Piracy requires a Commodore Amiga with kickstart version 1.2 or above with atleast 1 megabyte of memory. To load turn on your Amiga and insert disk 1 intothe internal disk drive. Additional Disk drives can be used.
The game of Piracy deals with a period in the planets history when Evil Forceshave permeated the structure of their civilisation and threaten its futurestability. The people are beset by Pirates and evil monsters bent upon thedestruction of all that is good.
Still alive in the peoples deep subconscious, however, and handed down fromgeneration to generation in myths and legends, is the memory of a time ofpeace, prosperity and justice for all. In those halcyon days, almost beyondmemory, a benign government ruled the land from the Halls of Balance. The powerof this authority was derived from their possession of the Golden Chalice ofBalance given to the people at the beginning of time and housed in the Hallsof Balance. The disappearance of the Chalice from the Halls of Balance markedthe return of the Powers of Evil into the land.
Through this game you are about to enter this terrifying world where yourmain objective is to find the Golden Chalice and return it to its rightfulplace in the Halls of Balance, thereby restoring peace to the land. Yourquest for the Golden Chalice will take you into the atmosphere of the old'Spanish Main', where many of the Islands in the West Indies harbored thelairs of ruthless and bloody pirates. These men recognise no law but the slashof a cutlass and the threat of their pistols. These Pirates included in theirranks such infamous names as Blackbeard, Captain Kidd and many other lessor,but equally bloodthirsty villains, who showed no mercy to their victims andexpected none in return.
In the course of this quest you have to accumulate wealth and power by tradingbetween the many islands in this land which are beset by Pirates and Monstersthat seek only your destruction. The prowess that you display in theseencounters will gain for you the confidence of the people from whom you mayobtain clues as to the whereabouts of the Golden Chalice that you are seeking.
Piracy Playing Instructions
The overall aim to the game is to find the missing chalice. To achieve thisyou must trade to acquire wealth and power over the Force of Evil giving thepeople confidence to talk about the lost secrets of the land and your questfor the Chalice begins. This story can be seen in the intro which can beselected via the main menu.
Controls
The game uses a combination of both Mouse and Joystick. Throughout the gameyou have the option to click on many different icons which is the main controlmethod. The mouse is used to select these icons. The joystick is used in thefighting screens and can also be used to guide your ships to theirdestinations.
Main Menu
You will be faced with four options.
Start a new game Continue old game Format save disk See intro
Use the mouse to click on the required option and then click on the selecticon in the bottom right of the box.As Piracy can take a while to play it is advisable to create at least one savegame disk at this point as they cannot be formatted while the game is beingplayed. Select the 'Format save disk' option and follow the on screenprompts. All the information on the save disk will be erased. Piracy willuse one disk for each save game. To continue an old saved game select'Continue old game' and you will be asked to insert a previously used savegame disk. The game will be continued from where it was saved.If this is your first game then select 'Start new game'.After you have selected an option you may be asked to change disks. This isshown with a picture of a disk with a number on. Place the required game diskin any drive to continue. If the disk has a letter 'S' then place a save gamedisk in the drive.Main Screen.When you first start a game you will be presented with the main screen. Thisis split into two parts. The display area which shows your ship and theislands around your ship and the icon panel.The icons are as follows 1. Select additional ships2. Display Map3. Start/Stop ship4. Computer options (Save game, music on/off)5. Status6. Enter icon (Shows Sea if no selection can be made) used to enter city/dungeon7. Scrap ships
Both the mouse and joystick can be used to sail the ship. If the mouse is usedclick on the wheel to the right of the screen. If the joystick is used thenthe ship will sail in the direction pointed by the joystick. The mouse is alsoused to select the icons. Before the ship can sail you must pull up the anchorand put up the sails. This is done by selecting the Start/Stop icon.
When the 'Display Map' icon is selected the display area will be changed toshow the whole world. Your ship can be seen as a flashing dot. If you buy moreships they will also be shown on this map. To return to the original displayclick on the map icon again.
The 'Status' icon will show your current wealth, the current cargo in the shipand an icon for each member of the crew. This includes your three maincharacters and any additional mariners you have hired. Click anywhere on theicon panel to return.
The 'Enter' icon is used to enter ports, dungeons and other features on thelandscape. The icon will be different depending on the features around theship. If the icon shows a picture of the sea then it cannot be selected asthere is not a feature near enough to the ship. The icon will only show afeature if your ship has its anchor down. To enter the feature click on the'Enter' icon and you will be taken to the appropriate screen.When the 'Computer Options' icon is selected a new set of icons will bedisplayed. These can be used to return to the game, save the current game,turn on or off the music or quit the game. If the save game icon is selectedthen the computer will ask for a save game disk to be inserted into the drive.
