Subject: Privateer 2 FAQ v1.21 From: john@pmbbs.demon.co.uk (John Portwin) Date: Thu, 09 Jan 97 17:44:58 GMT Message-ID: <852831898snz@pmbbs.demon.co.uk> Hi everyone! Here it is, the very latest version! PRIVATEER II : THE DARKENING ============================= Unofficial FAQ and Information Guide v1.21 ========================================== By JOHN PORTWIN, JANUARY 1997 (john@pmbbs.demon.co.uk) [SECTION ZERO] INTRODUCTION [0.0] Copyright [0.1] Trademarks [0.2] Disclaimer [0.3] Where can I get this FAQ? [SECTION ONE] VITAL INFORMATION AND FAQ [1.0] Introduction [1.1] How many CD's should I have? [1.2] What version should I have? [1.3] Where's my starmap? [1.4] Why can't I buy the Freij Mk II? [1.5] The game crashes every time I land on Hermes or Hephasteus [1.6] Why can't I see any missions? [1.7] Where can I buy the Kraven Mk IV lasers? [1.8] Where can I buy the Return To Sender and Blindfire? [1.9] The Angus Santana mission [1.10] Matrox card problems [1.11] Running on a 486 [1.12] CH Pro Throttle [1.13] How to "tie up loose ends" [1.14] Playing with the keyboard [1.15] "Set stream speed" error [1.16] The DOS extender *1.17* Multiple missions *1.18* I can't match speeds! [SECTION TWO] GAME STATISTICS [2.0] Guide [2.1] Ships you can buy [2.2] Cargo ships you can rent [2.3] Ships you could meet [2.4] Guns to buy [2.5] Missiles to buy [2.7] Mines to buy [2.8] Decoys to buy [2.9] Modules to buy [SECTION THREE] GAME TIPS [3.0] Warning [3.1] Good trade routes [3.2] Good illegal trade routes [3.3] The Senator's Daughter [3.4] How to cheat [3.5] Why can't I complete any escort missions? [3.6] How to win every battle [3.7] A note on upgrades [3.8] The Backroom Boys [3.9] Wingmen *3.10* Easy cheating! [SECTION FOUR] AFTERWORDS [4.1] Thanks to.. [4.2] Newsgroups [4.3] Adding to this FAQ? [4.4] Revision list [4.5] And finally... ----------------------------- *[SECTION ZERO]* INTRODUCTION ----------------------------- [0.0] Copyright This FAQ is copyright John Portwin, 1997. [0.1] Trademarks Privateer, Origin and We Create Worlds are all registered trademarks of Origin Systems Inc. The Darkening is a trademark of Origin Systems, Inc. Electronic Arts is a registered trademark of Electronic Arts. All names and references to objects within the game are copyright Origin Systems Inc and its parent company Electronic Arts. Any trademarks ommited are still acknowledged. [0.2] Disclaimer The reason I wrote this FAQ is to educate everyone and "fill in the blanks" that are seemingly left in the game's manuals. It is not endorsed in any way by Origin/Electronic Arts, neither is it competition to any strategy guides that have been or may be released by Origin or Electronic Arts. The author John Portwin shall not be held responsible for any damage to property, persons or information caused by this FAQ. Use at your own risk. .. a Shakespeare quote comes to mind .. [0.3] Where can I get this FAQ? The most recent version of this FAQ will always be available at: http://www.pmbbs.demon.co.uk/p2faq.txt and http://www.sci.fi/~scalper/priva2/priva2.html ---------------------------------------- *[SECTION ONE]* GAME INFORMATION AND FAQ ---------------------------------------- [1.1] How many CD's should I have? Although it seems there should be four CD's with the game (the holder has space for four) the game runs on three CD's. Apparently the beta versions came on four. [1.2] What version should I have? UK and European versions are version 16, USA versions 17. [1.3] Where's my starmap? If you bought