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Solved Cleaning Up the Advanced Options

Please do try out the file, people! We need comments!

What would you suggest to streamline further, Hylie Pistoff?
 
Pieter, i have an idea(just an idea currently, and not even sure how good it is!) based around which game mode you chose, so 'Arcade' or 'Realistic'. Is it possible to have the advanced options display dependant on the game mode? It must start with a default at game start(currently 'Realistic') but maybe depending on which mode is selected you would have different(so less overall) choices available in the Advanced Menu? Even if it is not possible to have the actual descriptions removed, they could be 'greyed out'(as is the case with certain choices currently that require an 'active' choice to activate them etc).

Does any of that make sense? I'm about one third of the way through preparing an extensive post with all the options listed that are currently available in the Advanced Options and hope to include various possible options for the process of trying to clear it up a bit(as in make it more clear). If these choices could be made dependant on game mode that might make it much more streamlined, especialy for those that like the simpler, quicker 'Arcade' game mode?
 
so you're saying, disable tweaking of more realistic options if arcade mode is selected? i'm not sure if that'll work, since i've seen people tweaking some settings to realistic difficulty when playing on arcade. but we'll have to see that from the other comments.
 
What kind of 'realistic' settings do people that use Arcade mode like most? I guess Pieter is asking for all this kind of info? And it may well turn out that leaving it as it is currently is the best option, although i'd atleast like to see the menu organised a bit better, with all similar features next to one another, there are a few that appear in weird places in the list currently.
 
When I played arcade mode I clicked "arcade" and then set everything else to be the same as realistic mode. The reasoning was that I could then get in and out of ports efficiently, and it also made finding certain places easier. Arcade mode also made battles easier as one only had to think of tactical positioning, not wind direction.

What else would I remove? Don't remember right now, but there were some things in there that mad me wonder.
 
landlubbers i say! xD: i use realistic and no worldmap ever since directsail was introduced.

oh, by the way. i've discovered that it might be possible that the worldmap is required at all times anyway. you know the movie when you leave 'oxbay' for the first time? well, i think it only plays at 00:00 when using directsail, not at the end of the first hour (but i didn't check, since i was getting worried after sailing for a while). it's theoretically possible to reach jamaica before midnight, bugging up the quest.
 
Interesting thing about the movie. :onya I always start of in world map because of no compass and usually go to Grenada first anyway. Other than that I use it to avoid head winds when I don't have the patience for them.
 
try navigating with charts, but without a compass. it's quite doable. just don't stray off your course, or god knows where you'll end up. if you really do have to alter course, keep an eye on your flags at every hour change. they can act as a bit of a makeshift compass if you're creative enough.
 
If the movie hasn't played yet before reaching Jamaica, the quest should still work fine once the movie does play.

I did group similar settings together in my file and added some group headers as well.
If you'd like stuff moved around, let me know. Any and all comments are welcome.

It might be possible to remove settings based on the game mode, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea
because there is people who use Arcade Game Mode, but otherwise have the settings realistic.
I liked the idea of changing the default settings based on the selected Mode, but couldn't make that work when I tried. :facepalm
 
Pieter Boelen said:
.......................

It might be possible to remove settings based on the game mode, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea
because there is people who use Arcade Game Mode, but otherwise have the settings realistic.
Click to expand...

like Hylie Pistoff for example :) ok well it may indeed be better to keep it as it is, to include that flexibilty( a good thing), but i'd sure like some better descriptions of a few features in the list, and a more logical order to the options(it's a small pain to scroll back through the settings when you find a new associated option deeper down the list etc).

Pieter Boelen said:
I liked the idea of changing the default settings based on the selected Mode, but couldn't make that work when I tried. :facepalm
Click to expand...

Well maybe with a know default game mode(Realistic) at game start that is not such an issue, it might be possible to fit some indication in the text description for the settings that highlight a good fit with either 'Arcade' or 'Realistic' mode to help better guide the player? something like that?
 
the reaslistic option for many settings compared to the arcade option are already listed for settings where it applies.
 
