Need Help New Player Asking for Help

[DTScurvy]

I figured at first that I should post this in the Gameplay Tips section, but the last update for that was in 2017, so I decided to ask here; I hope that doesn't violate some kind of rule.

This is the first time I've made a forum account in a long time and it's just to ask for some help. This is just the kind of game I like, but I say with no embellishment that this is the most absolutely impenetrable game I've ever played. I've tried following the tips often passed around, like doing the merchant missions in taverns, and doing things for governors, but it just feels like I'm headbutting a wall. Inevitably I get ambushed by some enemy ship and annihilated with no hope of escape because I'm too slow. I shoot at the enemy and even on the incredibly rare situation when the cannonballs actually hit, it does no damage, even with bombs at point blank range. Boarding is out of the question since I haven't gotten to the point where I either have multiple competent fighters hired, or can even survive a single medium melee attack from an enemy pirate. Or, a storm comes out of nowhere and destroys my ship because I was trying to save money for officers and didn't repair my ship.

Either way, I'm irritated because I forgot to save and I quit playing. Then I start a new game, and repeat. I really wanna like this game but so far I hate it. I can tell there's a good game in here, but I just don't know what I'm doing and the materials are pretty limited. Sure, I could do Peter Blood's stuff to start with a decent ship and officers, but I really don't wanna sit through the prologue. Besides, he's supposed to be for the expert players. I'm starting with the beginner players, supposedly! I've played several times on both vanilla and GoF.

I've been playing on Captain difficulty because that's supposed to be normal mode, right? And I haven't really been having issues with combat or anything like that. But I feel like even if I was playing on the lowest difficulty, I wouldn't be getting anywhere. Am I wrong about that? I feel like if I'm not learning anything on Captain, I won't be on Sailor either. What rate of progress should I be expecting? Am I gonna have to keep doing these merchant missions forever? When am I gonna be allowed to actually do pirate stuff? You know, naval combat, boarding ships, what's supposed to be the good part of this game. Even against small, lone ships, I get destroyed. Do I really need a full team of officers before I'm even slightly competent at ship combat?

Sorry for all the text but I have been grappling with this game in my free time for the past week and it's really starting to piss me off. I remember having fun with this game a few years ago but I don't remember what I was even doing. Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[Cerez]

Hi @DTScurvy,

Welcome to our little treasure island!

I know the feeling -- this is a great game series, with unparalleled, unique gameplay, but only once you get the hang of how it works, that is to say its fundamental logic.

I recommend playing (POTC and/or) Caribbean Tales before diving into COAS, because both of those games are lax in terms of demand on the player in comparison to COAS, and can actually serve as a much-much better introduction to the series (more enjoyable for the novice). COAS was built with the experienced player in mind, even on the easiest of difficulties.

That said, a couple of tips to get you started thinking in the right direction with CT/COAS:

Generally, think about your ship and its crew in realistic terms (even if not all of it is visualised for you). Both CT and COAS were designed to simulate the realistic command of a ship. You'll have to use your imagination a bit to fill in the misc. details, though.

1. You have a ship, and you have a crew, but do you have anyone who knows how to actually properly load, aim, and fire a ship's gun? (They weren't at all so automated and simple as they are today.) You will need to hire an experienced gunner officer, in charge of training your crew in how to work and take care of the ship's weaponry. The lack of such command and experience is why your shots are not doing much at all (i.e. the crew is firing all over the place, to the best of their inexperienced abilities, perhaps even blowing up your guns in the process).

2. If you are aiming to take your ship into combat, you will need to not only reinforce its hull to be able to endure damage, but you will also need to equip your ship with quality guns, and to know how to use your chosen gun type well. Some work better close-range, some are for distance.

3. Maneuvering your ship during battle and a battle strategy is crucial to winning a conflict (you will need good sails and a competent helmsman/navigation officer). You will need to think carefully about how you are approaching your enemy. The general rule of thumb is:

1. Disable the ship (destroy the sails, break the mast, or damage the hull enough).
2. Approach it from a safe angle (where their guns will do you least damage).
   
