The Proper Remake?

John Cordell

Spaceman
This thread will cover information about necessary changes to the current 1.x Version of Privateer Remake to possibly create a "proper remake" somewhere in the future.

"IMO, PR needs to be stripped of extras and locked down as a proper remake.
WCU needs to be officially forked, where other canon material can be pulled in.

the engine and art can be upgraded for both as time goes by, but the features and gameplay should be done best effort in respect to canon."

-scheherazade (PR team)

So what is needed to change in order to respect the canon? I will start a little list here where you can add additional points and the dev team can take it (or not) and check them off.

Updated List:
* only Galaxy, Orion and Centurion should be buyable (no milspec vers. etc.)
* no additional upgrades (cloaking device, autoaiming)
* no docking to capships (like kamekh, paradigm)
* increase damage done by collisions
* no wingmen
* Make key bindings more in line with the original
* Increase damage due to collisions
* A solution for the asteroid problem (they need to be dangerous like in the original)
* Get rid of this 'hulls' thing. you can have one type of armor, and only one purchase of it. Plasteel and Tungsten are the two upgrades you can get...plasteel being the type you start out with, tungsten being the better type (in RF you can get isometal).
* From what I can tell, the drayman is still rediculously tough, should be fixed.
* No being able to tractor in missiles or anything of that sort.
* I've heard that torpedo loadout is doubled and that you can mount tractor beams in weird places -- stuff like that, if true, needs to be taken out.
* Intro added in, preferrably with the option to switch between the original and the CD versions. (Jump animations, too, certainly -- if *Metal Morph* can use them, the Privateer Remake certainly can.)
* No turret AI for players. You work alone.
* No owning multiple ships and carrying them around in each other.
* Proper encounter percentages, per the Playtesters Guide. Ditto for the commodity pricing.
* More original artwork. I [Loaf] have much of this and will send it to Brad.
* In the original privateer there were no light/medium/heavy mounts. One size fit all.
* Remove docking from capships
* Remove extra upgrades
* Fix pilot/eject/slave issue
* Remove turret AI
* Remove Kilrathi base and garrisons
* Add jump and landing anims
* Add "handshake" anims
* Remove extra fixers
* Remove extra buyable ships
* No cheating with communications (i know it was rudimentary implemented in the original but in the remake you can use it extensively, no Kilrathi would turn to friendly if you scream 10000 times at him "Don't kill me kitty!" )
* Possibility to deactivate shields (100%)
* Afterburner sucks energy to zero and deactivates/activates itself -> if you hit tab further the shields will be lowered 1 level
* F5 switches to turret view
* Possibility to loose equipment while under heavy attack (armor damage)
* Space stations have no "visible" shields (the same as planets)
* Damage report without background image (hardly to read)
* "W" to select missiles or proton torpedo (launcher)
* Heavy damage done to enemies will let them lose parts of their hull (simple 2D sprite)
* Turrets without a radar screen
* Turret view should not be covered by the engines
* Ships that communicate with you should have a white rectangle around
* Destination cross white and bigger (it always should have the same size)
* Radar colors should be: red - enemy, dark blue - friend, bright blue - jump points, yellow - missiles, brown - neutral or objects that can be tractored in (cargo), white - destination cross, grey - bases
* Radar range was if i remember right 15000
* Remove the basic repair feature (should be auto-purchased for free when landing)
* Repair droid takes care of static in MFD screens
* The tractor beam in the original could capture things from a maxium distance of 10,000 km
* If you are removing docking option, D button should be set for Destination as in original
* No spawning, when you die, you should go to the load screen and have to load your game.
* No d*** escape pod.
* Manual control of turrets
* Make the NAV map MUCH more like the original
* no more milspec crap
* when cycling through missiles/torps, allow selection of a single rack (even if two identical are equipped).
* add cargo expander for the Centurian
* 4-way armor values
* 4-way armor damage displayed in targetting MFD
* Cutscene of Steltek towing away derelict base
* Shield cycle by level. If you have Lvl1 shields, they can either be on or off. If you have level 2, they can be on full, on level 1 or off, etc. This should be accompanied by appropriate changes in the shield graphic in the cockpit.
* Torpedo count - can someone confirm that the max torpedo count was 20 in the original? (it is 40 now, at least on the Centurion) I can't remember myself.
* Secret cargo space
* Comm responses in plot-driven missions (apparently this will be very hard to do) as a way of breaking the conversation up.
* Mission Computer should not give cargo missions to Pirate Bases.
* Confed officers should not hang out in Pirate Base bars.
* a waypoint should be scanned when you are very close to it (500k or so)
* Mass driver should fire a round mass-ball not a white proton torpedo like thingy
* Jump bubbles shouldn't absorb weapon fire
* com with c + number without showing what you've send (because it's already shown in you com-selection screen)
* Damage should affect NPC's ship handling (damaged engine -> drops speed etc.) and MFD should display different damaged sections of their ships.
* maneuvering jets, In the old one when your hull got slammed they were the first to start going. get hit too much and you may be stuck making only left turns
* guns dont seem to get damaged. in the old one guns could be damaged and would fire at like half their normal rate or don't fire at all
* change navigation, autopilot should bring you where you have chosen a navpoint in your navpad (white cross) and not to the selected target (t), this goes along with limiting the radar range to 15000 (you no longer have to navigate with it so stick to the original!)
* ...?