By all means, DO improve on the setting descriptions in RESOURCE\INI\TEXTS\ENGLISH\SettingsDescribe.ini !

As for weird ordering of the settings, is that with or without the file I attached to one of my earlier posts here?
In the latest edition, I did quite a bit of reordering and added category descriptions to help as well.
If you find anything that isn't where you'd want it in those files, let me know and I'll move it around.
 
I've just downloaded that file (simplified options) and will report back once i got it going :)

Ok odd. I did as suggested, overwriting the PROGRAM and RESOURCE folders(copy/pasting ontop of them), and deleted the 'options' file in the main game folder, then restarted the game....and nothing changed - i still the normal 67 options in advanced options menu?? looking inside PROGRAM and RESOURCE folders i see a bunch of important stuff, so i'm sure i shouldn't delete them and replace them with your folders! So so far i've not been able to get your simplified.exe stuff to work, so can't comment on it!

EDIT: and here is a list of the files i got in the .exe file, that i copy/pasted over to the game:

PROGRAM>>

BATTLE_INTERFACE
>BattleInterface.c
>LogInterface.c
>reload_tables.c

Characters
>characters_init.c

CONTROLS
>init_pc.c

INTERFACE
>choose_character.c
>mainmenu.c
>NationRelation.c
>option_screen.c
>option_sl.c
>passangers.c
>select_storyline.c
>transfer_main.c

LandEnounters
>LEnc_monsters.c

Loc_ai
>LAi_CreateOfficer.c

SEA_AI
>AICannon.c
>AIShip.c
>BOAL_Deck.c
>sea.c

Ships
>Ships_init.c

Storyline
>LegendJackSparrow>characters>init>TempQuest.c
>standard>StartStoryline.c

BuildSettings.h
InternalSettings.h
MAXIMUS_Functions.c
seadogs.c

RESOURCE>>

INI>

INTERFACES>pictures.ini
TEXTS>ENGLISH>SettingsDescribe.txt

Those overwrote my beta 6 patch files and i deleted the 'options' file before restating a new game(new char).

--------------------------

Anyway below is that list of the current beta 6 patch and advanced options post i said i was working on these last few days, i'll post it to just further the discusion while i work out why your new stuff didn't work(did it for you Hylie? how many options do you now see in your advanced options?).

-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll post my thoughts on the state of our advanced options menu, and it's relation to game difficulty and try to suggest a way to better mesh all these elements together. As it is it is workable, if a little confusing and sometimes not that clear, but all the advances made in this area of the mod have been well thought out and make the game better for the player, so i'd prefer to see most of them 'available' in some form or another.

Game difficulty:

Apprentice
Journeyman
Adventurer
Swashbuckler

These are accesable to everyone and the current group-think seems to suggest 'Swashbuckler' as the best setting for experienced players, although certain aspects like hand-to-hand combat do seem much harder at this level, so i have the feeling 'Adventurer' may play a little more 'balanced' in that area? I'm only including them here for completeness sake as they are not involved in the main aspect of this threads discussion.

---------------------------------

Game Modes:

Realistic - the current game default(just because much of the build mod depends on it)
Arcade - the original stock PotC game default setting.

---------------------------------

In this section below I’ve numbered the main option headings, and will refer to those as ‘section 1/2/3’ etc, I will call the choices within each section an ‘option’ and although not numbered they will have a descending sequence. For example to activate Iron Man Mode below I’d describe it as, “in section 1, select option 2(Worldmap sailing, Sail To, minimap and spyglass additional information disabled)”.

Also if I think something needs changing word-wise in the menu option text, I’ll add an ‘- edit text to..’ tag at the end of the line.

Advanced Options:

1. Iron Man Mode -

Stock PotC: Deactivate Mod(default)
Worldmap sailing, Sail To, minimap and spyglass additional information disabled

New addition, makes sea battles and direct sailing mode as 'realistic' as anyone would want to get. How this works in relation to the 'Arcade' game mode i'm not sure, seeing this as more of a next step for the 'Realistic' game mode. Still maybe some 'Arcade' game mode players like the specific extra difficulties this mode introduces?