3. Deplete the enemy crew (grapes do wonders).
4. Approach safely and board the enemy vessel.
5. Kill or capture the enemy captain.
6. Assimilate, enslave, or release the enemy crew.

• If your enemy has better guns for range, have fast sails and get close to them as soon as possible, so you can inflict more damage than they can.
• If your enemy has powerful close-range guns, and you have the advantage of distance, keep your distance and keep attacking their ship until it is disabled.
• If you have neither fast sails nor quality guns, avoid battle at all costs. Having more soldiers/crew will not amount to much if you cannot reach your target and board.
• If you are pressed for money, I think it is wiser to invest in speed and maneuverability than military expenses. Have a good ship first, and survive -- you can arm it later.
• If well planned/manned/equipped, small ships are faster and more maneuverable than larger ships, even if the latter have more guns and are built stronger. Out on the waters, size can be a disadvantage (if you play your cards right).
• Watch how you expose your sails to damage. Bring them down to half-size when you're nearing an enemy vessel, watch the wind and their angle, and/or even draw them up completely when in line of enemy fire. Your sails are your advantage/survival, your legs, and your freedom. During a storm, it is better to simply drift until the storm passes than to let the storm tear through your sails and your ship.

4. The moment you load the travel screen, keep moving. Do not stand in one place on the travel screen. Time here is sped up and representational of days rather than minutes. If you stay anchored even for a day anywhere on open waters, you may attract the attention of pirates or enemy ships.
Hope these suggestions help. Good luck out on the waters!

Edit:

One more crucial tip, as it relates to COAS, specifically:

As far as I remember, there is a story-based barricade set at the start of the game that will not permit you to leave the harbour. If you attempt to do so -- eager to go adventuring, as most beginning players are -- you will meet a greater force coming at you than you can handle that will destroy both you and your ship. You will need to find safe passage out of the harbour by some other means than a direct confrontation, and that is your first great challenge in the game. So, going from that first clear clue, I can only assume that you're meant to play it safe until you have amassed enough experience/knowledge/skill and resources to pursue greater ambitions -- which means a gradual build-up and a slower gameplay (more realistic/challenging, and requiring more patience).

If you're looking to dive straight into pirate stories and action, without hassle, try POTC (with New Horizons).

If you're looking for absolute freedom in sailing and gameplay -- and the realistic gameplay of COAS made easier (barebone), unchained, and simplified -- try CT (with the Historical Immersion Mod, or my vanilla game patches).

If you're looking for the old-school, authentic gaming experience that started the whole craze, play the original Sea Dogs first.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Well said!

Indeed I remember that CoAS was specifically made for HARDCORE gamers.
Apparently that's a big thing in Russia, where it was made.
But it's quite the challenge for regular Westerners to get into.

 

[The Nameless Pirate]

Well said!

Indeed I remember that CoAS was specifically made for HARDCORE gamers.
Apparently that's a big thing in Russia, where it was made.
But it's quite the challenge for regular Westerners to get into.

And the same applies to TEHO as well.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Turned up to eleven.

 

[DTScurvy]

Thanks for the info, lads. I didn't know that you start with garbage guns. Even when I had a Chief Gunner, the cannonballs would do no visible damage on a direct strike. I also didn't know that City of Abandoned Ships was supposed to be hard. I got this game after beating Sid Meier's Pirates on Swashbuckler difficulty and wanting to play a pirate game with a little more depth and RPG elements, and I remembered hearing that COAS was the best, but I guess that's only if you've played the other ones. I'll keep trying with this one for the time being, though. Thanks again.

 

[Cerez]

Lads?! You're playing a dangerous game -- you'll be walking the plank, mate.

