At the start of the game, the player is assigned a random port from the list of the seven seaports in the game, those being...

• Ak'wah
  
• Al Khazam
  
• Babelah
  
• Hallicau
  
• Rhamat
  
• Sabrallaj
  
• Shiang Lo

If you don't like a certain port layout, simply restart that playthrough and keep trying until you get the one you like. I personally really like the layouts of Babelah and Shiang Lo.


When starting any story characters playthrough the marketplace goods amber and oil will ALWAYS be cheap. As you can see in the tutorial video, I take advantage of this by using the moneylender to buy cheap and sell high, making an easy bit of dinari to start the game. I then continue to trade between ports for a few months - I actually had really bad luck with prices - I still made 900,000 Dinari wtihin seven months.


https://youtu.be/2bnyEFjRIPE



The only special weapon the player will need is the plague shot these cost 20,000 a piece but once they are actually being used in combat the rewards for the battle will always pay for what was used and more. I start using them every battle once flying ships are unlocked because that's when enemy Dragon Ships start to appear and they have 300hp. These ships can obliterate player ships if not taken out quickly or disabled.

Use this powerful magic to send a Plague of Killer Bees on an enemy ship. The enemy will be overwhelmed and unable to fire for ten seconds.


10 seconds is more than enough time to wipe all the enemies off the battle screen 90% of the time. The other 10% you might have to use a second volley of them (1–3) to finish things off with minimal damage.


Once the player gets access to the first contraband good (Rugs), the easiest way to profit from it is to go to any temple and pay the tithes until they get information on which ports the items will be banned in during the next moon. Keep doing this until the item is going to be banned in your starting port which will always have both a moneylender and a warehouse in it. Than, go to that port and take out a loan, buy as much as you can, and fill your warehouse with hopefully a few thousand of the soon-to-be contraband items. Sail until the item is contraband, return to the port, and sell it for a massive profit. The profit will be enough to pay back the moneylender and keep a sizable amount for yourself in the process. Then you will rinse and repeat until you have at least 130 million Dinari. This is needed to buy the Magical Charm from one of the Magic Shops for 100 million Dinari, which is an item that gives the player 100% immunity from Port Authorities seizing their contraband goods. Once the Magical Charm is purchased, the player can use the remaining 30 million make unholy amounts of Dinari in just a few months and never need to be concerned about Dinari again.

GETTING STARTED

You can change game settings - FULL SCREEN mode*, MUSIC volume, etc. from the MAIN MENU. Select "OPTIONS" to change the default settings such as TUTORIAL on/off, FULL SCREEN on/off, SOUND FX volume, and MUSIC volume.

You can play any of the four characters in Tradewinds Legends.

The characters you can select in the beginning of the game are as follows:


Rihana Sayar: As a little girl, Rihana prowled the Babelah Bazaar each day while her family ran a modest spice shop. By listening in on the merchants' dealings, she shrewdly absorbed the tricks of the trade. At age eleven she was working at her father's side, making a name for herself as a formidable bargaining opponent. Her skill and sweet face soon caught the eye of the wealthy Trader Sayar, and as soon as she came of age they were married. Their finances thrived apace with their love...until disaster struck fleet and fortune. Broken, Rihana's husband succumbed to despair, leaving his widow the scraps of their business - and its debts.

Nandi Patel: In his decades on the sea, Nandi has developed quite a reputation... both for his appetite for life's pleasures, and his 'flexible' approach to honor and morality. Opinions are divided over whether he's as bumbling and obsequious as he seems, or if it's all a clever ruse concealing a razor wit. The profits he's made suggest the latter... But really, how could such a simple man - a man with such a well-cultivated beer belly, a man who loses his glasses atop his head - possibly outfox the sharpest merchants and sultans? Laugh if you wish, but you'd best count your belongings after an encounter with Nandi.

Tiger Bai: Bai Lao-Hu, better known as "The Tiger", moves through the world shrouded in mystery. Two things are certain: one, she was born in the Orient; and two, this occurred a very LONG time ago. All else is rumor and hearsay. The Tiger is a black magician who fled the wrath of a Mongol khan. No, an Imperial assassin who spared her target in exchange for a new life as a merchant. Maybe she's a sweet old lady who just wants to retire to a cottage with a dozen cats. No one knows for sure... and that suits The Tiger very well.

Hasan: Born and raised in the shifting sands of the desert, Hasan is a fierce Berber warrior. Engraved in his skin he bears the markings of his tribe, and charms to ward against evil and harm in battle. Yet his tattoos could do nothing to protect his brother, Omar, who disappeared during the mysterious destruction of their family home three years past. Since the disaster, Hasan has worked for an Arab moneylender, paying off the loan his family needed to rebuild their lives. Now he is free, and has vowed not to rest until he learns the fate of his beloved twin.

Create a character: Create your own character using a combination of Name, Gender, Class, Nationality and Career. Customize your character to create your own adventure.


