Description of the game Port Royale 3. Guide and walkthrough for "Port Royale". Supply and demand

Thousand devils! The price of tobacco in the British colonies has skyrocketed, and my ships are loaded to capacity with it! We're flying there headlong before someone gets ahead of us and crashes the market with an unexpected supply. But what is it? The damned filibusters attacked my convoy and are circling around it, like sharks near a ship from which a guilty sailor is about to be thrown off. Okay, my support ships have more guns and we fought back. Now it’s a stone’s throw to the desired colony - there we will successfully unload the fragrant cargo and get hard cash! This is how difficult life was for businessmen Caribbean Sea. We are again invited to take a look at the everyday life of traders and pirates of the New World Port Royal 3. All aboard!

From changing the places of terms...

Ironically, the creators of one of the best economic strategies Port Royal 2 themselves fell victim to the financial crisis. With the bankruptcy of the studio Ascaron Entertainment not only the “piano” series received a hole below the waterline, but also Patrician, quickly going under water. Fortunately, a rescue team arrived in the person of a new publisher Kalypso Media launched the money pumps, and the old team under a new flag Gaming Minds Studios I set to work, which I knew well. First the sails were raised over Patrician 4, now the time has come and Port Royal 3.

They did not spare paint on the new sails, trying to add newness to sailing on the well-known waves by detailing the natural beauties of the Caribbean. And it was partially successful! Heavy rains over the coastline of another colonial settlement are suddenly replaced by a dazzling sun, and the chirping of unknown birds somewhere in the depths of the island further fuels the desire to view the inner straits and the forest along their shores. The towns are slowly being rebuilt with various buildings, between which the townspeople scurry around. And all this contemplation of the intersection of wild nature with the sprouts of civilization takes place to the sounds of guitar strums and birdsong, turning into a relaxing screensaver.

Auto captain

And the longer you stay in the world Port Royal 3, the more the resemblance to a screen saver becomes stronger. Whichever of the two campaigns you choose at the start of the game, trade or adventure, you will have to deal with economic issues everywhere. And they always come down to one old and well-tested speculative formula - grab it cheaper and sell it more expensive. The names of goods from tobacco to sugar cane create the illusion of a multi-layered market only at first glance. In practice, the game does its best to tell you where and what to buy so as not to ruin the deal.

You no longer need to go to every port to find out what goods are in bulk there and what the residents are experiencing a shortage of. Colorful icons on global map they clearly hint to us what products the townspeople of each settlement see in their sweet dreams. You can also find out remotely what is being produced in the town, so that you can understand what you can buy there. In such conditions, economic planning turns into a five-dollar game of the “find the active point on the map” category, allowing you to put together start-up capital and build your flotillas with amazing speed.

Driving your convoys manually along memorized trade routes quickly gets boring. Therefore, the game helpfully offers to put this simple action on autopilot, plotting routes in advance and entrusting control of the ships to AI. The secret of the Caribbean merchant's success lies in finding several profitable routes, which even a child can do with the updated global map, and instructing the AI to follow the given course constantly. From this moment on, you can go drink colonial coffee and smoke Havana cigars, occasionally getting distracted by minor troubles or side quests.

From guns to sparrows

Let's start with troubles, in most cases personified here by pirate raids on your convoys. The imagination immediately pictures large-scale naval battles on a prettier engine, where a dozen ships maneuver between reefs, firing at each other from cannons and trying to board each other. But the limitation of 3 ships in a convoy hit these dreams like linked cannonballs hitting a mast. This is even less than Port Royal 2, (there were 5) what can we say about the increase in the scale of battles at sea. Weaving around each other with the help of crooked controls in semi-automatic mode, the main argument in the superiority of some ships over others is the number of onboard guns. The crew and ammunition are recruited without any problems in suitable ports, because no one here will experience a shortage of funds thanks to the extremely lightweight economy.

Banana Tycoon

The truth will be a little more complicated. When you want to expand production in a particular town, you will need a certain level of reputation. You can earn it by delivering the required goods to the port in the specified quantity or by rebuilding a couple of buildings. The influence of the industries themselves has increased somewhat, because you can no longer buy goods into pre-built warehouses, unless you yourself are in the city at that moment. Even in the cities, you can pick up (no, you guessed it) side quests in the spirit of “help the old sea wolf”, build all sorts of tobacco and cane farms, and increase the power of your convoys. Pirate attacks only intensify as your wealth grows, so you have to fight back more and more often. Although the tactic of deliberately losing 1-2 convoys out of 10 also has a right to exist due to the excessive ease of making a profit in the game.