You're on the right track, @DTScurvy, just aiming a little too high by starting with COAS. Sea Dogs is an entirely different game series, after all -- even if it does take its inspiration from Sid Meier's Pirates! -- so it takes time to get the hang of its logic and gameplay. If you find COAS too hard, don't get frustrated, but go to an earlier title in the series.

As for which game is the "best" in the series, that's entirely up to personal taste. Each game and each mod has something new and unique to contribute. Don't be quick to discount the earlier games in the series just because they came before COAS -- they proudly stand on their own.

If you were playing the original Pirates!, I recommend you start the series with original Sea Dogs -- as the first game lies closest to the Sid Meier look and formula (even if the 3D controls are a bit archaic in it, and take some getting used to).

 

[DavyJack]

...I got this game after beating Sid Meier's Pirates on Swashbuckler difficulty and wanting to play a pirate game with a little more depth and RPG elements, and I remembered hearing that COAS was the best, but I guess that's only if you've played the other ones....

"Pirate game with a little more depth and RPG elements"? I suggest you start playing Pirates of the Caribbean with New Horizons or TEHO. - oh and welcome to the forum @DTScurvy

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I remembered hearing that COAS was the best, but I guess that's only if you've played the other ones.

Which game is best is really debatable.
Personal preference has more to do with it than anything else.
I always recommend people to try all the games in the series and make up their own mind.

For my part, it doesn't get much better than PotC with our New Horizons mod.
But I'm sure @Cerez will feel Caribbean Tales takes the cake and I'm certain that she's not wrong either.
There are really no wrong options here.

 

[Cerez]

For my part, it doesn't get much better than PotC with our New Horizons mod.
But I'm sure @Cerez will feel Caribbean Tales takes the cake and I'm certain that she's not wrong either.

To elaborate, for pirate role-play/stories, free action, gameplay, and sheer content, and for user-friendliness, it doesn't get much better than POTC (with New Horizons) in this series, and perhaps even in the entire game genre -- even I heartily recognise that!

I've often asked myself this question, and the reason I love CT so much has to do with something else entirely: by its initial concept and design, as a(n unfinished) reimagining of the first Sea Dogs game, CT is a truly open sandbox, with full freedom to explore all possibilities, including not being a pirate but a merchant, a licensed buccaneer, or a leisurely explorer, and survive from any type of job you can lay your hands on and see morally fit to do, in a gently stylised (artistically hand-painted and shaded as per 2006 era games), realistic world/environment built for sailing (not pirating, necessarily). The only restriction I find and content that I'm missing in CT is the ability to set anchor on any beach, any island, and explore its unique wilderness a little (note that this is to some extent added to the game, POTC-style, in the Historical Immersion Mod). That, and full-featured, real-time 3D sailing to get to locations (which I am still hoping we will get to implement one day). But other than that, CT makes for an unparalleled sailing open sandbox environment where with a little imagination you can weave your own stories freely, and according to your individual taste.

There is also another reason I adore CT that none of the other games match: its gorgeous romantic lighting, sky, and environments -- stylised, but only very gently -- like a beautiful live digital painting. I find myself wanting to explore and sail in the game just to catch a glimpse of those mesmerising sunrises or sunsets, and to go through the odd storm and enjoy its many weather conditions. They are the most beautiful environmental designs I have ever seen in a video game. COAS, although it was built upon CT, features a different lighting setup that takes some of this magic away, even if it makes the lighting and weather more realistic. My time fix patch for CT also makes the time and weather dependable, as if the days were passing and the weather was changing real-time -- which is rather enjoyable and encouraging for your imagination in peaceful sailing.

Sea battles are also more dispersed and easier to avoid in CT than in any other game in the series. CT is not about challenge so much as unscripted freedom to play what you want to play -- even if that means you don't want to be a pirate at all, but an honest captain making a decent living/survival and taking good care of their crew (which provides challenge enough, I can say).

