A: The design of the game is smart. When your ship is visibly slower, the time rate will decrease; you will see days go by slower. If you do not want to see your ship sail fast, just press “V” and the speed at which the ship sails will be a lot slower, not in terms of actual speed, but rather scale. Press “V” again, and the view changes, as well as the ship’s speed and the time rate. The confusion here is that a lot of people think that the game will be short. The game will be much longer than people expected. It all depends on your style of play. Do not consider the time at which the game passes always to be one day per second (you will notice this changes as you play). You most often have to battle ships, battle towns, and much, much more! Doing these will significantly prolong the game time.

Civ's note: When I first played the game, I also thought that that 6-8 hour figure was not exactly accurate, as I could tell that the game would last much longer, the way things were going. There is basically nothing in the game that tells you that you must stop the game and start a new one. Play as long as you like, with your own style.

Captain Hicks
Q: Why did you choose to "erase" the 1560 period?

A: The developers chose to remove the earlier eras and go from 1600-1680 because these were indeed the golden age of piracy in the Caribbean. All the more to plunder while keeping realism true.

Civ's note: As I’ve never played the original game, I don’t know how much things were different in that era than in the 1600-1680 era. So far I’ve found nothing to complain about. :)

Teach
Q: In the old game, if you knew your coastlines well enough, you usually could guess the location of treasure intuitively with only a single piece of map - is that still the case?

A: Partly true. Depending on the difficulty level, you get a larger part of the map on the easier levels, on the harder levels; you get a much smaller part of a map that can sometimes be really hard to figure out where that treasure is. Sometimes however, like you mentioned, you might get a small part of the map and you might know exactly where the treasure is.

Civ's note: Treasures might be easier to find if you do not get the whole map, but it’s a whole different story for Lost Relative maps, and Lost City maps. You have to dedicate a lot of time and hard work to finally find your lost relative, or the lost city you are looking for. This all adds to the fun factor.

Teach
Q: I read you cannot buy ships, true or not?

A: This is partly true, although not entirely. Sid created the game so that if you only have merchant ships (no war ships) the shipwright will offer to sale you smaller warships, such as the Sloop.

Civ's note: Now I’m starting to like this. You obviously cannot buy a Frigate when you are powerful already. With your reputation why would someone sell a pirate a larger warship? Selling you a small warship when the shipwright sees you do not already have any warships is quite a smart touch, in my opinion.

Jotte
Q: My question there for is; will there be a similar command to The Sims 2's "Aging off"?

A: You will not be able to turn off aging, but you should not be concerned about it at all. I don’t just say this to suppress any concerns, because I know your concerns are real. In the retail version, you will have more than enough time to play a long, long game and accomplish most of the “missions” before you even notice aging, and before it starts being a problem for you.

Civ's note: You’ve heard me say that the design is smart, well, isn’t it smart to have aging in, and not make it such a big problem too? This yet again tells you that the developers were thinking about this game’s fun factor when they were creating it, and when they came up with the aging idea.

Unmerciful Bastard
Q: Can you tell me how towns look (when you sail past them, and how when you visit), are they different from each other, or all towns look the same. Are there differences in architecture between opposite countries, and, are there differences between architecture in your own country, caused by level of development.

A: This is another good question that obviously concerns a lot of players. Towns are different. Different in size, style, and building displacement. When you sail by them, they will obviously be different; mostly visible is the size of the town. Each time you sneak in, the buildings are re-displaced so you will have to work to find your way to the place or the tavern. Different countries also do have different and unique styles.

Civ's note: Also, even though you can recognize a country’s city by the flag, and style, you can also recognize it when you open the map (number pad 3). Different cities are in different color print, etc. This is one more feature to help you recognize where on the map you want to go, and know exactly what country’s city you are going to, without having to waste your time on traveling there and not knowing who’s city it is.

