Pirates Gold

[Kosta]

Feel free to comment and discuss this game here. Also, if you have any useful tips or tricks don't hesitate to share them with the others! Thanks!

Review and Download (if available) (http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/134)

[Titan]

Nothing like when my sloop beats the crap out of a spanish war-galley..
Speed beats heavy guns all day!
Remember to set battle-sails ASAP.

[FreeFreddy]

If you marry not the black-haired daughter (noble, daughter of duke I believe) but instead the blond one (that looks better too, is noble one too) you get more points at the end of game because she's more kind and nice.

[FreeFreddy]

If you answer the copy protection incorrectly, the game is supposed to stop at some point later while playing, but I never encountered that because I have manual where all the flags are listed.
In Dos-version of the game, while in fencing, you press any attack key and you character does one attack, to attack again you need to hit attack keys again, which I think makes more sense than hitting the key once to release never-ending series of same attacks that are even difficult to stop again (that's why I like Dos-version of the game, where you can easily react to opponent's attacks and parry them :wink: )
Btw, my PC is: P4 2.4 Ghz, I guess that's why the ship combat is so impossible fast to play, but in Dos-version of the game the speed is everywhere normal, even without a slowdown program.

[blade]

Can't wait to play this game (dling it). I used to play on Sega... god was it a blast... Good old times.

By the way, are there games similar to Pirates! Gold but which are better?


~Blade

[Havell]

I have to say that I do prefer the original Pirates! to Pirates! Gold. I don't what it is but I am better at it and it has more personality than Gold. If anyone wants it just PM me.

[Fawfulhasfury]

All this talk of pirates is making me want to play Monkey Island. LOL

[Spanky]

Hey people, how do I save in this game? Someone mentioned you have to be in a port?! If I press Shift D (or alt+D or CTRL+D...can't remember which) while I'm in a port the cursor moves from one option to another (ie from Merchant to Tavern to Bank etc) however there doesn't seem to be a Save Game option.

[Data]

it's on your ship somewhere

[FreeFreddy]

You'll have to be in captain's room for that. I'm not sure if you can do that while you're in the town, but probably now. You can enter it while you're on the sea. SPACE-button was it, I believe...

[Harleqwyn]

I've never got into this version. The fencing sucks. The ship and land combat is hard to control. The only thing good about it is the enhanced graphics. Despite the dated feel and the numerous bugs the original is still a million times more fun to play. Am I the only one who feels this way?

[Major Mayhem]

Originally posted by Harleqwyn@Feb 7 2005, 12:20 AM
I've never got into this version. The fencing sucks. The ship and land combat is hard to control. The only thing good about it is the enhanced graphics. Despite the dated feel and the numerous bugs the original is still a million times more fun to play. Am I the only one who feels this way?
If you're talking about the Windows version then I agree.

The sword fighting in the DOS version is much smoother and easier to control and you don't get any troubles with ship or land combat :D

[ZinZig]

I had the original Pirates! for the apple IIgs way back in the day. Loved the game and was pleased to stumble across this site and see a few of my favorites here along with Pirates! Gold. I'm running the game fine, but have not been able to figure out how to save the game!! I looked at the manual, but it just mentions a save screen...so where do you go to save? or which button do I push? help!

Zinzig

[Calamity]

Originally posted by ZinZig@Feb 16 2005, 04:44 PM
I had the original Pirates! for the apple IIgs way back in the day. Loved the game and was pleased to stumble across this site and see a few of my favorites here along with Pirates! Gold. I'm running the game fine, but have not been able to figure out how to save the game!! I looked at the manual, but it just mentions a save screen...so where do you go to save? or which button do I push? help!

Zinzig
When you are inside a town press the spacebar and go over to the dresser for the save game option. :)

[TheChosen]

Yech! This game is horrible. I loved the original Pirates! game(Both computer EGA and Commodore version), but this has a lots of horrible graphs.

[Mr.X]

Argh!Set sail on spanish main i like this bucanering beating spanish war galleons trading pirating smugling this game is EXCELENT!!! :D U beat the fort defeat cities and give the town to some nation it is fun to be a pirate in this game It is perfect u can do everything helping guvernor or marry his daughter destroying ships and the fresh smell of gunpowder . I ve had a Pirates Gold! ffrom else site but it has been strange every minute have it quited and i must restart my computer.But from Abandonia it goes normal Abandonia is Very Good Forum :ok: :ok: Thx Abandonia it is good game i played it on Comdore 64 Emulator thats the first time iv meet pirates its Excelent game and this forum :ok: .

[Gejmer Božo]

Try getting sea legends. It's a a pirates-like game but much improved. Maybe those chief guys from abandonia could try putting it here :D

[vicious]

Hey guys, thanks for this great game!

I seem to have a problem though. Everytime a get a mission from a governor I go to the town he asked but I don't seem to find his cousin, spy or whatever... Then I return and he is just disapointed at me! :not_ok:

Can anyone help me on that? Thanks...

[Guest]

How do you change the sails? (ie- go from full sail to half sail, and go from battle sail to full sail)

[A. J. Raffles]

Originally posted by vicious@May 11 2005, 05:08 PM
Hey guys, thanks for this great game!

I seem to have a problem though. Everytime a get a mission from a governor I go to the town he asked but I don't seem to find his cousin, spy or whatever... Then I return and he is just disapointed at me! :not_ok:

Can anyone help me on that? Thanks...
I haven't played the game in a while, but if I remember correctly you need to enter the tavern in order to find the person you're looking for.

[Doc Adrian]

Yep you have to go in the tavern of the town where the governor sends you and they have a picture of the backroom...click on that to give the message.

Thats also where you find all those dastardly Nobleman Spaniards that apparently like running off with information on your family. Apparently they were pretty bored back then and that was the thing to do.

[empedocles]

Some hints about the treasure maps would be greatly appreciated. I've seent eh Gran Grenada and Santa Catalina one. I've wandered and searched all around Gran Grenada and haven't found anything. As for Santa Catalina, the town covers the whole island and one cannot disembark there...

[Doc Adrian]

if I had a way to see them, I could help with the maps. after you play for a while you get really good at recognizing landmarks and features.

look for single spaces...trees..hills...what ever. and use the water on the map to get a general idea. a lake or a single island with a tree can do wonders

sometimes you will have to compare the map to your current location alot, but you will get it .

[vicious]

Originally posted by empedocles@May 17 2005, 12:46 AM
Some hints about the treasure maps would be greatly appreciated. I've seent eh Gran Grenada and Santa Catalina one. I've wandered and searched all around Gran Grenada and haven't found anything. As for Santa Catalina, the town covers the whole island and one cannot disembark there...
Doc Adrian is right. Also bare in mind that when it says near Gran Grenada it is not necessary to be THAT near. It may well be a couple of screens away or more. I find very usefull the shape of the coast, especially if it has any gulfs or peninsulas.


By the way thanks guys for your response to my question as well!!!! :ok:

[Peter Kirby]

Hello,

It's a great game. I just started, in the second time period (no Dutch towns at first, but I'm a Dutchman in the game), and I've wiped out the English and one of the Spanish colonies, installing Dutch governors. However, none of these three towns give me the option of talking to the governor, nor does the French town, with whom I am not hostile. Besides that I may have started in the wrong era/nationality combination, anyone know how I can get a governor to talk to me? Or do I have to start over?

best,
Peter

[A. J. Raffles]

Odd. Do NONE of the governors want to speak to you or is it just those four?:huh:

[Sebatianos]

Originally posted by Peter Kirby@Jul 5 2005, 10:39 AM
Hello,

It's a great game.* I just started, in the second time period (no Dutch towns at first, but I'm a Dutchman in the game), and I've wiped out the English and one of the Spanish colonies, installing Dutch governors.* However, none of these three towns give me the option of talking to the governor, nor does the French town, with whom I am not hostile.* Besides that I may have started in the wrong era/nationality combination, anyone know how I can get a governor to talk to me?* Or do I have to start over?

best,
Peter
If the town is too small there will be no governer there (yet).
The town must have at least 600 people living there for them to get a governor (by trading with a town you might encourage them to get a governer).

I suggest you try attacking larger towns with no forts and installing your governor there (like Curacao - I'm not sure if it has a fort in this time period or not).

