Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Completed Let's voyage to the New Horizons in Uncharted Waters II!

Kattze

Andhaira
Andhaira
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
4,722
Location
Babang Ilalim
Errol's plate is much more cheaper than the Crusader one and class-star as well.

Also, go through Siberia to Asia I dare you. :troll:
 

Damned Registrations

Furry Weeaboo Nazi Nihilist
Joined
Feb 24, 2007
Messages
14,983
Also, go through Siberia to Asia I dare you. :troll:

I don't suppose 3 actually models the globe properly so there's less distance between any given longitudes at a high latitude as opposed to near the equator? It's not super important but it's kind of weird that it's basically the same distance from africa to the americas as it is from england.
 

RK47

collides like two planets pulled by gravity
Patron
Joined
Feb 23, 2006
Messages
28,396
Location
Not Here
Dead State Divinity: Original Sin
It's already beaten when he maxed luck and exploited the gold quest bros.
 

Monstrous Bat

Cipher
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Messages
638
Also, go through Siberia to Asia I dare you. :troll:
Actually, I've done this before. Back in my elementary school days, when I first played UW2, when I didn't even know how the world map looked like. After something like two months of sailing, my fleet barely managed to get to a port before everybody starved to death.

Good times.
I don't suppose 3 actually models the globe properly so there's less distance between any given longitudes at a high latitude as opposed to near the equator?
No it didn't. Hard to blame them either, this thing sounds like it'd be an absolute nightmare to code.
 

Monstrous Bat

Cipher
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Messages
638
The LP's still alive, it's just that writing the next update is taking forever (FYI the next update contains 340 images). Also I've discovered this thing called Nobunaga's Ambition VI which isn't helping matters.
 

Kattze

Andhaira
Andhaira
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
4,722
Location
Babang Ilalim
The LP's still alive, it's just that writing the next update is taking forever (FYI the next update contains 340 images). Also I've discovered this thing called Nobunaga's Ambition VI which isn't helping matters.
Is this translated to English? I've only played Lord of Darkness and Nobunaga's Ambition (I?)
 

Monstrous Bat

Cipher
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Messages
638
The LP's still alive, it's just that writing the next update is taking forever (FYI the next update contains 340 images). Also I've discovered this thing called Nobunaga's Ambition VI which isn't helping matters.
Is this translated to English? I've only played Lord of Darkness and Nobunaga's Ambition (I?)
Don't think it is, no.

Around The World

u03001_zpse77ad662.png

Time to start the adventure proper.

u03002_zpsf5771335.png

Certain regions appear on the world map as deserts. It's another nice touch of the game, though the desert texture is used less than you'd think.

u03003_zps40ccb649.png

Sailing down the Nile, we eventually discovered another village.

Now, villages. Exploration is pretty simplistic in UW2 - every village has one, exactly one, discovery associated with it. You land on the village, search a bit, discover something, then move on. There's a total of about 100 villages in the entire game, but only 50 of them, chosen randomly, are actually generated in each game. Yes, this means that in every game, half of the discoveries are actually impossible to find. This is completely arbitrary and retarded and I'm so glad that the later games did away with this shit.

u03004_zpsc9d5eb52.png

Sometimes the discovery associated with a village is a monster, and you'll lose a portion of your crew. The more crew you have, the more crew you'll lose. If the commodore has high swordplay and high battle level, you may take less casualties.

u03005_zps92dea724.png

Our discovery is the Crocodile, a C-rank discovery.

u03006_zps23b331a9.png

After being attacked by a monster, don't forgot to check if there's still enough crew assigned to navigation, or the fleet may not sail at the maximum speed.

u03007_zps665d0cf0.png

Sailing further south, we discovered another village. Now seems like a good time to explain what the various commands related to villages do. Search lets you search for discoveries. Entertain costs two units of food and increases the villagers' friendship level by 5. Plunder gives you some food, but you'll lose some crew AND take a big luck hit, so plundering a pretty bad idea.

u03008_zpsc4f4d939.png

While low-value discoveries like the Rosetta Stone and Crocodile can be discovered by simply searching, finding high-value discoveries is a bit more troublesome. What shall we do now?

u03009_zps763c01a6.png

If your attempt to find discoveries is unsuccessful, you should entertain the villagers a bit.

u03010_zps3803af6a.png

They are? Good. Let's try searching again.

u03011_zpsa5d754e4.png

Success! :incline: Most discoveries in UW2 can only be discovered if your friendship level with the local villagers is high enough. The more valuable the discovery is, the higher the friendship requirement.

u03012_zpsd92bfd77.png

As for our discovery, it's the Nubia Pyramid.

u03013_zpsbc9120c4.png

Another village, another discovery.

u03014_zpsf97d48fd.png

u03015_zps418e6965.png

It's a Baobab tree.

u03016_zps333e9774.png

NPC fleets may occasionally (very occasionally) appear in the Nile.

u03017_zps15962822.png

This time, it's... Khayr the pirate. I'm not sure what he is doing here.

u03018_zpsdac89d59.png

u03019_zpsb0b857b5.png

Our final discovery in the Nile is the Tessisat Falls. Oddly, I can't seem to find any infomation about this thing. Wikipedia doesn't have an article about it, and googling Tessisat Falls only returns some pages about UW2.

Anyway, our expedition to the Nile netted us a total of 4 discoveries. This isn't terrible, but isn't very good either. Normally I would expect to get at least one B-rank discovery in the Nile, but this time we just got a bunch of C-rank discoveries. Oh well.

u03020_zps4b02d35c.png

We discovered the port of Cairo on our way back. Sadly, the Suez Canal doesn't exist yet, so we can't actually get to Cairo without going throught the Red Sea. Also, the fleet's lookout range is severely reduced during the night, which is why we didn't discover Cairo earlier.

u03021_zpse8c1541c.png

We returned to the port of Alexandria after 27 days of sailing.

u03022_zpsc01fc6a9.png

u03023_zpsbc29d4fe.png

u03024_zps1db2809c.png

u03025_zpseadac67f.png

u03026_zpsb0b28441.png

As we entered the port, nearly everybody in our fleet gained a navagation level. The amount of navagation experience gained is determined by how many consecutive days you have spent sailing. The experience gain increases exponentially as you sail for a longer time, so you would get much more experience from a 30-day expedition than a 15-day one.

u03027_zps45c02b03.png

We resupplied at Alexandria, then set sail again for Pisa.

u03028_zps407f21e5.png

Time to find our sponsor to convert our discoveries to money!

u03029_zpsd4a89ab9.png

u03030_zps808a4827.png

The sponsor's response to your discovery depends on the level of the discovery. The Duke was very unimpressed bu our discovery of the Rosetta Stone, so the reward is pretty poor as well.

u03031_zps4a81a199.png

u03032_zps6549cb73.png

The C-rank discoveries proved much more valuable.

u03033_zps83236f69.png

u03034_zps7de36768.png

u03035_zpsd0d8353e.png

u03036_zps5139284d.png

u03037_zpsc961acf7.png

u03038_zps422039a7.png

u03039_zps4fdf521f.png

In the end, our expedition to the Nile earned us a grand total of about 20,000 gold coins. Not that great, but it's a good start.

u03040_zpsa9c765de.png

Our Galleon is really too slow to be used for adventuring, though, so I began searching for a La Reale. Unfortunately, those tend to be rather difficult to find.

u03041_zpsf2370d0f.png

Oh, come think about it, I don't think we've checked the item shop in Seville.

u03042_zpse04a5b28.png

u03043_zpsd853f186.png

Here, we found a Basterd (?) Sword, which is an A-rank weapon. It's quite powerful and reasonably cheap. Still, we don't need it right now.

u03044_zps948ab9c8.png

Our search for a La Reale led us to the port of Nantes. Unfortunately, we still couldn't find what we're looking for. We'll have to go further north.

