B. Installing the scenario (BE SURE YOU HAVE INSTALLED THE PATCH BEFORE INSTALLING THE SCENARIO!!): 3

C. Game Settings: 5

D. Uninstalling AGE OF PIRACY: 5

2. Game Play. 5

A. Solo or Multiplayer games: 5

B. Sound during Multiplayer games: 6

3. Combat and Movement. 6

A. Naval artillery: 6

B. Naval engagements: 7

C. Graphic Conventions: 8

D. Attacking Port Cities: 8

E. Spotting Enemy Ships: 9

F. Spotting Ground Units from the Sea: 9

4. Getting Help. 9

A. The Civilopedia: 9

5. Playing the "Pillage and Plunder" scenario. 10

A. Historical background: 10

B. The Pirates: 11

C. The "civilized" nations: 12

D. The "Barbarians": 12

E. The "civ with no name": 13

F. Politics. 13

G. The map. 14

H. Treasure for the taking. 14

I. Ships for the taking. 15

J. Natural hazards. 15

K. Special events. 16

L. Scoring: 17

M. What if I don't want to play a pirate?: 18

N. Game Dynamics: 20

O. Known problems. 20

P. Tips and Tricks. 21

Q. SECRETS. 24

6. Playing the "High Sea Conquest" scenario. 26

A. The Map: 26

B. The Pirate Captains: 26

C. The Pirate States: 27

D. The "civilized" nations: 28

E. The Natives: 28

F. The "Ultimate Weapon": 29

G. Politics. 29

H. Treasure for the taking. 29

I. Ships for the taking. 30

J. Natural hazards. 30

K. Special events. 31

L. Scoring: 32

M. What if I don't want to play a pirate?: 32

N. Game Dynamics: 34

O. Tips and Tricks. 35

P. SECRETS. 37

7. Playing the "High Sea Conquest 2" scenario. 39

A. Overview: 39

8. Contact Info. 39

A. The AGE OF PIRACY Website: 39

B. AGE OF PIRACY Updates: 39

C. Technical Support: 39

D. Troubleshooting: 39

9. Legal Stuff: 40

1. Installation

B. Installing the scenario (BE SURE YOU HAVE INSTALLED THE PATCH BEFORE INSTALLING THE SCENARIO!!):

1. Go into your main Civ2 folder and make backup copies of the following files: Game.txt, Intro.dll, mk.dll, Scredits.gif, and Tiles.dll. You will find new versions of these same five files in your Age of Piracy (ver. 2.0)\New Civ2 Files folder; copy these new files into your main Civ2 folder (NOT the scenario folder; put these files in the same folder with the civ2.exe file). BE CERTAIN THAT YOU DO NOT PLACE THE GAME.TXT FILE IN THE SCENARIO FOLDER WITH THE REST OF THE GAME FILES. (THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN MOST OTHER SCENARIO INSTALLATIONS!)

2. To begin solo play, start Civ II Gold and select "Play AGE OF PIRACY Solo" from the main menu. Select either the "pillage.scn" file from your "Scenario\Age of Piracy (ver. 2.0)\Pillage" folder, or the "conquest.scn" file from your "Scenario\Age of Piracy (ver. 2.0)\Conquest" folder, or "conquest2.scn" from the "Scenario\Age of Piracy (ver. 2.0)\Conquest2" folder. The scenarios are large and will take a minute to load. Once you've read the opening instructions, select the Civ you wish to play, the level of difficulty, a gender, a name, and the game will begin.

3. IF THE GAME CRASHES, LOOK FOR ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THREE MOST LIKELY PROBLEMS:

a) Verify that you have the correct version of Civilization.

b) Be certain you installed the patch BEFORE the scenario. If you installed the scenario first, you need to uninstall Civilization and start all over with a new installation of the game.

c) There have been reports of the game crashing when the path to the game files is too long. This seems to be a problem inherent in the core Civilization code. The solution is to rearrange your folders to shorten your path. For example, try changing c:\programs\games\mps\CivMGE\scenarios\historical\naval\Age of Piracy (ver. 2.0) to c:\CivMGE\scenarios\Age of Piracy (ver. 2.0).

4. NOTE: All the players participating in a multiplayer game must have the same subfolders branching off their main CivGold folder! For example, if the host is using "c:\mps\civ2gold\Scenarios\Age of Piracy (ver. 2.0)\Pillage", then an opponent could be using "d:\civ2gold\Scenarios\Age of Piracy (ver. 2.0)\Pillage", but NOT "d:\civ2gold\Scenarios\Piracy\Pillage" or "d:\civ2gold\Scenario\Age of Piracy (ver. 2.0)\Pillage".

5. To begin a multiplayer game, start Civ II Gold and select "Multiplayer AGE OF PIRACY (new or saved game)" from the main menu. Indicate if this is going to be a Hotseat, Internet, or Network game.

a) If you selected "Internet Game" and you wish to host the game, choose "Begin Scenario". Note: do NOT select "Start a New Multiplayer Game"!

