Squire of the Sea

[Purpure Longstride]

Sounds good to me. There will be a lot of jokes about Captain Speedy being speedy, I'm sure.

On that tangent, I wonder what Captain Tristram Speedy's distant nephew would make about all the puns about his uncle's name and now a New Weibermacht adaptation of it. I hope he's amused rather than annoyed.

 

[Grey Roger]

Follow one of the links from that page - "Mrs Livingstone, I presume?" Sarah Speedy was Tristram's mother and the fact that Allan has a large site about her is a hopeful indication of how he might react to your work.

What sort of ship is Otrera in your story? How does it rate among the range of ships in the game - one of the biggest ships available, or something smaller?

 

[Purpure Longstride]

Otrera is a mothership. What sort of ship would this be in the sailing age?

 

[Grey Roger]

What sort of ship is it in your game?

 

[Purpure Longstride]

A heavy frigate modified to hold more cargo as well as transport a lot of Speedies.

 

[Grey Roger]

Perhaps I should give her a pure sail frigate instead of the steam frigate. There are several frigates in the game with identical stats and near identical models apart from colour scheme; the British one is the "Endymion" class. The real HMS Endymion was still in service in the 1840's which makes it valid for Purpure's game. It doesn't need to be modified because the type has a decent size hold already, and a frigate that size would certainly have carried marines for boarding and shore actions. These types have a bigger hold and more guns than the steam frigate; they're the heaviest and most powerful frigates in the game.

If Gillian's frigate becomes Otrera then the 1st rate ship of the line which she receives at rank Admiral needs a new name. Otrera was the founder and first queen of the Amazons, so the only way up from there is a literal goddess - perhaps Hera, queen of the Greek gods.

 

[Purpure Longstride]

Hera sounds like a good name for a 1st rate ship.

 

[Grey Roger]

I've been having a bit of fun with Gillian Speedy's dialog. As well as filling in questions for Purpure's answers, I've written some default lines - it's usually a good idea to have something just in case you meet the character while she's not doing anything specific. Usually this will be something simple such as an exchange of "Hello". Gillian will say "Behave yourself, Miss Longstride! I am watching you". But if you have a British letter of marque, what she says will depend on your rank. If Gillian outranks you, which is likely because she commands at least two ships so she's at least a Commodore, she says "Stand to attention when you speak to me, Miss Longstride!", though once you've earned a promotion, she'll address you by rank, e.g. "Stand to attention when you speak to me, Lieutenant Longstride!" If you're her equal, it will just be an exchange of "Good day, Commodore". If you have been playing full on privateer and actually outrank Gillian, she'll say "Have you any orders for me, ma'am?" Of course, none of that is for the interrogation scene, where she asks my questions and Purpure gives your answers.

Next: play as Purpure long enough to trigger the arrest and interrogation, then write the code for Simon's rescue and a chase across Nevis to the pirate settlement, where Purpure will get the Lotus.

Update: the chase is on! After Simon releases you, you go into the town and then through a sequence of jungle locations until you reach the pirate settlement. At each stage, Simon runs along the path to the correct exit to the next location, and you'd better keep up because Lucretia is following. If you take a wrong turn or double back, Lucretia will catch you. And about 10 seconds after you enter a location, Lucretia follows and runs after you. Either way, if she catches you, you and Simon are both sent back to prison. Simon tells you off, then Purpure herself tells the player that she and Simon are now stuck so you may as well quit the game. But if you outrun Lucretia and follow Simon to the pirate settlement, you'll get the Lotus, and any officers who were with you before the arrest now rejoin you - they got away, it was only Purpure who was imprisoned. Simon also joins you as an officer.

I'm assuming that at some time in the future, Purpure will find the impostor, bring her to justice and clear her name. So your ship and any rank you may have with Britain are stored at the time of the arrest, so that they can be restored later.

 

[Purpure Longstride]

Can the player save before Simon leads the player to leg it into the pirate town?

Yes, Purpure will find the impostor and get to clear her own name. Although she does have a hard time proving that there's only one Purpure, two young ladies mentored by Old Longstride, and Purpure didn't burn any coconut farms.

 

[Grey Roger]

Can the player save before Simon leads the player to leg it into the pirate town?

Yes. In fact, "Pirates of the Caribbean" has very few limits on saving game. The player can save before and during the run, several times if so desired. It's entirely possible to save in the jungle, let Lucretia catch up to see what happens, then reload that save and continue running.

What happens is that Purpure is sent back to prison, and Simon along with her. He's not happy:

What were you thinking, Purpure? You were supposed to follow me, not run off and get lost!

I'm sorry, Simon. Now we're both stuck here.

Then Purpure has something to say to the player:

I'm sorry for you too, player, whoever you are. We're not getting out of here. You should quit this game.

So you don't fall behind and you don't go the wrong way. You follow Simon and eventually:

We've made it! The pirate settlement is behind that palisade on the right, and the port is off to the left. The crew of the 'Lotus'are eager to meet their new captain - you!

