New Scenario - French Buccaneers

[TJ]

My third release. Rated: Hard. Should be the highest scoring scenario anyone has done. In my test game, I scored 361579 and only got a silver!

BTW, this one is great for anyone running on a slower computer (like mine).

Please see updated version below.

[Hayreddin Barbarossa]

 
Glad you're keeping them coming TJ. I'll give all of them tries whenever I can.
 

[TJ]

I have 4 more in various stages of production so keep looking for more.

[TJ]

Updated version. Very small change.

[Severous]

21 months have passed in my go with this scenario. Screenshot below.

The last tree on the island has just been felled (near the new sea ration factory).  With no trees left I can place further buildings without wasting unreplacable timber.

8 timber camps need emptying. With all the trees gone I now have idle woodcutters but not for long   .  Once I empty the timber camps the land will be free for more corn farming.  

Only 2 Captains available in this scenario.  I have them both aboard schooners having lost the starting Brig on its second cruise.  The schooners are proving durable again..I just love their small crews, +fastest ship type, +shallow draft escape bonus..and in this scenario...+10% battle speed which is one of my favourite pirate ruler bonuses.

Im going without an iron industry. Using the black market to buy just cutlasses and sea rations.  As soon as the schooners capture enough cannons then they will change to pound em missions maybe.

One discovery tonight.  Two schooners working together will take on a galleon.  Alone they will always 'abort our approach' but together two will chase down a galleon and sink it.  In the zone im working at the moment there are plenty of galleons so a fleet increases the plunder significantly.

[Severous]

Part two.

Finished the scenario in mid July 1717.  

The two Schooners kept pulling in hauls from a zone that was high risk/high reward (5 Cannons/5 chests). Almost daily encounters.  

Included one fleet cruise where one of the schooners returned with 62% of ship strength (needing 38% of repairs).  It didnt come home due to damage or weapons loss or crew loss...but due to the normal depletion of rations.  This makes me wonder how much % damage a ship will take before it returns.

Then in June the two schooners caught a Pirate Snow. It had tried to flee but was caught and sunk.  But one schooner sufferred 1 crew KIA plus loss of 5 of its 7 cutlasses.  So it returned home unable to carry on its boardem mission.  This left one schooner on station...that was sunk the very next day by forces unknown.

I had a third sea zone all explored and ready to plunder and two crewed schooners ready to go before I saw I was about to win.  The transfer of island cash to the cave (via housing fraud) would soon hit 40k. With about 10k from captive ransoms I could just make 50k in the cave without cruising again.

Another observation (apart from 2 schooners vs a galleon in above post) was that ransoming wealthy captives seems to have an overall net positive effect on relations with the great powers.  I suppose this happens when you capture 3 or more captives from one ship....the negative from the sinking being outdone by the positives from the multiple ransom releases.  

By selective ransoming I was well on the way to having harmonious relations with France (by not releasing anyone with incriminating evidence to france) ..until that is I ransomed the lot to make the 50k stash.

Overall - not a complicated scenario.  Ideal for a quick start with a brig already made.

Thanks again TJ.  

[Severous]

After action Report.... cruise stats from my play of this scenario.

Not that many cruises. I end my games quickly via a housing exploit to move cash from the island treasury to the hoard.

[Clever duck]

  I reached the 25000 hoard for silver with 2 years to spare (screenshot).

  Lost the brig early,  lost lots of schooners,  ended with 1 schooner,  1 snow and 8 lumber.

  A gunsmith came in with some early captives,  so I also had a gunsmithy and smugglers' cove.

  Like Severous,  I had 2 schooners in 5 cannons/5 chests areas,  but they sunk eventually,  even with 4.8/5 marks/swords and all the acroutements.

  My main tactic was to send my ships cruising into all the unexplored zones - they return before the enemy has a chance to deploy navies there;  and to train landlubbers in swordsmanship ready to replace LIAs.

  Most losses were due to other pirate ships.

[Clever duck]

AARGH!  I reached gold medal after 9 years.

  I lost the brig very early.

  I made the final 19,000 of my hoard by ransoming all my wealthy captives (the first screenshot is just before).  I built the staff-efficient casinos,  set on "gouge 'em";  every time a wealthy captive enters a casino,  their ransom increases by $30.  I built the hotel because it does not employ staff,  and female captives were not coming in fast enough from my raids.

  Mutinies were a risk,  even with captains and officers educated to 5 navigation skill.

  2 schooners cruised in the local zone.  I had so many pirates joining that I issued the edict "betray pirates" a few times.  I ended with harmonious relations with all the nations.  The advantage of an overcrowed island was that ship crews did not leave their ships and could go cruising again immediately.