(1) Select either the "pillage.scn" file from your "Scenario\Age of Piracy (ver. 2.0)\Pillage" folder, or the "conquest.scn" file from your "Scenario\Age of Piracy (ver. 2.0)\Conquest" folder. The scenarios are large and will take a minute to load. Once you've read the opening instructions, select the level of difficulty, the multiplayer features, time per turn, your Net Name, and your Game Name. Now you will be presented with your IP address. Copy this to the clipboard using Ctrl-C (or write it down), then click on OK. You must now paste this IP number (using Ctrl-V) into an email message or Instant Message and send it to the other players. Once all the players have joined, click on Start Game.

b) If you selected "Internet Game" and you wish to join a game hosted by someone else, choose "Join a Multiplayer Game". Enter your Net Name, and the IP number sent to you by the host. There may be a significant delay before the game begins. If you receive an error message about your path, refer to section 1.B.4. above.

6. Once your game has begun, be sure to check out the scrolling AGE OF PIRACY credits by going to the main Civ menu and selecting Civilopedia, About Civilization II, AGE OF PIRACY.

D. Uninstalling AGE OF PIRACY:

1. Before you play a normal game of Civ2 or some other scenario, it is important to uninstall Age of Piracy.

2. Find the backups you made of your Game.txt, Intro.dll, mk.dll, Scredits.gif, and Tiles.dll files. Copy these backup files into your main Civ2 folder (allowing them to overwrite what is there).

3. You may now play another scenario or a normal game if Civ2. If you wish to play Age of Piracy again, simply repeat step 1.B. above.

2. Game Play

B. Sound during Multiplayer games:

1. All players will hear the sounds associated with battles, but only the host will hear the sounds associated with events. However, all players will still see the text messages associated with all events.

3. Combat and Movement

F. Spotting Ground Units from the Sea:

1. Deep draft vessels (Frigates, Men-of-War etc.) can NOT approach the shoreline closely enough to spot stationary ground units. (They can, however, see moving troops, terrain features and cities.) Use a shallow draft vessel (Barque, Sloop, Bilander, Scouting Vessel) to patrol shorelines or you will may not see enemy troops or Native Temples!

4. Getting Help

5. Playing the "Pillage and Plunder" scenario

M. What if I don't want to play a pirate?:

Q. SECRETS

1. Warning:

a) Reading this may spoil your fun. But go ahead if you must. First you have to decode the text! (Don't ask me how, you're on your own).

Explore the Mississippi and St. Lawrence rivers. They are navigable, and their shores contain buried treasure. You can navigate the St. Lawrence all the way into the Great Lakes (a place where you may find shipwrecks).

Buried treasure is found only on shorelines, in plains or simple grassland terrain.

When your vessel's movement is nearly expired, be sure to pull out at least 3 hexes from the nearest enemy city, otherwise you could take a naval artillery round on your off turn.

When one of your Ships of the Line passes through another of your vessels, the moving ship will take naval artillery rounds off of the stationary ship (until it reaches its carrying capacity of 20 rounds). Normally thought of as a nuisance, this game behavior can be used to your advantage. If you create a "supply line" of ships, it's possible to transport naval artillery any distance in only one turn.

New Spanish Mule Trains have a 1/7 chance of appearing each turn. They prefer to pop into Cartagena, but have to ability to spawn in many alternate cities.

Keep an eye out for newly established Spanish coastal towns. They tend to attract Galleons. These underdefended settlements can be excellent targets for port raids.

Shipwrecks have a 1/40 chance each turn of appearing in eleven specific locations. When you find a shipwreck, you may want to return there later in case another appears in the same spot.

If you play the English or Spanish, you may think your City Treasury and Mule Train units are useless. Think again! When disbanded in one of your cities they yield a healthy production bonus.

There is a 50% chance that the Senora de Atocha will appear sometime during the game. It will appear in Porto Bello. If Porto Bello has fallen, the Atocha will not appear.

There are at least three ways to capture the San de Oro, a rich Spanish galleon located in the North Pacific. If you capture a Spanish port city like Panama City or Acapulco, you can build ships there or fire naval artillery from the city if the San de Oro stops nearby. You can also build a new city along the North Pacific shore. However, another solution may be quicker and easier. There's a hill you should look for. If you build a city on it you will have yourself a little Panama Canal through which you can sail your vessels into the North Pacific. However, that new city will be very hard to hold on to with the numerous Spanish ground forces lurking nearby.

The Spanish city of Porto Bello has the largest number of City Treasury units. You can also find them in Havana and Cartagena. The English cities of Philadelphia and New York also contain treasuries. The Erie, Huron, and Cherokee tribes have collected gold from raids on English settlements. The Creek, Shawnee, Wichita, and Osage tribes have collected treasuries from their trade with the French.

The English and Spanish enjoy support-free resupply of Iron Shot in the cities of Boston and Havana. They receive Incendiary Shot in New York and Porto Bello. If any of these cities are taken, their free resupply there comes to an end.

Spanish naval power is strong at the beginning of the game but weakens considerably over time. Large, aggressive naval campaigns against the Spanish in the early game can have disastrous consequences.

Starting locations of enemy heroes:

Alvaro de Bazan. Spanish. Present at start of game in Havana.

Jean-Baptiste du Casse. French. Appears 1680 in Biloxi.

Woodes Rogers. English. Appears 1708 in New York.

Chaloner Ogle. English. Appears 1721 in Porto Antigua.

Flying Dutchman. Has a 50% chance of appearing sometime during the game. Controlled by the "civ with no name". Appears in the southeast corner of the map.