Lead on then, Simon. I am also looking forward to seeing the ship and crew.

When you arrive at the pirate dock, Margaret and Wilda are placed in Cartagena - Margaret in a tavern, Wilda in the cloister. You'll be able to recruit them in any order, though you're likely to meet Margaret first. The cloister isn't easy to find unless you already know about it, whereas the tavern is in the first part of town you enter from either the port or the beach. And even if you do find the cloister, Wilda isn't easy to see, but Margaret is sitting waiting for you.

Coming soon: Margaret's duel...

 

[Purpure Longstride]

Are 4th wall comments like this common in the mod or the original game?

Looking forward to Margaret's duel.

 

[Grey Roger]

Are 4th wall comments like this common in the mod or the original game?

If I understand "4th wall" correctly, you mean the way Purpure talks to the player. I don't recall any in the original, but I've done it twice before in the mod. There are two storylines in which the main character gets married, then either the main character or someone else tells the player that the happy couple want some privacy. The game then fades to the next day.

As for the duel, almost everything is done apart from the fight itself. Margaret is in the tavern. When you talk to her, she moves to a place just outside town where she'll wait for no more than seven days - if you haven't shown up by then, she assumes you chickened out and there will be consequences! Some of the town citizens have come to watch, including a nun...

 

[Grey Roger]

PoTC has armour, and characters who are wearing metal armour can show it. There are three grades. Cheap armour is exactly that - low cost, not very well made, uncomfortable - it provides reasonable protection but gives a penalty to melee skill. Battle Cuirass is the good stuff - it costs more, fits better, gives more protection and doesn't have the melee penalty. Gilded cuirass is the best - looks prettier, has the best protection, and also has no melee penalty.

For women, there are three styles of each. Margaret already uses one style, so here's Purpure showing the second. From left to right: cheap, battle cuirass, gilded cuirass:


And now with Purpure in the third style:


@Purpure Longstride: have you any preference for which version Purpure should use, if any? The styles are just different textures and have no effect on the armour - if she's wearing a battle cuirass then she gets the same protection regardless of how it looks. She could also use the versions seen here on Margaret - showing Margaret in armour just meant I could show the whole lot in six pictures instead of nine.

Incidentally, that's the location for the duel. You can see some of the spectators in the background in some pictures. Whichever armour type you're wearing when you arrive for the duel, Margaret will wear the same - it's supposed to be an even duel so nobody is getting an unfair advantage due to armour!

 

[Grey Roger]

Another question about the duel. How tough an opponent should Margaret be? Does she barely know one end of a sword from the other, or is she a top level fencer with maxed out skills, or somewhere in between?

 

[Purpure Longstride]

Margaret is a skilled fencer, especially compared to Purpure's canonical inability to land a hit on anyone with a "real" weapon. In the RPGMaker version Purpure's only fighting prowess comes from barehanded martial arts and spellcasting; while Margaret is apprentice to a mythical weaponmaster, the Oyster Bay Immortal.

Spellcasting is as easy to Purpure as conventional swordfighting is to practically everyone else. For that matter, almost nobody else in the Lotus Crew is any good at spellcasting.

As for armour, I like this style for Purpure. Second style battle cuirass, I think?

 

[Grey Roger]

Margaret is a skilled fencer, especially compared to Purpure's canonical inability to land a hit on anyone with a "real" weapon. In the RPGMaker version Purpure's only fighting prowess comes from barehanded martial arts and spellcasting; while Margaret is apprentice to a mythical weaponmaster, the Oyster Bay Immortal.

Unfortunately, that's another point where the "Pirates of the Caribbean" version will need to diverge from the real version. PoTC has very little magic and no spellcasting at all. There are some swords which never wear out, some items can give bonuses to skills, and that's about all the magic there is. Barehanded combat does exist but it's just fists, which are mostly treated as a form of blade, which means if you're good with fists then it's because your melee skill is high and you're good with swords as well. Blocking with fists still causes you damage. In reality, blocking a sword with bare hands is liable to literally disarm you, but PoTC doesn't have removable limbs so you just take damage.

As for armour, I like this style for Purpure. Second style battle cuirass, I think?

Do you want the second style for other armour types, or do you want to mix styles? It's just a matter of different textures so she could easily have the first style cheap armour, second style battle cuirass and third style gilded cuirass, for example. Purpure won't always wear the battle cuirass - depending on character level and which armour she found on sale, she could have any of them. But she'll only have one style of cheap armour, one of battle cuirass and one of gilded cuirass. The reason I could show different styles is that I took a screenshot of her in each of the second style armours, then quit the game, did some file renaming to make her armour show the third style, then reloaded a save and took the next set of screenshots.

Margaret already has her armour because she uses a character model called "50_33Petra". That, in fact, is what originally made me want to put her in the game - your picture of Margaret looks very similar to "50_33Petra", which just happens to represent a skilled fencer in the game. So her armoured versions were created several years ago.

 

[Purpure Longstride]

Of course, most pirates aren't known for exclusively knuckle boxing to begin with.

