I'm not working on any ships right now, not that there's much left to work on actually: I have to model the Dorkathi, Ralatha, Fralthra, and Fralthi, texture the Galaxy and Free Trader models (which are already done), re-texture the Talon (adding militia and pirate paintjobs besides the current retro one...), but (excluding texturing the Kilrathi ships, which is JarJarThomas's job) that's it for the ships department - at least until I decide that something sucks and needs to be redone, which believe me, will happen. I'm a perfectionist. *g*Now about the many things that still need to be worked on so you can look at them while you're not flying... Some people applied for a part in the Standoff cast of characters, and I've already started working on 3D models and animations based on their faces. Needless to say, I've got less applications than there are characters, so there are still plenty of vacancies left for whoever wants to see his/her face in this mod (about 3/4 of the cast, actually... )
I'm almost done with the Perry Naval Base bar, but I took a break from it to work on the characters, so no screenshots yet, and that probably will stay that way for a while. And no other scenes/places will be worked on until I get the concept sketches from mpanty either... but this isn't the priority right now, the characters and ships are.
As for the texturing... I've asked JarJarThomas to make all Kilrathi textures look similar, in a good way... just like the Hhriss he textured, which looks more WC2-yellow-ish than WC1-tan-ish, the Kamekh and all other Kilrathi ships will have WC2-style texturing, no matter which game they are from.
As for the confed ships, I based their texturing style on the launch sequences from WC1, where it shows part of your ship up close in great detail... with some scratches and stuff like that.
I got a first draft of the CD jacket art. It's AWESOME! Just in case, I ran it past my lawyer, who loved it, too, and assured us that there was nothing illegal about doing something in the style of Wing Commander. I thought you'd like to know that for the sake of your website!!! I'll try to get a picture of my lawyer doing shots with Bill Clinton for you...And thanks for bugging me about the CD. It's very encouraging to think that people actually want this. I've finished up a lot of projects this last week. And my Brother the Record Company bugged me about it, too.
So, I'm hoping to finish the audio mastering this coming week. Then, it's deciding what to say in the jacket, finishing up the text and art layout, nd ship the sucker.
I don't know how long that takes.
I've also been asked to write some books, and I'm in a nice spot between submitting the proposal and having to actually do the work. So this is a good time for WC. Should we include "Nice Day for War?" http://www.fatman.com/mpegs/fatman05.mp3
Love to all Warmongers--please remember to hold your horses.
FAT
Space-combat games and me go way back -- I was playing some of the first-ever 3D space games when some of the younger members of the PC Gamer team were still messing their drawers. Star Raiders, Elite, the original Wing Commander, and X-Wing... ah, those were the days, when line-drawn "vector" graphics and a few well placeed white dots on a black background were all it took to transport you to strange new worlds. These days, of course, it's all very different. The genre has been at the forefront of the PC gaming's technological evolution -- Origin and LucasArts leading the way in the mid-'90s with ever more impressive-looking Wing Commander and TIE Fighter titles, before finally being overtaken in the last few years by the likes of FreeSpace 2, Starlancer, and Independence War. The race has been twofold -- keep improving the graphics and speed to the point where you can really begin to feel as if you're in a Return of the Jedi-style furball, while also providing an ever more rich and "alive" universe to interact with.
Welcome to Game Three, Week Forty-Eight Trivia. We play each week. Every Monday two main questions and one bonus question are posted to alt.games.wing-commander and listed at the CIC. Please email answers to CReid1701@aol.com or ChrisReid@wcnews.com. Be sure to include a name you would like to be known under for the Scoreboard. Have your answers in before this coming Sunday (September 30, 2001) to ensure your answers are recorded. Answers submitted early may be returned and you may be able to fix incorrect answers, time permitting. Main questions answered correctly are good for 5 points, bonuses good for 3.-------
Answers to Questions for Week 47 (starting September 17, 2001):Question 93: What were two specific acts that made the Confederation declare war on the Kilrathi Empire?
Most Popular Answers Included: The destruction of the explorer TCS Iason as part of the official first contact and the destruction of the orphan transport Anna Magdalena after five years of raids and piracy.Question 94: What were two specific apparent acts that made the Confederation consider declaring war on the Union of Border Worlds?
Most Popular Answers Included: The destruction of the medical transport Amadeus by unmarked fighters and the destruction of the Orlando Deport by Seether claiming to be part of the UBW.Bonus 47: What was one reason the Confederation went to war with the Pilgrim Alliance?
Most Popular Answer: After launching an assault on Titan, the Pilgrim Alliance launched a large strike on the Confed base at Celeste. Confed declared war shortly thereafter.------
New Questions for Week 48 (starting September 17, 2001):Question 95: What senior veteran pilot rallied the survivors of the TCS Tiger's Claw after her destruction and escorted them to safety?
