After his meeting with the governor, Tim went to a tavern in the harbor.
Pubs are the most classic social venues.
He didn't even need to guess; he knew exactly what this place was for.
It was simply a place for gathering information and recruiting sailors.
Having learned from his previous experience, Tim read the text with extra care this time.
And this dedication certainly did not disappoint him.
[ France smuggling ships heading towards Nevis ]
This is what's being discussed inside the tavern.
With the information given to him by the girl and the boss, he managed to mark quite a few new things on the map just by casually browsing around.
Tim, who had been having a very leisurely time, suddenly found himself with a whole host of responsibilities.
They even spent 200 gold coins to obtain a fragment of Captain Jack's treasure map from a mysterious merchant.
As for these sailors?
The small sling doesn't need that many people for now.
With the initial group of brothers we have, we're more than capable of launching a brilliant boarding action.
More people would become a burden and waste resources.
Tim finished his business at the tavern and turned his attention to the next item.
To trade with merchants.
There aren't many types of resources in the game, perhaps to conserve the game's limited resources.
There are a total of six types of supplies.
Food, luxury goods, merchandise, spices, sugar, and cannons.
It seems that if they intend to get rich from this sea, they will inevitably have to trade these things with merchants in the future.
Whether it's trading or plundering, it's the same.
Tim was about to leave, but Chris called out to him.
"Don't rush to quit. I think we can buy several tons of food."
"Huh? The supplies we brought at the start should last us for at least half a year."
Tim felt somewhat bewildered.
Isn't this guy being a little too cautious?
"No, have you forgotten what the port description said?"
Chris shook his head and patiently explained.
As the logistics and administration coordinator for Rare Studio, he may lack technical skills, but he takes these things very seriously.
"The food supply here is usually plentiful"—have you forgotten?
"Huh? There's that too? But even so, we probably don't need this much food. We can come back later to resupply."
"No, no, no, I mean, think about it, it says here that food is often plentiful, does that mean—there are also places where food is scarce?"
Chris looked serious.
Just before docking, he had noticed another United Kingdom port not far to the northwest.
After mentioning the matter, he encouraged, "Anyway, it's not far, and we have enough carrying capacity, why don't we make a trip and take a look?"
"Hmm... okay."
Encouraged by his words, Tim also became somewhat interested and suddenly felt that there might actually be some truth to it.
Tim bought several tons at a price of 4 gold coins per ton and immediately set off for the neighboring city of Saint Kitts.
Tim paused, surprised, as he looked at the message displayed above, having chosen to trade with the merchant.
"Six gold coins per ton! Is this really possible?"
By simply transferring goods between their left and right hands at such a short distance, they can make a profit of 2 gold coins per ton out of thin air.
Chris had clearly expected this and wasn't surprised much; instead, he just nodded at him.
"Look, step back and see how this port is described."
"Huh? Oh."
Tim nodded and exited the trading interface.
Saint Kitts often buys spices at good prices.
Upon seeing this, Tim finally understood the game's mechanics completely, and a look of delight crossed his face.
He glanced at Chris beside him, only to see a look on Chris's face that said, "I already told you."
"So you mean we can make a fortune just by trading, even without fighting a naval war? That's awesome!"
This game is open-ended!
Tim looked back at the screen with surprise.
There are no mandatory, explicit goals, nor are there any requirements for players to do anything.
You can even be a pure merchant in a Pirates! game!
"But that's too boring. I'm not a Netherlands; privateering suits me better."
"You know what? You're right."
If you travel to the United Kingdom without stealing or robbing, wouldn't that be a wasted trip?
The scale of the game map is designed in a very interesting way.
Or rather, it's extremely particular.
It appears to have been deliberately tuned so that players can encounter events within a minute at most.
Whether it's encountering a new port or various merchant ships.
It's rare to find a truly calm and completely empty stretch of sea.
This deliberate design meant that Tim had already seen quite a few beautiful large ships as soon as he embarked on his voyage.
"Wow, what a three-masted ship! If we could capture one like that, we'd be rich!"
Tim stared at a three-masted ship that was keeping a certain distance from them, his eyes practically gleaming with a green light.
However, he only looked at it briefly.
It would be incredibly stupid of him to actually send that shabby little boat to engage in a head-on battle.
Not to mention that those were Netherlands East India Company ships; if something went wrong, Her Majesty the Queen wouldn't be there to bail them out.
"Forget it, that little guy over there looks Spain, let's go take him down!"
Tim abandoned his plan to follow the ship and changed course, heading in the opposite direction.
Upon closer inspection, it was indeed true.
The Spain smuggling boats, with only six cannons and about forty men, were not as powerful as their dilapidated straitened vessel.
