Seven Cities of Gold (Commemorative Edition) other - F.A.Q.

Seven Cities of Gold FAQ/Strategy Guide
Platform - DOS/Windows
Release Date - 1993
Version .6

FAQ by Mike Helton "addicted one"
http://yourmomatron.com
mshelton@yourmomatron.com

// This FAQ may be posted on any site that keeps this file intact and gives me 
credit for my work //



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* Table of Contents              *
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Forward..........................AA1
Playing on Today's Computers.....AA2
Controls.........................AA3
Objectives.......................AA4
The Harbor.......................AA5
At Sea...........................AA6
Exploration......................AA7
Stops Along the Way..............AA8
Tips and Tricks..................AA9
Questions........................AAa
Credits..........................AAb







*****************************************
* Forward                           AA1 *
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I have been playing this game since I was eight or so years old and have loved 
every bit of it. I thought I would show my appreciation for the game by 
writing my first FAQ as well as the first FAQ for the game. I hope you find 
this FAQ useful, and by all means, let me know if you have a suggestion or 
information that you think should be added. 






*****************************************
* Playing on Today's Computers      AA2 *
*****************************************

If you have recently attempted to play this game, you will have noticed that 
it crashes on startup on modern computer systems. Older games like this were 
not designed to be run on the computers we use today, so other methods of 
using running them need to be found. The best and easiest solution I have 
found is do download DOSBox (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/) and run Seven 
Cities of Gold through that. DOSBox is a program that emulates the old DOS 
environment, making it easy to play games like this flawlessly. 






*****************************************
* Controls                          AA3 *
*****************************************

Seven Cities of Gold has very basic controls. Scroll through menus with the 
arrow keys and make selections with left CTRL. Escape brings up the menu, 
allowing you to save your game or perform other tasks. 

When in game, hold ALT to walk faster than normal to speed up gameplay. 






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* Objectives                        AA4 *
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There are a number of ways to play this game, either being a ruthless killer, 
destroying any indian village in your path, plundering them, and using their 
goods to supply your endeavours. Alternatively, you can trade with them, make 
peace, and please the king and queen at the same time. 

To actually win the game, you must establish a series of settlements in the 
new world, specifically 1 Colony, 1 Mission, and 3 Forts by the time you have 
completed your 10th voyage. The game does not end when this is done, though, 
and you may still continue to play whether you do this or not, however you 
will no longer be supported by the king and queen.







*****************************************
* The Harbor                        AA5 *
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At the menu, you are asked to choose a difficulty level to start on. Novice 
starts you out with 2,500 gold, Journeyman gives you 2,000 and Expert gives 
you 1,500. The game will be noticibly harder with each difficulty level 
because getting a good start on the game is key. 

After you make your decision, you will find yourself in a 2D city. This is the 
harbor, and the place you will return to after each voyage you take. The door 
in front of you is the King and Queen, whom you must visit before doing 
anything else. After reading their intro and giving yourself a name, you will 
find yourself in the harbor again. Head to the left. You will pass the 
Commisioner's office, where you can go at any time to see how much of the map 
you have explored, as well as detailed information about anything you have 
done or collected in the new world. 

The next building is the Harbor Master. Here you can buy ships and men, as 
well as 
equipment and food for your voyages. New world herbs, animals, arms, food and 
gold can all be used for trade in the new world, so be sure to bring some of 
that along. It is always a good idea to max out your food because if you run 
out, the game ends and you will be forced to reload a previous save. 

Hiring more explorers to travel with you will help you in your goal to map 
100% of the new world as you will be given a wider "explored" path the more 
explorers you have in your party. 

Soldiers and Clergy are used to establish Colonies, Missions, and Camps in the 
new world, so they should be brought along as well. Horses are good to help 
carry goods back to the ship after collecting them in the new world. Be aware 
that you will need to leave enough room in your ship to carry your goods to 
the new world as well as carry new world goods back to the old world. 

If you want to buy more goods than the Harbor Master carries, simply leave and 
come 
back in and he will have a full stock again.

After you have purchased everything you think you will need for your trip, its 
time to head out to sea. Leave the Harbor Master and continue left to the ship 
ladder. Once you're in the boat, you appear in the ocean, at top view.






*****************************************
* At Sea                            AA6 *
*****************************************

So you've found yourslef in the middle of the ocean, huh? Well if you wanted 
to be there, then head left, otherwise go right to have your party chart a 
course back to the mainland. 

Because you're reading this section, I'm going to assume you are here to find 
the new world. One of the first things you will notice while at sea are the 
storms that scatter the sea. Your goal is to move to the left while avoiding 
these storms until you get to the mainland. Every storm your fleet passes 
through does damage to your ships hull, and if that damage gets too great, 
your ship will sink along with anything in it.

Keep heading west and you will eventually come across land. Straighten out 
before entering the coral reefs or your ship will get damaged. At this time, 
you can hit CTRL to bring up a list of things to do, so do that and go to 
add/remove inventory and begin unloading all of your belongings. Be sure to 
bring all of your food or your entire party will starve within a few steps 
from the boat. 






*****************************************
* Exploration                       AA7 *
*****************************************

Coming in an upcoming version.






*****************************************
* Stops Along the Way               AA8 *
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Coming in an upcoming version.






*****************************************
* Tips and Tricks                   AA9 *
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You can get your current latitude and longtitude anytime by pressing CTRL and 
viewing the map. Use these numbers to find different landmarks in the new 
world.

If you have too much stuff to carry back to your boat, leave it behind. A 
cache will be created, and whenever you come back to that location, your items 
will still be there. 

Traveling along mountains slows you down and you use more food, but you have a 
great chance of finding a gold mine. If you do find a gold mine, leave some 
people behind (along with food) and next time you return, they will have found 
more gold. 

Follow rivers and streams to find gold. 

Bison herds appear in the desert. Use it for free food. 

If you have natives in your party, you can get reports of things to watch for 
in the area by bringing up the menu and selecting "Talk to Native Guide".

If you get surrounded by hostile indians, you can bring up the menu and either 
drop a gift to distract them, or perform magic to scare them off. 

If you dig up artifacts, all indian villages in the area will become hostile 
towards you.

If you find that you are going to get hit by as storm while in your ship, head 
backwards. The clouds shift direction a bit and avoid you.

If you are a cheater, you can open the "VALUES.CFG" file in your 7CITIES 
directory and modify the values to start with more money, make things weigh 
less, or other fun things like that. Just be sure to restart the game with 
every change. If you mess something up, you can just delete the values file 
and it will go back to default.

If you have at least one horse for each person in your party, you can ride 
them to move faster and consume less food. Just bring up the menu and change 
movement stance. 






*****************************************
* Questions                         AAa *
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If anyone has any questions or comments about this FAQ, and would like them 
put here, it will be done. 






*****************************************
* Credits                           AAb *
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Being the first release, I did not have anyone to draw from, so all credit 
goes to me :P

If anyone would like to submit any new information that I do not have in this 
FAQ, or has any corrections, don't hesitate to email me. I will give you 
credit. 

Thanks for playing this amazing game!