Hope this helps (and thanks for posting this question - this reminded me I still have the original manual that I can scan and upload to the site).
:bye:

EDIT: I see the manual is already up.

[Guest]

How can you install governors of your nationality in captured towns? I never seem to be given this option.

[Sebatianos]

Well you can't simply do that. the governor must flee the city first. This usually happnes if you attack a city that's not too developed and you have a strong force (you can get great resoults if you choose to be an Englishman in the year of 1560. You'll start in Trinidad - as soon as you leave the city attack it and you will be given the oportunity to change the governer. Next attack the city of Margarita and then Puerto Cabello - should work in all three cases).

[Doc Adrian]

Overwhelming force to install the governor...you need to get a large army and take it to land battle...the more you kill of the enemy the better your chances.
Do alot of ambushes to rout troops, you will not get alot of gold this way..so only do this if you want to conquer not plunder :) the longer you take the more time they have to hide their gold

[Guest]

Thanks for the help.

Yes, it seems that when I attack a small town with a reasonable force (about 250 crew members seems to do it), I am given that option. However, with the large towns, it never seems to happen. I guess you must need a HUGE force for that.

The main problem I'm having is with the crew getting upset. I gather a large force, and by the time I've sailed to the town I want to attack, they've mutinied. And even if they havn't, they'll be upset, and loads of them will desert (and steal a large part of the plunder) when I set off for the next mission. I've been trying to counter this by attacking and plundering all ships I run into as I sail fromone place to another, in the hope that fresh plunder will appease them.

Anyone have any good tips for calming the crew?

[A. J. Raffles]

I think a large crew just gets upset a lot more quickly, because it would make the game too easy otherwise. But as far as I know plundering everything in sight is the only thing you can do about it.

[Doc Adrian]

Difficulty level does alot on this..but yes if you get a large crew for invasion...conquer as many towns as you can without sailing in to town to do business. If you never stop sailing and invading it takes them longer to lose morale and they also have no way of getting off the ship to desert :evil:

When they get to Angry though be sure you divide the plunder...its just not worth it. Keep your food supplies strong by emptying enemy ships and towns of food. Remember that the lower the morale of the crew the worse they fight.

Use woods and ambush tactics to even the odds

[Guest]

What is everyone's impressions of the different time periods in the game? I have been playing the easiest one (1660), but recently had a go on the first time period. Much more interesting! You start out as a Captain, and ther's much more opportunity for plundering big towns and claiming them for your nation.

Favorite time periods?

[Doc Adrian]

I like to conquer so I like them all about equally, I like playing Pirates Sunset and being Spanish..the only time I can really relax being Spanish

[sinos]

Does anyone have the same problem? In windows version I can't save the game. I'm inside a town, using directionals to move to the dresser and saving. I tried pushing all the keys. Everything seens OK but when I try to save again or load the game the slot remains empty. Can someone help?

[Guest]

Originally posted by BZ@Sep 30 2005, 09:36 PM

I've never run dosbox in windows... but run dosbox with the directory of your unzipped game as an argument

ie "dosbox C:\pirates"

Could you please elaborate? How to run using this arguement? I tried the run option, but it doesn't recognize the prefix as an arguement - it simply states that no such folder as 'dosbox' exists...

---

My real problem is that my screen keeps auto prompting a menu saying that this program should run in 1280x1024 (the resolution I use in windows xp), thus interrupting the game again and again (about once every 30 minutes). How can I make my screen/driver stop doing this?

I already tried the "run in 640x480 resolution" under properties while starting DOSbox. It makes no difference.

[another_guest]

Originally posted by Guest+Nov 18 2005, 11:25 AM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Guest @ Nov 18 2005, 11:25 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ******QuoteBegin-BZ@Sep 30 2005, 09:36 PM

I've never run dosbox in windows... but run dosbox with the directory of your unzipped game as an argument

ie "dosbox C:\pirates"

Could you please elaborate? How to run using this arguement? I tried the run option, but it doesn't recognize the prefix as an arguement - it simply states that no such folder as 'dosbox' exists...

---

My real problem is that my screen keeps auto prompting a menu saying that this program should run in 1280x1024 (the resolution I use in windows xp), thus interrupting the game again and again (about once every 30 minutes). How can I make my screen/driver stop doing this?

I already tried the "run in 640x480 resolution" under properties while starting DOSbox. It makes no difference. [/b][/quote]
Have you tried using D-Fend http://members.home.nl/mabus/dfend.htm as a front-end to Dosbox? It makes things a lot easier, including setting a different screen resolution for the game you're running in Dosbox.

[Guest]

Originally posted by another_guest@Nov 18 2005, 12:35 PM

Have you tried using D-Fend http://members.home.nl/mabus/dfend.htm as a front-end to Dosbox? It makes things a lot easier, including setting a different screen resolution for the game you're running in Dosbox.


Nice program, thanks.

Unfortunately it doesn't solve the problem. My screen still interferes as this window keeps popping up. It seems to be the monitor's own software that does this because it's the same kind of sign that appears if you haven't plugged the monitor in. I don't know how to configure/disable this function.

[Jack Swift]

Good game. But definitely better on Sega Genesis, in my opinion.

[Grinju]

Originally posted by vicious@May 11 2005, 05:08 PM
Hey guys, thanks for this great game!

I seem to have a problem though. Everytime a get a mission from a governor I go to the town he asked but I don't seem to find his cousin, spy or whatever... Then I return and he is just disapointed at me! :not_ok:

Can anyone help me on that? Thanks...
The spy is usually in the bar at the doorway. Hes just a shadow and can be hard to see.

[Aramazon]

hey all im just curious, is this game the original to the pirates! that recently came out? If it is would that mean that everything is pretty much the same cept with better graphics in the new one? just curious.

[Gamefreak]

Can't say much there, I didn't play the new Pirates!. But if the new game is about plundering the Spaniards in the Caribbean area, making alliances with either them, the Englishmen, the Frenchmen or the Dutchmen and conquering cities and more and more, then the game on this site is the same one.

[Aramazon]

haha cool, for some reason i just love the fact that i play the original of all these stupid new games that come out. Seriously they just aint the same as the good ol' dos games. Its so funny, no one in my skool even knows what DOS is, hahaha. This game is really good, i played for quite a while with it. I love how all the sid meyer's games involve score and ranks and what not. This reminds me, back in elementary school, my life dream was to become a pirate, LOL :D

[*Happy*]

Originally posted by Aramazon@Jan 6 2006, 06:47 AM
hey all im just curious, is this game the original to the pirates! that recently came out? If it is would that mean that everything is pretty much the same cept with better graphics in the new one? just curious.
Actually the new game (Sid Meier's Pirates) is the third in the series and this one (Pirates! Gold) is the second. The first one was just called Pirates! and it was available for the Commodore 64 and Amiga. And yes, all 3 games are very similar in gameplay- it just shows how great the game is!

[laiocfar]

There is also a fan´s made version that its a little more like the old pirates

[ucwmike]

Hey all. anyone know how to find the treasures and the lost relitives? I allways find the area thats marked on the maps, but is there any keys i need to press in order to activate the "hey pirate, way to go! you found the lost treasure of this or that" (obviously i dont know if thats whats it ganna say, but you guys know what i mean LOL) Cause all Iv been doing is walking back and forth over the area waiting for something to happen.

Also to answer a few questions, you need to be in a city in order to save the game (click space and click on the mirror area)

And the game does work in windows, contrary to popular belief. I have a windows ME pentiam 633 (kinda old), game runs fine, except sometimes on startup of the game the computer just goes on standby.No DOSbox needed.

But anywho if anyone can answer my question, that person would be so incredible cool!

thanks.

[punch999]

Lost relatives dont you just go to the city and bang they are there?

[bruno]

Originally posted by ucwmike@Jan 9 2006, 11:56 PM
Also to answer a few questions, you need to be in a city in order to save the game (click space and click on the mirror area)

And the game does work in windows, contrary to popular belief. I have a windows ME pentiam 633 (kinda old), game runs fine, except sometimes on startup of the game the computer just goes on standby.No DOSbox needed.


yes you need to be in a town to save the game. And yes you have the game was made to windows, because the first version of the game don´t work in win. :whistle:

[Old School Gamer]

Lost releative can be found when you receive a piece of the map when you defeat an EViL Duke. When you have an idea where the X is located on the map, seach/dig in that area and EUREKA! One member found. :w00t:

I don't really like pirates gold. I think it's the worst of all three version of the org. priates. After 3 or 4 plunder & divide you are too old to continue playing. BLAH. :ranting:

[Chuck the plant]

The recent upload of the original Pirates! brought me back to this gem here (still got it on CD at home :bleh: ).

