Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004) | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Firaxis Games |
| Publisher(s) | Atari, 2k Games, Valve Corporation (Steam) |
| Engine | Gamebryo |
| Release date(s) | November 22, 2004 (Windows) July 11, 2005 (Xbox) October 26, 2006 (Steam) January 22, 2007 (PSP) |
| Genre(s) | Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Xbox, Playstation Portable |
Sid Meier's Pirates! is a 2004 strategy/action/adventure computer game developed by Firaxis Games and published by Atari. The game is based on Sid Meier's earlier 1987 game, also named Sid Meier's Pirates. Overall, the gameplay remains similar to the original game, though it features a state-of-the-art 3D game engine (NDL's Gamebryo). Some unpopular elements such as sun sighting have been removed, but other features have been added, such as a popular ballroom dancing mini-game and an improved turn-based land combat system.
A Microsoft Xbox version was released on July 11, 2005 which includes some multiplayer capabilities. The Xbox version is on the Xbox 360 backwards compatibility list in North America and Europe. A version for the Sony PlayStation Portable was released on January 22, 2007. This new version features some modified gameplay mechanisms and was developed by Full Fat in collaboration with Firaxis Games.
Contents |
[edit] Story
The game commences with a short intro film where a Spanish nobleman, the Marquis de la Montalban, enslaves the hero's family as a debt payment as a fleet of ships under the family's control was lost, while he manages to escape capture. The film cuts to several years later, when the hero has grown to adulthood and old enough to begin a journey to seek revenge on the Spanish villain. The hero enters a bar, and there the player may select to start sailing with the English, Dutch, Spanish or French. Independent of what the player chooses, the voyage on this ship is harsh and the captain treats the hero and his fellow crew like slaves, until finally he carries out a mutiny. After this short clip, the ship is the hero's and he sails into the nearest town of the ship's nationality, where the gameplay starts.
The gameplay incorporates a number of quests, from capturing criminals to discovering treasure. However, the player can engage in a series of quests whereby the hero is tasked with freeing members of his long-lost family and finally taking revenge on the Spanish nobleman who imprisoned them.
[edit] Gameplay
Most of the controls in Pirates! are executed via mouse and the number pad on the keyboard. Some commands can also be issued by the standard keys of the keyboard (though they are redundant, as they can also be issued via mouse).
[edit] Sailing
The majority of the game is spent sailing from destination to destination around the Caribbean islands. To control their ship the player must use the number pad (or the directional arrows) on the keyboard.
[edit] Naval battles
Whilst sailing around the Spanish Main the player will encounter numerous ships, all of which can be attacked (the player may choose whether or not to attack). The ship's sailing is controlled as usual. To fire cannons the player must first position their ship so that the cannon fire will hit enemy ships (that is, they must be broadsides). The player can also choose between grape shot, which decreases an enemy vessel's crew considerably, and chain shot which damages sails, decreasing ship speed (although these different projectiles can only be accessed after a ship has been upgraded with them). If the two battling ships collide with each other, two different events may occur:
[edit] Sword fight
The two captains will engage in a sword fight, and victory depends on the captain's skill and number of crew. There are three different types of attack, and three defenses to an attack. If the player is victorious, then he will take the goods/money of his likings and will also have the opportunity to recruit more crew and keep the ship.
If the player loses, then he will have to stay in the brig until he gets the opportunity to sneak out.
[edit] Automatic victory
If the player has attacked the ship enough to severely damage it, then the captain may surrender his ship, goods, money, and crew. The player then gets the same victory choices as above. Non-story related captains will always surrender if their mast has been destroyed.
[edit] Pirate Hunters
As the player becomes more successful, and particularly so on the higher difficulty levels, pirate hunters - ships specifically tasked to hunt and attack the player - come into play. These ships cheat, in that they move much faster than it is actually possible for ships to move, so that they can close the range to the player and force combat.
[edit] Land warfare
Pirates! also offers land based warfare in which the player fights battles in a turn-based system. The player can only fight on land when raiding cities. The more crew a player has in their pirate fleet, the more troops they will have on land.