Two-button "Monopoly" at sea

Obviously the publisher Kalypso Media demanded that the developers lower the entry point into sailing for future admirals. It is no longer necessary to know how to knit sea knots; in principle, it is also not necessary to distinguish south from west. Global navigation has even reached the times of the pirates of the Caribbean, highlighting everything around and directing where it is needed. And anxiety and unexpected news from a distant port remained far in the past, in Port Royal 3 there was no place for these experiences.

PORT ROYALE 3: PIRATES AND MERCHANTS
What will he present? a common person at the word “Port Royal”? Probably something pirated. Thugs with pistols and sabers, a one-eyed captain with a parrot on his shoulder, boarding and, of course, chests with looted gold.
If the game is called “Port Royale”, then most likely it will also be about pirates.
But no. Down with stereotypes, Port Royal are not pirates. “Port Royal” is merchants, ship caravans, commerce, supply and demand and gold, but not someone else’s, but our own, honestly earned. Well, maybe not entirely fair.
There are many series of economic simulators: “Tropico”, “Guild”, “Anno”, “Transport giant” and others. In some series, the era or scene,
in others, the principle of the game itself, but in general they are all related to the production, transportation and sale of goods.
Roughly the same thing happens in games in the series “ Port Royale 3: Pirates & Merchants" - buy goods cheaper, sell more expensive. The game may be of interest because this simple scheme is harmed by many side elements. Prices for goods are constantly changing, so yesterday's scarce tobacco is today sold at the price of the worst canvas. To store goods you need a warehouse, for transportation you need ships, ships need a crew and weapons - additional costs lurk everywhere. And even if the trade is successful, the calculation is correct and you manage to deliver the goods before the price drops, then some lucky pirate captain can easily deprive you of your profit. What is the use of profit if it all goes to repairing ships and replenishing the crew?
But there is no need to list in detail the features of previous games in the series, because there is little new in the third.

WE'VE ALREADY SEEN THIS
The principle of the game has been preserved - buy cheaper, sell more. Every city in the Caribbean produces some goods and imports others. In addition, some goods are not produced in the colonies - they are brought from Europe. A merchant only has to notice when there is an excess of goods in the warehouses of one city that are needed in another city.
This is what commerce is built on.
As in previous games in the series, in Port Royale 3 this simple scheme is complicated by many unforeseen events. For example, the player saw that New Orleans produces bread, which is in great demand in Havana. The ships are loaded with bread and sail to Havana, but someone sold the bread there earlier and the price dropped sharply. It is no longer possible to sell the goods at a profit; we must look for another city with a high demand for bread. However, the player always has a warehouse at his disposal, which is given free of charge at the beginning of the game. The warehouse is located in the starting city and can store goods that cannot yet be sold at a profit.
Icons for scarce goods are placed above each city on the strategic map. This makes it easier to figure out what and where is more profitable to sell. Sometimes events happen in cities that increase the demand for certain goods - famine for food of all kinds, an epidemic for medicine, a fire or recent attack for building materials. Such events are also marked with icons.
Cities in the game are gradually growing, colonists are constantly arriving from Europe, in addition, competition and wars take their toll - prosperous cities can fall into decay,
and the once small trading posts will become large colonial and trading centers. These changes also affect supply and demand. The player himself, having accumulated capital, can add production to trade - build workshops or plantations and independently produce goods for sale. As a result, you can build a huge trading empire, with warehouses and enterprises in different cities and many trading caravans.

Pirates who appear on busy trade routes also complicate the player’s life. There are especially many of them in the triangle between Havana, the Bahamas and Haiti. Over time, you will have to spend a significant part of the profit on armament and security of merchant ships. But even the largest and most protected caravan can become a victim of an equally large pirate fleet. In any case, you still have to fight.
If the economic component of the game is unchanged from Port Royale 2, then combat system became more complicated, but did not become any better or more interesting.
The ships remained the same as in "Port Royale 2", with two main advantages - some are faster and more spacious, more suitable for trade, others are slower, but carry more guns. Most types of ships are available at shipyards; any ship can be captured and made yours after a successful boarding. A kind of “experience” has appeared - a counter for the number of battles in which the ship has been. Of course, an “experienced” ship is preferable in battle, even if its crew has changed several times.
In addition to sabers, muskets and artillery charges, which must be purchased in cities, now there are also barrels of gunpowder. They are very expensive (one barrel costs 2,000 gold), but without them, ships can only go on board. However, for a small caravan of one or two ships, one barrel will be enough, which is not very plausible. These same barrels can be used to blow up enemy ships - the only new tactical option, however, not particularly useful.
Control of ships in battle has deteriorated. In “Port Royale 2” it was enough to select a ship and click to show it a path or goal, but now, having selected a ship, you have to direct it with mouse movements - which is much more inconvenient. However, by assigning each ship a combat character (“aggressive”, “defensive” or “standard”), the battle can be automated. Boarding became more difficult. In “Port Royale 2” the ships only had to touch each other, “Port Royale 3” requires that the ships stay nearby for some time, and the speed of the boarding ship drops. If the enemy's masts are not knocked down, he will easily escape boarding.

