Pirates & Traders

[strategy]

Version 1.4.5 update just released. Just some minor fixes and tweaks, as most of the work is focused on the "big" update. I received the first design boards from the artist working on the new graphics and am really looking forward to seeing what the game will look like with the new artwork (hopefully good and worth the money). Still lots of work left before it is ready, though - please be patient.

 

[Beastall]

Hello,

First I would like to thank you, Strategy, for creating the game. Addictive and fun. A friend told me about it as we were playing the boardgame Merchants and Marauders. So I immediately DL it.

I think there is a bug when you move up in rank in that the Gunpowder storage improvement actually gets more expensive as you move up in rank instead of getting cheaper.

The improvement initially cost 4000gp when I was a Captain but since I attained the Rank of Rear and Vice Admiral the cost went up to 4800gp and then the shipyard wanted 5120 gp for the improvement so it seems that the cost is going up by the percentage listed instead of down.

Thanks again for a fun game to play on my phone.

 

[strategy]

Thanks for the bug report.

I'm currently getting through a big hump of work in preparation for 1.5, so it'll probably be a little while before I can roll out new bug fixes (there are a number of them that need to be done, by now), but I hope to have a new version ready before the end of the month.

 

[strategy]

Just got the first drafts of the new game interface into my hands. If you want to take a sneak peak at how the game may end up looking, check here.

Comments welcome, of course (just remember that these are just rough drafts/concepts - not the final version).

 

[strategy]

After a very long gestation period, version 1.4.6 has finally been released.

This version has been a long time in coming for several reasons, but the main one is that - internally - it contains a major rework of many parts of the game engine. These changes were necessary - maintaining multiple versions of the game was becoming too much work, and I had to refactor Pirates and Traders so that it has only one codebase (an Android issue: previously, the Gold! code was separate from the regular code - now both games reuse the same code library). This rework should hopefully also help me implement the new changes planned for the coming months much easier - and with fewer bugs. Doing so many changes, however, is also a good way to create a lot of new bugs, so if you encounter any new ones, please let me know.

The rework also allowed me to split out some bits of code that I hope will be useful for my next Android project. We shall see if I get time for that - for now, I am will do my best to ensure that it will not be another several months before the next updates.

 

[canadiankush]

awesome game man

 

[strategy]

Thanks.

Version 1.4.12 has been released, which (hopefully) fixes a number of irritating issues:
- Game not resetting correctly when closed down by the Android OS.
- Force closing in the governor view after conquests.

It also adds a new feature: Loans. This should be a little help to merchants who have a rough start to their career or find themselves temporarily short of cash. I was planning to roll out some of the new governor missions as well, but decided to keep that until the next update (rather than roll out too much at once and risk more bugs slipping through).

 

[sotiris210]

thnx for the game
some things to see:
-for about 3 years every nation has peace - that makes me a merchant and a pirate hunter , though i cant get something from governor
-after having some money, i started buying gems where i found them less than 500 and sell them where the price is more than 800 - that happens a lot very easy way to have money
-special items? haven't found any
-confirm the high temprature on a samsung ace (800megahertz!)
-buttery problem for sure - if there is a problem draining after 5-6 hours continouus playing

thats for now - keep up tha good work

 

[strategy]

-for about 3 years every nation has peace - that makes me a merchant and a pirate hunter , though i cant get something from governor

You can still be a pirate, you just don't get the rank points that you'd have benefit from as a privateer. But wars should trigger a bit more often, so this is something I'll look into.

-after having some money, i started buying gems where i found them less than 500 and sell them where the price is more than 800 - that happens a lot very easy way to have money

I will probably reduce the number of goods available in general - including gems.

-special items? haven't found any

Not implemented yet. Items will come in a big way with the 1.5.0 upgrade.

-confirm the high temprature on a samsung ace (800megahertz!)
-buttery problem for sure - if there is a problem draining after 5-6 hours continouus playing

Not sure that there are many games that actually can be played for 5-6 hours without draining the battery.

