MMMM: MMMMMMM MM MMWSMM MMMMMMM MM MM SM MMZ WMMZ MM M7.M .MMM WM MM aMM M MB MMMMZ MMMMM MMMMMS MM MMMM MMMMM 0MMMMM MMMMM MMMM MMMMM MM MM MM MM MM. MM MM MM MM MB MM MM MMMMMM MMMMM MM MM MMMMM MM MM MMMMMM MM MM BM MM MM MM MM MM MM7 MM MM MM MM MM MMMMMM .MM,MM MM MMM MM MM MMZ.MM BMMMMM MM.MMZ MM MMMM MMMM @MM:MM MM; MM MMM0M MM MM MMMM MM SEA TRADER: RISE OF TAIPAN FAQ/GUIDE Version 1.4 By TreeUK =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Copyright Notice =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Contents =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1. Startup info 2. System 3. Cities and buildings 4. Guide 5. Types of Goods 6. Ship Upgrades 7. Map areas, ports and goods available at each 8. Rumours 9. At sea events 10. Other things inc codes Use CTRL F to skip to a section. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Version history =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1.4 - Added to awards, thanks to Caroline Smith for those. 1.3 - Added to the Other things etc section with more Awards 1.2 - Added to the Guide section and the reputation info in Map areas. 1.1 - Added to the Guide section and modified awards info. 1.0 - Original =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1. Startup info =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Your first decision is game length. You have three decisions: a. Quick Trade - 1 year - 365 days b. Market Venture - 3 years - 1,095 days c. Trade Empire - 10 years - 3,650 days Your second decision is which first mate to choose. You can change first mate from the first mates who appear at various ports (always the same mates). Your choices are: a.Lorin - The Navigator - "I sail fast but avoid peril". - Choosing Lorin takes a day off your normal travel time(except 1+2 day trips) b.Sun Li - The Negotiator - "I'll help you get the best deals". - I could'nt really see a difference in prices with Sun Li though BOARDING seems to succeed more with her. c.Ollio - The Cannon Master - "With me your guns will fire true". - I could see no bonus with Ollio, the cannon shots seem no more accurate, it's possible the shots are more powerful... d.Bolt - The Engineer - "My ships are as hard to sink as me!". - As well as having the best facial expressions of the four, damage is reduced and it seems as though the ship is harder to hit. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 2. System =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- On the map screen you can see at the top the name of the charted region you are currently in. The bottom of the screen shows the current city you are at or have highlighted as well as the current day x of the total. The L + R buttons cycle through the status screens Ship Status, Stats, Awards, Manifest. On the merchant and other trading screens L + R change from buy to sell. On the map screen, the arrow keys will change the destination, the A button will confirm the destination while B will cancel. On the City screen, the arrow keys will cycle the buildings[section 3]. The A button will enter the highlighted building while B will cancel to the Map. In a building B will cancel to the city screen. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3. Cities and buildings =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- All the cities and what they sell are listed in section 7. but for now I will tell you what each building is for. From right to left: Merchant, Tavern, Customs Office, Bank, Shipwright, Warehouse Merchant -The most important building for starting your empire, this is where you purchase and sell goods. The A button will choose the good to sell or buy while right or up will increase the amount to be bought or sold, left or down will decrease this amount. If you are selling the good you have selected will show (Loss) or profit under the name and below that, the amount of profit or loss per item. Illegal goods cannot be sold here. Tavern -For a 100T round of drinks you have the chance of being given a tip. If you buy too many rounds (4-6) you wake up in the street with less money. It is a good idea to bank all but 400-600 Taels before going to the Tavern. The hints are described in section x. Customs Office -The seat of piracy, you make a donation starting at 1,000T and then are given access to various illegal goods. Depending on your reputation level you can also purchase charts here to allow you access to other parts of the world. Bank -The one constant in the game, at the bank you can deposit, withdraw, borrow and repay money. Especially useful for keeping your money safe from pirates and thieves etc. Be warned about loans however, if you do not repay them each week bounty hunters are sent after you in droves. Banks are in most cities and your money is accessible at any of them. Shipwright -This is where you come to repair your ship when