your copy of Privateer II in Europe, you won't get a map. US versions do. There is one available on the net at: http://www.sci.fi/~scalper/priva2/map.gif (it is around 400k) [1.4] Why can't I buy the Freij Mk II? It becomes available later on, after the news bulletin about it is released. It can be bought at most ship dealers (not all) for 200k credits. [1.5] The game crashes every time I land on Hermes or Hephasteus Ah, another sufferer :-) don't worry, you're not alone by far. Some possible solutions: 1) Try landing with CD 1 in the CD-ROM. 2) Increase your FILES and BUFFERS settings in your CONFIG.SYS. 3) Turn off "VIDEO TRANSITINONS" from the options menu. 4) Don't use Smartdrive. 5) Don't use a 3D graphics card. 6) Upgrade your video card BIOS. The problem (according to Origin) is with Rendition video cards. * A fix has been found - you'll need another 40mb of HDD space though. Just copy SETS.IFF from your CD1 into your Privateer 2 directory. This doesn't work in all cases :-( [1.6] Why can't I see any missions? You need to advance sufficiently far in the main "plot" to be offered missions. [1.7] Where can I buy the Kraven Mk IV lasers? You can't, not until they are offered to you by Ralph McCloud. You must save him from pirates and then meet him in the bar where he will offer them to you. They will then be available in the CCN screens for 16,000 credits. [1.8] Where can I buy the Return To Sender and Blindfire? As above, they are rewards for completing missions later in the game. [1.9] The Angus Santana mission In some cases, the PADD tells you about this mission even after you complete it. It goes after a while. [1.10] Matrox card problems Apparently, white flashes occur during video clips if you have a Matrox video card. The company is currently working on a fix for this problem. [1.11] Running on a 486 Privateer 2 will run on a 486 (DX-50 is the lowest though) with a good graphics card, although you will get slow movie playback and the game will slow down when there are many ships around or you are near a planet. I have successfully run P2 with a DX-50, 8mb RAM, 2xCD-ROM. It was still playable :-) [1.12] CH Pro Throttle A driver for this is available on CD-ROM 1, filename PRIV2.KEY. [1.13] How to "Tie up loose ends" It's just the game's way of telling you there is no more "plot" to follow, you have basically finished the linear plot and are free to explore on your own. [1.14] Playing with the keyboard I've had a couple of questions regarding using the keyboard, sadly it is not possible to play Privateer 2 using keys. Mouse or Joystick is the only option. [1.15] "Set stream speed" error A fix for this problem is in the European install guide, for some reason not in the US version. It basically tells you to free up more conventional memory. Making a boot disk is the best fix. [1.16] The DOS extender In the install guide, a reference on pages 10/11 is made to different versions of the DOS extender being on CD 1. This is not the case. Stick with v1.97 :-( *1.17* Multiple missions If you see a mission on a bulletin board that you have already accepted, do not select it again until you have competed it. Once you complete the mission, you can come back and do it again, though :-) *1.18* I can't match speeds! If you are using a joystick with a throttle, the match speeds feature (X) doesn't work. You have to disable the throttle to use this feature. ------------------------------- *[SECTION TWO]* GAME STATISTICS ------------------------------- [2.0] Guide This section