Ivory: Ageless and coldly beautiful, IVORY is half ifrit, half human, and all emotionless cruelty. Make no mistake, it is not that she enjoys the suffering of mortals. It is simply that she is incapable of comprehending the concepts of pleasure or pain. Her disciplinary methods are simple: rip out victim's tooth; repeat as necessary. If that doesn't work, then the ifrit really comes to the surface, and things start getting rather toasty. And yet, there may still be some shreds of humanity lurking somewhere behind those flat, frightening eyes - if you can look past the flames shooting out of them.




Smith and Ardru: A simple blacksmith. The youngest son of the Caliph of the Ten Kingdoms. Fate makes strange bedfellows, and this pair of convicts on the lam are as odd an odd couple as ever there was. ARDRU HAROUN and the man who has revealed no name other than THE SMITH didn't exactly plan to be co-captains. The leg irons made that choice for them. A partnership of inconvenience, based on the one thing they shared: a need to escape the Rajah's dungeon. Well, that and the chains. Now it's a race against time and luck, to free themselves of their bonds before their jailers catch up with them...

You may sail to any city on the map by simply clicking on it. You may set sail from any port by simply hitting the set sail button on the right hand side of the port interface.

If the Set Sail button is disabled, you may want to check your ship. It may be too overburdened to leave port.

There are ten port cities that you can visit in the game. Certain ports may not be discovered in the beginning of the game, and these are designated with a question mark. You can sail to any of the available ports, and locked ports are discovered after you complete a certain number of tasks in Story Mode.

Each city has a distinct cultural identity, and a visually unique set of buildings where you can trade, manage your fleet, accept tasks, and handle all other aspects of running your businesses. You can only sail to ports that are discovered, i.e., not marked with a question mark.

There are 10 ports that make up the Ten Kingdoms in Tradewinds Legends they are as follows

• Afal'anj - Flying ships only
  
• Ak'wah
  
• Al Khazam
  
• Babelah
  
• Hallicau
  
• Himalai Han - Flying ships only
  
• Mahil Hai - Flying ships only
  
• Rhamat
  
• Sabrallaj
  
• Shiang Lo

At the start of the game your playing character is randomly assigned a starting port from any of the 7 seaports available, and have access to 5 of the ten total ports also at random. The 3 flying ship only ports will always be locked off until you reach story milestones from questing and will ways be unlocked in the order of Afal'anj, Himalai Han, and finally Mahil Hai. The only port that is going to 100% for sure have all buildings is your starting port. The other ports are randomly assigned buildings the only two buildings that are for sure going to be in each port are a Palace and Marketplace. The Tradewinds wiki has some total BS list of what ports will have what its wrong so ignore it.

Take note of the left hand side of the port interface. The cash/bank/debt display shows how much cash you are carrying on your person, the amount of money you have deposited in the bank and your total debt to the moneylender.

In Tradewinds Legends you may decide to accept tasks from Palaces in return for money or special items. To get a task, walk into a palace. If you accept a task, the Tasks label on the interface will glow. Click on it to track your current task as you progress.

Click on Log to view your ship's log.

You may accumulate special items in the game as a result of completing tasks or due to your character's special abilities. Click on the Items label to examine your inventory of special items and the powers they possess. Take note, not all special items are useful.

Click on the Cargo label to examine what you are carrying on your ship.

Click on the Fleet label to examine your ships and their stats.

You have the opportunity to visit buildings in any port town in order to manage your fortunes, your crew and your ship. There are ten port towns. There are seven kinds of buildings, and anywhere from three to all seven of these buildings may appear in any town. They are:

**As an aside I've played this game for many years and I have personally never seen less than four buildings in any port town. Marketplace, Palace, and two other random buildings.

The Marketplace: Every town has a marketplace where you can buy and sell goods. The goods are salt, tea, wine, amber, oil, weapons, parchment, indigo, rugs, and gunpowder. Not all goods are available to you from the very beginning, and certain goods are banned in certain cities at certain times, so be careful.



**One to four cities are chosen at random each moon for Rugs and Gunpowder to be Contraband. Learn these cities in advance by getting information from a temple.

*** All of the above numbers are can fluctuate every playthrough. You may never see weapons sell for 1,025d your minimum might only be 1,250d the chart is for reference only.


The Moneylender: The town's moneylender is happy to loan you dinari in amounts up to twice your current net worth. However, your debts accrue interest at the steep rate of 10% per month. You want to visit him and pay him back as quickly as possible.

The Palace: The Sultan handles the affairs of state in the port. He often has tasks for trustworthy captains. These tasks are used to unlock new ports and goods in Story Mode, as well as to accumulate wealth and special items that will be of assistance on the high seas and in trade. Not all Sultans are available to you in the beginning of the game. You may wish to start by visiting the Sultan in your home port.

The Temple : The temple is a great place to meet up with traders like you. You might hear rumors of market opportunities, tips on how to play the game, meet up with people that can help you with your assigned tasks, or gain the respect and admiration of others.

