Sid Meier's Pirates

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Why no talk on this game? It's been out for a few months. Did this game
not sell?

I've been playing it off and on for months. It's very good, and is
pretty much like the original game. My only (rather small) problem with it-
it would be far better with gamepad support. The interface is a wierd
mixture for a modern PC game- it relies upon the keyboard almost
exclusively, and the mouse is almost an afterthought. A gamepad would be
alot more ergonomic. Maybe I just play the game to death, but I find the
use of the numberpad as the primary control to be a bit hand cramping after
a while. Having an option for analog control for the ship would be alot
easier.

And lest anybody think a gamepad would be heresy on the PC- the
original game could use a joystick (in fact, that's how I played it). I
think it's available on the XBox (not that I own one), though I'm not sure
how it would look- Pirates supports several DirectX 9 features, including
HDR lighting.

 

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magnulus wrote:
> Why no talk on this game? It's been out for a few months. Did this
game
> not sell?
>
> I've been playing it off and on for months. It's very good, and
is
> pretty much like the original game. My only (rather small) problem
with it-
> it would be far better with gamepad support. The interface is a
wierd
> mixture for a modern PC game- it relies upon the keyboard almost
> exclusively, and the mouse is almost an afterthought. A gamepad
would be
> alot more ergonomic. Maybe I just play the game to death, but I find
the
> use of the numberpad as the primary control to be a bit hand cramping
after
> a while. Having an option for analog control for the ship would be
alot
> easier.
>
> And lest anybody think a gamepad would be heresy on the PC- the
> original game could use a joystick (in fact, that's how I played it).
I
> think it's available on the XBox (not that I own one), though I'm not
sure
> how it would look- Pirates supports several DirectX 9 features,
including
> HDR lighting.

This game like many others had the misfortune of being released with 6
months of the incomparable and all-conquering Half-Life 2, so sadly (or
not if you are a valve fanboy ;o) most of those games have been
forgotten.

 

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magnulus wrote:
> Why no talk on this game? It's been out for a few months. Did
> this game not sell?
<snip>

I think it sold fairly well. There's just so much to say about a game,
and most traffic on usenet (at least the strategic group) about a game
is only for about 1-2 weeks after it comes out.

It's got a fair amount of traffic on the gamefaqs board still

http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/gentopic.php?board=915017

The Xbox version isn't out yet. May, I think. It should be okay - my
current PC runs Pirates okay, and it has specs pretty much on par with
an Xbox.

 

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"Raymond Martineau" <bk039@ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:elulv0t7a65tbrl9hmf149hnff41g2hel3@4ax.com...
> Can you elaborate? I haven't heard about that joystick, let alone another
> way to hold one. The only two grips I've seen at the time would be the
> Ball (or Arcade) grip and the Flight-sim grip, both of which require the
> second hand to hold the small base (or press the button.)
>

The old Mach I joystick was used on the Apple/PC, and was made by an
American company called CH Products (they still make joysticks, too). You
used your fingertips, not your whole hand, to move the stick around.
Usually it was held with one hand with the thumb on the fire button, and the
other hand moved the joystick around.

I still have mine and it works fine even though it's 14 years old (bought
used, BTW), but of course now everything is USB. Modern joysticks like what
Saitek or CH Products make are too big and bulky to play action games. They
don't require the off hand to hold the base, really, because the bases are
large.

I suppose some of the arcade game setups they sell for PC would work,
but for the money a gamepad with analog thumbsticks works just as well and
is more versatile.

 

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On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 17:44:02 -0500, "magnulus"
<magnulus@bellsouth.net> wrote:

> Why no talk on this game? It's been out for a few months. Did this game
>not sell?

There was a bunch of talk about it here a few months back, when it
came out. I guess we've pretty much said it all.

Or maybe not? Anyway, like you say, it is very much a true remake
of the original game rather than a revamped sequel, so those familiar
with the original -- a lot of people -- don't need to know or say much
more than that.

> I've been playing it off and on for months. It's very good, and is
>pretty much like the original game. My only (rather small) problem with it-
>it would be far better with gamepad support. The interface is a wierd
>mixture for a modern PC game- it relies upon the keyboard almost
>exclusively, and the mouse is almost an afterthought. A gamepad would be
>alot more ergonomic. Maybe I just play the game to death, but I find the
>use of the numberpad as the primary control to be a bit hand cramping after
>a while. Having an option for analog control for the ship would be alot
>easier.

Gamepad support on PC games is sketchy at best :-(

You can use a joystick/gamepad to keyboard emulator program, to let
you use the gamepad as if it were the keyboard.

As for the ship control, I find using the cursor arrow keys to steer
and the number pad keys to fight is easier than using one area for
both. It takes two hands, but it is much easier to drive (and less
stress on the hand).

> And lest anybody think a gamepad would be heresy on the PC- the
>original game could use a joystick (in fact, that's how I played it). I
>think it's available on the XBox (not that I own one), though I'm not sure
>how it would look- Pirates supports several DirectX 9 features, including
>HDR lighting.