6. Playing the "High Sea Conquest" scenario

A. The Map:

1. This large map is optimized for naval conflict. Nearly every city is located along the shoreline of this primarily marine world. To make exploration more enjoyable, terrain features and the placement of the civilizations do not resemble those of Earth.

2. Much of the terrain is swampy and tropical. However, Settlers do have the ability to convert that land to a more useful terrain type.

B. The Pirate Captains:

1. "High Sea Conquest" introduces an additional Pirate Captain, Anne Bonney. Primarily a third tier defensive captain, her fast Ship of the Line can be put to excellent use delivering a naval artillery payload for a rapid strike over a great distance, or delivering a strike over a short distance and returning to port the same turn.

2. All Pirate Captains (with the notable exception of Teach and Roberts) can be built by both Pirate States once they obtain the advancement of "+Maritime Piracy".

C. The Pirate States:

1. The Buccaneers :

a) The Western pirates, centered around Port Royal. They are represented by a black flag and gray shield. This pirate state has more land power (ground units) and more city development than the Privateers. The Buccaneers are closer to the Spanish and are more likely to experience brutal early encounters with them. Being located in the west, the Buccaneers are further away from the English (an important source of captured vessels).

b) The Buccaneers start with the "Slavery" advancement. This technology can not be researched (but it can be stolen). This politically incorrect advancement allows the building of "Slave Quarters" (with an existing Ironworks), which boosts production in a city.

c) The Buccaneers also have the ability to capture enemy Settlers and convert them into support-free forced labor (slaves). This is a unique and special ability that is unrelated to the "Slavery" advancement. "Slave Labor" units are a defensively weaker form of a Settler.

(1) This special Buccaneer advantage allows for rapid expansion and excellent land development.

(2) Only enemy Settlers can be captured for slave labor (not Black Robes or Engineers).

2. The Privateers :

a) The Eastern pirates, centered around Charleston. The Privateers are a marine culture. They begin the game with the advancement of "Naval Warfare", which allows the building of Ships of the Line. Consequently, they have explored more of their surrounding area than the Buccaneers. The Privateer cities are less developed and contain fewer ground units that the Buccaneer cities, but the Privateers have a bigger fleet. The Privateers are positioned closer to the English and further away from the Spanish.

b) Only Privateers can build the "Bilander", a heavy sloop that can be used from the beginning of the game.

c) Any time throughout the course of the game, there is a chance that any of the six Pirate Captains will volunteer to serve the Privateer cause (support-free). Only the Privateers enjoy this advantage. If they are very lucky, Edward Teach (Blackbeard), or perhaps even the great Bartholomew Roberts (Black Bart) will volunteer to serve. This is especially beneficial because these two Pirate Captains can not be built.

D. The "civilized" nations:

1. Civilized Warfare:

a) None of the "Civilized Nations" are allowed to build any type of pirate unit. Even if they steal or trade for an advance such as "+Inland Piracy" or "+Maritime Piracy", they will not be able to build the corresponding units.

b) Civilized Nations can not profit from looting Native temples, nor can they raid Spanish ships for gold or capture English vessels.

2. Spain :

a) Philip V. Controls the most formidable military force in the world. If not seriously threatened by mid-game, Spain will easily become the reigning power in the late-game. Spain can create problems on the Buccaneer mainland even in the early game.

3. England :

a) Charles II. An emerging naval superpower eager to topple Spain. English ships can be captured and readily converted to piracy. England can create problems on the Privateer mainland even in the early game.

4. France :

a) Louis XIV. Owner of a third-rate navy. France is the only "civilized" nation that has good relations with the Natives.

5. Portugal :

a) John V. Fields a fourth-rate navy. Weak on the ground. Few cities. Portugal does however have Magellan's Expedition, which allows their ships to move two extra squares per turn.

E. The Natives:

1. A brown shield is carried by the indigenous islanders known as the "Natives". They are relatively harmless unless they capture a civilized city and steal technology. They can also be very dangerous if they happen to go into a cannibalistic frenzy and begin building longboats and headhunter units. Chances are that sometime during the game this will happen, but it only poses a real threat if it happens early on.

F. The "Ultimate Weapon":

1. Toward the late game you will research the "Naval Superstructures" technology, which allows you to build "Dreadnoughts". These fearsome vessels are the equivalent of nuclear weapons in this marine-oriented world. You will definitely attract the attention of the other nations if you build one.

G. Politics

1. Pirate enemies:

a) The Spanish, a source of income.

b) The English, a source of captured ships.

c) The Natives, a source of income (you can loot their temples). Natives will never negotiate.

2. Pirate friends:

a) No one. The other civilizations frown on the Pirate States. However, a policy of appeasement will buy the Pirates temporary friendship with almost anyone early in the game (because neither of the Pirate States poses an early threat).

3. Negotiations:

a) At the start of the game, neither of the Pirate States has made contact with anyone.

b) Diplomats can not be built.

c) You can not establish contact with, or negotiate with the Natives.

4. Governments:

a) Government types can not be changed.

H. Treasure for the taking

1. Only the Pirate States can take treasure.

2. Only Spanish vessels will yield treasure.

3. Sources of gold on the high seas:

a) Booty from Spanish merchant vessels:

(1) Barques. 100 gold. Must be taken in combat to collect the gold.