npc's engine damage, weapon damage and maneuver jets damage should be in, happens rarely, the steltec cutscene should also be there (hellcat)

Some other things (mostly QA stuff) were already discussed before the release of version 1.0 and can be found here

Note: I'm requesting a plain simple list here, no comments, no discussion only a list. I deleted a bunch of messages and edited the other half (compact them), don't worry no information is gone which was important for the list.
 
* a solution for the asteroid problem (they need to be dangerous like in the original)

Coupled with this, we need to be able to blast the asteroids like in the original. The only way to fly through an asteroid field is to come in guns a blazin'

* Jump Drive animation would be great

* Progressive damage visible in the cockpit (ie; bare wires and components hanging out).

* Repair Droids don't appear to be functional. (See a previous thread. I added the var declaration to my config file but haven't had a chance to test it out).
 
i keep hearing reports of insane numbers of ships popping up at nav points. make the ship appearancs more true to the original.

maybe closing down the more 'open' universe part for the remake. make it more nav based like in the original. if that maybe means just making distances between worlds larger or something, i dunno.

* from what i can tell, the drayman is still rediculously tough, should be fixed.

* no being able to tractor in missiles or anything of that sort.

hmm....everything else has been covered..

the radar colors deal though, how do you mean? on the three baseline-el-cheapo models there are no colors IIRC...the midline starts with basic color coding, and then the top of the line has all the colors, and only on the highest model of sensors can you get the ITTS (i think...i've had no luck with ITTS on the second to the best sensors you can buy in the original so far).
/radar colors are different from the original, for example friendly objects are green and the original painted them blue i already mentioned it in the QA thread.

also, if you choose to cheat....you can't pass missions :)

* get rid of this 'hulls' thing. you can have one type of armor, and only one purchase of it. Plasteel and Tungsten are the two upgrades you can get...plasteel being the type you start out with, tungsten being the better type (in RF you can get isometal).

i also read somewhere about someone kitting out a ship with 40 torpedos.....you can only carry 10 torps in a torp launcher, and 10 missiles in a missile launcher.
 
Asteroids

This seems like a common topic. Personally, I preferred the old-style asteroid fields, but all games seem to have gravitated towards the new kind.

I think the reason for this is that the non-spawning "static" fields seem more realistic - despite the fact that the asteroids in these fields move around like mad in random directions, which would cause them to collide and quickly create one big dust cloud in reality.

Ok, so maybe the asteroids in the original spawned a bit to suddenly, probably for performance reasons, but there is no reason something similar could not be made - just better ;-).

The easiest way, in my opinion, to create a *great* asteroid field would be to take a static field (no spawning, no movement) and add a heavy dust cloud (fog table). This would cause the asteroids to appear quite suddenly, similar to the original, and turning off the engines would render the ship "safe" - which I believe was also the case in the original.

