Pirates Ahoy!: Thagarr - Viewing Profile - Pirates Ahoy!

"As of August 3rd all players who have registered at www.playdarktide.com will be granted instant access to the CoDT open beta. Each player will start with a fantasy ship, outfitted with cannons, archers and even a ballista. Captains will be able to explore the world, try all six races and factions, and recruit powerful humanoids and magical creatures for their crews. Each zone offers increasingly challenging encounters and gives access to new ship designs and more powerful weaponry."

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for games that involve seafaring, pitched battles upon the ocean, and looting the destroyed hulks of sinking ships. In practice, however, few games get the genre right. When I got an invitation to try out Captains of Darktide, I was a bit surprised. The game bills itself as a fantasy-oriented naval MMO, and I must confess I had some reservations about the possibilities offered by such a concept. It turns out, however, that Silverlode Interactive has managed to conjure up an interesting premise for a game, and the mechanics to make it work.

Park History

The first European to see the islands was Ponce de Leon, who visited in 1513. de Leon caught 160 sea turtles there and subsequently referred to the islands as the "Tortugas" (turtles). During the 1600's and 1700's the area around the was used by pirates as a base for attacking merchant shipping in the Gulf, although this activity was largely eliminated when the United Sates acquired Florida in 1821. In 1825 a lighthouse was built on Garden Key to provide warning to shipping about the dangers of reefs in and around the Tortugas chain.

In the aftermath of the War of 1812 a set of forts stretching from Maine to Texas was envisioned to provide defense for the young country. Fort Jefferson on the remote Tortugas was planned as the greatest of these forts. In 1845 the islands became a military reservation and construction on the fort began in 1846. In 1850 the officer's quarters were completed, and the fort was officially named for Thomas Jefferson. The walls didn't reach their final height of 45 feet until 1862.

Construction on the fort dragged on for more than 30 years, and it was never really finished. In addition to the inconsistency of funding provided by Congress, the task was made difficult by the difficulty of shipping workers and supplies, as well as by the vagaries of weather in the Gulf. The invention of the rifled cannon during the Civil War rendered the walls of the fort vulnerable to destruction and made the fort itself somewhat obsolete.

Is this for real?

Yes, absolutely. This is not a joke or a stunt.

Prove it.

Well, there's the rub. We can't show footage of the chest going into the ground; it might give something away. However…if you stick around, and look hard, we promise that you will see each and every one of the ten thousand dollar coins in our videos. That's the best we can do.

Is the treasure real gold?

Well…no. The treasure is 10,000 US mint one-dollar coins. Most of them are Sacagawea dollars, or the new Presidential one-dollar coins…the “John Quincy Adams” one is hands down our favorite. So they are gold-colored!!! But “actual gold,” no. Actual currency? Absolutely.

Why would you do this?

We wanted to create a real treasure hunt. If you're reading this, you've found the map, and there's a chest of “gold” waiting to be found. We've always wanted to experience the excitement of searching for pirate treasure, so we decided to give that feeling to everyone else.

Who are you?

We're not telling you.