Seeing that his opponent wasn't a formidable opponent, Tim's ruthlessness kicked in, and he immediately pressed the attack button, launching a full-scale offensive.
The camera then shifts, and the previously macroscopic, scaled-down ocean area suddenly enlarges to a scale almost like the real ocean.
The two ships were positioned on opposite sides of this sea area, facing each other across the open water.
The directional keys that were originally used for navigation have changed.
The four directional keys are the same as before, but the other keys are different.
Fire, grapeshot, lasso----
They were actually going to operate their own ships in naval battles!
"Boom!"
With a cannon shot, the small boat opposite them suddenly spewed fire from the side facing them, and several solid black cannonballs tumbled out, heading straight for them.
This is outrageous!
If the mast were to be blown off by a single shot, that would be a real mess.
Tim didn't hesitate either, immediately changing course and turning the rudder hard to port, making the " Revenge " slingshot leave a beautiful arc on the sea.
Several shells struck the sea, creating splashes of water.
"My God—I thought, I thought it would be that kind of—"
Tim was somewhat incoherent.
How should I put it?
It truly lives up to its reputation as a Gamenova production.
He had expected to see something like 8-bit pure 2D pixelation.
But what truly unfolded before them was a magnificent and epic naval battle!
"Never mind all that, let's just fire a shot at them!"
Tim gritted his teeth and immediately turned the ship so that the side with the cannons was facing them.
The sailing ships of that era were completely different from modern warships.
These cannons don't have a directional mechanism to turn them like naval guns.
To hit the target, you really have to adjust the ship's attitude to aim.
"Boom!"
A volley of fire followed, and several shells flew across the sea in perfect parabolic arcs.
"Bang! Bang!"
Both shots hit their targets; one struck the mast, while the other landed on the deck.
Tim immediately saw clearly that the other ship's hull actually responded, showing signs of damage.
"Switch to grapeshot and give them another round!"
He immediately had an idea.
In terms of firepower, they have an absolute advantage. As long as they continue to bombard them for a few more rounds, victory is foreseeable.
"Don't rush, how about we try boarding maneuvers? If that works, we might be able to take the whole ship with us."
It's such a waste to just smash such a perfectly good little boat like that.
Having them with them will allow them to transport more goods.
Even if you don't really need it, you can sell it for money after you arrive at port.
"Switch sides? That makes sense, but I don't see that option..."
Tim glanced at the nine-grid control panel in the lower right corner but didn't see any options related to boarding.
"How about we get closer and see? Before boarding, we need to make contact first."
That makes sense.
Tim nodded, quickly maneuvering the boat to find an angle where it wouldn't be hit by the enemy's cannons, rapidly closing the distance.
The camera cuts again the instant the two ship models collide.
Tim was all too familiar with this scene; it had the same effect when they entered the naval battle earlier.
Clearly, they made the right bet; there really is a boarding action game!
[The ships collided violently and broke apart!]
[As your crew charges forward, the enemy captain also draws his sword and advances!]
[Choose your weapon----]
[Longsword (General)]
[Rapier (Rapier - Fast Attack)]
[Curved Blade (Solid Defense)]
The two exchanged a glance.
It's here!
A man's romance has arrived!
The boarding action is here!
"Do you feel the same way I said rapiers are more befitting our status? We're British nobles, a legitimate and lawful regular army; using scimitars is inappropriate."
"Approved!"
The scene shifted, and both of them were taken aback.
This scene looks rather familiar.
Isn't this exactly how he looked during his sword fight with the captain in the opening animation?!
The only difference was that the opponent was now an ordinary Spain captain.
"WTF? Real-time rendering?? 3D sword fighting???"
Chris stared at the screen, his mouth agape.
Slash, thrust, block, taunt----
There are a total of 7 actions, and whether it's suppressing the enemy or blocking at the right moment, there are real-time animation calculations.
It's like a QTE, only more refined and more fun.
He had thought that after the cutscene ended, it would be difficult to see such close-quarters combat again.
But as it turns out, GAMENOVA is indeed an unreasonable company.
With just a little visual trickery, all the players can collectively curse.
"How the hell did that?!"
Okay, actually this thing is essentially the combat system from the original version of Pirates! of the Caribbean that Sid came up with.
However, Lin Lixin cast a small spell on it.
Simply put, it's pseudo-3D!
The two appear to be fighting on a 3D deck, but in reality, the entire battlefield still takes place in a straight line. It's just that the rendering and camera angles create a realistic 3D effect.
They had actually used this tactic many times back in the Biohazard era.
By stuffing 3D elements into a 2D environment and using deliberate perspective design, even the developers themselves wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Aside from its limited space for movement, its visual effects are undeniably true 3D.