Wars between colonial powers lead to the redistribution of territories - colonies change hands. From "Port Royale 2» missions to storm enemy cities have been preserved. They can be taken from the sea by destroying coastal fortifications. Given the inconvenient system sea battle it's quite difficult. However, as in " Port Royale 2“You can land a team on land and take the colony by storm, although you will have to deal with the garrison. Moreover, in such an assault the combination of sabers and muskets is important. Due to the lack of muskets, the assault team can simply be shot at, and if the riflemen are not covered by saber fighters, they can be killed in hand-to-hand combat.
When the team lands, an ordinary battle begins, which looks like the fuss of ants. It is impossible to control this battle - the assaulters and the garrison fight themselves, in the end everything is decided by numerical superiority and the correct ratio of sabers and muskets. The best proportion is 50 to 50.
True, a land assault is only possible if the colony is not guarded by warships. If there are warships in the colony's port, they will prevent the landing, so you will have to defeat them first.
The social system remained unchanged. Starting as a cabin boy, the player can rise to the position of admiral. Moreover, already at the cabin boy level it is possible to maintain ships and captains, but it is still impossible to carry out construction in cities and contact governors.
With the growth of capital and social status, governors can give the player tasks; over time, you can even get control of the city yourself or marry the governor’s daughter. However, as in many economic strategies, this is not the goal of the game - you can remain a simple merchant as long as you like.
Nothing prevents you from choosing another path - becoming an adventurer, pirate or privateer, making capital through robbery. However, since Port Royal 3 is still an economic strategy, and the combat system has deteriorated, the path of the adventurer is not very interesting. Perhaps it allows you to get rich faster and improve your status.

It's easy to think that this is Port Royale 2 if it weren't for the graphics. Map of the Caribbean, cities and ships, nature around the colonies - it looks very beautiful. The colonies of different states are not similar to each other - the architecture and appearance of the townspeople are noticeably different. Seagulls and even exotic birds like pink flamingos fly in the sky above the cities, and fish splash in the sea, and sometimes you can see a whale. When visiting another port, you may experience a change in weather, but this does not affect the game in any way. Storms and hurricanes are not visible, although they were encountered in Port Royale 2 and could severely damage ships.

Summary
It turns out that the game “Port Royale 3” is a recolor of “Port Royale 2”. Even the map is still flat, two-dimensional, simply in relief - you can see the depths and elevations.
They didn’t even try to disguise the third part as a new product. The principle of the game, the setting, the era, goals and objectives - everything was inherited by the “new” game from the second part. For those who are not familiar with this series, Port Royale 3 will seem like a good economic strategy, however, if they play Port Royale 2, they will not see any difference other than the graphics.

Port Royale 3: Pirates and Merchants– an excellent real-time strategy with a touch of pirate romance. Want to travel back in time to a time when the Caribbean islands were rocked by gunfire and constant wars between colonial powers? So this game is exactly what you need! Released in 2012 not only for PC, but also for PS3 and Xbox 360, the toy gained considerable popularity. But critics gave it mixed reviews - some rated it 9 points, while others only 6, saying that there were practically no innovations compared to the previous parts, with the exception of excellent graphics.

Game Features

Maximum freedom of action - the player can trade, pirate or fulfill contracts;
Colorful graphics flavored with well-designed animation of everything;
Two campaigns that allow you to fully understand the controls and principles of the game;
Many ships - starting with a simple schooner, try to become the owner of a powerful squadron of three massive battleships;
A variety of goods that can be traded very profitably.

Game Review

Probably one of the main advantages of Port Royale 3: Pirates and Merchants is its ease of learning. The game contains two simple but exciting campaigns - after going through them under the guidance of a real sea wolf, even an inexperienced gamer playing for the first time similar game, will easily understand all the subtleties. Well, then – complete freedom of action. The player himself decides what to do and what to do. Do you want to engage in sea battles, board enemy ships and replenish your fleet with them? No problem! Are you tempted by a career as a Rogue Trader, making a fortune thanks to his talent for buying and selling profitably? And in this case you won’t be bored.

Compared to the previous parts of the series, this one has not changed very much. The main change was the graphics. She is simply magnificent - admiring the surface of the sea, tropical islands and even storms can last for a long time and this activity will not get boring. The animation also will not disappoint even the modern spoiled gamer. The number of ships in a squadron has also changed - if previously it was possible to combine up to five ships together, now the developers have reduced this number to three.

