Voyages of Discovery logo

Steve McGill packs his toothbrush and his sou'wester and takes to the high seas to sail to new worlds and trade in exotic spices and rare gems.

Way back in April 1990 AF gave Pirates from Microprose the once over. It earned 74 per cent which is a fair enough mark, but belied the playability, enjoyment and hours of fun that could be derived from playing the game.

It had historical background, geographical accuracy of a sort, combat, tactics and strategy. Any one segment looked at individually could not cut it in the unforgiving world of good games. But viewed as a whole. The game had its own internal dynamics and intricacies.

Against it was the fact that the world you sailed around in was finite and constant. You ended up knowing it like the back of your hand. The combat sequences were simplistic and not very believable. You could not play against anyone else and there was not much variety.

Voyages Of Discovery changes all that. It caters for up to four players and you must start with two, one of which can be Amiga-controlled. Each player starts off in a port on an island surrounded by uncharted sea. Your job is to change all that by christening and provisioning a ship, recruiting a crew and sailing into the unknown. While you do this, the opposition captains are doing the same.

Moves are executed in turns, with each ship having a certain amount of moves per turn. If you’re playing against human opponents, you have to leave the Amiga until they complete their turns.

Initially, finding land with native settlements is paramount. Expeditions can then be formed and the natives either conquered or negotiated with. As soon as that’s done, it becomes a settlement upon which you can build or cultivate useful utilities and crops such as sugar and tobacco plantations, silver and gold mines, churches and ports.

Ship ahoy!
Doing this takes up a lot of time though. And when you’ve got sizeable, profitable settlements up and running, you will attract the attention of pirates, not to mention your opponents. That’s when recruiting armies to protect your ships and settlements comes into play.

There’s nothing more heartbreaking than losing a hard-earned settlement to one of your opponents, but there’s nothing more satisfying than stealing an opponent’s settlements.

This game would be perfect for a play by mail system where players could send saved game disks to each other. On the down side, some of the game mechanics are too much fiddly. For example, loading and unloading your ships at settlements that don’t have a port is a particularly tiresome and tedious experience.

On the plus side, the game improves on the believability and hookability of Pirates and anyone who’s interested in trading strategy games should take a very close look at Voyages Of Discovery. There’s hours and hours of gameplay to be had here.


Christoph Kolumbus logo

Die Jubiläumsfeierlichkeiten zur Entdeckung Amerikas liegen zwar bereits ein Weilchen zurück, aber was macht das schon? Dieses historische Kolonialistenepos von Software 2000 ist für sich allein ein Grund zum Feiern.

Der komplexen Mixtur aus Strategie und Wirtschaftssimulation ist deutlich die Handschrift des Chefprogrammierers Christian Wölk anzumerken, der auch an der Amigaversion von Ascons "Der Patrizier" beteiligt war; Insgesamt fünf bekannte Weltenbummler unterschiedlicher Nationalität (z.B. James Cook oder der Titelheld) stehen bereit, um für ihr Land in den Eroberungswettkampf zu ziehen.

Maximal vier davon gehorchen menschlichen Kommandos, wer übrigbleibt, wird entweder ganz weggelassen oder vom Rechner gesteuert. Ziel des rundenweise ablaufenden Spiels ist es, durch erfolgreiches Wirtschaften und geschicktes diplomatisches Vorgehen binnen dreihundert Jahren (Eroberer sind zäh!) auf der gesellschaftlichen Karriereleiter den Rang eines königlichen Beraters zu erklimmen. Daher müssen die Teilnehmer auch immer darauf achten, daß sie es sich nicht im Eifer des Gefechts durch blinden Aktionismus mit der Kirche oder ihrem jeweiligen Regenten verderben.

Als Kommandozentrale fungiert der mit Pulldownmenüs ausgestattete und sehr schön gezeichnete Heimathafen, von dem aus die sechs Untermenüs bequem via Mausklick erreichbar sind.

In der Werft können (je nach Epoche) bis zu zwölf verschiedene Kanonen geordert und auch wieder verkauft werden - anfangs verfügt man nur über eine kleine Karavelle und etwas Klimpergeld. Die größeren Werften besitzen darüber hinaus ein Trockendock zur Reparatur demolierter Fernfahrschüsseln.

Außerdem sitzt im Hafen die Bank, die für entsprechende Zinsen ihren Zäster wildfremden Menschen leiht. Das aus Matrosen und 15 Arten von Soldaten bestehende Personal rekrutiert man in der Hafenspelunke, wo auch (ebenfalls anzuheuernde) Piraten und Informanten herumlungern, die gegen einen finanziellen Obulus wichtige Tips herausrücken.

Im Kontor lassen sich Informationen zur persönlichen Gesamtsituation abrufen, und ein Historiker gibt jederzeit Auskünft über den erreichten Fortschritt. Fehlt bloß noch das Handelsmenü, wo das Schiff schließlich mit Waffen, Proviant und billigem Glasperlen-Tand für die Eingeborenen-bestechung beladen wird.