Fencer90
Q: Will there be other swords in the game for the Xbox that you can choose like maybe there is a better sword that you receive after you raid a certain town. Maybe there is a sword that makes you faster but makes your sword weaker in damage? There should be different swords that aren't just pirate cavalry swords like maybe a rapier. ALSO will there be pistols in the game that you can use maybe in town or if you fighting your way to the captain.

A: Yes, there will be a variety of swords that you can buy. Some swords are very, very useful because they are “lightning quick” when you thrust. They are all the more useful when your reflexes are slower when you are old, for example. The team also brought back the choice to choose between swords (if you have more than one) if you see a certain situation where you’d use one sword over another. The choices you might have are between the Cutlass, Rapier, and the Long Sword There will also be a One-Shot Pistol, or a belt of pistols that give you an advantage in fighting. You cannot use a pistol when you are sneaking in the town, but there will also be muskets when you are attacking a town. You can use these to fire at the enemy in land battles. This increases the enemy’s damage, therefore making it easier for you to take out.

Civ's note: Pistols do give you a great advantage when fighting, in fact, combined with a lightning fast sword, it’s a great combination. A lot of advantages go to you if you have these two. However, acquiring them takes some money first. When you have them, you’ll find capturing ships (when dueling with the captain) will be much more easy, and mostly in your favor.

Guest
Q: I have concerns about the camera angles used in the game. When sword fighting on ship I notice that a 3D cam is used. Can you change this? The only good way to fight is according to me with a cam straight from the side (as in original pirates) or a cam from behind (as in POTC and other third person games).

A: There is a standard view, and a chase camera. Either way, the camera angle is set up so you have a good view of what you are doing, as well as your enemy (as well as what he might be about to do next).

Civ's note: With these choices, you will always have the ability to choose between the two, although I think that neither will be problematic. Now, it might be just a matter of preference.

Captainkidd78
Q: I read about the 4 major powers in Pirates! 2, but when choosing nationality are there others - Irish, Danish, etc...

A: Currently, the only nationalities available to you whom you can play are the four nationalities which were in the Caribbean in the 17th century. There are also the locals, but you can not play as them. Spain, England, France, and the Dutch are the four powers. Obviously, Spain is the main power.

Civ's note: Even with only four powers in the Caribbean, this does not mean that you’ll have less things to do. You will obviously still have the power to make a lot of nations stronger by escorting a new governor to another town (so it flourishes), or leading a war with another nation, or escorting or not escorting ships with peace treaties. The power of politics is in you in the game; make sure you take advantage to it. In fact, it was only until recently I learned to use these powers, it felt pretty good to see me strengthening a nation, and benefiting myself. The best thing in this game is that you see your actions hurt or help you and others. You get the feeling of satisfaction or failure. It’s almost like being a president, if you have a strict policy on how you do things, you’ll succeed.

Captainkidd78
Q: Also, the one part of the original Pirates! that bothered me was lack of execution. Most pirates did not retire.

A: Well, if the other pirates do not retire, you can retire them for good. On the other hand, you’ll age until you retire (again, you have the choice when you do that).

Civ's note: Even if they do not retire, pirates will always be competitive. They will fight amongst each other, or execute attacks against towns. Diplomacy is a big part of it too. It might make pirates better or worse.

Dancho
Q: Now it appears that in order to "win a wife" some dancing will be required. I approve of this-- BUT-- will the "political correctness" trend continue? Will the new game abandon reality and make "dancing" the ONLY requirement for winning a buxom blonde?

A: It is very true that a huge part of getting a wife is dancing with her. However, it is also true that you also need to always bring her things in order to please her, so she likes you more. Bring her things like expensive Ruby Rings and Diamond Necklaces, and you have a good chance of being liked more and more each time you return, with a little gift, of course. Not only that, but you also have to be ready for demands from her. She will want you to bring her gifts. Not bringing her gifts is not a choice here! :)

Civ's note: I like the fact that bringing her things influences whether or not you get things back from her. It’s like an investment – you invest money in her, and she gives it back in the form of information, or a special object which will aid you in certain sequences of the game.

DJ1
Q: Will it be possible to change the aging speed in options? In mods?

