POTCO Release Notes: 2009

January	February	March	April	May	June
July	August	September	October	November	December

January 2009

January 30, 2009

New and improved Port Royal: Players should see significant performance increases thanks to the new layout.
New and improved Tutorial: Now more action packed!
Added a player Profile Card so you can view details about players you meet.
Early Quest Line has been smoothed out and should be much more fun.
Overall smoother gameplay: Fewer hiccups and pauses during the action.
Improved crew making and display: Starting and joining crews is easier than ever before. The onscreen crew display is now even more useful.
Improved Chat interface: Only one text entry box now and it routes your message appropriately.
Clothing Store changes: It is much easier to browse through all your wardrobe choices.
Fixed another exploit that allowed you leave a PvP while still undead.
Reputation gains are no longer reduced for Basic Access players.
Lots of other small tweaks and improvements!

February 2009

February 4, 2009

Fixed a crash with NVidia and ATI graphics cards that prevented some Pirates from entering the game
Fixed the missing Dagger animations
Crew Members will remain pink on the mini-map
Plugged several client memory leaks which will improve performance during long game play
Fixed several crashes on exit
Optimized Teleportation effects to improve your frame rate when you teleport or when witnessing another avatar teleport.

February 5, 2009

Fixed the door in the smugglers' cache on Rumrunner's Isle. Pirates will no longer be trapped inside the cache.
Fixed text formatting issues with chat

February 11, 2009

Bug Fixes:

Fixed a bug where a Pirate could become invincible on Kingshead

Fixed a bug that allowed you to harm other Pirates if they were in a Privateer crew and on a team different than your own

Fixed a bug in the Crew HUD that would not show some crew members if you disconnected and reconnected

Display/Graphic Issues:

Fixed the icon that was not showing up when Guests were playing on a Windows machine in windowed mode

Fixed texture issues for Guests playing on a Mac

February 17, 2009

Updated NPC dialog

February 25, 2009

Environmental Improvements:

Redesigned Tortuga (including the Minimap) for better game performance

Moved the entrance of King's Run to the back of the Port Royal graveyard - this will help new players progress more easily through the tutorial

General Bug Fixes:

Fixed some issues with emotes not displaying properly

Fixed an issue where players could escape from the jail without kicking the door open

Resolved an weapon exploit that allowed Pirates to cast Voodoo Staff Desolation without charging it

Players are no longer slowed down by Undead Gravediggers' throwing daggers

Fixed a bug where you could not see your own Whispers to unknown Pirates

Made several improvements and fixes to the Crew System

Pirates of the Caribbean Online now supports 16 bit color in windowed mode when using DirectX8 and DirectX9

General Improvements:

The Game Options menu can now be accessed in-game by pressing the "F7" key

Improved the way avatars are being displayed to improve frame rate

When tracking enemies to complete a Quest, the Compass now glows when you reach the target area

Returned the Musicians to the taverns on Port Royal and Tortuga. Pirates can now play the sheet music earned in the Cannons of the Deep mobile game.

Improved Broadside Cannon aim

The Windcatcher Ship Skill (which increases your speed at sea) works again

Added the ability to bring up your Pirate profile by clicking on your Pirate name in the chat window

March 2009

March 6, 2009

Some missing NPCs on Port Royal and Tortuga have returned
Pressing "escape" now closes the Chat Panel as it used to
The Boarding Permission panel now hides when you click the Boarding Permission button
Fixed the ten second flicker on the Compass and Ray of Light for some tracked quests
Swamp water on Tortuga should look better now
Musicians in Tortuga tavern now have actual names
If a player rejects your invitation to become your friend, you now receive a notification
Harmless animals no longer appear as enemies on the Compass
Ships that have respawned now show up on the Compass
Your current ship now maintains its bronze color on the Compass
Fixed several client memory leaks
Fixed various other smaller bugs

March 17, 2009

Fixed a client bug that would cause tunnels not to work
Fixed an occasional download issue

April 2009

April 8, 2009

New and Improved Padres Del Fuego: Players should see significant performance increases thanks to the new layout.
Improved the Reputation Bar. It is now easier to track your Notoriety and Weapon progress.
The Compass Map now rotates with the camera instead of the avatar.
Cleaned up the Tutorial and early Quest lines.
Female avatar emotes now animate better.
Crew members that are AFK will no longer receive cargo credit for sunk ships.
Made several improvements to Quest tracking with the Ray of Light.
The graphics options will now warn you if you try to change your settings from what is recommended.
More performance improvements.
Numerous bug and memory leaks have also been fixed.

