GameTap Shutters Wing Commander

We have some bad news to report: due to apparent licensing issues, all three Wing Commander titles will be removed from GameTap on December 11th. This announcement affects more than just Electronic Arts' GameTap catalog -- over 70 titles will be removed from the service.

GameTap surprised and delighted fans a mere nine months ago by releasing the original Wing Commander emulated to run on a modern computer. It was followed by releases of Wing Commander IV and Wing Commander II - and Privateer was promised for the future. For a brief, shining moment young and old fans alike could easily (and legally) enjoy the classic games in all their glory.

It is possible that EA and GameTap will negotiate a new licensing deal and that the games will return in the future - or that EA plans to launch a similar service (on the other hand, this may simply be the cost of the service's planned international expansion). Until that time, I will certainly be canceling my Gold account ... and I would urge all other Wing Commander fans to do the same.

Point of Origin: Vol. III, No. 32

The interesting thing in this issue is an article about new ways to market Origin games... and they're all part of a campaign to sell the Origin FX screensaver. What's funny is that they're all things which are very common today - things like online demos and elaborate store displays. Is anyone familiar with the Origin FX 'teaser' mentioned here? It can't be the demo included with Strike Commander, since that hasn't shipped yet...

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• Off to Market has three notes about new ways Origin games are being promoted. The first is featuring them in other company's catalogs: "ORIGIN FX and Ultima Underworld II will be featured in a related products catalog to be included in the next 300,000 MediaVision products to ship. The new catalog will be packaged with their ProAudio Spectrum 16 sound cards, CD-ROM Upgrade kits and video cards." The second is online demos: "He adds that the ORIGIN FX 'teaser' version is working wonders online. About 3 out of 5 people who downloaded it say they went out and bought the full version, even though some reported already having After Dark." and the third is a new kind of store display: "'Creating worlds is hard work. Playing in them is just plain fun. New from ORIGIN.' That's the theme of a new point-of-purchase display and promotion that's being offered to the retail channel. The countertop display includes 4-ORIGIN FX, 2-Underworld II and 2-Wing Commander promotional editions. Purchasers of the display recieve a free promotional copy of ORIGIN FX."

Point of Origin
Vol. III, No. 32 - February 12, 1993 Contents Off to Market
Here Today, On Tomorrow
Misc.
Comings and Goings
Dear Poitn Man
In the Library
NEWS.TXT
Flash: M.I.S. Fully Staffed and Ready

Resistance is Fashionable

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Thirty-Two

Even more cannons! This seems to be a more impressive weapon, with multiple lancing points and two magazines. You can see the modular intent, though - it could easily occupy the same visual space as the gun seen in the last installment.

Intercept This New WC Saga Fan Mission

I have promised you that a new custom mission would coming out soon, and here it is! I have logged many, many flight hours playtesting, troubleshooting and revising this mission for people who enjoy playing this standalone mod for Freespace 2.

In your Rapier II, you will hunt down a convoy carrying vital supplies for another Kilrathi capship in this system. But, is the convoy you are hunting down really just a convoy? Play it and find out.

Hopefully, this mission is bugless and will inspire more people to use FRED to create their own custom missions for WC Saga.

Point of Origin: Vol. III, No. 31

Happy New Year - and welcome to Vol. III of Point of Origin. This year starts similar to the last... with Strike Commander, two Ultima titles and Privateer in development. 1993 is the year that these games all finally make it out, though, so things should get more interesting. In other major news, Origin has now moved to the new building and is apparently dealing with a touchy new network setup.

