No Quarter

No Quarter places the player in command of one captain and one brig on an open Caribbean sea. Ports are run by three factions, the Navy, the Brethren and the Spanish, and each one offers a contract board, a market, a shipwright and a tavern. Work includes hunting ships flying a particular flag in particular waters, delivering cargo between ports, trading goods along profitable routes and breaching coastal forts to take the treasure they hold. Every hull delivered shifts reputation with the factions, so sinking a Navy frigate earns favour with the Brethren while turning the Navy hostile and closing harbours that previously accepted the player.

Sailing depends on wind direction. The player selects a sail setting of furled, quarter, half or full, and the ship leans into turns accordingly. Combat is fought with broadsides, and sloops, brigs and galleons each behave differently, with faster enemy ships holding a speed advantage while fixed coastal batteries hit harder. Loot and cargo, including crates, planks, bolts of fabric and signed contracts, must be arranged within a grid-based hold, and looting a wreck can produce more plunder than the hold can carry.

The ship can be upgraded across four separate tracks: rigging, hull, cannons and hold. Upgrades require both gold and materials that must be fitted onto the shipwright’s workbench, which becomes more demanding as the player progresses through the ranks. The game also features a full day and night cycle, periods of fog, a dynamic sea, and fully rebindable keyboard and mouse controls.