There's an open source space sim called Vega Strike, and it's been used as a source port for Privateer, name of "Gemini Gold". Apparently the dev team behind Gemini Gold were previously working on a straight-up remake, aptly named "Privateer Remake". They even list the differences in their FAQ (link).

I've not tried either of these. Have you? Are they good? The devs of Gemini Gold say that it's playable, but not balanced, and I'm not sure what that means. Like, are the odds stacked for or against me? And how closely do the campaigns follow the original game?

"Gemini Gold" is trying to reproduce exactly the same gameplay like old/original Privateer. Intros, graphics, campaigns... but "feeling" depends on player. I didn't like mentioned "balancing" - too tough opponents (at least at beginning), hard to aim and hit etc.

What's SVN?

SVN - Apache Subversion (often abbreviated SVN, after the command name svn) is a software versioning and a revision control system.

I'm using . It's easy to use and at PU site you have info how to [url=http://pu.wcjunction.com/downloads.html]download the game.

Gemini Gold's developers are insane about sticking to canon, which was the source of a lot of controversy between them and the mainline Privateer Remake dev team.

I'm actually a minor contributor to Parallel Universe under the handle Solon Halwinder. Be warned, though, that at SVN r505 (the current one as of this post) some problem with the CSVs for ship stats has resulted in many of the new ships added by the PU project being unable to equip any armor or shields. You can fix this manually, but it's a pain in the ass.

So if one sticks to the ships found in the original game this won't be a problem?

I've been meaning to check out PU but to be honest the current need of SVN puts it rather low on my list. :(

I think I'll just stick to the Freelancer content conversion for now. I'd forgotten how much the curve steeps between the original Kilrathi Saga trilogy and Privateer. Which reminds me, I haven't played MechWarrior 4 yet.

The original ships are fine as far as I'm aware, and I think most of the new ships that were based on the original ships are fine too.

As for needing SVN, why is that a deal breaker for you?

How do you mean steep curve? Privateer was really not very hard, but a heck of alot of fun, some of the combat could get rough, especially if you intentionaly irritated people (piracy).
ouple tips for getting started, double up on patrols in the solar system you start in, horde cash and buy a pair of Meson Guns, then get the comp with the ITTS. Dont get missiles until you are ready to leave, and id advise not doing that until you are at partical cannons or better. The become a VERY tempting cashcow, also holding off on them will GREATLY help you become a better dogfighter.

As for Mech4, great game, unfortunately the mech addon packs dont do anything in campaign mode. Black Knights was a good follow up. While Mercs was fun, it was PAINFULLY SHORT, I beat it in a few hours, did side quests and the Solarus tournament, when it was over I was surprised, thiking it was too short. Also, Mercs changed alot of the criticals so pretty much no config from Mech4/BK worked in Mercs.

I forgot to write. PU (like "Remake") has AI ("Artificial Intelligence") for turrets which means they are useful more than in original game. E.g. Galaxy with two turrets is a very dangerous gunship right now... :D