I do have a slight problem, though.
When I run the game in DosBox, it's LAAAAME. I mean, it's really slow. Everything takes forever. I know that the game ran a lot faster when I was still able to play it without DosBox under Win98. I also know that DosBox does take up a lot of CPU-Power, but all the other games I got here are running fine so far (or maybe they're also slow and I just don't notice because I don't remember them running faster once... :blink: ).

I set the CPU-cycles to some 18000, I turned them down to some 1200, I skipped up to 8 frames, nothing brought any change. Any idea?

[swiss]

could probably VDMSounds help out a bit? I noticed speed issues with other/newer games in DOSBox aswell ... VDMSounds made things quite good for those games

[Gamefreak]

If your PC isn't that fast, then raising CPU cycles won't bring much. For emulation speed of 18000 cycles you should have around P4 2.4Ghz, maybe somewhere around 2Ghz for 12000 cycles.

[Wolf Thug]

Edit by punch: Don't be a behind wipe and stop posting in every topic I do to insult me.

[Chuck the plant]

For all those people with problems playing the windows-version: A software slowdown-program works miracles! :ok:

[laiocfar]

Some tip that i learned by the hard way.

1 - NEVER, never save when u enter a city by land... it causes to lost your ships when loading and only dividing the plunder let u a sloop where u left your fleet.
2 - The medicine skill give u more years of playing ;) is the best one
3 - To take hard defended city u need the at max half of the garrison on land attack, the forts destroys any ship, evade them.
4 - In other Pirates, the treasure fleet only can be captured in ports. Here do that last is a big mistake. Better(but harder) to take many galleons with 20k each than the fleet anchor city that must give you 50k-80k.
5 - Rescuing familiars give u maps to treasures of 100k.
6 - Married guys are not for interest to other womans so better to be alone until near the end. It will be easier to porsuit the treasure fleet.
7 - Leo, me, is your god and got all the awnsers, vote the reds!!!


A question: how do to make the bardmaid give u the fleet or train locations? It could be done but i don´t know how, and its a way to be marriend and chasing that fleet.

[*Happy*]

Originally posted by laiocfar@Jan 18 2006, 05:18 AM
A question: how do to make the bardmaid give u the fleet or train locations? It could be done but i don´t know how, and its a way to be marriend and chasing that fleet.
It's very hard - you have to visit her a lot and have a high reputation (eg. notorious/infamous). Also I think it's a waste of time if she immediately doesn't take a liking to you (eg. when you can reply a drink and some company the first time you meet her). The Wit and Charm skill is a big help here, but since it's just about the only thing it's good for I don't take it. Also don't forget that captured pirates can tell you the location of silver train/treasure fleet.

And skill at Medicine does allow you to play longer, but Navigation makes you sail faster and thus shortens your voyages. Personally, I still prefer Swordfighting because it allows me to take on insane odds and win (my greatest success was capturing a Pirate Hunter's War Galleon - about 200 men - with only about 30 crew on my side! It was on journeyman level, though.)

Also I agree on not saving when going to land, once I even ruined my save game that way, because the game insisted I had no ships!

[laiocfar]

I were beliving that navigation is only usefull in combat.

To take tougher ships u don´t need swordfighting, just got always a sloop or pinance to take most of ships and frigate coul made things more easy against galleons. A small ship is always faster and turns quicker so being always at rear or at front of your enenmy shoting, if u can made it without take a single shot during the combat they will surrender. In Pirates II, the swordfighting is more usefull cuz u need the very expensive gunpower to fire so assault a wargalleon plein of gunpower is a good bouty in PirG the risk of a war galleon for 1-5 k gc, not a chance. Expend your men in Big Galleons of treasure fleet.

And rush in swords combat its a sure win if got at least 90 men (no matter if enemy are 900), i just assaulted Cartagena de Indias (380 garrison) + silver train guards with 135 people and only 29 losses... too bad, i expected less people to divide the plunder :sneaky:

Someone up asked how found the long-lost-family, well choise search in the menu of captain´s cabine (space bar).

[Guest]

Originally posted by laiocfar@Jan 18 2006, 05:53 PM
To take tougher ships u don´t need swordfighting, just got always a sloop or pinance to take most of ships and frigate coul made things more easy against galleons.
Agreed, in the hands of a master a pinnace or sloop is almost unbeatable, but if you make just ONE mistake it's off to Davy Jones' Locker!

Come to think of it, I never tried this tactic when I had skill at navigation... could be interesting.

[bruno]

Originally posted by Guest+Jan 18 2006, 11:59 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Guest @ Jan 18 2006, 11:59 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ******QuoteBegin-laiocfar@Jan 18 2006, 05:53 PM
To take tougher ships u don´t need swordfighting, just got always a sloop or pinance to take most of ships and frigate coul made things more easy against galleons.
Agreed, in the hands of a master a pinnace or sloop is almost unbeatable, but if you make just ONE mistake it's off to Davy Jones' Locker!

Come to think of it, I never tried this tactic when I had skill at navigation... could be interesting. [/b][/quote]
With my war galleon, nobody can stop me.... :bleh:

[Chuck the plant]

Originally posted by little fish@Jan 19 2006, 12:53 AM
With my war galleon, nobody can stop me.... :bleh:
Try playing on "Adventurer" or "Swashbuckler"-skill then... :bleh:

I was always under the impression that enemy captains also seem to have at least (random?) combat kills sometimes... some are tougher to beat in a seabattle, some are really crazy fencers... is this just my impression or is this indeed the case? :blink:

[laiocfar]

* With my war galleon, nobody can stop me....* :bleh:

the bigger the ship is, the slower its is. well, no but the sloop or pinace can always escape from your fat war galleon. the big ship only got speed adv when the wind is stong and only if sailing in the exactly wind direction. and when going against wind, small ship are really quicker. So a capable sloop captin will dance around your slow turning war galleon and by shoting only 12 cannons will desvate your ship and plunder it. The fact that the Ai couldn´t do that last its the only way that u can survive. Big ships are good to carry men and cargo for plunder cities. But best ships are sloop/pinnace to take merchants and frigates, the frigates to capture big galleons that are the max cargo capacity.
If u avoid mistake at begining the other ship get damage and less cannon and less speed.
Combat skill of enemy captains are random, i am pround of be good at fighting but last time, i boarded a ducht sloop with less than 16... i couldn´t defeat the captain until my crew sized the whole ship. When assaulting curacao, i lost many men in the aproach and was in a hard spot, by luck the commander was really bad and i sacked the city.

[*Happy*]

The Frigate is my ship of choice, but they only appear in the 3 later eras; in the earlier ones it's the Fast Galleon. Both of these are very powerful and *can* turn around before sunset (unlike the bigger galleons). But then again it's possible to win with any ship - no ship is perfect. In fact, even a Merchantman can be deadly if filled with crew and cannons.

[laiocfar]

I find new bugs, well new for me:
- First when i save and load, no mather in what month i am when reloading, the month changes in few days to the next december!!!
- Sencod i landed 5 times very near to the fort, to the city, last one really in the fort and it says that i am too far away... :wall: :ranting: :pissed:

[athcnv]

Has anyone tried the genesis version of Pirates Gold on an emulator? I found that it works better than this version (though it can be tricky trying to find a good rom).

Actually, I didn't try the version on abandonia - I tried the Windows version from home of the underdogs.

Previously, also I tried the NES version of Pirates! and found it to be better than the PC version.

[Gamefreak]

The game works without problems in DosBox. Did you try to re-download the game? You also don't need to install it to somewhere or similar, just copy anything inside the downloaded archive to some folder and run install.exe to configure the sound & music, then the game, that's it.

