Current News - 12/20/07

[PirateSavvy]

From the Developer's Deck ~ December 21 2007
It's been an exciting first month for Pirates Online! Since the game launched, our players have accomplished some amazing things:

* Players are joining the crew from all over the globe, especially in North America. Our U.S. Player Map shows hot spots on both coasts, everywhere in between and growing fast!
* Pirates are dealing heavy damage to Jolly Roger's undead army! An elite few players have already hit the tens of thousands mark for enemies defeated - check them out on the leaderboards!
* Some of the Caribbean's finest have amassed a good amount of notoriety, gold, and treasure - and they'll need it in the coming year as the game expands.


Our development team has been hard at work during the last month, putting out regular releases to address issues that you, our players, are telling us about. We hope you are enjoying these improvements and please keep sending us your comments and questions! Specifically, we've received feedback about lag problems that some players are having. We're working hard to address any remaining lag and frame rate issues, as well these other reported issues:

* Vista and Mac game-related crashes occurring while boarding, sailing, and docking ships
* Graphics issues (such as missing texture and weird display issues) on Macs, related to OS 10.5.1
* Player ships disappearing when a Server goes down and is then taken out of rotation
* Collision holes in Cutthroat Island that are causing players to fall through the game
* Difficulty with finding the diamond on Queen's Nest, in the Recover Treasure Quest


Going forward, we will continue to keep you posted on the list of known issues we are working on. Hopefully, this list will help you avoid issues while we work to fix, test, and release updates to the game.

In addition to game updates and bug fixes, the team is hard at work building game expansions and adventure packs. Expect more areas to explore, more enemies to defeat, more treasure to be found - the first of these will come in February with more ways to customize your Pirate, but keep a lookout, as hints to future updates may appear at any time.
Thank you for all your feedback and support, and here's to an amazing first month!

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Blackjack Fridays: Bring Your Gold and Your Game ~ December 21 2007
Blackjack Grab your crew and head to the local tavern - and don't forget to bring your luck - you'll need it! Next Friday, December 28, we're kicking off our weekly Blackjack Fridays. Hang out with your Guild, meet other Pirates, sharpen your card-playing skills, and most importantly, have some fun.

Here are all the details - we'll see you there!

What: Blackjack Fridays
When: Every Friday (beginning December 28) from 3-9 PM (PST)
Where: Visit the Rowdy Rooster in Port Royal or King's Arm in Tortuga to play.

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Customize Your Pirate - Clothes, Tattoos, and More! ~ December 21 2007



Come February, you will have the chance to give your Pirate a whole new look. Here are just a few of the customization options coming to Pirates Online:

* Clothing: New pants, hats, coats, and more
* New hairstyles
* Tattoos
* Jewelry: Including earrings, nose rings, necklaces and more

Stay tuned for further game updates and announcements!

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Quick Tips to Improve Game Performance ~ December 21 2007

There are many different factors that can contribute to a decrease in game performance. Here is a list of quick-and-easy tips that you can use to help enhance and improve your game-play experience:

* Turn down your in-game graphics settings: Open your Options Panel by hitting F7 in-game, or by clicking Options in the pick-a-pirate screen -- turn all settings under the Graphics and Geometry tabs to Low or Off.
* Free up as much RAM as possible prior to beginning game-play: Close any other programs, software, background tasks, and windows that are currently running on your computer.
o If your computer has 512MB of RAM or less, be sure you have Aggressive memory management selected in the Game Options panel. If your computer has 1024MB (1GB) of RAM or more, be sure you have Default memory management selected. (If your computer has more than 512MB but less than 1024MB, try both settings to see which works best for you.)
* Sometimes game performance can suffer when there are a number of other Pirates crowded into the same area -- try moving to a less-populated area by selecting a server labeled Quiet from the map page.
* If you are playing on a laptop, make sure you set the power plan to High Performance while playing the game.
* Confirm you have the most up-to-date video driver.
* Make sure your computer's software is up to date: Check for updates on a regular basis, both for your operating system and the browser you use.
* If you connect to the Internet through a proxy, try disabling your proxy or contact your network administrator (or Internet Service Provider) for additional instructions on optimizing your proxy configuration.
* Make sure you have read and confirmed that you meet the game's minimum specs.
* For additional Tech Support, please visit the Help Section of our Web site.

