Privateer 2

F

F4U Corsair

Spaceman
Hey I took a look at the ship Database trying to ID a certain fighter... you have it marked in the Pirate Catagory as unknown... isnt that a Talon? The two seem matched in Design, and Manueverability... Its funny how that stays the same in every game. Come to think of it, the only real difference was the weapon configurations... cept for SWC... but then it was a Kilrathi Heavy Fighter... which I really didnt get...
Oh and also.... these CIS ships... can someone provide me a background on them... I think im missing something here...
 
Basically, Privateer 2 was not developed to be Privateer 2. The developers did not set it in the Wing Commander universe, but Origin slapped the Privateer brand name on it to get a little more sales out of the game which explains the CIS, the lack of Kilrathi, etc.
 
Hey I took a look at the ship Database trying to ID a certain fighter... you have it marked in the Pirate Catagory as unknown... isnt that a Talon? The two seem matched in Design, and Manueverability...
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The 'Unknown Fighter' appears in one mission in Privateer 2 - but no details are given as to specifications or background. In the context of Privateer 2, the listing makes sense - it's listed as an unknown fighter in the (American) manual and appears only in that manner in the game.

(And again, as you pointed out, there's no way to know whether it's supposed to be a Talon or a Gratha.)

Its funny how that stays the same in every game. Come to think of it, the only real difference was the weapon configurations...
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Well... that statement is technically true, as the Talon does not appear in any other games. So in all the games between Privateer and no other games, the Talon remains remarkably consistent.

cept for SWC... but then it was a Kilrathi Heavy Fighter... which I really didnt get...
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I know, you're the guy who thinks every Kilrathi fighter should be named Dralthi.

*Zing*, seriously, though, Super Wing Commander was developed around the same time as and using the same technology as Privateer... so it shared a lot of art elements.

Oh and also.... these CIS ships... can someone provide me a background on them... I think im missing something here...
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The CIS are the local military/police force of the Tri-System. Most of the CIS ships are 'milspec' variants of Civilian ships (hence the similar names).

Basically, Privateer 2 was not developed to be Privateer 2. The developers did not set it in the Wing Commander universe, but Origin slapped the Privateer brand name on it to get a little more sales out of the game which explains the CIS, the lack of Kilrathi, etc.
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That's a bit of a huge oversimplification - Privateer 2 was, in fact, originally announced and developed as a Privateer 'spinoff': "Privateer: The Darkening". It lost the 'Privateer' name entirely when Chris Roberts worked on a direct followup to Privateer... and when he left Origin, Darkening became the sequel rather than a spinoff or a separate game entirely.
 
Bandit LOAF said:
I know, you're the guy who thinks every Kilrathi fighter should be named Dralthi.
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Correction, Im the guy that thinks if it looks like a dralthi, flies like a dralthi, and fights like a dralthi, then it should be a Dralthi.
 
The similarity between the Drakrhi and the Dralthi is that they both have wings. Their actual layouts are significantly different - the Drakrhi has three centerline guns, the Dralthi has a pair of wing mounted ones... the Drakrhi stores its missiles in an overwing rack, the Dralthi has them in hardpoints below the fuselage. Their proportions are vastly different, too -- compare:

ex-drakhri.jpg


ex-dralthi.jpg
 
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Yes, but then compair that to the WC 3 Dralthi, Im not desputing you here, I simply think that WC2 was missing one of the big mainstreem characteristics which was a Dralthi.
Btw you wouldnt by any chance have an above diagram like that of the Concordia would you? Im trying to build a model of it, and the pic I have plus the one in the database, it isnt good enough.
 
People say this and it doesn't make sense - because the games were produced in order over time. When Wing Commander 2 came out there were only two games - there's no way it could be ignoring a pattern.
 
Intead of complaining about Confed pulls new fighter designs out of thin nearly every game we complain about why there wasn't a Dralthi in WC2.

In a Privateer 2 thread even!

So where was the Dralthi P2?
 
LOL I didnt bring the Dralthi up this time, Im not gettin pegged with that one, Yeah thats true though, cept that the Rapier was in the two originals, and it looked totally different by WC2
 
Corsair and his son:

-look at that nice bird daddy!
-That thing got wings son. Dont they learn you anything at school? When it got wings its a dralthi. A DRALTHI!
 
Yeah right take a look again wise guys. The engine layouts, overhead attachments, wings, and cockpit layouts are all almost identical, the only differences really are the width of the main body of the dralthi, missile hardpoint, and gun placements, which is different from Dralthi to Dralthi neway.

As for Dyrets comments... psh talk about immature.
 