2. Players Start Level -

The level at which the player starts the game. Works only if 'Automatic Skills-system' is 'off'

I can see the value for testing the game, but by default maybe this doesn't need to be an option in the advanced menu at all, and set to 1 for all game start modes(realistic and arcade), unless the Automatic Skills system is 'on'(which would override this setting)?

3. Players Start Money -

The amount of money your party has at gamestart, to pay the expedition's expenses

good to keep i think, easy to access, and provides an easy 'one-shot' cheat for the struggling player if they need it at game start?

4. Players Start Wealth -

The amount of your personal wealth at game start

This could be a simple default value for all game modes(the current '500' gold seems ok), so could be removed from the advanced options menu? In game events change this and it is not as vital as the 'player start money' above.

5. Random Start Skills -

Have random skills picked on new game character selection
Allows you to pick your extra skills on a new game(new default?)

The default should probably be the old stock PotC setting of, 'Allows you to pick your extra skills on a new game', with the opton to change it to a random skills selection?

6. Changing Nations Relations -

Relations between nations are constant(stock PotC setting)
Relations between different nations can change over time('Nations relations' must be turned 'on')(new default?)

An important 'realistic' mod aspect. If it works well, maybe this can just be set as a default 'Relations between different nations can change over time'?(with 'Nations relations' set to 'on'). And the option removed from Advanced Options Menu?

7. Automatic Skills-System -

Player must distribute character's skills manually(Stock PotC)(probably should be default)
Skills will be distributed automatically, depending on player-actions

An important option in terms of gameplay changes.

8. Skills-Up bonus -

Speed of characters skills increase(2 random skills from 10% to 99%)

This one is both handy(i always set it to the lowest setting of 10% to improve the smoothness of char level progression) and confusing. Why 2 random skills only, and how does that work exactly? If this is just an additional boost on top of the general skill levelling, then i'd probably rather see it removed(and it's code) completely. This game does not suffer from lack of player boosting options ;)

9. Skip video's -

Plays Disney, Bethesda and Akella logos at game startup(Stock PotC)(probably should be default)
Skips all logos(even though most will change it to this!)

Normally these kind of things i change in the games ini files(etc), but if that is too tricky for most people this is a player friendly option, so good to keep even if not essential to the playing of the game.

10. Survival chance -

From 1(certain survival) to 130(certain death) chance of dying(= game over) after shipwrecks and lost fights. After survival you will be down and out, so it is a challenge and no cheat!

Quite a good option this one, i generally stick it on 40-50, so appreciate it's flexibility and that many will use different settings. Default setting is currently '1', but maybe it should be something like '10'-'20' so at least a new player not used to jumping in the Advanced Options Menu can see the 'death' sequence screens on occasions? They are quite cool.

11. Weapons Mod -

Off, Stock PotC – edit to ‘Stock PotC: Off’
Weapons have different quality grades: from 'Badly worn' to 'Excellent'(default)

Another important build mod addition, and it makes me wonder, is there any reason not to have this set to 'on' in the game? maybe this could be one option to think about removing(having it on as default)?

12. Sea encounters generating -

Encounters are completely random(default)
Takes players level and ship class into account when generating ship encounters

So how many people would chose to limit to their own class of ship? that sounds like a boring choice right? And maybe game difficulty is a better way to control ease of game? One option that could be removed maybe?

13. World Map Ship Show –

Stock PotC, all ships shown with national colours – edit text to ‘Stock PotC:’
All ships visible, but nationality for all but pirate hidden
No nations shown
No ships at all shown

I have used both the first two options before, but as I use the world map fully zoomed out, I’ve never been that clear on nationalities in this screen, other than the black sails for pirates. Do people use this screen zoomed in enough to see the ships nationalities? It moves pretty fast when using a zoomed in view I think?

In option 3(No nations shown), does that mean pirates use the same sail colour as the other ships?

