# God, I miss the golden age of LucasGames.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793 "2005-05-27T18:38:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/41 "2005-05-31T21:36:31Z")
That’d be good. I hate to think of paying even ten bucks for each game I’d lik to play. Get really expensive given how many of them there are. ---
**Author:** ![Yogurt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f0a364/32.png) [@Yogurt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yogurt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/42 "2005-06-07T06:23:05Z")
> [@lno](#): > > Microsoft released _Freelancer_ about two-three years ago, which was obviously … uhm, inspired by … _Privateer_. Pretty good, but I never got around to finishing it. I suppose I’ll drag it out eventually and wrap that up. Don’t waste your time, you’ll be sorely dissapointed, trust me. I’m downloading the Privateer RM right now, just to bring back those nostalgic moments. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/43 "2005-06-07T13:22:00Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > That’d be good. I hate to think of paying even ten bucks for each game I’d lik to play. Get really expensive given how many of them there are. Just pace yourself, you don’t need to buy them all at once. Buy one game, play it until you beat it, shelve it, buy another one. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/44 "2005-06-07T14:04:31Z")
> [@Yogurt](#): > > Don’t waste your time, you’ll be sorely dissapointed, trust me. > > I’m downloading the Privateer RM right now, just to bring back those nostalgic moments. I don’t see how Freelancer is a worse game in any respect whatsoever than Privateer, outside of being completely derivative and not living up to its potential. All the weaknesses of Freelancer are even greater weaknesses in Privateer. And I say this as someone who loved Privateer and played it over and over again. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/45 "2005-06-07T14:25:14Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I don’t see how Freelancer is a worse game in any respect whatsoever than Privateer, outside of being completely derivative and not living up to its potential. All the weaknesses of Freelancer are even greater weaknesses in Privateer. And I say this as someone who loved Privateer and played it over and over again. I dunno… Privateer felt a lot more freeform to me. Sure there were only 3 ships to choose from, not counting the crapheap you start with, but they were each very different, rather than Freelancer’s ships that all fly and control the same. My favourite battle winning strategy was to fly an Orion (aka a tank in space) outfitted with the best armor and shields I could afford and ram enemy ships. Not only was it a very satisfying way to get kills, it worked a charm. But ONLY in the Orion, because the other ships could support enough shields and armor to make it worthwhile. Also, for a smoother game experience in Privateer you could suck up to all the enemies until they considered you friends; it got so the only enemies I had were the religious zealots (Retras? I can’t really remember). Freelancer just didn’t have many options, I think you could play it two different ways (fight or trade) and even then there wasn’t much of a difference. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/46 "2005-06-07T14:53:37Z")
I spent an entire unemployed summer fighting, and finally beating, Zombies. Man, I loved that game. There were passwords to start at later levels, but really, if you wanted to win, you had to start at level 1, just for all the gear you could pick up. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/47 "2005-06-07T15:00:57Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > Also, for a smoother game experience in Privateer you could suck up to all the enemies until they considered you friends; it got so the only enemies I had were the religious zealots (Retras? I can’t really remember). Heh, the Retros. “Die by the very technology you adore!” or something along those lines. Religious crazies who felt that technology was evil. So logically, they fly around in heavily armed space ships killing everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/48 "2005-06-07T15:35:39Z")
> [@Murcielago](#): > > A few years back the company released a series called (IIRC) “LucasArts Archives,” each package had a collection of either adventure titles or Star Wars games. I’m not sure exactly how old those are or if the discs will work with current hardware/OSs I got two of them, the Star Wars one had a few levels of Dark Forces, Rebel Assault (I and II), that “Making Magic” CD of the remakes of the original trilogy and, best of all, the Tie Fighter Collection which was superb and made up for the other lacking titles. The adventure collection was better again, it had Sam N Max, Day of the Tentacle (which included Manic Mansion anyway) Indiana Jones, some Star Wars screen savers and the like, another dose of Rebel Assault and more samplers. There were more archives apparantly, with one including both Tie Fighter and X Wing collectors discs and some cut down versions of other games. Another included more of the SCUMM adventure games, Monkey Islands I and II and others. I loved those SCUMM games, especially the responses to commands that had no effect on the game. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/49 "2005-06-07T15:55:27Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > I’d kill for a decent new X-Wing/TIE Fighter/Wing Commander type game. [Check out Independence War II.](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005ASGK/qid=1118160370/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-3935705-3188915?v=glance&s=software&n=507846) It’s the most recent great space sim, in my opinion. Great graphics, cool ships, and a good mix of plot and flexibility. It’s several years old, but IMO the graphics are still pretty good, especially if you crank up the resolution on a modern graphics card. And it’s available real cheap now. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/50 "2005-06-07T18:14:30Z")
> [@Yogurt](#): > > Don’t waste your time, you’ll be sorely dissapointed, trust me. > > I’m downloading the Privateer RM right now, just to bring back those nostalgic moments. Okay, what is Privateer RM? ---
