Updates:
Hey guys; it's been a while...
Acouple of years ago long, long time ago, I started working on a patch for the Kilrathi Saga version of Wing Commander 1. Slightly less than a long, long time ago, I got sidetracked. (Narrator: It would not be the last time.) A couple of weeks ago I decided to pick the project back up, and now it's ready for an introduction. It hasn't yet been extensively tested, but I guess that's what you guys are for. Think of this as a beta. Thanks to all your support and suggestions over the years, this is all quite playable now!
2018-07-25: I've added a small collection of tools that I developed while I was figuring out the Wing Commander data formats. You can find them attached to this messages as wctools.zip. (2020-10-10: I've moved these into the main release archive.) I'll keep this updated as I release newer versions of wcdx in the future. Included is a tool to extract individual resources from gamedat files (wcres), a tool to convert image resources to PNG files (wcimg), and a tool to play music tracks from the stream files or save them as .wav files (wcjukebox). There is also now a tool for converting WC2 font resources to PNG files (wc2font). These are all command-line tools; for instructions on how to use them, just run them from the command prompt.
Here are the main features:
- [2021-09-11] - wcdx-2.2.1: Official 2.2.1 release. Fixes cockpit damage and VDU static.
- [2020-10-10] - wcdx-2.2: Official 2.2 release. Supports Wing Commander 2 and Special Operations 1 and 2.
- [2018-07-25] - wctools: First release of tools used to help develop wcdx.
- [2018-07-02] - wcdx-2.0-alpha2: Slightly less full of bugs.
- [2015-09-06] - wcdx-2.0-alpha1: First playable Wing Commander 2 release. Probably full of bugs.
- [2015-04-07] - wcdx-1.2: Official 1.2 release. This is 1.2-beta4 rebranded as 1.2.
- [2015-03-30] - wcdx-1.2-beta4: Fixed crash on minimize; maximize button enables full-screen mode.
- [2015-03-22] - wcdx-1.2-beta3: Fixed loading bug with planets and added the barracks poster.
- [2015-03-17] - wcdx-1.2-beta2: Fixed planets and joystick navigation in gameflow sequences.
- [2015-02-28] - wcdx-1.2-beta1: First beta release featuring support for Secret Missions 2.
- [2015-02-22] - wcdx-1.1-beta1: First beta release featuring support for Secret Missions 1.
- [2015-01-09] - wcdx-1.0: Official 1.0 release, containing only very minor revisions from beta update 3.
- [2014-12-31] - wcdx-1.0-beta-update3: SAVEGAME.WLD is now moved into an appropriate user-specific directory.
- [2014-12-27] - wcdx-1.0-beta-update2: Fixed a sound bug that could cause a crash on entering autopilot.
- [2014-12-24] - wcdx-1.0-beta-update1: Prefer local streams over streams found on the CD.
Hey guys; it's been a while...
A
2018-07-25: I've added a small collection of tools that I developed while I was figuring out the Wing Commander data formats. Y
Here are the main features:
- Replaced DirectDraw calls with Direct3D 9.
- D3D should be more maintainable going forward should the need arise to add new features or fix unexpected bugs.
- The game no longer tries to use a hardware palette, which was poorly supported in Vista and later operating systems.
- The game no longer switches the display resolution. Instead, it blits to a desktop-sized window. I felt a need to do this because my display (an old 23" Apple Cinema Display) couldn't handle a 320x200 resolution, but there are other benefits. By determining the precise boundaries of the image on your display, the game can ensure a correct 4:3 aspect ratio no matter what your display's size actually is. Additionally, without a mode switch, the game now goes instantly into full screen mode and back. (This is what some current games refer to as "windowed fullscreen.")
- Oh, yeah, I also added windowed mode. At any point in the game, hit Alt-Enter to toggle between full-screen and windowed modes. The game will pick a pretty good default windowed size, but you can resize it to your heart's delight.
- Removed all privileged instructions/API calls.
- The game can now be run without using compatibility mode and without requiring administrative privileges.