damaged and to upgrade when you have the money. There are 5 improvements: Sails, Cannons, Crew training, Armor and Cargo Hold. Improved Sails - faster travel + greater likelihood of escaping in battle. Improved Cannons - more damage per shot. Improved Crew - better accuracy in battle, more likely to successfully board. Improved Armor - less damage sustained in battle. Improved Cargo Hold - greater load capacity. The names of and money required for each improvement is listed in section x. NOTE: You gain access to new types of improvements each time you buy a new map Warehouse -The warehouse is as the name suggests for housing your wares, you can store up to 600 goods in each warehouse at a cost of 10T per week. Despite the claims of the owners a lot of stealing goes on so don't be surprised if you find half of your stock gone in a week. Very useful for storing large stocks of currently cheap goods bought in a city for quick profit selling elsewhere. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 4. Guide =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- You start in Hong Kong in S. China with 2,000T. It is a good idea to visit the other cities to get a general idea of the prices for things. A rule of thumb, at all merchants over the world, the items are listed by price The last two on the list being the most valuable. These have the most legal potential as common sense states that if something costing 1000T normally is purchased at 500T and is sold at 1,000T on 100 items you make 50,000T. 500T x 100 goods = 50,000T 1,000T x 100 goods = 100,000T 50,000T-100,000T=50,000T profit. Compared with a normally cheap good of 20T selling at 40T per 100 units you make just 2,000T. So as soon as you can afford it you should completely bypass the cheapest goods, unless you have a tip, in favour of expensive goods. In S. China these are Silk and Fine art. I did a stratified random sample of 10 city visits and the average normal price for Silk was 1,029. It was sold at 212 and 432 at the cheapest and 1,349 at the most expensive. A potential profit of 1,137 possible on this one test. The biggest profits and key to the game it seems is getting into the black market. As I said before in section 3. Cities and buildings the Customs office is where you go to trade in black market goods. In order to see the goods for sale you have to first pay what is effectively a bribe of up to 10,000T. I think the amount you pay is linked to your reputation. There are six illegal goods available at various offices these are: Ivory, Grog, Stygian Lotus, Pitchblack, Gun Powder and Turkish Delight. They all cost roughly 1,000T each so to be profitable the common sense rule above should be used. If you see any of them near the 500 mark or below, buy as many of them as you can, fill the warehouse with them then proceed to sell them on at other ports with maximum profit. Added to this illegal goods fluctuate regularly up to 3,000T so it is possible to make a 2,500 profit or more per unit. NOTE: The pricing dynamics work on supply and demand so it you've bought all the black market goods, sold some elsewhere and gone back, it is very likely that the price where you bought them will have risen steeply so you can sell all your goods back straight from the warehouse. This is the best get rich quick method I have found in the game, it is VERY possible to make 600,000T+ in this way from just one round of purchases. NOTE: Be careful not to leave your goods in the warehouse too long as despite the warehouse owners claims your goods are regularly stolen at quite a high rate. Regarding the ship, I recommend upgrading SAILS first, then CREW, then CARGO followed by CANNONS. The reasoning behind this is that beginning the game you are doing a lot of trips so the sails will cut down the journey time. LORIN is the best character to start the game with for this reason, Sun Li is a second best option for her supposed 'better deal' skills. Upgrading CREW means that if you cannot escape then the shots you take at the pirates are more likely to hit. CARGO for the obvious reason that you can make more profit on more goods. CANNONS mean you sink the pirates in less time. TO RECAP a.If you find a good cheap or very cheap, buy as much as you can, fill the warehouse with it to the max. Leave the current port, go back and due to the lack of the good you bought the price will have rocketed up. Simply take the goods you bought from your warehouse and go back to the merchant and sell them all. This is the easiest way of making large amounts of money. b.As I said before Black Market Goods tend to fluctuate regularly and are the easiest of goods to make a large profit on each time, if you do not have the money for these, the second most profitable goods are the last two goods at the merchants, in S. China these are Fine arts and Silks. Silks are the better of the two as they cost more. c.When you see a good is cheap, buy all of it that you can, fill the warehouse leave the port you are at and return again and the price of the goods in the warehouse will have increased. Sell them at this high price. It's simple but effective. The rules of supply and demand (i.e. seller has no goods=high prices, seller has lots of goods=low prices. Buy low - Sell high) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 5. Types of Goods =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- There are 36 types of goods, 6 of which are illegal. 