Are "Civ" players also "Pirates!" players?

[Jeff_ATARI]

Hello, folks! Jeff, your friendly neighborhood brand manager here. I hope you've been enjoying your time with Civ III lately -- especially for those of you who've already picked up Civ Conquests.

Some of you may already be aware of the Next Big Project to leave Firaxis's doors... Sid Meier's Pirates! is due out by the end of the calendar year. It's an update of Sid's "other" classic early computer game, bringing its blend of action, adventure, role-playing, and strategy into today's gamer world, with improved graphics and some other nifty surprises.

There's been a lot of talk on this forum in particular about what kind of person plays Civ. Old or young, male or female, hardcore or casual gamer, we've all seen that the audience for Sid Meier games is rather broad.

So -- you guessed it! -- I'm on board as Atari's brand manager for the launch of Pirates! this time around. One question that came up in our internal discussions was, is a Civilization fan also a Pirates player? They certainly don't play the same, but the trademark gameplay design (and humor) that Sid puts into all of his games will be back again.

We've had a lot of speculation around here, but I thought, why not take it to the Civ fans here? I'd appreciate it if you'd put in a vote and weigh in on this thread.

Many thanks,
Jeff Foley
Atari

 

[Civrules]

Jeff,

I know that I would like to play it. I am 15 so I don't know if older people in the Civ community will play Pirates! but I do know that people my age will probably like it.

 

[Gainy]

I'll be getting it, yes
My interest isn't really inter-related with Civ, I just like the idea of sailing around being pirate-y

-- just incase you care, I heard about Pirates! only a few years ago when my Brother downloaded it - possibly illegaly Kinda ironic (pirated copy of Pirates!)

edit: and i'm 16...

 

[Arne]

Well, I'm a fan of naval games so I am a fan of the old Pirates! too. Of cource I will try the new Pirates! Are there any news?

But more important to me is a highly-developed naval AI in Civ4.

 

[Civrules]

For the people that don't really know what it is, you can go here.

 

[cableguy]

Pirates? er prob not but no doubt there is plenty of scurvy lovers out there

 

[Longasc]

I LOVED PIRATES! TO PIECES!

I played Pirates Gold, too - and I will pay again for SM Pirates... (now that sounds... <cough> hehe).

What made Pirates great? It had some roleplaying elements, trade elements and a great map of the Caribbean - I loved sailing around, it was simple but entertaining. The Mosquito coast had so many reefs, and not much ships there, but hell, it was fun to sail in between those reefs and survive... .

I think a very nice looking sea map and beefed up sea battles, perhaps inspired by Age of Sail, would be really great.

I also think that Pirates needs some additions and improvements... Pirates Gold was already a little bit of a letdown because besides SVGA graphics it had nothing new to offer.

The third Pirates! should improve and evolve some details of the game.

I think it will be really difficult to make ship combat and fencing onboard the ships more interesting while keeping them simple and accessible.

But what have Civilization and Pirates in common?

Civilization is a game of adventure for me - and Pirates was an adventure, too.

I said some weeks ago, who was Piet Heyn, I played Piet Heyn in 1620 as a Dutch Privateer YEARS ago in Pirates on my first PC... or was it even a C64... I do not know, but I know it was GREAT... and both games have a very high replay value.

 

[bru]

Yes! I'm not really a Pirates! fan, but I'll try it because it's a Sid Meier game.

 

[CaptainCommando]

I'm 16, and when I was younger i played Pirates on my old Macintosh computer, and I must say I'm looking forward to this new version. You can bet that I'm definetely gonna pick up a copy when it's released!

 

[Nocturno]

I will be i was so addicted to the pirates released over a decade ago.

 

[KaNick]

I will probably pick it up, it does seem interesting. I will have to wait for the reviews. uts on Brand Manager goggles: OH MY GOD! This Thread is nothing more than a focus group. CURSE YOU JEFF

 

[phatkat]

now you've gone and made me feel quite old for a moment there; i remember the bootable 5.25 cga 'pirates' floppies...

i'd give it a shot if i find the time; but i'll probably wait for a few months after the release, for the first patches.

-aj

 

[sabo]

I'll play anything that Sid makes, some are better than others but you can always count on your money being well spent.

 

[Alexnm]

Oh, Pirates... I still remember it fondly (I'm not talking about the original release, I didn't have a computer back then). I first played it at a friend's home, he had bought a collection called "Conquer the World" and it had four games: Railroad Tycoon, Pirates!, Transport Tycoon and Colonization. My friend called me up one day and asked me if I could help him to install Pirates (he managed to install the others without problems). I said: "Sure, why not?" I managed to install Pirates in his comp and we started playing with it... I was hooked! Wonderful game!

I was so amazed and was having so much fun that my friend eventually borrowed me that collection. He never saw those games again...

Ok, in short: I'm a big fan of Pirates and will certainly get it when it's released.

 

[Admiral_Tarton]

Pirates! forever!!! I've been playing Pirates! for years

 

[rschissler]

Yes I'm definitely interested.

I've never played the original Pirates!, but I love seafaring in the age of sail and am interested in any game relating to it. I'm currently a Civ3 addict, and loved Bethsofts Sea Dogs from a few years ago but was dissappointed with other related games such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Age of Sail. So I am looking forward to a good game of this era.

 

[IglooDame]

I played (and played, and played, and played) the original Pirates! and will wait for the initial reviews on the new release but will most likely get it unless the reviews are uniformly negative. I'm a former naval officer and a sailor so Pirates! appeals to me in a kind of Jimmy Buffett-reminiscent way.

And like the post above, I'd love for the Civ3 AI to be smarter about naval warfare...

 

[Daniel Khan]

I haven't played the original, but with Sid Meier attached to the name, I would be more inclined to play it.

 

[wilbill]

Pirates! is the only game I've ever found that's almost as addictive as the Civ series.

 

[Chieftess]

I've heard about it, but never played it. I'll check it out once the testing phase rolls around.