In option 4(No ships at all shown), does this mean the world map is empty of other ships? And how do encounters take place in this mode?

14. Amount of info in the “sailho” screen message –

Reports only “some ship”
Adds ship group type
Adds nationality

I normally use option 3(Adds nationality), assuming this also adds ship group type? Is this info related to spyglass range at all? If not maybe it should be? And how long is this info displayed? It seems to me that the ‘sailho!’ screen is over pretty quick, so do people find this info useful or is it over too quick to really notice(in which case maybe we can lose this option and set it to a single default(1 – Reports only “some ship”)?

15. Ships in Port and around the islands –

0.0: Stock PotC, no local ships at all. From 0.1 to 0.9: The higher that value the more pirates instead of merchants appear

So does 0.1 mean no pirates, just merchants? And 0.9 means only pirates? I normally set it to either 0.3 or 0.4 and get pirates fairly often that I don’t want to set it higher.

16. Reduce number of coastal ships –

No reduction – 3 groups on all islands(6 ships total)
Reduce by one group – 2 groups on all islands(4 ships total)
Reduce by two groups – 1 group on all islands(2 ships total)

I go with option 1(No reduction), but maybe this is not a good option for people with low power PC’s? What is a starting spec for playing the build mod these days? On that type of system does this option make a big difference to performance? I get a little lag around busier towns, not in movement, but in the updating of the display so it ‘ripples’ a little, at sea I’ve never had an issue, even with quite a lot going on. What I’m thinking is if the type of PC needed to run the build mod well needs this kind of tuning for performance?

17. Coastal ships and directsail encounters AI update –

Stock PotC: Ships do not update their actions or relations after being generated
Ships change their actions and relations according to other ships they have in visibility range

A performance related tweak? Or just one related to section 6(Changing Nations Relations)? And if so how do they interact if one is ‘off’ and the other ‘on’ etc?

18. Weather update at sea –

Stock PotC, no weatherchange in sailingview – edit text to ‘Stock PotC:’, add spaces between words
Weather changes during sailing every gamehour – same here for ‘gamehour’

It seems a good one to keep, and straight forward enough.

19. Enable flags –

Stock PotC, no flagchanges – edit text here
You can choose your flag in a menu; even false ones(which may or may not be recognized)

Even though the whole flags issue is a big one(in that there appears to be problems with it), it is such a cool mod having the option to switch it on or off is probably wisest. I always play with it on, as I suspect most do.

20. Min. sail crew –

All available crew will reload cannons. Affects only cannon reload times
Cannon crew will be reduced by crew needed to sail the ship. Realism mod

Always option 2 for me, but I’m a little unclear on the meaning of option 1. Does it mean ships crew will be reduced to ensure a full crew for the cannons(so opposite option 2)? If so a useful defensive or offensive choice for the play style during sea to sea combat.

21. Sail damage turnrate – – edit text to ‘turn-rate’

No change to turnrate based on sail damage – edit ‘turn-rate’
Sail damage influences turnrate. Below 7.5% ship will not be able to turn at all – edit ‘turn-rate’

This seems fine, although how was 7.5% arrived at? 7% too little? 8% too much? ;)

22. Ships will surrender –

0.0: Stock PotC, no surrenders. From 0.01 to 0.5: The higher the value the faster ships surrender

What’s a good balanced number here? The range is quite large so it makes it hard to pick I find. I tend to go for between 0.1 and 0.2, but I’m thinking a good suggestion for the player might help here?

23. Turnrate factor – edit text to ‘Turn-rate’

Makes ships turn faster. Normal game 1.0, fast game 2.0 – edit text for (min) (max)

Maybe put (min) and (max) after the numbers to make that clear?

24. Arcade sailing speed –

Shipspeed if you set the menu “Options/Sailing mode” to ARCADE MODE – edit text here.
Same speed as in “Realistic Mode” – edit text add (default)
Twice as fast(default setting) – edit text remove (default)
3x as fast etc.

