Questions of the Universe

F

Fatcat

Swabbie
Banned
I have played Privateer and so far, it's been pretty good, but there are still some questions I could never answer:

1. How does an ECM package work?
2. How do you use a tractor beam?
3. Why does your character look like Patrick Swayze?
4. Is a Fusion Cannon any good? Does anyone use anything but Tachyon guns?
5. Why is there a garbage chute behind your seat in the Centurion?
6. Is there any advantage to having a second missile launcher?
7. Can you actually buy a Drayman?
8. Why are the insults so terrible?
9. Can you land anywhere in the Kilrathi sectors?
10. What does the Gun cooler and the Shield Regenerator do?
 
1. How does an ECM package work?
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The ECM packages are automatic. Each 'level' gives a higher percentage chance that a missile will be avoided (25%, 50% and 75% respectively). Other Wing Commander games feature hardware spoofs - chaff pods and decoys... the ECM pods are a software spoof. It generates an electrical field of some sort which interferes with missiles targeting systems.

2. How do you use a tractor beam?
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Fits in a missile slot, costs 7,500 credits and uses 4 GJ/s of gun energy.

Hit 'L' to lock a target (cargo only), press 'W' to switch to tractor beam and then hold down enter. If you're close enough, a blue beam will drag the object towards you and put it in your hull. You'll be able to sell it at the next place you land.

3. Why does your character look like Patrick Swayze?
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Interesting -- the note to the artists in the script is that he was to look "like a younger van Damme".

4. Is a Fusion Cannon any good? Does anyone use anything but Tachyon guns?
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Yes, it is more efficient. You can find the stats at our Gun Chart: https://www.wcnews.com/articles/gunchart.htm

5. Why is there a garbage chute behind your seat in the Centurion?
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I believe it's supposed to be a door -- you have to get to the rear turret hold somehow.

6. Is there any advantage to having a second missile launcher?
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You can carry twice as many missiles and fire them more quickly.

7. Can you actually buy a Drayman?
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No.

8. Why are the insults so terrible?
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Speech in games wasn't done by professional voice actors way back when -- it was pretty darned neat to have the game talk at all.

9. Can you land anywhere in the Kilrathi sectors?
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No.

10. What does the Gun cooler and the Shield Regenerator do?
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Speeds up your recharge rate and regenerates shields faster, respectively.

Go to the Privateer Remake Forum. Lotsa good info there.
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He's asking about Privateer, not a fan project. This is the proper forum for accurate information about the real game. Lord knows how many of the answers to these questions they've managed to reverse by now.
 
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Bandit LOAF said:
He's asking about Privateer, not a fan project. This is the proper forum for accurate information about the real game. Lord knows how many of the answers to these questions they've managed to reverse by now.
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"Good point, Annette."

There's a couple for sure. But a lot of the questions have the same answers, and you can get the version of the game that will run on a modern computer. That's way cool.
 
"Good point, Annette."
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I don't get the reference, so stop making it.

There's a couple for sure. But a lot of the questions have the same answers, and you can get the version of the game that will run on a modern computer. That's way cool.
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It's pretty easy to run the original version of Privateer on a modern computer. People have made a lot of advances with DOS emulators and whatnot. This also has absolutely nothing to do wth the users questions -- clearly he's already playing Privateer.
 
It's pretty easy to run the original version of Privateer on a modern computer. People have made a lot of advances with DOS emulators and whatnot. This also has absolutely nothing to do wth the users questions -- clearly he's already playing Privateer.
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Yeah, I have the original version with Righteous Fire, and i'm waiting for the full version of the Privateer Vega Strike to come out. I have an ancient 95 laptop that I play it on. No game port, so I have to use the keyboard. It isn't that bad, I have 347 kills so far.
 
Why do the Steltek Carriers and Fighters in the Ships Database look nothing like the other Steltek ships?
 
Fatcat said:
Why do the Steltek Carriers and Fighters in the Ships Database look nothing like the other Steltek ships?
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They're "ancient" Steltek ships which are found during the course of the games plot. There aren't any screenshots of how they'd look when they're in service available -- presumably they'd have the same black hulls with green engine/gun ports.
 
I chalked up the different look to them simply being from a different era (like how confed ships look slightly different from WC2 to WC3). I hadn't thought of aging lol. Makes good sense.
Bandit LOAF said:
He's asking about Privateer, not a fan project. This is the proper forum for accurate information about the real game. Lord knows how many of the answers to these questions they've managed to reverse by now.
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Had I been answering with the remake in mind, all my answers would have been exactly the same. That's not to say there are no questions he could ask that would produce different answers, how to bring up the map for example..
 
Ridgerunner said:
I just saw your post today, so I'm sorry so late.

It's from Mr Mom. Michael Keaton movie.
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Hehe, sorry if I came off sounding mean. Go ahead, keep making the reference.
 
There was a mini-mod that added a simulator to SO. It ended up replacing the killboard on the Cerberus. I'm pretty sure if you go through the Links section on the CIC, it's on one of the sites (presuming the site still exists).
 
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