You don't have to. It's legitimate abandonware available from the Underdogs. Download is 8 MBs or so.

/ Per

Stinger,

Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to advertise Elite 4! =) Someone in the thread was talking about Elite and I just said to go search for Elite 4. I can't compare Elite 4 to Freelancer because it is not out yet! But, I am enjoying Freelancer and I have just played the two missions so far! I like it!

SumerNivek
Killer of Khaja the Fang
Privateer Extrodanaire

Judging by the amount of interest in this genre computer gamemakers marketers should be taking note I'm sure if microsoft makes a bag of money on this they will want a sequal(spelling?) and if this many people have been hangin for a priv look a like why wont someone go for it .As for not adding for other games we have all brought copies of FL and are looking for more games like it and it seems we are all talking of old games and no new ones except mmp ones and i dont much like them i like to play friends or the ai on my game

Luck has nothing to do with it !

well said, definatly the best way to describe my feeling about Privateer 1 was "Magic"... I honestly don't think any game will ever live up to it.as for Privateer 2, i kinda disagree with alot of people about it... i personally enjoyed it for what it was, and i felt that it did one thing alot better then p1 did, and that was have alot of little interesting 'sub-plots'... which i feel would have been a wonderful addition to freelancer, especially with those very nice cutscenes they use in the story part of the game.

the sub-plots could just be maybe 2-3 missions that you might encounter on a specific planet, possbily having to do a political figure or some dood in a bar or something, making the planets have that living-breathing quality... i think it would add a little bit of depth and life to the already-massive world in freelancer, that honestly... looks beautiful.

and like most of you, i tried to get into every single space combat sim that has come out since Origin decided to not have anything to do with the Wing Commander series. All, including Starlancer, have left so-so taste in my mouth. I can say with Freelancer, even though there could be some things improved, it rocks like those games of old. Amen.

I agree with many of your points IG, I enjoyed the hell out of Privateer, and have waited many years for a game of its calibre to come along. To me, Freelancer is that game. I would have enjoyed more varied missions, especially trade missions, and a dynamic economy, but for the most part I have been pleasantly surprised. If we are given either of those things in a future patch or expansion, it would just keep me that much more interested in the game.

I am sure the developers are already thinking sequel, and with that perhaps they could work on a more dynamic universe in general. One with uncharted planets that you can actually land on, NPC ships that are fully tracked and accounted for at all times, and the ability to join organizations. But I am not complaining, I can see myself playing this game for months to come, maybe not at the same feverish pace I am playing it at now, but with an expansion or patch who knows?

Enough for now, Freelancer harkens, and I must heed the call.

Stinger, as a X forum vet, I can assure you we'd be pleased to have you come and post about how great FL is, telling us why you like it, good and bad points. Seriously, it would be fine. We use the forum to discuss space games in general and have no problem at all with people coming across to inform us of other space type games.

You want to compare XT to it adversely? That too would be fine, come on over. Freedom of speech still hasn't been repealed in that corner of cyberspace.

Under my X forum name I've posted lots of good things about Freelancer, in fact i'd venture to say, thanks to our mature and tolerant attitude to On-Topic and disagreements, that board has discussed FL strengths and weaknesses in far more depth than is permitted on this board.

We also tend to meet flames with counter arguments as well as the inevitable counter-blast. Witness the Wraithcat post recently there, someone who, for reasons best known to himself and his mental health practioner, thought it a fine idea to lambast the 4 year old XBTF.

Also check out the many, many, posts on Freelancer, although my review is some pages down now.

Thanks in part to my threads on FL many forum members changed their minds and decided to give the demo a go. Some still didn't like it, which is fair enough, but some thought, "yea, this looks fun, i'll buy that."

We try to respect alternative viewpoints and welcome reasoned/constructive as opposed to provocative criticism. The latter we counter, for the most part with humour and reason, not thread closing.

Despite immature attempts to start flame wars there's room for X2 and FL on our HDD's. One is a sim, one is an action adventure. One will be great, one I believe is approaching it (only played demo so I expect this to be revised upwards) I'm wishing the days away til my import FL arrives, the demo is great fun.

So, I extend a welcome to you and any other FL fans who want to come across and chat. Things may or may not get heated but the one thing that won't happen is your thread being closed.

Hope to see you there.

Edited by - tagos on 07-03-2003 11:57:11

Sounds like my kinda place Tagos, now if we only had a FL forum like that

I have been hearing alot about X2 around here, and though I have never played the other games in the series I may just give it a try as well. It is at least worth looking in to, but in the meantime I am all about FL.

I played Privateeer first time when I was about 11. I loved that game. I remember seeing a friend playing it at a furnature srore that sells computers. I saw it and at that moment knew that I loved it, I was 10 when I first saw it. I looked everywhere for it, and on my 11th birthday I took my birthday money and set out in an unending search for this great game. I found it, and loved it.

I set it down for a wile after playing it for months. We installed windows 95, the Privateer bane. I tried endlessly in vain for a solution to my problem, it was hopless. Until one day, a few years back I saw a thread that gave some information on how to get it to run on newer OS"s. It worked, me and my love were reunited.

There are two game that I annually return to. Privateer, and Interplays Lord of the Rings.