If the game default is ‘Realistic’ should this settings default also be ‘Realistic’? I don’t understand what the first option means at all, I really don’t!

25. Anchoring –

When anchoring, you go to shore. From port or bay you go to sea
When anchoring, you go to your ship’s deck. From there you can go to shore in the same way as in the tutorial

So with option 1 you never go to the deck view? If so is this a good idea as on some ships you have useful stuff on the deck view?(how do you resupply with ammo etc?) Is this a vital menu option, maybe we should stick option 2 as default to the general game and remove this? If it saves time it is only a few seconds.

26. Restricted ship class –

When character takes command of the too high class ship his Leadership and Sailing skills will drop proportionally to the difference between ship’s class and the maximally allowed

Not an option this one(anymore?) really. Suggest dropping it unless the other choice is due to come back soon?

27. Deck view at sea –

Stock PotC, external camera – edit text ‘Stock PotC:’
Camera on ship deck

Fine.

28. Auto aimed fire –

Stock PotC: in deck view(FPV) you have to aim cannons by means of the crosshairs
Auto aimed cannon fire also from deck view with spacebar. V key does original aimed fire

Fine.

29. Real cannons –

Stock PotC: guns fire in a high arc, wide left-right traversing – edit text maybe a bit?
More realistic, direct fire; less left-right traversing possible – edit text maybe a bit?

Fine.

30. Critical hit from balls –

Turn on/off the ability to get critical hits while using balls(like stock game allowed)

No
Yes

Maybe re jig this entry to have the ‘Stock PotC:’ option next to the ‘yes/no’ dialogue, we could lose the yellow preceding text then.

31. Fire from balls –

Turn on/off the ability to set a ship on fire while using balls(like stock games allowed)

No
Yes

As for section 30 above, just for better clarity.

32. Extra hit check –

Enable stray shot hits on friendly ships to cause hostility. “Real cannons” must be enabled for this setting to take effect

No, accidental hits won’t cause hostilities
Yes, when a ship is hit, reduce relation to you

Seems good.

33. Cannon range scalar –

SET TO 1.0 IF USING REAL CANNONS!
From 0.3 to 2.0: The higher the value the longer the cannon range – maybe add that 1.0 is base/default setting?

OK.

34. Cannon damage scalar –

From 0.3 to 2.0: The higher the value the more damage cannons do – maybe add that 1.0 is base/default setting?

OK.

35. Cannonpowder – – add space between words

Not to be confused with the PERSONAL ITEM gunpowder for PISTOLS

Stock PotC: no gunpowder required for ships
You must have gunpowder in your CARGO HOLD to charge SHIPGUNS – maybe edit text description a little here?

OK.

36. Arcade cannons –

Cannon reload time if you set the menu “Options/Sailing mode” to ARCADE MODE
1.0: Same speed as in “Realistic Mode”
0.5: Half as much reload time – add ‘(quicker)’?

37. Boarder model –

Outfit for your boarders, insert one of these groups(Don’t change spelling or the “” !): “marine”, ”corsair”, ”masked”, “skeleton”, “girl”, “soldier”(soldiers of current flag), “boarder”, (Nathanial’s soldiers); default: “standard”

Not sure it is needed really, other than for novelty value?

38. Ransom prisoners –

Stock PotC: Prisoners are ransomed through the Passengers interface
Prisoners are ransomed by talking to them on your deck. You can also hire them as officers

Seems ok.

39. Food –

Off, stock PotC – change to ‘Stock PotC: Off’
The crew requires food(wheat) and drink(rum) to stay alive and happy – is food wheat in the game?(is wheat a different trade good from food?)

Fine.

40. Autohire crew – – change to ‘Auto-hire crew’?

Off, stock PotC – change to ‘Stock PotC: Off’
Automatically hire extra crew when repairing your ship or buying a new one at shipyard

Is this a get out of jail card for if you buy a new ship and find the tavern has no crew to hire? If not essential to that situation, maybe we can set this to ‘Off’ and remove the option?