When beginning a land assault, the player has three classes of unit: officers, pirates, and buccaneers. Each has a different job. Officers have a higher attack power than any other class, and have a basic attack and defense of 5. Pirates are the very basic infantry and have a normal move span, as well as a basic attack and defense of 4. Buccaneers are gunmen, able to attack enemies that are four squares or less away, as long as they are not separated by a forest tile. They have a defense and attack of 1 when in close combat, and usually do about 25% damage in long-range combat.
Many factors also determine the strength of a unit. If the unit is in good spirits and has a high morale, that can increase their attack and defense power. Flank attacks also work to help a unit's power. The last way to increase a units power is by being on high ground and attacking an enemy on lower ground.
A flank attack will allow you to continue atacking, sometimes routing an entire army in a single turn, should the setup permit continous flank attacks.
[edit] Dancing
Upon performing tasks favorable to one of the four nations in the game, the player may be given the chance to dance with a governor's daughter at a ball. Dancing is done by following the daughter's signals, and moving appropriately, using the number pad.
[edit] Major Cities
Spanish: Campeche, Cartagena, Coro, Cumana, Gibraltar, Havana, Maracaibo, Margarita, Nombre de Dios, Panama, Puerto Cabello, Puerto Principe, Rio de la Hacha, San Juan, Santa Catalina, Santa Marta, Santiago, Santo Domingo, St. Augustine, Trinidad, Vera Cruz, Villa Hermosa
English: Antigua, Eleuthera, Gran Granada, Grand Bahama, Nassau, Nevis, Port Royale, St. Kitts, Barbados
French: Florida Keys, Montserrat, Port-de-Paix, Tortuga, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Leogane
Dutch: Curacao, St. Martin, St. Eustatius
[edit] Classes of Ships
There are nine distinct classes of ships in-game, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Players of the PC version may have up to eight ships in their personal fleet, however ships other than your flagship may not participate in combat.
[edit] Pinnace class
This class consists of the War Canoe, the Pinnace and the Mail Runner. The class is fairly uncommon, but make decent warships due to their high speed and maneuverability. The War Canoe is the smallest, and is exclusively used by native war parties. The Pinnace itself is the most common, and is used by merchants and smugglers. The Mail Runner is the largest and is classed as a warship, but is typically only seen as a treaty carrier. Pinnaces and Mail Runners are used by all nations.
[edit] Sloop class
This class consists of the Sloop, the Sloop of War or the Royal Sloop. This class make better warships than the Pinnace class thanks to their comparable speed and maneuverability but larger cannon, cargo and crew capacities. The common Sloop is seen as either a merchant ship or a warship (a pirate ship or an escort). The Sloop of War is a warship and usually seen escorting a merchant ship. The Royal Sloop is a warship, but is rare and usually seen as a treaty carrier or New Warship. The class is used by all nations.
[edit] Brig class
This class consists of the Brigantine, the Brig and the Brig of War. This class has the unique ability of sailing well against the wind, and thanks to their balance of speed and power make excellent warships. The Brigantine and the larger Brig are often seen as pirate, privateer or merchant ships. The Brig of War is rarer, and is more commonly seen as a troop transport, New Warship, or military payroll courier. Brigantines and Brigs are used by all nations, but the Brig of War is used only by the English, French and Dutch.
[edit] Frigate class
This class consists of the frigate, the Large Frigate and the Ship of the Line. This class is used exclusively as warships, thanks to their ability to carry huge crews and many cannons, though they lack the maneuverability of smaller ships. The frigate is typically seen as carrying an invasion force, or as a pirate hunter. The large frigate is rare, but occasionally seen as a New Warship or a military payroll courier (often escorted). The Ship of the Line is exceptionally rare and much sought-after, being the best-armed ship in the game, but can occasionally be found as a New Warship or pirate hunter. The class is used by the English, French and Dutch.
[edit] Merchantman class
This class consists of the Merchantman, Large Merchantman and East Indiaman. The class is used as merchant ships by the English and French. Merchantmen are used as immigrant ships by all nations, and East Indiamen serve as treasure ships for the English or French. Ships of this class make decent warships as they have moderate speed, large cargo capacity and can carry a fair number of cannons.
[edit] Fluyt class
This class consists of the Fluyt, Large Fluyt and West Indiamen. The class is used solely by the Dutch, and West Indiamen serve as Dutch treasure ships. Ships of this class make terrible warships as they are slow, hard to maneuver, and carry few cannons.