(2) Galleons. 500 gold. Galleons tend to sail from city to city. Must be taken in combat.

4. Treasures of the earth:

a) Native Temples. 200 gold. To collect the treasure, simply move your unit into the square containing the Temple (as if you were attacking).

I. Ships for the taking

1. Only the Pirate States can capture vessels.

2. Only certain English ships can be converted to piracy.

a) When one of the Pirate States defeats an English Barque, Sloop, Scouting Vessel, Galleon, Brigantine, Frigate, or Man-of-War, that vessel and her crew can be converted to piracy. No other types of ships can be converted to piracy. After being defeated, the freshly repaired, support-free, veteran vessel will appear in one of your main port cities for your use.

J. Natural hazards

1. Storms:

a) Storms only pose a risk to vessels traveling in deep, open water. Storms effect a wide area (so they are not represented by a unit). Storms are always fatal to ships caught inside them. Ships destroyed in storms will not show up in your casualty list (because they weren’t killed in battle). Occasionally, you may find a ground unit drifting helplessly on the debris of their sunken ship. Although storms always kill ships, they do not always kill the ground units the ships happened to be transporting.

2. The Kraken:

a) A semi-mythical sea monster. A Giant Squid that once attacked ships. This creature may well have some basis in reality. Three credible reports of Giant Squid attacks were logged in the early 1900's (in each case, the creature was destroyed by the ships' propellers). Giant Squid today can reach up to sixty feet in length, but may have been even larger in the past. They are aggressive and highly intelligent (they have the largest brain of all invertebrates). Anyone who kills the Kraken receives a 1500 gold bounty.

K. Special events

1. Reinforcements:

a) Reinforcements are units that suddenly appear without actually having to be built. Both Spain and England receive reinforcements.

2. Entrance of famous Captains:

a) Occasionally, a Pirate Captain will appear to serve the Privateers. Once these support-free units have been defeated they will never reappear. Famous Captains may also appear to serve the Civilized Nations.

3. Pirate Kings:

a) On rare occasion, a "Pirate King" will appear outside the capital city of the one of the Pirate States. Pirate Kings are potential superleaders. However, half of the Pirate Kings turn out to be supergood, and the other half turn out to be superbad (and there is no way to tell them apart)!

b) If you wish to use the services of a Pirate King, simply take the unit as if attacking it in combat. You will be told instantly if the leader turns out to be good or bad for your nation. Note: you are under no obligation to use a Pirate King!

c) Bad Pirate Kings will drain your treasury and turn your own people off to piracy, making it impossible to build any pirate units for the rest of the game.

d) Good Pirate Kings will bolster your treasury and make it possible to build two unique wonders, the "Palace of the Pirate King" (boosts production), and the "King's Foreign Service" (gives you embassies in other countries). These wonders are made possible by the "+Pirate Leadership" advancement, which is automatically bestowed when you use a benevolent Pirate King. Be careful! "+Pirate Leadership" can be stolen from you or traded away, allowing your enemies to build your two special wonders (so build the wonders right away by buying them out with your treasury windfall).

4. Financial Calamities:

a) Both the Pirate States and Civilized Nations will occasionally suffer a random setback (such as a drought or blight) which will drain their treasury.

5. Epidemics:

a) Syphilis can strike a nation at any time, dramatically slowing its growth. And smallpox can strike the Native population (completely wiping them out).

L. Scoring:

1. The game ends after 500 turns.

a) DEFEAT: Failure to conquer any civilizations.

b) MARGINAL VICTORY: Conquest of three other civilizations.

c) VICTORY: Conquest of four civilizations.

d) DECISIVE VICTORY: Conquest of the entire world within 500 turns.

2. What if I suck?

a) This scenario is not easy when played at the "Terror of the High Seas" (Deity) level. Destroying all competing nations in only 500 turns is a real accomplishment! This is especially true when playing against human opponents.

b) The most common mistake is to get lulled into a settlement mode and wait too long before beginning your conquests. If you wait too long, your enemies will build so many cities that it's mathematically impossible for you to take them all within the time limit, even if you have superior force. Be aggressive. This scenario is very winnable.

c) The second most common mistake is an over-reliance on ground tactics. This is a naval game and you must learn to project naval force. There are many unique ways to do so. "He who rules the sea rules the world".

M. What if I don't want to play a pirate?:

1. You certainly can play any of the other positions (with the exception of the Natives). How hard is it to win when playing one of the other civilizations? Here are the power rankings. The top civs on the list are the easiest to win with:

a) Spanish

b) English

c) French

d) Portuguese

e) Buccaneer

f) Privateer

2. Alternative scenarios:

a) Playing civs other than the pirates is entirely possible and presents some intriguing possibilities. However, be aware that all the message screens are oriented towards the pirates as they are the designated player civs. If you play another civ, you will still be informed every time the pirates collect slaves or booty. Also, you will be unable to capture treasure and ships if you don't play a pirate state. Looted temples, pillaged ships, and captured vessels can only profit the pirate civs.

b) Playing other civs may reveal some geographical secrets that make playing the pirates much less fun. So hold off until you're bored with playing the regular game.

c) However, when you're tired of the Pirate States, consider these options:

(1) The English . It can be great fun to play the English. They have a decent navy and the ability to build "Fusiliers", an excellent early-game defensive unit. An intense multiplayer scenario would be to have both pirate civs run by humans, joining together to fight the English player! You can even have a fourth player run the French.