I'd like to mix styles, with style one for cheap armour (What Margaret's wearing), but style two for the gilded cuirass.

 

[Grey Roger]

Of course, most pirates aren't known for exclusively knuckle boxing to begin with.

Not exclusively, but they could get into tavern brawls.

I'd like to mix styles, with style one for cheap armour (What Margaret's wearing), but style two for the gilded cuirass.

Easily enough done. I have texture files for all three styles of all three armours, so it was just a matter of copying and renaming files.

The duel is also almost done, just need some more testing to allow for players not following the script because it's FreePlay. Wilda should not show up as a spectator if you've already recruited her. When you arrive at the duel site, Margaret equips armour to match yours; if you have then switched to something better when you talk to Margaret to start the fight, she switches to gilded cuirass, so if you're going to cheat, you'd better have the same otherwise you'll be the one at a disadvantage!

Starting from the challenge in the tavern, you have seven days to go to the duel otherwise Margaret gives up waiting. Or you can go there, then leave, in which case she regards that as running away. Either way, she thinks you're a coward. She disappears permanently and so does Wilda. If you already recruited Wilda, she deserts, and if you have put her in command of a ship, she takes it with her.

But none of that happens if you fought and lost. Margaret returns to the tavern, Wilda returns to the convent or remains a loyal officer. You aren't a coward - you might not have won but at least you were brave enough to try. So you can try again later without penalties.

As well as trying to match you in armour, Margaret gives you a duelling rapier and equips the same herself. It's not a very hard-hitting sword, the idea being that you're not trying to kill each other. You can keep the rapier. If you lost, you'll need it when you try again; if you won, you still get to keep it as a prize.

 

[Grey Roger]

The escape and duel parts are now done!

There are two ways to play as Purpure. You can choose the dress outfit, in which case you start by bidding a fond farewell to Uncle Gules, then you command the schooner Carnation. After you gain a little experience - that is, go up a level - you get the captain's outfit with trousers and hat. After a couple more level increases, the next time you land anywhere on Nevis, Lucretia Bowyer arrests you. Your ship is confiscated, your officers disappear, and you're sent to Charlestown prison. The next day, Gillian Speedy interrogates you:


Another day passes, then at night, Simon Clarke arrives and releases you. Good news - the rest of your crew are safe! Simon leads you out of the prison and into the jungle, stopping at each location at the end of the path leading to the next location until you arrive at the Pirate Settlement, where you'll take command of the brig Lotus:


But you'd better keep up with Simon because Lucretia is chasing you and if you fall behind or take a wrong turning...


But if you make it to the Pirate Settlement, any officers who were with you before the arrest now rejoin you. Simon becomes an officer and so does Edgar Dubois. (You can only have three officers at most in your immediate party. If there isn't room for them, Simon and Edgar become passengers. They're still officers and will contribute their skills to the ship, and you can swap officers in and out of your party at any time.)

The other way to play is to choose the captain's outfit right away, in which case you miss out on the arrest and escape. The whole point of that is to give you the Lotus but if you choose the captain's outfit then you begin with the Lotus. Simon and Edgar join you as officers right away. And Lizzie Whitebrush is your first mate at the start of the game regardless of which outfit you choose.

 

[Grey Roger]

If you started with the dress and completed the arrest and escape, Margaret Jocasta and Wilda Wright are now placed in Cartagena - Margaret in a tavern, Wilda in a cloister. If you started with the captain's outfit, you'll need to go up a few levels before they are placed. Margaret and Wilda have heard of you, so you must have already been doing things!

In any game, you can talk to citizens around town and they'll sometimes tell you rumours, which may be hints of things going on. For example:


In the tavern, you'll find that the woman is Margaret and she's waiting for you. She challenges you to a duel and tells you where it will take place. Don't be late!


When you get there, you'll see Margaret waiting, along with some spectators. Some of them are chatting to each other, and there's a nun standing by herself. Margaret gives you a rapier and she'll use the same; and if you're wearing armour, she'll match it.


If you win the duel, Margaret will join you. But who was that nun?


I've tested this a few times, checking various ways through and various different outcomes. If you lose the duel, Margaret returns to the tavern, the citizens return to their normal places and Wilda returns to the cloister. Or you might have found the cloister earlier and recruited Wilda before the duel, in which case she won't appear as a spectator and you won't ask Margaret about her.

When you recruit Wilda, she swaps the nun's habit for a blue dress. But if you either miss the duel by waiting more than a week, or if you go to the waterfall and then leave without fighting, she's not impressed!


Incidentally, as I mentioned, if Simon and Edgar can't fit into your party then they just become ship's officers unless you choose to swap them into your party. Wilda does the same. But Margaret is more forceful. If there's no room for her in your party, she'll push someone out! She won't replace Lizzie. And sometimes an officer who is critical to a quest can be made unremovable, so Margaret won't replace such a one. In my case, I still had Lizzie, Simon and Edgar active after the escape. Tough luck, Edgar!

So now I need to put the next update for the mod together, then upload it. And then other people can try this out...