TRADEWINDS LEGENDS™ README
Version 1.0.3.0
Developed by Sandlot Games
Distributed by PopCap Games, Inc.
http://www.popcap.com
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Tradewinds Legends! Immerse yourself in this enchanting world of adventure and excitement. Take your fleet into battle and destroy your enemies. Encounter creatures not of this world, find treasure and unimaginable wealth. There are many paths to greatness. You must choose your own.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Tradewinds Legends requires:
* Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
* Pentium 400Mhz or better Windows compatible PC
* 128 MB System RAM
* Internet Explorer 5.0+, AOL 5,6 or MSN browsers
* Direct-X 7 or above
* Keyboard & mouse required
* Joystick and game pad are not supported
GETTING STARTED
You can change game settings - FULL SCREEN mode*, MUSIC volume, etc. from the MAIN MENU. Select "OPTIONS" to change the default settings such as TUTORIAL on/off, FULL SCREEN on/off, SOUND FX volume, and MUSIC volume.
Select a character to begin playing! Click on the index below to jump to the relevant topic.
CHARACTERS
You can play any of the four characters in Tradewinds Legends.
The characters you can select in the beginning of the game are as follows:
Rihana Sayar: As a little girl, Rihana prowled the Babelah Bazaar each day while her family ran a modest spice shop. By listening in on the merchants' dealings, she shrewdly absorbed the tricks of the trade. At age eleven she was working at her father's side, making a name for herself as a formidable bargaining opponent. Her skill and sweet face soon caught the eye of the wealthy Trader Sayar, and as soon as she came of age they were married. Their finances thrived apace with their love...until disaster struck fleet and fortune. Broken, Rihana's husband succumbed to despair, leaving his widow the scraps of their business - and its debts.
Nandi Patel: In his decades on the sea, Nandi has developed quite a reputation... both for his appetite for life's pleasures, and his 'flexible' approach to honor and morality. Opinions are divided over whether he's as bumbling and obsequious as he seems, or if it's all a clever ruse concealing a razor wit. The profits he's made suggest the latter... But really, how could such a simple man - a man with such a well-cultivated beer belly, a man who loses his glasses atop his head - possibly outfox the sharpest merchants and sultans? Laugh if you wish, but you'd best count your belongings after an encounter with Nandi.
Tiger Bai: Bai Lao-Hu, better known as "The Tiger", moves through the world shrouded in mystery. Two things are certain: one, she was born in the Orient; and two, this occurred a very LONG time ago. All else is rumor and hearsay. The Tiger is a black magician who fled the wrath of a Mongol khan. No, an Imperial assassin who spared her target in exchange for a new life as a merchant. Maybe she's a sweet old lady who just wants to retire to a cottage with a dozen cats. No one knows for sure... and that suits The Tiger very well.
Hasan: Born and raised in the shifting sands of the desert, Hasan is a fierce Berber warrior. Engraved in his skin he bears the markings of his tribe, and charms to ward against evil and harm in battle. Yet his tattoos could do nothing to protect his brother, Omar, who disappeared during the mysterious destruction of their family home three years past. Since the disaster, Hasan has worked for an Arab moneylender, paying off the loan his family needed to rebuild their lives. Now he is free, and has vowed not to rest until he learns the fate of his beloved twin.
Create a character: Create your own character using a combination of Name, Gender, Class, Nationality and Career. Customize your character to create your own adventure.
THE PORT CITIES
You may sail to any city on the map by simply clicking on it. You may set sail from any port by simply hitting the set sail button on the right hand side of the port interface.
If the Set Sail button is disabled, you may want to check your ship. It may be too overburdened to leave port.
There are ten port cities that you can visit in the game. Certain ports may not be discovered in the beginning of the game, and these are designated with a question mark. You can sail to any of the available ports, and locked ports are discovered after you complete a certain number of tasks in Story Mode.
Each city has a distinct cultural identity, and a visually unique set of buildings where you can trade, manage your fleet, accept tasks, and handle all other aspects of running your businesses. You can only sail to ports that are discovered, i.e., not marked with a question mark.
THE PORT INTERFACE
Take note of the left hand side of the port interface. The cash/bank/debt display shows how much cash you are carrying on your person, the amount of money you have deposited in the bank and your total debt to the moneylender.
In Tradewinds Legends you may decide to accept tasks from Palaces in return for money or special items. To get a task, walk into a palace. If you accept a task, the Tasks label on the interface will glow. Click on it to track your current task as you progress.
Click on Log to view your ship's log.
You may accumulate special items in the game as a result of completing tasks or due to your character's special abilities. Click on the Items label to examine your inventory of special items and the powers they possess. Take note, not all special items are useful.
Click on the Cargo label to examine what you are carrying on your ship.
Click on the Fleet label to examine your ships and their stats.
