PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q Table of Contents 27/10/04 17:52 Page 3 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S Book 1 - Getting Started......... 4 Dancing with First Things First .................... 5 the Governor’s Daughter ...... 67 The ReadMe File ................... 5 Promotions ............................. 71 Installation ............................... 5 Missions and Quests ............. 74 Saving and Loading Games.... 6 Pirates of the Caribbean ....... 77 Options Screen .....
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:52 Page 4 Book One Sid Meier’s Pirates!® FIRST THINGS FIRST The ReadMe File The Sid Meier’s Pirates! ® CD-ROM game has a ReadMe file where you can view both the License Agreement and updated information about the game. We strongly encourage you to read this file in order to benefit from changes made after this manual went to print. The ReadMe file is available once you install the game.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:52 Page 6 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book One Installing DirectX ® Book One Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Options Screen Sid Meier’s Pirates! requires DirectX® 9.0c or higher in order to run. If you do not have DirectX® 9.0c or higher installed on your computer, click “Yes” when asked if you would like to install it.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:52 Page 8 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book One Enable Advanced Lighting Defaults to off. Certain higher-level video cards will be able to display advanced lighting effects and softer shadows with a possible reduction in performance. Modify your Ship’s Sails Brings up a screen that allows you to choose your fleet’s sail emblem and flag.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:52 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 10 Book One Dancing: To impress a governor’s daughter these days, a pirate must not only be wealthy and successful, but he must also be light on his feet. As you romance her, a governor’s daughter might invite your pirate to a ball. You will then move your pirate around the dance-floor, matching your partner’s movements in time with the music.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:52 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 12 Book Two Book Two Sid Meier’s Pirates!® The Main Menu Your Goals A Word About me, which means an open-ended ga is ! tes acera Pi r’s Sid Meie u want to be a pe t you want. If yo ha w ant do w h u uc yo m If y . can do so you can prett with anyone, you o. to ht at fig th t no do d n an ca r u ful trade everybody, yo on ke ta d ’s an or rn te ra eep every gove to be a reckless pi ro, seeking to sw he .
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:52 Page 14 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Two Useful Ga m e Information Pausing the Game Press the Pause key (“Shift-p”) to pause the game during an action sequence - while sailing the Caribbean, engaged in a ship battle, land battle, or duel, while ashore with a landing party, while dancing, and so forth. Time is already frozen while you’re on an information screen, at a menu, or in a conversation, so you don’t need to pause then.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:52 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 16 Book Three tain Sydney irs of Cap follow if ye The Memo at ye must th s le ru e re ly th There be on te. ra pi a ppy crew wants to be happy. A ha ew cr y ur yo s keep le an unhapp First, alway ask ‘em, whi ye if , ld . or g boat the w Dutch herrin will take on t fightin’ a ar ap ll fa t the l il crew w ard. If ye go from windw be m ‘e ye t if hi d s ne - an Second, alway almost anyo at be n ca u e yo weather gaug lot easier.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:52 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 18 Book Three The difficulty level affects a number of aspects of the game. The higher the difficulty level, the tougher your opponents in action sequences - ship battles, dueling, and so forth. In addition, it is harder to recruit crewmen and keep them happy at the higher levels. On the other hand, as the difficulty level rises you get to keep a larger portion of the booty when you divide the plunder.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 20 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Other Ships: Other ships will appear on the map when they get within sight of your vessel. Each ship has a coloured strip, sail emblem and flag denoting its nationality: black for pirates, yellow for Spain, Orange for the Dutch, red for England, and blue for France. If unsure, you can learn a ship’s nationality and type by approaching the other vessel or by moving your cursor over it.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 22 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Manning Your Ship Enter City You need a certain minimum number of sailors to man your ship at peak effectiveness. If you have fewer than that number of crew, your ship will be slower and your crew will take longer to reload cannon during combat. To enter a port city just steer your ship into the city.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 24 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Change Your Flagship Information Screens When you begin a game of Pirates! you have just one ship. Once you capture another vessel and choose to keep it, you’ll then have two ships in your fleet. Your original vessel is designated your “flagship.” It is the vessel in the lead; any other vessels trail behind her.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 26 Book Three Status Screen This screen displays your pirate’s accomplishments, including how many promotions he’s received, how many Top Ten Pirates he’s defeated, how many buried treasures he’s discovered, his personal wealth, and so forth. Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Quest Log The Quest Log shows the name of any villain you might be pursuing, what he did to you (e.g.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 28 Book Three Perils of the Sea ptain Sydney The Memoirs of Ca nch frigate was fightin’ this Fre I remember once we e gat is more like es from this French fri heh, running for our liv and the winds r, my brig, Happy Reape the truth. We was in t bought me jus d ha I .