has vital information on ships that you can buy through the CCN, all pirate and military ships, as well as cargo ships. Type refers to the class shown in the manual: L - Light fighter M - Medium fighter H - Heavy fighter T - Transport or cargo ship Where an entry is left blank, it is unknown. Our recon crews are working on updating the information held here. [2.1] Ships You Can Buy Ratings apart from Cost and given Speeds are out of 10. Afterburner speed assumes basic speed, with no afterburner upgrades. Type Speed Shields Modules Guns AB.Sp Cost Agility Armour Missiles Max.Sp STRAITH [PL01] L 10000 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 288 577 VELACIA [PL02] L 20000 5 3 5 5 3 3 2 320 641 AURORA [PR01] L 34000 5 3 5 3 4 4 2 320 641 DURESS [ML01] L 60000 7 5 6 2 4 6 2 380 761 DRAKKAR [KN01] L 90000 9 4 8 2 5 5 4 400 800 SHAMAN [PR02] M 17000 5 4 5 3 4 4 2 320 641 JENDEVI [PR04] M 45000 2 4 4 5 4 4 3 279 559 SKECIS Mk II [PL3a] M 80000 6 4 5 4 4 5 3 359 719 SKECIS [PL03] M 85000 6 5 4 6 5 4 4 359 719 HERETIC [ML02] M 100000 9 4 6 4 5 6 4 400 800 KALRECHI [PL04] M 110000 6 4 5 6 6 4 4 359 719 KARNENAN [PR03] H 70000 6 4 3 6 5 5 4 359 719 ICARUS [PR05] H 105000 9 4 5 4 5 6 4 400 800 FALDARI Mk II [ML3a] H 125000 6 5 6 4 6 6 4 359 719 FALDARI [ML03] H 160000 6 5 6 5 6 6 5 359 719 FREIJ [ML06] H 180000 9 5 9 6 7 7 4 400 800 FREIJ Mk II [ML6a] H 200000 9 5 9 9 7 7 5 400 800 DANRIK [KN02] H 250000 9 5 9 5 7 7 5 400 800 [2.2] Cargo ships you can rent Speed Shield Capacity Cost Turrets Armour Bays GEA TRANSIT [CR01] 288 0 4 4 250 5 50 GEA TRANSIT Mk II [CR1a] 288 0 4 4 400 6 110 OGAN [CR02] 220 1 4 7 550 6 240 ILIA [CR03] 390 2 7 7 750 7 390 ILIA Mk II [CR3a] 200 2 7 7 900 8 630 MONOLITH [CR04] 140 3 7 10 1500 9 920 [2.3] More ships you could meet Type Class Top Spd Armament Reward Class Weapon Loadout Reward LIGHT FIGHTER [ML1b] L Military 440 2 STRE MEDIUM FIGHTER [ML2b] M Military 440 HEAVY FIGHTER [ML3b] H Military 320 5 STRE HEAVY FIGHTER [ML4X] H Military 559 4 STRE DESTROYER [ML4D] H Military 240 2 MIOC CARRIER SHIP [MC0S] T Military Not in game? DREADNOUGHT [MDRE] H Military TRANSPORT [CCTb] T Military Not in game? PROTOTYPE SHIP [MCPH] H Military Not in game? SKULL [SKUL] L Jincilla 559 2 STR2, Snipe 50 VELDOR [ML05] M Jincilla 379 4 STRE 50 TACON [PRHa] H Jincilla 379 5 FLX2 50 SHUTTLE [SH1a] T Jincilla 240 2 Turret 100 CRUISER [PR6a] H Jincilla 500 VECTOR [PLM2] L Kiowan 359 2 STR2, Snipe 50 LEIGHAT [MLAS] M Kiowan 400 2 STRE 50 KRELL [PRHb] H Kiowan 400 4 FLX2 50 SHUTTLE [SH1b] T Kiowan 240 2 Turret 100 CRUISER [CR2a] H Kiowan 500 DEMON [PLM3] L Chirichan 279 2 STR2 50 HERON [ML04] M Chirichan 400 4 STRE 50 TESTMOS [PR2a] H Chirichan 440 5 FLX2, Brute 2 50 SHUTTLE [SH2a] T Chirichan 240 2 Turret 100 CRUISER [CR2b] H Chirichan 500 TEMBLER [PLM4] L Papagod 407 3 STR2 50 ECANTONA [PR2b] M Papagod 400 4 STRE, Snipe 50 ASHEARER [ML4b] H Papagod 480 5 FLX2 50 SHUTTLE [SH2b] T Papagod 240 2 Turret 100 CRUISER [PR06] H Papagod 500 VENDETTA [KN1b] L Kindred 379 3 FLX2, Snipe 100 BLADE [PL4b] H Kindred 480 4 MIOC, Snipe 100 TRANSPORT [TRAN] T Neutral [2.4] Guns to buy ID Code Price Range STREAM LASER STRE 600 250 VOLT LASER VOLT 3000 150 FLUX BEAM FLUX 5000 200 STREAM LASER Mk II STR2 7000 250 FLUX BEAM Mk II FLX2 8000 250 MASS ION CANNON MIOC 10000 200 KRAVEN LASER Mk IV KRAV 16000 250? [2.5] Missiles to buy ID Code Speed Price SNIPE SNIP 1000 100 BRUTE Mk I BRUT 1119 150 BRUTE Mk II BRU2 1119 200 BANSHEE BANS 800 205 PROXIMITY PROX 800 210 PYTHON PYTH 1400 225 