Discussion Tattered Sails after Elizabeth Shaw Quest

[Map Maker]

After the getting Liz Shaw to Cayman my sails became tattered and my ship is surrounded by fog. Looks sort of like Flying Dutchman. I tried to reset the sails, but that didn't help. Any ideas?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Which modpack version are you playing?
Which realism mode you use?
Which storyline are you in?
Do you have a Cursed Coin in your inventory?

 

[Map Maker]

Which modpack version are you playing?
Which realism mode you use?
Which storyline are you in?
Do you have a Cursed Coin in your inventory?

I'm playing MODPACK 14 Final.
Realism mode is whatever is standard ( I have changed any settings).
Storyline: Legend of a Sea Hawk.
I do have a Mysterious Coin (Cursed Coin?).

Went back and replayed from before Davy Jones encounter. Arrived at Cayman. My ship looked like Ghost Ship. After running from Jones, I went to shore and appeared as Skeleton (it was dark).
Does all this have to do with Cursed Coin? Or something else?

 

[Grey Roger]

Can you upload the file "compile.log"? You'll find it in the top level of the game install folder - not in "PROGRAM" or "RESOURCE". That will tell us exactly which version of the game you're using.

It's certainly the cursed coin doing it. The fog cloud, torn sails and night time skeleton are all the effects of the curse. This has nothing to do with the "Elizabeth Shaw" quest. You could find a cursed coin in any chest you loot, and if you find one, it stays with you. (Though the curse is supposed to be disabled in "Realistic" mode.) The effects of the curse don't show up right away, so you could have picked up the coin early in the quest or even before you started.

If you're familiar with the original "Pirates of the Caribbean" film, you may know a bit about these coins because they show up in the film. In that case, you'll have some idea of where you can get rid of the coin, and also what you need in order to find the place. The person who can give you the item you need is currently getting drunk on Tortuga...

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Though the curse is supposed to be disabled in "Realistic" mode.

True for Free Play and several other storylines, but not true for "Legend of a Sea Hawk".
Because that is the original game storyline with already ties to the PotC film series, I figured people wouldn't object to the curse being enabled there.
But maybe that assumption is wrong.

Hopefully once @Map Maker has discovered what this is all about, he'll share his opinion with us.
Then we could decide if this should be changed.

If this IS changed, I'd suggest also removing all other PotC film content from the Standard storyline.

 

[Grey Roger]

I'd prefer to keep "Tales of a Sea Hawk" as close as possible to the original - it is, after all, ultimately the reason why we're here on this forum! By that logic, disabling the curse of the coin would bring it closer to the original. So would changing the Black Pearl back to the "Lineship1" model, leaving the realistic Pearl specific to the "Hoist The Colours" story.

But if you're going to completely rewrite the story to remove all reference to anything film-related, it would be better to write a new storyline and leave "Tales of a Sea Hawk" as it is. The film stuff is pretty much the whole point of the plot, even if the way you defeat the Pearl has nothing to do with the film. You don't get the full curse but the coins are mentioned, they're in the chest which the Speightstown shipyard owner gives you to take to Port Royale tavern.

Back to the coins: I thought the curse was completely disabled in "Realistic" mode anyway. Certainly I use "Realistic" mode all the time, and I've played through "Tales of a Sea Hawk" without being cursed. The number of ships I board and chests I plunder, if the curse was in effect in "Realistic" mode, I'd know about it. (I think it was enabled in "Realistic" mode in an earlier version of the game because I was affected by it ages ago. There's the point in the story where you've met Danielle by the lighthouse, she's looking for Raoul Rheims, so you offer to team up with her because you're after him as well. First you need to go back to Silehard to tell him you're back on Rheims' trail. When you get back to the lighthouse, Danielle complains about how long you've been away. On that occasion she had a very good reason to complain because I'd taken rather a long detour on the way from Jamaica to Barbados in order to lift the curse. )