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• Return to Vegas has a report from COMDEX: "On the other side of the kiosk, ORIGIN FX really opened some eyes, among them those of EA President Larry Probst (check out 'Misc.' in this issue). FX is one of those products that's expected to have a slow and steady build. This was the first time many buyers and distributors got a chance to see it, and they seemed particularly taken with both the ingenuity of some of the modules as well as the original music. Screen Saver Scott Russo did a bang-up job of putting FX through its paces."
• Hype and Schmooze Roundup has a review of ORIGIN FX: "Larry Shannon reviewed ORIGIN FX for the New York Times, calling it 'the hog of screen savers (in terms of size),' but well worth it."
• Misc. has an amusing story that touches on everything from Origin's financial problems to just how interested they are in selling the screensaver: "EA Pres. Larry Probst is reportedly so intrigued by our new ORIGIN/FX Screen Saver that he had his secretary hunt down Fred and order him to Fed-Ex a copy to Larry's personal attention the other deay. Fred noted while he was up at EASM last week that EA employees were running MicroSoft's stock scren saver or one of a few other basic varieties, but nobody up there had O/FX up on their screens! He vowed to get the two MIS groups to address this at once to make sure that O/FX is put on every EA employee screen worldwide that has the necessary hardware configuration. Fred reportedly also offered EA Chief Financial Officer Stan McKee a bargain-priced 'site license' for this product for somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million (a figure which, coincidentally, about equals ORIGIN's potential revenue shortfall this fiscal year due to late shipping products). Stan is said to have declined the fee, but Fred said it was negotiable."
• And finally, In the Library reports that Wing Commander: Freedom Flight has been added to Origin's collection!

Point of Origin
Vol. III, No. 31 - January 29, 1992 Contents The Bottom Line
Bugged Out
State of the LAN
Help Wanted
Dear Point Man
Ticker
Return to Vegas
Hype and Schmooze Roundup
Misc.
In the Library
Readthis.txt

You Know The Drill

Queeg has put together a third and final cut of his Heart of the Tiger movie project. He has combined highlights from the story and gameplay into an intense two hour film. Fans who downloaded previous versions might not need to grab this one, but there are a few significant changes (detailed below). You can download the movie here.

Barely three months after releasing his third and final version of his WC3 movie and two months after announcing the project, Queeg has released the first complete version of his WC4 movie project. The project aims to create a full movie experience by tying together high quality FMV scenes taken from WCIV DVD, along with in-game spaceflight scenes. You can download the 2.1 gigabyte, three hour long movie from our local HTTP mirror. The spaceflight scenes also feature new nebula graphics in the background. Don't forget to post your thoughts on the movie here.

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Thirty-One

Concept Ship Makes Good Sketch Material

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 30

The news isn't good this holiday season: none of the products planned for a Christmas release were able to make it out in time. Origin FX came close, but won't be in stores quickly enough. Luckily, the EA purchase means Origin can survive the $2 million lost by delaying the games.

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• 3, 2, 1..., 1..., 1... breaks the bad news: Even though FX shipped earlier this week, it likely won't make it to most stores until the mistletoe has come down and you're ready to return that Salad Shooter.
• Misc. has some elaborate (and expensive) plans to sell ORIGIN FX: "Both UW2 and FX are slated as part of a post-Christmas blitz. 'I want to send a free copy of FX to every single retail store in the country--every Egghead, every Computerland, every Electronics Boutique--I don't care if we have to send out two or three thousand units,' Fred said, 'The channel just doesn't realize yet how good this product is. But I know when they see it, they're going to want it, and so will their customers!' Wayne Baker and I (Galen) will also be working with the FX development team to see if there's some kind of 'teasuer' module or self-running demo that we can upload to the online services to give customers a first-hand sampling of this tasty morsel."

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 30 - December 19, 1992 Contents 3, 2, 1..., 1..., 1...
Press-tige
Try & Top This
Up & Away
Misc.
Bio: Kevin Potter
Origin Bugging Out
Pulse Check
Help Wanted
Alright, already

Nominate Favorite Fan Project For Annual Vote

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Thirty

Pick Up Prime Prophecy Packs

• Video Pack One (1.6 GB)
• Video Pack Two (1.0 GB)
• Video Pack Three (550 MB)
• Enhancement Pack Instructions
• Scene Description Tool
• DVD Case Label

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 29

Trade show season is here! This issue reports on Origin's preparations for CES, another important show... they'll be featured as part of EA's lineup for the first time.

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• Return to Sin City has the details on what Origin will be showing: "If all goes well (and after all, why shouldn't it?), then we'll be taking almost-complete versions of Strike and Serpent as well as the finished products of ORIGIN FX and Underworld 2."
• Origin Picks Up Killer Coverage reports that Wing Commander 2 is up for another Software Publishers Assosciation award - something Origin hasn't managed to take home yet. "Wing 2 Deluxe CD is entered as Best Arcade/Action, 'taking full advantage of the incredible capacities of compact disc technology and bringing the entire Wing Commander II saga onto a single disc.' Okay, it's a stretch." Dragon magazine digs up their six-star Wing Commander award for another Origin title: "Underworld also gets the exclusive honor of a six-star review on a five-star system, following in the footsteps of Wing Commander."