[Strategy guide]

I made King's Advisor in Jamaca with a score in the 90s. I'd rescued 2 family members and found the hidden treasure 3-4x (got lucky with the first few maps or locations) and had enough gold to buy the entire island (I'd raided Cuba and the Spanish Main 2x and gotten the Silver train at several times in town and had hit several of the ships at sea). Was noble (Lord, Marquis, Duke) in 3 nationss and somehow made an officer (IIRC Captain) in Spain :). The main thing to remember is the game is very sensitive to trade offs. Several important ones are:

A big crew will allow you lots of power but they require a near constant increase of gold (if you spend any time just sailing they will grow unrestful). Once you have enough of a map to know where a treasure is wait until you have only a small crew before going after the treasure. Don't go recruiting every time you head to port keep in mind how many sailors you need and get that many.

On taking cities, do this early while you progress through the ranks (if you take a city you will probably get a promotion on returning. Keep in mind that taking a city while doing wonders for your reputation and career don't make the boys any happier than if you just got the gold and left.

Trade with one port as much as you can, if you make it big and wealthy you will get much better prices for your goods and if you have a fleet of galleons following your warship you can unload essentially all of the goods in Havanna or Santiago which will be worth far more than the gold you captured.

I found that the inner gulf while rich was too difficult a return journey trying to sail against prevailing winds with an unhappy crew is torturous. I've had mutinees before each ship encounter.

Retire at the right time, if you wait too long your retirement is less happy.

That was probably the best part of the game, it's always difficult once you reach "mythic" status in free form games to reach an end game, pirates forced age retirement adds a sense of urgency that wouldn't be in the game normally.

For a fun mission stay single and trade, you'll get introduced to the shopkeeper's daughter which is a good way to stick it to all the ladies in court in retirement.

The copy protection in the game I played (dos version, I believe) would take your cannons if you got it wrong, but the correct flag was always preceeded by the title Captain.

In the early games with the Spanish operating most of the new world, if you want a patents of nobility with several nations try to get contacts with the governors early at any peace time or alliance with your nation then when they declare war against the Spanish be sure to land in their ports once in a while to be promoted.

After you get all you want from the Dutch their colonies are some of the easiest to convert to other governments (mostly the windward colonies). I usually played as French or English and would remain in good with both of those nations to the end (as I never had enough places to sell goods if I only had one country's ports).

[Japo]

Originally posted by WoW.ServerDown@Apr 24 2006, 03:06 AM
I dont get 1 thing that rly pisses me off. [...]
This game features a manual, maybe you should take a look at it. When you're told that you're a "whatever apprentice" it's not random; first, "apprentice" is the difficulty level (the easiest one). You've selected that yourself at the start of the game, and may change it every time you divide the plunder and start a new expedition. "Whatever", on the other hand, is how famous you are as a pirate. Its practical effect is that the more famous you are the more men will be willing to join you. The highest level is "infamous" (not "famous"), you're a pirate after all.

You shouldn't lose ANY gold or cargo UNLESS your men are so unhappy that some desert you, then they would steal part of the money. The crew's happiness depends on three factors: gold, number of men, and time. The more gold you've got the happier they are, of course, because they'll presumably get a bigger share. To get your hands on some real cash you must plunder cities. The more men you've got the smaller the share will be for the same gold, so they'll be unhappy. And they will eventually wish to be given their shares so that they can enjoy them, so they will be getting more restless as you prolong the expedition. That's why you must divide the plunder sooner or later, and start a new expedition, it's part of the game. However your progresses are kept from one expedition to another, including military or nobiliary titles, personal wealth, land holdings, wife, lovers...

So hire as few men as possible for the planned tasks. If you want to hire a lot do so only at the beginning of an expedition, and only if you need them, that is, if you're going to raze a big city (or a couple o' them). At the end of the expedition, just before dividing the plunder, you may want to get most of your men killed (...) so that the share be bigger, because that way it will be easier to hire men during the next expedition. (You share doesn't depend on the number of men, just on the difficulty level.)

You'll eventually have to retire, when your health is not good enough. The speed at which health drops depends on time and wounds suffered (in swordfights).

If you really want to enjoy the whole depth of this great game, do read the manual.

EDIT: Kmonster is right. The manual mentioned that if you failed the copy protection the game was rendered unplayable. However everything else remains valid as well.

[Japo]

Originally posted by WoW.ServerDown@Apr 24 2006, 02:19 PM
Uhmm. i didnt need a tutorial on how to play the game. Not being ungrateful but u didnt tell me anything i dont know. My rank before apprentice remains unchnaged but often i suddenly find myself at reduced health status, all plunder gone, along with the cannons and this happens in open sea. ALso, i still dont know why do i lose the posibility to advance beyond apprentice after that thing has happened
It's fairly easy to become infamous in this game. Then I'd suggest that Kmonster's guess might be right: if you answer the copy protection queries (other captains' names) wrongly, then the game is rendered unplayable, maybe as you describe.

[s3lotip]

FYI :
From manual that i get, there are no copy protection .......
and when i play this game, no question about copy protection appeared during play or starting this game.

[kmonster]

In my version the copy protection works the following way:

After loading your game the you meet a pirate ship you are shown the flag and are asked the name of pirate who uses the flag.

As long as I can remember the solution was always the pirate of the lowest rank. Very effective :D

BTW: In the game version I had they forgot the copy protections in the manual. :Brain:

[Icewolf]

Download the manual and the pirate flags you need to know are marked from 48 onwards. Best thing would probably be write them all down on one sheet of paper to have them at hand when you need them in the game.

I don't see any other reason why you should lose all your guns and money in pirate fights. :huh:

[Grand Dad]

Welll! I always have to idetify the pirate chasing you when you eithertart a new game or reload an old one :D

It's great game anyway like almost all MPS oldies.
Got the new Sid Meier's version of Pirates...noting like the old CGA/EGA version which was playable only from the two 5.25" bootable floppies :D

[Japo]

Originally posted by Grand Dad@May 6 2006, 12:14 PM
Got the new Sid Meier's version of Pirates...noting like the old CGA/EGA version which was playable only from the two 5.25" bootable floppies :D
I haven't seen it myself (the new version) but they say it's good stuff--because it's faithful to the original.

[kmonster]

The new pirates version disappointed me.
It's very easy to get the maximum possible points, especially at low levels, the gold share is big enough even then.
The points you get last are the points for the map pieces for lost indian cities which require much annoying dancing.
So you can call the game a dancing simulator. And the dancing is really very annoying.

The fact that you need hours for fighting land battles doesn't help either, also that you have to find and defeat a certain "Baron Raymondo" about 20 times for information about lost party members.
The short animations which conclude fencing scenes are repetitive and idiotic, making you feel more like actor in a pirate cartoon for 6 year olds than a pirate.

There are just too many things which destroy the athmosphere in the game.

The best pirates version I know is the amiga version (what a pity that the versions you can find on the internet have a trainer which kicks in later even when disabled), followed by the megadrive and the PC version of pirates gold.

[Japo]

I guess a good modern game was too good to be true, especially being a remake.Why don't they just *re-make* the very same game with better graphics, just like it was done with Pirates! Gold from Pirates!, and why do they think themselves so smart and that they'll do better than (!) Sid Meier?

[brianbossman]

First Thanks to Abandonia for keeping some of the best games alive and well! I use to play Pirates on my 64 and on my Sega. Love the game and I have been having a great time playing on my pc. Now I need some help and was wondering if any one of the fourm can help me. I'm trying to divide up my plunder and can't figure out how to. I checked the manuel and can't find it. Help! :blink: Thanks in advance. Bri

[Grand Dad]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bri @ Jun 8 2006, 10:37 AM) 235133</div>
Now I need some help and was wondering if any one of the fourm can help me. I'm trying to divide up my plunder and can't figure out how to. I checked the manuel and can't find it. Help! :blink: Thanks in advance. Bri
[/b]


Just go into the Bank and you'll get the option to divide :D

[brianbossman]

Just go into the Bank and you'll get the option to divide :D
[/quote]


Sorry I should have given more info. When I port and go into town I can see the Gov, the merchant, the shipwright,and visit the tavern, but I can't get into the bank. If I mouse over it there is nothing to click on. It acts like the governers home after you have seen him. I know how to do it it just won't work. Nothing happens.?!. I thought maybe I had to be in the town I started in, tried that and no luck, I sold every thing except my last ship, no luck. Tried another port, no luck. Any one have any more ideas? :wallbash: Thanks Bri

[Japo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bri @ Jun 8 2006, 05:52 PM) 235251</div>
Sorry I should have given more info. When I port and go into town I can see the Gov, the merchant, the shipwright,and visit the tavern, but I can't get into the bank. If I mouse over it there is nothing to click on. It acts like the governers home after you have seen him. I know how to do it it just won't work. Nothing happens.?!. I thought maybe I had to be in the town I started in, tried that and no luck, I sold every thing except my last ship, no luck. Tried another port, no luck. Any one have any more ideas? :wallbash: Thanks Bri
[/b]
You seem to know where the bank is but, just in case:

http://img428.imageshack.us/img428/2170/goldpc014ff.jpg

Anyway you may divide the plunder any time you wish, except that you may not divide the plunder if you've sneaked into the town --you don't sneak with all your treasure, you know, that wouldn't be so stealthy. :whistling:

If this isn't your problem, have you answered the copy protection questions correctly?