Gameplay

Despite many advantages, the game is not without its shortcomings. One of the main ones is boring trading. There is no need to visit cities to find out where you can profitably buy or sell goods - everything is indicated on the global map. The player can only equip the ships, load them with the necessary goods in one port and send them to another. After this, it is enough to watch how gold flows into the merchant treasury - first as a thin stream, and then as a real river. But fighting is completely unprofitable - you can quickly burn out in this business. After all, repairing a ship often costs more than what can be obtained from the sale of a captured and heavily holed ship.

We'll be lucky, and then we'll discover these lands within ourselves,

And we’ll go ashore and stay there forever!

V.V.Vysotsky

What's happened Port Royale, you ask? Try to imagine the “Corsairs” who have taken and returned from 3D “dispersion” to an intelligible isometric ancestral home. Here a natural question arises - why? Well, let's answer. To make it easier for developers to merge “Corsairs” with Anno 1503 The New World, which, as we know, is isometric and clearly cannot be converted to 3D format.

In other words, we can now not only travel “across the seas, along the waves,” visiting port settlements for our needs, but also take an active part in the life of the latter, be “on land” respected citizens - owners of factories or other property, and those who are lucky can become governors and lead an entire colony to their heart's content.

In this guide you will find:

* Description of the game's geography (its setting is the Caribbean region "in full" - from Venezuela to Florida).

* Information about nations and settlements in the game.

* Analysis of the “anatomy” and “physiology” of each individual settlement.

* General information about the character and his capabilities.

* Description of trade.

* Description of production.

* Description of battles.

* Information about the main types of ships.

Geographical basis

The player will now have to carry out all the trade and production manipulations required by his status, fight, and also rebuild, not “in some kingdom, in some archipelago,” but on a completely geographically reliable map of the Caribbean region, a map that is quite detailed and quite well executed graphically. Now about what I specifically mean by the somewhat vague phrase “Caribbean region”. The Greater Antilles (Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico), the Lesser Antilles and the Bahamas, and, of course, the coast of the American continent from Florida to Venezuela. On this occasion, fans of Sabatini will be pleased with the city of Maracaibo, exactly in Venezuela and located, so that if desired (and the right course of action), everyone will now be able to repeat the “golden campaign” of Captain Blood. But keep in mind that the narrow exit from the Gulf of Maracaiba has not been widened by the developers - it is exactly the same barely passable neck where angry dons can easily catch you...

Nations and settlements

This map is not only physical, but also (using the standard classification) political and economic. Because it is overly burdened with signs of an intrusive human presence - from cities-settlements to ships of different calibers scurrying between them, equipped with appropriate banners. Not without flags, in fact, and the city. As you might guess, the type of flag indicates that a given settlement (or ship) belongs to one or another national-political community, colloquially referred to as a “state.” There are four of them in the game: England, Holland, France, Spain. In principle, ships “under the guise” of the “Jolly Roger” also move across the seas, that is, pirate ships, but “gentlemen of fortune” are denied their own settlements.

Nations exist in the game not for beauty and ambiance. They really live, declare war, make peace, and enter into trade agreements. Which directly affects your personal destiny. So, if you are English, don't expect to be loved in the Spanish colonies. And during the war, any Spanish captain will consider it his patriotic duty to attack you. So even if you decide not to get involved in politics and adventures, but simply trade peacefully, still monitor the actions of the authorities. Where would you be at this moment Whether you are in the city or on the open sea, the “Chronicle” is at your service, a scroll in a circle located in the upper left corner of the screen, next to the current date. Click on the image and check out the current international situation.

Note that you can choose not only your nation, but also the start date of your career. There are four of them - initial dates.

1570 Spain is at the peak of its power. Two thirds of the settlements on the map belong to her. So it’s difficult for citizens of other countries at this time.

1600 France acquired a dozen settlements in the region, and in alliance with England entered into the struggle for dominance in the Caribbean.

1630 England is expanding its possessions - acquiring new cities without losing those already captured.

1660 Spain lost half of its colonies. The region became a paradise for corsairs and adventurers of all stripes.

What's new in international relations?

Each settlement is represented on the map by an icon-image, provided with a name and the above-mentioned symbol of nationality. But not only. Next to the “basic” designations there are also additional ones. Taking a closer look, you will successfully recognize in them the emblem of one or another product that the settlement especially needs at the moment. This means, hurry up, enterprising traders, hurry to deliver what you need first, because the benefit in this case will be very great for you. However, we will talk in detail about the intricacies of the trade craft in a section specially designated for this. In addition to trademarks, next to the settlement icon you may also find a square with a number. But this is only if your ships are currently in the city’s harbor. And the number indicates their number. There is an icon indicating an excess or, conversely, a shortage of residents. If you see a crossed out plate near a settlement, it means the city is on the verge of famine. And if somewhere, God forbid, you find a red cross, postpone your visit to this colony: an epidemic is raging there. A completely different matter is a square with a picture of a pickaxe and a block of yellow metal: if you are not a citizen of this city or cannot open your own production there, cry without being embarrassed by those around you. For in the vicinity of the settlement gold mines were discovered, but alas for you! - do not fall to this source....