When finished the computer will return you to the main screen.
If you have bought some additional ships you can access them by selecting the'Select additional ships' icon. This will display some additional icons whichallow you to control the additional ships. Each ship has a number, clicking onthe number will select the ship. You can now select the 'Enter' icon to entera port. This will take you into the town to allow you to buy or sell goods.When you have bought some goods you can tell the ship to sail to another town,this is done with the 'destination' icon (shown as an arrow). You will nowhave a selection of towns the ship can sail to. Click on the name of a townand the ship will automatically set sail. When the ship reaches the town itsicon will flash. The remaining icon is used if you wish to scrap the ship. Youwill receive some wealth from the scrapping of the ship but not its fullvalue.
Town Screen
If you arrive at a town and use the 'Enter' icon you will go into the town.The town screen is again split into sections. On the left is the informationscreen which also displays pictures, an information strip at the bottom and onthe right the icon selection panel.
The name of the town will appear at the bottom of the screen in theinformation strip. It is helpful to make a map on paper (or remember thepositions) of the towns as the missions later on will refer to the towns asplaces to go.
1. Enter Shop
2. Heal party member
3. Enter tavern
4. Talk to Town folk
5. Status
6. Exit town.
When the 'Enter Shop' icon is selected you will go into the local merchanttraders shop. This is described later on.
The 'Status' icon will display your current wealth and the health of yourparty members. The health can be between 1 and 30. If a characteris dead then they will not be shown on the screen.
If one or more of your characters are not at full health then select the'Heal party member' icon. This will take you to the local healer who can sellyou different strength healing potions. These are represented by three iconswith increasing number of potions. The potions will heal all the party membersat once.
When you have gained enough wealth the town people will begin to talk. Selectthe 'Talk' icon and they may give you some information which will lead youcloser to finding the missing chalice. You must gain more and more wealth forthem to give you all the clues to where the missing chalice can be found.
The 'Enter tavern' icon will take you into the local tavern.
Shop screen
When you go into the shop you will be allowed to buy goods or sell goods youhave already bought; buy a new ship or buy a cannon and cannon balls.
1. Buy goods
2. Sell goods
3. Buy ship
4. Buy cannon balls
5. Buy cannon
The 'Buy goods' icon will take you to another screen. The prices of the goodsthe merchant has in stock will be shown on the left of the screen. To buy somegoods click on the corresponding icon on the right of the screen. You willalways buy enough goods to fill your ship. On the main ship this is 5 tonnesof goods. So if you were to buy some corn at a price of 10, you would buy 5tonnes of corn for 50 units of wealth. The idea is then to take this corn toanother town where the price of the goods you bought is higher, thus beingable to sell it for more and make money.
When the 'Sell goods' icon is selected you will sell the goods currentlystored on your ship.
The 'Buy ship' icon will take you to another screen which shows a picture of anew ship. The price of the ship is shown at the bottom of the screen. To buythe ship select the 'YES' icon. If the 'NO' icon is selected a different shipis shown. To exit the screen select the 'OK' icon. If you are going to buy anew ship remember that you also need money to buy goods. If you just haveenough wealth to buy a ship you may not have enough to buy goods as well.
You can buy a cannon for your main ship. This is done by selecting the 'BuyCannon' icon. You must also buy cannon balls to use in the cannon. This isdone by selecting the 'Buy cannon balls' icon. When you have enough cannonballs you will be told with a message.
1. Gamble money
2. Hire Mariner
When you enter the tavern you will be able to hire Mariners who will accompanyyou in your quest. You can hire up to a maximum of five mariners. Also you cantry to gain more wealth by using the gambling machine.
Gambling Table.
The gambling table allows you to try and gain wealth through chance. To putmoney into the table click on the icon with the up arrow. This will place aunit of money at a time into the table. Each time you click on the start iconthe table will randomly select a new set of symbols and decrease your moneyby one unit. If you manage to get three or four of the same symbol in a row(from the top) then you will win. If the 'Take' icon is show then you canclick on the 'HOLD' icon at the end of each row. This will hold the symbolsfor the next go. To exit and collect your winnings click on the icon with adown arrow. To speed up the exit process click the right mouse button.
