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Because fuck it, the old threads are hella dead and this game could always use some attention.
Sea Dogs 4: Pirates of the Caribbean 3: Age of Pirates 2: City of Abandoned Ships 1 is what happens if you let Russians play Sid Meier's Pirates and decide that they can do better. By Crom, they almost did.
Due warning, this game is as Russian as they get. Outdated graphics, indifferent writing, an emphasis on certain aspects of "realism", absolutely obscure-ass mechanics that you discover only by playing the game and figuring shit out, quests that run the gamut from simple fedex quests(like actual Fedex jobs of delivering cargo) to utterly batshit gigs that are the equivalent of looking for aneedle in the haystack fucking ink-drop in the entire goddamn Caribbean waters. And the handholding. Or rather, the complete lack of it.
There are plenty of games that can be daunting to newcomers, this is one of them.
On the other hand, it's an amazingly open region experience, and you can definitely see your character progress from landlubber to sea dog, master fencer etc. There's a whole lot of RPG in the game, from choosing your character's initial build, to being able to work for five different factions (England, Frogland, Holland, Spicland and the Pirates). And then initial scramble to have a sustainable economy thing going.
And because starting this game and getting it going can be hard, here's a bunch of free advice:
Oh, and be careful if you hit on the barmaids too often.
Screenshots:
Your basic character screen. Skills are divided into personal skills and ship skills, however your stealth and authority come more into play in ship actions rather than land ones. Mind you Stealth is basically your stat to avoid fights, in my experience and given my proclivities, it's the hardest skill to raise. Fortunately, there are items available to boost every damn skill, good luck finding them.
Also the above stat layout is how you build a barbarian pirate. (Barbary pirates just ain't in this game though)
Running about town. In a non-hostile town you can quickly travel to key locations, saving yourselves from running into random task givers who want you to find their spouse and what not.
Fighting undead in caves. While deadly in the start, evventually your character can become nigh unstoppable. Just watch out for poison and guns.
Information about your ship, your cargo and crew status. Overcrowding your ship to above its max capacity is worth the morale loss IF you can handle the upkeep. It speeds up your ship and gives you a better advantage in a boarding action.
A record of kills and shit, good for maybe little else other than figuring out which nation you're pissing off.
Your balance sheet, basically. Tracks your loans and savings. While you don't need the former, consider depositing any excess cash you might have, not only are some expenses based on a percentage of your loot at hand, you WILL suddenly find that your income can't keep up with expenses.
The trade book. Tells you how the prices are in any port you visit. Useful only for the merchants.
The nation relation log. Tells you who's at war with whom, how each nation feels about you, and what flag you're flying.
Mind you, just because I'm neutral to Spain, doesn't mean I can waltz in port with an English flag. Some lessons are learnt the hard way. Let this not be one such lesson to you.
A record of the items in my possession. These can be totems that give various boni and mali, weapons, flintlock pistols, curatives, trinkets, cuirasses and maps.
Let's have some links as well, shall we.
Sea Dogs: City of Abandoned Ships on GoG: https://af.gog.com/game/sea_dogs_city_of_abandoned_ships?as=1649904300
The combined mod bugfix-only version: http://www.moddb.com/mods/city-of-abandoned-ships-combined-mods/downloads/combined-modpack-v17
And here's agris' fix of the bugfix mod: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u0hJ_SZ0ijjyItdG1Kf6cFSVUcT6QDAo/view
Combined Mod V 3.2: http://www.moddb.com/mods/city-of-abandoned-ships-combined-mods/downloads/combined-mod-v320
Ruskie mods: http://corsairs-harbour.ru/downloads.php
Sea Dogs 4: Pirates of the Caribbean 3: Age of Pirates 2: City of Abandoned Ships 1 is what happens if you let Russians play Sid Meier's Pirates and decide that they can do better. By Crom, they almost did.