Question 96: Which member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff survived a Kilrathi suicide bombing which ended the false armistice of 2668?
Bonus 48: Who was the first seasoned Excalibur pilot to survive a recon mission into the Kilrah System after the initial Nephilim Invasion in 2681?
Submissions are due by September 30, 2001.
------
Please email answers to ChrisReid@wcnews.com and do not post directly to the Newsgroup. Thanks.
Hey all, Raptor here.You've already seen how the Border Worlds reserves were preparing for the upcoming fleet battle. HTL now continues with the second chapter of the "Toeing The Line" mini-series, which follows the Confed reserves. You'll recall that in the last TTL chapter, the Confeds had to suffer the indignity of having their ships "torpedoed" by the Border Worlders. Now they'll have to find a way of restoring their pride while learning to work with their new allies. Let's just hope the fighting doesn't start before the Nephilim get there....
What I picked up was one of the standard red flight suits worn in the movie. At first I was surprised at its size. It's meant to be a fairly tight fit, and it's made from fairly stretchy material. The suit is detailed with lots of nice padding and design and comes complete with the screen-worn grime necessary for the Tiger's Claw's rugged look. There's even a bullet in one of the many built-in bullet holder slots on the chest near a velcro patch where the pilot's name tag goes. The pants are actually a large piece that forms into the vest/overalls upper combo. The jacket comes down over much of that. It's got plenty of hooks and buckles for a secure fit. Even some of the pockets have nice clasps. And a nice small red Super Soaker would fit in one of them nicely.
I recently bought myself a Combat Suit used in the WC movie. A combat suit is the marine armor seen towards the end of the movie, only without the actual plastic "armor" bits. Put simply, it is a modified set of overalls with vast amounts of rubber attached. There are various clips on the suit where which would hold the plastic in place, but unfortunately I don't have the plastic. At some point in its life, someone has written numbers or something on the inside in green marker, however the only readable part of this is '34"'.
Piracy games have always been a mixed bag. Not since Wing Commander: Privateer have I seen a good space shooter where you played a pirate on fairly open-ended missions, stealing whatever you like and selling it to the highest bidder, or putting it to use.You can read the whole article here.
Question 93: What were two specific acts that made the Confederation declare war on the Kilrathi Empire? Question 94: What were two specific apparent acts that made the Confederation consider declaring war on the Union of Border Worlds? Bonus 47: What was one reason the Confederation went to war with the Pilgrim Alliance?E-mail your answers to ChrisReid, or use our handy online form.
They've been shipping out over the past month, but the last door prizes went out last week. They'll be a little slower in coming because of the airlines situation, but all the prizes should be everywhere real soon.
Hi all, Raptor here.HTL continues with the second part of Shades of Grey, written by Nick "Chaeronea" Deane. One of the main themes of this story has been of people letting go of past disputes and ill feelings to come together in their common humanity, in the face of a monstrous enemy they hadn't known existed. While it was never planned this way, it's a theme that is tragically appropriate this week. To all the Wingnuts whose lives were touched what happened, please know that my thoughts and those of the HTL writers are with you. God bless.
Welcome to Game Three, Week Forty-Six Trivia. We play each week. Every Monday two main questions and one bonus question are posted to alt.games.wing-commander and listed at the CIC. Please email answers to CReid1701@aol.com or ChrisReid@wcnews.com. Be sure to include a name you would like to be known under for the Scoreboard. Have your answers in before this coming Sunday (September 16, 2001) to ensure your answers are recorded. Answers submitted early may be returned and you may be able to fix incorrect answers, time permitting. Main questions answered correctly are good for 5 points, bonuses good for 3.-------
Answers to Questions for Week 45 (starting September 3, 2001):Question 89: What was an obstacle Gwen Bowman struggled to overcome?
Answer: After being forced to shoot down fellow wingman Blizzard, Archer had trouble taking the lives of enemy pilots.Question 90: What was a goal Mitchell Lopez tried to achieve?
Answer: Vaquero hoped to open up a cantina for old vets after the war was over.Bonus 45: What was a fear that held back Thaddeus O'Brian?
Answer: O'Brian was the coward commanding officer of the Tarawa who nearly sacrificed the end run to Kilrah to save himself.------
New Questions for Week 46 (starting September 10, 2001):Question 91: Who were two people that were on the ground during the initial McAuliffe Ambush?
Question 92: Who were two people that fought on the ground at Repleetah?
Bonus 46: Who were two people that fought face-to-face with the Nephilim (not in space craft)?
