nation name next to "Raise".

 

[Andyintore]

I know i can hoist any flag at any time, but i would like to do it with the hotlink, just that :urgh

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Well, add it then.