DISRUPTER DISR 1160 250 STINGRAY TORPEDO STIN 200 500 HELLRAISER TORPEDO HELL 200 1000 [2.6] Mines to buy ID Code Cost No. Function HI-EX MINES MIN1 150 10 Simple explosives PROXIMITY MINES MIN2 200 10 Detonate on contact VIRAL MINES MIN3 350 10 Shuts down ships for 5-10 secs [2.7] Decoys to buy DECOYS Mk I DEC1 400 15 50% chance of decoying missiles DECOYS Mk II DEC2 800 15 75% chance of decoying missiles [2.8] Modules to buy ID Code Cost Function COOLANT UNIT Mk I CUL1 6000 Cooling process up 30% COOLANT UNIT Mk II CUL2 12000 Cooling process up 50% COOLANT UNIT Mk III CUL3 24000 Cooling process up 110% COOLANT UNIT Mk IV CUL4 48000 Cooling process up 150% AFTERBURNERS Mk I AEM1 4000 Increases speed + accel by 10% AFTERBURNERS Mk II AEM2 8000 Increases speed + accel by 20% AFTERBURNERS Mk III AEM3 14000 Increases speed + accel by 30% AUTO-REPAIR UNIT Mk I ARU1 8000 Repair combat damage (not armour) AUTO-REPAIR UNIT Mk II ARU2 16000 Same as Mk I, but faster SHIELD UNIT Mk I SEM1 7000 Shield regeneration rate up 50% SHIELD UNIT Mk II SEM2 14000 Shield regeneration rate up 75% SHIELD UNIT Mk III SEM3 25000 Shield regeneration rate up 100% BSE TRANSMITTER Mk I BSE1 12000 "Momentarily" shuts down enemy BSE TRANSMITTER Mk II BSE2 18000 Shuts down enemy "for a while" WARP SHIELDS WARP 25000 Powerful shield "for a while" BLINDFIRE TARGETING BLF1 Tells you when to shoot RTS ANTI-MISSILES RTS Chance of returning missile to firer SIGNAL FILTER VFLT 6000 Blocks BSE chances by 50% NUKE'EM NUKM 4000 One shot, destroys nearby enemies ------------------------- *SECTION THREE* GAME TIPS ------------------------- [3.0] Warning! Reading the following can spoil your enjoyment of the game!! [3.1] Good legal trade routes "Chain" cargo routes together (eg. Crius-Anhur-Hermes-Crius) for the most money. Trade between Bex (buy lumber, beer and livestock) and Hephaestus, for about 7000 credits per return trip. Between Crius (buy cyber limbs and medikits) and Anhur, around 10000 per trip. Between Leviatha (Livestock, Optic Nerves) and Hermes (Hardware and Ores). Between Hermes (buy blood, optic nerves, solar generators) and Crius. Between Anhur (buy Cesium and Platinum) and Hermes (Biopolys, Optic Nerves, Cyber Limbs and blood). [3.2] Good illegal trade routes Trying to run these trips without a strong ship can greatly reduce your life expectancy. You have been warned! Between Bex (buy Human Organs, Pleasure Borgs, Brain Implants) and Hephasteus. Between Massanas (buy black market items like brains, organs) and Ostina, for around 9000 credits per return trip. Between Karatikus (buy organs and brains) and Janus IV (guns, solar generators and comm units) for a good profit, around 10000 credits per trip. [3.3] The Senator's Daughter mission I'll explain the workings for those that are interested! * First waypoint (at a randomly generated location): One ship carries 70 tons every 12 hours The other carries 100 tons every 16 hours Time = 12 days (one day = 32 hours) = 384 hours So total number of trips by each ship: Ship One : Carries 384/12 = 32 trips Ship Two : Carries 384/16 = 24 trips Therefore, total amount of cargo carried: Ship One : 32 x 70 = 2240 tons Ship Two : 24 x 100 = 2400 tons So divide 2400 by 20 (like it tells you in the question) : Nav Point 120. * Second waypoint (at Nav point 120), with laser towers Four department heads, four seats. No. of ways of choosing a seat to go in first position = 4 Therefore, next department head has 3 choices Next one has two choices Then the last one