Comparing Privateer to Its Earlier Builds (March 13, 2023)

[Bandit LOAF]

Fun, minor change to Privateer: the build used for the manual screenshots says 'engage' versus 'launch' in the final game.





There are a few more of these in the manual! Since printed docs had to go to print well before a game went gold you can often find little changes like this. The price for the plasma gun was increased (inflation!) as has the location where the weapon gumps appear on the Tarsus:





The mission computer screenshots all show that this build had a '+' before the credits. Additionally, neither of the briefings for the missions on the greyscale shots are possible in the final game's mad libs random mission generator.





The Merchants' Guild mission example IS possible, though! Still has the old credit display:





The Orion cockpit has a Centurion VDU showing upgrades only possible on the Centurion... and one that isn't in the final game, a central tractor beam slot.





Big change in scanner prices!





The Galaxy is traveling a lot faster than is possible!




--
Original update published on March 13, 2023

 

[Wedge009]

I wonder why the scanners were changed to be so expensive. I remember the advanced models were a big help with ITTS and even colour ID being luxuries over the basic model, I recall it taking a while to save up for them.

 

[Rylex]

I just changed my Centurion to fly 14,000 kps... by changing the game data for testing purposes.
I would have liked the ship to be faster than 1,000 or 1,170 (Righteous Fire).

Here are pictures of the TestBed sector:

Privateer Logical Map

I didn't think it made sense to add in that mystery Rikel->Perry jump, given that nobody even knows where it is. I think I can find that out quite easily, if I reinstall the game again. It's more a "time" problem for me, because I'm busy with lots of other stuff at the moment. I would argue...

www.wcnews.com

 

[Bob McDob]

I remember when I was working on the old Reckoning mod for Freelancer (which turned 20 years old this month!) I modded the cruise engines to go twice as fast, like how in the novels the ships would shut their hydrogen scoops off and accelerate Newtonianly. Not quite 14000 KPS though. It would be neat to have something like that in game, maybe as a minigame replacing the autopilot. It makes me a bit sad that Privateer modding was never a thing. (Maybe it's not too late?)

How does the engine work technically, anyway? I get that everything is rendered in 2D, but are coordinates measured and tracked in 3D?

 

[Bandit LOAF]

That's truly awesome work, Rylax! Super neat to see Testbed in the flesh!

Yes, all the positioning is in 3D and that information is what allows the 2D graphics for the ships to scale correctly.

(Coincidentally, I just added the X, Y, Z coordinates fo every nav point to the WCPedia if anyone wants to recreate Gemini!)

 

[Rylex]

That's truly awesome work, Rylax! Super neat to see Testbed in the flesh!

Thank you! I'll keep on searching to find the secret jump point...

Oh... and one more thing (to say it with Blair's words: It's Rylex (comes from Alex)

 

[Bandit LOAF]

My sincere apologies. I do know your name, I'm just prone to typos in my old age! (... and always...)

I wonder why the scanners were changed to be so expensive. I remember the advanced models were a big help with ITTS and even colour ID being luxuries over the basic model, I recall it taking a while to save up for them.

It's similar to what you would call a "gold sink" in modern game design. But the goal was slightly different since Privateer didn't care so much about the overall economy/inflation... by changing the prices (and the payouts) you calibrate how much time the player spends playing random issions (grinding). So you make some items especially expensive which makes the player work more for them but also provides a goal. A more clear example in Privateer is the exceptionally expensive Righteous Fire upgrades which are intended to give you a reason to keep playing.


Crazy to learn that the Test Bed system appears in the manual of all places!

 

[Rylex]

My sincere apologies. I do know your name, I'm just prone to typos in my old age! (... and always...)

...

Crazy to learn that the Test Bed system appears in the manual of all places!

No problem, I certainly didn't misunderstand either. After all, we've been in contact for... ... for over 23 years. Time sure flew by, didn't it?
And I'm 41 in the meantime... so also an "old hand"...

Yes, the Test Bed is always a niec place to go. And it doesn't have asteroids 😁 ... as far as I can tell from my visit...