When I say all this, it sounds like CT is only about sailing, but the truth is that, realistically scattered in your journeys, there are many special events to be found that keep them unpredictable -- such as spectacular encounters with gold convoys (I still vividly remember my last, enchanting one in the night), dealing with illness outbreaks, mutiny, enemy frigates, both petty and feared pirates, illegal merchants, a family reunion, wars between nations breaking out and politics changing, cities developing, and colonies asking for your help in defence while offering rewards, etc. Plenty of interesting events and content that will keep on surprising you and colouring your journeys, making them entirely unique. Although slower paced (aiming more for open realism in gameplay), CT is far from a monotonous affair!

(And, of course, you can still freely pirate in CT, too, if action is your heart's desire.)

In general summary, although part of the same series, CT is a very different experience than POTC, COAS is a very different experience than CT, and the original Sea Dogs is a very different experience to any of its sequels, etc. -- they are not just sequels (the newer improving upon the older), they all have their unique subject approach, design, and gameplay, and which one is "best" depends on one's personal preferences and gaming desire/intent. The only thing they have in common is that they share some of the fundamental game mechanics, making them part of the same game series.

 

[DavyJack]

@Cerez why did you have to write something like that? Why?! Now, I'm very curious about CT. I'll get that and try it out tonight. I will try to compare it with TEHO.

 

[Cerez]

@Cerez why did you have to write something like that? Why?!

Because it breaks my heart how people generally discount CT based on the fact that it was unfinished at release and buggy. This game has still so much to offer. ^_^ <3

Now, I'm very curious about CT. I'll get that and try it out tonight.

If, after trying it out, you decide to play the game, before dedicating yourself to it (starting a new game), apply my patches to it first -- to get it into a playable, finished state, so you can properly enjoy your free-roaming, personal journey.

I will try to compare it with TEHO.

No comparison necessary. CT is more barebones at first glance -- and its non-scripted, player-driven design can make you wonder at first what it is you are supposed to do -- but has its own magic, quite different to COAS and TEHO.

 

[DavyJack]

...If, after trying it out, you decide to play the game, before dedicating yourself to it (starting a new game), apply my patches to it first -- to get it into a playable, finished state, so you can properly enjoy your free-roaming, personal journey....

- This is amazing! The work you've put here is just awesome! I will put all of it in my game.

No comparison necessary. CT is more barebones at first glance -- and its non-scripted, player-driven design can make you wonder at first what it is you are supposed to do -- but has its own magic, quite different to COAS and TEHO.

You're right. I've already checked it out and all. Yes, TEHO has something different just basing from the first glance of things and how they work but a lot of similarities indeed. I guess you can say that TEHO is a bit more of a complete version of CT? (If I say so myself) I will dig more into this though since you've got me very curious.

 

[Cerez]

- This is amazing! The work you've put here is just awesome! I will put all of it in my game.

Thanks. I've tried. I've tried to bring CT to the polished state that it was meant to be when they released it (and add some other nifty features that the whole series is missing). And I think I've more or less succeeded. There's still more to do -- like expanding the citizen dialogues -- but for the most part the game is both a complete and stable/reliable immersive experience now.

Yes, TEHO has something different just basing from the first glance of things and how they work but a lot of similarities indeed. I guess you can say that TEHO is a bit more of a complete version of CT? (If I say so myself) I will dig more into this though since you've got me very curious.

Both TEHO and COAS are making use of CT's assets (level and character models) -- they were both founded upon CT -- so that makes thing a little confusing at first glance, but in terms of gameplay experience they are almost entirely different games (and worlds: even the name/identity of the locations differs).

 

[Pieter Boelen]

To elaborate, for pirate role-play/stories, free action, gameplay, and sheer content, and for user-friendliness, it doesn't get much better than POTC (with New Horizons) in this series, and perhaps even in the entire game genre -- even I heartily recognise that!

Cheers!

Well, your description of CT sounds pretty brilliant too.
I can understand why you'd like it so much.