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 29 - December 24, 1992
Contents Didn't We Just Leave?
Return to Sin City
Hire and Hire
Dear Point Man
Bio: Al Nelson
Ticker
Origin Picks Up Killer Coverage
Misc.

Installation Introspective

Nostalgia trip. Anyone remember CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT? HIMEM and EMM386? DOS/4GW and MS-DOS mode in Windows 95? Setting IRQs and DMAs and I/O addresses manually to get a sound card to output properly? You could fill a small book with all the trials and tribulations PC gamers have had to endure over the years sussing out design quirks in hardware and software just to get games like The 7th Guest and Wing Commander and Doom running functionally (to say nothing of "optimally"). And that's drawing the starting line in the early 1990s.

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Twenty-Nine

Happy Thanksgiving!

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 28

This special edition of Point of Origin is 'live' from COMDEX, one of the most important computer trade shows of the era. There isn't much about Wing Commander... but as you'll begin to note here, attempts to sell the Origin FX screensaver have begun! For those unfamiliar, Origin FX included several Wing Commander modules... and even a small amount of new fiction in its manual.

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• "Media Vision also bundles the Underworld/Wing 2 CD with its fusion CD 16 Multimedia Upgrade Kit."
• "ORIGIN FX seems to be an up-and coming winner. Buyers and journalists who've seen it say that they think it will be a good seller. That means a lot when you consider the fact that other screen savers (such as Star Trek) are being debuted at this show as well."

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 28 - November 20, 1992

EA Replay Reductions Redux

Here's a reminder (and scans) of the Best Buy and Circuit City ads that take effect this Friday in the US. I love seeing this game on shelves and in print like this. It doesn't seem like these sales will be available online, but Circuit City is offerring the game for just $9.99 at its website. Orders over $24 get free shipping as well. A few virtual retailers have it listed for slightly less, but charge at least $4 to $7 to get it to you. Other major stores are still listing the game for $15.

Edit: Jetlag noticed that Best Buy has added EA Replay to its website! They did not have an online listing at all when we originally published this update. And the price is only $5 with free shipping! Get them while you can!

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Twenty-Eight

Cyberion Cuts Down His Razor Model

Recently I was working on a high poly version of Razor. When some mod developers saw it, I was asked again to produce low poly one. So I did. Didn't have time or will to work on the textures, so it's up to the mod devs to texture this baby. The model with guns has 1496 polies, the model without guns has 1096 polies. As you can see: 400 polies difference. I doubt that with the modern technologies it will make much difference, however I just got used to offering options.

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 27

The year is coming to a close, and Origin is headed to a new building! This issue of Point of Origin continues to report on the EA purchase and now on plans to move to the building most people remember as Origin HQ. It's also now clear that four products are shooting for the Christmas deadline: Strike Commander, ORIGIN FX, Ultima Underworld 2 and Serpent Isle. Will they make it?

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• In Print has all the latest from the media. First is the results of last issue's European PR event: "Jennie says that they were all particularly impressed with Privateer and ORIGIN FX Screen Saver." Then there's good news from the December issue of Games Magazine: "Underworld and Wing 2 both make the famous 'Games 100' list. Last year, Wing 1 won Best New Action/Arcade Game and U6 also made the list. 'WCII is edge-of-the-seat, role-playing, space battle action,' the editors write." And finally -- wing Commander 2, Big in Slovenia: "Wing Commander I & II Deluxe Editions get nice mentions in PC entertainment in an article on CD games. Thomas McDonald says, 'The quality and reputation of ORIGIN's Wing Commander games are beyond reproach.' Maybe that's why Wing 2 is still #13 on the Slovenian Entertainment Chart. (Absolutely true.)"
• More From the Road... has more stories from Origin's traveling salesmen. At Walden Software, "Store managers said they're eagerly awaiting Privateer's arrival next year." There's also good news from Josha, a major distributor: "Anita says they were curious about Underworld 2 and think Privateer will be a good seller."
• Misc... reports on Origin FX spam - anyone have one of these? "Info on Strike, UW2, Serpent and ORIGIN FX will be going out to 100,000 EA PC users and 75,000 ORIGIN PC users (culled from our respective registration card databases)."