u03045_zps36d02872.png

Perhaps the shipyard at London will have a La Reale?

u03046_zps47ce26e8.png

Sigh.

u03047_zpscb75fc54.png

u03048_zpsf9a4a584.png

Hmph, as if we care about processing industry... Patrician III this is not.

u03049_zps2a24d5e3.png

In the guild of Antwerp, I saw a Buy Goods quest. These quests are notable for being the most profitable quests other than the Collect Debt ones, so we took the quest. London is close enough after all.

u03050_zps5f784db2.png

The head trader at London wanted us to buy 3 units of silver for him.

u03051_zpsf6e9c527.png

The reward for completing this quest is 11,000 gold coins, which is quite a bit more than pretty much any other quest. However, this is only half of the actual reward.

u03052_zpsd5391f4b.png

u03053_zpse5d59b78.png

If you accept to undertake the quest, the head trader will give you an advance of 10,000 gold coins. That means you actually get a total of 21,000 gold coins from the quest! Of course, you'll spend some of these coins on buying the desired goods, but that's a very minor expense.

u03054_zps09fd5f10.png

We went to Genoa to buy the silver. Maybe silver could also be purchased at other ports, but I don't remember where.

u03055_zps9fea3514.png

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw there's a La Reale at the shipyard of Genoa.

u03056_zps4c2ef84c.png

u03057_zpsddfa17a9.png

If you have a bookkeeper with the Accounting skill, he'll tell you for how low a price can you buy the ship.

u03058_zps531f5069.png

He's not always right, though, so it's prudent to offer a bit more than what your bookkeeper suggests.

u03059_zps8d862d2e.png

:yeah:

u03060_zps3d1a975c.png

I ended up naming our new ship after some Codexian celebrity because I couldn't come up with a better name.

u03061_zps75d94c59.png

Here, have a look at Qwinn.

u03062_zpsaa5c8309.png

We can also change a ship's load capacity at a shipyard.

u03063_zpsc780af01.png

Doing so costs a few thousand coins, but it's usually worth it.

u03064_zps61a19280.png

You see, Qwinn has a total load capacity of 450. We can assign these 450 capacity to bunks for our crew, guns, or cargo. Qwinn could originally house a total of 160 crew. However, since we won't be using Qwinn for battles, there's little reason to leave so much space for our crew. I ordered the number of bunks be reduced to 40.

u03065_zps066921b9.png

Guns will also take space on the ship. As I've said, we won't be using Qwinn for battles, and guns are fucking useless anyway. I ordered all guns on Qwinn be removed.

u03066_zpsf02d18b8.png

That leaves Qwinn with 410 space for cargo. Good.

u03067_zps4e57def2.png

u03068_zps3c84a586.png

u03069_zps3efb4853.png

Qwinn requires at least 30 crew assigned to navigation to sail at top speed. Our fleet didn't quite have enough crew, so I had to draft a few more working hands at the pub.

u03070_zps664d2f52.png

u03071_zps91d8ab1f.png

u03072_zpsbc547f15.png

Let's not forget what we came here for.

u03073_zps95efd3a6.png

The head trader at London only wanted 3 units of silver. However, I believe we could make a profit by buying silver in Genoa and selling them in London, so I spent all of our money to buy as much silver as we could.

u03074_zps84a2f709.png

12 days, eh? That should be just enough for us to get to London.

u03075_zps36ba2c51.png

Unfortunately, I forgot that we need money to pay wages for our mates, and at the beginning of October we didn't even have enough money to pay the wages. :oops:

u03076_zpse581912e.png

We almost made it to London before we ran out of water. That should be easy to fix, though:

u03077_zps417266fb.png

When landed on any land square that isn't a village, we can "search" for water. The chance of success depends on your luck. With maxed out luck, you're pretty much guarenteed to find water. You can then load as much water onto your fleet as you wish.

u03078_zpse6f6dc2e.png

Thanks to this, a commodore with high luck can load his fleet with very little water and rely entirely on wilderness springs to survive. It's possible to exploit this system to make the fleet remain on the seas for 90+ days before needing to resupply at a port. Doing so is only useful for grinding navigation level though.

u03079_zps50c1b4eb.png

We turned in the quest at London and received the promised 11,000 gold.

u03080_zps1ff3806a.png

u03081_zps4a890f3c.png

We also sold the remaining silver on our fleet. We managed to make a profit, but it's probably not worth the trouble. Meh.

u03082_zps31d5e3a6.png

u03083_zpsfcc2833a.png

u03084_zpsc17d96c4.png

Also, it seems that our mates are pretty mad at us for failing to pay their wages. :oops: I believe this problem will (probably) fix itself in time, though.

u03085_zps68708ab3.png

u03086_zpsce35377f.png

We headed back to Ceuta to prepare for our first adventure.

u03087_zpsf58e9315.png

A fleet is as fast as the slowest ship in the fleet, so we don't want to have Kaiserin in our fleet while we're adventuring. This doesn't mean we have to sell her; we can just moor her at a harbor.

First off, though, we need to dismiss the crew on Kaiserin after assigning some of them to Qwinn. The La Reale requires 30 crew to sail at the maximum speed, but I decided to put 35 crew on board for lookout.

u03088_zpsc6d00fa2.png

u03089_zps5c79383e.png

We've also gotta change our flagship to Qwinn.

u03090_zpsfd54aadb.png

But then, it turned out that the moor command is actually unavailable in Ceuta, presumbly because the dock here isn't big enough. :rage:

u03091_zps3dd4bfce.png

In the end, I was forced to recruit some crew for Kaiserin, then sail for Seville.

(You may have noticed that the sprite of our fleet has changed. This is because we have a galley rather than a sailship as our flagship now.)

u03092_zps18d3ed1b.png

Seville is a large port, so the moor command is available here.

u03093_zps77333aa2.png

u03094_zpseb9e2a07.png

u03095_zpsd2b9ccaa.png

That's right. We've just moored the ship we stole from the Spanish Navy at the capital of Spain. I'm sure nobody will notice.

u03096_zps55158357.png

Alright, now we're finally prepared to go adventuring. Make sail!

u03097_zpsa47a473b.png

u03098_zps920f9907.png

When starting adventure from the Mediterranean, you basically have two choices: go to Africa or go to the New World. This time, we're going to Africa.

u03099_zps63bfa995.png

Somewhere to the south of the Mediterranean, we discovered the port of Santa Cruz. I think it's possible to buy gold in this port if its economy capacity is high enough, which is useful for a trader.

u03100_zps49fbef2f.png

I'll be omitting most of the "discovered port X" screenshots from now on, because I don't think you would want to see 200 screenshots of our fleet discovering some town that you never heard about.

u03101_zps5ebc40df.png

The northwestern coast of Africa, particularly the area south of Argin, is one of the areas in UW2 where you can encounter storms. If you'd come to Africa right after starting the game, a storm will most likely kill off your fleet. The chance of encountering a storm is lower if the commodore has high luck.

u03102_zps8389a8f7.png

Seems like we got lucky this time. If you manage to get to Abidjan, you can consider yourself to be outside of the storm zone now.

u03103_zpsfaa428d7.png

Going further east, we found the estuary of the Niger River. Rivers are always worth investigating, since almost all rivers have villages on the riverbanks.

u03104_zpsedf628b3.png

See? :smug:

u03105_zps834c6be4.png

u03106_zps0ea48091.png

u03107_zps2296f493.png

We discovered an Anthill, another C-rank discovery.

u03108_zps6531bbcf.png

u03109_zps4f19bb67.png

u03110_zps8f3ff18a.png

Later, we discovered the Clay Mosque. This is almost certainly the Great Mosque of Djenne, which is located in Timbuktu.

u03111_zpse3fdcbbb.png

Speaking of Timbuktu, it's indeed found near the Clay Mosque.

