every space simulator requires a joystick and my opinion is that they shouldn't allow you to play them with keyboard

Robertmo, I totally agree with you, but sometimes you don't have the choice... I had a laptop for 3 years now, which works quite well, but doesn't have a joystick port... A friend lent me his joystick/usb converter, but I couldn't get it to work on linux (and it couldn't work with all the triggers of my good old Sidewinder 3Dpro)...

Well in short, I was quite happy to see Privateer running well now, except that it's unplayable because you can't get a hit on enemy ships 😒 And the mouse system is awful compared to the WC2 one... Any solution?

Hi voyageur,

Currently I have to use a laptop as well and I dont have an USB joystick right now, that is why I asked. Generally I prefer playing these games with a joystick, of course.

Anyways, you are able to hit the ships but it is a lot tougher and takes a lot longer. If several enemies show up you are usually toast just because of that.

I browsed the internet a bit more and I found a site where someone posted an answer to this issue (it was taken from the old non-existant Origin tech support site). They said that the keyboard in Privateer is bound to the framerate or so and it can lead to a keyboard "buffer" overflow. They recommended to check the systematic type rate (or something sounding alike, cant remember exactly) in your BIOS or to just shortly touch the keyboard and hit it multiple times instead of pressing down a button for a longer time (tried that, didnt make a difference). The only time the keyboard works normally while aiming is when your Thrusters or maneuver engines are damaged. I guess we wont get around a joystick... the mouse just made the ship moving without me touching anything somehow.

Hum if it's related to framerate, it will be quite hard for my athlon 🙁
The mouse is working (more or less), but it's hard to stop the ship moving: in WC2, there is a mouse pointer that more or less represented a virtual joystick position, which isn't in Privateer, hence making the game unplayable with mouse...

Maybe there's a linux project somewhere emulating the joystick that could help... I quite didn't like being toasted by two retros flying talons! Or is there a setting in dosbox to define the minimal duration of a keystroke?

I don't think so (correct me if I am wrong).

However, as I wrote above,hitting the key just real quick and short doesnt solve the issue in my opinion since I tried that - unless a different software setting makes a difference, who knows.

Somehow I doubt it is related to the framerate, though. I remember the problem existed already when I played the game in DOS with a decent PC at that time (thus the game was fast but the keyboard steering was as bad as it is now).

I own the Sidewinder FF (same as 3D Pro but it has Force feedback hardware) and luckily still a soundcard with a normal gameport. While using the laptop I would have to use an USB joystick too but I forgot it at home. 😉

There is so much stuff developed for Linux, I would be surprised if there is nothing that could support the USB converter. Then again, I am not a Linux expert so I shouldnt judge on that. 😉

Indeed it could have been a problem since the beginning (I only played it on my old PC with a joystick)... But it makes the game really harder 🙁

I'll do some goggling too, who knows there may be another solution/fix!

Keep us updated. 😁

Well bad news: I didn't find a something-to-joy converter 😒

But, I recently tried a joystick-to-usb converter (it's been quite a long time since the last time I tried), and I cant get it recognized without any difficulties now! Don't know when the needed driver was introduced in the linux kernel though (2.6 or earlier?), but Privateer will be quite more playable now for me 😀

Not that this matters now, but I remember playing Privateer on a 386DX-33 with the *same* problem you have. However, upon installing it on a brand-spankin' new 486-66, it ran beautifully.

I guess I'm just reiterating what Silencer131 is saying: Need more framerate.