If you click on the settlement icon, where your ships are not currently located, left mouse button, then you will see a very interesting reference “board” containing a lot of useful data. So, from it you will get information about the last name and first name of the governor (isn’t it absolutely necessary information?), the number of residents, and the attitude of the residents towards you. And also about the production “capacity” of the settlement (what goods the city myself produces in abundance or even in excess), and even about how much of a particular resource a given human anthill consumes daily. And if you are going to capture this city for one reason or another, you will be more interested in information about the composition of the garrison and the cannon equipment of the fort.

The city from the inside

When starting the game, the first thing you see is not a general map, but your hometown from a bird's eye view. You can find yourself “inside” another city from the general map mode by clicking on its icon with the left mouse button, if your ships are in its harbor.

All cities, in general, are similar to each other, at least cities of the same nation. But, regardless of under whose jurisdiction the settlement is located, there will in any case be a fort-fortress with those located inside it standard buildings. Standard - that is, their list and functions are the same for all nations, only the appearance(of course, a Dutch Lutheran church cannot look like a Spanish Catholic church). Outside the fortress there are manufactories and residential buildings. The latter can be more or less luxurious, depending on how rich people live in them. Of course, huts and palaces can be adjacent, i.e. the city is not built with identical houses according to the "average rating" of prosperity. By the way, buildings of civil architecture, like municipal buildings, differ in national style of decoration, but manufactories do not.

In this section we will deal with standard, that is, municipal, buildings, since the game is largely based on them, and they are the same everywhere, i.e. their presence or absence does not depend on the player’s personal whim or the commercial interests of other residents of the settlement. We will list and describe manufactories in detail in the section on production and construction.

City Hall. It is also the residence of the governor/vice-governor. The governor lives in the main settlement of a particular state in the region (it is also the player’s “starting city”). In all other cases, please deal with the vice-governors. However, they are not too different - both in their role in the main character’s career, and... in their characters.

Entering the town hall (as well as all other buildings, not only municipal ones) is very simple - by clicking on the image of the building. It is not written anywhere that this is the town hall, but don’t be afraid - you are unlikely to confuse it with a church, market or tavern. “Having knocked”, you find yourself in front of a window, to the left edge of which strips with inscriptions are “pinned” (the same as in all other municipal buildings). There are six bars: “Governor”, “General”, “Architect”, “Treasurer”, “List of Pirates”, “Close”. With the latter, everything is clear, but everything else requires explanation. By the way, you find yourself in the building through Personal Area Governor - whether you like it or not, the building will “open” for you on the activated “Governor” bar. He will either offer you to purchase a patent for the extermination of pirates and representatives of hostile nations, or will offer to carry out this or that mission, or will say that there is nothing new, and this is most often the case. If you are in an audience with the highest authorities of another settlement, if the attitude towards you in the city is good, he may offer you to purchase a “residence permit”.

The general - the head of the local garrison - will sternly ask you whether you are ready to invest in the defense of your native (or friendly) city, i.e. subsidize the purchase of extra guns or the hiring of a dozen or two soldiers. If you agree, the attitude towards you in the city will improve dramatically.

A visit to the architect makes sense if he is the architect of another settlement, because... its only function is to sell you permission to erect buildings in the city, and in your home village you have it in advance, and completely free of charge. The treasurer will lend you money at an absolutely unimaginable interest rate, sometimes amounting to a quarter of the borrowed amount. Check out the list of pirates - for these are not just pirates, not corsairs in themselves, but entities for whose destruction the city is willing to pay good money at times.

City temple. Here you can, of course, pray, then for a certain amount ask for a blessing from heaven on your (or any - of your choice) ships, or donate money for temple decorations. Reputation, gentlemen, reputation... And a little luck in difficult situations.

Shipyard. So what are they doing at the shipyard? That's right, they sell and buy ships. They are also being repaired there. The most interesting thing here is the ability to change the name of your vessel. I highly recommend sailing the seas on a ship with the name of your beloved girl (an option for girls - a young man). This adds pathos to the game, and if you are a pirate, it is generally piquant.

City warehouse. This is where you buy and sell goods. There are a lot of subtleties in connection with the warehouse, but more on them in the “trade” section.

Tavern. Here you can hire a captain for your second (third, fourth...) ship, if you have one, and also play a lot of dice. Sometimes in a tavern you can stumble upon a pirate who will ask you to use your ship, promising a third of the proceeds in return. Agree or refuse depending on your mood and the state of your financial account.

Market. At the market you can order - at your own expense, of course - a holiday for all residents of a given city. In the early stages of the game, doing this is, of course, not recommended.