[brianbossman]

Anyway you may divide the plunder any time you wish, except that you may not divide the plunder if you've sneaked into the town --you don't sneak with all your treasure, you know, that wouldn't be so stealthy. :whistling:

If this isn't your problem, have you answered the copy protection questions correctly?
[/quote]


That's it! I have been sneaking into town all the time. Thank You for the Help. :ok: Bri

[Japo]

You won't find sneaking so useful in the future, especially if you fare well and are so famous that you're always spotted when trying.

FOURM HINT: Your quotes aren't displayed correctly because when deleting some of the text you also delete the key "". Both keys "[quote]" (opening quote) and "" (closing it) must remain intact for the quote to show up as such. :)

[Grand Dad]

You don't need to go sneaking into every town unless they're your enemies :brain:

[Japo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Grand Dad @ Jun 11 2006, 06:07 PM) 235911</div>
You don't need to go sneaking into every town unless they're your enemies :brain:
[/b]
Rather, there's no point in sneaking into a town unless it's an enemy one. :D

[Icewolf]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Japofran @ Jun 11 2006, 06:09 PM) 235912</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Grand Dad @ Jun 11 2006, 06:07 PM) 235911
You don't need to go sneaking into every town unless they're your enemies :brain:
[/b]
Rather, there's no point in sneaking into a town unless it's an enemy one. :D
[/b][/quote]
Wow, guys you just pointed out one of the most basic things in that game... <_< :D

[laiocfar]

QUOTE(Japofran @ Jun 11 2006, 06:09 PM) *

QUOTE(Grand Dad @ Jun 11 2006, 06:07 PM) *

You don't need to go sneaking into every town unless they're your enemies brain_yahoo.gif

Rather, there's no point in sneaking into a town unless it's an enemy one. biggrin.gif

Wow, guys you just pointed out one of the most basic things in that game... [/b]

With too high fame, neutral ports will shot you some times. :bleh:

[Grand Dad]

Too high fame ports? Never encountered any problems with 'friendlies'! hehehe

[laiocfar]

No, the one with the high fame is the player.

[Grand Dad]

Yes that can make a difference perhaps, but personally never faced that problem!

[laiocfar]

If my memory doenst fail in most of version on net there is a bug that make really hard to maintain higest level of reputation.

[Japo]

MAAAAAN! A galleon fled from my damaged pinnace with the help of strong winds, and the game told me that the enemy had seized my other ship because I had fled. But it wasn't me who fled, it was the cowardly galleon! :ranting: But the other ship was of course bigger than the pinnace, so most of my gold was there! I was at the very end of an expedition and I had amassed half a million of gold pieces, but I lost most of it! GRAAAAARGH! It wasn't me who was fleeing!!! :ranting:

[Grand Dad]

Next time use a Barge, I always do, better than any other ship available (of course you have capture one).

But, coming to the other problem....XP or MS-DOS or DosBox...ever since I instaled XP a bug seems to have developed...the message says something about no EMM or XMS mem. Funny? The same game was working without any problems with Win98...now even in DosBox I keep getting the same message? :angry:

[Japo]

Most DOS games work with Windows 98 and not with Windows XP, because Win98 is just DOS v7 with a graphic enviroment quite like old Win3, and WinXP has little to do with that. In fact most people will tell you that Win98 can run any old DOS game, which is not true.

In DOSBox you can configure whether XMS or EMS will be emulated. Check the options.

[lmcjaho]

I downloaded this game the other day and first let me say thanks Abandonia - I used to play this game for days when it was first released and I was extremely happy to find it here.

:sos:

Unfortunately, I also downloaded the Manual and the Map, but I do not see the Captain's Broadsheet anywhere, and said document has the breakdown of which key does what, so without it I don't know how to do a few important things like command both groups (or switch between them) in a land combat situation so I am forced to try and make a run for the fort with the group I default command, hopefully getting there before my other group is slaughtered due to my inability to command them...

On an equally frustrating note, has anyone else experienced a problem during sea combat where your ship seems almost 100% unresponsive to a turn command?

** Please note I also cross-posted this in another thread in the Troubleshooting forum - many of the items discussed in this thread seem related to my question but it also seems appropriate for the TS forum, at least to me....

[Grand Dad]

Japofran Win98 will run almost all old DOS games in the DOS-prompt. XP a few!

And Guest Pirates Gold uses the mouse for all actions! If your ship is not reacting in a combat situation then either you don't have guns or fewer men. But I think is that you are not using your mouse...left button for navigating and right for firing...you'll have to learn when the enemy is in range and when to avoid their shots. Sometimes you have to board their ship and then fence with the enemy captain!

Peace and Good Hunting!

[Japo]

To switch combat groups press Enter or the left-click, to move all of them at the same time keep that pressed. Enter usually works better here, if you use the mouse you'll have to keep it pressed for a second in order to get response.

Whe sailing, on the contrary, the cursor keys respond poorly, I used the mouse instead, although it's not apples either. The left button turns left and the right one turns right.

[laiocfar]

I prefer full keyboard control. I dont know if mouse when sailing got better response or a bug that "forgets" wind effect.

[lmcjaho]

Thanks for the help guys - will try it and see :titan:

[Guest]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Data @ Jun 21 2004, 03:39 PM) 3665</div>
should work in 0.61
0.62 has not been released.
[/b]


The version of Pirates! Gold on Abandonia is the DOS version. The only way to run it on a Windows XP system is to use Doxbox, which slows the game down alot, the slowdown isn't so bothersome, however, when I run the game in Dosbox the only way to play it is in a Windowed mode, when I run it fullscreen, the screen goes blank with a little window that says something about the Horizontal and Vertical frequency being out of range, so if you really want to enjoy the game, download the Windows version of the game, to run the Windows version of Pirates! Gold in Windows XP all you have to do is to right click on the executable and select Run in Windows 95 Compatibility Mode, Run in 256 Colors, and change the resolution on your computer to 640x480, the game will run perfectly and almost full screen.

[The Fifth Horseman]

If you need any help with configuring DosBox... well, just ask.

[thebes]

First about Pirates Gold. I have had the pleasure of owning all three Pirates! versions. The first one on Amiga 500, then Gold on PC and now the newest and greatest one! Yes they finally did better with a newer game than an old one! This is one of my fav games of all. :brain: :kosta: :ok:
As for dosbox, thank goodness for it. I need to go back to their site and praise them, and VDMS too! I made up a "oldgame" folder and set it up with dosbox so the games I put in there auto go through dosbox. I cannot change skipframe and such in it. If I go straight to dosbox I can change speed and all but most game will not work as the file name has a ~1 beside it and will not load! I am still new to dosbox and I am sure it will improve. But man it is soooo great to be able to play some of the old games again. many thanks to Abandonia and HOTU! :kosta:

[Grand Dad]

For all the other games, well most of tem anyway, DOS Prompt works fine except Pirates Gold and POP2. I've played all on Win98!
Yes 5t. HM a complete guide wil be fine and a great help, thanks!
I have been intending going to the soulforge site for the illustrated guide but...too old and keep on postponing :(

[D.K.D.]

The sea battles are ultra-speeded, which makes me unable to play the game. How can I fix this (I run it in DOSbox)?