Engine placement is different - the Dralthi has two fuselage mounted engines... the Drakhri has engines mounted on the strut between the fuselage and the wing.

The cockpits are different, too - the Dralthi is a half bubble that leads into the cockpit and doesn't allow visibility to the rear... the Drakhri has a full 360 degree bubble canopy.

The 'overhead attachment' is a missile mount on the Drakrhi - and it's just a support strut on the Dralthi.

And then the wings are different proportions...
 
That's a bit of a huge oversimplification - Privateer 2 was, in fact, originally announced and developed as a Privateer 'spinoff': "Privateer: The Darkening". It lost the 'Privateer' name entirely when Chris Roberts worked on a direct followup to Privateer... and when he left Origin, Darkening became the sequel rather than a spinoff or a separate game entirely.
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If you're correct, then I apologize. I remembered reading somewhere that Electronic Arts developed the game at its Manchester offices and slapped the Privateer name on it instead of marketing it as a new game series. If it was as you said, though, then why was there no reference to anything in the Wing Commander universe at all? And also, why weren't the tri-system systems included in the Wing Commander Prophecy Universe Map? I'm not trying to be pugilistic; these are just questions your statement raised in my mind.
 
Mad Cow said:
If you're correct, then I apologize. I remembered reading somewhere that Electronic Arts developed the game at its Manchester offices and slapped the Privateer name on it instead of marketing it as a new game series. If it was as you said, though, then why was there no reference to anything in the Wing Commander universe at all? And also, why weren't the tri-system systems included in the Wing Commander Prophecy Universe Map? I'm not trying to be pugilistic; these are just questions your statement raised in my mind.
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They were afraid of confusing people by having two Priv games come out at the same time, so at one point midway through the game's development they had to make it a non-WC game. But after the P1 sequel went away, they brought in some regular Origin-Austin people to help wrap it up and they added in a few special links back to Wing Commander. There are many references to the Confederation still existing in the late 28th Century in Privateer 2, and they also describe it as something of a separate area of space. There is quite a lot of space left off the Prophecy map, and it's very very likely the Tri-System is far off the edge. It may have been possible that the Confederation and Tri-System were not in communication at the time of Prophecy, as the history of the Tri-System includes lost sleeper-ships and a religion that puts Anhur as the birthplace of humanity. I've always thought it'd be really great if the Tri-System were somehow linked to Pilgrims someday.
 
If you're correct, then I apologize. I remembered reading somewhere that Electronic Arts developed the game at its Manchester offices and slapped the Privateer name on it instead of marketing it as a new game series.
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Eh, it just sounds like you're trying to paint some sort of conspiracy over a perfectly ordinary design process - it's not a case of an evil company farming out development to the third world... Origin UK was a legitimate Origin-spawned studio (just like Origin Skunkworks in Baltimore, which did many of the Jane's titles). Heck, the team was lead by the same man who developed the original Privateer -- Erin Roberts (the only reason there *was* an Origin UK in the first place was because so much talent came from the area.)

(It's also certainly not the first case of Wing Commander development being done away from Austin... most of the console ports and huge things like Wing Commander IV's film shoot and Prophecy GBA were done in other cities.)

If it was as you said, though, then why was there no reference to anything in the Wing Commander universe at all?
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Eh, this entire thread is about a Wing Commander reference in Privateer 2 - the Talon. The 'universe database' dealy is full of references to the Confederation and to a timeline that's continous with Wing Commander (Privateer 2 takes place about a hundred years after Prophecy). There's also a reference to the Kilrathi in some bar dialogue and a few other small things.

And also, why weren't the tri-system systems included in the Wing Commander Prophecy Universe Map? I'm not trying to be pugilistic; these are just questions your statement raised in my mind.
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Eh, why aren't any of the systems from Fleet Action or the animated series on the universe map? Or any of the in dialogue systems from WC3 (Paxans and whatnot)? The map was an amazing, amazing thing but there was no way that a side project like that could cover everything without years of revisions.
 
The map is amazing. And what makes me happy is the fact that it was translated to portuguese and included in the brazillian WCP. Wonderfull.
pitty they never realease WCP GOLD
 
Eh, why aren't any of the systems from Fleet Action or the animated series on the universe map? Or any of the in dialogue systems from WC3 (Paxans and whatnot)? The map was an amazing, amazing thing but there was no way that a side project like that could cover everything without years of revisions.
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Good point. This raises another question for me, though. We consider the Wing Commander novels canon, but were they established as canon by Origin? I think they were, like the Star Wars novels are considered canon, but the Star Trek novels are not. Just curious.
 
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