Welcome back Seaford!
As of now, only Unlimited Access members can use the launcher, while Basic Access members are required to use the browser version on the Pirates Online Site. Both of them run relatively well, it's just the browser is more of an annoyance to reach and load.
Considering how long you've been gone, you definitely have yourself a handful to do nowadays. I really would getting UA for at least a month, to see if you like the new updates, because you might just find them as something far beyond what we were doing in 2009.
Welcome back, and happy pirating!