The Shipyard: Shipyards are where you can repair your ships, buy and sell cannons, and buy new ammunition, such as Ifrit Fire, Lodestone, Plagues and Wrath of Djinn. Also ships are for sale, so that you can trade in your old one or enhance your fleet.

The Bank: The bank is the safest place to put your money. Deposit your money in the bank and watch it accrue interest. Banks don't get robbed, but you only have access to all of your funds when you are in the same town as your bank.

The Magic Shop: The magic shop is where you can go to browse fine goods. You'll find all sorts of wonders great and small. You can also sell of some of your less-than-wonderful items here.

The Warehouse: The warehouse is the ultimate place to safely store your Cargo. You can store any good, even Contraband items, without any chance of confiscation! Warehouses can hold much more than your ships can hold. Upgrading to a larger Warehouse is expensive, but the storage space you get is worth it!

Each cannon takes up 10 inventory space.


* As a side note the above information is from the in-game descriptions. I have found that it's incorrect cannons fire much faster than indicated. It's more like one volley every 5 seconds - volley meaning all cannons on a ship having fired once.

**You can see this in the video that when I encounter combat it should have taken MUCH longer to destroy even a single ship if the cannon times were accurate.

https://youtu.be/kMuV0hRzAw0



The following list is of the special abilities for ships that can be purchased in the game. The abilities that I found useful I have highlighted.

Evasive Maneuvers: -20% pirate encounter chance
Feather Light: Reduces pirate encounter chance, but increases storm encounter chance
Heavy Cannon: Increased damage
Massive Hull: +50% cargo space
Reinforced Oak: +20% hull strength
Storage Hull: +20% cargo space
Sure Shot: Increased firing accuracy
Tiny Ship: Enemy attacks miss more often
Ultimate Compass: Reduced chance of storms occurring


You amass wealth through trade, and trade means sea and air travel. The amount you can carry and your ability to protect it depends upon how you manage your ship. You can buy, sell, repair and upgrade your ships in town. You may buy up to 10 ships and upgrade them individually.

A ship is a balance of firepower and cargo space. You can fill up your ships with cannons, but each cannon occupies space that could otherwise be used for storing cargo.

There are seven types of ships in Tradewinds Legends: Dhow, Junk, Galley, Caravel, Dirigible, Vimanas and Dragonship. Each ship has a unique combination of cargo space and hull strength. Some are also specifically designed for floating, and others for flying.


When at sea, you are at the mercy of nature, and of hostile ships and ports. While you can't do anything about passing storms, hostile ships and ports you can do something about.

When encountering a battle you will see the enemy fleet above you. If you encounter a hostile port, you will see its fortresses above you as well. The Sidebar will now be replaced with a list of all the ships in your fleet. Clicking on a single ship will give you information on that ship, including Movement Type, Hull Strength, Cargo Capacity, Cannons, and that ship's Special Ability. If you came unprepared and can't outrun the ships, you're in trouble. Remember, the wise trader strikes a balance between cargo and firepower. Combat unfolds in real-time, so click on an enemy ship or fortress to begin combat and then click to select another ship to commence firing there, or use the targeting icons to select the strongest ship, the weakest ship, or to fire on the entire enemy fleet. You can also attempt to flee whenever you want.

Click on each enemy ship individually to commence firing on that ship. If you have special ammunition, you may click on the special ammunition icon along the bottom of the screen to arm your cannons with that weapon.

Cannon fire is the default ship weapon.

Ifrit Fire damages the sails of an enemy ship making them less maneuverable. Your ships can then easily aim at the enemy.

Lodestones, magically enhanced explosives, will, once airborne, will seek out the cannons of your enemies and obliterate them.

Use this powerful magic to send a Plague of Killer Bees on an enemy ship. The enemy will be overwhelmed and unable to fire for ten seconds.

Wrath of Djinn summons a Djinn who sends lightning to rain down upon an enemy ship.

If, during battle, certain ships of yours are close to being defeated, you can select those ships and flee. This will enable you to keep some remaining ships engaged in battle.

You can try to run at any time by clicking on the flee all button if you're outgunned or just plain chicken. You will continue to be fired upon by enemy ships while fleeing.

*For better performance: Run the game in full screen. Turn it on by pressing F5 or select it from the OPTIONS Menu.

Controls are mouse and keyboard. When trading in ports, you can use the keyboard to enter amounts to buy and sell, but clicking on buttons is the principal means of interfacing with the game.

Your score equals your Net Worth which is calculated as the amount of money you have in the bank PLUS the amount of cash you are carrying MINUS your total debt.

My first source is the GETTING STARTED GUIDE that comes with each copy of the game in the files folder. I can't really generate a link to that item.

My second source is the Tradewinds Legends Wiki at

https://tradewinds.fandom.com/wiki/Tradewinds_Legends

My third and final source is myself after playing the game off and on for over 20 years.

https://www.wildtangent.com/p/simulation/tradewinds-legends/

and

https://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/tradewindslegends