I've been thinking about the difference between the games (with mods) and came up with this:

- PotC:NH is probably the most diverse which means it allows a lot of everything, but at the same time may not be as in-depth on specific types of play; even though we've tried to expand on that.
We didn't focus much on super-high difficulty, so it's probably a relatively low-level entry point.

- SD:CT with HI mod sounds to me like it focuses very well on the free play aspect without too much story to distract from that experience.
Which means it's up to the player to provide his/her own story. No huge difficulty either, so also a good entry point for players.

- SD:CoAS also has a focus on free play, just like CT, but adds a lot of optional story content and a very high base difficulty level.
Good game right out of the box; especially for more advanced players.

- SD:TEHO sounds like yet another good game right out of the box, but instead focuses on linear storytelling instead of free play.
Difficulty turned up to eleven. Probably don't start with this one...

Does that make any sense?

There is also another reason I adore CT that none of the other games match: its gorgeous romantic lighting, sky, and environments -- stylised, but only very gently -- like a beautiful live digital painting. I find myself wanting to explore and sail in the game just to catch a glimpse of those mesmerising sunrises or sunsets, and to go through the odd storm and enjoy its many weather conditions. They are the most beautiful environmental designs I have ever seen in a video game.

Indeed while I admit the graphics got (slightly) better with each new game, they also got less stylised and, for me as well, lost some of their charm in the process.
PotC doesn't exactly look realistic; more like a comic book, really.
And CT makes me think of Japanese anime.

Because it breaks my heart how people generally discount CT based on the fact that it was unfinished at release and buggy. This game has still so much to offer. ^_^ <3

Indeed that's not fair.
PotC also started slightly buggy (or very, if you had the US release) and thoroughly unfinished.
And look where we are now!

It doesn't matter where the journey starts.
It matters where it leads.

Both TEHO and COAS are making use of CT's assets (level and character models) -- they were both founded upon CT

I think I've even seen PotC locations in CoAS and TEHO.
Since they're technically all still mostly the same game engine, asset sharing is ridiculously easy and has been done a LOT.

Helps that all games in the series were clearly a labour of love from the developers.
I think it was mainly publishers pushing for early releases that compromised the quality of the results.
But you can clearly tell from all of these games that they were not made as simple cash grabs.

 

[Cerez]

Does that make any sense?

Yep, sounds quite right, @Pieter Boelen -- on all fronts. I appreciate the moral support, you're absolutely right. The reference to anime made me laugh, but I can see why it gives you that reminder/impression, with the bright, sunny colours. (Although I do believe that when it's not rainy season, Jamaiica is much like that, bright and sunny, vibrant with life -- with the days short and the nights enchanting.)

For a change of gameplay, I challenge anyone to play a legal merchant in CT (or any other game in the series), to learn the ways of commerce in the Caribbean, and amass a fleet of trade ships, creating a booming business with happy crew. It's not half as boring or easy as it sounds -- and those pesky pirates, interfering with your business and endangering your and your crew's safety, will get on your nerves -- until you are rich and powerful enough to deal with them (at which point the war will put a crimp in your business ). But both business and life need to go on! You've worked hard for it, you're not about to let it all go to waste now!!

Or, as an alternative, try playing a private (not pirate) captain for hire, doing odd jobs for high profile clients to survive, staying on the borderline with the law, stock up on supplies and feed your crew, and go exploring that horizon simply for the sake of freedom and adventure, and discovering new places. Then deal with a dissatisfied crew and watch how the war forces good men (and buccaneers) to turn into pirates.

Or try and play a diplomatic explorer/rogue on all fronts, making small (but valuable) trade, seizing opportunities for funding/gain and maintaining good relations with all possible factions.

I swear, there are so many creative gameplay options, and they can turn just as adventurous and intriguing! It doesn't always have to be pirate or buccaneer from the start and forever. There may come a point when blurring the line makes for a deeper and more interesting adventure.