April 10, 2009

Fixed invisible re-spawning avatars (this was most common in PVP)
Moved the team indicator on low-detail avatars in PVP
Removed some waterfalls from the caves that had rendering problems

April 11, 2009

Fixed a few client crashes

April 16, 2009

Players who were stranded on Tormenta Island after the most recent updates should now appear on Padres Del Fuego when they log in next time

April 24, 2009

Fixed several client crashes and minor gameplay issues

May 2009

May 7, 2009

Added debugging information to track down an issue

June 2009

June 2, 2009

Improved Early Player Experience

Early Quests have been modified for better playability, including Quests to find the first three Black Pearl crew members and Quest lines related to the Voodoo Doll

Introduced new tutorial pop-up hints. These hints can be turned on and off from the Game Options Menu (F7)

In the Cutlass tutorial, Pirates are now shown the skills they can earn later

Transportation Enhancements

Added new Dockworker NPCs to help Pirates stowaway on ships. This is a new transportation option which helps Pirates reach their destination without sailing a ship or needing a Teleport Totem. To become a stowaway, find a Dockworker on the docks of Tortuga, Port Royal, Padres Del Fuego or Cuba and pay him the gold he requests for the service.

Added 38 new, player-submitted ship names to the Shipwright's Ship Naming Menu

Technical Enhancements

Changed enemy difficulties in areas throughout the game for better playability

Added Chat Permission Status to the Pirate Profile Panel

Added an option to toggle on and off Windows Sticky Keys (this option is disabled by default)

Additional Improvements & Bug Fixes:

Changing Cannon Ammunition types no longer restarts the recharge timer

Made several bug fixes to NPC's: returned Navy Sailors to normal heights, enemies no longer ambush players and enemies will no longer attack Pirates once you leave their area

Better feedback/flow for guild name requests

The loading screen now appears when starting game instead of a black screen

Polished the drop down Main Menu and Escape key interaction

Made several improvements to the Ray of Light to address tracking and hint problems

Removed the Quest completion percentages from the Journal page

Re-enabled the "dazed" effect above a Pirates head (for higher-detail graphics/effects settings)

Fixed a bug where your ship's repair spots would not be available even when the ship was stopped

For security reasons, we have removed the ability to tab between Linked Accounts on the Pirate selection screen. Please sign in with the appropriate login and password for the account you want to play

June 4, 2009

Fixed a server crash
Fixed a premature completion of some quest types

June 9, 2009

Various minor bug fixes

July 2009

July 30, 2009

New Features

Introducing the Revive System. This will let you keep mates from going "unconscious" and being carried off to jail when defeated in battle

When reviving another Pirate, you will use one of the smallest tonics in your inventory

Introducing new avatar body types for new Pirates created after this release

Improved Early Player Experience

Players now have the option of skipping the tutorial after creating their pirate

Removed the ad-frame for Basic Members, now Basic Members can play the game in full screen from day one

Improved the readability of the contextual pop-up hints

Gameplay Improvements

Many updates to balance the rest of the quest lines in the game

Creatures' levels, types, and locations updated as well

Increased the cargo capacity for Pirates' ships (new hold amounts are listed below)

Light Sloop - now carries 6 Cargo instead of 3

Light Galleon - now carries 10 Cargo instead of 7

Light Frigate - now carries 8 Cargo instead of 5

Sloop - now carries 10 Cargo instead of 6

Galleon - now carries 14 Cargo instead of 11

Frigate - now carries 12 Cargo instead of 9

War Sloop - now carries 14 Cargo instead of 9

War Galleon - now carries 18 Cargo instead of 16

War Frigate - now carries 16 Cargo instead of 12

Reduced the duration of the "Weaken" effect on Pirates

Pirates' automatic healing begins more quickly after battle now

The tonic icon now displays the total number of tonics you have in your inventory.