Apart from editing "PROGRAM\Storyline\standard.c" to disable the curse, there's now another way to avoid it. "InternalSettings.h" has an option to disable either the coin curse, the albatross curse or both, so by changing the setting, you can just drop the coin in the nearest chest, or on the next corpse you loot. (Or, if you're feeling evil, use the Thief's Knife to get access to someone's pocket and leave them a little surprise. )

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I'd prefer to keep "Tales of a Sea Hawk" as close as possible to the original - it is, after all, ultimately the reason why we're here on this forum! By that logic, disabling the curse of the coin would bring it closer to the original. So would changing the Black Pearl back to the "Lineship1" model, leaving the realistic Pearl specific to the "Hoist The Colours" story.

UGH, terrible model! I'd strongly suggest naming her something different then to match. How about "Grey Gem"?

But if you're going to completely rewrite the story to remove all reference to anything film-related, it would be better to write a new storyline and leave "Tales of a Sea Hawk" as it is. The film stuff is pretty much the whole point of the plot, even if the way you defeat the Pearl has nothing to do with the film. You don't get the full curse but the coins are mentioned, they're in the chest which the Speightstown shipyard owner gives you to take to Port Royale tavern.

The link with PotC:CotBP is really tiny though; you can clearly tell it was an afterthought that was shoe-horned into the story.
There are only:
- Cursed pirates who corner you halfway through the storyline
- The WILDLY movie-inaccurate dialog from the "old man" on Martinique
- The WILDLY movie-inaccurate battle with the Black Pearl at the end of the storyline

It can't be very difficult to replace those references to a different curse and have it completely independent from the film.
That's what @MatthewThePirate also suggested two weeks ago and it sounds fair enough to me.

Back to the coins: I thought the curse was completely disabled in "Realistic" mode anyway. Certainly I use "Realistic" mode all the time, and I've played through "Tales of a Sea Hawk" without being cursed. The number of ships I board and chests I plunder, if the curse was in effect in "Realistic" mode, I'd know about it.

This is the code from PROGRAM\Locations\init\IslaDeMuerte.c:

    if(sti(GetStorylineVar(FindCurrentStoryline(), "ISLA_DE_MUERTE")) > 0 && iRealismMode == 0)
        locations[n].box1.items.cursedcoin = 881;    // PB: You can get yourself cursed, but need to find another to uncurse yourself
    else
        locations[n].box1.items.cursedcoin = 882;    // PB: Curse is not applied until you take coins out of the chest

And this is from PROGRAM\Storyline\standard.c:

AddStorylineVar(n, "ISLA_DE_MUERTE", "1");        // PB: Curse in effect and can visit Isla de Muerte

Those two control whether the curse is in effect or not.
If I recall, you recently made another change so that in Realistic Game Mode, you can ALWAYS get rid of the coins; regardless of this.
But you know the specifics of that better than I do...

I think it was enabled in "Realistic" mode in an earlier version of the game because I was affected by it ages ago. There's the point in the story where you've met Danielle by the lighthouse, she's looking for Raoul Rheims, so you offer to team up with her because you're after him as well. First you need to go back to Silehard to tell him you're back on Rheims' trail. When you get back to the lighthouse, Danielle complains about how long you've been away. On that occasion she had a very good reason to complain because I'd taken rather a long detour on the way from Jamaica to Barbados in order to lift the curse.

Indeed the 'iRealismMode == 0' check in IslaDeMuerte.c was added quite a bit later; mainly at your suggestion, if I recall.

Apart from editing "PROGRAM\Storyline\standard.c" to disable the curse, there's now another way to avoid it. "InternalSettings.h" has an option to disable either the coin curse, the albatross curse or both, so by changing the setting, you can just drop the coin in the nearest chest, or on the next corpse you loot. (Or, if you're feeling evil, use the Thief's Knife to get access to someone's pocket and leave them a little surprise. )

I like your Thief's Knife idea! I think that character then really WOULD be cursed afterwards.
Best to do with a permanent character who walks around outside for maximum entertaint value.