u03112_zps5e58bbf0.png

Perhaps we should resuppliy at Timbuktu before continuing our expedition.

u03113_zpsc5621d8e.png

Roberto gained a level, but nobody else did.

u03114_zps58cccc11.png

Welcome to Timbuktu. This is a noteworthy port, for reasons that will become apparent much later.

u03115_zps53d7c4da.png

The economy capacity of Timbuktu is remarkably high for an African port.

u03116_zps1cab2edb.png

u03117_zps4a861101.png

In some of the ports, there's a huge building at the northern part of the town. Some of them are plot-critical, but some of them are just there for decoration.

u03118_zps1b467175.png

The one in Timbuktu falls into the second category. I believe there's intended to be a storyline related to these buildings, but the staff didn't have the time to actually implement that.

u03119_zps4a5f47f4.png

u03120_zps83fb49b5.png

The market of Timbuktu has quite a few interesting goods for sale, the most noteworthy and profitable of which being gold.

u03121_zps7874010d.png

Having resupplied our fleet, we left Timbuktu.

u03122_zpsbcf984d7.png

We found another river to the south of Niger River. This is probably the Congo River.

u03123_zps9d10f391.png

Unfortunately, it seems like no village has spawned in Congo River this time.

u03124_zps46c50f38.png

We also ran into a NPC fleet as we sailed south. NPC fleets are all over the place in Europe, but outside Europe it's kinda rare to see one of them.

u03125_zpsbb45ce32.png

Sailing further south, we eventually discovered the port of Cape Town. Unlike most ports, Cape Town's sprite is coloured blue rather than brown. This is because it's a supply port. I'll explain these later.

u03126_zpsa6c48b0a.png

We're past the Cape of Good Hope now! :incline:

u03127_zps78506353.png

Hmmm. My metagame knowledge tells me that if we sail east from here, we should find the isle of Madagascar.

u03128_zpsae2ab488.png

:smug:

u03129_zps4e82da56.png

On Madagascar, we discovered the port of Tamatave. Normally we would also find a village here, but alas, that village has decided not to spawn in this game.

u03130_zps4bde6ecf.png

Incidentally, this is how our chart looks like now.

u03131_zps25b64133.png

We returned to the coastlines of Africa and sailed north.

u03132_zps3ff329a3.png

Curses! Some rats have managed to find their way onto our ship. Rats will consume some of our precious foods every day, which is kind of bad.

u03133_zpsd896adfd.png

I could've used Rat Poison to kill off the rats, but I figured that our fleet needs resupplying anyway, so we stopped in Malindi.

u03134_zpsd30a0b03.png

u03135_zps79e1aef5.png

After spending 41 days on the seas, everybody in our fleet gained a level.

u03136_zps5aa8ad00.png

Somehow, sailing on the seas has made Catalina a little bit smarter. A few more levels and she'll be able to learn Cartography!

...I don't even care anymore.

u03137_zps2dca4385.png

There's nothing constructive to be done in Malindi, so we left immediately after resupplying.

u03138_zps82fc13d3.png

We found another village shortly after leaving Malindi.

u03139_zpsdba7bf60.png

Hmmm. 30 friendship, and we still haven't discovered anything. High friendship requirement usually means high-rank discovery, though, so the secret here is likely something big.

u03140_zps8fe96b41.png

u03141_zps92ed3ac8.png

Aha! It's the Mandrill! We have made our first B-rank discovery. :incline:

u03142_zps2e5651ec.png

We're in the Red Sea now.

u03143_zpseb820d45.png

u03144_zpsb0830350.png

At a village in the Red Sea, we found some Papyrus. Sadly, it's the only discovery we made in the Red Sea.

u03145_zps639c1eb8.png

Incidentally, we can finally actually enter Cairo now, though we've got little reason to.

u03146_zps4bfb29c0.png

On the last day of 1522, our fleet reached the Persian Gulf.

u03147_zps8ab9d977.png

u03148_zps19e370ab.png

Is... is that petroleum? Maybe we should take some of these. This stuff is going to be valuable in about 400 years.

u03149_zps6b438b62.png

u03150_zpsfbd3e4d0.png

Going east from the Persian Gulf, to the west of Diu, we discovered another B-rank discovery: the Mohenjo-Daro.

u03151_zpsa780a2f8.png

u03152_zpsa84951c5.png

We stopped at Diu to resupply. Catalina gained another level.

u03153_zpsd68a6999.png

This is how Indian ports look like.

u03154_zps026a002e.png

u03155_zpsb4a22934.png

There's not much of interest in Diu, so we left shortly after resupplying.

u03156_zps1faba3a4.png

u03157_zpsae583ddd.png

We discovered the King Cobra in a village to the south of Diu. It's a crappy D-rank discovery, but at least it didn't kill any of our men.

u03158_zps8e5646a9.png

There's a lot of ports in India.

u03159_zpsbe4d303b.png

Oh, we're near Sri Lanka now. This is another storm zone; better watch out.

u03160_zpsbed98ba2.png

Fortunately, we once again got through the storm zone safely.

u03161_zps8c741318.png

Here's how our chart looks like now.

u03162_zps31c06c9c.png

Somewhere to the south, we found Ayutthaya's Buddha. There're like a trillion buddha statues in Thailand and I'm not sure which one this is.

u03163_zps5c67ac39.png

Oh, it's Malacca! We're officially in Southeast Asia now.

u03164_zps1f4a35ab.png

u03165_zpsc186d9df.png

Hmm, 50 friendship and we still haven't found anything... Seems like there's something big!

u03166_zps74358f1e.png

Aha! We have made our first A-rank discovery: the Borobudur! :yeah:

u03167_zpse7dd9e59.png

There's a lot of villages in Indonesia.

u03168_zps42dc174c.png

u03169_zpsde452135.png

:rage: A Python has just killed 6 of our guys! Our fleet doesn't quite have enough crew now.

u03170_zps6506d0b4.png

I decided to go back to Sunda to draft a few more crew.

u03171_zps7cc26d70.png

u03172_zpsfad32aae.png

Have a look at the cityscape of Sunda.

u03173_zpsdd9e3aca.png

By the way, it seems like Catalina's fame as an adventurer has surpassed her fame as a pirate.

u03174_zpsc5ccd887.png

u03175_zps1d8e09cb.png

We only got 8 men, but it was kind of enough.

u03176_zps389c4104.png

Shit!

u03177_zpsfbd09941.png

Catalina tried to pursue Dante to stay.

u03178_zpsb1ff5b97.png

Fine, fine. 10 gold each month hardly even matters anyway.

u03179_zps243f5a68.png

u03180_zps50b956be.png

Ooh, seems like we're about to make another big discovery.

u03181_zps490c82fc.png

u03182_zpsfdfb56b9.png

We discovered the Komodo Dragon, another A-rank discovery. Unfortunately some of our men got themselves killed again. :rage:

u03183_zpsd59b53c3.png

u03184_zps9a35791c.png

We stopped at Dili to get some reinforcements.

u03185_zps6f53fac9.png

u03186_zps8d3ebf5b.png

I think the pub at Dili is one of the only pubs in the game that doesn't sell alcohol.

u03187_zps32d2d469.png

Right. Looking pretty good once again.

u03188_zpsf00eda30.png

Also, here you can see that Catalina's adventure fame has indeed surpassed her piracy fame.

u03189_zps63141dca.png

u03190_zpsbd146d7b.png

By the way, we can review our discoveries so far in Info - Discovery.

u03191_zpscbc0a825.png

Going south from Indonesia, we arrived at Leveque in Australia.

u03192_zpscc672e4a.png

u03193_zpsdf6b9a0f.png

u03194_zpscf45d54d.png

u03195_zpsba0206f3.png

u03196_zps7a361fe8.png

u03197_zps975bfe45.png

There're many things to be discovered in Australia. We found the Frilled Lizard, the Ayer's Rock, and the Kiwi.

