What can I say, I bought the game on impulse last week and have been playing off and on all weekend.  Anyone else been tempted?  I wasn't really planning on getting this especially without trying a demo or something until I saw the special pre-order dvd version in the local ebgames.  I was shopping with my wife at the time so there was no way I could pre-order.  When I went back the next week to see if it was too late, the game was out, but luckily they had the dvd version on the shelf beside the regular ones at the same price.  So it was an early Christmas present to myself.

I must admit it's a little different than I expected, having never played the original Pirates! game.  But it is quite well-done and entertaining.  I'll reveal more once I've played a bit longer.  Your thoughts?

Not sure if I like it yet or not.  The sailing and ship combat is great and very realistic.  The swordfighting does take a fair amount of skill and I'm only at the second level of difficulty.  I was floored at first when I saw that ballroom dancing was a skill that a pirate might need, but it is an interesting diversion.  There is such a variety of things to do that it is interesting for now anyway.  But overall I think that Tropico 2 may be more true to the pirate life, except possibly the gender thing.  Pirates! does the opposite and has no women pirates and plays up the sexist role with the governor's daughters and barmaid talks.    

I'm with CC on this. I'll (maybe) get it a year or two after the release when it's cheap, all the bugs are ironed out and there are plenty of fansites, FAQs, etc.

I like the original Pirates! a lot. Well, actually, I prefer Pirates! Gold - same game, better graphics. The Sega version was the first I ever tried back in 90s and I still play it.

Wit and Charm is a wonderful "skill" but from the practical point of view I prefer Navigation or Medicine. Women in Pirates! tend to be very much impressed with wealth and rank (as are some in reality ) so to secure their valuable assistance, I usually go for those.

It's only been out a week or two now, so no patches yet.  But there are no bugs that I have come across yet.  From all accounts the update is very much like the original, so if you liked it you should like the new version.  Wit and charm is still an important trait and yes, it does assist you in ballroom dancing and in winning the favour of the ladies.  The other skills look to be the same.

Sure he can! There is a "Charismatic" trait after all.

That's a good point.

I thought that "Wit & Charm" operated on mostly a person-to-person basis while "Charisma" operated on a person-to-group basis. You know - like Ronald Regan reading his scripts well.

But maybe there is a heavy link between "Wit & Charm" and "Charisma." Now if only El Presidente could learn "Charisma" as a Pirate can improve his "Wit & Charm."

 

I'm still playing and enjoying it.  My dancing is getting better, especially with the special 'dancing slippers' I acquired in the tavern.    I plan to write a mini-review shortly with my thoughts on the game.

Here's a screenshot of one sea battle in the overhead view:

And another closeup:

Of course it is harder to program and even harder to sail in, but the wind should blow mainly in one direction over the whole map.

It's sort of amusing to see the wind blowing in the direction that each ship is sailing, even when they are close and going in opposite directions.

The Spaniard has an additional twist, two flags and the wind is blowing them in opposite directions.

 

Arrggh, now you've gone and ruined the game for me CK.    The flags are stiff as boards and do not even swing around in the wind, they always point the same direction.  It's funny they didn't do something with them since the mast streamers are so realistic and the town flags wave very nicely.  I hadn't noticed before, but now I will always look at those flags and think, how cheesy!  

Absolutely CK, wind direction has a big effect on sailing speed.  Sailing "into the eye of the wind" is extremely slow and you are better off tacking one direction then the other, just like a real sailboat.  The manual actually gives a nice graphic of the "best point of sailing" terms like beam reach (90 degrees to wind), close-hauled, broad reach etc.  And the ships table gives the best points of sailing for each ship type based on hull design and sail configuration.  To quote the manual,  "In general, ships with square sails such as the frigate or merchantman tend to perform best when sailing "large" - that is, running before the wind (for instance, in a running broad reach).  Ships with triangular sails such as the pinnace or barque tend to perform best when sailing "by the wind" - that is, running roughly perpendicular to the wind (say, in a broad beam reach)."

So it is very sophisticated as far as technical sailing goes, though I know very little about sailing in general.

Ahoy thar, Dave an' all ye udder scurvy-ridden Tropico-playin' bilge rats!   Fred Bob hain't been 'round dese parts since de Okie Noodlin' saga!   Aye, Fred Bob bought him de Limited Edition SMP DVD an' been playin' it fer de last 3 or 4 weeks!     Fun game tew play wid lots o' room fer buildin' up yer skill in playin'  de game!