Despite having allied itself with the British Navy, oh, I mean the British privateering system.
But the protagonist still has to start from the bottom as a sailor.
Fortunately, both fate and courage were on this poor man's side.
The captain's tyranny and stupidity thoroughly enraged the sailors on board.
Enough is enough; there's no need to endure it any longer.
The vast ocean is a world of chivalry and vengeance.
[Abandoning the rules, the sailors mutinied.]
The crew members on the ship immediately split into two factions.
On one side are the captain's loyal confidants, and on the other side are the passionate protagonist and the other sailors.
Everyone drew their swords, and after a few moments of standoff, a great battle was about to break out.
"It's really hard to imagine that this level of cutscenes is purely rendered."
Tim watched in astonishment as everything unfolded on the screen.
Although the modeling accuracy is not high and the frame rate is only passable, it should be noted that this is pure animation production.
At most, it might just involve some motion capture.
To achieve this level of quality is truly cinematic.
ABSOLUTECINEMA!
"Yes, it's a pity this is just a game. If it were a Pirates! movie, with their production quality, it would definitely be amazing."
Chris nodded in agreement.
What a magnificent sword fight!
Unfortunately, all of this only exists in cutscenes.
As they spoke, the situation on the screen changed rapidly.
The captain seized a cannon and was about to light the fuse to blow the traitors into the air.
The protagonist, still fighting the enemy on the mast, immediately saw what the captain was doing and made up his mind.
John Depp's face model and motion capture perfectly captured his expressions on screen.
He grabbed the sail rope and, like a seasoned Adventure, slid down it.
Using the momentum from his slide, he delivered a powerful flying kick, sending the Old Thief captain, a scoundrel, tumbling several times on the ground.
The protagonist emerged victorious in the civil war.
They lowered the small life raft, and the captain, along with a few trusted men, sheepishly rowed away.
The protagonist, who led the rebellion and was exceptionally brave, naturally won everyone's support.
[Victory is won, sails are raised high!]
This ship and its sailors are now at your command!
You've taken your first step towards the Caribbean Sea!
[For unknown opportunities;]
[To save your family;]
[To avenge those villains;]
Your destiny awaits you!
The story isn't complicated; it follows the traditional shonen (mainstream) and action-packed formula, but it was definitely enjoyable for both characters.
Who wouldn't want an awesome protagonist to dominate the game world in their place?
The sound of surging waves came through the speakers.
Then came the sound of sails billowing and billowing in the sea breeze.
"Huh? Loading is faster than I expected."
Chris gasped.
After a very brief black screen, the game quickly returned to the main game screen.
This is very unusual.
In the past, you couldn't even get through a game of this caliber in less than a few minutes.
Loading all the textures and model resources alone takes quite a while.
Not to mention the calculation and rendering of various data.
However, Pirates!! accomplished all of this almost instantly.
"Hmm----I understand! It's preloading!"
Unlike Chris's administrative role, Tim is Rare's key technical player, so he naturally has a more thorough understanding of the situation.
This also demonstrates the benefits of using games as source material.
They say learning has no end; I've already learned a trick right from the start.
"Preload?"
"Yes! The game was already loading secretly while we were watching the opening animation."
This loading is completely asynchronous, happening without the player's knowledge.
Tim excitedly noted down the little trick and refocused his attention on the game.
The overhead view clearly shows the waves and ship models on the sea.
Just like in Ace Combat, except the sea is 2D, which saves a lot of computing resources and gives Hermes a chance to run.
Tim was piloting an unremarkable little boat, a single-masted sailboat, which was no match for the real large ships in terms of speed or combat capability.
But for a young, inexperienced captain, this was more than enough.
Small means flexible!
Even small ones can be amazing!
Not far ahead of them was a dock.
[ Nevis ]
[ United Kingdom colony]
The red lettering and the British flag hanging there conveyed the information about the place.
" Nevis —ah, that's the island nation in the Leeward Islands of the Eastern Caribbean Sea, isn't it?"
It is a country that only gained independence two years ago, and it is still a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The location is pretty good, with many islands nearby, so you're sure to encounter a lot of new things.
However, before that, Tim still planned to dock and study the situation properly before considering the official departure.
The United Kingdom colony of Nevis (population 2800) is suffering under the scorching sun.