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 27 - November 6, 1992 Contents Electronic Arts
Fright Nights
Big Changes in the Library
In Print
Miscellany
Bio: Mike Sims
NEWS.TXT
Want Ads
News from the Human Resources
More from the Road...
Dear Point Man
Comings and Goings

Calling Candidates For Cosmonaut Class Of 2008

"Participation as an official back-up crew member is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an individual, or a company sponsoring an individual, to experience first-hand how our clients train for spaceflight," said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures. "It is with great enthusiasm that we, along with Richard, offer this position to a member of the public. The individual selected will be someone who not only has a genuine interest in human spaceflight, but also one who is able to be an active participant in Richard’s mission, to include being featured in a documentary TV series."

"I want to involve as many people as possible in my mission and this is one of the most innovative ways to do so," said Richard Garriott. "I encourage anyone who has ever dreamed of traveling to space to contact to Space Adventures. Not only will the back-up crew member be certified as a ‘fully-trained cosmonaut’ and be named to an official space mission crew, a distinction that less than 1,000 people have ever had; but, our combined participation is a step forward in the progression of our expansion into the cosmos."

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Twenty-Seven

These twenty-two small sketches were achievement and medal icons. Originally the game was to include an in-game medal system in addition to the standard Xbox Live achievements - they would display at the 'bar' screen which is still included in the finished game. The most interesting thing here is the 'wanted' poster - the plan for that called for the game to generate a WANTED poster using the player's statistics, in-game avatar and Xbox Live name.

Brief Pioneer Promo Vid Produced

Das Erwachen Stille Printing Possible

So, if you ever dream about seeing your novel inside of a store without having any big deal with a massive publisher, you will find yourself inside of an big adventure. Is it worth it? I think so.

Do Some Academic Research

Episode 01 - Red & Blue (209 MB) Episode 02 - The Last One Left (209 MB) Episode 03 - The Most Delicate Instrument (223 MB) Episode 04 - Word of Honor (218 MB) Episode 05 - Lords of the Sky (209 MB) Episode 06 - Chain of Command (210 MB) Episode 07 - Expendable (209 MB) Episode 08 - Recreation (209 MB) Episode 09 - Walking Wounded (209 MB) Episode 10 - On Both Your Houses (209 MB) Episode 11 - Invisible Enemy (209 MB) Episode 12 - Price of Victory (209 MB) Episode 13 - Glory of Sivar (209 MB) Opening titles 1 (8.4 MB) Opening titles 2 (8.4 MB) Saga of the Warrior King Story - Download

Original Press Kit Series Bible & Scripts Viewers Guide History of the Warrior King Ships Guide Background Artwork Production Jacket

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Twenty-Six

Covering Up Wing Commander I

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 26

Here's the first issue of Point of Origin since the EA takeover... and anyone interested in that aspect of ORIGIN history will find a treasure trove of information here. What did the purchase mean for the two companies' competing management styles? What did it mean for the employees caught in the middle?

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• Road Shows has the news from Origin's salesman who are busy showing off new products to national distributors: "Privateer was the big winner with larger accounts such as Egghead and SoftKat... Insight might decide to bundle Wing 2 Deluxe with its CD-ROM, and that could mean 5,000 per month! ... Right now, Price Club's moving 250+ of the promotional Wing Commander release every week." Another show, for Sotware, Etc. managers, brought positive response for the screensaver: "Karl said they were all drooling, especially over ORIGIN FX."
• Press Here has the regular selection of positive buzz from print sources. From Computer Gaming World: "In the readers' poll, Underworld's holding the #2 spot, following Civilization and nudging Wing 2 to #3. Wing 2 has its own place in the spotlight as a finalist for Action Game of the Year... In a sci-fi survey in the same issue, Evan Brooks says 'Wing Commander set new standards in graphics and gameplay. It's a 'must-have'.'... We've been informed that Underworld and Wing 2 make this years Games 100 List which will be published in the magazine's December issue." Gen 4's readers poll says that "Wing 2 holds firm at #3." Even regular computing magazines praised Wing Commander in those days: "Recognizing that multimedia doesn't necessarily mean CD-ROM, Paul Benson writes about Wing 2 in November's PC Home Journal: 'An absolutely beautiful musical score and dazzling graphic effects are the openers, then it proceeds to get even better.'" The column also reports on an upcoming European journalism expo, where "They'll be checking out STrike, Privateer, Serpent Isle and ORIGIN FX." and finally that "Privateer will hit the cover of Strategy Plus in February. That issue will also feature designer notes from our own wordsmith, Anthony Nichols." That's one to look for!

