User Guide

Enable Advanced Lighting
Defaults to off. Certain higher-level video cards will be able to dis-
play 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.
Quit Game
Click on this to quit Pirates!
Introduction
Welcome to Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Welcome to the Caribbean, Captain! There's a whole new world
here, a world full of adventure and ripe with plunder. Rich, fat treas-
ure ships carry South American silver and gold back to Spain, and
French, Dutch and English vessels carry booty only slightly less valu-
able. The boisterous buccaneer towns teem with lusty pirates seek-
ing a bold commander to lead them to wealth untold. Constantly at
war with one another, the Great Powers are always in search of
doughty privateers to take to the seas and do their fighting for them.
Yes, it’s a world of high adventure, where brave and skilled men bat-
tle for treasure and glory. Those who succeed will achieve great fame
and personal wealth - the bones of those who fail will forever lie in
Davy Jones's locker.
To New Players
Greetings to our new players! Do not be alarmed at the size of this
manual - though Pirates! features rich and subtle gameplay, it is also
surprisingly easy to learn. If you check out the Game Controls pages
you’ll be well on your way to piratical greatness. Then dive into a
new game. If you get into trouble you can always hit shift+p to Pause
and dig into the manual as necessary.
In the meantime, please bear with us for a moment while we talk to
some old friends, and then we'll have you at sea in no time at all!

Sid Meier’s Pirates!
®
Book One
To Players of Earlier Versions of Pirates!
To fans of original Pirates! and Pirates! Gold - welcome back! We’ve
made great efforts to update Pirates! for the 21st century, while keep-
ing true to the gameplay and spirit of the original classic game.
In this version of Pirates! we have added a number of new game ele-
ments and changed or removed others, but a veteran of any of the
older versions of Pirates! will be able to jump right into a game. Here’s
a quick summary of the major changes to the game:
What’s Gone
Ship versus Land Combat: Ship Versus Land Combat is gone. Now,
when you choose to attack a town your men are deployed ashore and
you engage the enemy in “Land Combat” (see pages 58-63).
What’s Changed
Insufficient Crew: In the old version of Pirates! you had to have eight
crewmen to man any vessel, and four additional crewmen to man each
cannon. If you had not enough men to fire all of your cannon, the
unmanned cannon never fired. If you did not have eight men to sail
a vessel, that vessel surrendered or had to be abandoned.
In the current game each ship-type has its own “minimum effective
crew” stats _ that is, the number of men you need to sail a vessel at full
effectiveness (i.e., at full speed). You can sail a vessel with fewer than
its minimum effective crew, but the ship will be much slower and less
manoeuvrable. The ship can fire all of its cannon in battle, but it will
take far longer for the reduced crew to reload the guns after firing.
Note that as a ship takes damage its minimum crew requirement
increases.
What’s New
Multi-Ship Combat: Occasionally you’ll encounter two ships sailing
together in formation, typically a merchantman and an escorting war
vessel. If you attack either of these vessels, your flagship will have to
fight both of them at the same time.
Sneaking In and Out of Cities: The original game’s “die-roll” sneak
has been replaced by an action sequence. If you attempt to sneak
into an unfriendly city, the scene will change to display an overhead
view of the city. You then have to guide your pirate through the
streets, avoiding or knocking out the patrolling guards until you
reach your destination.

Book One Sid Meier’s Pirates!
®
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