buildings, and the natives moving about. In the center is the village chieftain, approaching him and opening the menu allows trade for gold and food. The player has the option to peacefully trade with or conquer the natives, and can (with the right choices and luck) sometimes convert them, turning the village into a mission. The natives can be attacked simply by moving onto them. A few accidental killings is acceptable to the village, and sometimes unavoidable, but too many and the natives will become hostile and attack the party. In many cases, the Spanish can overwhelm the natives, who will eventually give up fighting and allow the Spanish to plunder the town. Ambushes are also common, between the towns. Much of Seven Cities of Gold was influenced by historical accounts of the era. Interactions with the natives could be peaceful or hostile, or become hostile due to the language barrier. While it could be assumed that the goal of the game is to return with riches from the New World, there really are no goals at all. The game has no scoring system and provides the player with feedback from the King, but no interference, if they slaughter the natives. According to Bunten, from an interview in Antic: The size of the New World was one of the concepts that was integrated into the design; the land had to be detailed and diverse. As a result, data storage and retrieval became a major issue, particularly as the developers did not want lengthy load times to interfere with the game. As described by Bunten, "Our only way out was to use technologies we didn't have until we were forced to invent them." The game used a streaming system to allow the map to be loaded in without interrupting game play. The game ships with a single "world" closely modeled on the real one, including details as small as the Florida Keys and most well-known rivers. The game also includes a world creating engine that allows the user to build a truly new New World, saving it to a user supplied disk. Game maps include one or more "lost cities" that are hidden by a mountain icon in locations that are typically far from other land masses. Explorers that stumble on one of these hidden cities will be greeted with the message "Sir, we have discovered a lost city." Inhabitants of