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 26 - October 23, 1992 Contents EA: FYI
EA: What's Going On Here, Anyway?
Ticker
Mark Your Calendars
Road Shows
NEWS.TXT
Positive I.D.
New in the Library
Dear Point Man
Haunting Questions
Press Here

Ironduke Switches to Manual Control

This new version of the game manual covers some of the advanced and campaign rules, as well as enhancing, clarifying and sometimes changing the basic rules. There's still a lot of work to do, but at least we have Shelton Slides now!

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Twenty-Five

Stepping back from the familiar, here's something outstanding - a new capital ship! This was an early concept for the Kilrathi flagship, before the 'battlecruiser' look was adopted. It looks like a heavy carrier... similar, perhaps, to the Snakeir from Secret Missions 2.

Five Dollars, Replay Long Time

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 25

It's the end of the beginning - Origin Systems has been sold to Electronic Arts! Many people don't realize that the purchase happened so early - in fact, EA was responsible for funding almost every Wing Commander release. Most of the issue is dedicated to explaining the deal and the new corporate organization... but there are a few references to Wing Commander.

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• Across the Pond has good news about Wing Commander Amiga: "Wing Commander for the Amiga is also flying after our own Roswitha Shoemake provided some proofreading skills for the German text. It's being plugged into the game right now. Jennie expects it to ship in October, with the English version to follow within a couple of weeks." Quote-a System has more magazine quotes praising the series: "Wing 2 picks up honors as Best Arcade Game. Multimedia World says: 'With photo-realistic backgrounds, 3-D animation and digitized speech, Wing Commander II was a big hit with our readers.' The editors had leaked news to Point of ORIGIN that Wing 2 had also won Best Flight Simulation, but now that the issue's out, Falcon 3.0 gets the award. When confronted, the editors couldn't seem to remember telling us anything. Reach your own conclusions. In any case, hearty congrats to those teams for racking up more prestigious honors (and publicity)." and "According to Bill Trotter in September's PC Entertainment, Special Ops 2 'lives up to the high standards set by its predecessors... These people are as comfortably known to us as the crew of the Enterprise and encountering them again is like meeting old friends."

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 25 - September 25, 1992 Contents Done Deal
Electronic Arts
On the Clock
Across the Pond
Quote-a System
Dear Point Man
On a Personal Note
De-Briefly
Ticker
Origin University
Buy: The Way
NEWS.TXT
French Faux Pas
Dear Point Man

Play Arena & Enter To Win

Five First Prize packages: VIP Accessory Kits consisting of the following:
• Xbox 360 Wireless Controller
• Xbox 360 Play and Charge Kit
• Xbox LIVE Vision Camera
• Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit
• Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote
• Xbox 360 Wireless Networking Adapter
• Xbox 360 Wireless Headset
• Xbox 360 Memory Unit (64MB)
• Limited Edition Xbox 360 Aluminum Carrying Case (lock combination: 360)

Five Second Prizes:
• Xbox 360 HD DVD Player

Five Third Prizes:
• Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel

Five Fourth Prizes:
• Xbox 360 Wireless Headset

Twenty-five Fifth Prizes:
• 12-Month Xbox LIVE Gold Subscription

Twenty-five Sixth prizes:
• 1600 Microsoft Points

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Twenty-Four

Auction: Hazard Duty

You are bidding on a unopened, new-in-box first run printing of Wing Commander IV - The Price of Freedom. What makes this box unusual is the type on the front of the sleeve. In the lower right corner, just above the Origin logo, it reads "Biologigal Hazard Risk." Why do I know so much about this box and the typo? I was the packaging design supervisor for Origin Systems when Wing Commander IV was released. And I was the sod who designed the box and didn't catch the typo on sign-off. Neither did anyone else in the marketing department for that matter, well at least until after the boxes had already hit the shelves. The typo was fixed for the second printing of the game. This game has been in my archives (in a box in the closet) since 1996 and is in excellent condition. Here is your chance to own a truly obscure piece of gaming history and in pristine condition no less. A truly unique piece of Wing Commander memorabilia!