Submissions are due by September 16, 2001.
------
Please email answers to ChrisReid@wcnews.com and do not post directly to the Newsgroup. Thanks.
[16:39] Stormire: my favorite is the fighters screaming 'stay on target....'
[16:39] DaDakota: We have some hidden humor all through the game
[16:39] TK: hey jerrid
[16:39] Dazz: fied enemies coming up i like that saying :¬D
[16:39] beergod: you need to thank George Bush too
[16:39] Kilrathisoldier: The funny thing about Smirnoff, is that it is a drink in Russia! LOL!
[16:39] Dazz: fried
[16:39] DaDakota: Storm, our tribute to SW
[16:39] Beef: hehe 'loading navcom AI' =)
[16:39] Stormire: =) praise be
[16:39] GC-Shadow: and the battleships special science weapons is awesome
[16:39] DaDakota: Beef, our tribute to WC
[16:39] Vagamus: smirnoff ice? heh
[16:39] Beef: =)
[16:40] DaDakota: since no one saw the movie
Well, Wing Commander is back on USA... but this time it's the movie and not the cartoon. Since Sci-Fi and USA are part of the same company, this will probably be the balls-less version. Times as follows... watch all three and win a prize. (Thanks to Greywolf).
Tue, September 11 - 9:00 PM
Wed, September 12 - 3:00 PM
Sun, October 14 - 4:00 PM
Hi everyone, Raptor here.It's been quite a few months since HTL celebrated its second anniversary,and the publication of its 100th chapter. You can find all of those chapters at:
http://blance.com/wcl/wclegacy/HTL/htl-main.html
Since then, we've published close to two dozen chapters via the Aces Club mailing list, but our online archives haven't been updated, for a variety of reasons. That's been frustrating for both readers who aren't on the list, and for the writers, who naturally want to reach as big an audience as possible. However, the CIC has now kindly agreed to publish our chapters, and we'll be bring you a new chapter each week. As chapters on the mailing list are sent out fortnightly, the chapters posted on the CIC will catch up to where we are with the mailing list, so that those who've chosen not to be on the list will no longer have to settle for getting chapters later than club members.
For those who have read the first 100 chapters when they posted on the archives, but who may now be a little hazy on the details, I would suggest skim reading the last two chapters of the Nephele Arc and the first five chapters of the Loki Arc (which is to say, chapters 94 through to 100.) That'll refresh your memory on where we are with the story.
For those new to HTL, welcome aboard. Reading chapters 94 to 100 (along with the background information on the archive site) will give you enough information to get into the story. Obviously, it would be ideal if you could read all the past chapters, but that's something you can do whenever you want to. Also, for those unfamiliar with the ships and fighters used by the Border Worlders in 2681, you can find all the information at:
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/battlegroupval/
Anyway, that's enough for me. I hope you enjoy this story, and the many more coming your way in the future. This chapter is by one of my best writers, Nick "Chaeronea" Deane. Please send any and all comments to him at chaeronea@bigpond.com.
Best, Raptor
I got a reply quite a while ago from EA legal that they would consider licensing the music to me. We did not discuss any terms though. That's something that I will follow up if you think there is enough interest.At this point I envision a CD of MIDI arrangements. I do have a much upgraded sample library, which I think will sound significantly better. I think using a real orchestra is prohibitively expensive in comparison to the return on the investment. Unless you know a wealthy benefactor.
I'll check on the issue with EA legal again after the holiday and let you know what transpires.
Thanks,
George Oldziey
BTW, I did see the WC movie when it first came out. I thought it was visually very good but lacked a good story and screenplay. I thought it was edited well. The music was pretty good, a little too predictable for my tastes, but it did the job.
All known bugs have been terminated.... making collisions work flawlessly. In addition, shields have been added to brightly light up when hit by various weapons. Ships bounce off each other when impacting, which adds much more realism than previously where starships flew around like ghosts in the wind.Also, the rings of saturn have been added and now shine shyly behind jupiter for those bold enough to explore the solar system! But be sure to attack those hornets sitting near earth... their shields look simply amazing... But no soul would fire on earth--would they? Anyhow enjoy the release...
Thanks for your interest and download the latest windoze version at http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/
This press release for a new and hopefully very exciting game that will be open up to the public for the first time. The game is already passed the planning stage and is entering into the construction stage. Currently we are looking for programmers for the cinematic sequences and mission construction. We may also require mapers to edit and update existing maps to some models. All new models are entering the final stretch. Check out the web page for more details and a sneak peek at the Intro.Matthew Kruer, Project Leader
Welcome to Wasteland… http://wcmods.badfellas.de/Wasteland/index.html
What are your current projects?Currently I'm working on another Lost Regiment novel and the development of a couple of projects in the area of historical fiction and mainstream history.