- The game can now be run without using administrative privileges.
- Really. Please stop elevating the game's privilege level. UAC exists for a reason; don't disable it.
- Compatible with Windows XP and up.
- Actually, I haven't tested it on Windows XP, but if you give it a try and it works for you, please post here.
- Fixed that annoying music bug.
- You know the one. You take out that fleeing salthi, and then you get that victory fanfare, and then you get that victory fanfare, and then you get that victory fanfare, and then your roommate goes crazy and tosses your computer out the nearest window. (Old times...)
- Actually, this is technically a separate patch because it was a data issue, but in any case it's fixed.
- Fixed planets.
- In the Kilrathi Saga, the vast emptiness of space was vastly empty. No longer! Now Windows gamers can enjoy the same stellar backdrops as everyone else!
- Fixed the poster.
- Check out that poster!
- Secret Missions 1 and 2 support!
- Now with support for Wing Commander 2!
- And Special Operations 1!
- And Special Operations 2!
- Tools for all (well, some) of your data extraction needs! This release includes tools for extracting game resources from the data files, including sprites, fonts, and more!
- wcres for extracting resources
- wcimg for converting extracted resources to PNG images
- wc2font for converting the resources in fonts.fnt to PNG images
- Do you love George Oldziey's prerendered digital arrangements of the original MIDI scores? With wcjukebox, now you can sit back, relax, and let the WAVs wash over you!
- Fixed cockpit damage and VDU static.
- Fly without a radar in WC2!
- The patch only works for the executables distributed with the add-on packs for WC1 and WC2. If you haven't installed the add-on packs, the patch will do you no good.
- Cut scenes in WC2 are... well, they're not quite right. They're overly responsive to player input, skipping important bits of dialogue here and there (especially if you click to move to the next line; this will often skip two lines of dialogue). The timings are also pretty bad. For whatever reason, Origin reworked the scripted sequences to play back at a very high frame rate, but didn't adjust all the timings properly, resulting in bugs such as fighter cockpits floating in the middle of space, without the rest of the fighter attached. This is a data issue, and I haven't figured out a good approach to fixing it yet.
- I haven't yet touched WC3. It's a lot of work, but it's not impossible that I'll do something with it at some point.
- Because it's a data patch, the annoying music bug is fixed throughout both Wing Commander 1 and the Secret Missions pack. (I vaguely recall that it wasn't an issue in WC2.)
- Install the game. You can use the installer from the CD if you wish, but my preferred method is to simply take the WC1 and WC2 folders and copy them somewhere. You can also use the PC Gamer release, available from the CIC Downloads section. If you use the installer, be sure to go back and copy the streams directory afterward. This will allow you to run the game without the CD, and (more importantly) is required in order for the music patch to work.
- Install the Secret Missions add-on pack. Once again, you can use the included installer, or you can simply copy the files over. If you choose to do it manually, note that every file that isn't an executable (.exe) belongs in the gamedat directory.
- Install the Special Operations add-on pack. This time, if you're installing it manually, be sure to rename the original wc2.exe to Wing2.exe. (The wc2.exe that is in the Special Operations zip file is a launcher, not the game itself.)
- Copy wcdx.dll, wcpatch.exe, and patchmusic.exe into the directory containing Wing1.exe.
- Open a command prompt and run this command: wcpatch Wing1.exe Wing1_wcdx.exe
- For Secret Missions support, repeat step 5 for SM1.EXE, SM2.EXE and TRANSFER.EXE.
- Run this other command: patchmusic streams\mission.str
- For Wing Commander 2 and Special Operations, repeat step 5 for Wing2.exe (don't forget step 3!), SO1.exe, and SO2.exe. There is no need to run patchmusic for Wing Commander 2.
- Try it out! Double-click on Wing1_wcdx to start the game. If everything works the way you expect it to, you can delete your old Wing1.exe and rename Wing1_wcdx back to Wing1.
- Right here on GitHub!
- I've also attached the latest binaries to this post, and will keep it updated as newer versions are released.
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