(a) The English player benefits from support-free resupply of Frigates and some naval artillery rounds. Woodes Rogers and Chaloner Ogle, two outstanding captains, may join the English effort at a random time.

(2) The Spanish . The great Spanish empire begins the game with the biggest army and the highest population. They have the ability to build "Castilian Infantry", a powerful early-game offensive and defensive unit, one of the most balanced in the game. A possible four player scenario would be to have humans running the English and both pirate states, banding together against the Spanish. A fifth player can even be added to run the French.

(a) The Spanish player benefits from support-free resupply of Frigates, Galleons, and some fixed artillery rounds. Alvaro de Bazan, an excellent Captain, may join the Spanish at a random time.

(3) The French . For the player who enjoys a challenge. Despite being weaker than the English and Spanish, the French do enjoy an exclusive friendship with the Natives. The French can also build Indian Mercenaries, which are useful for inland exploration and conquest.

(a) The French player receives no resupply. You're on your own! However, Jean-Baptiste du Casse, a captain with truly formidable defensive skills, may join the French cause at a random time.

(4) The Portuguese . For the player who enjoys a big challenge. The Portuguese Empire is small and isolated, but its ships enjoy a movement boost from Magellan's Expedition.

(a) The Portuguese player has no resupply and no heroic captains. This position is best attempted only by experienced players.

N. Game Dynamics:

1. Time Frame:

a) The scenario runs 500 turns. Important note: the status box shows the turns remaining, not the turns passed!

2. Duration:

a) The scenario may take several days to complete, depending on your style of play. It can be saved and reloaded at any point.

3. Level of Difficulty:

a) The scenario defaults to Deity level ("Terror of the High Seas"). Playing at lower levels will make the other civs less aggressive and slower to build new cities. Playing at Deity level should not create a problem with unhappy citizens. (Most pirates were blissfully intoxicated when they weren't fighting.)

4. Population Growth:

a) Population grows at half the normal rate due to the harsh, colonial atmosphere.

5. Production:

a) Production rates are doubled due to intense competitive pressures. Monarchy supports six units instead of three. Settlers can perform mining and irrigation faster than normal. Improvements are cheaper to maintain.

6. Wealth:

a) If you play one of the Pirate States, be prepared to enjoy a robust treasury; particularly if you build happiness improvements (Red Light Districts, Playhouses, Cathedrals). In "High Sea Conquest", there is no reason to hoard your gold. In fact, you should spend it to speed improvements, because you never know when a random event will suddenly empty your treasury.

7. Science:

a) Science progresses slowly for all civilizations, and especially slowly for the pirates (due to their form of government). Progress will seem appallingly slow in the early game! However, rest assured you will have most of the technologies by mid to late game. Also, remember, although you can not build diplomats to steal technology, you can steal technology through conquest.

b) "High Sea Conquest" has a more complex (and different) tech tree than "Pillage and Plunder". It is strongly recommended that you use the game's Civilopedia to study the advancements before you begin play.

c) You can not study "Future Technologies" in "High Sea Conquest". Remember, your final "score" is not based on your tech level or population, it's based on how many of the other civs you conquer. After you have learned all the technologies available, consider shifting everything into taxes.

8. Trade:

a) There is no trade in this game.

O. Tips and Tricks

1. Remember that every ground and sea unit has a specific strategic use that has been developed and refined by hundreds of hours of playtesting. It is your challenge to discover the unique advantages of each unit and use them to achieve victory. If you dismiss or ignore any particular unit, you will be playing at a disadvantage.

2. Patrol your home shoreline frequently, especially in the early game when you have yet to achieve naval superiority. Because of the rapid nature of sea transport, a nation anywhere on the map can have Settlers on your soil in only a few turns. Note: don't patrol your shoreline with deep draft vessels!

3. Get out to sea as soon as possible. Use Sloops or Bilanders to sack as many Native Temples as possible. This income is especially vital in the early game when you are building up your infrastructure. Buccaneers should also send out Sloops to capture enemy Settlers along foreign shores. Do this as early as possible so that slave labor can have the maximum affect on your growth and production.

4. You may become frustrated in the early game if you try to transport ground units over large expanses of unfriendly seas. Your ships will be getting sunk left and right. If you have yet to achieve naval superiority, try the "island hopping" strategy. Build a chain of cities stretching toward the point where you wish to project ground force. Make each city within transport range of the other. That way, during the transport of troops, you never leave them exposed in the open sea. However, "island hopping" is generally too slow to allow you to capture all the cities within the allotted time, so eventually you must achieve naval superiority and use naval artillery to soften cities so they can be taken with minimal ground forces.

5. Whenever possible, send Scouting Vessels in advance of other important ships being used for attack or transport. Know what's facing you before you get there!

6. Never underestimate the importance of building commercial whaling ports, particularly in large, island cities. They can have a dramatic effect on production.