PORT BUILDINGS
You have the opportunity to visit the buildings in the port town in order to manage your fortunes, your men and your ship. There are ten port towns. There are seven kinds of buildings, and anywhere from three to all seven of these buildings may appear in any town. They are:
The Marketplace: Every town has a marketplace where you can buy and sell goods. The goods are salt, tea, wine, amber, oil, weapons, parchment, indigo, rugs, and gunpowder. Not all goods are available to you from the very beginning, and certain goods are banned in certain cities at certain times, so be careful.
The Moneylender: The town's moneylender is happy to loan you dinari in amounts up to twice your current net worth. However, your debts accrue interest at the steep rate of 10% per month. You want to visit him and pay him back as quickly as possible.
The Palace: The Sultan handles the affairs of state in the port. He often has tasks for trustworthy captains. These tasks are used to unlock new ports and goods in Story Mode, as well as to accumulate wealth and special items that will be of assistance on the high seas and in trade. Not all Sultans are available to you in the beginning of the game. You may wish to start by visiting the Sultan in your home port.
The Temple : The temple is a great place to meet up with traders like you. You might hear rumors of market opportunities, tips on how to play the game, meet up with people that can help you with your assigned tasks, or gain the respect and admiration of others.
The Shipyard: Shipyards are where you can repair your ships, buy and sell cannons, and buy new ammunition, such as Ifrit Fire, Lodestone, Plagues and Wrath of Djinn. Also ships are for sale, so that you can trade in your old one or enhance your fleet.
The Bank: The bank is the safest place to put your money. Deposit your money in the bank and watch it accrue interest. Banks don't get robbed, but you only have access to all of your funds when you are in the same town as your bank.
The Magic Shop: The magic shop is where you can go to browse fine goods. You'll find all sorts of wonders great and small. You can also sell off some of your less-than-wonderful items here.
The Warehouse: The warehouse is the ultimate place to safely store your Cargo. You can store any good, even Contraband items, without any chance of confiscation! Warehouses can hold much more than your ships can hold. Upgrading to a larger Warehouse is expensive, but the storage space you get is worth it!
YOUR SHIP
You amass wealth through trade, and trade means sea and air travel. The amount you can carry and your ability to protect it depends upon how you manage your ship. You can buy, sell, repair and upgrade your ships in town. You may buy up to 10 ships and upgrade them individually.
A ship is a balance of firepower and cargo space. You can fill up your ships with cannons, but each cannon occupies space that could otherwise be used for storing cargo.
There are seven types of ships in Tradewinds Legends: Dhow, Junk, Galley, Caravel, Dirigible, Vimanas and Dragonship. Each ship has a unique combination of cargo space and hull strength. Some are also specifically designed for floating, and others for flying.
SEA AND PORT COMBAT
When at sea, you are at the mercy of nature, and of hostile ships and ports. While you can't do anything about passing storms, hostile ships and ports you can do something about.
When encountering a battle you will see the enemy fleet above you. If you encounter a hostile port, you will see its fortresses above you as well. The Sidebar will now be replaced with a list of all the ships in your fleet. Clicking on a single ship will give you information on that ship, including Movement Type, Hull Strength, Cargo Capacity, Cannons, and that ship's Special Ability. If you came unprepared and can't outrun the ships, you're in trouble. Remember, the wise trader strikes a balance between cargo and firepower. Combat unfolds in real-time, so click on an enemy ship or fortress to begin combat and then click to select another ship to commence firing there, or use the targeting icons to select the strongest ship, the weakest ship, or to fire on the entire enemy fleet. You can also attempt to flee whenever you want.
Click on each enemy ship individually to commence firing on that ship. If you have special ammunition, you may click on the special ammunition icon along the bottom of the screen to arm your cannons with that weapon.
Cannon fire is the default ship weapon.
Ifrit Fire damages the sails of an enemy ship making them less maneuverable. Your ships can then easily aim at the enemy.
Lodestones, magically enhanced explosives, will, once airborne, will seek out the cannons of your enemies and obliterate them.
Use this powerful magic to send a Plague of Killer Bees on an enemy ship. The enemy will be overwhelmed and unable to fire for ten seconds.
Wrath of Djinn summons a Djinn who sends lightning to rain down upon an enemy ship.
If, during battle, certain ships of yours are close to being defeated, you can select those ships and flee. This will enable you to keep some remaining ships engaged in battle.
You can try to run at any time by clicking on the flee all button if you're outgunned or just plain chicken. You will continue to be fired upon by enemy ships while fleeing.
*For better performance: Run the game in full screen. Turn it on by pressing F5 or select it from the OPTIONS Menu.
GAME CONTROLS
Controls are mouse and keyboard. When trading in ports, you can use the keyboard to enter amounts to buy and sell, but clicking on buttons is the principal means of interfacing with the game.
