Winds Of Trade
- February 13, 2017
- Rhombico Games
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"Winds of Trade" is a historical trading simulation game set in the age of sail. Navigate the seas, establish trade routes, and grow your commercial empire while competing with other players and AI-controlled nations. Engage in diplomacy, warfare, and espionage to outmaneuver your opponents and secure your place in the world market.
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The trading aspect of the game is enjoyable and keeps players engaged, offering a decent level of depth for a budget title.
- The game has great potential with interesting mechanics like a dynamic economy, stock market, and turn-based combat that can be fun when upgraded properly.
- It's a good casual game for those who enjoy economic simulations, with a variety of goods to trade and the ability to automate trade routes.
- The game feels abandoned and lacks many features found in similar titles, leading to a repetitive gameplay experience that can be exhausting.
- Combat mechanics are simplistic and can be frustrating, especially with the harsh penalties for losing ships during pirate encounters.
- The user interface is clunky and not user-friendly, making it difficult to manage trade routes and access relevant information efficiently.
- gameplay26 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game presents a mix of potential and frustration, with some players appreciating the depth offered by trading and political mechanics, while others criticize the repetitive nature and poor implementation of core systems like trade routes and combat. Although there are interesting features and a solid core design, many users report issues such as crashes, a cumbersome interface, and a lack of polish that detracts from the overall experience. Overall, while some find the gameplay engaging once the mechanics are understood, others feel it falls short of expectations and lacks refinement.
“There does certainly seem to be more depth to the game, like a stock market, automated fleets that you can set up based on knowledge of supply and demand lines, and some combat mechanics.”
“An interesting (and I think good) piece of game mechanic is that in order to trade in a city, first you need to build a trade office there, the price of which goes up as you have ever more offices.”
“The game mechanics seem to be well balanced, and there is much to explore in terms of gameplay.”
“The gameplay is not rounded out.”
“This game has the promise of a rich trading game but unfortunately falls short with frustrating mechanics and noticeably lacking elements.”
“There are numerous minor gameplay, balancing, and quality of life issues.”
- graphics22 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users describing them as below average, bland, and reminiscent of older titles like "Mount and Blade: Warband." While some appreciate the aesthetic and find it acceptable for gameplay, others criticize the lack of detail and polish, suggesting that enhancements are needed to meet modern standards. Overall, the visuals are seen as a significant drawback, detracting from the overall experience despite some positive remarks about specific elements.
“A very well designed game with beautiful graphics and clear, crisp sounds.”
“The graphics are really nice; some details are missing, but overall it's a good experience to watch.”
“I would like to see real world maps and ports for one, and some higher level graphics more in the lines of World of Warships.”
“The graphics of this game appear to be from 1980, definitely not 2017.”
“Graphically, this game is pretty bland and reminiscent of Mount and Blade: Warband, which shouldn't really be possible for a game that's nearly a decade its junior. Beyond the graphics itself, the map is just really boring to look at. The landscape is just barren beyond the city itself.”
“To be honest, this game is just aesthetically really ugly.”
- music9 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in "Winds of Trade" is highly praised for its baroque-like soundtrack that enhances the game's atmosphere and complements the gameplay. Reviewers note that the soundtrack is immersive, blending seamlessly with ambient sounds and contributing significantly to the overall experience without becoming intrusive.
“The atmosphere is immediately set thanks to the amazing music/soundtrack.”
“The music is really great and it adds a lot to the experience.”
“The soundtrack is great, it really adds to the atmosphere of the game.”
“The music is forgettable and doesn't add much to the overall experience.”
“While the game has many strengths, the music feels repetitive and uninspired.”
“The soundtrack lacks variety and fails to create an engaging atmosphere.”
- story7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's story is shaped by a procedural map generation system that creates a mix of accessible and inaccessible quests and towns, leading to a variable experience. Players can influence their relationships with fictional countries through trade and quests, adding depth to the narrative. However, technical issues like crashes and mission bugs detract from the overall experience.