7. Don't forget to use your Raiders for quick defensive strikes. A single Raider in a Sloop can pick off ground units approaching along a shoreline (using an amphibious attack). If the enemy is within 5 squares, you can even return to port the same turn! Two raiders in a Barque can create even more damage within four squares of your port. This is an excellent way of patrolling your shoreline (provided the patrol vessel can land in a port by the end of its movement).

8. When contemplating a naval battle, use the online Civilopedia to compare the opposing units. Ignore the attack and defense strengths of naval units. Instead, click on the description button, or refer to the Naval Combat spreadsheet to get the offensive and defensive ratings of each vessel.

9. Get to know your shortcuts. When moving a ship over a great distance, it may be easier to hit "x" a few times to zoom out before trying to move the vessel. Instead of using the arrow to move, just "shift-click" on the desired destination. The advantage of this movement method is that you won't accidentally collide with an enemy ship. (However, this method may not work properly when you cross the vertical dividing line of the wrap-around map). Use the "z" key to zoom back in.

P. SECRETS

1. Warning:

a) Reading this may spoil your fun. But go ahead if you must. First you have to decode the text! (Don't ask me how, you're on your own).

When your vessel's movement is nearly expired, be sure to pull out at least 3 hexes from the nearest enemy city, otherwise you could take a naval artillery round on your off turn.

When one of your Ships of the Line crosses the path of another, the moving vessel will take any naval artillery rounds off of the stationary ship (until it reaches its carrying capacity of 20 rounds). Normally thought of as a nuisance, this game behavior can be used to your advantage. If you create a "supply line" of ships, it's possible to transport naval artillery any distance in only one turn.

Keep an eye out for newly established Spanish coastal towns. They tend to attract Galleons. These underdefended settlements can be excellent targets for port raids if you need to generate some gold or steal some technology.

The Spanish enjoy support-free resupply of Incendiary Shot in Valencia. If Valencia is taken, the shot diverts to Toledo. If Toledo falls, the shot appears in Cordoba. If all of these cities have fallen, no resupply of Incendiary Shot can occur.

The Spanish receive support-free resupply of Iron Shot in Seville. If Seville is taken, the shot diverts to Valencia. If Valencia falls, the shot appears in Cordoba. If all of these cities have fallen, no resupply of Iron Shot can occur.

The English enjoy support-free resupply of Incendiary Shot in Nottingham. If Nottingham is taken, the shot diverts to Hastings. If Hastings falls, the shot appears in York. If York is captured, the shot goes to Canterbury. If all of these cities have fallen, no resupply of Incendiary Shot can occur.

The English receive support-free resupply of Iron Shot in Hastings. If Hastings is taken, the shot diverts to York. If York falls, the shot appears in Canterbury. If all of these cities have fallen, no resupply of Iron Shot can occur.

The Kraken will appear when 375 turns remain (125 turns have passed). The creature appears ten squares south of Tunica, between the Buccaneer and Privateer mainlands.

On average, your nation will be struck by a syphilis epidemic only once every two games. If this happens to the Buccaneers, they can still use slave labor to expand and develop. However, the Privateers and other nations must quickly shift their expansion into the hands of Black Robes (allowed by Mission Building), or Engineers (allowed by Explosives).

Calamities that deplete your treasury (drought, blight etc.) strike your nation very rarely. On average, only once every 1.25 games. Still, it's a good idea to spend all your gold as soon as you get it.

Smallpox will wipe out the Natives once every 2 games.

Bad Pirate Kings appear to each of the Pirate States, on average, once per game. The same for good Pirate Kings. Any Pirate King has a 50-50 chance of being good-bad. Good or bad Pirate Kings may appear more than once per game, or not at all. You can benefit from the effects of a good Pirate King only once, but recurring bad Pirate Kings can drain your treasury repeatedly. There is no way in advance to distinguish a good Pirate King from a bad one.

On average, the Natives will go into a cannibalistic frenzy around mid-late game. However, this could happen at any time, or not at all. There is no warning when this happens so watch for the appearance of Headhunter units.

Strongly consider capturing the Portuguese city of Lisbon as soon as possible. Control of Magellan's Expedition gives all your vessels an additional movement of two squares per turn. On average, that is the equivalent of getting one free turn of movement every 4-5 turns, a significant advantage over time. Researching Hydrodynamics and building the Marine Institute increases movement by an additional one square per turn. These two wonders in combination are very powerful.

7. Playing the "High Sea Conquest 2" scenario

A. Overview:

1. "High Sea Conquest 2" is a bonus scenario. It has the same rules and basic setup as High Sea Conquest, but plays out on a different map. Although control of the seas is still a priority, "High Sea Conquest 2" has more fertile land mass and inland terrain so the ground game becomes more important on this map and population will grow more quickly.

8. Contact Info

A. The AGE OF PIRACY Website:

1. You can contact me, Shay Yates Roberts, at the feedback page on my website. I welcome all of your suggestions for improvements in the game.

B. AGE OF PIRACY Updates:

1. Please send me any new graphic or sound files you feel will improve the game. I will be happy to include them in the next update. Please attach those files to an email addressed to aop@shayworld.com.

2. Registered users (those who download the game through www.shayworld.com/games/aop) receive automatic notification of game upgrades.

C. Technical Support:

1. In short, there is none. I hope this guide will answer most of your technical questions. I'd like to be able to personally assist you in setup and play, but there just isn't enough of me to go around!