 

[Map Maker]

Can you upload the file "compile.log"? You'll find it in the top level of the game install folder - not in "PROGRAM" or "RESOURCE". That will tell us exactly which version of the game you're using.

It's certainly the cursed coin doing it. The fog cloud, torn sails and night time skeleton are all the effects of the curse. This has nothing to do with the "Elizabeth Shaw" quest. You could find a cursed coin in any chest you loot, and if you find one, it stays with you. (Though the curse is supposed to be disabled in "Realistic" mode.) The effects of the curse don't show up right away, so you could have picked up the coin early in the quest or even before you started.

If you're familiar with the original "Pirates of the Caribbean" film, you may know a bit about these coins because they show up in the film. In that case, you'll have some idea of where you can get rid of the coin, and also what you need in order to find the place. The person who can give you the item you need is currently getting drunk on Tortuga...

I don't really have a problem with what happened, it just took me by surprise. I actually considered the curse when I picked up the coin. Nothing happened so I thought maybe I got zapped by the Liz Shaw/Davy Jones Quest. I actually went to the Pirate settlement looking for a Drunken Pirate. Now that I know where to look, I'll play this as another quest. I just started playing New Horizons, but I've been playing the other Akella games for years. I like what you guys have done with these games and hope that Sea Dogs: To Each His Own gets unlocked so you can fix some of its problem areas.

Here is the file Grey Roger wanted:

 

[Grey Roger]

UGH, terrible model! I'd strongly suggest naming her something different then to match. How about "Grey Gem"?

That would defeat the purpose of making the ship more like the one in the original game.

The link with PotC:CotBP is really tiny though; you can clearly tell it was an afterthought that was shoe-horned into the story.
There are only:
- Cursed pirates who corner you halfway through the storyline
- The WILDLY movie-inaccurate dialog from the "old man" on Martinique
- The WILDLY movie-inaccurate battle with the Black Pearl at the end of the storyline

It can't be very difficult to replace those references to a different curse and have it completely independent from the film.

Since the dialog and battle are nothing like the movie, they don't count as film content. They do, however, count as original game content. It shouldn't be too hard to put the cursed pirates back to whatever model they used in the stock game, though.

If I recall, you recently made another change so that in Realistic Game Mode, you can ALWAYS get rid of the coins; regardless of this.
But you know the specifics of that better than I do...

It's not limited to "Realistic" mode. There wouldn't be much point if the curse is always disabled in "Realistic" mode and you can dump the coins anyway. It does mean that if @Map Maker has the newest version of the game plus the update, he has another way to lift the curse.

I like your Thief's Knife idea! I think that character then really WOULD be cursed afterwards.
Best to do with a permanent character who walks around outside for maximum entertaint value.

The snag there is that most permanent characters disappear at night. About the only permanent characters who are still around at night are guards; good luck trying to get access to their pockets.

 

[Grey Roger]

Here is the file Grey Roger wanted:

Build 14 (21st May 2018)
Savegame Compatibility: 14.941

That's the newest installer, but not with the additional updates. You can get those here:
http://piratesahoy.bowengames.com/potc/Grey Roger/post_25May_updates.zip
You can download that, unzip it, and copy the whole lot straight to your game installation folder, where Windows should then try to merge the updated "PROGRAM" and "RESOURCE" folders with the existing ones.

Among other things, that includes this line in "PROGRAM\InternalSettings.h":

#define CURSES_DISABLED               0       // INT - 0=default: Cursed items can be dumped or given away. 1 = cursed coins, 2 = cursed albatross, 0 = neither, 3 = both

Edit the file, find that line, change the 0 to 1, and you should then be able to lift the curse by dumping the coin.

Or, if you're planning to find the coin's proper home anyway, you can leave "InternalSettings.h" as it is.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I don't really have a problem with what happened, it just took me by surprise. I actually considered the curse when I picked up the coin. Nothing happened so I thought maybe I got zapped by the Liz Shaw/Davy Jones Quest.