But this is something I'm still looking into. The game doesn't really do anything graphically intensive, but I'm thinking that perhaps converting the game to use OpenGL instead of the regular 2D Android API may decrease the CPU/battery usage, so that is in the cards for a future update.

 

[AKEdge]

Awesome game, love it =)

Playing on an Inspire 4g, AT&T....saved up about 60k gold...then did the 'Deposit 75%' thing for treasure stashing... but it only credited me 2,276 gold, but still debited 30k from my usable money. Weird. Other than that....when you choose "Distance" even from "friendly" ships like british mail runners, or even war ships....sometimes it will still fire a volley and attack the ship. It doesn't piss any governors off...just odd, they'll take like 10pts of rig dmg as I leave lol..

 

[Braddock]

Awesome game, love it =)

Playing on an Inspire 4g, AT&T....saved up about 60k gold...then did the 'Deposit 75%' thing for treasure stashing... but it only credited me 2,276 gold, but still debited 30k from my usable money. Weird. Other than that....when you choose "Distance" even from "friendly" ships like british mail runners, or even war ships....sometimes it will still fire a volley and attack the ship. It doesn't piss any governors off...just odd, they'll take like 10pts of rig dmg as I leave lol..

If you're firing at ships when you run away like that it's because you have stern chasers. Once you upgrade they automatically fire to slow down ships you're running away from. It'll never get you in trouble though, more like out of it.

 

[Braddock]

I bought the full version about a week ago now and I have to say this is by far the best game I've ever played from the Android Market. Even with simple 2D graphics it's ridiculously addicting. And even though I often build up huge wealth on advanced ships and then lose everything (which is annoying, but hey!) I still can't stop playing.

When is the next version coming out? And what updates will it have?

P.S, just wanted to brag that I captured every port in the map for Britain except one Dutch port which i then accidentally tried to sneak into and was caught and tried for piracy......hoozah!

 

[RedneckDroid]

This game is terrific, I have been stuck playing on it for many many hours. Is there any plans for the map to be expanded in the future or is this game scooting over for another project (which im sure will be GREAT)?

 

[strategy]

Playing on an Inspire 4g, AT&T....saved up about 60k gold...then did the 'Deposit 75%' thing for treasure stashing... but it only credited me 2,276 gold, but still debited 30k from my usable money.

You only get a percentage of the total sum of money when you deposit in your treasury. The actual percentage depends on the difficulty level you are playing at.

Regarding the stern chasers firing at friendly ships, this is a bug. Haven't succeeded in being able to find where it goes wrong, and since it is harmless (does not affect your relationships), it's been allowed to hang around for a while.

 

[strategy]

The map will be slightly larger with the new graphics, but not a lot (memory troubles).

If I figure out a way in which the game can handle multiple maps without running out of memory, I might add new sea areas (East Indies, Africa, etc) in an expansion at some point.

 

[RedneckDroid]

It's nice to speak with the developer, I am a HUGE fan of the game and am truly excited about any future updates.

 

[Etrogann]

Just wanted to say thank you for a great game. I was wondering though, are we going to be seeing any more ships in future updates? Once I get my Frigate nothing can really stop me on the seas. At that point I have started going after ports for plunder and my nation.
Anyway, Thanks again for the great game, keep up the good work!

 

[galaxip]

I just released my second Android game, Pirates & Traders, on the market yesterday. It's early days yet, so I am fully occupied stomping bugs. If any of you will admit to having played it, and have run into any issues, please let me know (either shoot me an e-mail or post here). Although I appreciate all constructive feedback on the market, direct feedback is just infinitely more valuable.

The game is a turn-based role-playing/trading game; the inspiration for the game is - I believe - obvious. As and when I get time, I hope to expand the game with a lot of additional gameplay. Suggestions and wishes are also welcome.

I'm officially a fan. In fact, this may be my favorite game of all time.
Well done. Good job.

