Privateer 2: The Darkening

Wing Commander
Wing Commander	1990
Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi	1991
Wing Commander: Academy	1993
Wing Commander: Privateer	1993
Super Wing Commander	1994
Wing Commander: Armada	1994
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger	1994
Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom	1996
Privateer 2: The Darkening	1996
Wing Commander: Prophecy	1997
Wing Commander: Secret Ops	1998

Key points

Use the Privateer 2 Unofficial Patch to remove FMV interlacing and improve stability.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Availability[edit]

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		DOS (original) or Windows (Deluxe).
GOG.com		DOS version pre-packaged with DOSBox.^[1]

Essential improvements[edit]

Patches[edit]

Version 17.0e (Buffalo Wings) patch (DOS)[edit]

The Version 17.0e (Buffalo Wings) patch updates the DOS version with fixes and improvements. The GOG.com and Windows versions are already patched.

Privateer 2 Unofficial Patch[edit]

The Privateer 2 Unofficial Patch removes video interlacing and fixes many other issues.

Set up Unofficial Patch^{[citation needed]}

Download the Privateer 2 Unofficial Patch.
Extract into the installation folder.
Right-click DARKFIX.EXE in the installation folder and choose Properties.
Click Compatibility and select the Run in Compatibility Mode check box. Select Windows 95.
Click OK to save your changes.
If you are using an original CD version you need to copy the files from all three CDs into the installation folder.
If your game is not installed on your C: drive you have to edit the DARK.FIX file and change the first two lines in order to match with your installation folder (e.g. C:. -> D:.)
Use DARKFIX.EXE to run the game from now on.

Game data[edit]

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

System	Location
DOS	<path-to-game>\DARK.CFG
Windows	<path-to-game>\DARK.CFG^{[Note 1]}

Settings for the Privateer 2 Unofficial Patch are stored in <path-to-game>\DARK.FIX.

Save game data location[edit]

System	Location
DOS	<path-to-game>\GAME0*.IFF
Windows	<path-to-game>\GAME0*.IFF^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy

Video settings[edit]

General settings.

Graphics option	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		640x480 only. Use the Privateer 2 Unofficial Patch for pillarboxed.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed	True for DOS version (when using DOSBox), false for Windows version.
Borderless fullscreen windowed	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)	For DOSBox use an unofficial build (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
60 FPS and 120+ FPS	Game is capped to around 30 FPS.

Input settings[edit]

Keyboard and mouse	Native	Notes
Remapping		For DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion		Toggle Flight Model Orientation in in-flight options (`Alt`+`O`).
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support		Space flight only.
Controller remapping		For DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion		Toggle Flight Model Orientation in in-flight options (`Alt`+`O`).

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio settings[edit]

Audio options	Native	Notes
Separate volume controls		On/off only.
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
German

Issues fixed[edit]

No music during space flight (Windows)[edit]

The Windows version only plays music when running in compatibility mode.

Install Unofficial Patch^[2]

Install the Privateer 2 Unofficial Patch.

Other information[edit]

API[edit]

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
64-bit executable

System requirements[edit]

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP, Vista, 7, 8
Processor (CPU)	1 GHz	1.4 GHz
System memory (RAM)	256 MB	512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Video card (GPU)	DirectX 7 compatible	DirectX 9 compatible

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 When running this game without Administrator elevation, activity in %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%, and %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore\ (more details).

References

[gamedir-2] 1.0 ^1.1 When running this game without Administrator elevation, activity in %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%, and %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore\ (more details).

[1] List of GOG games using DOSBox, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com

[3] New Privateer 2 Patch Adds Deinterlace Feature & Makes Numerous Improvements (October 1, 2013) | Page 3 | Wing Commander CIC

[1]

[Note 1]

[2]

Developers

	Origin Systems
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Release dates
DOS	December 9, 1996
Windows	November 4, 1997