(Hope this little speech inspires players and storywriters alike. )

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Yep, sounds quite right, @Pieter Boelen -- on all fronts. I appreciate the moral support, you're absolutely right.

Cheers!

The reference to anime made me laugh, but I can see why it gives you that reminder/impression, with the bright, sunny colours.

For me, the link was more because of the art-style on the characters; that wild hair on Beatrice looks quite Japanese-style to me.
That's something I don't notice with, for example, the default PotC characters.

Indeed those bright, sunny colours do also look a bit cartoony, but as you say:

Although I do believe that when it's not rainy season, Jamaiica is much like that, bright and sunny, vibrant with life -- with the days short and the nights enchanting.

I've sailed the Caribbean professionally for a good few years and I can confirm that it really DOES look like that most of the time!

It's funny when I watch the "Making Of" documentaries of the PotC films, you can really obviously tell that those films were shot in the actual Caribbean.
Then I watch the movies themselves and it kind-of looks like the North Sea to me, because they do colour-grading to make it look darker than reality.
It's so bizarre to me; why film something that genuinely looks awesome and then tweak it so that it looks far less awesome?!?

Even more ludicrous: I once found a review of the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty film that complained that the movie looked too picture-perfect. "Like a postcard".
Do you know why those postcards look the way they do? Not because of Photoshop, but because you actually need Photoshop to make it NOT look like that.

For some reason, people who live in their own small world cannot comprehend how big this planet is and how different the things you can encounter.
Plus, I feel like these days ("Post 9/11" world ), it is considered politically incorrect to be too positive.
And so we make films with "Modern Movie Syndrome" (as I started calling it) where it is always dark and foggy and gloomy and people behave like assholes and suffer from Chronic Backstabbing Disorder.
To the point that people who are already depressed and barely get out of the house start to believe that the real world outside is all doom and gloom and it's better to stay where they are.

Except that... no... the real world isn't like that at all. That's a fantasy that is being presented to people. And it's not even a nice, fun and positive fantasy.
The real world is so much brighter. And happier. And full of beauty and adventure.

So... Just... WHY?!?! What's the bloody point???

Hope this little speech inspires players and storywriters alike.

Sure sounds inspiring to me!!

And it makes me wonder... What do you think about this here?
New Horizons | PiratesAhoy!
And especially the New Horizons Playing Styles.

That's a set of features that are relatively new and one of the last things I was still involved in.
I would've like to expand on that further, because exactly what you describe sounds so very awesome and is what I'd like to have in the game experience too.

My updated "New Horizons International Relations" also nudges players in that direction by adding a level of realism that some beginners find massively confusing and frustrating.
Especially when combined with the Changing Nation Relations in the specific Free Play storyline. @Grey Roger then made some tweaks again to make it more forgiving to those beginners (plus himself ).

The way it works now does make a lot of sense though and it can really force you to think about what you do.
Sure you can use a false flag and that MAY be quite useful. But it MAY also have unintended negative consequences if you're not careful.
For example, if you're recognized and continue the battle, then sink/capture your target; you may lose your Letter of Marque and be branded a pirate by ALL nations!

Of course this could be annoying if you want to stay on the straight and narrow. But it IS realistic and you could also use it as part of your character's story.
Respectable Privateer who made one mistake, was branded a pirate by accident and now has to fight against the world to stay alive.
Makes for a cool experience if you ask me!

That, and full-featured, real-time 3D sailing to get to locations (which I am still hoping we will get to implement one day).

Should be very feasible. We did it in PotC and got it working, perhaps not perfectly, but really quite well in the end.
CT isn't that different, which means that there just HAS to be a way of getting DirectSail functional in that game too.
You can probably adapt the PotC implementation in some form.

 

[Grey Roger]

My updated "New Horizons International Relations" also nudges players in that direction by adding a level of realism that some beginners find massively confusing and frustrating.
Especially when combined with the Changing Nation Relations in the specific Free Play storyline. @Grey Roger then made some tweaks again to make it more forgiving to those beginners (plus himself ).