5-6 types of goods are available on each chart. They are as follows: S. China - Coconuts Orchids Lumber Iron Fine Arts Silk N. China - Banana Starfruit Passionfruit Exotic Birds Dyes India - Raisins Oil Tea Cocoa Porcelain Africa - Sugarcane Canvas Hides Perfume Olive Oil U.K. - Coffee Paper Cotton Salt Tea Books Caribbean- Hemp Limes Oil Fine Art Foodstuffs Swords Illegal - Ivory Grog Stygian Lotus Pitchblack Gun Powder Turkish Delight =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 6. Ship Upgrades =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- As I said before the ship is upgraded at a Shipwright. There are 5 levels of improvements including the starting level. You gain access to each level of improvement when you buy a new map. Also the prices are cumulative so if you do not buy the 2nd level of improvements and instead buy the 4th level, you will pay the same price as it would have been to buy 2nd, 3rd and 4th level of improvement. That said here are the prices and names for each improvement: +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Imp. Type | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 | |------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-----------| | Sails | Breath | Gust |Gale |Storm | Typhoon | |------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-----------| | Price | N/A | 15,000T |30,000T |90,000T | 150,000T | |------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-----------| | Cannons | Light | Cannon |Heavy |Trident | Tsunami | |------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-----------| | Price | N/A | 15,000T |30,000T |60,000T | 100,000T | |------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-----------| | Crew | Bilge Rats | Swabs |Deck Hands |Sk. Mariners| Salty Dogs| |------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-----------| | Price | N/A | 10,000T |15,000T |25,000T | 50,000T | |------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-----------| | Armor | Oaken Hull | Reinforced|Studded Keel|Armored Prow| Iron Clad | |------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-----------| | Cargo Hold | Narwhal | Beluga |Orca |Humpback | Leviathan | |------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-----------| | Price | N/A | 30,000T |90,000T |200,000T | 500,000T | +------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-----------+ NOTE: if I wasn't clear, the above table shows prices as if you bought each in turn, i.e. bought gust for 15k then bought gale for 30k etc. To buy Typhoon sails from Breath Sails would cost 15k+30k+90k+150k=285k. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 7. Map areas, ports and goods available at each =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The 6 maps are purchased at the Customs office and are only available if you have enough reputation. The easiest way to gain reputation is to defeat pirates. Each pirate gives you +2 rep. Rep goes down over time and killing guards and traders reduces your rep. In order you purchase maps in: South China[Starting map] Ports: Shanton, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Macao, Haikoi Goods: Coconuts, Orchids, Lumber, Iron, Fine Art, Silk North China Requires - 20 PROFESSIONAL REPUTATION Costs - 250,000T Ports: Qingdao, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Fouzhou, Xiamen Goods: Banana, Starfruit, Passionfruit, Exotic birds, Dyes India Requires - 25 PROFESSIONAL REPUTATION Costs - 750,000T Ports: Bangladesh, Calcutta, Nellore, Madras, Ceylon Goods: Raisins, Oil, Tea, Cocoa, Porcelain Africa Requires - 40 PROFESSIONAL REPUTATION Costs - 1,500,000T Ports: Casablanca, Marrakesh, Dakar, Freetown, Abidjan Goods: Sugarcane, Canvas, Hides, Perfume, Olive Oil United Kingdom Requires - 50 PROFESSIONAL REPUTATION Costs - 3,000,000T Ports: Arran, Belfast, Cardiff, London, Ipswitch Goods: Coffee, Paper, Cotton, Salt, Tea, Books Caribbean Requires - 75 PROFESSIONAL REPUTATION Costs - 5,000,000T Ports: Biloxie, New Orleans, Kingston, St. Croix, St. Martin Goods: Hemp, Limes, Oil, Fine Art, Foodstuffs, Swords =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 8. Rumours =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- You hear rumours at taverns or in bottles you come across at sea. I