Anyone ever try Port Royale?

GhengisFarb™ · August 31, 2003, 18:41

I've heard some good stuff about it and wondered if anyone here has tried it.

Sharpe · August 31, 2003, 19:17

The demo is downloadable at IGN.com and other sites if you want to try it. (Reasonable size about 98 MB)

I have downloaded it but haven't tried it yet.

Standup · September 2, 2003, 18:09

I bought it, played for an afternoon and then put it to one side. I think its when i found myself making a spreadsheet to help me track prices in ports that i decided to go back to something else. I wouldn't say its a bad game - i just got bored.

Bascially you start out with a small ship and trade goods in a small local area and slowly expand. The economy reponds to your trading and there's plenty of commodities and ships to choose from. Bit of combat and even a vague story line. I just found i wasn't in the mood for keeping track of the numbers and you need to pay attention or you'll soon run out of money.

It had enough potential to keep on the hard drive though.

Sarxis · September 3, 2003, 02:17

I've got it installed. Still haven't played it, and I'm rather mad at myself:

my intention was to see Pirates of the Carribean, and then give the game a go.

Darn.

GhengisFarb™ · September 3, 2003, 12:48

I got and started playing it. Its VERY addictive. Like Pirates!, only better. You don't have to keep track of prices, they have the base price in the book and all you have to do is buy when their close to that and sell when you see them above that.

Very fun if you like trading, naval combat, pirate type games.

Standup · September 4, 2003, 07:06

I think that's were i didn't have enough patience - i found it frustrating to have to sail to towns to then find out there was no demand for wood/rum etc or to wait for prices to rise above my purchase price. Hence the spreadsheets to aviod wasted trips.

There are different types of towns which have different demands and i think if i play longer the supply/demand would become more obvious.

rah · September 4, 2003, 16:52

Keeping a few notes doesn't bother me, but elaborate spreadsheets make me wonder why I paid for the computer version of a game.

If I wanted pen and paper, I'd have bought the board game.

GhengisFarb™ · September 10, 2003, 11:28

Its fairly simple, there are several Port Royale related websites where you download a list of the production cost of each commodity. Then when you drop in a port and see a low price you buy it and when you go to a port that has a higher price than you paid (it shows how much you paid for each cargo item to the right) you sell.

And the map that came with the game lists the goods each city produces.

rah · September 10, 2003, 13:43

Heck, that doesn't sound like much work.

GhengisFarb™ · September 10, 2003, 16:58

Quote:

Originally posted by rah
Heck, that doesn't sound like much work.

It isn't. Its the funnest game I've found it quite awhile. You CAN get all technical with spreadsheets and prebuilt automated trade routes, but lazy people like me can still play the game. Just doesn't maximize my money as much as the number crunchers...........

Skanky Burns · September 10, 2003, 21:11

http://downloads.ign.com/game/546239.html

rah · September 11, 2003, 08:22

Quote:

Originally posted by GhengisFarb
Just doesn't maximize my money as much as the number crunchers...........

I doubt there is that much difference.

Skanky Burns · September 15, 2003, 01:02

Why bother with the trading? Just get a bunch of men with cutlasses and muskets, arm your ship to the teeth with cannon and buy lots of scatter-shot. Clear the enemy ships of sailors and then board them. Sell off any excess shipping and make much profit.

I installed the demo today, and in one expidition captured 3 barques and a brig, using my own 3 brigs. Back in town, I sold off all the new cargo, all my brigs and filled the 3 barques with maximum cannon and sailors. With all the cannon I had captured, I ended up having to sell many just to get my numbers down to the maximum. 'Tis quite fun, and I am making quite a bit of money.

Repairs for my 3 ships cost around $4500. Selling my brigs brought in around $9000 each. Cargo and excess weaponry selling also increased the profit.

rah · September 15, 2003, 09:00

How is the combat? That's what usually differenciates these types of games. Is it fun? Is it easy? Is hand eye coordination involved?

Skanky Burns · September 15, 2003, 09:47

There are 3 different ways to do combat. The first is auto (where presumably the biggest side will win automatically, never really tried that one). The second is manual, where you right-click with a ship and press shift to fire when you think your cannons will hit their ship.

The third way is to just right-click on the enemy ship and have your ships attack it automatically. They fire at will and all you need to do is select ammo type and when to attempt boarding them. It is actually quite fun, easy, and virtually no hand-eye coordination. Pausing is allowed too.

The overall strategy is still challenging though, and different ammo is useful for different situations, so combat is not a cakewalk.

rah · September 15, 2003, 13:39

How about boarding.

The ship attacks sounds similar to other games in this genre.

Skanky Burns · September 15, 2003, 21:21

Unfortunately (or not, as the case may be) boarding is as simple as having your ship bump into their ship. The number of sailors on each ship goes down until one ship only has 8 or less, in which case it gives up. If you greatly outnumber them (2:1 or more) then it is possible to take the ship without much loss of life for your own side.

