In 2000, Origin made a second attempt to develop Privateer Online. As part of that project, the development team produced an expansive timeline and updated setting for the game. Privateer Online was to be set in 2710, some 29 years after the end of Wing Commander Secret Ops. Now Justice has helped make available three original concept documents for the game! You can finally read about what becomes of the Confederation in those three decades... as well as the fate of Prophecy-era characters like Casey and Stiletto. It's quite a ride! The fact that they produced a 31 page universe history is simply amazing.
Privateer Online (Second Attempt) World Summary - here (.doc format)
Privateer Online (Second Attempt) Characters - here (.doc format)
Privateer Online (Second Attempt) Timeline - here (.doc format)
The source of the documents is anonymous, but we have confirmed their authenticity. You can find similar behind-the-scenes files in our exciting Document Archive.
... and our history is written by the Kilrathi! Gamasutra has posted an editorial about the history of level design in 3D computer games. The article, appropriately titled "A History and Analysis of Level Design in 3D Computer Games," makes reference to Wing Commander as a notable pioneer. This is an interesting distinction to make, because people rarely take early space combat games into consideration when talking about the rise of the First Person Shooter. You can find the piece here.
Notable efforts include Lucasfilm Games, now LucasArts, 1986 title Rescue on Fractalus!, a first-person title that used fractal generation technology to render the game world. The title is notable both for the use of a simulated 3D world, as well as for the first-person perspective. The player took the role of a pilot looking out from a cockpit, tasked with rescuing other pilots stranded on the surface of the planet Fractalus (Langston). The concept of a spacecraft based FPS would later return in LucasArts’ 1993 title X-Wing and 1994’s Tie Fighter space combat simulators, as well as Origin’s 1990 release of Wing Commander.
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