“The map is divided into fictional countries, and your actions influence your relationship with them – trade a lot with their cities and do random quests for them, and it increases, but trade with their enemies and it will get worse.”
“I was able to do all of the missions to get all of the player-owned new cities manually.”
“That's when the missions became available and it added just another thing to consider when traveling between cities too far away.”
“The procedural creation of game maps based on seeds is neat, but some seeds make certain quests and towns inaccessible, which makes it random – both good and bad.”
“Two crashes and an impossible mission as my first attempted contract are unacceptable, even in barely over an hour of gameplay.”
“The map is divided into fictional countries, and your actions influence your relationship with them – trading a lot with their cities and completing random quests increases your standing, but trading with their enemies worsens it.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find the randomly generated maps enhance replay value compared to fixed-map games, others feel the game lacks depth for long-term engagement. However, the variety of gameplay options and features, such as different roles and unlockable content, contribute positively to its replayability.
“The game features randomly generated maps that add to replay value.”
“Altogether, this is a great game, with a realistic economy; atmospheric music; authentic looking ships that react to the wind direction; lots of variety of goods, types of businesses, investment opportunities; the option to turn off combat, or enable unlockable features, being contracts, loans, stock exchange and settlements from the start of the game; the ability to play as a trader, privateer, smuggler or investor; and lots of replayability.”
“Fun for 1 round of play, but lacks depth and replayability.”
“I think this is much better than either Port Royale or Patrician, which had fixed maps, towns, and production and therefore less replayability.”
“There's been some criticism of the random generation maps, but I actually think they work quite well for this kind of game, and offer more replayability than other similar trading games.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is significantly enhanced by its atmospheric music and realistic visuals, including authentic ships that respond to environmental factors. Players appreciate the immersive experience created by the soundtrack, which complements the game's diverse economic and gameplay options, although some feel that certain features may disrupt this atmosphere. Overall, the combination of music and detailed graphics contributes to a compelling and engaging environment.
“Altogether, this is a great game, with a realistic economy; atmospheric music; authentic looking ships that react to the wind direction; lots of variety of goods, types of businesses, investment opportunities; the option to turn off combat, or enable unlockable features, being contracts, loans, stock exchange and settlements from the start of the game; the ability to play as a trader, privateer, smuggler or investor; and lots of replayability.”
“The atmosphere is immediately set thanks to the amazing music and soundtrack.”
“The soundtrack is great; it really adds to the atmosphere of the game.”
“That really breaks the atmosphere of the game for me.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, while some users have noted that certain graphical elements, like trees, appear subpar unless settings are maximized, they have not reported any significant performance issues during gameplay, suggesting that the game's optimization is generally effective despite some visual shortcomings.
“- Stock market for non-player companies (think industries in Railroad Tycoon), that works based on actual performance.”
“I've also noticed the trees look pretty bad unless you zoom in all the way and max out the graphic settings; I assume this is because of engine optimization. However, at least I haven't experienced performance issues while playing.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted for its clever and absurd scenarios, such as a country declaring war out of boredom, which adds a lighthearted touch reminiscent of classic titles like Patrician 3. Overall, players find the humor to be a strong point that enhances the gaming experience and justifies its value.
“Some very nice humor, like a country declaring war on another one because they don’t have anything better to do.”
“Funny game, has a good taste of Patrician 3... worth the price.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent freezes and crashes reported by users, leading some to refund their purchases due to persistent glitches.
“Constantly freezes and the game crashes.”
“Here is a list of glitches that forced me to refund the game:”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, as it demands excessive micromanagement and offers limited guidance through its user interface, leading to a frustrating experience.
“However, the game immediately grew tedious as every action required micromanagement, and the UI provided very few clues on the right moves to make.”
“The grinding feels endless, with repetitive tasks that offer little reward or progression.”
“I found myself stuck in a loop of monotonous grinding, which made the game feel more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