A: You will not be able to change the speed of the game with in-game options. Like other questions and answers above, the rate at which the game passes will not be a major concern for you. However in Mods, you will not be able to change this.

Civ's note: When people get to play the game, I think they will all sense a sense of relief that the speed is as it is. You may mod the game, but this will not be moddable.

KingWilly
Q: Is it possible to convert the entire Caribbean to one particular nation?

A: No fan yet has done this, (very few fans have played it, as you’d assume), but Atari testers have demonstrated their superior skills and have done this. It is almost impossible for you to do this by yourself. There are a lot of aspects of the game that will prohibit, or make it quite hard for you to accomplish your goal. These aspects are: Unhappy crew, ships battling you, losses of men from battles, dividing plunder, etc, etc… A simple example is, you will leave with massive losses even if you defeat a town of 2,000 troops. Rebuilding on your side will be difficult. Believe me, there are a lot of strong cities out there that will not give themselves to a scurvy pirate!

Civ's note: …And if you ever start to plan this mission, prepare for a long, long game. It is this aspect alone that will make it difficult for you to do. Jumping from town to town and attacking them takes some time and strategy. For me, at least, it is impossible to consider. However, where is the fun of not trying to see how many cities you can get?

DJ1
Q: Which animals can you find in the Pirates Caribbean world?

A: You will be able to find dolphins swimming by your ship as well as Seagulls flying around.

Civ's note: It is hard to imagine how these animals make the world feel so much more alive. Just the way dolphins swim with your ship, and the way they jump from the water is a pretty nice touch to the game.

Jotte
Q: I've seen there is a bronze cannon upgrade, but are there different caliber of guns?

A: This is not directly represented in the game, but it is there. The larger the ship, the more powerful the cannon, respectively with the size it can carry, naturally. Also, the more upgrades you have (bronze cannon, fine grain powder); the more affective the cannon will be, naturally.

Civ's note: With the cannon upgrades, I like the fact that you can have a small ship, and powerful cannons, which are also affective. When you fire a cannon which does not have bronze cannons or fine grain powder, you can clearly see cannonballs going astray, and even missing the other ship. With the upgrades I mentioned above, your cannonballs go much straighter and they will also have a more devastating affect.

Gilligan
Q: Also not to be nitpicky Another site lists sloop of war as "probably an upgraded sloop", in reality a Sloop of war was a ship rigged vessel (think three masts and square sails) but smaller than a Frigate

A: The Sloop Of War is a different ship from the smaller Sloop. It can carry more cannon and more crew. An upgraded Sloop is still not as powerful as a non-upgraded Sloop of War. There is definitely a difference between the two.

Civ's note: Like I’ve said above, this is my favorite small ship. It is amazing what you can do with 16 guns and a quick little ship. The only thing better than a Sloop of War – that is no larger than it – is a Sloop of War with copper plating, and cotton sails. This ship is simply a quick killer. A big danger to Merchant Ships and Trade Galleons (which are slow ones).

Sloopy
Q: With the beta now well underway, are Firaxis on target to meet the November 16th shipping date. With less than a month to go (28days), how long before a stable version is submitted to the manufactures for production.

A: As we now know, the game has been delayed due to quality assuring purposes. The developers want to make sure they have a quality game when they release it.

Civ's note: Like a lot of people, I am happy that they chose to delay it a week. In my opinion, it is much better to keep the reputation of Firaxis as a quality one, and keep the game quality in good shape on release date. Remember, no game is bug-free, especially when it is a complex game.

Dot Hog
Q: In the new Pirates!, will I be able to focus on trading and enjoy myself doing it?

A: Yes! Definitely. You have a variety of options to choose from when you choose how you should live out your life as a pirate. As you play along, you can even switch to different strategies, obviously. Trading does indeed require strategy, as indeed some towns may pay up to twice as much, or even more for some commodities. You need to be careful how you trade, and where you trade. You can make a lot of money if you are smart about it. One other aspect that is involved in trading is where you plunder your ships. Some ship routes may have much more ships passing by, with more goods than others.