 

[Ryan95i4]

Is there a listing of the ranks you can receive from the countries? I dont know what the highest rank is, currently a flag admiral.

Also, any incentive for capturing all ports for one country?


Great game, very addicting

 

[strategy]

Flag Admiral is the highest rank.

There is no incentive for the player to conquer all ports - score is calculated from wealth, not conquest. Lot's of people like to do it, though, and I suppose that when I add in achievements (hopefully later this year), I'll add an achievement for that.

There will be more ships arriving with future updates, but the Frigate is intended to be the "ultimate" ship.

 

[zadam]

Thanks heaps for a fantastic, and very addictive game! I loved the game this is "inspired" by... and this lets me get my pirate action on the go on my Android phone.

I started playing on Adventurer level with "True Pirate" enabled, and refused to lower it. Needless to say, the first several careers I had were short lived, but that only added to the fun.

I have finally managed to survive long enough that I have built my pirate into a powerhouse, feared by all ships across the seas. I am at Vice Admiral for Britain and Holland, have a fully upgraded War Galleon, all the specialists, and a full crew. I have captured the treasure ship 5-6 times, and have plundered many towns. I have a huge pile of treasure stashed away for my retirement.

I am now trying to get my reputation up with France and then finally Spain, hopefully I can succeed before I am forced to retire!

I just have 2 questions/bugs with the game.

1) How do you capture towns for nations other than your starting nation? Even though I am now hated by Britain, and have a letter of marque for France who they are at war with, every time I invade a town I still only get the option to invade "For Great Britain". Meaning I cannot capture town for France, making my progression through the ranks for them a lot slower!

2) How do you successfully invade large towns? Since the game only lets you have 1 ship, you can only get 375 crew (with a War Galleon, maybe other ships give more?). This means successfully invading a town with 800 or 900 soldiers is pretty much impossible. It would be nice if you could have multiple ships in this game in order to carry more cargo and crew. Like in the original game this one is based off, only the "flagship" would participate in naval combat, the other ships would purely be used for carrying cargo and crew.

Again, thank you so much for the great game, top work!

 

[strategy]

1) Unfortunately, this is a bug/feature of the current port attack system. Your supported nation is automatically chosen, and the choosing is not working quite as intended.

Since I am currently engaged in a big rebuild of the game engine, this bug will probably remain until I have finished with that.

2) I believe the way people have generally achieved this is to bleed the port's garrison by attacking it multiple times (and presumably intercepting the troop ships that would normally reinforce it). It's doable, but very hard - which is intended, as the game is not really about conquering the entire map.

I've worked with many solutions for allowing fleets into the game, but haven't really settled on one that I feel happy with, and which also maintains game balance. So for the moment, that is not likely to happen. I hope to take another look at the issue once I've started rolling out v1.5.

 

[gstar391]

I was just playing it on the apprentice level, and I attacked Curaco. I picked Burn, Destroy option, and won on the first fight by using cunning. I then went into the merchant, and noticed that all of the values were at 0...but there were 8 gems that I could buy. I could buy everything for 0, go to another town, and sell it for big monies.

 

[strategy]

That is working as designed. Your being able to take anything you want from the merchant represents your plundering of the city (including its warehouses).

 

[Chadwick5000]

Thanks for the awesome game and for being such a friendly, interactive with the fans, developer. Much respect! $5 seemed a bit pricey for me at first for the Gold! Version, but now I'd love to support you.
I've recently gotten into the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, I've always liked strategy games, and am in Florida on holiday this week. I used to live here but I was in St. Augustine again today, always one of my favorite cities. Filled with history (oldest U.S. city for those who don't know) and very pirate themed so this game was a treat for me to find when I punched 'pirates' into the market searchbar.
I've only managed to get one game in and got myself killed in September but I'm about to startup round 2 and have already recommended this to my friend.
Thanks for being a cool dude. It's amazing how much more I'm willing to give my money to people when they're nice. Lqtm (laugh quietly to myself).