Wurden an Land alle Reisevorbereitungen erledigt, geht es hinaus auf die nicht mehr ganz so schön und detailreich gemalte (und zunächst stockdunkle) hohe See, bei der à la "Civilization" nur das bereits durchquerte Gebiet zu sehen ist.

Neben Wehwehchen wie Pest, Stürmen und Meutereien sorgen von nun an auch die aggressiven Konkurrenten für Ärger. Bei den anschließenden Seegefechten, die mausgesteuert und rundenweise ablaufen, hat dann zumeist die stärkere Schaluppe die Nase vorn. Wem der Zufall schon einen offiziellen Kaperbrief in die Kajüte geweht hat, darf die lästigen Brüder auch von sich aus angreifen, ohne deshalb einen Imageverlust befürchten zu müssen.

Sobald wieder Land in Sicht kommt, geht man vor Anker und rüstet ein Expeditionskorps mit Männern, Geld, Proviant und dem Tausch-Trödel für die Eingeborenen aus. Die Marschgeschwindigkeit dieser Truppe hängt dabei vorwiegend vom Gewicht des Gepäcks ab, das die einzelnen Mitglieder schleppen dürfen. Hat das Suchteam ein Indiodorf entdeckt, besteht die Wahl zwischen der friedlichen Kolonisierung durch Bestechung des hiesigen Häuptlings mit dem mitgebrachten Plunder und einem Überfall mit der sofortigen Bekanntgabe des Schlachtausgangs.

Die unfreundliche Alternative ist zwar oft recht lohnend, erfordert allerdings den gesteigerten Einsatz von militärischer Hardware. Zudem sieht der Klerus solche Brutalitäten gar nicht gerne, daher kann schon mal ein Kirchenbann drohen, der sich geradezu verheerend auf die Motivation der Mannschaft auswirkt.

Egal, ob man nun den sanften oder den weniger netten Weg beschritten hat, letztendlich führen sie beide zur Gründung einer Missionsstation. In diesem glücklichen Umfeld vermehren sich die Siedler dann völlig selbstständig, man braucht der aufblühenden Gemeinde bloß noch einige Minen, Plantagen der Forts zu spendieren. Wie sich die Sache entwickelt, ist vornehmlich eine Frage des richtigen Standorts - idealerweise sollte aus der Mission im Lauf der Zeit eine Siedlung, eine Niederlassung und gegebenenfalls auch eine Hafenstadt werden.

Die eingeheimsten Erträge werden in schlechter Kolonialistentradition komplett nach Europa transferiert, wo sie sowohl den eigenen Geldbeutel als auch den Einfluß bei Hofe stärken. Als Verwendungsmöglichkeit für die angehäufte Knete bietet sich besonders die Erweiterung der eigenen Armada an, um damit zusätzliches Land zu erschließen und noch mehr Profit zu machen.

Das Maximum dessen, was ein weitgereister Spieler hier gleichzeitig kontrollieren darf, sind immerhin 200 Schiffe und Siedlungen!

Die unzählichen, teilweise auch animierten Grafiken des unterhaltsam Games sind ebenso detailliert wie farbenprächtig, für die in kürze erscheinende A1200-Version wurde uns in der Hinsicht sogar noch mehr versprochen.

Sound ertönt dagegen nur recht spärlich, aber wenn, dann paßt er immer zur Situation. Auch die Maus-/Menüsteuerung (plus Hotkeys) erfüllt ihre Pflicht ohne jedes Murren, und für Abwechslung auf lange Sicht sorgt der Umstand, daß die Weltkarte bei jedem Neustart frisch generiert wird.

Anders gesagt: Was lungert Ihr Landratten eigentlich immer noch hier herum, statt an Bord Euren Dienst zu verrichten?! (md)



Voyages of Discovery logo

Only prime fillet cod and the best in naval-based strategy wargames are good enough for the Captain's table...

A number of people are excused from this review. If you haven’t got one meg you may leave now. If you haven’t even got an Amiga and you’re just, say, reading this in the waiting room at the dentist’s then, er, I’d spend your time worrying more about how your mouth is going to feel in half an hour than dwelling on whether or not the Amiga really needs another naval-based strategy wargame if I were you.

And if you’re absolutely sure it doesn’t (need another naval-based strategy wargame, that is) then please make your way quietly to the exit.

IN FOURTEEN HUNDRED AND NINETY-TWO
The idea of Voyages of Discovery is simple – take over the world. In turns. Like in a wargame. But one thing you wouldn’t normally expect to find in your everyday ‘WG’ are some halfway decent graphics.

These come in the form of superbly-drawn atmospheric stills (sometimes with a bit of animation). Your home port, which consists of a number of these, is the first place you’ll need to visit to tool up before heading overseas. You’ll be needing a crew (from the pub, inevitably), and some equipment (water, food, treasures, and a cannon or two), and ought to transfer some money from your office aboard, all via menus and mouse-button clicking.