has only one choice: 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24. So go to nav point 24. * Third point (at Nav point 24), with pirates The poor bloke throws up 9 litres = 9000 cubic centimetres, into a waste bin of dimensions 36x36x36 centimetres. Therefore area of bin base = 36x36 = 1296 square centimetres. So, height reached by puke = 9000/1296 = 6.94 cm = 7cm rounded up. Multiply by 3 : final nav point = 21. (Apparently, someone wrote to me and said that 9 litres = 900 cubic centimetres, and then said that that gave them an answer of 3, which was also a correct waypoint!) I haven't managed to rescue the girl alive (she is always found dead), but you get your 14,000 credits. [3.4] How to cheat Many thanks to Daniel Pye for this information. ** BACKUP YOUR SAVED GAME BEFORE YOU DO ANY OF THIS!! ** If you want a lot of money, just use a hex editor on a saved game (game00.iff - game09.iff) edit position 0x03E-0x041 and 0x13E-0x141. Change those bytes to FFFF FF00. Make sure that you change it in both spots. Doesn't work on all versions.. More detailed cheating (use a hex editor on game00.iff-game09.iff): mount # location in savegame Types = Units ------- -------------------- ------ ----- 1 226 Hex/550 Dec 00 = Coolant Unit Mk I 2 22E Hex/558 Dec 01 = Coolant Unit Mk II 3 236 Hex/566 Dec 02 = Coolant Unit Mk III 4 23E Hex/574 Dec 03 = Coolant Unit MK IV 5 246 Hex/582 Dec 04 = Auto Repair Unit Mk I 05 = Auto Repair Unit Mk II The amount that you have is stored 06 = Afterburner Enhancer Mk I at the location - 4 07 = Afterburner Enhancer Mk II example: Hard Point 2 is at 08 = Afterburner Enhancer Mk III 22E (hex) then the amount of the 09 = Shield Enhancer Mk I item on the hardpoint is at 0A = Shield Enhancer Mk II 22A (hex) 0B = Shield Enhancer Mk III 0C = BSE Virus Transmitter Mk I Mount locations are in the 0D = BSE Virus Transmitter Mk II following order when more than 0E = Signal Filter five of them. 0F = Warp Shields 10 = Nuke'm 1 2 11 = Hi-Ex Mines 3 4 12 = Proximity Mines 5 6 13 = Viral Mines 7 14 = Decoys Mk I 15 = Decoys Mk II Missile mounts: Location in file: mount # location in savegame Types = Missiles ------- -------------------- ------ -------- 1 256 Hex/598 Dec 00 = Snipe 2 25E Hex/606 Dec 01 = Brute Mk I 3 266 Hex/614 Dec 02 = Brute Mk II 4 26E Hex/622 Dec 03 = Python 5 276 Hex/630 Dec 04 = Disrupter 6 27E Hex/638 Dec 05 = Banshee 7 286 Hex/646 Dec 06 = Proximity 07 = Stingray Torpedo 08 = Hellraiser Torpedo Hardpoint Location on Ships With More Than 4 points are in the following order. 1 2 3 ***Amounts of missiles are stored at the missile address 4 5 -4 example: Hardpoint 1 is at 256. The # of missiles 6 7 on that point is at 252. You will not see them in the booth though. Gun Mounts: Location in file: mount # location in savegame Types = Guns ------- -------------------- ------ -------- 1 296 Hex/662 Dec 00 = Stream Laser Mk I 2 29E Hex/670 Dec 01 = Stream Laser Mk II 3 2A6 Hex/678 Dec 02 = Volt Laser 4 2AE Hex/686 Dec 03 = Flux Beam Mk I 5 2B6 Hex/694 Dec 04 = Flux Beam Mk II 05 = Mass Ion Cannon 06 = Kraven Laser MK IV Hardpoint Location on Ships With More Than 4 points are in the following order. 1 2 3 4 5 Paul Walker tells me that there are two more gun types! 