03/06/05 Privateer Remake 1.0 Released by John Cordell

We are pleased to announce the 1.0 release of the Wing Commander Privateer Remake. The original Privateer is a well loved game, with incredible graphics and gameplay for its day. Built on an open source codebase, the Remake is a community effort to bring the universe of the original into the 21st century, playable on all modern operating systems (win,mac,linux), and in 3d glory.

Privateer gives you the freedom to carve your own path in the Wing Commander universe. Opportunity abounds in the Gemini Sector. Wedged between the unknown frontier and the Kilrathi Empire, Gemini is home to various competing factions with which you can choose to align yourself.

Upgrade your ship or trade it in to deal with the demands of a Privateer. Find your fortune by logging into the mission computer, or take your chances with seedy characters in bars. Meet up with Sandoval in New Detroit, tilt back a glass with Demetria in a Munchen bar in the Tingerhoff System. Make your way as a trader, traitor, bounty hunter, or pirate. Only you can imagine what you might encounter beyond the frontier. Happy privateering!

John Bender: Without lamps there'd be no light.

John Bender: Without lamps there'd be no light.

The Privateer Remake team is pleased to announce the release of the Privateer Remake 1.2. We have adopted the versioning scheme of the Linux kernel: odd releases are more for experimentation and are less stable, while even releases are better tested and considered more stable. 1.2 is therefore a recommended upgrade for anyone using 1.0, and of course for those who tried out 1.1.

Our homepage has moved, to http://wcuniverse.sourceforge.net. Visit there for download links for Windows, Linux and OSX, and the FAQ, as well as the forum.

1.2 contains much updated art, replacing the worst of the old models. These models are
Refinery by Gammaray
Mining Base by Chris Hale
Kamekh by John Cordell
Drayman by MamiyaOtaru
Orion mesh by MamiyaOtaru skin by Strangelet

Since 1.0, the targetting system has been redone and better matches the original, and some of the glitches introduced by this in 1.1 have been ironed out: ships outside the targetting cone are no longer treated as "out of range". Radar range has been reduced to levels comparable to the original, making systems feel larger. All ships now have 2d wireframe HUD images, and damage is shown by quadrant. The ship dealer functions as he did in the original as well, and unlike in 1.1, trade-ins take into account the value of your upgrades instead of just your ship.

The auto-light now turns off when you are close to your destination. When a ship that is communicating with you is destroyed, its message now gets cut off. Asteroids are now destructible and minable, and do not count towards your killcount as they did in 1.1. The repair bot should work now. A few of the systems were redone, as were some weapon effects. Bases have all been given lights for better visibility on the unlit sides.

The cargo screen has been reworked, with all items appearing in a flat list. Cargo missions have the player deliver goods produced at the base where the mission is taken.

The Righteous Fire campaign has been fixed up and ready to be played, with some bugs from the Masterson arc fixed up since 1.1. 'Unknown' ships are there to hound your steps. The game now has 3 campaign arcs: the original, the Righteous Fire campaign and a bonus campaign, to be played at the leisure of the player.

Some other random tweaks: the number of enemies in New Detroit is reduced, the Gladius' outer guns are angled in, giving it a fighting chance, tractor beam is blue again, new Mass Driver sprite, cloaking device removed.

With some changes to the engine, the game functions in many respects more like the original, while retaining some of the advances a more advanced engine has allowed us to make. Along with the new art, this offers a far more polished Privateer experience than in 1.0.