In fact, it would feel a lot like the original, but the graphics would be better, physics would be better and not much would have to be changed in the engine (just add fog).

Oh, and upping the collision damage *significantly* would also be good step (not only for realism and balance, but also to fit with the original, where anything above a 400-or-so speed was instant death if you collided with a 'roid).
 
* Proper encounter percentages, per the Playtesters Guide. Ditto for the commodity pricing.
* More original artwork. I have much of this and will send it to Brad.
* I've heard that torpedo loadout is doubled and that you can mount tractor beams in weird places -- stuff like that, if true, needs to be taken out.
* Intro added in, preferrably with the option to switch between the original and the CD versions. (Jump animations, too, certainly -- if *Metal Morph* can use them, the Privateer Remake certainly can.)
* No turret AI for players. You work alone.
* No owning multiple ships and carrying them around in eachother.
 
* Nav map closer to the original, full screen, pause the game when Nav map is accessed.
* landing animation.
* In campaign missions wait for a enemies with a lot to say to finish talking before they kill you.
* Make sure you can hear voices over gunfire.
* In the original privateer there were no light/medium/heavy mounts. One size fit all.
 
Bandit LOAF said:
* No turret AI for players. You work alone.
Actually I think this is the only thing that sucked in the original that deserves to be fix, even in a proper remake. You should at least be able to buy it in the "software" shop. Just make it aim badly if you don't want it to be too powerfull (and keep a realistic "it's just software" feel). The fact that you could buy turrets that are useless in combat was my only disapointment in the original.

I am all for a proper remake that's exactly like the original, save from the turrets issue... but it's just my opinion.

Bandit LOAF answered:
For all the complaining people have done over the years about the turrets (and I agree, the game would be easier with them activated), it seems like it must have been a conscious decision on the part of the original game to remove turret gunners for the player -- given that Wing Commander II included them.

BradMick answered:
the turret comes in mighty handy when you're running like a bat out of hell with confed or kilrathi ships on your tail...keeps em at bay until you get to the jump point. that's when i use the turret most. light the burners, and just spray down the rear area.

Bandit LOAF answered:
Yeah, there were a few "run from the cats" missions where the turret was very useful. It was also good for stowing your tractor beam to save room in the front for weapons, too.

I think a system of hiring turret gunners or buying ineffectual AIs would be great for "Privateer 2675"... but it doesn't have a place in a proper remake.
 
* Remove docking from capships
* Figure out how to have missile/torpedo launchers
* Remove extra upgrades
* Fix pilot/eject/slave issue
* Remove turret AI
* Remove Kilrathi base and garrisons
* Add jump and landing anims
* Add "handshake" anims
* Remove extra fixers
* Remove extra buyable ships
 
* Colliding asteroids near player should explode or something, looks corny how they're just slipping through each other.
* Ejecting/flying with the ûber-slow ejection pod is useless.
* Respawning is stupid, should be quickload or something instead.
* Stuff shouldn't instantly disappear into my cargo hold when I touch them with my tractor beam, they should be tractored in.
* Damage should affect NPC's ship handling (damaged engine -> drops speed etc.) and MFD should display different damaged sections of their ships.
* NPC ships still behave a bit odd (=against the laws of physics) now and then.
 
* radar range was if i remember right 15000
* no cheating with communications (i know it was rudimentary implemented in the original but in the remake you can use it extensively, no Kilrathi would turn to friendly if you scream 10000 times at him "Don't kill me kitty!" )
* Red-hostile, brown-neutral, blue-friendly no mixes like superfriendly, halfhostile...
* Possibility to deactivate shields (100%)
* Afterburner sucks energy to zero and deactivates/activates itself -> if you hit tab further the shields will be lowered 1 level
* F5 switches to turret view
* Possibility to loose equipment while under heavy attack (armor damage)
* Space stations have no "visible" shields (the same as planets)
* Damage report without background image (hardly to read)
* "W" to select missiles or proton torpedo (launcher)
* destination cross white and bigger (it always should have the same size)
* heavy damage done to enemies will let them lose parts of their hull (simple 2D sprite)
* turrets without a radar screen
* turret view should not be covered by the engines
* ships that communicate with you should have a white rectangle around

(radar colors should be)
red - enemy
dark blue - friend
bright blue - jump points
yellow - missiles
brown - neutral or objects that can be tractored in (cargo)
white - destination cross (picture below)
grey - bases

navcross.jpg
 
* have the computer track nav target and non-nav seperately. The original allowed you to choose a nav target and a ship target, d would show the nav point on MFD, e for target status. Makes it easier to find out how close to jump or base you are in combat.
 