Sorry if this has been brought up earlier in this thread, but I don't feel like browsing through 17 pages just now... :P

[Japo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(D.K.D. @ Oct 16 2006, 10:08 PM) 261612</div>The sea battles are ultra-speeded, which makes me unable to play the game. How can I fix this (I run it in DOSbox)?[/b]
Ctrl+F11 as many times as necessary to reduce cycles. Once you've found the appropriate number you may edit DOSBOX.CONF to start at that number every time.

[Grand Dad]

Started with Pirates...2 bootable floppies one for the game and the other for saving games, no DOS, no Windows, glorious CGA/EGA...Ah those were the days and I miss them. Graduated to Pirates Gold, and now the new Sid Meier's Pirates. BUT still nothing to beat the old MPS games! :)

[Mighty Midget]

I seem to remember the copy protection was very nasty on this one. If you gave the wrong answer on them jolly rogers, the game would mess itself up to the point where it became unplayable. My guess is that you'll need to remove the games, re-install it, and get the manual BEFORE playing the game. There you have all the answers.

Other than that, I don't know. Sorry.

[Japo]

Rather than cracked, as you say someone edited the flags' sprites to add the names, so you don't have to check the manual. This game has some bugs, although I experienced more when I played in real DOS than now playing in DOSBox. Maybe you could try with version 0.63 (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/comp_list.php?showID=1163&letter=P&begaming_website_session=ca8d5856e03f9c01e6ebfea37 55ce1c4) of DOSBox instead of the latest 0.65 and see if it plays better.

I also encountered once the bug that when leaving a town the game crashed. It happened to me only in towns without coast which I had reached by land, and only if I had sold or bought something, or hired men. So I'd say that your game can't be recovered unless you've got a previous save. My advice is that you never buy, sell or hire in non coastal towns because there's a bug that the game can't handle it, I think.

[Lulu_Jane]

Hmmm, methinks I'm going to have to download this one - I lost hours of my childhood to the original version!

*sigh*

Good times :D

[The Fifth Horseman]

It seems you are trying to run the game in plain Windows. I strongly suggest you use DosBox (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net) instead.
You can download it here (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/download.php?main=1).

[Grand Dad]

Didn't know there was an arcade version? If you did manage to download it then as the 5th. Horseman said you'll have to play it in DOSBox, especially if your present OS is XP :)!

[Japo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(zigzag @ May 25 2007, 05:18 PM) 291350</div>Oh, here's a question: How is it determined how many cannon are on your ship in combat? The manual says, for example, that a pinnace can hold 8 cannon, yet even when we're carrying 14 cannon (and have no other ships in the fleet) I sometimes enter combat with 4-5 cannon, once even only 2 cannon. I haven't tested crew strength in regards to this, is there a formula for how many men are needed to sail and how many are needed per gun?[/b]
Each additional ship (besides the flagship) takes 2 guns no matter its size. Also you need 4 crew to man each gun, both in your flagship or in the additional ones. So each additional ship takes 8 crew as well. IIRC.

I attack fortified ports always by land. When you attack by land you use your full crew --or maybe you must leave 2 crew in each ship I don't quite know--, but when you attack by sea your forces are limited by the capacity of your attacking ship, and that sucks especially in order to change a port's national allegiance. Besides the ships with greater capacity are the slowest ones that can't sail against the wind and so are useless in this case. So it's either attacking with few men and poor chances of not being gunned down, or attacking with moderate numbers of men and no chances whatsoever; you'd better attack by land with all your men and piece-of-cake chances.

[Scatty]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Japofran @ May 25 2007, 06:13 PM) 291352</div>So it's either attacking with few men and poor chances of not being gunned down, or attacking with moderate numbers of men and no chances whatsoever; you'd better attack by land with all your men and piece-of-cake chances.[/b]
I second that. While attacking by land you also have a good chance to decimate the defender's numbers underway if your army is strong, which raises your chances at the final duel considerably. And going through forests hides you well from the enemy, you can come close to the fort without much risk at all that way.

[Guest]

great game, but your crew starts to desert far too fast, too few opportunities to realy gain the fabulous wealth, before you realy get anywhere you're retiring :(

[The Fifth Horseman]

No offense, but might that be a problem with the way you're playing the game rather than the game design?

[Grand Dad]

It is a great game...however I am having some problems with it. It worked fine when I was using Win98 with DOS6.2. But ever since I had to switch to XP on my new computer the game doesn't start. Oh! I do use the latest DOSBox but for some unknown reason the game doesn't start says no SPR etc found, althought the directory shows SPR and SPR16 subdirectories. Have tried everything possible. I miss playing it it's far better than the new Sid Meier's Pirates :angry: :wallbash:

[_r.u.s.s.]

you extracted the game in a directory first and Then used dosbox, right?

[Grand Dad]

The game was already in my oldgames directory, I don't understand by extracting it first then used DOSBox? All the other games work fine!

PEACE!

[The Fifth Horseman]

Please post the exact text of the error message. ^_^

[Sebatianos]

I just saw Pirates of the Caribbean III: At World's End and guess what?!?!

In the scene when all the pirate lords raise their flags you can recognise the flags!!! They are in fact all taken from this very game (the manual is B/W only, but in game you also see the colors).

Is this coinsidence?
Were the flags really taken from this game?
or
Are those acctual historical pirate flags that were used both in the game and in the movie?

[Grand Dad]

Thanks all of you! I should've told you earlier that I got it working fine...it was an SPR error and once I'd copied the files Bingo...I am continuing my old saved games :).

[_r.u.s.s.]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sebatianos @ Jul 12 2007, 01:39 AM) 299027</div>
In the scene when all the pirate lords raise their flags you can recognise the flags!!![/b]
can you make a screenie? :unsure:

[Grand Dad]

Not interested...the old Gold version is good enough for me :).

AND I like to see names not anonymity, that's being stealthy if you know what I mean!

[Guest]

How do you save on this game?

[Mighty Midget]

If I remember correctly, you need to be onboard your ship, and there, in the captain's cabin, you will find a log book for saving and loading.

[Japo]

On the contrary, you have to be in a city. But yes you press Space (I think) to access the cabin, and there you click on a filer to save.

I think there was a bug when you saved in a city you've entered by land, so save only in ports where you've sailed into.

[Scatty]

You can access the cupboard in captains cabin everytime I think, but if you're on the sea you can only load your games, not save them.

[Guest]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mighty Midget @ Sep 15 2007, 12:53 AM) 311011</div>
If I remember correctly, you need to be onboard your ship, and there, in the captain's cabin, you will find a log book for saving and loading.
[/b]

Yes, but I don't see a save area in the logbook. Do I need to press a certain key? (Alt-P for example?)

[Icewolf]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Scatty @ Sep 15 2007, 03:11 AM) 311021</div>You can access the cupboard in captains cabin everytime I think, but if you're on the sea you can only load your games, not save them.[/b]You save your games clicking on the cupboard definitely. :ok:
But I don't remember either if you had to be in a town or not.

[Scatty]

To save you have to be in the town, and as mentioned above, watch out for the bug which destroys your savegame.

[Grand Dad]

Yes that's right you can save ONLY when you're in a town, especially a port. Press Space bar and you go in your ship...there not only can you save your game but read all info about your status as well as the Crew's mood etc.
Good Luck :) and PEACE!!!

[Guest_john_*]

Trying to find the names for each song for pirates gold!

What I have so far:

J.S Bach - Invention No. 10 in G major (visiting the shipwright)

The Ten Penny Bit (Any Non-Harbor based town)

The Old Rigged Ship (One of the tavern songs)

Jack a tar (One of the many songs entering town, Your score/end music)


trying to find the song name for unloading a captured ship..

[Icewolf]

We have some tunes from Pirates! here (http://www.abandonia.com/main.php?nav=music&game=Pirates) but the Pirates! Gold tunes are not on our page, sorry... :(

[Scatty]

Usually, if the version of Pirates! Gold on this site is a full installation, there's a program in the same folder as the Pirates! Gold exe which name should be something like jukebox.exe (or just type dir *.exe in DosBox for a list of all executables in that folder). If you run that jukebox program, you can switch between all music scores that are available in the game, listen to them and be able to see their names displayed, too.

[Grand Dad]

Yes you can listen to the songs/music in the JukeBox, but they are not played during the game :(!