[edit] Barque class
This class consists of the Coastal Barque, the Barque, and the Ocean Barque. The class is used by all nations, but make terrible warships as they are slow, hard to maneuver and carry few cannons. However, these ships can be important in-game: they serve as grain transports, and Ocean Barques serve as military payroll couriers (typically for the Spanish).
[edit] Merchant Galleon class
This class consists of the Trade Galleon, Royal Galleon, and Treasure Galleon. The class is used solely by the Spanish, as merchant ships, but make undesirable warships as they are slow and hard to maneuver, though packing many cannon. The Trade Galleon is the single most common ship in the game, and Treasure Galleons serve as Spanish treasure ships and make up their Treasure Fleet. What the trade galleon losses in speed in makes up for in storage space. The trade galleon has the largest storage in the game and is good for carrying supplies and treasure.
[edit] Combat Galleon class
This class consists of the Fast Galleon, War Galleon and Flag Galleon. The class is used solely by the Spanish, but make decent warships due to their toughness and ability to carry many cannons and crew members. They are typically seen as new warships, troop transports, invasion forces, military payroll couriers, and the personal ships of the Spanish villains of the storyline.
[edit] Types of Ships
Ships encountered in-game have many different roles, usually identified when the player's ship nears their own.
- Merchant ships are the most common, and sail from their port of origin to another of that nation or one with which their nation is at peace.
- Smugglers trade with nations at war with their own.
- Pirate ships originate at pirate havens, and attempt to attack and plunder cities about the Caribbean. They may carry a rival (named) pirate.
- Raiders sail from a port of their nation and attempt to damage cities or sink ships of a nation at war with their own.
- Privateers sail from a port of their nation and attempt to capture ships of a nation at war with their own.
- Pirate hunters are warships diverted to attack the player for offenses against their nation. They are usually of the Sloop or Brig classes, but repeated serious offenses against a nation may eventually draw out a Ship of the Line.
- Treasure ships are the largest type of that nation's merchant class, and carry a large amount of valuable goods in addition to a large amount of gold.
- New Warships are ships of that nation's warship class(es), typically carrying many cannons and crew but only a small amount of gold or goods.
- Invasion forces are ships of that nation's warship class, carrying many crew and attempting to capture a city of a nation with which their own nation is at war.
- Military payroll couriers are ships which carry a large amount of gold (typically no goods) to reinforce the defensive garrison of another port which is their nation's.
- Troop transports are warships which travel from a settlement to a city of their nation in order to reinforce its garrison.
- Treaty carriers are ships (typically Mail Runners or Royal Sloops) which carry an ultimatum or an offer of peace to another nation. The player may be offered missions to escort one of these ships to its destination.
- Immigrant ships are merchant ships (typically Merchantmen) carrying a number of passengers to a destination city. They boost the population on arrival, and players may be offered missions to escort them to their destination. They have a higher chance of carrying a specialist which may aid the player's crew.
- Grain transports carry a large amount of food, and sail from one port of their nation to another. They make poor targets unless the player's crew is starving.
- Other ships may transport new governors, carry missionaries, carry a native war party, or be the personal ships of named villains in the game's central quest.
[edit] Notes and Trivia
- Many in-game characters are partially modelled on developers of the game.
- The names for the villains Montalban and Mendoza were used in the original Pirates game. The name "Marquis de Montalban" is thought to be a reference to Ricardo Montalban.
- The main character cannot get a parrot; however, if the bartender in taverns has nothing to say, he will ask the player where their parrot is.
- The flag on the wall of the tavern (of a pirate haven) behind the "mysterious traveller" is the historical flag of Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard.
- International Talk Like a Pirate Day is honored by altering dialogue and narration if the system's date is set to September 19th.
- Sid Meier occasionally will be the mysterious traveler, you'll see a difference between the normal and Sid's character
- The game also allows personal pirate flags which must be saved in .dds format and placed in the custom directory.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Firaxis' site for the new Pirates!
- 2004's Pirates! at MobyGames
- Hooked on Pirates! and Addicted to Pirates!, Pirates! 2004 fan sites