D. Troubleshooting:

1. Age of Piracy has been thoroughly playtested by literally hundreds of players and is guaranteed to work if installed properly. Nearly all problems encountered are due to failure to follow the installation instructions. A few other errors have been due to files corrupted during the download. Be sure to follow the instructions in the readme file in excruciating detail, preserving the order of the instructions. (For example, if you load the scenario first, then install the patch, you will have a mess on your hands.) In any case, if the game doesn't work, you can almost count on it being an installation error. In this case, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE. Just delete your entire Civ2 folder (after backing up any saved games), reinstall Civ2Gold, reinstall the patch, and then reinstall Age of Piracy (in that order).

9. Legal Stuff:

A. Disclaimer:

1. No one involved in this project has profited, nor will ever profit from AGE OF PIRACY (in fact, some of them have lost money working on it). Any graphics, artwork, music, and game elements created by others have been credited wherever possible and used strictly for educational purposes. The author's sole intention of creating AGE OF PIRACY was to generate awareness of the rich history of piracy in the Atlantic and Caribbean. If anyone's contribution has gone uncredited, contact the author and credit will be immediately published. If anyone wishes that their works not be used in AGE OF PIRACY, contact the author, who will immediately remove the offending material.

About the Designer:

Shay Yates Roberts was raised in Alaska (by wolves, no doubt) and currently resides in Southern California. In addition to his game design projects, he writes screenplays and flies airplanes.

A. Unzipping AGE OF PIRACY:

a) Note: Civ II Gold requires Win 95, 98, or ME.

2. The AGE OF PIRACY scenario will take up 40M of space on your hard disk. Note: you can reduce that 40M down to 18M by deleting the AOP2.zip and Piracy2.zip files after you've completed the full installation.

3. IF THE GAME CRASHES, LOOK FOR ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THREE MOST LIKELY PROBLEMS:

a) Verify that you have the correct version of Civilization.

b) Be certain you installed the patch BEFORE the scenario. If you installed the scenario first, you need to uninstall Civilization and start all over with a new installation of the game.

5. To begin a multiplayer game, start Civ II Gold and select "Multiplayer AGE OF PIRACY (new or saved game)" from the main menu. Indicate if this is going to be a Hotseat, Internet, or Network game.

a) If you selected "Internet Game" and you wish to host the game, choose "Begin Scenario". Note: do NOT select "Start a New Multiplayer Game"!

6. Once your game has begun, be sure to check out the scrolling AGE OF PIRACY credits by going to the main Civ menu and selecting Civilopedia, About Civilization II, AGE OF PIRACY.

1. Required Game Settings:

a) Under the Game menu, Game Options: Music should be OFF, and Sound Effects ON. Under the Game menu, Graphic Options: Diplomacy Screen should be ON.

2. Recommended Game Settings:

a) Under the Game menu, Game Options: AutoSave ON. Under the Game menu, Graphic Options: Throne Room, Animated Heralds, High Council, and Wonder Movies all OFF. Under the Game menu, City Report Options: all ON.

1. Before you play a normal game of Civ2 or some other scenario, it is important to uninstall Age of Piracy.

2. Find the backups you made of your Game.txt, Intro.dll, mk.dll, Scredits.gif, and Tiles.dll files. Copy these backup files into your main Civ2 folder (allowing them to overwrite what is there).

3. You may now play another scenario or a normal game if Civ2. If you wish to play Age of Piracy again, simply repeat step 1.B. above.

1. Players are encouraged to familiarize themselves with "Pillage and Plunder" before going on to play the more complex "High Sea Conquest".

1. All players will hear the sounds associated with battles, but only the host will hear the sounds associated with events. However, all players will still see the text messages associated with all events.

2. Specifications: There are five basic types of naval artillery rounds (iron, incendiary (heated iron), chain, precision, and patarero). All rounds have different costs and abilities. It can be confusing trying to decide which to build and use in particular combats. Here are some guidelines…

a) Iron Shot is the weakest, most basic naval artillery round. It will become obsolete when you acquire the ability to build Incendiary Shot (heated iron).

b) Incendiary Shot has a slightly bigger punch than Iron Shot, but at the same cost.

d) Patarero is superior to all other naval artillery rounds, but because of the high production cost, it's best reserved for hard targets.

e) Hardened Artillery rounds (available only in "High Sea Conquest") are superior to their more primitive predecessors, and automatically make all forms of the old artillery rounds obsolete.

5. Coastal Fortresses: When a city has a coastal fortress, all units inside the city receive a double defensive bonus against naval artillery. Coastal fortress can be built in inland cities (because some naval artillery has a range of two squares).

1. Ranged combat:

2. Boarding an enemy vessel:

b) Using your ship to directly attack a city or ground unit is not possible with large vessels because of their deep drafts. They can not approach the shore without running aground.

c) If you have Excel, you should definitely check out the "Naval Combat.xls" file included with the scenarios. It includes two worksheets: the battle odds for boarding actions, and the number of artillery rounds needed to sink various ships.

(1) The cost of various ships has been carefully calculated based on their performance in battle.

1. Vessels with any type of offensive capability are show facing right. Purely defensive vessels are shown facing left.

1. Normally, if you attack a city with a ground unit, and that city has no city wall, its population will be reduced every time you destroy a defender. This is not true if you bombard from the sea, or if you're using an amphibious assault unit (the Raider).