Well. By clicking on it, you will get the same help panel that usually opens from the general map mode. The well is needed because it is not possible to open this panel for your city “from the outside”, from the map - clicking on the icon of your city will only lead to the fact that you find yourself “inside”.

We cannot ignore the elements of the “intra-city” interface. On top of the mini-map, which is hard to miss, there are five picture circles. Click on the leftmost circle - and the vast expanse of the general map will open in front of you. A similar action with the adjacent picture - the one with a hammer - “activates” the construction interface. Using the middle button, you can go from the city mini-map to mini-map of the region, staying in the city. The following will provide you with a list of all your ships. And using the last one, that is, the far right one, you can jump to the next day if you do not want to wait for this event to happen naturally.

A little to the left there are two more round buttons, one of which, the left one, depicts an anchor, and the other a steering wheel. By clicking on the anchor button, you will receive a list of ships awaiting your orders, that is, free at the moment from any useful work. Pressing the button with the steering wheel, on the contrary, will provide you with a list of ships that are “in action.”

Well, of course, there is a branded “sign” with the name of the city, the number of residents and the prosperity index.

Man's destiny

Still main character The game was somewhat reminiscent of Gogol's famous Inspector General - all the talk was about him and around him, but where, in fact, was he himself? Now that the game world has been roughly described, when the stage is ready, it would be nice for the hero to finally appear on it.

Attention, let's start!

As mentioned above, you can choose the time of your “incarnation” and the nationality of your in-game alter ego. But not only. Continuing with the theatrical metaphor, you may also prefer one role or another. Which fate do you prefer - a merchant or a pirate?

The difference between them is not that great. The trader is simply increasing the indicator reputation And experience due to successful trade deals, and the pirate - winning naval battles. Both of them can also choose a fundamental personality trait from the following list - enterprise, charm, accuracy. The latter, of course, can be attributed to personal qualities with great stretch; it is rather a physical advantage, but let’s not quibble. So. An enterprising subject earns 5% more for his goods if he trades himself, and not in the automatic mode of the trade route. A charming character will increase his reputation by the same 5% faster, and a comrade with increased vigilance will aim more effectively in battle... well, who will guess faster?... of course, by 5%. This is the magic number. That is, of course, it will not be him who will be aiming, but the guns of his ship.

And the last thing is start-up capital. You can start the game with a large amount of gold (30,000 pesos) and a small ship - a pinnace (8 guns - its fire "ceiling"), you can, on the contrary, get a 16-gun brig at your disposal, judging that gold (it is highlighted in this version only 12,000) in this situation, it will be easy to loot, or you can, without rushing to extremes, calmly take possession of a 14-gun sloop, knowing that 20,000 gold pieces are lying in the stash.

Yes, lest we forget, you always “incarnate” in the main city of your nation in the region, in the city-residence of the governor.

Personal file No....

For anyone who dares to grace the troubled Caribbean region with their presence, or, more simply put, to join the game, a personal file is immediately opened, modestly called a “magazine.” However, only you can familiarize yourself with it, so don’t be alarmed. You can open the magazine by clicking on the circle with the image of a chest to the right of the date. By the way, on the other side of the journal button your current cash is displayed. The magazine has a lot of sections, which we are now moving on to get acquainted with.

News. Here you will store all kinds of personal news - letters from senior management, promissory notes, notes on the purchase and sale of real estate and other business stuff.

Missions. If you manage to shine brilliantly in your chosen field, city governors of all stripes will gain confidence in you and from time to time will issue you assignments. The section exists in case, in the bustle, you accidentally forgot what, in fact, you were assigned.

Review. By looking here, you will find out without much hassle how many ships, buildings and factories you have, and in which cities all this splendor is located. This is especially true for ships - they, you know, have the property of constantly moving.

Production. It’s simple - here you can find information about how much you currently have ready to sell the goods produced by your enterprises.

Balance. A trivial accounting page. Income, expenses, including costs for salaries, maintenance of buildings, repairs, and so on. Whether you like it or not, you will really love this section of the magazine. At least keep it open all the time.

Trade routes. Sooner or later you will have a lot of ships. And driving them from harbor to harbor yourself will become not only laziness, but simply lack of time. You will have to assign automated trade routes to them. Well, in this section you will simply store a list of them.

Personal. The most personal section of a personal file. Here you can always find out how cities and nations treat you, whether you have a wife, and if so, what her name is. Sometimes you can find very useful information here.

Nations. It is not clear what information about the demographic dynamics of the region has to do with you personally. However, you will find very detailed charts (by nation) on this page of your personal file.

Cards. One day a solemn day will come, and the governor will quietly hand over to you, as a particularly trusted person, a map with which you can find pirate treasure. Well, the manuscript will be pasted in right here.