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 30 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Weather Glass and Barometer These special items will help you avoid storm damage while sailing near or through storms. A mysterious traveler might have one of these items for sale, from time to time.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 32 Book Three Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Cannon-Fire The Memoirs of Captain Sydney It must have been in ’65, or maybe ’66, me ‘n’ crusty old Cap’n Briggs were jawin’ about which ship was best for piratin’ in. “A Royal sloop,” sez I. “The bugger’s fast in light airs, can turn on a farthing, and carries enough guns to put the fear o’ heaven in them fat trade galleons the Dons carry their gold in.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 34 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Fire a Broadside Sea Bat tles Overview The game mechanics of ship battles are quite simple: you steer your ship, you raise or lower your sails, and you fire off broadsides. The challenge lies in learning how to use these simple tools to their best advantage in the ever-changing sea.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 36 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Chain Shot: Chain shot consists of two smaller balls linked together by a chain. When fired, the balls tend to separate and begin spinning, primarily doing damage to the enemy’s sails. Chain shot has a medium range: it fires a shorter distance than round shot, but longer than grape shot.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 38 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Rescuing Crew When a ship loses crew, some of them may be blown overboard where they cling to wreckage and plead to be rescued. You can retrieve floundering crewmen by running your vessel over their location. Picking up Cargo A ship that takes an especially hard shot may have some of its cargo blown right overboard into the sea. You can retrieve lost cargo by running over the barrels.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 40 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Once you have finished plundering your victim, you return to the Navigation screen. If you have chosen to take the captured vessel as a prize, she will take up station behind you. Ship Battles and World Opinion The Caribbean Sea is a fairly small and pretty much everyone knows what everyone is up to. The various nations _ Spain, France, England, and The Netherlands _ watch your actions with great interest.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 42 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® F e n c i n g a n d S w o r d p l ay The Crew Battle Overview While you are dueling the enemy captain, your crew is fighting the enemy crew. Every few moments, one side or the other loses some men, depending upon the current state of the duel and the size, skill, and morale of the opposing forces. The 17th century was a violent age.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 44 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Thrust The thrust is a quick, straight attack, aimed at your opponent’s torso. This attack takes little time to develop, but does less damage than the chop or slash. To execute a thrust attack push the Thrust key (number pad 4). Hit Result: Opponent is driven back 1 paces. Counter: Parry Slash This is a low attack, aimed at your opponent’s legs. The slash takes some time to develop, but is quite deadly when it lands.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 46 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Victory or Defeat The duel ends when one dueller is pushed overboard (or up against a wall) or when a dueller surrenders. Nowhere to Run When the battle begins, both duellers are in the middle of the duelling “stage” (typically in the middle of a ship’s main deck). Each dueller is pushed back by his enemy’s successful hits; if hit enough, a dueller is pushed back to the very edge of the stage.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 48 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Cities The City Menu Cities are the major permanent European settlements in the Caribbean. Cities’ names, locations, and nationalities remain constant from game to game in a single era. There are a variety of places you can visit in a city. Use you mouse (or keyboard) to navigate this menu and carry on conversations with people in town.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 50 Book Three your lost relatives. Further, they may have valuable special items or maps to lost cities for you if they think you are worthy. If you persist long enough, a governor’s daughter may agree to marry you - providing you with a great deal of prestige in Caribbean society. You can impress a governor’s daughter by gaining high rank (but only from her nationality; see “Ranks” below).