*Remove 'Basic Repair' feature

*When landing, damaged things like burnt out console, exposed wires is automatically repaired

*Repair droid takes care of static in MFD screens

*The tractor beam in the original could capture things from a maxium distance of 10,000 km

*If you are removing docking option, D button should be set for Destination as in original
 
-Having text and sounds out of sync really sucks, also its annoying when the whole screen is covered black. Why not just take out the text, or at the least, time the text to match the voice, like they did in the the SC2 remake.
 
While we're talking sprites...

A totally sprite-based engine with Neo-Geo-style animated sprites, at 1280x1024, with some form of point-based lighting? That might be nice - just imagine Street Fighter EX+Alpha-type overanimated blaster bolts, totally smooth zooming... actually, can't this engine handle that already (background, Sun, drifting junk)? Still, it's not exactly a suggestion for the improvement of _this_ engine...

IIRC, in the original, you had *two* options for the asteroid field: go in guns a-blazin', _or_ (evil grin) buy a bad-ass afterburner and bypass the asteroids as they were spawning. I'd buy that for a dollar. :D

Real suggestions:
- Force Talons to fly like aircraft, not like hummingbirds. This is supposed to be WWII in space, right?.

- Do more rigorous checking of exclusive-OR relationships: in 1Pre5, I have a Demon with both level 2 & level 3 ECM, Tungsten & isometal armor and hull.

- Replace Cockpit->Turret, Turret->Cockpit, Cockpit->Different Turret system. Needs to just switch through turrets, with F1 going back to cockpit.

- Enforce straight-ahead flight when in turrets. Might just be me, but my ship drifts at same rate if I'm turning when I switch to a turret.

- Decrease combat message rate.

- Enable accurate ITTS in drift/afterburn.

- Enable multiple ITTS reticles for different gun types.

- Tweak Droid settings. Right now, I have the repair time set to 30 for an advanced repair droid, and it's about right (still takes too long sometimes).

- Damaged system animations. Remember the sparks when you took too many hits and the Auto light got blown out? :)

- Afterburn on no fuel should drop the craft to max speed or lower - there's no incentive not to just hold down the button right now.

That's about it. I've got SpiritPlumber's add-on installed, and personally I think it makes Privateer even more enjoyable, but if you're really trying to make the most *accurate* Remake possible, those are some things I think need work. But you could quit now and know you've done amazing work. Thanks so much!
 
sleet01 said:
- Do more rigorous checking of exclusive-OR relationships: in 1Pre5, I have a Demon with both level 2 & level 3 ECM, Tungsten & isometal armor and hull.
While admittedly not identical to the original, only the best one is actually providing you with any benefit - the other is only taking up space.
 
-No d*** escape pod. This is so annoying, if you die you want to reload and try again, not loose your ship, being stuck in the middle of nowhere in a virtually indestructable escape pod. It always ends up with me EXITING the game and having to start everything up again.
 
To my mind, you should only:
- remove the basic repair feature
- when landing, damaged things like burnt out console, exposed wires is automatically repaired
- no spawning, when you die, you should go to the load screen and have to load your game from there. Spawning does not even work on my computer, I use a german board. If I get kicked, I always have to quit and restart the game.
- in campaign missions wait for a enemies with a lot to say to finish talking before they kill you. The messages come much to fast.
- make sure you can hear voices over gunfire.
- you should be able to buy a dryman or talon, even if you are just a privateer.
- fix the bugs. For example, if you talk to a guy in the campaign again, he reminds you of his mission but if you look at your mission computer, you will see that now you have got the mission twice.
- more capital ships at the front
 
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