2. Deep draft (large) vessels can not approach close enough to attack a city directly (perform a "boarding" action). However, they can use naval artillery to bombard from offshore. Building a "Coastal Fortress" improvement gives double defense against bombardment.

1. New units and technologies will be listed in the regular help menu. There you will find unit pictures and statistics, as well as the advances leading to them.

2. When getting info on a unit, be sure to hit the DESCRIPTION BUTTON at the bottom of the info window to get additional vital information.

b) The Buccaneer Captains:

(1) Francis Lolonois: One of the tougher pirates. He hated the Spanish with a vengeance after they left him for dead. A second tier pirate. More of a defensive than offensive captain.

(2) Henry Morgan: The most politically savvy pirate. Managed to get the English to make him Governor of Jamaica. He routinely tortured people for treasure and information. Second tier. More of an offensive than defensive captain.

2. The Privateers :

b) The Privateer Captains:

(1) William Kidd: Sent out by England to attack pirates and ended up turning into one. Fast and slippery. Third tier. More of an offensive than defensive captain.

(2) Edward Teach: Known as "Blackbeard". One of the toughest pirates of them all. He placed lit fuses in his hair before battle. Over six feet tall and nearly unstoppable in battle. First tier. More of a defensive than offensive captain.

(3) Bartholomew Roberts: Also known as "Black Bart", or "The Dread Pirate Roberts". The most successful pirate of all time. This well educated, polite, Welsh-born legend captured over 400 ships in a period of only two years! First tier. More of an offensive than defensive captain.

a) Philip V. Controls the most formidable military force in the world. Also has the deepest pockets. They are virtually unbeatable on the ground in Central and South America.

a) Charles II. An emerging naval superpower firmly in control of North America's Atlantic Seaboard. Their captured ships and crews can be readily converted to piracy.

a) Louis XIV. Owner of a third-rate navy, but possesses vast new ground holdings in Canada and down the Mississippi.

a) John V. This once-great power had taken a serious fall by this era. Fields a fourth-rate navy. Weak on the ground. Some holdings in the Caribbean and NE Atlantic.

a) A brown shield is carried by a collective of indigenous people known at the time to the "civilized" world as Savages. Beware of them, they fight more strategically than your average barbarian, and they move like the wind through heavy terrain.

a) Carib. The weakest of the bunch. No gunpowder. Found mainly in the Caribbean.

b) Aztec. The scattered remains of a once-great power. No gunpowder, but they can easily destroy weaker units.

c) Native Americans. The most dangerous. Although they don't have gunpowder, they have obtained muskets from the French and English. They also have their own settlements.

a) In order to make this scenario function, a "ghost" civilization runs things from "behind the curtain". Do not choose to play the "civ with no name". They are not a civilization in the standard sense. Playing them is no fun, and you can never "win".

a) The Spanish, your main source of income. And of course, the Savages, with whom you can never negotiate.

a) Everyone else. In the early days of this era, most of the powers (other than Spain) covertly supported Piracy. Keep them your friends as long as possible.

a) You have already established contact with all the civilized nations, although you have no embassies.

b) Diplomats can not be built. All diplomacy takes place behind the scenes, on the European mainland.

c) You can not establish contact with, or negotiate with the Savages. They prefer to eat you.

4. Governments:

a) Government types can not be changed.

a) The pirates have mapped most of the Atlantic, the Caribbean, the eastern shorelines of North and Central America, and the northern shores of South America. The map does not extend into Europe or Africa. This map does not wrap around.

2. Only Spanish vessels will yield treasure.

3. Sources of gold on the high seas:

a) Booty from Spanish merchant vessels:

(1) Barques. 100 gold. Must be taken in combat to collect the gold.

(2) Galleons. 500 gold. Galleons tend to sail from city to city, often escorted by Men-of-War. Must be taken in combat.

(3) Shipwrecks. 200 gold. To collect the treasure, simply move your vessel into the square containing the shipwreck (as if you were boarding it). It is possible to find more than one shipwreck in the same area at different points in the same game.

(4) Special Galleons. The San de Oro, operating in the North Pacific, is worth a whopping 1500 gold. There is also a chance in any given game that the Señora de Atocha will make an appearance in the Caribbean (this vessel is also worth 1500 gold). Neither of these vessels are easy to defeat.

b) Mule trains. 200 gold. Must be defeated in combat.

c) Lost cities. 400 gold. To collect the treasure, simply move your unit into the square containing the Lost City (as if you were attacking).

d) City treasuries. 200 gold. A number of English, Spanish, and Native American cities have City Treasuries. Some have multiple treasury units. These units must be taken in combat. Note: French and Portuguese cities do not collect City Treasuries.

1. Only the Pirate States can capture vessels.

2. Only English ships of the line can be converted to piracy

a) When one of the pirate states defeats an English Brigantine, Frigate, or Man-of-War, that vessel and her crew can be converted to piracy. After being defeated, the freshly repaired support-free veteran vessel will appear in one of your main port cities for your use.

a) Found mainly in warm waters. Certain death if you steer a ship into one. (Note: the game interprets this as an unsuccessful boarding action so you will hear that associated battle sound.)