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 52 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Pirate Haven These are temporary settlements where pirates gather to recruit crewmen and plot their next mission. If you’re villainous enough, you may be able to convince the pirate captain to launch an assault upon a nearby city. The “top ten” pirates are each based in a different pirate haven. Pirate Havens contain poor and primitive taverns, shipwrights, merchants, and so on.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 54 Book Three Book Three Other map clues are smaller and visible only once you form a landing party and go ashore. You must disembark your vessel in order to see arched rocks, Indian totems, dead trees, etc. In order to find a treasure you need to spot a visible landmark appearing on the treasure map and then disembark nearby. You can then follow the other clues until you reach the treasure.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 56 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Months of Food Remaining: Once you run out of food, your men will begin to starve. Crew Size and Current Morale: How many crewmen are in your landing party and the state of their morale. Compass: Helps you figure out which direction you’re going. Current Quests: Info on people you’re trying to track down. Current Treasure Maps: A shortcut to your treasure maps.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 58 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Book Three Overview Land Bat tles Sydney rs of Captain e boys The Memoi ’66, me ‘n’ th ’65, or maybe o’ d that ng ar ri he sp e e th W . men a lesson It was back in ch ut D ey em th be d that may th time to teach e, and we figure se decided it was as , w ao re ac he ur T C to take it.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 60 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Unit Types Your Forces You have three different kinds of units at your command. Pirates: Armed with cutlasses and boarding axes, pirates are very good at close (hand-to-hand) combat. They cannot make ranged attacks, however. Buccaneers: Armed with muskets, buccaneers are very good at ranged attacks and can fire at enemy units within 4 paces. They are not good at close combat, however.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 62 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Terrain There are four basic types of terrain in Pirates! Clear Terrain: Open country. Units attacked while in clear terrain get no defensive bonus. Cavalry units get an attack bonus when attacking enemy units in clear terrain. Trees: Units in trees are invisible until an enemy unit moves adjacent to them. Trees provide a defensive bonus. Cavalry units are penalized when attacking units in trees.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 64 Book Three Sneaking About Town The Memoirs of Captain Sydney I’d been chasin’ Baron Raymondo for like six months, because I’d been told he knew where my long-lost sister was bein’ held. I finally heard tell he was holed up in Saint Martin, which was sort of a problem, because them Dutchmen hadn ’t liked me much since I sacked Curacao. Sure enough, when I appro ached the harbor Saint Martin’s guns opened up on my ship.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 66 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Moving Around See the Game Controls pages for instructions on moving around town. Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Da n c i n g w i t h t h e G o v e r n o r ’ s D au g h t e r Walking This is your regular pace. You’re moving slowly and quietly, paying close attention to your surroundings. Guards will not be able to hear your movements (though they will see you if they’re looking in your direction, of course).
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 68 Book Three No matter how dashing, no matter how handsome - if a pirate wishes to win the heart of a governor’s daughter, he’d better learn to dance. Heart Monitor Your Partner Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® attempt to make the manoeuvre in time with the music. If you pick the appropriate manoeuvre, your partner is happy.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 70 Book Three Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® The End of the Dance Pirouette Right: You and your partner perform a counterclockwise spin. Pirouette Left: You and your partner spin clockwise. Missteps If you make an incorrect manoeuvre or don’t make any manoeuvre in time, you stumble and she frowns.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 72 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three In addition to the in-game benefits of rank, promotion also feed into your overall “Fame” score, which helps determine your final score when you retire. How to Gain Promotions Promotions are issued by city governors.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 74 Book Three Duke A nobleman of the second rank, the duke is superior to all commoners, barons, counts and marquis, and inferior only to kings and princes. A duke is addressed as “Your grace” by his inferiors (which includes just about everybody). Benefit: Ship upgrades are free for dukes. Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® ter. Your first step: go to San Juan and confront the evil Spaniard.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 76 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Completing Missions When you complete a mission you gain that nation’s gratitude - which might result in an immediate promotion or at least several steps toward your next promotion. You gain Fame, as well. There is no penalty for failing to complete a mission. Villains There are many villains wandering the Caribbean, and a surprisingly large number of them have done you or your family wrong or are wanted by the State.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 78 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® supremacy on the Top Ten Pirates list. The top ten pirates are extremely dangerous. None of them like you much - especially if you’ve dug up their buried treasure! you defeat a top ten pirate in battle, he immediately falls to the bottom of the list. Unnamed Pirates Pirate Havens are small temporary settlements scattered in out-ofthe-way corners of the Caribbean.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 80 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Dividing the Plunder Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® How to Divide the Plunder To divide the plunder, click on the “Divide the Plunder” entry in any city or settlement’s main menu. ey of Captain Sydn The Memoirs divide the long as possible to as t ai w s s p’n ca te A lot o’ pira yoff - all of yer lad try to delay the pa ey th as hy ick w s qu ow plunder.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 82 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Starting Another Voyage Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!® The date and time are displayed on the Navigation screen. If you choose to begin another voyage, several months pass while you recruit crewmen and gather supplies. Eventually all is ready, and you return to the game. The following lists the amount of time that each game activity takes.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Page 84 Book Three The End The Memoirs of Captain Sydney Retire? Me? Who said anythin’ about retiri n’? I been on a hiatus this past twenty-five years is all - I ain’t bloody retired, by the Powers, and I’ll keelhaul the lubber who sez I’m too bloody old to take to the seas again.
PiratesPC_ManInner_GB+Q 27/10/04 17:53 Page 86 Sid Meier’s Pirates!® Book Three Book Three Ga m e C o n t ro l s Ship Battle Information Screens Action Number Pad Status Fleet Status Personal Status Captain's Log Treasure Maps World Map Top Ten Pirates List Piratopedia System Options Load / Save Quest Log Mouse Click on associated icon Click on associated icon Click on associated icon Click on associated icon Click on associated icon Click on associated icon Click on associated icon Click o