will list them here and what they should mean to you: a. Supplies of X have dried up in Y / There is a shortage of X in Y - Buy X at a reasonable or cheap price then go to Y where the prices will be much higher than normal. b. A harvest festival is being held in Y - I believe this means that most products are cheap for a limited period. c. Produce is rotting in the streets of Y - The produce(generally crop based items) are very cheap in Y, so buy them! d. There is famine in Y - Buy food based products and go to Y where the price will be high. e. Drought has lessened the harvest in Y - Buy crop based goods and sell them in Y. (similar to d. famine) f. A big load of X was sold to Y - X will be very cheap in Y so go buy as much as you can, store it and sell it! NOTE: If you do not act quickly or take too long in getting to the rumoured location the prices will have changed. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 9. At sea events =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- I left this until last as it seems fairly obvious to me. The options available when you spot a ship are: Wait - Until you know if it is a guard, trader, bounty hunter or pirate. Hail - Used mainly for traders, to initiate a trade. Flee - To attempt to escape. Dump Cargo - Used against pirates makes it likely you will escape, against guards you won't be caught for possessing illegal goods. Fire - To... fire cannons on the ship. Board - To attempt to board the ship and then proceed to steal some goods. - Bounty hunters will first ask for the money you owe the bank, then go if you pay or attack if you don't. - Pirates will always attack and if fired on will sometimes flee. Your reputation increases when you destroy a pirate. - Traders are a good source of profit as they sell all types of goods often at very cheap prices, alternatively if you attack them they will often flee. - Guards will ask to check the ship, if you have any illegal goods they are easily bribed with 10,000T or alternatively you can attack them although this lowers your reputation. As mentioned earlier you come across bottles which give you rumours see section 8. Additionally there are the following events: Storm - Your ship suffers an amount of damage and you arrive at an alternate port. Shallow Water - Your ship suffers an amount of damage. Mermaid/Siren - Your ship appears at an alternate or the original port. Sea Monster - Your ship appears at an alternate or the original port. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 10. Other things including codes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Awards: There are 8 awards to be won, I know of 3. Trade Baron - For attaining 100,000,000T - reward 1,000,000T Around the world - Circumnavigation of the 6 charts of the world - reward 100k Materials Master - For transporting 3,000 units of material goods - reward unknown. Green Grocer - For transporting 3,000 units of Grocery goods - reward unknown Crafts Dealer - For transporting 3,000 units of craft goods (vases, art etc.) - reward unknown Killing 100 Pirates gives you the Scourge of the Sea award. Killing 100 Guards or Tradeships gives you the Bloody Buccaneer award. Also you apparently get awards for transporting 3k of various types of goods. Hey, I got your FAQ through Gamespot and wanted to offer a littl bit of extra info. Just finished a mission at the 1085 days level and have some info on new awards you can get in Sea Trader. green grocer - 3000 units of grocery (food, fruits) goods materials master - 3000 units of material goods (and has lumber on the seal!) crafts dealer - 3000 units of crafts - finsihed goods (vases, art etc.) bootlegger elite - 3000 units of elite ("illegal") goods (these are the first 4 awards from the left you can get) I was really impressed wth the stats you used in the walkthrough, BTW, and appreciate the effort and professionalism. Thanks, B. Jenkins I did my first GBA code searching on this game and found the codes for Max T and Day # reset. Open Visualboyadvance, start the game, then open the cheat menu and click the Hex type and Code button. For Max Taels enter: 02001fc8:3b9ac9ff 02002658:3b9ac9ff This will give you 999,999,999 Taels which will not go down unless you turn off the code. To reset the day to day 1 enter: 03000124:0001 NOTE: These are hex cheats usable to my knowledge only with VisualboyAdvance =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 11. Credits and contact details =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Mary - My ever lovely chicken pook. Me - For staying up until 3am to write this guide. Gamefaqs - For hosting my first guide. Special thanks to B. Jenkins who supplied Awards information. I can be contacted at treeblesome@hotmail.com but put faq or something in the subject line. Hope you enjoyed the guide/faq :) TreeUK Copyright 2002 Tristan Smith