u03198_zpsc9098bae.png

Have a look at our current chart.

u03199_zps8514626f.png

We ran out of food on our way back to Malacca,

u03200_zps2bf061de.png

But we managed to get back to Malacca just as the crew's health were beginning to drop.

u03201_zps088ccfe1.png

Catalina gained a level, and so did many of our mates.

u03202_zps54fbc5f3.png

Oh for fuck's sake

u03203_zps70676565.png

Okay, okay. Hopefully that'll be enough to make him shut up.

u03204_zps772b5195.png

u03205_zps171e0522.png

For some reasons, I decided to dick around in Malacca a bit longer and picked up some useless rumors.

u03206_zps286a894d.png

Off we go.

u03207_zpscfdf91ea.png

Hmm. Maybe we should explore New Zealand; I remember some high-level discoveries being there.

u03208_zps5d3e5126.png

Wikipedia doesn't have an article about this port. It's probably unimportant.

u03209_zps16a8229c.png

We should reach New Zealand if we sail southwest from here.

u03210_zps78d8df81.png

We found this little village on New Zealand.

u03211_zps2593713f.png

HELL YES.

We have discovered the Moa, a ☆-rank discovery. ☆-rank discoveries are the most valuable ones, and they're extremely rare. If you got particularly unlucky with village spawning, you might not be able to find any of those at all.

u03212_zps171021a9.png

We didn't discovery anything else on New Zealand, though. Eventually we ran out of supplies and had to return to Amboa.

u03213_zps5435bf97.png

The fleet members levelled up again.

u03214_zpsea74d2d7.png

Some nice flavor dialog.

u03215_zps976e8d13.png

Time to continue our journey east.

u03216_zpsb45d6c7c.png

u03217_zps52173e60.png

We discovered the Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

u03218_zpsc550a06f.png

The supply port to our east in this image is Lushun. We're in northeast China right now.

u03219_zps2acdce20.png

We sailed west from Lushun, entering the Yellow River.

u03220_zps11f308d1.png

We discovered the port of Chang'an down the Yellow River. I remember Chinese ports having a special tileset for them, but alas, I didn't actually enter any Chinese ports during our circumnavigation. Maybe next time.

u03221_zps509db3f1.png

You would normally make at least one discovery from exploring the Yellow River, but it seems like none of the Chinese villages decided to spawn in this playthrough. Oh well.

u03222_zps13af5184.png

We did find a village on the Korean Peninsula though!

u03223_zps97a6f01c.png

We discovered the Plant Worm. I think this thing is actually Ophiocordyceps sinensis (aka Dongchong Xiacao), but these are found in Tibet, not Korea. I'm confused.

u03224_zps18104810.png

We can get to Japan if we sail southwest from here.

u03225_zpse002aa42.png

There -- that's the port of Nagasaki.

u03226_zps8893c1af.png

Immediately after discovering Nagasaki, our fleet was caught in a storm! We've been lucky with those storm zones so far, but I knew we couldn't outrun them forever.

u03227_zpsc8d91e37.png

During a storm, unless the fleet is landed, all ships in the fleet would lose durability very, very quickly. Worse yet, we can't control the fleet during a storm. Fortunately, I brought a few bottles of Balm with us to deal with storms.

u03228_zps5e543ecd.png

We used a bottle of Balm, and the weather promptly calmed down. No, it still doesn't make sense.

u03229_zps75500f90.png

Our ship has been damaged by the storm, and we're running out of supplies anyway, so we stopped at Nagasaki.

u03230_zpsa16f8c21.png

Japanese ports also have a special tileset, one that looks siginificantly different from all other tilesets.

u03231_zpse99efb2b.png

Eh, most of the western adventurers inspired by Marco Polo came for China rather than Japan, but I suppose it's the result that matters.

u03232_zpsef12fcee.png

Like Timbuktu, Nagasaki has a huge building in the northern part of the town.

u03233_zpsc556567f.png

Also like Timbuktu, the huge building serves no particular purpose whatsoever. At least it looks pretty nice.

u03234_zps9d9371d5.png

More Japanese cityscape.

u03235_zps9778da65.png

It's worth noting that Japanese shipyards have special ships for sale.

u03236_zpsbe5862cb.png

The Kansen is a small ship. I've actually never used any Japanese ships so I don't know if it's good or not, but with 100 in tacking and power, you should have no problem making it home in this ship as long as you have a way to deal with storms.

u03237_zps9cc9387c.png

We didn't buy any ships, but we did get Qwinn repaired while we're in the shipyard.

u03238_zpsbf39ab5b.png

The item shop in Nagasaki has some nice stuff for sale.

u03239_zpsca6f1c14.png

The Cat is a very useful item. As long as you have a cat, your fleet will never suffer from rat problems. Cats don't die of old age or anything, so once you get a cat you can just sell off all your rat poison. I bought a cat here.

(Fun fact about UW2 economy: a cat is worth about as much as two barrels of gold. Twenty cats will buy a galleon.)

u03240_zps9afa9581.png

It's a katana. As you would expect from a Japanese company, Koei made the katana pretty powerful. It's too expensive though, so I didn't buy it.

u03241_zps4393c181.png

The Aqua Tiara is another useless accessory item.

u03242_zps2bee7968.png

Time to check out the secret merchandise of Nagasaki! Maybe they'll have a magical katana for sale!

u03243_zpsa8878d4d.png

No such luck, apparently. They don't even have any secret merchandise at all.

u03244_zps0c6a625b.png

We found the port of Sakai shortly after leaving Nagasaki. I believe Sakai and Nagasaki are the only Japanese ports in this game.

u03245_zps6044859a.png

Horsies!

u03246_zps1cc360bd.png

There's a building here with a cross sign, but it's not actually a church. You could try to enter the building, but it's locked.

u03247_zps6dbd4d5d.png

Since we arrived at Sakai late in the night, we might as well check out the item shop.

u03248_zps5382c2a3.png

Useless.

u03249_zpsa12a74d9.png

Tha... That's an actual magical katana. With "Magical" in its name. :lol:

By the way, according to the Japanese Wikipedia, the Muramasa got its fame as a legendary weapon because Wizardry. Apparently, back in the days there's a tale in Japan about how a level 1 samurai equipped with a Muramasa could defeat a poison giant, thus leaving the Japanese gamers with the impression that the Muramasa is the best katana evar.

u03250_zps9bf61fdd.png

u03251_zps0dc25a39.png

The Atakabune is another Japanese ship. Contrary to what the shipyard owner would have you believe, the Atakabune is a pretty terrible battleship because it's just too small. I suppose it's a nice ship for adventuring though.

u03252_zpsae7638ee.png

I was not kidding when I said that the Marco Polo bank has branches in literally every corner of the world.

u03253_zps71d0c812.png

Not a city for us, then.

u03254_zps78f1920c.png

As one would expect, there're a lot of things to be discovered in Japan.

u03255_zpscc2dc8d9.png

We found some ruins, but some of our crew went full weaboo and wanted to stay in the village! :decline:

u03256_zps382eb3e3.png

As for the discovery, it's the Toro Ruins, a C-rank discovery.

u03257_zps2a728560.png

Our fleet don't quite have enough crew now. We still have enough man for sailing, but with only 1 man assigned to lookout, finding villages is going to be a big pain in the ass.

u03258_zps53c5c32b.png

Ezo is the third Japanese port. It's a supply port though.

u03259_zps9cc713fa.png

We went back to Nagasaki to recruit some crew.

u03260_zpsa35f7131.png

Another village in Japan.

u03261_zpsc6e5f588.png

Oh FFS. Not this shit again.

u03262_zps89c96bc4.png

...So, basically: Catalina recruited some children at Nagasaki, who got eaten by Namahages two days after boarding our ship. This is a bit depressing.

u03263_zps3ba7be69.png

u03264_zps606abddc.png

We were forced to head back to Nagasaki again to recruit some more ogre-fodders.

u03265_zpse5bacb16.png

Well, we're done with East Asia. Now let's sail east to the Americas.

u03266_zps5aacc04c.png

It's the supply port of Korf. Maybe we should resupply there; I recall ports being scarce on the western coasts of North America.

u03267_zps4fed17d0.png

Korf is a supply port. Unlike normal ports, supply ports only have one interesting building in them: the harbor. All other buildings can't be found in a supply port. Supply ports are really just there to provide you with, well, supplies.