41. Shipyard realism –

Stock PotC: all shiptypes may be sold – change to ‘ship types’
Shipyards will not sell outclassed ships to low level players

OK.

42. Realistic ship purchases –

No additional limits on buying ships
No ships larger than frigates can be purchased but need to be captured instead

How does this work in relation to section 40 above? What level does a player need to be in section 40 to be able to buy ALL ships? Can these options be merged maybe?

43. Items Traders realism –

Players can buy VERY good items at the beginning of the game
Traders will not have items that are too good for the player

Maybe re-write some of that for better clarity, but otherwise ok.

44. Salary –

Multiplier for Crew and Officer salary. 1 is Stock POTC. 4 and above make a more interesting and challenging game.

Maybe re-write this a little. Also the max seems to be 30, but the yellow text on this screen suggests Ctrl/Alt/Shift to add +10/+100/+500 respectively, so that needs changing also. Otherwise it seems good.

45. Reload while fighting –

Stock PotC: Gun will always reload
Your gun won’t reload gun while your sword is drawn – edit text here.

Good.

46. Ammo and powder –

Stock PotC: no ammunition required for handheld guns
You must have gunpowder and the right type of bullets in your PERSONAL INVENTORY to charge HANDHELD guns. (Not to be confused with the CARGO HOLD gunpowder for SHIPGUNS)

OK.

47. Bladedamage – – add space between words

Stock PotC: bladequality never changes – add space between words
Blades suffer damage by use and decrease in quality

Ok.

48. Corpses –

Stock PotC: no bodies laying around, no looting ability
Corpses wil persist, but will not be manually lootable
Corpse persists and can be manually looted of items
Corpse persists, can be manually looted of items and not obstruct walking

Maybe just have option 1 and 4, no need for 2+3(why would you want to get blocked by a corpse?)

49. Autolooting – – add space between words

No automatic looting of killed characters
Blade/Gun/Money of killed enemies is automatically moved into your inventory.

This should still work if options 2+3 are removed from section 47 above?

50. Camera’s behaviour – – add ‘during dialogue’

0.0: Stock PotC dialogs – from first person(Akella) – change to ‘Stock PotC: 0.0 (Dialogs from first person)
From 0.1 to 1.0: with higher value – camera will be moved farther to the some side of characters (max. value will suitable not for all locations) – edit text here.

OK.

51. Brothel –

Stock PotC: no brothels in game
Brothel location opened; a bit explicit, but in WORDS only

OK.

52. Fast travel –

Stock PotC: arrive at gates facing the docks and ocean
Places you at end of pier right where rowboat is

Good.

53. Buildingset –

New towns have the same look as stock PotC locations
”additional” buildings in some new locations

Maybe add a bit more descriptive text here, explaining some features can be removed in game via dialogues etc.

54. No theft – – change to ‘Chance of theft’

You can now pick pockets. But this is risky, and other thieves may pick YOUR pocket too. From 0 to 60: The higher this value the safer you are from pickpockets. Above 30 nobody picks YOUR pocket, above 60 you yourself get no chance to steal

Some minor re-writing of that entry, otherwise it is fine.

55. Lock open – – change to ‘Chance to open locks’

From 0 to 70: the higher this value the higher your chance of picking the locks of treasurechests. Above 66 chests always open, above 33 you won’t hurt yourself anymore ;-)

Some minor re-writing of that entry, otherwise ok.

56. Real Caribbean-

Stock island and town names
Use proper island and town names

Ok.

57. Camera-

Near doors camera view will stay locked to view FROM player
Stock PotC: Near doors camera will swerve and focus ON the playercharcter – space between words

OK.

58. Compass –

Stock PotC: Compass rose is blue
Orange transparent compass
Historical brass compass

Good.

59. Display date –

Disable (together with Display time)
Enable

Needed now with the new cleanup logs toggle?

60. Display time –

Disable
Only if you have a clock equipped
Always show time

Fine.

61. Display Battleinterface – – add space between words

Only if you have a compass equipped
Depending on the settings in the options menu

What settings does option 2 refer to? So it could be a default of option 1 and no need for inclusion in the advanced options list?