[Japo]

The music should play during the game if you run it with DOSBox, provided you run INSTALL.EXE before and "reconfigure hardware options" for a Sound Blaster Pro (later), 220, 7, 1. ;)

[theplayover]

Pirates gold is a amazing game, i dont can drop this! Tell me, who i can make happy my crew?

Thanks all!

[theplayover]

Some one can help me?

[theplayover]

sorry, "how i make..."

[The Fifth Horseman]

www.gamefaqs.com might have the answer.

[theplayover]

Hehehe! Tanx man, but it not help me, .....i go try to another way, these dogs will learn how to sail unhappy even! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Tanx any way....

[theplayover]

HEY!!! where is my pic!?!?

[Japo]

Crew happiness depends on the plunder (the higher the better), number of men (the fewer the better), and time since the expedition started (the shorter the better). The influence of time is so strong that you can't have a numerous crew for a long time (yes you should have them killed before dividing the plunder), and you must always divide the plunder eventually sooner or later.

If your crew is unhappy you'll have mutinies, and more importantly the dissatisfied will steal part of your plunder when escaping.

[kmonster]

The size of the crew doesn't effect the size of your share. So there's no need for killing party members before.

[Sebatianos]

The size of the crew doesn't effect the size of your share. So there's no need for killing party members before.

It doesn't effect your share, but it keeps the crew happier a bit longer and it helps your reputation (for getting a crew next time you go out to sea).

Here are some more tips (although most of it was already said).

1 - don't land in ports with a large and unhappy crew (they will leave you and take a lot of money, so the rest will be even more unhappy).

2 - if you stay at sea, they may rebell, and you will fight their leader. that's not good, but it's not the worst thing that can happen (just make sure you win).

3 - to make them happier, after you land, devide the plunder (sell all you can before that - just make sure you are left with the ship you want to keep).

4 - it's better to have as many men as possible killed before you do 3 (less man and more money - always makes them happy). So attack big towns, attack ships and don't take any sailors. Don't try to get a quick win, but lt coputer kill as many people as possible (use small ships against large enemy ships - so more of the crew dies).

5 - remember, you can not keep them happy forever, so devide the plunder at just the right time (a lot of money, only a few men) and you will get a new crew (that will stay happy longer). The longer the crew is under you, the unhappier it will become. The larger the crew, the faster it becomes unhappy. Big plunders make crew happier again (I noticed that it's usually about 100 gold peices per crew member, so if you have 400 sailors you need to get at least 40.000 in an attack to really improve the moral - or kill many sailors).

[Unregistered111]

I have the problem. After i have choose ship before sea battle, i can,t fire because the ship have no cannon. How i can to transport cannon from one ship to another?

[Japo]

I have the problem. After i have choose ship before sea battle, i can,t fire because the ship have no cannon. How i can to transport cannon from one ship to another?
They get distributed automatically. These are the rules for cannons and men if memory serves me right:
Every ship except the flagship gets up to two cannons, the flagship gets the rest.
Every cannon needs four sailors to man. So no more cannons can be used in battle than a quarter of the number of sailors in the flagship--or the maximum for the flagship class if there are enough sailors--the rest of cannons are just stored as cargo.
Every ship needs eight people at least. The flagship gets the rest of sailors. If you don't have enough men at least, you'll be asked to dispose of some ships.

[grikmok]

Everyone,

I can't install the game, I clicked on the INSTALL.exe and it led me to a DOS-based window that said to insert the floppy disk to be installed. Can someone please help?


Thanks!

[arete]

Use DOSbox. The games on AB are usually pre-installed. We also have DOSbox help guides on the forum.

[laiocfar]

Only the flagship(the ship that you pick to fight) carry cannons, only if your total number of cannons is over the max number allowed by the ship, your flagship will carry the max number of cannons allowed.

If you pick a ship to fight and it got zero cannon, you have zero cannons in your whole fleet.

[grikmok]

arete,

thanks! i dl-ed DOSBOX, works perfect. i do have another problem. whenever i play a saved game, i cannot sail. the screen just goes blank. do u have any ideas?


thanks!

[dote]

Use DOSbox. The games on AB are usually pre-installed. We also have DOSbox help guides on the forum.:

I need some basic help!
Actually I have downloaded and unziped pirates gold and also dosbox, but I have no clue how to install and run the program.:sick:
I have also tried to read about dosbox and other FAQ but still I have no idea how to get forward.
I love this game though played it alot in early 90's.
thank you all!

[The Fifth Horseman]

A Beginner's guide to DOSBox (http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showthread.php?t=14406) should get you started.

[Maxor127]

This game disappointed me. I wanted to like it since Pirates is one of my favorite games, but the sword fighting seemed to be a bit off and I didn't like the new interface for showing casualties. And I remember sailing being completely silent with no wind or wave sounds or anything and I couldn't tell if it was my computer or the game.

[cjk1995]

I'm searching for CD-ROM version (DOS and Windows). Do anybody have it?

[Maxor127]

I just have the Mac version on CD and I'm not sure why it's even on one since it's still not that big of a game on the CD, unless it has slightly better music and audio. It's only about 20 MB installed I think, if even that.

[laiocfar]

This game disappointed me. I wanted to like it since Pirates is one of my favorite games, but the sword fighting seemed to be a bit off and I didn't like the new interface for showing casualties. And I remember sailing being completely silent with no wind or wave sounds or anything and I couldn't tell if it was my computer or the game.

I also have some strange feeling about pirates gold. Its like i was looking for something more alike the very first game in the serie. There is a fan remake selfcalled Pirates II, i think that it is freeware and is based on old pirates!.

[gumpy]

I like the original Pirates better than Pirates Gold. :oh:

[BranjoHello]

Great title, but I don't have any reason to play this one since the remake was launched.

[TotalAnarchy]

Great title, but I don't have any reason to play this one since the remake was launched.

Man, I really wanted to ask you one time. Are your posts really necessary? I mean, how many one-line posts are you gonna do per day? If it's a great title, then say what's so great about it, if it sucks then specify why exactly. Even when you praise the game, I don't feel any love in your words, and when you criticize them, I don't hear the reasons. Both great games and bad games deserve more than one line in a fair appreciation.

[BranjoHello]

Man, I really wanted to ask you one time. Are your posts really necessary? I mean, how many one-line posts are you gonna do per day? If it's a great title, then say what's so great about it, if it sucks then specify why exactly. Even when you praise the game, I don't feel any love in your words, and when you criticize them, I don't hear the reasons. Both great games and bad games deserve more than one line in a fair appreciation.

Hehe, it would be unwise to discuss about necessarity of things. Something that seem necessary to you maybe don't seem necessary to me, and vice versa.
About the "length of posts", I don't believe that going into much detail is needed unless someone asks you for it.
About "love", well, I certainly don't love or hate every game that have my post in its thread, I have the power of liking and disliking. :D
I don't know what more info would you like from me about this title,
Sid Meier's Pirates! > Pirates Gold
is the case because everything that is good in Gold(graphics, sound, gameplay) is even better in later title, except for atmosphere which is on the same level in both.

[Oskatat]

i think you should consider the uses of a forum as opposed to a poll/vote. This is a place where people look for game info, but also for a 2nd opinion. "it's bad" isnt much of a useful opinion

________________

edited: the comments on posts is here because someone posted a few dozen times at various games with small notes along the lines of "I like it" "it sucks" and things like that. You can rate games at their page, this is for discussion. Just to keep people informed who read this later on and wonder what it is about :) have fun

[Aldarinn]

HELP!!!! This is the second time I've run into this problem and its making me feel sick cos I just got the silver train so PLEASE DO SOMETHING!!!! Thing is, I saved the game after sneaking into the Spanish town of Rio de la Hacha, after having robbed the silver train by raiding the neighbouring town. Now when I load the game the town pic comes up but as soon as I leave town the game hangs with an empty black screen. Please help me rescue my loot PLEASE!!! :wall:

[The one who flew]

Anyone wanna explain how the sword-fighting works in this version? In the first fight I just kept thrusting into my opponent high and low and in between. He seemed to block some, not all, at random. Like he was waving his sword up in his face and still my low poke ended up with the 'clang' sound. Also a stab through the middle played the metal 'clang' but still a red spot appeared in his torso as if the hit landed? :wacko:


Don't like the graphics much either, but that's probably because I grew up on the Amiga Pirates! and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlodQv4jWOY.
The character portraits are kinda ugly&messy. The pic of your "sailing master" after the starting duel, I'm not sure whether that's supposed to be a man or a woman. He/she/it wears some sort of dress but the face is kinda masculine. I like the icons in land battles though, the original Pirates!' graphics were pretty messy in that part IIRC.