Dungeons
Later in the game the town folk will point you in the direction of dungeonswhere there are certain tasks which need to be completed to continue thegame. You must avoid creatures and find chests which contain gold. As Mordenis the only character who can go into the dungeons it is a good idea to keephim alive in the fighting scenes. If Morden is killed then it is impossibleto complete the game. Use the joystick to move Morden around the dungeons. Thefire button together with a direction will allow Morden to use his magicagainst the creatures. To open a chest stand near it and press the firebutton. When all the treasure has been found the exit will open and you canleave the dungeon.
Pirates
While traveling the seas of the world you can get attacked by pirates. Whenthey do attack they demand money. At this stage you have three options. Youcan pay the money they require, have a cannon fight or go into combat. Ifyou wish to go into a cannon fight you must have already bought a cannon andcannon balls from a shop. If you select to pay them money and you do not haveenough to cover their demands they will slay you and the game will be over.
Cannon Fight
When you select to fight the pirates with a cannon you will see the pirateship moving about on the sea. You must use up and down on the joystick tochange the angle of the cannon to allow the cannon balls to hit the pirateship. On the left of the screen is a bar showing you the damage to your shipand on the right a bar showing the damage to the enemy's ship. If your barreaches the bottom then your game will be over.
Fighting
There are 3 different fighting screens. The pirates, the bandits and the octopus.You will be presented with a screen showing your three characters and theirhealth and strength. Select one with the joystick and prepare to go to battle.Your character can be moved with the joystick and has a number of differentmoves to attack and defend. These are selected by pressing fire and adirection on the joystick. When the pirates/bandits are killed return to theplace you arrived at to exit. You can also exit if you wish to changecharacter (due to their health being low). On the octopus screen use fire andleft and right on the joystick to hit the parts of the octopus. Pulling backwill exit the screen. Once a battle has started it will continue until one ofthe sides are all dead.
Quick Start
Wait for the game to reach the main menu. At this point you can either Start anew game or see the intro. Also at this point it is advisable to format a savegame disk.To start the game click on 'Start New Game' and then the select icon in thebottom right of the menu. If a picture of a disk appears then insert the diskwhich conforms to the number on the screen.The initial aims of the game is to gain wealth and gain confidence of thepeople who will give advice. This can be done in many ways, the easiest isto trade goods between ports. This is explained below.
When the game starts you will find yourself anchored off the island of'Artegam'. By clicking on the map icon you can see your ship as a flashing dottowards the top left of the screen. To return to the main screen click on themap icon again.
To buy goods we must first go into the town. The 'Enter' icon is showing apicture of some town doors. This indicates that you are in the right positionto enter the town. Click on the icon and the screen will change to the townscreen.
When you first enter the town a message is shown at the bottom of the screenwhich tells you the towns name. It is a good idea to write these names downand mark their positions on a map. This will be helpful later as when the townfolk talk they will use the town names as reference points. To enter the shopclick on the icon in the top left of the icon panel. The message at the bottomof the screen tells you the goods you already have on the ship. At this pointit will be empty. Click on the icon in the top left of the icon panel and youwill be shown the prices of the stock the trader has. As you get further intothe game you will get to know if the prices are cheap in comparison to othertowns. The aim is to buy the goods for a low price and take them to anothertown where you can sell them for a higher price. To get you started buy someBeef by clicking on the icon which looks like a leg of beef. The price shownis for a tonne of goods. Each time you buy some goods you will buy a fullship load. As the initial ship can take 5 tonnes of goods you will spend 200units of money if you buy the beef at 40 units per tonne.
We must now take the goods to another town who will pay more than we boughtthem for. Click on the 'ok' icon to exit the buying screen and then on theexit icon to exit the shop. Each time you enter a town click on the 'talk'icon to see if the people have anything to say.
Exit the town by clicking the door icon in the bottom right of the screenwhich will take you back to the main playing screen.
Click on the 'Start/Stop' icon to raise the anchor and you can now move theship to another port. Use either the joystick or the mouse on the wheel. Takethe ship down and right to the nearest island called 'Endorin'. Place the shipnear the docking strip and lower the anchor. If the 'Enter' icon is notshowing a picture of a town door as before then you have not put the ship inthe correct place. Enter the town as before and go into the shop. The messageat the bottom of the screen now says that your cargo is beef. Go to the buyoption to see the prices of the goods at this town and you will see that thebeef is priced at 46 units. Exit this screen and go to the sell icon. Yourmoney will be displayed at the bottom of the screen and you will see that youhave made a profit of 30 units. This process of buying and selling can berepeated to gain wealth. When you have gained enough wealth the people willtalk and you can follow their instructions to get further into the game.
There are also other ways to gain wealth, these include gambling and fightingpirates.