62. Display map position –

Only if you have a Sextant and Chronometer
Always display your ship’s position

Ok.

63. Sails –

Stock PotC: Common ships plain white, pirates plain black
’Normal’ sails (parus)
All ships pure white sails – is that default Stock PotC white?
All ships ‘Weatherd’ Sails
Common ships emblemed white sails, pirates emblemed black sails

Good.

64. Pirates blacksails – add space between words

Pirates use the same sail as DEFAULT_SAILS (set above)
Pirates use emblemed black sails

Fine.

65. Shiphit particles – – add a space between words

Stock PotC (red-orange explosion on hit)
Minimal hit effects (small puffs of gray smoke)
Recommended hit effects (puffs and splinters)
Excessive hit debris effects

Fine.

66. Effects –

Off
Few effects
Full effects

Good.

67. Tune Ships –

Stock PotC: Ships can’t be upgraded
Upgrading ships is possible in shipyards

Good.

-------------------------------

So we have 67 Advanced options in beta patch 6 currently. It could/should probably be less!!!
 
Did I mention I am a genuine retard? Seems that the file I uploaded contained the correct FILES but not the correct VERSIONS.
I included the Patch 6 files instead of the modified ones. :facepalm

Please find attached the REAL files. Contains the Advanced Options cleanup, as well as various other fixes of mine,
including the "storm spinning", fast travel to jetty, no wind log except when they are useful and a toggle [L] on the date/time display.
 
Game difficulty: Agreed. I've added storyline-specific default difficulty settings now,
so some storylines are harder than others, unless you change the default settings.
Most are Journeyman, but Bartolomeu's two storylines are Adventurer because he likes them more challenging.
Only the Standard one remains Apprentice.

[MORE COMING LATER]
 
Changing Nation Relations can mess up quests because those assume relations stay the same until they change because of quest reasons.
It's a good mod for freeplay, but we cannot have it on by default. :(

Skills-Up bonus just increases the speed that you gain skills with Auto Skill System.

Skip Videos: they're easily skipped by pressing Esc anyway.

Weapons Mod causes a lot more items to scroll through, which could be a reason to turn it off.
Hopefully once we finally get the Period Weapons done, this problem will be a lot less.

World Map Ship Show: option 3 has all nations using the model generally used for the player ship.
You won't be able to tell pirates from the others. Options 4 I think the ships are invisible at sea but still happen.

Amount of info in the “sailho” screen message: This only relates to the information on the worldmap "Engage" screen.

Ships in Port and around the islands: Yes, that is indeed what it does.

Reduce number of coastal ships: I do not believe it makes much of a performance difference.

Coastal ships and directsail encounters AI update: Mainly performance-related, though again I do not believe it causes a major performance hit.
Turning it off makes the NPC ships more stupid.

Enable flags: This is the mod that allows you to fly fake flags. It is NOT related to the flags/pennants bugs we've been discussing.

Min. sail crew: This only relates to some background calculations.
Basically with option 2, the cannons will reload slower because it considers that some crew are not available since they're working on the sails.

Sail damage turnrate: No idea how Hook came at 7.5%; seems Ok. :shrug

Ships will surrender: Best setting is as low as possible and even then ships occasionally surrender too quickly.
We might want to change this to an on/off setting with "on" being the lowest chance.

Arcade sailing speed: This defines how much faster ships are in Arcade Game Mode as opposed to Realistic.

Anchoring: You can still visit your ship deck with it off, you just won't automatically go to the deck upon anchoring and setting sail.
Turning it off only saves time during gameplay since you get less location reloads.

Restricted ship class: This toggle still works, but the description was missing. Should be fixed in my above file.

Boarder model: It causes trouble. I temporarily have it hidden in InternalSettings.h now.

Autohire crew: if there's no crew in town, this won't help either. It just prevents you from going to first the shipyard and then the tavern.