Would you be interested in/do you foresee writing further Wing Commander novels?
To be honest, no. Have disagreed with some of the directions taken in Wing Commander and also the issue of payment which is no longer sufficient. This is regretful since I did have a grand time writing the books, especially the stand alone ones such as Fleet Action and End Run. I've worked in several other "worlds" such as Wizard's Magic, Star Trek NG and a co authored book with Ray Feist set in his Rift War. In general, (except for Feist) the experience has been extremely frustrating. You don't own the copyright on what is in fact your work, at times you'll see less creative people without an original thought then take your ideas and distort them or claim them as their own or jerk you around with demands that you deliver "A" but then at the last minute changing it to "Z" The work with Ray, in contrast, was a wonderful shared experience and in the future I just intend to work on my own material or collaborate with a single professional like Ray, rather than a company effort like WC
Why did you turn down the offer to write the Wing Commander movie novel?
LOL Two reasons. Money, the payment offered was abysmal and insulting, I made more on my very first novel, and secondly I was, to put it mildly, disgusted by the screenplay. It was frustrating since there were so many potentially good stories within the Wing Commander world to build a movie around. When I first received the screenplay for review I was, to say the least, stunned and even if I had been offered an honest sum to write it, rather than the slave wages suggested, I would have turned it down.
Did you see the Wing Commander movie or play Wing Commander Prophecy. If so, what are your thoughts thereon?
I was trapped on a flight to England a year or so ago and the Wing Commander movie was playing. I listened in for about ten minutes, then turned off the sound and pulled on some eye shades so I didn't have to watch. Honestly! I am not prone to air sickness but I did fear for my stomach.
Yet again, given some of the great stories within Wing Commander, why they had to cook up that screenplay is a mystery. For example, the betrayal and court martial of Towlyn would have made a grand flick. I should add that I was always very partial to the Tolwyn character, seeing in him the genius, and flawed personality of a MacArthur. I had worked on the character early on into the series when he was still just a foil for the main characters and wanted to see him evolve as a complex military genius, unfortunately he was pushed in other directions by the powers that be and I did have objections to the final turn out, preferring to see him as a MacArthur/Patton/Cromwell type instead. Its why I did write in the scene involving his suicide (a story line I could not change) the part where his medals are laid out on the bunk. It's why I used him as the main POV for the book that goes back to the origins of the Kilrathi war.
Were you aware of Andrew Keith's interest in writing further Wing Commander novels? Is there any possibility of you picking up his work in his honor ala Spielberg to Kubrick?
I have tremendous respect for Andrew's work but unfortunately some one else will have to pick that mantle up.
Origin provided you with a copy of the WC2 era 'bible' for the series -- would you be willing to allow the Origin Museum (http://www.originmuseum.com) to archive this document online for posterity?
Frankly, I'm not sure if I can even locate it now. I started working on the project while still in grad school in Indiana and the bible got boxed up in a move to NC. Also, you'd have to get it cleared with the original owners since I remember there was a confidentiality statement attached to it.
Who the heck is Lyford Beverge and why does his name keep showing up in your work?
Ahh, Lyford, A very dear friend who I worked with while teaching High School in Maine. many of the characters in my different novels are named after friends, such as Mina, Beverage, Ferguson, Kindred. I also will use the names of favorite students as a little way of saluting their efforts.
WANTED :::: Temporary Game Master ( MirC) a temporary GM (Game Master) to provide a structured gaming session until one of the regular Campaign sessions is ready to begin. Compensation to the temporary GM will be negotiated upon contact and discussion of game needs and game length for the campaign dependent upon the length of time the temporary GM's services are required. The GM must be available on weekends for gaming activity between 2100 - 0001 EST. for gaming activity with the membership.Applicants should have a knowledge of Wing Commander , the Black Lance and gaming. Noted is that the Black Lance being portrayed is set as the Black Ops Hero’s of the confederation and Not as left in their final portrayal in WCIV. Time line currently running is post Profecy involved in the Nephilim Wars.
Applicants Please contact (Sabre) Director of Gaming Black Lance at smi-michigan@home.com for information and information.
Jochen was kind enough to send us the German Wing Commander movie times for the month of September. Here goes... (times are in CET)
Premiere 1: 2nd 22:15, 6th 18:15, 11th 23:30, 17th 20:15, 22nd 13:15, 28th 15:00
Premiere Analog: 2nd 22:15, 6th 18:15, 11th 23:30, 17th 20:15, 22nd 13:20, 28th 15:00
Follow or Contact Us