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[3] NEW SINCE PIRATES AND PIRATES GOLD
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This section is specifically aimed at veterans of either or both of the
previous versions of this game. If Sid Meier's Pirates is your first game in
this series, feel free to skip this section. If it's not, you'll probably want
to know how much is the same and how much has changed, so here's a handy
overview.

- You still sail around the Caribbean plundering ships and ports, finding
treasure and lost family members, getting wealth, acres of land and ranks,
and hoping to retire in the highest social standing possible before you grow
too old for more expeditions. You still have to strike a balance between a
crew large enough to fight your battles with and small enough to keep happy,
and you still get more ships only by capturing them.

- The 1560 era "The Silver Empire" where Spain controls 95% of the Caribbean is
no longer available. All the other eras are still there.

- A new difficulty level has been added between Adventurer and Swashbuckler,
named Rogue. Rogue captains get the 20% share of the loot that Swashbucklers
used to, while you get a whopping 50% as a Swashbuckler now. Assuming you
manage to bring any loot in at all, that is, because it's a brutal difficulty
setting.

- There are many more ships now; 9 classes which each have a small, medium and
large ship variant, for a total of 27 different ships.

- When you sail in the Caribbean, you don't run into other ships randomly
anymore; you see them sailing now, and can pick your targets with impunity.
You'll also find the world a lot more interactive now; trading vessels get
escorted by military warships and attacked by pirates and raiders of other
nations. The appearance of new governors, pirate and indian attacks and even
the outbreak of peace and war no longer happens spontaneously; they're all
triggered by ships reaching their destination. It is now perfectly possible
to foil pirate attacks by sinking the pirate before it reaches its target, or
prevent nations from making peace by capturing the ship carrying the treaty.

- Trade has become a lot more profitable, if you know where to buy low and
sell high. Cannon value has been nerfed a lot though, so no more getting rich
by stealing and selling cannons only. It's now all about Luxuries and Spices.
As a side effect, working for the Spanish is now a viable option; trading goods
in their wealthiest towns is a working alternative to plundering them.

- In addition to regular ports, there are now various settlements, missions,
indian villages and pirate havens on the map, with various functions. The
pirate havens are of particular interest if you'd like to be completely
freelance and attack everything that moves regardless of what colors they're
flying. Even if all four nations have a price on your head, pirate havens
will offer you refuge and let you repair your ships and recruit new crew.

- Naval battles are a lot like they used to be, with slight tweaks. You can now
buy various upgrades for your ships to make them faster, turn better, shoot
more quickly etc. You also have 3 different types of ammunition available for
your cannons; the regular round shot, and two special types meant specifically
to kill off enemy crew or destroy their sails and make them easier to catch.

- Swordfighting has been redone, and the overall style is now much more
defensive. Rather than going berserk on your opponent right away, you now get
the best results from dodging and then countering his attacks.

- Land battles are now turn based strategy where you move your units over a
grid, trying to outmaneuver the enemy units and either beat them all or reach
the gates of the town. Attacking a town from the sea is no longer possible; any
attack on a port is now a land battle. However, you still go straight to a
sword fight instead of a land battle if you grossly outnumber the enemy.

- You can now get special items that make certain parts of the game easier,
such as better swords that swing more quickly, or musical instruments that help
keep the crew entertained on long voyages. You can also find specialists on
board other ships that enhance your crew, such as an expert gunner that helps
your crew load cannons faster. You also get special service in ports as your
rank rises; Dukes can get their ships repaired and upgraded for free.

- Marrying a governor's daughter is a lot more work now than just proposing
if you're rich and famous enough. You will have to win their heart on the
dancefloor first, in a rhythm-style minigame. You will have to go through
several more steps before one will consider marrying you. Alternatively, you
can just dance with beautiful women all over the Caribbean and gain valuable
items and information in return.

- There's still buried treasure to go after, but each treasure now belongs to
a specific pirate, and they will not be pleased if you steal it. On the other
hand, beating the pirates themselves tends to earn you good, upgraded ships as
well as a good amount of gold from their holds.

- You still chase evil Spanish noblemen to learn about your missing family
members. The Incan treasures that your rescued family members would point you
to have been replaced by lost cities that work much the same way. You also get
a chance now to track down and defeat the evil Marquis that enslaved your
family in the first place, and get a huge reward in the process. This can be
considered the game's main quest now, though it's as optional as everything
else.

- The Silver Train is no longer among us, and the Treasure Fleet cannot be
caught in port anymore. It can, however, be attacked on the high seas if you
manage to find it.

- Plundered ports recover their economy much more quickly as trading vessels
go in and out, and new governors are assigned to them. The danger of ending up
with a Caribbean plundered dry, as would happen on the lower levels a lot in
the previous games, is effectively gone. There's always more loot for a daring
(and aging) pirate to go after.