Steinmeyer explained at the time. This made it impossible for the team to display Tropico 2 and receive public feedback, an aspect of game development that Steinmeyer considered important. Frog City's initial goal was to produce a "playable build" by March 2002, in preparation for a May announcement and fall release. This schedule was interrupted in February 2002, when Computer Games Magazine, a publication for which Steinmeyer worked as a columnist, opted to do a cover story on Tropico 2. The game was ultimately announced on March 1, 2002. While the preview received positive feedback and energized the team, Frog City was inspired by fan comments to expand the game, especially with regard to pirate captains. This necessitated a delay past the holidays and a budget increase of "several hundred thousand", according to Steinmeyer. However, he was able to negotiate the new schedule and budget with the game's publisher. Frog City attempted to capture the visual and humor style of the first Tropico, while changing the gameplay mechanics. It occurred to the team that pirates' pleasure-seeking behavior was similar to the behavior of tourists in Tropico, and so they chose to amplify the game's focus on entertainment compared to its predecessor. Spieth described Tropico 2 as a "reverse economy", since money and workers are stolen and expended on the player's pirates, instead of earned as in Tropico. In an effort to solve the first game's pathfinding issues, Frog City decided to restrict unit movement to roads. Despite these changes, much of the original game's interface was retained. In addition, Tropicos composer, Daniel Indart, was hired again to score Tropico 2. To create Tropico 2s pirate setting, the team "went almost completely with myth and fiction", according to Spieth. Rafael Sabatini's adventure novels were a main reference point for the game, and Spieth compared the game's setting to the island of Tortuga portrayed in Captain Blood. The story of Tropico 2s protagonist was based on the plot of Captain Blood as well. To design the historical pirate leaders, such as Blackbeard and Laurens de Graaf, the team studied tales of their exploits and crafted the characters' strengths and weaknesses accordingly. For example, they were inspired by de Graaf's hatred of Spain to make him unable to work with that country in Tropico 2. The team strove to keep Tropico 2 lighthearted and comedic despite its piracy theme; for example, the pirate