Port Royale: Gold, Power and Pirates
Encyclopedia
Port Royale is a business simulation game set in the Caribbean
and partly the Atlantic during the 16th and 17th centuries. Created by Ascaron Entertainment
in 2003, it combines business–economic simulation with real-time battles
and towns that can be visited for trade and other purposes. The sequel Port Royale 2
was released about a year after in september of 2004.
On 2. August 2011 the publisher Kalypso Media
who purchased many of the licenses and assets from Ascaron Entertainment during its insolvency, announced that they had acquired the licences of the Port Royale installment. They announced also that they already working on the third title which is named "Port Royale 3" and that it will be released for the PC and consoles – without mentioning which consoles was meant. Therefore, Port Royale 3 is actually planned to be released on the second quarter of 2012.
Kalypso Media also demonstrated Port Royale 3 with a playable preview upon the Gamescom
trade fair which was held from 17 to 21 August 2011 at Cologne, Germany.
It is an open-ended game and the players can choose any type of career that they wish, including trading and interactions with pirates (including privateering).
There are also many other activities in the game besides trading or hunting down pirates. Players can visit governors in towns and accept missions from them as long as their reputation with the country is good enough. Missions include armed transport and tracking down lost relatives that have been kidnapped by an NPC
called Axesmith (whom the player can choose, eventually, to defeat outright in battle). Treasure maps, purchased in pieces from around the game board, also can also lead to newfound wealth and even the creation of a private port.
An important part of the game are the colonial nations in the Caribbean (Spain
, France
, England
and The Netherlands) and their relationships.
There are a total of 12 different ship types available to players, of increasing cost, efficacy in battle and room for cargo
. They range from the small pinnace
, to a large ship of the line
.
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and partly the Atlantic during the 16th and 17th centuries. Created by Ascaron Entertainment
Ascaron
Ascaron Entertainment was a video game developer based in Germany. Founded as Ascon and later renamed in October 1996 due to the possible confusion with the Swiss company Ascom AG, the company produced titles primarily for the PC until it was made insolvent in 2009.-Background and history:Ascaron...
in 2003, it combines business–economic simulation with real-time battles
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
and towns that can be visited for trade and other purposes. The sequel Port Royale 2
Port Royale 2
Port Royale 2 is the sequel to the business simulation game Port Royale: Gold, Power and Pirates. It is set in the Caribbean during the 16th and 17th centuries. Created by Ascaron Entertainment in 2004, it combines a business simulator with real-time battles and towns that can be owned, built,...
was released about a year after in september of 2004.
On 2. August 2011 the publisher Kalypso Media
Kalypso Media
Kalypso Media is a German video game developer and publisher. Founded in summer 2006 by industry veterans Simon Hellwig and Stefan Marcinek, the company has published and/or developed a number of successful titles such as Sins of a Solar Empire, Ceville, Dungeons, Patrician IV, Tropico 3 and...
who purchased many of the licenses and assets from Ascaron Entertainment during its insolvency, announced that they had acquired the licences of the Port Royale installment. They announced also that they already working on the third title which is named "Port Royale 3" and that it will be released for the PC and consoles – without mentioning which consoles was meant. Therefore, Port Royale 3 is actually planned to be released on the second quarter of 2012.
Kalypso Media also demonstrated Port Royale 3 with a playable preview upon the Gamescom
Gamescom
gamescom is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is organised by the Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware...
trade fair which was held from 17 to 21 August 2011 at Cologne, Germany.
It is an open-ended game and the players can choose any type of career that they wish, including trading and interactions with pirates (including privateering).
There are also many other activities in the game besides trading or hunting down pirates. Players can visit governors in towns and accept missions from them as long as their reputation with the country is good enough. Missions include armed transport and tracking down lost relatives that have been kidnapped by an NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
called Axesmith (whom the player can choose, eventually, to defeat outright in battle). Treasure maps, purchased in pieces from around the game board, also can also lead to newfound wealth and even the creation of a private port.
An important part of the game are the colonial nations in the Caribbean (Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and The Netherlands) and their relationships.
There are a total of 12 different ship types available to players, of increasing cost, efficacy in battle and room for cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
. They range from the small pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
, to a large ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
.