First Person Impressions

Page Two

Even cooler, every player has a “ship in a bottle”, which summons his or her own ship (it sails in through the fog, which looks fantastic, and is fully customizable). Catch a ratline to swing aboard, and it’s time to weigh anchor. Sail the ship, man the guns, or take a first-person perspective to repel boarders, taking your position is seamless and as easy as moving around (and other players can take stations aboard your ship, or you can join their crew). Load the cannons with chain shot to carry away the sails and slow your enemy down, then pound the hull with round shot. When the hull is sufficiently weakened, fire grapple shot to pull the vessel alongside. When you’ve cleared the top deck, you’ll go to a cutscene that swings you back to your ship as the enemy sinks.

Pirates are a superstitious lot, and you’ll use “voodoo” to add curses and such to your attacks (either shipboard, i.e. “accursed cannonballs”, or to support first-person combat). Violate the “pirate code” by engaging a swashbuckling swordsman pirate with a gun, and you might earn yourself a “black mark”, which appears to be a very unlucky thing indeed (see below).

Sea Combat

PotCO also has an innovative take on questing; search across shards for players working on the same mission, then join their crew. But who will captain the vessel or man the guns? This is based on what Parkis refers to as “the democratic process of the pirate.” The game borrows heavily from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies in other aspects too; arch enemy Jolly Roger reanimates the dead as well as transmorphs other creatures, such as the enormous kraken, which attacks ships whose captain or crew wear the dreaded “black mark”. Also, you can “parlay” with opposing craft, demanding gold or resources in exchange for safe passage. Another cool feature is gambling; pirates vie to become the most notorious cardsharps and high rollers and take the bounty too (you can build skill in trying to cheat the house!). Speaking of notoriety, in lieu of leveling, PotCO uses a Notoriety system, a public ranking tree where player-pirates hope to impress the right NPCs and gain standing, ultimately becoming the most notorious pirate in the Caribbean. Enter into PvP (defined, according to Parkis, as “pirate vs. pirate combat”) by taking an undead curse and fighting with other players ship to ship. If, in the course of gameplay, you’re ship or person is destroyed, there’s no heavy death penalties; pick up where you left off in a naval prison or pirate shantytown.