It will be available on the XBox and should work well, albeit at
lower resolution than some PCs get. On the PC, I don't think that it
looks great below 1024x768, but I'd imagine that on the XBox they'd
optimize it for TV resolutions.


--
*-__Jeffery Jones__________| *Starfire* |____________________-*
** Muskego WI Access Channel 14/25 <http://www.execpc.com/~jeffsj/mach7/>
*Starfire Design Studio* <http://www.starfiredesign.com/>

 

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic (More info?)

I bought it, because I loved the original(s) and some other pirate
games. However I know I will not be able to play it until I get an
upgraded motherboard processor (650MHz here - 5 years old!!!!). But
I've been waiting for the Pirates! sequel or years, so supported its
release.

--
Frankymole

 

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magnulus wrote:

>
> "Raymond Martineau" <bk039@ncf.ca> wrote in message
> news:elulv0t7a65tbrl9hmf149hnff41g2hel3@4ax.com...
> > Can you elaborate? I haven't heard about that joystick, let alone
> > another way to hold one. The only two grips I've seen at the time
> > would be the Ball (or Arcade) grip and the Flight-sim grip, both of
> > which require the second hand to hold the small base (or press the
> > button.)
> >
>
> The old Mach I joystick was used on the Apple/PC, and was made by an
> American company called CH Products (they still make joysticks, too).
> You used your fingertips, not your whole hand, to move the stick
> around. Usually it was held with one hand with the thumb on the fire
> button, and the other hand moved the joystick around.
>
> I still have mine and it works fine even though it's 14 years old
> (bought used, BTW), but of course now everything is USB. Modern
> joysticks like what Saitek or CH Products make are too big and bulky
> to play action games. They don't require the off hand to hold the
> base, really, because the bases are large.
>
> I suppose some of the arcade game setups they sell for PC would
> work, but for the money a gamepad with analog thumbsticks works just
> as well and is more versatile.


You guys do know you can get game pads of just about every make and
model for PC don't you?
--
DalienX

 

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"DalienX" <somewhere@earth.com> wrote in message
news:lmQKd.140182$K7.126029@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> You guys do know you can get game pads of just about every make and
> model for PC don't you?

Yes, but I usually just use a PS2 gamepad with a USB adapter.

My whole point- a gamepad is not really a bad controller, considering the
alternatives.

 

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Thusly "DalienX" <somewhere@earth.com> Spake Unto All:

>You guys do know you can get game pads of just about every make and
>model for PC don't you?

Yes, but what does all gamepads of all makes and models have in
common?

 

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"magnulus" <magnulus@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:kazKd.1014$dj6.43@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> Why no talk on this game? It's been out for a few months. Did this
game
> not sell?
>
> I've been playing it off and on for months. It's very good, and is
> pretty much like the original game. My only (rather small) problem with
it-
> it would be far better with gamepad support. The interface is a wierd
> mixture for a modern PC game- it relies upon the keyboard almost
> exclusively, and the mouse is almost an afterthought. A gamepad would be
> alot more ergonomic. Maybe I just play the game to death, but I find the
> use of the numberpad as the primary control to be a bit hand cramping
after
> a while. Having an option for analog control for the ship would be alot
> easier.
>
> And lest anybody think a gamepad would be heresy on the PC- the
> original game could use a joystick (in fact, that's how I played it). I
> think it's available on the XBox (not that I own one), though I'm not sure
> how it would look- Pirates supports several DirectX 9 features, including
> HDR lighting.
>
>

I got this game for Xmas, and it's an enjoyable romp thru the Caribbean,
fighting pirates, searching for buried treasure, and rescuing winches.

But no drinking grog?!?!?!

Some things that I wished they had included in the game are:

1. Have the character show signs of aging. Gray hair, beer belly, ...
2. Maybe add some RPG elements to your character. (The game has tiny
elements of this)
3. Allow your character to obtain tatooes. Even John Madden Football 2005
has this.
4. Have it so that you can click a map location and it appears as a
directional add when sailing.
5. Add another mini-game such as "Grog drinking". Where you have to out
drink a revival pirate. If you do, you get a buried map location. (But I
guess in this day and age... this isn't potically correct.)
6. Coop play. Imagine sailing after the Treasure Fleet with a friend in
a Frigate.

You might want to try this link for some postings on the game. I found
several tips and hints which made me a better pirate.

http://forum.piratesahoy.net/forum20.php&sid=e16ec8ea1f2a7c92feb64a8c6ccbabf5

 

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"OldDog" <OldDog@citypound.com> wrote in message
newsAVKd.80704$_56.22180@fe2.texas.rr.com...
> 1. Have the character show signs of aging. Gray hair, beer belly, ...

The character does age. You can see it on the character model. He gets
lines and wrinkles on his face.

> 2. Maybe add some RPG elements to your character. (The game has tiny
> elements of this)

Add too many RPG elements and it is no longer Sid Meier's Pirates.