Wing Commander on Android

AD said:
This is a problem with privateer in general. It's the only WC game I can't play with a mouse on the PC. On an android device or iPhone something on the screen that works kind of like a thumbstick would be ideal.
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The DOSpad on the iPhone has a thumbstick, not sure about privateer (not tried that yet) but in WC1 and 2 using the thumbstick centers the mouse.
 
Just completed a Privateer mission using the mouse. Had to change up the mouse sensitivity settings to get it to work correctly. Got the bounty and 2 more kills on that one.
 
Hunter_13 said:
Just completed a Privateer mission using the mouse. Had to change up the mouse sensitivity settings to get it to work correctly. Got the bounty and 2 more kills on that one.
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Congratulations! Just tried Privateer on the iPhone, and it really is different from WC2, just Joystick OR Mouse. I see your trouble, not really playable with the Joystick option. I wish there was some way to get the accelerometer to work as input for the joystick. As far as i can tell it is in some Joystick SDL thats built in DOSpad, but i have no idea how to activate or calibrate it. Would be nice to play Wing Commander like Galaxy on Fire.
 
Finally relented and bought a tablet today, I'm currently away from home a lot and making regular trips to the other side of the country; so figured it would be nice to have a little gadget for the lonely nights and something other than my phone to play with.

As with all new my hardware, PC or otherwise - A Wing Commander title is the first thing to be installed.

I downloaded DOSBox for Android from the Google Playstore (or ADosBox as the mobile version is called) - and transferred my original DOS version of Privateer onto my SD card, the GoG release wouldn't have worked as Windows DOSBox won't run on Android.

I was delighted to find it worked first time!

jxi1.jpg


...but disappointed to report that despite the smooth playing of the cutscenes, the spaceflight is far too laggy to make playing worthwhile. It could well be that a beefier tablet device could handle the heavy DosBox shell much better, my Acer is somewhat low-end at only 1.5GHZ, but could almost do the job.

Food for thought really, with DOSBox and its tablet adaptations, it looks like Wing Commander gaming will continue to thrive into the next generation of gaming devices (which sadly, is becoming ever more mobile orientated)...
 
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Isn't it possible to use the data from the GOG release? I always thought they distributed the original game files with a one-click DOSbox wrap-around.

I still have the original Privateer, but no CD drive anymore. I even have a discette version, but heaven knows if there is data left on them.
 
specialsymbol said:
Isn't it possible to use the data from the GOG release? I always thought they distributed the original game files with a one-click DOSbox wrap-around.

I still have the original Privateer, but no CD drive anymore. I even have a discette version, but heaven knows if there is data left on them.
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Good point, the GOG copy would have been fine come to think about it - since as you say it's the DOS version, complete with DOSBox. Silly me. It would be interesting to know if your 15 year old diskettes are still in working order. My personal record for old floppies that still work is a copy of Lemmings I have from 1991; 3.5" Amiga format, and still in working order as of last week :)
 
Dosbox Turbo is great for Wing Commander as well as TIE Fighter, particularly on the Shield. You know what works well too? Sega CD Wing Commander via MD.EMU because of the simplified controls. This works nicely on OUYA too.
 
Touch controls are okay if you let yourself adjust to them, particularly on a big tablet. Gyro controls are about as accurate as the old analog joysticks of the olden days, which is nice for smaller devices like smartphones. Hardware thumb sticks are nice too, but the short throw isn't quite as satisfying.
 
Flojomojo said:
Touch controls are okay if you let yourself adjust to them, particularly on a big tablet. Gyro controls are about as accurate as the old analog joysticks of the olden days, which is nice for smaller devices like smartphones. Hardware thumb sticks are nice too, but the short throw isn't quite as satisfying.
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My biggest problem with touch controls is the fact that you have to block out large parts of the screen with your hand, which for me detracts from the whole experience. If I had a stronger tablet I'd definitely consider a gyro set.
 
For anyone still doing this, the best DOS emulator I've found for Android is "DosBox Turbo"
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fishstix.dosbox&hl=en
Multitudes of settings to get it working the way you want, and even a virtual joystick (especially since physical keyboards on smartphones are ancient history now).
There is a free and paid version. Check out DosBox Manager as well and you can set it up to load up games with a specified autoexec setting.
 
Anyone in the community that loves playing Wing Commander-esque games on their mobile device/tablet would be well advised to give Strike Wing Raptor Rising the ol' college try.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.strikewing.GG_green&hl=en

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/strike-wing-raptor-rising/id715657864?mt=8

I'm playing it on Android, you can play free, watch a few 30 second video to unlock all missions (one at a time) or fork over under $5 for the full version. Worth it in my opinion, and if you don't mind watching a video now and then, well worth the time to play.
 
Hunter_13 said:
Same developer just released "Stellar Wanderer" on android. It's been out on iOS for a while as well. Very "Privateer-esque".
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I second this. It's very sandboxy, in a good way -- it's very open-ended, with a lot of freedom. The iOS version was just updated to work on the big screen via AppleTV, and your progress is saved across all devices via iCloud. I wouldn't be surprised if the developer does an Android TV version as well. I've accepted that games built for mobile are more my speed than trying to jam oldies into an emulator with touch control.

Crescent Moon Games does a nice job of trying to bring PC-style games to mobile. Next up for them is Morphite, which kinda looks like a flat-shaded No Man's Sky. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqKNq059TQjSZ4_6-917qxQ
 
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