The Dutch Privateer Challenge

[Tom Pullings]

Well, I had not thought of the military payroll aspect of the large garrisons. It makes sense though. Also might explain why it took me so long to produce the SOTL. I had used the trainer to double garrisons a couple times - partly for the sneaking aspect of the challenge, and partly because I thought it might produce a SOTL sooner. Now I see it probably just siphoned off wealth from shipbuilding.

[Tom Pullings]

A few hightlights from the start of De Graff's adventure:





De Graff struggles against the weather guage for the right line of attack . . .



First, the escort . . .



A quick victory . . .



And then, with only minor damage and the loss of a few of the men, it is on to engage the mighty Odin



But not fast enough to avoid her mighty broadside . . .



But all comes right in the end . . .




And De Graff soon captures the first of the EVIL Connery brothers in Barbados . . .



In Curacao, however . . .



There is a spot of trouble . . .



But De Graff escapes to reach the tavern and his quarry . . .



Another spot of trouble in Cartegena . . .



Again an escape and the capture of another Connery.

From Cartegena, it is on to Port de Paix, St. Augustine, and Havana. And then to Vera Cruz.

Next time, though, we must stop for more military payrolls!

[Roland]

I'm going to give it one more try, but I'm on the verge of giving up. I have spent too many nights in the Catagena jail. This challenge is reminding me why I decided long ago never to sneak into towns - it's just not that much fun.

[Fluffy Blue Egg]

Roland - practice sneaking and you'll get good at it. I started at Adventurer, now I can take on Swash and knock out every guard in town and not get spotted =). I'ts a tough minigame to get the hang of, but with practice (Create sneaking files), you'll get very very good at it.

[Tom Pullings]

Roland - I hope sneaking works out, but if it doesn't, keep in mind that not all of the contests within the challenge depend on it. You can skip it and still compete for everything but the first three. And, come to think of it, as the game goes on, you might be able to take the cities by force after building a little wealth and crew size. The large garrisons make for some pretty rich military payrolls.

Also, of course, you get a little leeway if you sneak because of the skeleton key - you don't need to ace every sneak. I got stopped in Cartegena too.

As to sneaking, for what it is worth, I find the following tips helpful - though they don't originate with me.

Avoid running (shift key down) for any distance as it narrows your scope of vision and - reportedly - makes more noise. I do intersperse bits of running, though, as a way to move quickly. If the alarm sounds, do run to a hiding place.

Keep one eye on the bales of hay hideouts and retreat when you need to. The biggest challenge most of the time is being patient. The pace is so slow in real time. I have to discipline myself to stay hidden until the last guard sheaths his sword.

Don't be afraid to wack them from behind - as long as there is no alarm and their swords are not in their hands they move predicatbly most of the time. and won't turn until the end of their path.

For more tips, see Airsaw's post (about halfway down) in this thread:

http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4794&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=sneaking

A little more in this one:

http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3041&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=sneaking

Another mentions running past a guard - must try this.

http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2207&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=sneaking

Finally, a poll. It appears sneaking is not the most popular feature of the game.

http://www.hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2003&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=sneaking

[Fluffy Blue Egg]

Good advice Tom - also, when the alarm is sounded and you are near the exit, it's sometimes best to just leave and try again, rather then be put in a difficult situation. And running does make more noise, running while near a guard usually makes them turn around sharply and see you.

[loki59]

I'm usually pretty good at the sneaking game but it just seems like there are more than the usual amount of guards in this challenge. Maybe because of the high numbers in the garrison, with a guard on just about every street. One interesting thing I found was when the alarm starts ringing, if you can get to a wall fast enough and jump over it, the alarm stops ringing. I've given up on the sneaking though and gone the sacking route. You don't have to win, just get one group to the gates and then you can get to the tavern. The only problem with this is, you have to have enough crew aboard to get the option of attacking. You have to get one of the bounties wiped out early enough to get into your towns of choice to get enough crew to recruit, before they start to get unhappy. It takes to long to sail around to the pirate havens picking up 25 at a time.

[Roland]

[loki59]

[Tom Pullings]

Oh, well. I guess there are always some loopholes or they wouldn't be rules. My intent was that you could only seek amnesty or appoint a governor for your chosen nation and remain at war with all the rest.

Otherwise, I think Loki's stategy is perfectly legitimate. Although a lot of garrisons and most holding any of the EVIL Seven are large, their are definitely some that are light - even a couple to be had by swordplay with the captain of the guard. This allows you to appoint your choice without getting the "right" amnesty offer.

Its odd though, I got a couple bad layouts and turned back to start over, but mostly I was pretty fortunate with my sneaking. Cartegena was definitely the hardest.

What nations have folks chosen? I have declared for the Dutch, and they just took Havana!

[loki59]

[Roland]

[Tom Pullings]

Looking at it objectively, I think that the French should be the best strategy for this challenge. They have a good number of cities to start with, and, as important, they seem fairly balanced in strength, and fairly strategically located when you want to have a safe harbor nearby. The English have some strong cities, but also some very weak ones in the north.

One other idea that may help on sneaking: I haven't really tested this systematically, but I find that I seem to do best if I can cover some ground early. Once I take in the view at the start, I may put the shift key down for a block, slow at the intersection, and then run another block if the coast still seems clear. Somewhere around mid-field the guards start to become too numerous and I may have to look for a place to hide. But if I am successful, then I get past the worst of it and, going around the block a bit to avoid those remaining, I end up near the tavern. Despite what it says in the guide, I think you can use the shift key - just so long as you don't hold it too long at a stretch - it is the flying blind that gets me into trouble.

[loki59]

[Tom Pullings]

That may be it. I will check the log. At the start, everyone was at war with everyone, but once the trainer is off, it shifts, I imagine, and the Dutch are often less warlike, I find.

When I am trying to maximize dollars, I usually take your approach and do a circuit, taking all escort opportunities but discarding any in which pirates appear to intercept. It does take some time for the wealth to rebuild and if you have a repeat with the same nation as interceptor, it tends to be less and less until you allow a rebuild.

The other factor may be that since I have converted all the cities to Dutch, I may have pretty much cleaned out the till for a little while.



Anyway, it looks like you have some pretty good hauls, Loki.

Which did you find best - English or French?