I played the original privateer to death!

is anyone still able to run that game?

how?

tagos, I've been on these forums a good while longer than you have, and I can chart the changes in the mods' reactions to mentionings of other games. TLR has, for the vast majority of its existence, tolerated advocacy of other games, and replied to criticisms with thoughtful counter arguments.

When advocacy of other games became a problem was when Freelancer's release was but a month, maybe a month and a half away. This was the beginning of an incredible flood of new members and visitors to the forums. In the past, few enough people would join at any one time so that any naysayers among them could more or less be addressed on an individual basis, and the ultimate impact of the naysayers on our ability to share a common interest and hope in Freelancer was minimal. It is only in recent times, with the flood of newcomers, that we have had to deal with so great a number of naysayers, who have impacted the forums in such a way as to cripple its essential purpose: to provide a space in which people can freely share in their positive anticipations and appraisals. These are highly volatile times, and I think the measures the mods have taken are valid ones. They will doubtless disappear when the furor has died down. I would not be surprised if the X forum mods, finding themselves in a similar crisis, acted in the same way.

Iron Giant, excellent post. The lack of soul that you talk about is the very reason the space sim genre (say what you will about whether or not FL fits in it) has tumbled so far from its status as one of the most popular genres ever. It is honestly incredible to me how many times space sim developers have chosen to ignore that essential ingredient that binds the player to the game universe. My experience with pretty much every space sim since Wing Commander 4 (never played 5) up till Freelancer was to find myself inhabiting a hollow shell of what makes these sort of games interesting. I strongly hope that Freelancer brings the genre back to the forefront of gaming, but not in the sense that other space sims in development just get a sales boost riding on the coattails of Freelancer's success. Rather, I hope Freelancer serves as a wakeup call to longtime developers of space sims who I think have simply been misdirecting their talent and efforts. There needs to be an enduring change in how this genre is approached.

Edited by - Bhurak Starkiller on 08-03-2003 05:52:13

I agree 100%, Privateer 1 was, and still is the best space game ever released. I was severely disappointed with P2 and have waited for years for a comparable game to no avail. I have bought, tried, and tossed many a game. Then I go back and try to get Privateer 1 running again. I am hesitant to buy Freelancer strickly because of no joystick support. I am a die hard simmer that likes to fly, control, and land all manually. Anyhow, with that said; yes I have managed to continue to play Privateer. How? you say! After many discussions with the tech guys I finally got the answer to what was the main problem, hardware! The game was just too old and didn't support the new hardware we are all using now. Answer! I built another computer, loaded with Windows 95, ( if anyone remembers that version now) and used older components. An old AT Intel chipset PR5 motherboard, Pentium 200 MMX processor, and a Creative Banshee video card. The key problem was sound cards, so I installed an old Creative Sound Blaster 16 and Viola! Privateer runs great! To this day I still drag it out and play occasionally. I don't think there will ever be another game that will totally consume me like Privateer did, but I can still dream!

Blepperson,

You are the same as me. I went to extremes to get Privateer to run again. Instead, I just bought an old 486 from Ebay for $6! Runs perfectly. Anyway, I had the same reservations that you did. When I first loaded up Freelancer two days ago, I thought the mouse control was a little awkward. But after setting the sensitivity down a bit and getting used to it, I love it a lot! I would say get this game if I were you. This is the closest thing to Privateer 1. There are many things in this game that are superior to Privateer 1. There are also many things in this game that can't compare with Privateer 1 (i.e. mission diversity). But, if people like you will buy it, that will give MicroSoft and Digital Anvil more reason to add these things in an add-on. For right now, I am completely satisfied with this game. This is Privateer's half brother (same dad Chris Roberts, different mom Bill Gates)! Go get it!

SumerNivek
Killer of Khaja the Fang
Privateer Extrodanaire

OK, Priv1 was THE GAME, nothing like it ever since.
Priv 2 suxor

As for Freelancer, it's a mixed bag. The map to the known systems in not for sale anymore, big mistake. What the heck, am I suppose to discover America every time ?
Then the radar issue : you always have the BEST radar. In Priv1, it was quite challanging to be sort of blind about enemies and friends untill you had the cash to buy some readl hardware
Also, he fact that all ships have same max speed is pure crpa. I mean, I pay 750k on a Titan and I go as fast as a Starfiler, no fair.
Also, not being able to buy repair driods and stuff like that, only nanites is not fair again, because nanites repair you instantly.
And a minor problem : no more of those different and very interesting cockpits that were a pleasure to watch in Priv1

Other that that, the game Freelancer is the coolest I've palyed in a long time, a very long time.

Alexandrus,

You brought up some things that I had forgotten about. Yes, it was nice to buy the sector maps in Privateer 1. But, I think Freelancer is more explorable then Privateer. In Priv, you HAD to have the maps because there weren't trade lanes that directed you to the next node like there is in Freelancer.

I do agree with the radar thing. That was really fun, starting from scratch with a black and white radar and then upgrading to the top of the line B.S. Omni (I think it was called that)! But, Freelancer offers a fresh look and doesn't clutter the screen with a radar right in front of you. I enjoy the arrows as my "radar" for now.

SumerNivek
Killer of Khaja the Fang
Privateer Extrodanaire