New Fan Project Brings Freelancer Home (April 1, 2012)

[Bandit LOAF]

Chris Roberts' Freelancer is arguably the last star of space sims' golden age. Applying the game mechanics of Privateer to a game with 21st century scope and color balance, it's no wonder Freelancer continues to have an active fanbase to this day. The most major criticism of the game, however, is that it just doesn't quite fit in the Wing Commander universe. Although it was also designed by one of the Roberts brothers and is obviously mechanically a followup to the classic Wing Commander: Privateer, it's just a little too strange and separate to really make sense as a sequel. With that in mind, fan modder Banjo has decided to set about righting Freelancer... and today, we are proud to show off the first screenshots from his project:

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Original update published on April 1, 2012

 

[Quarto]

Whoa... I don't know if someone actually imported those ships into Freelancer, or if it's all Photoshop magic, but whatever it is - great work! April Fools' jokes are best when you can see someone actually put in some effort to convince you.

 

[HotJob]

I always thought the main criticism of Freelancer was lack of joystick support. From what I have seen of it Freelancer has a great story and great graphics engine but I CAN NOT fly with a mouse. I have tried mouse flight with Privateer and I suck huge sweaty Wu testicles at it.

 

[Malcolm Reynolds]

I always thought the main criticism of Freelancer was lack of joystick support. From what I have seen of it Freelancer has a great story and great graphics engine but I CAN NOT fly with a mouse. I have tried mouse flight with Privateer and I suck huge sweaty Wu testicles at it.

Freelancer actually has a really cool interface, it's not like trying to play a game made for joystick with a mouse, the game is designed to be played with a mouse. I actually really like it. Although I could see why some purists might consider it kind of alien and dumbed down. I'd recommend playing freelancer.

 

[Sphynx]

You know, I would actually play this mod if it wasn't an April Fools joke.

 

[HotJob]

According to this article, there IS a Wing Commander Freelancer mod: Privateer The Reckoning