07 = Big Ship Guns (2), Yellow beams 08 = Big Ship Guns (2), Red beams (as 5?) With five lasers, your opponents can now get *really* toasted! [3.5] Why can't I complete any escort missions? Don't leave the ship you're supposed to be escorting - only jump after it does, and land after it lands. Then you will complete your mission. [3.6] How to win every battle Try to never attack a ship head on. The majority of enemy in the game will rush you head on and then fly around in aimless circles. Get behind a target, match speeds and you can just blast the sucker to hell.. If you are attacking a shuttle, first knock out it's escort and then get in it's blind spot (the side with no laser turrets) and blast away.. Cato Dolvik "The best way to fight cruisers is "head on" no kidding, it seems like they can't reach you with their turrets if you are directly in front of them. They also give 500 in reward. And to fight cargo ships try to get behind them and really close before starting to fire at them." [3.7] A note on upgrades Since you don't lose any money when you buy/sell equipment, it makes sense to upgrade your ship (a Shaman with good shields and afterburners and a couple of MIOCs still packs a huge punch) first and *then* once you have a good amount of money to sell all and get a really good ship. [3.8] The Backroom Boys If you accept this mission, knock out the escort ships first then scan the Monolith (the Boys are in it). Then you can destroy their ship in peace. [3.9] Wingmen It makes sense to get the best wingman you can. Ones costing more than 400 credits are the best. Remember you will lose a wingman after you land at a planet - if you have a particularly good wingman, try to land on space stations instead of planets. Also, if you know you're in for a particularly heavy mission with lots of fighting, hire a beefy cargo ship like a Monolith (they have powerful turrets and a lot of armour) as well as a wingman. *3.10* Easy cheating! Martin Mueller writes: Instead of hacking into your saved games you can easily cheat while in-game: Enter the navigational display (ALT-n) Hit 'f' for find and enter: REP ME UP -> Ship repaired, armour and shields at 100% PETY PETY -> Afterburner fuel refilled CHILL OUT -> Drop laser temperature to 0 NAPALM -> Get infinite nukes (ALT-s) NO TALENT -> Invincibility These cheats are active until you land on a planet/base. Sometimes these cheats seem to freeze the game when landing on a planet, though... at least on my machine :( --------------------------- *[SECTION FOUR]* AFTERWORDS --------------------------- [4.1] Thanks To.. Mika Majakorpi for letting me use the info on his web pages and for storing my FAQ. Daniel Pye for the hacking info. Goh Yu-Jin Roger Wong for FAQ-writing info. Cato Dolvik for some useful info Everyone else who I forgot.. [4.2] Newsgroups If you want more information, there are four newsgroups which have a lot of Privateer 2 information: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic alt.games.wing-commander comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flight-sim [4.3] Adding to this FAQ? If you have any information you want added, just drop me an e-mail at john@pmbbs.demon.co.uk and I will add it. Similarily, if you think you have been unfairly treated in any way, just tell me and I will do what I can to help :-) [4.4] Revision List v1.2 Added: Multiple missions Using throttles Easy cheating v1.1 Changed: Senator's daughter mission (typo) Added: Rendition note Tying up loose ends The Backroom Boys Wingmen Playing with the keyboard "Set stream speed" error The DOS extender [4.5] And finally... "I'm on top of the world maaaa!" -- .. John Portwin - john@pmbbs.demon.co.uk .. http://www.pmbbs.demon.co.uk/ for Psion Software / Privateer 2 FAQ! Junk e-mail is illegal - let's stop it now!