Aside from buying your soldiers swords (and possibly muskets, I'm not sure if they actually are used in ship battles) there is little for you to do once boarding actually takes place. Gone is the original Pirates-style fight with you in the lead.

Skanky Burns · September 17, 2003, 03:04

If you do end up playing the game though, don't try taking on a 140-man galleon with a 60-man barque. Especially if you happen to only have 3 ships and the enemy has 4.

rah · September 17, 2003, 08:40

Quote:

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
Gone is the original Pirates-style fight with you in the lead.

That's too bad.

Asmodean · September 17, 2003, 10:16

Not really to me. That was the only thing in Pirates! that i disliked. I think I'll go ahead and get this game.

Asmodean

Asmodean · September 18, 2003, 08:39

So I went ahead and got it. I can't say much gameplaywise yet. But the graphics. Oh boy, the graphics. They're sweet. The attached image really doesn't do them any good, but I just had to attach something

Asmodean

GhengisFarb™ · September 19, 2003, 10:54

There is a bit of a learning curve to get going. I have pretty much settled in to starting a Port Royale as English so I can immediately start building Wood and Bricks which I can use in more buildings.

I always start with the biggest ship, buy a Letter of Marque first thing (its around 8000 gc when you first start) and then take a loan from the Treasurer to buy Cannons, ammo, cutlasses and crew. Then I attack Trading Flute-ships as I can turn around and sell the ships for a good amount of cash.

When fighting sea battles I use grape shot to destroy the opposing ships crew and then crash into them once my crew has them outnumbered.

ChrisiusMaximus · September 19, 2003, 12:17

Its an excellent strategy game that you can play in several different styles as others have mentioned. If you have got several promotions there comes a point when the game gives you youre own town, a hideout. This really is a great asset because all ship repairs are free and you have unlimited storage for all goods and resources. You can also build up this town with housing and industry with no competition from other traders.

Its possible to afford several large fleets of the largest ships crammed full of sailors and blast the pirates and enemy nations out of the water with the profits you can make from your own hideout.

Asmodean · September 19, 2003, 12:27

Chrisius: That sounds really great. Is it hard to get to that point?

Asmodean

ChrisiusMaximus · September 19, 2003, 13:12

I would'nt say it is hard but it does take some time to get there, so in response if you have the time to invest in this game it will reward you with these added features.

The game has many little quests that you can if you so wish undertake. From the Govenor in your starting town and sometimes from market places but more often from Inns. The Govenor in your start town will offer you the hand of his daughter in marriage if he likes you enough, and she gives you loads of useful info and gossip when you check out the govenors residence.

I think you can also choose to play the game as a bucaneer but Ive not actually tried that yet myself.

Its definitely a fun game with ways to change the play to prevent boredom setting in.

GhengisFarb™ · September 19, 2003, 15:47

The Hide Out is great, I got really lucky in the current game I'm playing. I was using by Brig to attack Dutch Trading Flute-ships and I had two with men on them when the Trading Flute ship I attacked turned out to actually be a Caravel, Carrack, and Military Frigate.

Yikes! But there was almost nobody on them (maybe they had just come out of a fight?) anyway I was able to take them with 38 men left, sell the caravel and brig and repair the Carrack and Military Frigate.

I quickly amassed some Galleons with those two ships (first game I've ever been able to acquire Galleons) and then got the map to the hideout all within the first 5 months of the game.

My hide out turned out to be on the north shore of Turk Islands right in the middle of my Trade Route, and it produces Sugar!

This is about as lucky as you can get me thinks.

Oh, once you reach a certain reputation ANY Governor will offer you his daughter in marriage, not just the one of the town you started in, as long as your on good relations with that town, I was offered the hands of the Spanish and English town Governors until I married the daughter of Trinidad's Governor.

I am currently playing the game as a Cornelius Vanderbilt type of game concentrating on building businesses and just keeping enough ships to transport and sell the product I produce. Trying to avoid having to equip and send any ships to fight sea battles.

Just acquired enough money so that the Town Treasurers asked me for a loan.

Urban Ranger · September 20, 2003, 21:38

Quote:

Originally posted by GhengisFarb
And the map that came with the game lists the goods each city produces.

That's not bad, but you expect more than that from a computer game. Say, when you click on a port, it tells you what goods it has for sell.

GhengisFarb™ · September 20, 2003, 22:46

Quote:

Originally posted by Urban Ranger

That's not bad, but you expect more than that from a computer game. Say, when you click on a port, it tells you what goods it has for sell.

It does. It states what goods that port produces effeciently, what it produces ineffeciently, and its current daily consumption of all of the different goods (demand).

Asmodean · September 21, 2003, 05:26

Actully, as far as I have been able to find out, it only does that, when you DON'T have ships in that particular port. I haven't been able to find that information for ports, in which I currently have ships.

Or maybe I'm missing something?

Asmodean

ChrisiusMaximus · September 21, 2003, 05:32

Click on the port cannons or the market place when you enter the town,