From your port you set sail a hexagon at a time (movement points depending on how much cargo you’re holding) in search of land. Find a colonial village and you can either invade, or negotiate with the village leader to move your troops in.

Your settlers will then magically start to multiply, build up their village and, if you open up a mine or a plantation, set about producing some sort of export.

You can then sail off again, get some more people from back home, find another village and set that up too. The rest of the game is spent much in the same way – searching for new villages, nurturing your existing ones, trading exports and expanding your fleet, the game ending either when your last ship has been impounded because of debts ( you lose), you survive until the beginning of the French Revolution (a draw) or your king and church are convinced you have done great deeds for your country (you win).


Revolution (a draw) or your king

COLUMBUS SAILED THE OCEAN BLUE
But for the potential naval-based strategy wargame buyers, this idea that you simply keep on going until you win, lose or draw with no short-term goals could be a bit of a worry.

As your settlements and fleet increase in numbers, so turns take longer and longer as you have more and more icons to move around. But there’s not actually much new to try out. You can add on ports, churches and forts, but that’s not really very exciting.

Getting attacked is pretty boring (you just fire in turns until a winner is decided. Yawn), and although you are playing against up to another three players (you must play against at least one computer player), there is little sense of any real direct competition.

If only you could do more with your villages – little Populous people running around with Mega-lo-Mania type factories inventing things would have been good, or maybe turning the building aspect into a kind of mini-Sim City.

But any game in which you’ve explored more or less everything you can do in two hours, knowing all you then have to do is to keep it up, isn’t going to score that highly. Such, I’m afraid, is life.



Voyages of Discovery logo

█ Price: £25.99 █ Publisher: Black Legend 0438 840003

After Ascon's success with The Patrician, Black Legend are hoping to create more than a drop in the ocean with Voyages Of Discovery.

In its native Germany Voyages Of Discovery is known as Kristopher Kolumbus and the game coincided with last year’s anniversary of the famous Italian explorer’s discovery of the new world for the Spanish crown.

Here in blighty, a year later it has been re-named Voyages Of Discovery because, unlike Germany, Britain has its own famous explorers, one of whom, James Cook, is actually in the game. Unfortunately, a game called James Cook would hardly catch the eye these days, especially since he inconveniently died in the Pacific three hundred years ago, without setting up any publicity or sponsorship deals.

You start in Voyages Of Discovery by choosing a famous explorer to play, or at least his face; you can chance the name to whatever you want. There are five explorers in the game, Columbus, Cook, Le Maire (Dutch), Bougainville (French) and Vasco De Gama (Portugese).

Up to four human players can participate, or any combination of human and computer players up to five. The game generates a ‘new world’ every time you start from scratch and the first thing you see is a colourful little island surrounded by water and encapsulated by a sea of blank grey. You begin the game with one ship, which you must man, arm and equip and set sail into the deep grey yonder.

The playing map is basically a gigantic grid and your ship or ships have limited movement each turn. As they penetrate square by square into the grey zone it slowly becomes newly discovered sea and, hopefully, land.

The idea is to discover new lands, subjugate the natives, then colonise and exploit them. The money earned through trade is then used to colonise and exploit other lands.

It’s not all plain sailing though (ho, ho): with up to four other opponents your ships, plantations and colonies can be taken over by enemies or pirates and attack and defence becomes very important later on in the game.

Ships can be bought second hand or constructed, but become extremely expensive after a while, as do mercenaries.

Time does not stand still and while you’re pootling around the ocean playing Captain Bligh, technology is advancing at a fantastic rate. At the start of the game you can buy a ‘Caravelle’, or a small trading ship for the eight grand mark, but a couple of years later this line is discontinued and you’ll have to pay between three and six times as much for newer ships. Mercenaries also get more expensive as guns are introduced.

All of these technological advanced are necessary though. Ships need to be bigger to travel further, carry larger loads and be better armed, while mercenaries need to have the latest equipment or you run the risk of a rout by enemy forces.

Although each new game has a different map, the home port screens remain the same for each of the featured characters There are five of these static screens which are livened up by the need to scroll (smoothly) left to right and back to access the different activity areas.

Brief animations also add to the atmosphere. Each port has a Historian’s office, a Pub (used for recruiting sailors, soldiers and pirates), a bank (which enables you to borrow money and transfer it to and from your ships), a shipyard (for building new ships and repairing existing ones) and a trader, who buys and sells food, water, trinkets, cannon balls, tobacco, wood, etc.

Voyages Of Discovery is a playable trading sim once you get used to it, but there are times when it seems rather dull and lifeless. In concept it’s rather like a cross between The Patrician and Dune II, but without the instant addictivity of either. Worth getting though if you’re home, dry and can’t get any more hours out of The Patrician.