Anyone ever try Port Royale?

[rah]

How about boarding.

The ship attacks sounds similar to other games in this genre.

[Skanky Burns]

Unfortunately (or not, as the case may be) boarding is as simple as having your ship bump into their ship. The number of sailors on each ship goes down until one ship only has 8 or less, in which case it gives up. If you greatly outnumber them (2:1 or more) then it is possible to take the ship without much loss of life for your own side.

Aside from buying your soldiers swords (and possibly muskets, I'm not sure if they actually are used in ship battles) there is little for you to do once boarding actually takes place. Gone is the original Pirates-style fight with you in the lead.

[Skanky Burns]

If you do end up playing the game though, don't try taking on a 140-man galleon with a 60-man barque. Especially if you happen to only have 3 ships and the enemy has 4.

[rah]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
Gone is the original Pirates-style fight with you in the lead.

That's too bad.

[Asmodean]

Not really to me. That was the only thing in Pirates! that i disliked. I think I'll go ahead and get this game.

Asmodean

[Asmodean]

So I went ahead and got it. I can't say much gameplaywise yet. But the graphics. Oh boy, the graphics. They're sweet. The attached image really doesn't do them any good, but I just had to attach something

Asmodean

[GhengisFarbâ„¢]

There is a bit of a learning curve to get going. I have pretty much settled in to starting a Port Royale as English so I can immediately start building Wood and Bricks which I can use in more buildings.

I always start with the biggest ship, buy a Letter of Marque first thing (its around 8000 gc when you first start) and then take a loan from the Treasurer to buy Cannons, ammo, cutlasses and crew. Then I attack Trading Flute-ships as I can turn around and sell the ships for a good amount of cash.

When fighting sea battles I use grape shot to destroy the opposing ships crew and then crash into them once my crew has them outnumbered.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Its an excellent strategy game that you can play in several different styles as others have mentioned. If you have got several promotions there comes a point when the game gives you youre own town, a hideout. This really is a great asset because all ship repairs are free and you have unlimited storage for all goods and resources. You can also build up this town with housing and industry with no competition from other traders.

Its possible to afford several large fleets of the largest ships crammed full of sailors and blast the pirates and enemy nations out of the water with the profits you can make from your own hideout.

[Asmodean]

Chrisius: That sounds really great. Is it hard to get to that point?

Asmodean

[ChrisiusMaximus]

I would'nt say it is hard but it does take some time to get there, so in response if you have the time to invest in this game it will reward you with these added features.

The game has many little quests that you can if you so wish undertake. From the Govenor in your starting town and sometimes from market places but more often from Inns. The Govenor in your start town will offer you the hand of his daughter in marriage if he likes you enough, and she gives you loads of useful info and gossip when you check out the govenors residence.

I think you can also choose to play the game as a bucaneer but Ive not actually tried that yet myself.

Its definitely a fun game with ways to change the play to prevent boredom setting in.

[GhengisFarbâ„¢]

The Hide Out is great, I got really lucky in the current game I'm playing. I was using by Brig to attack Dutch Trading Flute-ships and I had two with men on them when the Trading Flute ship I attacked turned out to actually be a Caravel, Carrack, and Military Frigate.

Yikes! But there was almost nobody on them (maybe they had just come out of a fight?) anyway I was able to take them with 38 men left, sell the caravel and brig and repair the Carrack and Military Frigate.

I quickly amassed some Galleons with those two ships (first game I've ever been able to acquire Galleons) and then got the map to the hideout all within the first 5 months of the game.

My hide out turned out to be on the north shore of Turk Islands right in the middle of my Trade Route, and it produces Sugar!

This is about as lucky as you can get me thinks.

Oh, once you reach a certain reputation ANY Governor will offer you his daughter in marriage, not just the one of the town you started in, as long as your on good relations with that town, I was offered the hands of the Spanish and English town Governors until I married the daughter of Trinidad's Governor.

I am currently playing the game as a Cornelius Vanderbilt type of game concentrating on building businesses and just keeping enough ships to transport and sell the product I produce. Trying to avoid having to equip and send any ships to fight sea battles.

Just acquired enough money so that the Town Treasurers asked me for a loan.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by GhengisFarb
And the map that came with the game lists the goods each city produces.

That's not bad, but you expect more than that from a computer game. Say, when you click on a port, it tells you what goods it has for sell.

[GhengisFarbâ„¢]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


That's not bad, but you expect more than that from a computer game. Say, when you click on a port, it tells you what goods it has for sell.

It does. It states what goods that port produces effeciently, what it produces ineffeciently, and its current daily consumption of all of the different goods (demand).

[Asmodean]

Actully, as far as I have been able to find out, it only does that, when you DON'T have ships in that particular port. I haven't been able to find that information for ports, in which I currently have ships.

Or maybe I'm missing something?

Asmodean

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Click on the port cannons or the market place when you enter the town,