Realistic ship purchases: It is unrelated to player level, but to a player's status with the appropriate nationality.
It prevents English shipyards selling huge manowars to enemy player characters; that just doesn't make sense, does it?

Display date: Agreed, let's get rid of this!

Display Battleinterface: This is similar to Display time and Display map position - it toggles whether you need an item to enable this.
 
Argh! Poor Pieter! Modding PotC is an exercise in frustration! hmm....maybe in the meantime i'll go make 'my' list of streamlined advanced options and see how many i can get rid off, then that can be compared with whatever Pieter is trying to show us he has done?

EDIT:

Suggested reorder and renaming in Advanced Options Menu: The 'reorder' is along the lines of char stuff first, followed by ship stuff, followed by Interface then miscellaneous options.

1. Iron Man
2. Player’s start-money
3. Automatic skills-system
4. Random start-skills
5. Salary
6. Changing nations relations
7. Survival chance
8. Weaponsmod
9. Reload weapons while fighting
10. Personal ammo and powder
11. Blade damage
12. Enable flags
13. Sea encounters generating
14. Show World-Map ships
15. Ships in ports and around the islands
16. Reduce number of coastal ships
17. Coastal ships and Direct-sail encounters AI update
18. Weather update at sea
19. Min. sailing crew
20. Sails
21. Pirates black-sails
22. Sail damage turn rate
23. Ships will surrender
24. Turn-rate factor
25. Arcade sailing speed
26. Restricted ship class
27. Deck view at sea
28. Auto aimed fire
29. Real cannons
30. Critical hit from balls
31. Fire from balls
32. Stray hit check
33. Cannon range scalar
34. Cannon damage scalar
35. Cannon powder
36. Arcade cannons
37. Ransom prisoners
38. Food
39. Shipyard realism
40. Realistic ship purchases
41. Items trader’s realism
42. Brothel
43. Fast travel
44. Buildingset
45. Theft modifier
46. Open lock modifier
47. Real Caribbean
48. Camera during dialogue
49. Camera near doors
50. Compass
51. Display Battleinterface
52. Display map position
53. Shiphit particles
54. Effects
55. Tune ships


So i only got 12 less, although i have a strong desire to get rid of '43. Fast Travel as well' - i figure those 5 seconds running to your launch in the port area are 5 secs in which something unexpected can happen(dialogue/fight/treasure find). Anyway these are the 12 i personaly would remove and can live without in my advanced options:

A. Player Start Level - 1 just seems a good place to start, testers/modders can always change this in the files if they need to.
B. Player Start Wealth - makes no real difference at game start, and gives the player something to work on during the game. default 500 at game start seems fine.
C. Skill Up bonus - the game is not short of player boosts, and even the lowest setting of 10% feels a bit too high in general progression in the early part of the game(if it needs a value i'd think about 5% is ample but would be happy with 0%).
D. Skip Video's - credit where credit is due? and pressing a key skips them anyway.
E. Amount of info on 'sail ho' screen message - set it as default 'includes nation' and hide it away in the files!
F. Anchoring - Set the default to 'When anchoring, you go to your ship’s deck'. Probably my most contentious choice? It can save a bit of time, but it's nice to feel the transition from shore to deck, as in 'real life'.
G. Corpses - set it to 'Corpse persists, can be manually looted of items and not obstruct walking'
H. Autolooting - set it to 'No automatic looting of killed characters', if your going to kill someone, atleast have the decency to give them your time to rifle through their pockets for their valued possessions, you can even close their eyes as a mark of respect!
I. Boarder model - keep as default 'standard'.
J. Auto-hire crew - Just go to the tavern, have a mug of rum at the same time!
K. Display Date - can be on the new toggle setting for 'logs on/off'. Important to know the date, for some quests etc, toggle on/off is good.
L. Display Time - set to default 'Only if you have a clock equipped' as this is logical and works fine.

So that's what i'm thinking currently, any concerns/issues, other prefrences?
 
The problem appears to be in the options section. The other stuff should be ok. This is why I have several installs. When one goes down I just switch to another. Pieter will fix this soon.
 
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