Due warning, this game is as Russian as they get. Outdated graphics, indifferent writing, an emphasis on certain aspects of "realism", absolutely obscure-ass mechanics that you discover only by playing the game and figuring shit out, quests that run the gamut from simple fedex quests(like actual Fedex jobs of delivering cargo) to utterly batshit gigs that are the equivalent of looking for a
There are plenty of games that can be daunting to newcomers, this is one of them.
On the other hand, it's an amazingly open region experience, and you can definitely see your character progress from landlubber to sea dog, master fencer etc. There's a whole lot of RPG in the game, from choosing your character's initial build, to being able to work for five different factions (England, Frogland, Holland, Spicland and the Pirates). And then initial scramble to have a sustainable economy thing going.
And because starting this game and getting it going can be hard, here's a bunch of free advice:
- Mods. There're about two different ones out there, The Combined Mod, and the Gentlemen of Fortune mod. Both are sizable upgrades to the base game, but the Combined Mod is reportedly much more stable, while the Gentlemen of Fortune has some Typical Modder drama going on. My suggestion? Ignore both, just get a hold of the Combined Mod Bugfix only version. It clears most of the terrible game-crashers, and adds a few convenience features that don't screw the game too much.
- The Peter Blood start. Skip it, the book is much better. Seriously, read the fucking book you mongoloid.
- Fencing. It's not an elegant system but does its job well enough. The key to winning most fights is to block your opponent's regular hits, parry his heavy attacks and lay onto him once he's exhausted. If you're surrounded though, get your ass to the nearest chokepoint, failing that, try to parry more instead of blocking. You'll find better weapons as you go about, doesn't matter what your style is, it evens out eventually. Fighting man-to-man is also (allegedly) the best way to raise your rank.
- Stats. Don't get fooled by the P.I.R.A.T.E.S! acronym, bloody thing is just S.P.E.C.I.A.L. renamed. No matter what your build, remember to invest in Reaction so you have some energy to fight with, and Talent to increase your skill gain. Honestly you don't need much investment in Insight, Authority or Success.
- As far as perks go, get a hold of Musket Volley and Berserker as fast as you can. Both are vital to boarding actions, especially when you run into enemy crew that outnumbers you vastly.
- Officers. If you plan on boarding and looting enemy ships, Officers of low repute will be more loyal than the good guys. Officer loyalty rises and falls with your actions, and doesn't depend on your reputation. Just something to keep in mind.
- Naivgation skills rise faster when you're riding a storm, make judicious use of it, your ship can still get beat up something fierce. Remember, you need to have minimum Navigation rank, or a Navigator with the requisites, to handle ships of Superior Class.
- Don't worry too much about Accuracy and gunnery skills, once you start using ships with a large number of cannons they'll raise much faster.
Oh, and be careful if you hit on the barmaids too often.
Screenshots:
Also the above stat layout is how you build a barbarian pirate. (Barbary pirates just ain't in this game though)
Information about your ship, your cargo and crew status. Overcrowding your ship to above its max capacity is worth the morale loss IF you can handle the upkeep. It speeds up your ship and gives you a better advantage in a boarding action.
Mind you, just because I'm neutral to Spain, doesn't mean I can waltz in port with an English flag. Some lessons are learnt the hard way. Let this not be one such lesson to you.
Let's have some links as well, shall we.
Sea Dogs: City of Abandoned Ships on GoG: https://af.gog.com/game/sea_dogs_city_of_abandoned_ships?as=1649904300
The combined mod bugfix-only version: http://www.moddb.com/mods/city-of-abandoned-ships-combined-mods/downloads/combined-modpack-v17
And here's agris' fix of the bugfix mod: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u0hJ_SZ0ijjyItdG1Kf6cFSVUcT6QDAo/view
Combined Mod V 3.2: http://www.moddb.com/mods/city-of-abandoned-ships-combined-mods/downloads/combined-mod-v320
Ruskie mods: http://corsairs-harbour.ru/downloads.php
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putas and prisoners are very much more economic.
