Tropico Designer Diary #4

Entry #4 - 03/26/01

By Franz Felsl
PopTop Software

The PopTop sailed into the warm seas of summer, though it knew a storm was brewing.

The ship was taking on water. Only a little, but it was obvious it would need repair. The question was not only where could we repair her so far out to sea, but also how? Repairs like this usually require money, oftentimes lots of money. Our original benefactor was showing signs of weakness. Communication with them was spotty at best, and there was a distinct absence of funds when communications did catch up with the crew. The PopTop would have to dock for repairs, but it would take time--and time was in short supply. Our due date was fast approaching, and scant few sightings of the beast had been made. Tropico was still far from capture.

Cap'n Phil's nerves were thrashing about like a loose jib in a gale. His patience was wearing thin with the head office, and he was anxious for some good word from them, something that could quiet his own worries as well as that of the crew.

A ship! A heavy one from the looks. "Loaded with loot, I wager, ahhhrrr!" Paul yelped. "What flag does she hoist?" queried Dave. "If es no Spain, I dun't care!" Guillermo grunted in his typical outrageous accent. "I dun't thin we should sail near them." "Ships suck!" Steve added. "Zeppelins, now that would be cool!" "Loooooot. Plunder and loot! Arrrrrgh!" Paul began to chant. A slap from Todd stunned the newborn pirate. "We're not remaking Pirates, Paul! Shut up!"

The commotion brought Cap'n Phil to the poop deck.

"I know this ship and her captain. She be the Take2. I think it's time I have words with them. They may be of some help," Phil mused.

After a long series of complex signaling (made all the longer because signaling was not Phil's strong point), the Take2 and the PopTop lowered sail, and Phil took a dingy to the Take2 alone. Phil wanted to negotiate a deal with the Take2--the implications were enormous. By selling the PopTop, he could free himself of the duties that had nothing to do with hunting Tropico or other quarry. While this would gain him some freedom and serious cash, it could throw the crew into turmoil. The crew was nervous, and we could see some seasoned pirates on the Take2. The crew of the PopTop all donned life jackets except for me. I'll never wear a life jacket again, chiefy. We waited. The captain gone, no charts and minds as sharp as razor blades, we did the only thing we could do considering the situation: made up conspiracy theories and did busy work we knew would get axed when and if the charts ever made it back to the ship. However, we did rearrange a few tasks on the PopTop, made a few changes to the way we operated at sea. We kept track of the time we swabbed the deck when we'd done it and when we thought we'd be done. We also searched the ship's library for important references to beasts like Tropico. We created pictures that showed how Tropico might look and behave so that we could explain to those people not on the PopTop what it was we searched for.

Phil's meeting with the Take2 went on a long time. Occasional whispers from the Take2 crew and a few brief visits from Cap'n Phil on the deck of the Take2 were all the men of the PopTop had during these days. A ship without a captain, a land without a king, a sword without a champion. Er. Uhum. OK, we were worried the PopTop would sink and we'd be on her, just waiting for the word to abandon ship with no one to give it; we'd just wait till we were floating in the ocean. Without charts, we couldn't even chase Tropico, and without a ship, we couldn't do anything about it, even if it just happened to swim by.

If months were days, we floated there alongside the Take2 for about four days. Finally, the word came. The Take2 would make good past the debt owed to the PopTop, and we'd be sailing with her as one of her personally owned ships! Captain Phil made his way back to the ship and described the beautiful interior of the Take2. Private cabins for each crewman, regular shore leave, a ship's physician, and a little piece of the Take2, one that might have value as a collector's item--woohoo! Wondrous things did the Take2 have, too many to list in a simple ship's log. So, the crew had the choice. Sign aboard the Take2 and partake of these wondrous things or tread water till you either drifted close to another ship or got dragged down to Davey Jones' Locker by a shark, giant squid, or particularly aggressive nudabranch. Even as much as I and the others might have wished to see such an impressive nudabranch, we all signed aboard.

Up went the sails! Up went the anchor! Up went the expectations! Up, up, up! We set sail again to pursue Tropico with the Take2's blessing and hopes.