The tonic displayed in the icon represents the tonic you will use if you click on the icon or press 'T'

Made land enemies less aggressive

Better presentation when purchasing a voyage using the Stowaway option

Notable Bugfixes

The ship icons on the compass no longer disappear when sailing near the rocky islands

August 2009

August 6, 2009

Various bug fixes

September 2009

September 1, 2009

New Game Features:

Notoriety Level Cap and Weapon Reputation Levels have been increased

Notoriety Level Cap increased to 50

Weapon Reputation Level increased to 30

Pirates can level their character up faster, as you get more experience when defeating enemies

New cave environments in the following areas:

Murky Hollow, Port Royal

Royal Caverns, Port Royal

Thieve's Den, Tortuga

Lava Gorge, Padres del Fuego

Beckett's Quary, Padres del Fuego

The Catacombs, Padres del Fuego

Cursed Caverns, Isla Tormenta

New cave environments feature new higher level enemies

New Casa Muertos Quest (Quest available from 9/4 until 9/27)

Game Improvements:

Ship Speed Improvements

You no longer lose all forward momentum when making small changes to your direction

A new speed meter now displays how fast your ship is moving.

Ships now move faster

UI Improvements

The map in the compass now maintains consistent orientation with the full-screen minimap on land. The arrow in the center turns as the avatar turns

You can modify the compass behavior for land and sea on the Interface Options tab in the Game Options Menu.

September 15, 2009

Fixed a reputation-gain shortcut from one of the side quests
Cleaned up the misbehaving Voodoo Doll attune effects that remained after an avatar teleported away
When creating your pirate, the belt color will randomize when using the Shuffle option
Fixed a bug where players' levels were incorrectly displayed higher than their Pirate Profile card
Fixed several collision issues in the new cave environments
Improved the Mini-maps in several of the new cave environments
Fixed some broken quest dialog for the Padres del Fuego shipwright

October 2009

October 16, 2009

Beware of Jolly Roger's Invasion! Keep your eyes peeled, for Jolly Roger's ship has been sighted near Port Royal. When he attacks the town, defend the Barricades and the Governor's Mansion from Jolly Roger's skeleton army!
Townsfolk will now notice nearby players and greet them. Enemies will either taunt or cower from nearby players.
When waiting for a Revive, Knocked Out players no longer stand-up when hit by a grenade.
Added different types of footstep sounds.
Updated some of the loading screen images.

October 21, 2009

Fire on the mansion lasts longer when overwhelmed by Jolly Roger's forces
Players will no longer crash when teleporting away while the Invasion summary screen is being displayed.
Jolly Roger can now be attacked with Voodoo Shackles.
Bandanas are now displaying correctly.

December 10, 2009

New Game Features and Improvements:

Ships and Sailing have undergone several improvements.

You may see a boost in performance while at sea and slight changes to ship design and sail animations, depending on your graphics settings.

Jolly Roger is now invading Tortuga

A new lighting and fog system gives more atmosphere to the environments based on the time of day.

Pirates are no longer physically blocked by other Pirates. This means you can walk through another Pirate rather than having to walk around them. This makes it easier to walk through tight, crowded spaces.

Fixes and Additional Improvements:

Fixed a bug that caused the Crew Display to disappear at random times.

Pirates now get a small Reputation Bonus for reviving a fellow Pirate.

The Viper's Nest Dagger Skill breaks multiple attunements.

Your ship will no longer take damage from enemies sailing beyond visual range.

Less valuable cargo will be dumped to make room for more valuable chests earned from sinking ships.

Ship sails and masts now take significant damage from Chain Shot

Ship armor is now more effective across all ships

Boosted the defensive capabilities of enemy ships by 25%

The screen no longer flashes red when you get hit by friendly fire.

Fixed several graphic issues with a few cut scenes.

Shortened Captain Barbossa's cut scene.

December 11, 2009

New Improvement:

Fixed two ship-related AI crashes.