I'm going to have to answer that, though it has little to do with a new player in CoAS. Spoiler tags added because it's way off-topic...

Spoiler

The "added level of realism" allows forts to remember if they've seen you under a hostile flag, and then remember you next time they see you, which is fine. But they also remember you even if you're under a friendly flag. Random relation changes may mean that flag isn't friendly to the fort any more. You don't remember using that flag, you just used something which was friendly because you're not looking for trouble with anyone, so now you try to enter under another, currently friendly flag, and don't know why the fort is attacking you. Not only beginners fall foul of that; one of our most experienced players who likes playing as a peaceful merchant was caught out and seriously annoyed about it. I simply added a toggle so you can set forts to ignore you if you're under a friendly flag. Also, one reason was that the fort recognised your ship, which it shouldn't do if you're now in a different ship, so for added realism I added code to have the fort forget you if you're no longer using that ship.

For me, the link was more because of the art-style on the characters; that wild hair on Beatrice looks quite Japanese-style to me.
That's something I don't notice with, for example, the default PotC characters.

Agreed. The sea and lighting look much better in CoAS, but characters certainly do look like something out of anime, and not just Beatrice. The hair style and faces aren't up to PoTC standards, especially some of NH's mod-added character models. Which is probably why, when I downloaded the GoF mod in the hope of importing some characters into PoTC, I found a lot of PoTC models had been imported into GoF.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I'm going to have to answer that, though it has little to do with a new player in CoAS.

Yup. It was fair feedback and a good improvement, I think.
I appreciate you sorting that one out and making it all yet another step better for everyone.
In the end, thanks to you and @Hylie Pistof, it is now better than I could have made (and did make) it by myself.

 

[Cerez]

I've sailed the Caribbean professionally for a good few years and I can confirm that it really DOES look like that most of the time!

This is really heartwarming to hear! Thanks for sharing!

For some reason, people who live in their own small world cannot comprehend how big this planet is and how different the things you can encounter.

Well put. Not to be/sound discriminatory, but as a multicultural Australian I see this as current, devolved American culture. Europe generally has a very different sentiment about this. This kind of shallow and wasteful thinking and practice comes from Hollywood -- which is mostly following the current American cultural climate and the preferences of its demographic, and dictating it to the world.

America has much to learn from European history and culture (even if that's the last thing they would want to admit). And it shouldn't stop there. It should absorb broad-minded teachings from the East, too. Especially since they currently bear a responsibility for world culture.

To quote the Spider-Man comics, of all things: "With great power there must also come -- great responsibility!"

To have one without the other means to cause a great disturbance and suffering.

Plus, I feel like these days [...] it is considered politically incorrect to be too positive.

Indeed, this seems to be modern film culture in general these days, except for animation. I agree, it's a rather sad affair. If it was a mix of positive and negative vibe, it would stand, but it seems to be dominated by pessimism and negativity -- which doesn't help people stay healthy. Generally speaking, stories are meant to inspire, not bring you down -- this was their purpose from the dawn of humankind.

Agreed. The sea and lighting look much better in CoAS, but characters certainly do look like something out of anime, and not just Beatrice. The hair style and faces aren't up to PoTC standards, especially some of NH's mod-added character models. Which is probably why, when I downloaded the GoF mod in the hope of importing some characters into PoTC, I found a lot of PoTC models had been imported into GoF.

Not to mention that CT's characters look like they have been run over by something heavy that flattened their heads. (It's actually a rigging/weighting issue, as far as I can tell, when they turn their heads.) Personally I've never minded the anime-inspired look much, but now I can definitely see what you both mean, and, yes, their design, and even their texturing, is definitely different than the character designs for POTC/NH.

And it makes me wonder... What do you think about this here?

I'll have a thorough look shortly and answer this separately.