And no, I don't know what those palm trees are doing in a backwater town in Siberia.

u03268_zps93e2d094.png

One fun thing about supply ports is that you can rename it to whatever the fuck you want and nobody would give a shit.

u03269_zps67a9573d.png

After resupplying our fleet, we set sail for the Americas once again.

u03270_zpsf4cf8228.png

u03271_zps23c2d09d.png

We're past the Bering Strait now.

u03272_zps173f3c54.png

We discovered Juneau, another supply port, on the western coasts of North America.

u03273_zps6aa0b87a.png

We stopped at Juneau to resupply, then left.

u03274_zps5200f73a.png

There're TONS of discoveries to be made in the Americas, particularly on the western coasts.

u03275_zps4fac7d0e.png

This is the Prairie Dog, a cute little rodent.

u03276_zps3d127cf8.png

u03277_zps5ea9ec95.png

Well, according to the Wikipedia, these guys did almost become extinct in the 19th century. Almost.

u03278_zps284ccfa5.png

u03279_zps4e684e9e.png

That's a Mexican Beaded Lizard! Good thing that it didn't kill any of our men.

u03280_zpsd38e9bc8.png

u03281_zpsdaf78610.png

Ooh, shiny!

u03282_zps7e708da7.png

I'm pretty sure this is the Aztec Calendar Stone. Apparently, the local villagers doesn't mind us taking their culture artifact. Probably has something to do with the fact that Catalina is a hottie. Or that all of our mates are very good at murduring people.

u03283_zpsb92b8884.png

We also found the Stone Face. I think this is one of the Olmec heads.

u03284_zps3fef823f.png

Guatemala! We're in Central America now.

u03285_zps7bd55833.png

We have discovered a Stone Ball. I'm not sure why is a Stone Ball considered a great discovery but I'm not complaining.

u03286_zps7b550793.png

u03287_zps02f1acb0.png

We stopped at Panama. The port to the north of Panama is called Porto Velho, but there's obviously something wrong with this, since Porto Velho is in Brazil, not Mexico.

u03288_zps79d3ec9f.png

Indeed, indeed. Playing UW2 really made me appreciate the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal.

u03289_zps9fdc80f3.png

Further proof that I was not kidding when I said the Marco Polo bank has branches all over the world.

u03290_zps2375e35b.png

There's an item shop in Panama that sells Lime Juice. Might be useful, but we already have plenty of them.

u03291_zps6533e0cc.png

Ah, it's a NPC fleet! It's rare to see one of them so far away from Europe.

u03292_zpscda85779.png

u03293_zpsd84ae8a7.png

Going south down the coastline, we discovered some Vampire Bats. RL vampire bats don't drain levels or anything, so they're fairly harmless.

u03294_zpsa1037068.png

We're almost in Antarctica now. Contrary to what you might think, there's very little discoveries to be made in Antarctica. I decided not to bother and just explore the Americas more.

u03295_zps90c05d7b.png

Our fleet crossing the Magellan Strait.

u03296_zps1c695cf2.png

Here's how our chart looks like now.

u03297_zpsc7c77d7d.png

The port is Montevideo, and the river is the Parana River. I'm sure we'll discover many wonders in Parana River.

u03298_zps68a321c1.png

u03299_zps10e41bfc.png

First, we found some Anteaters.

u03300_zpsbad3f2a2.png

u03301_zpsdba428cc.png

Oh shit. It's monsters again!

u03302_zpsf9ff0ea4.png

Turned out that our crew were eaten by a Giant Ground Sloth (aka Megatherium). Those things are supposed to be extinct! Then again, I suppose it wouldn't have been a ☆-rank discovery if it actually exists.

u03303_zps3a1c8960.png

u03304_zps681a297f.png

We only made two discoveries in Parana River, but one of them is ☆-rank so I won't complain. Anyway, we're running out of supplies again, so we stopped at Montevideo to resupply.

u03305_zpsd8d0e308.png

I think this is the Sao Francisco River? Anyway, we found no interesting things down the river. What a letdown.

u03306_zpsb61ccc33.png

Maybe our expedition into the Amazon River will be more successful.

u03307_zpsb8b8b590.png

u03308_zps1e6838e4.png

We have discovered the Amazon Water Lily! It's only C-rank, but it's a good start.

u03309_zpsf310579b.png

u03310_zps2c34626b.png

Later, we discovered the Balsa, a Cultural Artifact. The confusing thing is that the Balsa is also a kind of ship made in all ports in the world of UW2. In fact, we've seen Balsas (how do you pluralize that word) in pretty much every shipyard we've visited.

u03311_zps99f1f1b7.png

u03312_zpsd966a27f.png

u03313_zps3fbc3ea3.png

We also encountered some Tarantulas and Piranhas. Fortunately, none of our crew were injured by these creatures.

u03314_zpse8069977.png

u03315_zps32e379a3.png

Perhaps I should not have tempted fate like that.

u03316_zpsa8fe59f2.png

The assailant turned out to be an Anaconda. Truly, the Amazon rainforest is full of peril.

u03317_zpsc05294ef.png

Once again, our ship doesn't have enough manpower. Fortunately, we're only 3 men short from the required crew number, so our fleet shouldn't slow down too much.

u03318_zps37b92570.png

Sailing north from the Amazon River, we eventually made it to Cayenne.

u03319_zps1766030a.png

Catalina gained another level from all the adventuring.

u03320_zps62837fbc.png

We recruited a few more crew to boost our headcount.

u03321_zpsa06bd448.png

HAVE WE?!

u03322_zps6cd5dce7.png

We left Cayenne after resupplying. Now, let's take a look at our chart.

u03323_zps2cefdaee.png

Much of North America still remains unexplored.

u03324_zps12f3028e.png

However, we have already discovered a lot of stuff.

u03325_zps0280cec1.png

More importantly though, we're almost out of cash! The cost of buying supplies is pretty cheap, but they do add up. We can't keep going much longer with so few money.

u03326_zpscdc08b0a.png

I decided it's time to return home.

u03327_zps94655177.png

We sailed northeast from Cayenne. It only took us eight days to get back to Europe.

u03328_zpsc8c2e4ed.png

Our circumnavigation is complete.

u03329_zps08e74788.png

By the way, Catalina is now knowledgable enough to learn Cartography! Unfortunately, cartographer's guild only pays you for sea areas that you uncover after you've signed a contract with them. Since I've no intention to do much more adventuring, we won't gain much money or fame from signing a contract with the cartographers now.

u03330_zpsa9e64b29.png

u03331_zps2744d6c0.png

Time to report to our sponsor.

u03332_zps10c26911.png

The sponsor's response to your discoveries differ depending on the level of the discovery. This is the Duke's response to B-rank discoveries.

u03333_zps1fc1814e.png

u03334_zps1fec1592.png

And this for A-rank ones.

u03335_zpse1a1dd7a.png

u03336_zps2f75bc65.png

Note how ☆-rank discoveries are worth much, much more than A-rank ones.

u03337_zpsd4606438.png

Reporting all our discoveries to the Duke earned us a grand total of 340,000 gold coins. :yeah:

u03338_zps884e3c9f.png

Furthermore, Catalina's adventure fame is now over 20k! Too bad that she has absolutely no use for these!

u03339_zpse41f8e98.png

Here, have a final look at our chart.