SCORING
Your score equals your Net Worth which is calculated as the amount of money you have in the bank PLUS the amount of cash you are carrying MINUS your total debt.
CONTROLS
Controls are mouse and keyboard. When trading in ports, you can use the keyboard to enter amounts to buy and sell, but clicking on buttons is the principal means of interfacing with the game.
IN-GAME HOT KEYS:
FULL SCREEN / WINDOWED F5
ESCAPE FROM FULL SCREEN ESC
SHOW/HIDE TUTORIAL WHILE IN PORT H
SHOW/HIDE THE ITEMS SCREEN I
SHOW/HIDE THE FLEET SCREEN F
SHOW/HIDE THE CARGO SCREEN C
SHOW/HIDE THE TASK SCREEN T
SHOW/HIDE THE LOG L
CHANGE DIALOGUE SPEED Space Bar
CHANGE SAILING SPEED Space Bar
GAME MENUS
MAIN MENU
You may change or select options on the main menu by clicking on them with the mouse.
Story Mode: Begins a new game in Story Mode. Discover new ports and uncover new goods as you progress.
Free Trade Mode: Begins a new game in Free Trade Mode. Travel anywhere in the Ten Kingdoms and trade any good available in the game. Tasks and Sultan are not available in this mode, however.
Continue: Loads your most recently played game
Load Game: Loads a previously saved game
Options: Shows the options menu
Help: Launches the help pages
Credits: Shows you the team that worked on Tradewinds Legends.
Exit to Windows: Closes the Game
OPTIONS MENU
You may change or select options on the main menu by clicking on them with the mouse.
Music Volume: Use the slider to set the desired volume with the mouse
Sound Volume: Use the slider to set the desired volume with the mouse
Switch to Full Screen/ Windowed: Play the game in full screen or in windowed mode
Graphic Detail: Lower the graphic detail to improve performance
Sailing Speed: Use the slider to choose the desired sailing speed in map view
Dialogue Speed: Use the slider to choose how fast character dialogues appear on screen
Show Tutorials/Hide Tutorials: Choose to see the in-game tutorial screens
IN-GAME MENU
During the game you can enter the in-game menu by pressing the Menu button on the left-hand side of the screen.
Resume: Return to the game
Save Game: Save a game in one of the game slots
Load Game: Loads a previously saved game
Options: Enter the Options Menu (see above)
Quit to Main Menu: Quits the game and returns you to the Main Menu
SUPPORT
Frequently asked Questions
Q: Tradewinds Legends runs very slow on my computer. What can I do?
A: First go to the Options Menu and set Graphic Detail to Low. This should help. Next, we recommend that you set your Desktop to at least 1024 by 768 when playing Tradewinds Legends. Finally to improve performance, make sure to run Tradewinds Legends in FULL SCREEN.
Q: Tradewinds Legends has problems on my computer when I press ALT+TAB to minimize the game. What can I do?
A: If Tradewinds Legends doesn’t minimize properly using ALT+TAB, we recommend you change the game from FULL SCREEN to WINDOW display by pressing F or by changing the screen size in the Options Menu. You should be able to safely minimize the game then.
Q: I want to play Tradewinds Legends in Windowed Mode but the option is grayed out. What can I do?
A: Check and make sure your Windows Display Settings are at least 1024 by 768. You can check this under START then CONTROL PANEL, then DISPLAY, and then SETTINGS. Windowed Mode is not supported for computers that have a desktop setting of less than 1024 by 768.
If you have any questions about the purchase or registering of your game, please visit PopCap Games at http://www.popcap.com/help.php.
All technical and gameplay support questions should be directed to Sandlot Games: http://sandlotgames.com/w4/default.aspx.
CREDITS
-Sandlot Games-
-Game Designer-
Andy Megowan
-Lead Programmer-
Kevin Prior
-Additional Game Design-
Andrew Lum
-Art Director-
Israel Evans
-Artists-
Israel Evans
Alex Arnot
Anando Banerjee
Ben Meals
Bhushan Kudale
Deepak Purkait
Direndra Kumar
E Elangovan
Pramod Kumar
Santosh Patil
Vinay Singh
-Sound and Music-
Daniel Bernstein
-Writing-
Dana Hanna
Melissa Cuthill
-Scripting and Layout-
Andrew Lum
Brian Lynch
Matthew Dell
-Quality Assurance-
Andrew Lum
Brian Lynch
Matthew Dell
Melissa Cuthill
Alex Arnot
Ben Meals
Matt Rudge
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
©2005 Sandlot Games Corporation. Distributed by PopCap Games, Inc. All rights reserved. Tradewinds Legends is a trademark of Sandlot Games Corporation. The PopCap Games logo is a registered trademark of PopCap Games, Inc.
All other copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.