Food supplies here are usually plentiful, you should----
[Talk with the Governor-General]
[Go to the tavern]
[Trading with merchants]
[Negotiations with the ship repairmen]
[Dividing the spoils]
[Check Status]
[set sail]
There are a surprising number of options, and each one contains a considerable amount of information, requiring careful consideration.
However, there's no rush, so we'll naturally look at each of the optimal solutions one by one.
"Let's go see the governor first. After all, we're a regular army, engaged in privateering; we can't be like those unruly Pirates!."
Tim said this and chose to speak with the governor.
[You might be interested in knowing:]
[We're playing -]
[The evil Spain!]
[Disgusting France!]
"Hey, what do you think this information is for?"
Tim's eyes lit up as he immediately guessed the game's mechanics, his interest growing even stronger. "I guess—we can legitimately hijack those Spain and France merchant ships."
"What do you mean? Is there any legitimate reason for this?"
Chris listened, puzzled, not understanding what he meant.
Tim smiled slightly and explained, shaking his head, " Chris, do you know how the famous Captain Kidd died back then?"
" Kidd? William Kidd?"
Captain Kidd is undoubtedly a prominent figure in Pirates! history.
Legend has it that before he died, he gave his wife a note containing four sets of numbers.
Whoever finds his buried treasure will enjoy endless wealth and glory.
Farewell, sailors young and old, who revel in drinking and merrymaking; I must go now, to find my treasure!
Kidd wrote this in one of his poems.
"That's right, he was hanged for Pirates!."
Why didn't he become a privateer?
"He was, but he hijacked an East India Company merchant ship with a France license."
Whether privateering is legal depends on who defines the enemy.
On the high seas, a country that is an enemy one second may become a protected neutral nation the next.
A ship, possibly funded by the Mughal Empire, operated by Armenians, bearing France credentials, escorted by the United Kingdom East India Company, and piloted by Arabia sailors—
In this situation, how can you determine the other person's identity?
Kidd was thus abandoned.
In order to protect themselves, the nobles behind him naturally all shifted the blame onto this scapegoat.
"Private raiding is a system that is legal during wartime but dangerous during peacetime."
At this point, Chris understood what Tim was trying to say.
Yes, video game storage space is extremely valuable, and no one would waste resources to deliberately design any useless plot point.
Every line the governor speaks may contain a hidden meaning.
"If I'm not mistaken, if we rob a Spain ship now, we won't become universally reviled Pirates!; we might even get knighted and promoted in England."
[I am honored to issue you this license, which now allows you to seize and sink enemy ships.]
See, I told you so!
Now Tim finally understood the purpose of the "reputation" displayed in the lower left corner of the screen.
"That's interesting, though. So it seems this game isn't linear?"
Chris was surprised by the game's level of freedom.
If I hadn't chosen to speak with the governor, I certainly wouldn't have been able to obtain this permit.
If they were to engage in another reckless attack at that time, they might actually end up with bounties on their heads and be forced to flee at sea, barely surviving by plundering.
But things are different now; we're a regular army now!
The game doesn't explicitly guide players on what to do; it simply presents the vast ocean and waits for the players to make their own choices.
Was he a privateer captain or a notorious Pirates!?
The selection process officially began from the very beginning.
Perhaps everyone will have completely different experiences and feelings in this game.
It's like—it's like truly writing your own unique Adventure story.
Everyone can create their own success.
Just like what's happening right now.
[As you can see from this map, the nearest enemy city is Montserrat, a France city, which is very close to the southeast.]
The governor not only issued the permit, but also thoughtfully pointed out the enemy's location.
Montserrat, also a Kojima in the Leeward Islands, is located next to Nevis.
At this point in time, it was still France colony.
However, in Chris's mind, Montserrat should be an overseas territory of Great Britain.
"Wait—could it be...?"
Thinking about this, Chris suddenly had a bold guess.
Although it's incredible, this is a GAMENOVA project, so it's possible that such a design might actually exist.
"Do you think it's possible for us to attack the port later?"
Upon hearing this, Tim also fell silent.
The reason is simple: this matter actually seems to have some progress.
"You mean—to lead a group of sailors on a landing operation, capture the port, and change the flag?"
His eyes flickered as he stared at the screen, and suddenly he felt his heart beating faster.
My heart is pounding!