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 24

This is a fairly quiet issue of Point of Origin. It includes an extensive bio of Mike Harrison, who wrote the Wing Commander I & II Ultimate Strategy Guide... but the most interesting note may not have anything to do with WC. A picture of a VR helmet includes a caption which says that such technology might be used with Ultima X, a future Strike Commander or 'Bounty Hunter'. What's Bounty Hunter?

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• Of Books and Board Games has some reaction from the recent ORIGINS convention: "(One quick preview: when asked what comes to mind when they think of ORIGIN, by far the three most common responses were 'Ultima,' 'Wing Commander' and 'quality games.')"
• Misc. has a brief announcement of what will be Origin's last independent project: "The two new CD SKU's, the Wing 2 Deluxe Edition and Wing/Underworld will also be hitting store shelves at the same time [next month]."
• Dear Point Man has some sales numbers for Special Operations 2: "How about sales figures for some of our products (a la SO2, U7 and Underworld)? Here you go, These figures reflect Underworld, U7, their clue books and Special Ops 2 (19,000). The number is units sold to the retail channel through July 31."

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 24 - August 28, 1992 Contents Of Books and Board Games
Lunchtime Lectures
Dear Point Man
On the Job
Bio: Mike Harrison
Misc.
Check It Out

Revisit Classic Fan Campaigns

• Secret Missions 3: Enigma by Omega and Phantom
  Walkthrough by Sharpshooter

  The Confed and the Kilrathi have both discovered that the Enigma sector has a strange property that can be of great tactical advantage. Namely, the ability to cross the whole sector in one jump. They realize that whoever controls this sector will have the decisive upper hand in the war, so the Tiger's Claw and the Exeter class T.C.S. Nixon have been sent into the Enigma sector to build a series of bases in an attempt to gain control of the sector. The Kilrathi, however, have committed many more ships to the same task. The race for the Enigma sector has begun...

  1. Unzip the archive to a temporary directory
  2. Read ENIGMA.TXT in its entirety
  3. Make sure the files "hornet", "scimitar", "salthi", "post", "kbase", and "module.tmp" do not exist in your gamedat directory.
  4. Place "sm3.com", "unsm3.com" and "enigma.exe" in your Wing Commander directory.
  5. Place "ferret", "epee", "strakha", "base", "kbase", and "module.zgk" in your gamedat subdirectory.
  6. Run sm3.com and have fun.

• Wing Commander: Rise to Honor by Omega
  Walkthrough by Sharpshooter

  1. Unzip the archive to a temporary directory.
  2. Read HONOR11.TXT
  3. Place "kilrathi.exe", "dishonor.com", and "honor.com" in you "Wing Commander" directory
  4. Place "module.eye", "honor.wld", and "comm.eye" in the "gamedat" subdirectory
  5. Make sure that the files "temp", "tempa", "tempb", "module.tmp", crusade.tmp, and "sm2comm.tmp" do not exist in your gamedat directory
  6. Make sure that you have unpacked the graphics files during install, as it is yet unknown what the results would be if you did not (although it should work)
  7. Make sure that you have Secret Missions One and Two installed
  8. Run honor.com
  9. Load a savegame and have fun

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Twenty-Three

This is the third orthographic image. This one shows the F-44 Rapier II with some interesting textures - very similar to those found on the Super Wing Commander model. The gameplay note is interesting, too... I agree, the Rapier is Wing Commander's symbolic human fighter.

Innovations In Order

Everyone recognizes the power of music to create a mood. In videogames, the trick is to change the music in response to game events, and of course the composer can’t know in advance when they might occur. One approach is simply to play a new track on demand, but the transition can be jarring if not done well. Another approach is layering—mixing harmonizing pieces of music together and changing their volumes in response to the needs of the game. Best-known early example: Wing Commander, 1990. Possible first use: Way Out for the Atari 800, 1982.

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 23

The end of the year is approaching, but there's no major news about Origin's major projects scheduled for Christmas - Privateer, Ultima VII Part 2 and Strike Commander. This issue of Point of Origin mentions some interesting possibilities that didn't work out... including talks held about a Wing Commander comic book and the abandoned Genesis port of the original game.

