Hey there everyone, I just purchased Privateer and have had the first two Wing Commander games for quite some time but I have one problem, I am terrible at these games and have no clue on how to play them right. My main issue is being able to keep my fire on the ships and be able to avoid getting constantly shot. How do you vets do it is my question, what are you tips/advice on how to maneuver properly in these flight games and be a hotshot pilot.

I am digging the atmosphere and what is available in Privateer, but I just can't get very far sadly.

Which controls are you using?

The main rule is never stay still, in Privateer it's better to do some short range commerce and scouting missions as you can just hit the afterburners and reach the nav points without engaging any enemy so you can buy better equipment and eventually a better ship.

The asteroid fields are tricky, keep in mind that the game engine just throws asteroids at you depending on your speed and direction, the best thing to do is slightly changing vector constantly by flying in the general direction you want to go.

Your shots don't reach the targets instantly and you have to take that into account while aiming, in privateer and WC2 there are some ships (or targeting computer upgrades in the case of Privateer) that have a lead indicator but in WC2 it's often VERY imprecise.

Also: if you didn't do it yet, read the manuals (they are great for the overall atmosphere as they are written in-universe and also suggest some tactics) and print the refcards (they are among the downloadable extras, no need to print the one for the expansions as the keys are more or less the same as the base game) for remembering the keyboard commands.

I am using a joystick in combination with a keyboard for the extra ship controls like targeting and the like.

Now when it comes to not staying still, what moves would you describe to avoid serious fire? I have tried moving to a different direction away from fire but it usually leads to getting shot even more despite getting out of the way. Also not having afterburners does not help either at the beginning of Privateer.

At the very beginning avoid any kind of combat situation, if you launch and see enemy craft reenter the base until you find the space empty, you have to be very cautious at the start of Privateer until you get anough money to buy ship implants and better weapons.

If I remember correctly you start with some missiles in privateer, my advice is to sell them and buy some good equipment or stuff to trade with the money, your ship is too low level to use them efficiently anyway.

With "never stay still" I mean "never fly in a straight line", moving away is not enough, you have to avoid any recognizable pattern (remember, you are in space in a Star Wars-esque universe, so no stalls or other pesky laws of physics that can get you killed), though it is very difficult with your starting ship but you can outmanouver most enemies in the starting system if you really get cornered.

Because of the game engine the hitdetection and hitboxes are a little bit dodgy, but this is how I do things in Wing Commander and Privateer.

First set the throttle to max (60-75% when in asteroids) and use full guns.
The best ways to open fire on enemies is when they fly away from you or attack you headon, note that there is a little inertia in the game so when coming out of a turn wait two seconds so your ship is aligned with the thrust again or try to compensate for it.
You can fire at enemies at an aspect but then you need to compensate and aim in front of where they're going, medium range is best but once you get a feel for it you can deflect shoot enemies from longer range as well, full guns might not be preferred as mixed guns can have different projectile speeds.

With headon attacks keep track of your front shields and armor and break of the attack when necessary and it's better not to frontal attack enemies that pack a lot of punch but I'll leave that to your discretion. When you're going after an enemy and you notice you're taking damage, break off and use afterburners.

One thing about WC1+2 is that the game engine can run really crappy and when things start to slow down too much not all guns will fire for some reason, you can press Ctrl-F12 to speed it up a little.
As for Privateer try to balance out your guns with the generator you have, there is no use in having humongous firepower and have a wimpy generator, actually I liked the lasers a lot as they have perhaps the fastest projectile speed and enemies tend to get bigger shields based on your firepower anyway.

I also forgot to say that in Privateer you should sell your starting torpedo/missile launcher as well as the missiles/torpedoes you have, missiles are costly and the cheaper ones are dumbfire which are difficult to use for a beginner, then use the money to buy some better equipment possibily trying to balance firepower and shields like Strijkbout said.

Joystick + keyboard is definitely the best way to play those games, IMHO.

For shooting targets, you need to remember your guns aren't instant, so you need to fire ahead of your target, where it'll be a bit later. Not easy at first, but you'll eventually get it. Also, try to stay quite close to the target, unless it's a slow moving one (transport, capship) you won't be able to hit it when it's too far ahead.

To avoid getting shot... move. As fast as you can. Usually get your throttle to max speed, and don't move in straight line, keep turning around, a bit randomly. And don't hesitate to fire afterburners when your shield is low. Usually, the best is to focus on trying to hit a target, trying to keep aiming ahead of it, it'll also force you to move a lot.

Also careful with missiles - they can do lots of damage. When you get "missile incoming" waring, focus on getting rid of it. What I usually do is hit afterburners, launch decoy, hard turn. Repeat if it didn't work.

For privateer, try to do easy missions (trade, simple fights) at first, upgrading your ship before taking on more serious missions.

Also remember WC1/2 are "hard" games, especially the add-ons. You'll need several tries for many missions. WC3 and later have a difficulty settings, but WC1/2 don't. So... good luck pilot ! ;)