**Author:** ![Hammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bc79bd/32.png) [@Hammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hammer)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/51 "2005-06-07T18:37:35Z")
For me the last good space combat game was Freespace 2. I would love to see a new version of that, or any xwing/tie fighter game with todays graphics. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/52 "2005-06-07T19:39:57Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > Okay, what is Privateer RM? I think that’s supposed to be Privateer RF. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/53 "2005-06-07T20:35:18Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > I dunno… Privateer felt a lot more freeform to me. Sure there were only 3 ships to choose from, not counting the crapheap you start with, but they were each very different, rather than Freelancer’s ships that all fly and control the same. > > My favourite battle winning strategy was to fly an Orion (aka a tank in space) outfitted with the best armor and shields I could afford and ram enemy ships. Not only was it a very satisfying way to get kills, it worked a charm. But ONLY in the Orion, because the other ships could support enough shields and armor to make it worthwhile. > > Also, for a smoother game experience in Privateer you could suck up to all the enemies until they considered you friends; it got so the only enemies I had were the religious zealots (Retras? I can’t really remember). > > Freelancer just didn’t have many options, I think you could play it two different ways (fight or trade) and even then there wasn’t much of a difference. Hmm. I’m not sure I agree with all of this. I will agree that ships in Freelancer aren’t different enough from each other, but I don’t think Privateer was any more freeform. In both you have exactly the same options - trade, merc, outlaw (piracy/smuggling/etc), but in Freelancer there’s a lot greater development of the non-major factions. And you can suck up to enemies in Freelancer, too. It’s not too difficult to have all factions either neutral or friendly, though you’ll end up with a lot of factions not too keen on you and you won’t be able to buy the high end goodies. Makes it easy to do highly lucrative trade runs through the border worlds, though. The biggest weakness of both games is that there’s nothing very interesting outside the main plotline. It would have been dead simple to stick a bunch of minor plots into either of them, stuff to be stumbled onto in odd corners of star systems, and to be fair there’s a bit more of this in Freelancer than there was in Privateer, but it’s not at all developed. I mean, you can go hunting for the Hispania, or take a side in the war between the Corsairs and the Hessians, but there’s no real payoff. I would love to see a game like this with a more developed universe - a sort of Morrowind in space. Sadly, both Privateer and Freelancer are more like Daggerfall in space. ---
**Author:** ![Stonebow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/54 "2005-06-07T20:37:57Z")
Is it true that Freelancer does not support joysticks? If so, what’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/55 "2005-06-07T20:46:50Z")
> [@Stonebow](#): > > Is it true that Freelancer does not support joysticks? If so, what’s the point? It’s true, but the mouse control works better than you’d think. Really. I was skeptical too, but after playing I think that the control scheme has very little to do with why the game isn’t nearly as good as it should be. ---
**Author:** ![Yogurt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f0a364/32.png) [@Yogurt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yogurt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/56 "2005-06-08T00:29:15Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > It’s true, but the mouse control works better than you’d think. Really. I was skeptical too, but after playing I think that the control scheme has very little to do with why the game isn’t nearly as good as it should be. I was so bitter when I brought the game home. I bought a new joystick that day in expectation of using it… No such luck. Privateer RM = Privateer Remake. A couple of dedicated fans recoded the game to work for Windows XP and Linux. It’s not nearly as good as the original, but still sufficient. The greatest problems I found with Freelancer were the lack of a joystick, the ease to beat the game and the entrapping plot. To beat Privateer and Righteous Fire you needed the best ship equipped with the best weapons and equipment. In Freelancer you are given a premium starfighter at the end for far below market value and soon into the game you can do nothing but the storyline missions. ---
**Author:** ![Stonebow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/57 "2005-06-08T13:43:47Z")
FYI- I broke down and e-mailed LucasArts about X-Wing and Tie Fighter for XP…here’s what I got. * * * Hello, Thank you for your message. I regret to inform you that we do not have a Windows XP compatible version of this game. Unfortunately, this DOS program is not supported for use with Windows XP, due to changes made to the Windows operating system with Windows 2000 and Windows XP, in addition to the release of new audio technology and faster processors which can also adversely affect this and other old DOS games. Windows XP does not provide a TRUE DOS environment. DOS titles were designed specifically for this type of environment. At this time, there are no plans to provide any updates or support for these older DOS based titles in Windows XP. Thanks for your interest in LucasArts * * * _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/58 "2005-06-08T13:58:35Z")
I liked Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max, and the awesome Monkey Island series. Too bad the last one, for the PS2, isn’t all that. The humor isn’t, well, Brittish enough if you ask me. I did try it, but I liked part III a lot better, and that one looked better too. I also loved the Wing Commander series, for its sheer megalomania alone, which was for that time, of Final Fantasy proportions (wasn’t WC IV the first game to break the 4 million budget mark for a game or something, with several big Hollywood names involved?), although somehow I liked the much lesser known Warhead better - which I think was a one man project. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/59 "2005-06-08T23:01:40Z")
> [@Arwin](#): > > I also loved the Wing Commander series, for its sheer megalomania alone, which was for that time, of Final Fantasy proportions (wasn’t WC IV the first game to break the 4 million budget mark for a game or something, with several big Hollywood names involved?) Yeah, WC4’s budget is part of computer game mythos, with it being an uncomfirmed amount ranging anywhere between 4 million and 12 million, depending on who you ask. Had big name stars ranging from Malcolm McDowell to That Guy From Star Wars, Mark Hamil himself. Also had a number of lesser actors that I nonetheless ended up noticing in lots of other random places, ranging from a season of Babylon 5 to a movie my room mate owns about Capoeira, a Brazilian form of martial arts/dancing. Oh, and John Rhys Davies. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793/60 "2005-06-08T23:35:37Z")
> [@Stonebow](#): > > FYI- > I broke down and e-mailed LucasArts about X-Wing and Tie Fighter for XP…here’s what I got. > > _snip_ > > _sigh_ Try and get a hold of the Collector’s CD-ROM version of the games for Windows 95 (make sure not to get the Collector’s CD-ROM version for DOS, it won’t work for you) Took some fiddling, I think (I seem to recall getting a patch somewhere, but I don’t remember anymore) but I got X-Wing to work in XP. Don’t know about TIE Fighter though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-i-miss-the-golden-age-of-lucasgames/305793.md?page=2)