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• All the News That Fits proves that you can't even review Ultima Underworld without praising Wing Commander: "Keep an eye peeled for the next issue of Dragon magazine. Word from the editors is that Underworld has garnered a six-star review (above and beyond the five-star limited of 'excellent'). That will make it only the fifth game ever to pick up that honor. Six-star reviews didn't even exist until the magazine came across a game it couldn't resist creating the new category for: Wing Commander."
• License to Travel talks about plans to license Wing Commander comics and shows what gaming conventions were like back then:

A different kind of road show this week: David Ladyman is in sunny San Diego at the Comic Book Expo. His mission is to try and find companies interested in licensing the Wing and Ultima lines for comic books. Early reports claim that Harris and Marvel have shown some interest.

Next week, David's off again, this time to the combination GEN CON/Origins show. Don't let the name fool you. We don't have anything to do with organizing the show, but we are sponsoring four seminars: ORIGIN's Wing Commander II + More, ORIGIN's Ultima VII and Beyond, An Audience With Lord British, and Careers in Computer Gaming.

• All Aboard welcomes a new employee who's experience includes... playing Wing Commander? It could have been me! "Jerrold Harrington starts next Monday. Jerrold also has three years of CS experience and reports having 'messed around' with Wing and having played Ultima III. All we need now is a Windwalker expert."
• Super Mario Bros. (and Sisters) says Wing Commander Genesis should be out before the end of time - we're still waiting! "Software Toolworks also wants to get a yuletime Wing Commander out on SNES (probably not). Look for Wing on Genesis sometime between Christmas and the end of time, converted by Sega."

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 23 - August 14, 1992 Contents All the News That Fits
License to Travel
Miscellany
Picnic Time
All Aboard
PC Research Top-Selling Software (May, 1992)
Super Mario Bros. (and Sisters)
Dear Point Man

More to the Point - Notes on the Lost Novel

I don't remember how that news got out. I much admired Ellen's novel, but I certainly never had a contract to do a Wing Commander novel. Lost in the mists of time, I guess. I liked the Wing Commander game series a lot, and Privateer is certainly among my top five favorite games ever.

Unfortunately, for various reasons (mostly contractual), that novel never happened. Sorry to disappoint you!

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Twenty-Two

This is another orthographic view, this time of the A-17 Broadsword. It's interesting seeing both the initial 'blueprint' rendering of the ship and the 'internal notes' in the top corner! Apparently they had initially intended to leave the Broadsword without afterburners, as it appeared in Wing Commander 2... it's likely that game balancing ultimately prevented this.

Tarsus Gets Its Guns

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 22

This is a big issue for those interested in the business history of Origin - with company basically inventing the idea of releasing classic games as 'budget' releases which continues to be a huge part of the market to this day! What game started that trend? Wing Commander, of course! There are some other interesting parts, too - like the fact that they hadn't yet settled on a name for Privateer and the announcement of the Origin FX screensaver.

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• Raves and Rumors has one Wing Commander review: "We're starting to see some Special Ops 2 reviews. Computer Game Review says: 'Great graphics as always,' and 'Wing 2 Ops 2 is great, but you'd better be in top fighting shape!'"
• New SKU Review details the budget sofware plan and the game announcement mentioned above:

The CD-ROM compilations of Wing Commander II/Ultima Underworld and Wing Commander II Deluxe Edition are just about out the door... Also in August, the sales team launches a bold, new experiment by unleashing Wing Commander and Ultima VI at a suggested retail price of $29.95 (which will probably end up at around $19.95 as a 'street price'). 'The idea,' according to The Big Bulldog, Marten Davies, 'is to get those bargain-hunters who are picking up the low-priced 386 systems right now. They want to build a software library and build it fast. Since there's nothing out there that can really compare to our products in terms of technology, we want those buyers to pick up these games and think, 'Wow, now I know why ORIGIN's newest games cost $50 to $80.' Then we'll have them hooked.' The special price point is for a limited time only (120 days through Christmas), but if sales really start cooking, the offer may be extended... Current plans now call for the top-secret ORIGIN FX Screen Saver to ship by mid-October, rather than the originally-scheduled Aug.-Sept. period, due to additional design modifications suggested by internal test-site staffers. The Bulldogs have big hopes for this one. Then, everything breaks loose in November. Ultima VII, Part 2: The Serpent Isle (make sure you use the entire title), Strike Commander, Underworld 2 (maybe), and Trade Commander/Privateer (one of those names) will all be fighting to get out of QA at about the same time. Add duplication and build time, and you're looking at a holiday beat-the-clock. If all of these products make it, you'll be able to celebrate by taking your computer home for Christmas. You'll have to bring it back, of course, but to the brand new building out on 183.