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Pirates Online Players from Coast to Coast ~ December 21 2007
Check out the Pirates Online Player Map to see all the different places where people are playing Pirates Online in the U.S.

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Chatting in Game: What You Should Know ~ December 21 2007
Chatting Since chat is such a big part of your experience in Pirates Online, we wanted to be sure everyone was clear about the different chat options that are available to you, and how to use them. Pirates Online offers three types of chat: Speed Chat, Speed Chat Plus, and Open Chat. For more information, or to review the Pirates of the Caribbean Online Code of Conduct, check out the Game & Chat Policies page on our Web site.

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What's in a Name? ~ December 21 2007
Names Choosing a name for your Pirate and/or Guild is one of the many important decisions you'll make in Pirates of the Caribbean Online - this is the first impression others have of you, and therefore, should be chosen wisely. Check out our Name Approval Guidelines to help you determine what types of Avatar and Guild names are best.

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"Aces Need Faces" Blackjack Contest ~ December 21 2007
Blackjack Contest From December 28 through January 6, the player with the most Blackjack hands won each day will be awarded an 8GB iPod Touch! Visit the Contest Page for complete details.



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Brushing Up on Your Blackjack Skills ~ December 21 2007
Blackjack Skills Before you belly up to the Blackjack table in the Rowdy Rooster or King's Arm, you'll want to make sure your game knowledge and skills are up to par. Here's some important information you'll need if you want to leave the tavern with more booty than you walked in with.

Your Main Objective While Playing Blackjack:
Beat the dealer with a hand that does not exceed 21 points. If you go over 21 points, you lose.

ACE: 1 point or 11 points (whichever you need most)
FACE CARDS (KING, QUEEN, JACK): 10 points
NUMBER CARDS (2-10): Number on card corresponds to the point value of the card (i.e. a 3 card = 3 points)

For players new to Blackjack, here's how the game works:

* Once you sit down at the table, you'll be asked to place your bid The dealer will deal out 2 cards to everyone at the table and will turn 1 of his cards face up for all players to see
* At this point you have several options, which are displayed as buttons at the bottom of your screen:
o Bid: Put more gold into the pot (which other players must match)
o Stay: Keep your current cards and do nothing
o Hit: Ask the dealer for another card
o Split: If the first 2 cards you are dealt are of equal value (i.e. 2 Jacks, 2 Fives), you can 'split' them and play them as two separate hands
o Double Down: Allows you to double your initial bet and receive ONE additional card (this can only be done with a 2 card hand, before another card has been drawn)
o Swap Card: If you have a cheat card, you can swap out cards in your hand with ones up your sleeve (cheat cards are earned by completing special quests)
o Leave: You always have the option to quit the game and leave the table



Here are some tips that are useful for both new and experienced players:

* Never split your 4s, 5s, 10s, Jacks, Queens, or Kings
* Always split your Aces and 8s
* Split 9s if the dealer is showing 9 or less
* Split 2s, 3s, and 7s if the dealer has 7 or less
* Split 6s if the dealer has 6 or less
* Always count the Ace as an 11, unless it will put you over 21 (then count it as a 1)
* If the dealer is showing a 10, you should always hit until you have at least 17
* Hit on any hand below 17 when the dealer shows an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, or 8
* Double-down if your cards add up to more than the dealer's up-card (the card the dealer has face up) -- otherwise, hit on the hand.
* Stand on any hand above 11 when the dealer shows a 4, 5, or 6

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Player Q&A ~ December 21 2007
Q: I think there should be some words added to the chat dictionary. Where can send my suggestions to?

A: We'd greatly appreciate any help you can provide to make our chat dictionary more robust. We'd also like to encourage players to send us suggestions for additional phrases that they'd like to see added to the Speed Chat drop-down menu. Any and all of these suggestions can be sent to us by using the Contact Us form.

[ScurvyCory]

The clothes/customizing package is going to be awesome! Always wanted my pirate to have a tattoo.

[Eliza Shipwrecker]

I SERIOUSLY hope that they have new storyline content before February! I can live with my hair 'til then, but not with having no quests to do.

[Chris]

yay we can change clothes and get tatoos

[Vandelay]

That iPod Touch is a pretty good prize, those things cost $300 normally. I may have to pull an all-nighter!