Sailing as an extreme sport

Learning to operate your sailing vehicle correctly (and most importantly, quickly) is not an easy task. Because to do this you will have to cope with a very non-trivial interface. First, you need to find the ship in the harbor (it is shown as a blue dot on the city mini-map). Find it. Since there are usually countless ships in the harbor - some are sailing, others are arriving - the inscription above the ship will help you distinguish yours among them. The inscription is simply your name. Once you have identified a property, click on it. A blue arrow will appear above the ship, pointing its tip somewhere in the middle of the deck. And in the lower right quarter of the screen something else will appear, which we will move on to study.

There are two windows in front of you. The top one is filled with all sorts of images: barrels, knots, skulls - and numbers. The bottom one contains only the silhouette of your ship in a beautiful frame with rounded corners. There is a green vertical column in the frame. This is the "health" of your ship.

Let's look at the top window. The symbol of an empty barrel on the right side is, of course, an indicator of how full the hold is. Now it is empty and the barrel is transparent. If you buy at least a little product and load it into the hold, the barrel will begin to fill with liquid, for some reason red in color.

It's time to get guns. Visit to the armory.

At the top, next to the blue square, is the captain's name - now this is your name. The small anchor has the name of the colony in whose harbor the ship is currently moored. The number next to the node is the current speed (now it is zero). Next to the image of the guns there is also a zero: the guns still need to be purchased. The minimum required number of sailors on your ship at the beginning of the game is always available, so the number next to the sailor figure is different from zero. Dagger icon - stocks of edged weapons. Also zero, you will also have to purchase.

In short, this panel gives you information about the real state of your ship at the moment. Now click on the silhouette in the lower window, yes, on that very frame. Again, look at the top table. Isn't it true that the picture has changed dramatically? Now you can find out the maximum speed of your boat and its standard displacement. A new click on the lower window will return the upper one to its original form.

On top panel There are five more button pictures, and they always remain there, regardless of the “window” mode. In order, from left to right... Picture with a barrel (how many barrels are there!) - go to the hold, see how much and what kind of goods are there. Picture with an anchor - list of ships. Don’t forget that you can get this same list by clicking one of the buttons above the mini-map, I already wrote about this. The picture with the eye is another information board regarding the actual number of weapons on your ship and the crew's consumption of your funds. Picture with a steering wheel - opens the interface for assigning trade routes, detailed description which is impossible due to the limited volume of the journal. And finally, a picture with a cannon - in the menu that opens, you can determine in advance which ships of which nation you should “run into” first.

It seems like we have sorted out the panels and buttons, it will be easier later. By the way, it won’t hurt to get a weapon. And when you buy a new ship, you buy it empty, without a crew, and without it the ship will not leave the harbor. So - everything is in stock! At dedicated ship click on the building city warehouse. A lot of tabs will open, we are now interested in one - “Equipment”. After looking around, you shop. They won’t sell you more guns than your ship’s status requires; take the rest in any quantity, at least all if you have enough money and displacement. To repair (and ships in the game “wear out” even without battles, just during raids), sell or buy a ship, change its name - with the ship selected, click on the shipyard building. Repairs, depending on the severity of the damage received, may last several days.

Hiring a captain for a newly purchased ship is required in the tavern. Be careful - the recruitment panel always indicates which ship you should lead new captain, do not forget to switch between ships, otherwise you will retire the old, experienced one. However, we can hire him again right away, but why do we need the extra trouble? Although... My advice to you is that if the ship you bought is better than the previous one, transfer your “sea wolf” there (for reference, captains gain experience in trading, maneuverability and accuracy). And let a newcomer command the old “vessel”.

You cannot see how your ship (ships) move in the harbor roads, you can only admire how others do it. Select all your ships (with the Control key pressed, if there is only one ship, the key is not needed) and go to the region map. Don’t forget to also click on the square with a number next to the icon of the city where your ships are located, and which you just (at least visually) left. Let me remind you: the number in the box is the number of your ships. Now everything is finally ready. Click right click mouse anywhere on the map - and your ships will set off. To bring them to any harbor, right-click on the colony icon. It is possible to sail ships in a “flock”, but it is not at all necessary - each of them is quite capable of sailing independently. By the way, the map does not open all at once - on the contrary, at first you only see the immediate surroundings of your “homeland”. Therefore, if you find an extra boat, send it to explore the region.

If in a particular city you are treated poorly, or the settlement belongs to a nation that is at war with yours, be prepared for the fact that you may not be allowed into the harbor. You can buy equipment and hire a crew in any available settlement, but you can sell and buy ships only at the shipyards of particularly friendly colonies. You can repair it anywhere. If you desperately want to fight, right-click on the silhouette of the ship sailing past you, chosen by you as a victim/rival. Your ship will try to catch up with the "target". If he succeeds, the battle will take place. But more on this separately, and in another place.