Next time: Catalina goes back to piracy.
 
Last edited:

Monstrous Bat

Cipher
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Messages
638
Oh, I see. You're right, I should try to cut down the number of screenshots in each update. It's only been 3 updates and we're already sitting on 800+ images which is kind of ridiculous.
 

Monstrous Bat

Cipher
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Messages
638
Oh, I see. You're right, I should try to cut down the number of screenshots in each update. It's only been 3 updates and we're already sitting on 800+ images which is kind of ridiculous.

No thank you. Keep the assload of images coming. Put them in spoiler tags, problem solved.
That wouldn't actually solve anything because images under spoiler tags are still loaded as soon as you open the webpage. Furthermore, putting the updates under spoiler tags would make the images and text shrink in size, reducing the readability of the LP. That's why I never use spoiler tags for my LPs; sure, they make scrolling down a page much less annoying, but they also make the actual LP more painful to read.
 

Monstrous Bat

Cipher
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Messages
638
This update has turned out to be nearly as large as the last one. As I don't want to keep you guys waiting for too long, I've decided to split the update in two parts again.

War and Loots

u04001_zps9561ea84.png

Now that we have a lot of money, let's put them to some good use.

u04002_zps0adcdd61.png

Our old Galleon has served us well, but we really want a better battleship. Sadly, the shipyard of Pisa doesn't have what we're looking for.

u04003_zpsee3e7622.png

Ah, here it is.

u04004_zpsa97bfb3c.png

The ship we're looking for is the Venetian Galeass. As you can see in the screenshot above, it's quite a bit bigger than our old Galleon -- in fact, it's the second largest ship in the game. Particularly noteworthy is its carrying capacity -- with a maximum crew number of 320, this ship is an absolute monster in melee combat.

u04005_zps13d3413f.png

u04006_zpsb35ea013.png

u04007_zps01157b71.png

We bought the ship for the low price of 52,000 coins.

u04008_zps6f02f3a6.png

This ship shall go down in history as a legend. Its mere presence will strike fear unto the hearts of our enemies and induce desperation within their minds. There is only one appropriate name for such a majestic ship.

u04009_zps27974b51.png

u04010_zps9ae3d0ed.png

After purchasing our first Galeass, we deposited most of our money into the bank. Carrying too much cash on you is generally a bad idea, because various events can rob you of your money. Your money is perfectly safe in banks though.

u04011_zps4076b073.png

We then went to the pub. The pubs of capitals are usually crowded like this.

u04012_zpsd92e20a2.png

But that's not important. We came here to recruit crew for Feminism.

u04013_zps24c35ae6.png

We recruited just enough crew for Feminism.

u04014_zps00da9ca9.png

Also, here's a screenshot showing all information about Feminism.

u04015_zps2ca30bb6.png

By the way, Emilio is now captaining Feminism (ironic, I know. I'll change that soon), so we need a new First Mate.

u04016_zpse7adad6f.png

Dante knows the Celestial Navigation skill, so he got the job.

u04017_zpsd063cbe2.png

u04018_zps36e117a0.png

Alright. Now let's go back to Seville to get Kaiserin back.

u04019_zps3e969623.png

u04020_zps546cceca.png

See? I told you nobody would notice that Kaiserin is the ship we stole from the Spanish Navy. :troll:

u04021_zpsd667da7f.png

We moored Qwinn, then unmoored Kaiserin.

u04022_zps0e3ccb22.png

Of course, we would also need more crew for Feminism if we're going to use her for combat. Unfortunately, it seems like we can't ever get more than 100 crew per draft, so recruiting enough crew for Feminism is probably going to take a while.

u04023_zpse40da835.png

Some guy in Seville gave us some unimportant information.

u04024_zps3b4c0939.png

We've still got to recruit more crew. However, I decided that recruiting crew in a developed port like Seville is too expensive, plus I don't feel like risking being mobbed by patriotic Spaniards.

u04025_zpse39abc72.png

Maybe we'll do our reinforcement in Ceuta. Sure, it'll take longer, but it's much less expensive.

u04026_zps126d94c1.png

u04027_zps5fd624ef.png

While we're at the pub, we told Jamila about the discoveries we have discovered in an attempt to make her like us more.

u04028_zpsf8b26d7f.png

u04029_zps2629e407.png

Unfortunately, even after we have told her about all our adventures, Jamila still doesn't care enough to help us. :x:

u04030_zps4926d863.png

Recruiting crew in Ceuta may be cheap, but it's also incredibly tedious since we only get something like 20 men in one draft. Eventually I decided it's not worth the trouble and went to Lisbon. Plus, we are going to piss off the Portuguese soon, so if we wanted to visit Lisbon, now is the time to do so.

u04031_zps39d6fd3b.png

Nice to know, but Catalina already knows Gunnery.

u04032_zpsc2d0b267.png

We found this guy called Pilly Reis at the lodge of Lisbon.

u04033_zps5cd15ce4.png

u04034_zps20883e12.png

This guy is notable for having insanely high levels, which makes him incredibly hard to recruit. I'm not even going to try doing that now.

u04035_zpscf19d91d.png

Recruiting crew has depleted our money reserve, so we went to the bank and withdrew some of our saving.

u04036_zpsf4b31875.png

We have finally recruited enough men for our fleet.

u04037_zps09e1c124.png

Off we go, then... Time to start pirating!

u04038_zps916b797c.png

u04039_zps6237d767.png

Meet Idin Leis, aka The Other Barbara Pirate. In the Japanese version, both Idin and Khayr had the surname Leis and I'm not sure why they changed it in the English version. In Gaiden, it's confirmed that he and Khayr ad-Din are brothers in bond if not in blood. Anyway, Idin is slightly weaker than Khayr, which is to say he's extremely strong. Don't mess with the Barbara pirates unless you know what you're doing.

u04040_zpsa7e5b12a.png

Just like before, we parked our fleet at the Strait of Gibraltar and waited for our prey to show up.

u04041_zpsa0e2b9d2.png

Just as we're running out of supplies, a Dutch merchant fleet appeared!

u04042_zps35460a42.png

No you're not anymore.

u04043_zps9125e0ba.png

This guy is pretty weak. We should be able to beat him just fine.

u04044_zpscabaa7f8.png

u04045_zps7160956f.png

You'll see soon.

u04046_zps2ad90488.png

Before we start kicking Dutch asses, I should explain the Plan and Order command to you.

u04047_zpsea4eaff9.png

The Plan command lets us set a combat plan for all our subordinates.

u04048_zps3fdde5c0.png

Against such weak enemies, there's little reason not to go all-out on them.

u04049_zps674eda6c.png

The Order command lets us give orders to individual ships.

u04050_zps38dda182.png

u04051_zpsb231edc3.png

I ordered Emilio to rush the enemy flagship.

u04052_zps95f8db15.png

This isn't actually relevant, however, because the battle will end this turn. :smug:

u04053_zps145f157c.png

Rather than meleeing the enemy crew to death, we're going to duel the enemy commodore this time.

u04054_zps1787a222.png

This is the duel screen. Shown at the top of the screen are the equipment of the duelists. As you can see, Maurice has exactly the same equipment as Catalina.

Right now, it's Catalina's turn to attack. We can choose from three attack moves: thrust, slash and strike. The catch here is that you want to use the strongest attack move of your weapon. Thin swords are good for thrusting, curved swords are good with slashing, and broad swords are good for striking. As you can see in the screenshot, Catalina's scimitar is a curved sword, so we want to use the slash move.

u04055_zps011df7ff.png

Catalina successfully landed a hit on Maurice, dealing 34 damage to him. If we can reduce his HP to 0, we win the duel. If the duel goes on for 10 turns and neither duelist have won, the duel ends in a draw.

