Best (modded) pirate games?

[Frezzwar]

Hi!
I'm new here, and I love pirates. Huge surprise, right?
I love sailing around, sinking ships, plundering and getting new ships. The more I can customize, the better. I think I played City of Abandoned Ships some years back, but I'm not sure. I remember that game as awesome, but VERY unstable. The game is probably at my parents house right now.
So, I'm wondering: What would you guys say is the best game right now? It seems there are two big mod packs for two big games. What are the biggest differences?
I hope that anyone wants to help me out here. It all seems a little overwhelming.
(Oh, and it seems that some of you are working on a game. Do you have any idea about when the first pre-before-alpha build will be out?)

 

[Hylie Pistof]

There is no "best" game. The two here both have their strengths and weaknesses.

POTC is the older and more developed game. That makes it very good here and very crude there.

COAS is the newer and less developed game. But there is work being done to make it much better than it was and the work that has recently been done is awesome.

Try the mods for both games and make your choice.

 

[Frezzwar]

Why is there never an easy answer?
Okay, lets try the hard way then.
What game has the most different ships?
What game has the most customization?
What game has the biggest "skill-tree"? (I'm a huge RPG fan)
What game has most officer management?
What game has the biggest possibilities of building a big navy?
What game has the biggest possibilities of building stuff on islands (farm, blacksmith, etc. like in Port Royale)?
How is the sword fighting in the games, compared to each other?

What is the biggest strength in POTC (other than it is more developed)?
What is the biggest strength in COAS?

Oh, and thank you for your time! It is always awesome to meet friendly people

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Ok, let's see where this goes.

Most different ships? POTC has over 200 ships.

Most customization? POTC ships have the most upgrade options.

Skill tree? Where does it grow? Where is it located? How big are the leaves? In other words I'm not sure what you're talking about, but COAS has the PIRATES system.

Officer management? About the same.

Big navy? COAS ERAS mod.

Building stuff? POTC

POTC sword fighting is Basic attack and block. COAS swordfighting has many options as to how to attack and block. COAS is much more complex.

The strong point of POTC is its sailing. While direct sailing the world is much more realistic.

The strong point of COAS is everything on land. It looks better and plays better.

 

[Frezzwar]

I don't know what I mean about the skill tree part. I'm just hoping for skills and stats that will increase as kill stuff
Well, it seems like I got some shopping to do. Do you know where I can get POTC?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Oh that kind of skill tree. Yes, in both games you start out with nothing and build yourself up by doing things. You can get ranks in the Navies too.

POTC is 10 years old and your best bet would be an online search.

 

[Frezzwar]

Once again, thank you! This will definitely not be the last time you see me
If anyone else wants to share a thought he/she is still welcome

 

[Armada]

It's worth noting that the PotC: New Horizons mod was recently voted among the Top 100 Mods of 2013 on ModDB.
Although we didn't win, it was still a huge achievement, and we're proud of it.

Having said that, you should definitely give GOF: Eras a try for CoAS as well. It's the newest mod release here, and has an unparalleled attention to detail and respect for history.

 

[Frezzwar]

I will definitely do that at some point!
And how about that game you are making yourselves? How far is that project?

 

[Armada]

Hearts of Oak is in the early stages right now, but recently we've made some excellent progress.
We might be able to get a playable demo out in a few months, if all goes well.

 

[Frezzwar]

Awesome! Can't wait