Civ's note: Like a previous question I answered above in regards to Panama and the trade “chain,” you can focus making money only in one place, but choose to do business in another. I’ve done that quite often and it is very affective. In my opinion, you can make a lot of money in one place, and trade/spend very much in the same place, but it is very much more affective if you choose the better of the two. Choose the best place for making money (where a lot of ships pass), and then choose the best place to spent it.

Sleet
Q: Land battles. Are the maps based on the terrain in the large view or is it random? i.e. if I attack an army or city with trees and hills nearby in the main map will there be lots of trees and hilly terrain in the battle map?

A: It is random, also each time you attack a certain town, you start from a different location. There is different terrain, including terrain you cannot pass through. The design of this sequence is made so it is mildly restricting to the player – Not in any extreme sense, which makes the game less fun and functional, but in a sense that you are put on the map to do one thing, and that is fight and develop land battle strategies.

Civ's note: The reason why I love the randomness of putting you on different locations when you start a land battle against a town, is that you have to develop different strategies in relation with the terrain around you. Say that you attack the same town twice, the first time you are put on a hill, and the second time you are put behind some terrain you cannot pass. That will surely change your strategies, even though you are attacking different town. Another thing I have to point out is that, hills and forests are extremely important to you. They provide very good cover for you, and ultimately they may shift the battle to you, if you choose to not take this terrain and apply it so it is beneficial to you, you may lose. It’s all about strategy here.

Sleet
Q: Possible to drag on land cannons from a ship to use in battle? (somehow doubt it but thought I would ask anyway.. )

A: It is indeed true that if you have any cannons excess cannons on board, you can drag them to the land battle scene, which makes for some big advantages.

Civ's note: Well, this has to be a feature I have to love about the game. If you ever fear that the battle is going to be a close one, and that you might even lose, bring along some cannons, and they may shift the battle to your favor.

SirDrago
Q: How many men you can have at maximum? Does it depend on the type of your ships? Like if you have 4 sloops in your fleet you can have 300 men or if you have 4 galleons you can have 1000 men?

A: Yes, crew number depends all on your ships’ sizes. Warships such as the Frigates can carry up to 200 crew. Personally, I would not like to have 200 crew, six ships, and my main ship a Large Frigate. This is because the crew numbers get displaced into the other ships, and if you go for an attack with your Large Frigate, your cannons will load agonizingly slow. Triple Hammocks will let you have more crew on board, don’t forget that. If I have a large warship and a few other ones behind me for cargo I plunder, I might want to have more than 200 people so my warship is as affective as possible. Make no mistake, the more people you have the more money you have the potential to get!

Civ's note: Keeping a balance in crew is crucial to your success in the game. If the crew you have is over 300, or 400 and they get unhappy, it is pretty difficult to make them happy again, in fact, keeping crew happy in the game is one of the hardest aspects of it. This may cause enormous problems for you. It is amazing how quickly you can go from having no problems, to having enormous problems (again, brought by your crew). You can fall apart quite quickly. The higher you fly, the harder you fall is an appropriate saying, if you do not divide plunder, or are reluctant to do it. Another reason I don’t like to have a lot of crew is because you have to spend a lot of money for food and cargo space. It can be easy for you to forget to keep an eye on the food you have, that’s why I like to have two warships, and about 150-200 crew. However, strategies can vary. If you are on a mission to plunder, plunder, and plunder towns, you might have much, much more crew. It is a known fact that if you plunder a moderately sized city, you will get plenty of gold. One other thing that you should keep in mind is that, while your plentiful crew helped you plunder this city, your plentiful crew will also take away quite a bit of money from you when you divide plunder.

It has been extremely fun to work on these and answer them. This even forced me to look in the game itself for the answers, and I learned new things as well. Sincere thanks goes to Jeff Foley, Barry Caudill and the rest of the team at Firaxis for helping me finalize the Q&A article and make it look its best!

Written by Civrules
Screenshots and comments by Falconer