I have issues with controls as well. Shift in fights don't seem to work properly. Maybe one attack becomes a slash, then the guy keeps thrusting even if I hold it down. Don't tell me I have to press shift again separately for every strike. IMAGINE IF YOU HAD TO DO THAT WHILE TYPING AND YOU HAD NO CAPS LOCK.

At sea turning is sluggish and strange. Keep turning and the ship does a weird 4 x 90 degree dance instead of a constant turning rate. In battle the sloop became 10 times more nimble/agile. Though maybe that's just some bonus that kicked in since I picked apprentice - but then why isn't that bonus in effect out at sea? In battles the arrow keys cease to function though. Key pressed does nothing, vigorous smashing might turn the ship one notch. Mouse buttons for turning left and right? :whops:

Gamepad doesn't seem to work in the game with joystick=auto in dosbox(unlike, say, OMF). Manual says: "You can play Pirates! Gold using a keyboard or a mouse in conjunction with a keyboard (we recommend the latter)." No joystick up in this bitch at all? C'mon.


All in all, a horrible version.



Looked up the Genesis version and I think that'd be more to my liking. Sort of cartoonified the original graphics, pretty decent.** Bigger/more detailed dueling sprites. The opponent changes up a little, can have a bandana, be a bald dude etc.

However, what's up with the walk-in-town interface in that one? Useless, sluggish, awful, just serves to slow down gameplay! :doh:

The swordfighting is pretty good, but again I don't like change(from Pirates!). Blocking doesn't seem to require directions, you just press the block button and your guy blocks most attacks(not all). Though it's sort of a good thing directional blocking isn't required, the attacks are about 5x faster than in Pirates! so that'd require pretty superhuman reflexes(sort of like the PC version).

Attacking also seems weird, once in a while you bust out a streetfighter-ish combo at double the normal attack speed and you push your opponent around half the battlefield. Don't know what controls it, I just kept the quick attack button pressed and alternated up and down, sometimes that got me the combo but othertimes the opponent interrupted the attack and landed a monster combo of his own.

The practice fencing option in the main menu is useful. Made up a better tactic than just keeping the attack button pressed and it seems pretty foolproof on swashbuckler. (Rapier: High slash -> low thrust x2, retreat a couple of steps, repeat) I'll have to play a real game and see if it works when the pirate starts aging and against different opponents.



Found out there's also an Amiga version of Pirates! Gold, CD32 even! Wow, that's gotta be great since the Amiga version was the best of the originals right? Wrong! Graphics are ported from the genesis, not improved. Worse actually, http://www.mobygames.com/game/genesis/pirates-gold/screenshots/gameShotId,519960/ vs http://www.mobygames.com/game/amiga-cd32/pirates-gold/screenshots/gameShotId,337228/. The CD audio isn't any good. PC has better music and speech clips. What a disappointment.



The latest remake(2004) had some good ideas but key elements of gameplay were dropped. Dumbed-down sword fighting with oh-so-very-repetitive cutscene-clips, no sea attacks on towns, dancing sucks, worthless treasure fleet, no silver train at all, no 1560 era for some reason. Indians/monks were a nice idea but not fully worked out, same thing with the named pirates.


Guess there just isn't a perfect version of Pirates! out there.

Pirates!
-Best sword fights
-No map (measuring the sun is about as fun as dancing in SMP!(2004))
-Amiga version looks and sounds great, but the sailing screen doesn't scroll like on the C64.

Pirates! Gold
-MAP! Oh god finally.
-Genesis and PC versions both have pros and cons I guess.

Sid Meier's Pirates!
-Best sailing (more than 8 directions for your ship to face)
-Best sounds (love the gibberish voice acting, crew singing sea shanties after plundering...)
-Other ships visible when sailing
-Settlements/pirate bays etc. a nice touch, makes the map less barren
-Supposedly more ships, but I in the originals they could've done the same thing and taken the ship sprites and re-sized them all for small, normal, big version of each :p Lazy graphics guys.
-A couple of more things to do
-Simpler sword fights with repetitive as fuck animations


Sucks. Maybe one day we'll get the ultimate Pirates! remake.



** After disabling the ugly plugin/shader thingy that came set up with the bundled emulator in the first hit on google. I don't think that a blurry mess = 'betr grafx' than a sharp pixelated image. Might suit some extremely cartoony games like pokemon or whatnot but anything with detailed pixel work becomes horrible to look at with any of the usual filter/shader thingies (hq2x,SuperSai etc.)

[tristanzz]

Any advice on these would be great.

1. What's your favorite trait? I've been liking the navigation now that I've tried it. Medicine would be good, too, though I wonder what the tradeoff is between having a longer career and sailing faster!

2. Health appears to decline to "fine" after a couple of years. I only squeezed in two expeditions (but they were monsters), and I decided to retire to avoid winding up in poor health. I picked up quite a few red spots in combat and I was wondering if these speed up your decline :whops:

3. Practicing fencing - I think the manual says this blows a week, but you get a higher skill in fencing after doing it a few times. Might be nice if you are waiting for the treasure fleet/silver train schedule, but again, health worries...

4. Land skirmishes - you can move both pirate units simultaneously if you hold down Enter. But what if you want to make both of them stop? You could park both of them at the edge of a forest and cream a garrison unit if it's running by to where it last saw one of your units. As it stands, though, since you can't park both units it seems better to sneak them both through the forests and reach the fort. They won't attack unless they are standing still.

5. Favorite era - mine is the Silver Empire. Huge towns, lots of galleons and war galleons laden with stuff (these ships sell for a ton of money, too). Drawback: no sloops or frigates :(

[Oskatat]

At sea turning is sluggish and strange. Keep turning and the ship does a weird 4 x 90 degree dance instead of a constant turning rate. In battle the sloop became 10 times more nimble/agile. Though maybe that's just some bonus that kicked in since I picked apprentice - but then why isn't that bonus in effect out at sea?

i can actually only reply to this one of your questions
There are other ships with better turning, you'll just have to switch your "main" around
A sloop is an enlarged rowboat with a sail. It was often used to approach targets against wind. Having some oars, it was much more maneavrable. As you can see, its a small boat, pretty weak, but those characteristics make it good

as historical interest, the name is from the dutch word sloep, which is also the word for a life saving boat
The sloep was often deployed from bigger vessels in the way that helicopters can be deployed from modern battle cruisers. It had better maneuvrability than the "parent" ship, was a smaller target and functioned independently.

its main benefit was that when the dutch were at war with the spanish, the spanish galleons tended to long range heavy batteries, with slow recharge times. Deploying "Sloepen" was basically a Chaff maneuvre, to draw fire, since a galleon could usually only target one sloop at a time. Since the cannons were based high above the waterline for long distance, they couldnt target the fast incoming ships that were skimming the waves

After all, its the dutch that took the treasure fleet :) Well, half of it plusminus



the only real question is, why is the sloop a self standing vessel? its coastal only, hardly sea worthy

btw, a modern sloep usually includes a mechanical sail, space to bunk down and an engine. still pretty usefull to pirates no?

[Japo]

After all, its the dutch that took the treasure fleet :) Well, half of it plusminus

Tax refunds! I like that. :D

[Oskatat]

some Dutch admiral figured it was easier to attack the seperate pieces of the silver fleet (they gathered at 2 different places and came together at havana, mid american treasures, with south american treasures), the game accurately reflects this more or less. However, somehow, the 2nd part of the fleet not arriving anywhere near schedule made the spanish wary and attacking the 2nd part failed (yes they used sloops)

from the 80 years war i love the most that te dutch mainly financed it by selling weapons to the spanjards (spain, the enemy). And, as in Colonize, many people realize, The Dutch never had many colonies around their, but they sure loved their piracy.... Buccanearancy? Privateering. They werent pirates ofc. Accident happen you know

[Frodo]

Now sold on GOG (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/pirates_gold_plus/)