Age of Pirates

Press “Ctrl” on your keyboard to whip it out and have a look. Information about
the ship you're viewing appears at the bottom of the screen. On the left is it's
portrait and status, national flag, the number of cannons she's carrying, her
speed and ammunition type. With the really top quality 'glasses, you'll also get
some information on the captain of the ship, as pictured above.
7.4 Direct Ship control
You steer your ship with the default A and D keys, and by setting and striking
the sails with the W and S keys respectively. Sails set in three positions:
• Full Sails – Large sail area allowing the ship to catch the most wind and move
at full speed. Full sails suffer more damage from knippel fire.
• Battle Sails – Less sail area reducing damage taken to them during battle.
However, your ship's turn rate increases and your maximum speed is reduced
by half.
• Furled Sails – Receive almost zero damage from enemy fire, but leave you
dead in the water.
The speed of your ship depends on its direction relative to the wind. Ships with
straight sails manage great speeds with the wind. Ships with fore and aft sails
can manage great speeds at an acute angle to the wind, but loose speed
sailing directly with the wind.
For example, a schooner can easily come abreast of a galleon sailing against
the wind, but the galleon will leave the schooner behind when sailing with the
wind. Ships that have both straight and fore and aft sails have more unique
characteristics. You can improve the speed of your ship by installing different
types of sails or by learning certain abilities.
7.5 Communicating With Other Ships
If there are other ships nearby, you can speak with
their captains, whether hostile or not. If they're close
enough, engage the “Talk” Fast Command, and you'll
see the following screen (pictured left). Available
options are:
• Get news – Catch up on current events. Of course,
it's hard to verify this stuff when you're out at sea,
so any news you hear will be recorded in the
“Rumours” section of your Logbook.
• Trade – Opens the Trade interface. You can do business with your fellow
captains from here. A useful way of replenishing lost or damaged missionessential
goods before you reach your destination and have to explain how a
cannon ball wiped out half someone's stock of coffee beans. These sort of
details don't impress merchants. But what do they know eh?
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