Anyway, now is Maurice's turn to attack. We're given three defense moves to choose from: parry, block and dodge. If we can pick the right move, we will take less or no damage from Maurice's attack. In case you've forgotten: parry counters thrust, block counters slash, and dodge counters strike.

u04056_zpsc1534984.png

The trick with dueling is: when you're on the offensive, always pick the strongest move of your weapon; when you're on the defensive, always pick the move that counters the strongest move of your opponent's weapon. Maurice is also using a curved sword, so we want to use block here.

u04057_zps789cb342.png

Unfortunately, Maurice lucked out and got a hit on Catalina anyway. :rage:

u04058_zpse1742b20.png

The battle dragged on for a while as Catalina slowly gained the upper hand.

u04059_zpsc4432a42.png

But then, around turn 5, Catalina got a series of lucky blocks and managed to finish Maurice off.

u04060_zpsffc9f1b2.png

u04061_zps3f9ed414.png

Catalina jumped like a little girl to celebrate her victory.

u04062_zpsbe86839c.png

Those Dutchmen are such weaklings. We literally won the battle in a single turn. :smug:

u04063_zps7db11124.png

Got fairly good loots from the battle, too.

u04064_zps95997752.png

u04065_zps377505b8.png

We reloaded our ships with supplies from the Dutch fleet.

u04066_zps60faa7a4.png

Goodbye, random Dutch dude! Hopefully someone will find you before you'd drown to death.

u04067_zpscecc7777.png

Andreas managed to gain a level.

u04068_zpsfc7fbc4d.png

At the shipyard of Ceuta, we sold the Naos and Carracks we had seized from Maurice's fleet.

u04069_zps2633144a.png

We made 80,000 gold coins from selling the seized ships. :yeah:

u04070_zps526ebaf8.png

Dammit, Catalina still hasn't gained any battle level. She should be close to a levelup though.

u04071_zps052ff7f5.png

I should really try to remember this.

u04072_zpsf8eb33e2.png

Anyway, we're going to invest in Ceuta. Why? Well, if you've been paying attention, you'll have noticed before that Ceuta is allied with Portugal. However, we're going to use Ceuta as our operation base, and even though we haven't pissed off the Portuguese yet, we soon will. Therefore, it'd be a bad idea to leave Ceuta allied with Portugal. That's why we're investing.

u04073_zps092461f2.png

Investing in a port will increase its support to your country. However, since Catalina is a pirate, doing so just decreases the port's support to all other countries.

u04074_zpsd8d2bdb0.png

Investing will also increase the economy and industry capacity of the port. Some goods are only put on the market when the economy capacity of the port is sufficiently high. Likewise, some ships are only unlocked when the port's industry capacity is high enough. Our investment won't have any immediately effect, though; all investments take effect on the first day of the next month.

u04075_zps07ff9320.png

We went to the lodge to confirm that Ceuta is no longer allied with Portugal.

u04076_zpsa268a4cc.png

As a result, the Portuguese now hate us slightly more than before.

u04077_zps3a7b21c2.png

With that taken care of, we began waiting for our next prey to show up.

u04078_zpsbda09202.png

u04079_zpsaf496867.png

u04080_zps08124b13.png

This should be easy.

u04081_zpsc530257b.png

Hmph. Those assholes will learn to respect Catalina soon.

u04082_zps3005a939.png

u04083_zps0eae8bc2.png

One of the enemy ships managed to get a clear shot on Feminism, decreasing her maximum durablity by one. Yes, gunshots sometime do that. This doesn't happen too often, but you will get shot so many times that it'll happen sooner or later. And when your ship loses a point of maximum durablity, it's gone -- forever. This means that guns are extremely annoying when NPCs use them, while being nearly useless for the player.

u04084_zps0f3164e5.png

We defeated them pretty quickly once we got into melee range with their flagship though.

u04085_zpsfb32ab18.png

u04086_zps341134d7.png

Oh my, today is our lucky day! There's gold on their ships! :yeah:

u04087_zps96ed8000.png

Needless to say, we immediately loaded all the gold onto our fleet.

u04088_zpsb21c381d.png

You'll live. I think.

u04089_zps9660f9f0.png

u04090_zps51ba582c.png

Also, now that we have a bookkeeper, we can use the Log of Goods command to learn where we can get the best price for our goods.

u04091_zpsc4573b4f.png

I'm not actually going to take the gold to Nantes though, because any extended voyage with our battleships is going to be a big pain in the ass.

u04092_zps35bf9bb2.png

We ended up selling off the gold in Ceuta's market. We got about 46,000 coins from selling the gold. :incline:

u04093_zps0954c78a.png

We'll have to keep pirating until our piracy fame is high enough to trigger the next plot event.

u04094_zps59bc1daa.png

Oh hey, it's Khayr again.

u04095_zps03159dc0.png

Pirate fleets may sometimes attack you. If you're attacked by pirates, you can surrender to them or try to flee. If you surrender, they will take all gold ingots and goods on your fleet. This is another reason why it's prudent to leave most of your money in the bank. Fleeing won't cost any money, but getting away from pirates is fairly difficult. As far as I know though, pirates will only attack you if you're a noble, and since Catalina is just a fellow pirate, the NPC pirates will never actively attack her. In addition, Ernst and Pietro's story can be completed without ever getting a nobility title, which is something to consider if you don't want to deal with the NPC pirates.

u04096_zps0516a80b.png

Now, you might ask, "Can't we just beat up the pirates whenever they try to attack us?" Well, technically we can, but look at this guy's battle level. We can try assigning crew to combat, but our smart exploits aren't going to work because Khayr is just so much stronger than we are.

This doesn't mean you won't see Catalina defeating Khayr and his brother. However, in order to do that we need resources, which we don't have right now. You'll have to wait a while.

u04097_zps3f016bd9.png

We can definitely take on THIS guy, though.

u04098_zps1964b255.png

Nobody can initiate combat during night. In addition, if a battle is still not resolved by 20:00, the battle automatically ends. This rule helps you escaping from NPC pirates, but in this case, it's preventing us from attacking Louis' fleet.

u04099_zpsc6d2c703.png

We were forced to follow their fleet until the next morning.

u04100_zpsf2bee6b8.png

This guy is fairly strong. Still, he's not even close to Khayr in terms of power, and his fleet is made up of some crappy small ships.

u04101_zps9d77a986.png

Instead of going for the enemy flagship, I decided to kill off their convoy ships for some extra experience.

u04102_zps707c8548.png

Then the enemy flagship decided to charge at Feminism in a suicide attack. Oh well, I'm not complaining.

u04103_zps56f462d0.png

We got some pretty good loots as well.

u04104_zpsd607dcab.png

Now we just have to get back to Ceuta. This is surprisingly tricky to do, though.

u04105_zpsc9031766.png

You see, our fleet is only as fast as its slowest ship. Since we have just seized five ships from the Portuguese fleet, we need to assign some of our crew to the seized ships or they can't sail. Right now our fleet has plenty of crew so this is only annoying, but if we had lost most of our men during the last battle, we may be forced to scrap some of the seized ships because we simply wouldn't have enough crew to man all the ships.

u04106_zps7631bc3a.png

When we entered the shipyard in Ceuta, a new event came up!

u04107_zpsea4253f9.png

emil_zpse45c0125.png
"Are you sure? You know, your information isn't always reliable."
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"Shut up! You're the one who's useless!"
emil_zpse45c0125.png
"That does it. I've had enough of your insults. Let's settle this with our fists. C'mon!"
whoa
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"Stop quarreling! Andreas, who said he knows of Joao's whereabouts?"
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"This scurvy pirate, called Bret Perot. He insists on speaking to you personally, Commodore. He's at the pub."
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"OK, I'll talk to him."

