Hello Pirates! Below you can find our interview with an unnamed Firaxis representative. Topic was the latest Sid Meier's game, Pirates! We got a few answers for you

Firaxis: Well, from the feedback we’ve gotten from fans over the years, all of us at Firaxis knew this was a game that people really enjoy…in fact, 17 years later many folks are still playing the original game. We finally decided that the time was right and that technology had advanced to the point where we could really bring the world of pirates to life for the 21st century.

Firaxis: Our goal has been to stay true to what people most love about the original Pirates! while upgrading, enhancing, and in some cases, re-inventing the game to make it a great experience for today’s gamers. With the 3D engine we’ve created a gorgeous world full of interesting places to visit and characters to meet. We’ve added new story elements and quests, upgraded dueling, land battles and ship battles to give the player more options and control, and added new action sequences like dancing and sneaking in and out of towns. Our hope is to deliver an incredibly fun and compelling game that will give the fans more than what they’ve been waiting for, and show a whole new generation of gamers how much fun it is to live the life of a pirate!

Firaxis: In Pirates! you take the leading role of a Pirate Captain in the 17th century Caribbean amassing fortune and fame in an attempt to seize your rightful place as one of the most revered (and feared!) pirates in history. Easily the greatest feature of Pirates! is that the player is always in control and able to make lots of interesting decisions throughout the game. The game is centered on the life of a pirate or, rather, the swashbuckling life of a movie pirate, blending action, adventure, strategy and role playing into one game. Our intent is to use action sequences as they are used in movies, to tie together story segments in a fun and interesting way. As in the original game, you will be able to choose your allegiance and switch it at any time to better suit your situation. Now, however, you will also be able to influence economic and political conditions both locally and for the entire region.

Some highlights in your career as a pirate might be defeating one of the top pirates like Blackbeard or the Evil Mendoza, courting the Governor’s beautiful daughter with charm, wit, and heroism and eventually marrying her, capturing a town after a land battle and installing a new governor, finding a lost city of gold, and capturing the treasure fleet or the silver train.

Firaxis: Sid completely reinvented land battles for this game with a turn-based system that is incredibly fun. Pirates now come is several varieties (Buccaneers carry guns for ranged combat instead of the cutlasses favored by regular Pirates) and defenses now include cavalry and mobile cannon, along with the usual infantry. Things like height advantages, tree cover and morale will impact the battles. If successful in a land battle you’ll be able to conquer and install a new governor.

Firaxis: You can decide who rules the towns… so they will support your dastardly deeds. :)

Firaxis: We have 27 different ships in the game ranging in size from miniscule. Tartanes to huge 32-gun Frigates. Each can be customized with various enhancements like different kinds of shot or special cannons. The player can have up to eight ships in his personal fleet at any time.

Firaxis: It will hit the streets November 22, 2004.

Firaxis: System Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
Processor: Pentium 1.0 GHz or higher
Memory: 256 MB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 1.5 GB Free
Video: 64 MB video card with Hardware T&L support
Sounds: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP-compatible sound card
DirectX: DirectX version 9.0b (included) or higher

Firaxis: Thanks for the interview!