Expenses are the engine of trade

You will have to trade constantly in the game. And not only because you are such a zealot for the idea of universal prosperity and well-being. It’s just that otherwise you will go broke in the most banal way. “Pure” corsairship, without constant support to the budget through trade (I mean trade not only prey, but also honestly purchased with your own money...) does not pay for itself in any way.

What's the matter? Why, as soon as you find yourself in the game and without having time to really take a look at all the surrounding beauty, should you rush to trade headlong?

How else? Do you maintain a team? Contain. However, it's not about her. It’s just that in addition to the ship you are also rewarded personal warehouse Not the city ones - attention - but your own. Moreover, you cannot refuse the gift - the warehouse is not being demolished. It is needed at the very beginning of the game very, very relatively, and yet a lot of money is spent monthly (in automatic mode) to maintain it in decent condition. And if you are not quick, after a while negative values will begin to appear on your account.

Well, well... The city doesn't have enough bricks. We need to take note.

So again - everything is in stock! In the city, of course, yours is empty anyway, and there’s nothing to do there. With the ship selected, click on the already known building. In addition to the “Equipment” tab, which we have already used, the city warehouse menu contains three more headings: “City - ship”, “City - warehouse”, “Warehouse - ship”. Let me explain. By “city” here we mean a city warehouse, by “warehouse” - your personal one, and a ship - it is a ship. It is clear that in the "City - Ship" section you move goods from the city warehouse to your hold and back, in the "Warehouse - Ship" section - the same thing, only instead of the city warehouse, your warehouse is filled and emptied, and in the "Warehouse - Ship" section, City - warehouse" storage facilities exchange valuables among themselves.

We are now interested in the trade exchange point between the ship and the city warehouse. I will not describe the interface through which the act of purchase and sale is carried out - it is simple. I would only advise you to set up the “movement” of goods in large quantities in advance, since “carrying” them one by one takes a long time, and in the game, after all, it’s real time...

There are a lot of types of goods: from banal potatoes to super-elite cocoa and tobacco. Prices, of course, are not fixed - they depend on local conditions and your reputation. It is clear that in a city where there are many cotton factories, you cannot sell cotton at a high price.

Before purchasing, go to the general map and see what goods are missing in the nearest colonies. Buy them from the one you are currently in. Benefits are guaranteed. True, it is possible that while you are sailing, others will have time to bring the shortage to the destination city, but here, as they say, half the battle is luck and fortune, and the rest is fate. Note that the closer the goal of the voyage, the less likely such an incident-lapse can occur.

And don’t forget - you will have to trade the entire game: from the beginning to the very end. When you have a lot of ships, distribute tested trade routes to the “obsolete” ones: a certain constant structure of supply and demand for some types of goods still takes place and can be traced. Sail on the largest ship yourself, and don’t forget to equip it with at least some weapons - when you transport large quantities of cargo, pirate attacks are almost guaranteed to you.

In addition to goods, you can bring settlers to cities where there is a shortage of inhabitants. People will be grateful to you, which will improve your reputation, and they will also pay you some money for the journey: nothing, but nice.

Manufactory, or how to go broke without any problems

Building factories at an early stage of the game is tantamount to bankruptcy. And irrevocable and quick. Like a warehouse, each manufactory will withdraw a certain amount from your budget to maintain itself in efficient and decent condition. Don't forget about workers' wages, which are oh so great. Moreover, while your popularity indicator is not that high, you will not be able to reduce workers’ wages: the enterprise will stop working instantly.

In a word, first accumulate some money and charm - and only then become an industrialist. The construction of each enterprise will require a certain amount from you, which again depends on your popularity. In addition to the money in your account, for construction you need to have the appropriate materials in the warehouse of the colony, where this whole adventure is being started. If there is no wood or stone in the city storehouses, do not be lazy and take a ship to the neighboring city to get them.

There are manufactories that require for work raw materials already in your warehouse, and requiring them constantly. There is no choice here - either maintain the entire production chain yourself by building an additional manufactory, or constantly purchase what you need from your hometown.

The manufactured products will arrive at your warehouse, and then you’ll figure out what to do with them. Either hand over the goods on the spot, or load them onto a ship and take them to another city. At your discretion - how profitable it is, and how lazy you are.

By the way, you can also build residential buildings in order to rent them out. Your apartment buildings will grow in level themselves - as already mentioned, their rank depends on general level welfare of the colony. The richer your tenants become, the higher rent you will receive from them.

Manufactures are also able to grow in rank, thereby beginning to produce more products and, accordingly, require more workers and raw materials. At the 1st level manufactory, 30 people work hard, at the 2nd level - 60, at the 3rd level - 90, and so on.

There you are full list manufactories available for construction.

Grain farming

Produces: grain

Potato farm

Produces: potatoes