u04108_zps0890e63e.png

Hmph, seems like we can't do anything else until we talk to Phelot Perot.

u04109_zps72d6e57f.png

Incidentally, Catalina has finally gained a battle level.

u04110_zpse41a2403.png

andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"You'd better not give us false information, buster, you'll pay for it, you hear? You'll wake up with a big headache, you got that?"
pero_zps7220039b.png
"OK, I understand! Andreas, I wouldn't lie to you. Two days ago, I ran into a Portuguese fleet just outside this port. Our fleet was disguised as a Portuguese merchant fleet. I planned to attack them suddenly, once they'd let down their guard..."
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"Skip the irrelevant stuff. Just get to the point!"
pero_zps7220039b.png
"OK, OK! Just be patient. I gathered my courage and started talking with the fleet, asking where they were going. The sailor who responded was an old man named Rocco, Joao's first mate. He told me they were heading toward Salonika."
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"Thank you, but your story was too long!"
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"Are you sure about this?"
pero_zps7220039b.png
"You're too suspicious! I swear to you, on my ship, that it's true."
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"Emilio, Andreas, let's go. Thank you, Perot."
...I guess we're never learning what had happened to Perot's plan to attack the Portuguese fleet.

u04111_zpsf80e9d79.png

Well, it's pretty clear that we have to go to Salonika now to progress in the story. Before that, though, let's not forget to sell off the seized ships.

u04112_zps67925e51.png

We had gotten quite a few treasure items in our previous battles. We could sell them at an item shop for some cash, but we can also gift them to a waitress in a pub to improve our standings with her.

u04113_zpsff73298e.png

u04114_zpsec356043.png

Glad you liked it! So, can we ask you to investigate stuff now?

u04115_zps61fc46aa.png

FUCK YOU, BITCH.

u04116_zps5fb4db8c.png

u04117_zpse7596eb0.png

We're going to Salonika to track down Joao. Keeping so much crew fed is troublesome though, so we should dismiss some of them.

u04118_zps8c889f2d.png

Let's go!

u04119_zpsde43e9ef.png

By the way, this is Idin's character sheet. He's slightly weaker than Khayr, but still very dangerous.

u04120_zpsda758126.png

u04121_zpsf2954eb9.png

Here's the port of Salonika, located in the Aegean Sea.

u04122_zps2dc87ff8.png

If you say so, Emilio.

u04123_zps2adebfc6.png

pubguy_zps7a06231c.png
"No, I haven't."
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"You're not lying to me, are you?"
pubguy_zps7a06231c.png
"Ouch! Why should I lie to you!?"
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"Stop that, Andreas!"
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"This guy is lying. I know it!"
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"Let's go. Sorry to bother you."

u04124_zps276b3efa.png

emil_zpse45c0125.png
"Commodore, maybe Joao's fleet hasn't arrived here yet, or he hasn't visited the pub yet."
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"OK. Let's wait here for a while."

u04125_zpsbac7d078.png

There's also a navigator at the lodge, but we really have no use for him.

u04126_zpsf83a9d48.png

The item shop in Salonika sells a very... interesting item.

u04127_zps3c41bf9a.png

The "normal" way to get a tax permit is to ask your liege for one. You'll have to pay some money for it, although high-rank nobles can get one for free. However, you can also purchase tax permits in shops. This one is useful in Portuguese ports, but we can also buy tax permits for other countries in diffrent ports. I pretty much never played a merchant so I don't know if there's any penalty for using a permit obtained by illegal means.

u04128_zpse45d9b53.png

Me too. Maybe we should go check the pub again.

u04129_zps8a13874c.png

pubguy_zps7a06231c.png
"Oh no, not you again."
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"Why are you so nervous, huh?"
pubguy_zps7a06231c.png
"Ouch... OK, I'll tell you. Quit it!"
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"Stop it, Andreas."
Presumbly Andreas has just collar grabbed the pub guy really hard.
pubguy_zps7a06231c.png
"Cough-cough."
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"Now, tell us about Joao."
pubguy_zps7a06231c.png
"I'm not lying. The man you are looking for came here a while ago. So I told him about you."
emil_zpse45c0125.png
"What!"
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"You stupid pig!"
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"Maybe he's still around. Let's go looking for him."

u04130_zpsb9edf45b.png

u04131_zps2615d9e7.png

And so we started searching every building in Salonika for Joao.

u04132_zps4893b3cd.png

We also stumbled upon this guy who told us about where we could learn Gunnery.

u04133_zpsee3253b1.png

Dammit, why is it taking so long to find Joao!

u04134_zpsdb3ba6d5.png

Aha! We have finally found him!
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"You, hiding there, come on out!"
emil_zpse45c0125.png
"Commodore, help me!"
Or maybe not.
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"Emilio! What happened? Why are you all tied up?"
emil_zpse45c0125.png
"Whew, thank you."
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"Sorry, Commodore."
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"Who did it? Oh, you don't have to tell me. I know it was that wicked Joao."
emil_zpse45c0125.png
"Well, to be exact, it wasn't Joao, but his mate, Rocco."
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"I followed them to this building. But that old man blocked me."
emil_zpse45c0125.png
"He is a monster! I was powerless before him."
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"Yes, I've heard about him. That old man used to be called 'Monster Rocco'."
emil_zpse45c0125.png
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"I didn't think he was that strong."
cata_zps6e756ce0.png
"Get up. Where did Joao go?"
emil_zpse45c0125.png
"He said he'll be at the harbor."

Some trivia about this Rocco person (and the history of the Francos). He has been serving the Francos since forever. He served as the first mate to Raul Franco (Leon's father and Joao's grandfather) before Raul's fleet was destroyed in a storm. Rocco managed to get back to Lisbon where he told the young Leon about what had happened to Raul. Leon decided to take up his father's sword and live the life of a sailor. Thus starts the story of UW1, where you play as Leon with Rocco as your first mate.

At the end of UW1, Leon did... something and became a duke of Portugal. I'm not sure what did he do since I've never actually completed UW1. Anyway, a few decades later, Leon's son Joao grew up, and Leon decided to send Joao on a mission to find Atlantis or something because "men of the Francos can't live on land forever". Rocco, who is now 65-year old, also came along to provide some help and instructions to Joao. Thus starts Joao's story in UW2. If we had chosen to play as Joao, we would start with Rocco as our first mate. I won't show off Rocco's character sheet here, buy suffice to say, this guy is certainly not undeserving of his nickname.

Rocco also appeared in UW3 (whose starting date is 1480 -- several decades before UW2 and even UW1) as a recruitable character. If you've just started playing UW3, try making Rocco your first mate as soon as possible because Rocco had amazing stats even when he was 23.

Rocco didn't appear in Gaiden or UW4 but it's not like anyone gives a shit about these games.

But enough babbling about the Francos' history. Remember, they're our enemy here.

u04135_zps78c2ef91.png

harbor_zps642e3cc7.png
"Yes, Commodore Joao's fleet just left."
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"Oh, no! We just missed them!"
emil_zpse45c0125.png
"Did they say anything?"
harbor_zps642e3cc7.png
"Well no, but they seemed to be laughing pretty hard about something."
andr_zpsf9321b3e.png
"They won't get away with this!"

u04136_zpsb0fbae67.png

And so we missed our chance to subjugate Joao for the second time. Oh well, I'm sure we'll run into him again when we have raised our piracy fame.

u04137_zpsfd0d7e26.png

Let's cheer ourselves up by going back to Ceuta and start killing random dudes again!
:yeah:
But that is reserved for the second part of this update. :troll:
 

Monstrous Bat

Cipher
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Messages
638
what does this emote mean and why does Azira keep using it in my LP threads
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom