Port Royale 4 | FAQ
- nadinewolf9
- Oct 30, 2019
- 7 min read
Genre | Trade Simulation/Strategy |
Release | 25th September 2020 |
Age rating | ESRB: Everyone 10+; PEGI: 12; Brazil: 12+; Australia: PG |
Platforms | Out now on PC / PlayStation®4 & 5 / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S / Nintendo Switch |
Store Link |
Port Royal 4 in numbers
4 extensive single-player campaigns featuring the colonial forces of Spain, England, France, and the Netherlands
Tactical turn-based naval battles with up to 8 vs. 8 ships
50 different buildings + 50 building variations
18 historical ship types, including one special ship only available for players who completed all tutorials
Trading and production with 25 different simulated goods
Detailed map spanning 4500km x 2700km (about 12 Million km²)
What are the main features of Port Royale 4?
Free game mode
Choose from four colonial powerhouses: England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands, each providing different benefits and unique gameplay styles.
Extensive single-player campaigns
Take on four extensive single-player campaigns and follow each nation on their path to supremacy, with each faction providing different benefits and gameplay styles.
More trading
Establish and manage trading relationships with 60 Caribbean cities in a huge 3D game world. Steer clear of cliffs, shallow waters, and stormy regions in order to optimize your trade routes.
More city building
Select from 50 buildings, including 25 production sites, to produce goods and luxurious items. Construct town buildings using neighbourhood effects to optimize productivity and manage the overall happiness of your citizens.
Enhanced city-building: The new hex-grid helps players create unique and profitable cities to expand their huge trading network in the Caribbean.
Placing buildings will often grant a variety of positive or negative effects on surrounding buildings. For example:
Industries close to residential buildings might increase their efficiency while reducing happiness in the surrounding residential buildings.
Plantations – depending on their type – can have different effects on nearby industries and residential buildings.
With dozens of special buildings and unique city layouts for each city in the game, there are a multitude of ways to optimize your cities, with each requiring a different approach.
One game world
No changing screens, and no loading times. Both city building and the larger Caribbean map are part of one huge and seamless game world, rather than two different and separated instances.
More ship diversity than ever in the series
18 historically authentic ship types from the late 16thand 17th
Bigger naval battles
Engage in tactical turn-based 8 vs. 8 naval battles with powerful captains.
Biggest Map in the series’ history
12 million km² (4500km x 2700km)
Port Royale 4 will feature one massive 3D map for all gameplay elements. The map features a host of zooming options allowing players to keep track of their trade routes and the constantly growing Caribbean trading network, as well as build up their Caribbean cities in stunning detail.
Powered by Gaming Minds’ finely-tuned and constantly evolving in-house engine.
Where and when does Port Royale 4 take place?
The player sets sail and joins the colonial powers of Spain, England, France, and the Netherlands in their fight for supremacy over the 17th century Caribbean. In Port Royale 4, players will take control of a colony as a young and ambitious governor who is eager to learn what it takes to manage and grow their small settlement into a bustling trade city.
Develop production chains, connect multiple cities and create complex trade routes across the Caribbean to cover the ever-growing needs of your cities. Consult the detailed sea map to avoid devastating storms, cliffs, and shallow waters. Fulfilling tasks for your chosen nation’s viceroy will earn you more fame to unlock town buildings, ships, and more. Conquer the cities of rival nations and hunt down their fleets, while also keeping a keen eye out for pirates and other privateers.
For the first time in the series, naval battles will be turn-based, with up to 8 ships on each side battling at one time. Use tactical captain manoeuvres to turn the tide in even the most hopeless of situations for a glorious victory.
Who is developing Port Royale 4?
Gaming Minds Studios, located in Gütersloh, Germany, are developing Port Royale 4. They are known for games like Railway Empire, Patrician 4, the Port Royale series and many other titles.
What platforms will Port Royale 4 release on?
Port Royale 4 was released on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and on Nintendo Switch. PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S followed on 10th September 2021.
When will Port Royale 4 be released?
Port Royale 4 already set sail on 25th September 2020.
When will the PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S version of Port Royale 4 be released and what new features can you expect?
The next-gen versions were released on September 10th 2021 and feature improved graphics as well as performance, cross-gen save functionality, and improved lighting and weather simulation.
With a stunning 4K game world on PS5 and Xbox Series X (1080p on Xbox Series S), and real-time cloud rendering, Port Royale 4 offers next-gen consoles players the most detailed 17th century trading experience yet.
The next-gen console versions of Port Royale 4 was released as both digital Standard and Extended Editions – the latter containing exclusive digital content such as 4 lighthouses and the blueprints for 5 decorative parks. The Extended Edition is also available in stores.
What engine does Port Royale 4 use?
Port Royale 4 uses Gaming Minds Studios’ own in-house engine. Already used in Railway Empire, this engine has received several recent improvements for Port Royale 4.
Does Port Royal 4 include multiplayer?
No, Port Royale 4 focuses purely on a single-player experience.
Is there a physical retail version of the game?
Yes, there are retail versions of Port Royale 4 on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
Will the whole map be accessible right from the start?
The complete map will be accessible from the beginning, however:
You will have to discover towns before their information becomes visible and they can be connected to your trade-network.
You cannot enter hostile towns (e.g. when nations are at war).
You will have to purchase a trading license (except if you select the merchant character) to do business with each town.
Will Port Royale 4 include customization of ships?
No, this is not currently planned.
Will players be able to customize the cities/islands?
Definitely. In fact, the upgrading of cities and the city-building element gains even more depth in Port Royale 4.
This was achieved by:
Adding more buildings than in previous Port Royale titles
By implementing rules for distance, as well as location-dependent advantages/disadvantages
The new hex-grid helps players create unique and profitable cities to expand their huge Caribbean trading network.
Placing buildings will often grant a variety of positive or negative effects on the surrounding buildings.
Industries close to residential buildings might increase their efficiency while reducing happiness in the surrounding residential buildings.
Plantations – depending on their type – can have different effects on nearby industries and residential buildings.
With dozens of special buildings and unique city layouts for each city in the game, there is a multitude of ways to optimize your cities, with each requiring a different approach.
There will be one game world – no different screens and loading times. Both city building and the larger Caribbean map are part of one huge and seamless game world, rather than two different and separated instances.
Will Port Royale 4 feature modding support?
No, this is not currently planned.
What languages will Port Royale 4 support?
The game will support English, German, Italian, Spanish, French and Russian. The game will support English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, and Russian. There may be some additional languages that are only available for individual platforms, while others may be added after launch – please check the respective store pages for more information.
Will Port Royale 4 end when a certain year/era has been reached, or will it continue endlessly?
Players can choose to play with or without tasks. Either way, you can choose to continue playing endlessly.
How long is the estimated playtime to get through the campaign?
This will vary dependent on playstyle, but as a rough guideline, we’d expect around 15 hours for the campaign.
However, it is worth noting that feedback from the Port Royale community suggests that free play mode (sandbox) is the most enjoyable aspect of the game, which offers a wide range of player-controlled settings that can add several hours of gameplay to even a single session.
In summary – Port Royale 4 will offer many hours of playtime across its different game modes. With 12 million km² of map to be explored, plenty of cities to be discovered and developed, and complex trade routes to be established, we feel that there is great value and longevity in the core experience.
What are some of the differences and improvements compared to previous Port Royale games?
We’ve kept the core gameplay, the Caribbean setting and trading as key features, as well as the transporting of the various goods, piracy and city building. However:
Port Royale 4 will offer even more sophisticated city building
Port Royale 4 builds on previous games by offering more goods, a considerably larger map and more ships for transport. Plus a host of other updates.
This time, we wanted naval battles not to feel too rushed, so we’ve made them turn-based for the first time in the series.
Players can skip naval battles if they wish and let them be fought automatically. However, actively participating in the battle means possibly turning the tide in difficult fights by making use of the new captains’ and vessel tactics.
Also new to the series:
Player characters now come with different perks to give them advantages and disadvantages in gameplay, and impact on how they interact with other nations
Speaking of nations – each has different traits, adding greater variety and nuance to the game
Earning fame grants the player access to advances in technologies via their nations’ tech-trees
The sea map now includes weather conditions, shallow waters and cliffs, providing more challenge to players and also creating opportunities to optimize trade routes in a variety of ways.
City and sea maps are now combined into one cohesive, seamless 3D map.
In Port Royale 3 there were two separate maps: a 2D sea map, and 3D city map.
In Port Royale 4 uses one huge 3D map for both.
The map will have plenty of zooming options allowing the player to keep track of their trade routes and constantly growing Caribbean trading network, as well as build up their Caribbean cities as closely and in as much detail as possible.