It wouldn't be fun if you hadn't been surprised!

But indeed, if it happens at the same as the Elizabeth Shaw sidequest, I can imagine it does become REALLY mystifying.
Sounds like you were extraordinarily (un)lucky there!

I like what you guys have done with these games and hope that Sea Dogs: To Each His Own gets unlocked so you can fix some of its problem areas.

@kb31 and @LarryHookins have already been making some good progress there.

That would defeat the purpose of making the ship more like the one in the original game.

For the ship model, it would.
But I personally don't care about making it closer to the original game.
The way I figure it, it should either fit properly with the PotC films or shouldn't be related to them at all.
The original game was originally not written as a PotC toe-in, so it makes sense to remove those references and call it a "Sea Dogs 2" storyline.

Since the dialog and battle are nothing like the movie, they don't count as film content. They do, however, count as original game content. It shouldn't be too hard to put the cursed pirates back to whatever model they used in the stock game, though.

I think there was a "many" there. I don't like that one. It's boring!

The snag there is that most permanent characters disappear at night. About the only permanent characters who are still around at night are guards; good luck trying to get access to their pockets.

Always good to have a challenge, right? I recall something about sinking the Flying Dutchman too!

 

[Map Maker]

True for Free Play and several other storylines, but not true for "Legend of a Sea Hawk".
Because that is the original game storyline with already ties to the PotC film series, I figured people wouldn't object to the curse being enabled there.
But maybe that assumption is wrong.

Hopefully once @Map Maker has discovered what this is all about, he'll share his opinion with us.
Then we could decide if this should be changed.

If this IS changed, I'd suggest also removing all other PotC film content from the Standard storyline.

I enjoyed the coin quest, once I found out it wasn't a bug. I talked to the guy, got the compass and returned the coin. In some games they call this kind of stuff an "Easter Egg".
It was a total coincidence that it happened during Liz Shaw. I wouldn't change a thing.
Thanks for all your help!!

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I enjoyed the coin quest, once I found out it wasn't a bug. I talked to the guy, got the compass and returned the coin.

Glad to hear it!
There is actually more to do on that island you found than just getting rid of the coin.
You can even deliberately get more coins and use the curse to your advantage, if you want.

In some games they call this kind of stuff an "Easter Egg".

We do too and the mod is absolutely littered with them.
Many people involved over the years have quite a good sense of humour.

 

[Map Maker]

Glad to hear it!
There is actually more to do on that island you found than just getting rid of the coin.
You can even deliberately get more coins and use the curse to your advantage, if you want.

I ran in to one of them. He killed us all. Thought I might investigate later.

We do too and the mod is absolutely littered with them.
Many people involved over the years have quite a good sense of humour.

Yes they do. I've found somethings to be absolutely hilarious.

Question: Were any of you involved with the LIB? Their mod of the original Sea Dogs was great and really funny.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Question: Were any of you involved with the LIB? Their mod of the original Sea Dogs was great and really funny.

From what I understand, PiratesAhoy! started with members from the LIB who migrated over to PotC and they most certainly left their mark!
But I don't think any of the really old gang is left now. I am now one of the oldest members here, but Sea Dogs was before my time...

 

[Peter Norton]

The chest contains 883 Mysterious Coins.
I suppose if I collect 1000 Mysterious Coins in the chest I should receive some prize, correct??

 

[Grey Roger]

The chest should contain 882 coins, unless you're playing in "Arcade" mode in a storyline which allows the coin curse. In that case, the chest contains 881 coins and if you find a coin, the curse takes effect until you put it into the chest to bring it up to 882 coins. (If you FreePlay as a cursed character, the chest is empty and you have a few coins in your weapons locker; your mission is to find a total of at least 882 coins and put them in the chest.)

There is no reward for putting 1000 coins in the chest. If you remove coins from the chest so that there are fewer than 882, the curse will take effect.