• Raves and Rumors has another award for Wing Commander 2: "Finally, pre-congrats are in order for Wing 2 and U7 teams. Moles over at MPC World (soon to be called Multimedia World) report that those two games won all three of their categories in the Reader's Choice Awards... Wing 2 took the best Arcade/Action Game title from Stellar 7 and Commander Keen, and also snagged the Best Flight Simulator award from heav-hitters Falcon 3.0 and Flight Sim v4. The 'official' winners will be announced in the mag's October issue. Killer!"
• Foreign Trade has some quotes from across the pond: "Here's a smattering of comments from Wing Commander registration cards in Britain: 'Keep making games like this and I will keep buying your products.', 'If the dogfights don't leave you stunned, the sleepless nights will.', 'Never have so many died by so few.', 'The most incredible SF movie I have ever seen or starred in.'"
• In, Up & Out announces that Jeff Everett is working on Origin FX - he would go on to create Armada! "Jeff Everett has been promoted from TDA to Programmer (with a capital 'P'). Jeff will be working on Phoenix Force and the screen saver. Congrats, Jeff."

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 22 - July 31, 1992 Contents A Cast of Several
Raves and Rumors
New SKU Review
On a Roll...
In The Library
Just a Note:
Foreign Trade
Stork Watch
Bio: Sharon Miller
Road Warriors
In, Up & Out
NEWS.TXT

Vote For Your Favorite WC Related Adult Film Star

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Twenty-One

Here's the early Dralthi IX rendering seen in the last update testing the afterburner effect. The overhead shot is impressive - it seems to be a bit 'longer' than either the classic or the finished Dralthi.

Ascendant Shrinks

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 21

There's an interesting note in this article: Wing Commander I for the Amiga is still being developed! The game was actually listed in Origin's catalog three years earlier, as 'coming soon' when the MS-DOS original came out.

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• Notes from Abroad has equal parts tragedy and triumph regarding Wing Commander Amiga:

Believe it or not, Wing Commander/Amiga is on the way. Midscape hired Nick Pelling to do the conversion and it's almost complete. For a time, the project looked shaky when Nick suddenly contracted viral encephalitis, but he's recovered and the plan is to release the game late this Fall. It will probably be a limited release here in the States since only two North American distributors and a small array of retailers still carry Amiga software.

Fortunately, the same condition is not true across the Atlantic, where Brit Brand Jennie Evans has scored a huge coup. She landed a 20,000 unit order for Wing/Amiga/German for November. No doubt she'll now suffer the same psychological disorders as our own sales staff watching their Strike order for Tandy make its successful Xmas landing.

• In Ink... finds articles about several Wing Commander games: "In PC Entertainment... 'Strike Commander is a technological leap beyond Wing Commander.'", "In the current Computer Gaming World, Underworld enters the Readers' Poll in the #2 slot, trailing Civilization by only .03 and bumping Wing 2 to #3." and "ORIGIN figures prominently in the Reader's Choice Award nominations in MPC World. Wing 2 is up in two categories. It's competing against Stellar 7 (Sierra) and Commander Keep (I think that's right; they tell me it's from Apogee Software) for best Arcade/Action Game. It's also in the Flight Simulator category against Falcon 3.0 and Flight Sim v4."
• Global Conquest talks about Wing Commander II French: "Bland translations have been the bane of American games in the past, but the French version of Wing 2i is already getting rave reviews. Joystick magazine writes: 'Thanks to an extremely faithful translation (thumbs up to the translator who perfectly masters French insults!), we are finally able to fully enjoy this super-sublime game."
• What They're Saying... has some praise for Special Operations 2: "In short, a good little scenario, very pleasant, which enables us to wait for Strike Commander. Gen 4 (France)"

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 21 - July 17, 1992 Contents Boats, Blood and Burgers
Notes from Abroad
Global Conquest
NEWS.TXT
In The Library
+ Plus and Minus -
BBoard
In Ink
Dear Point Man
What They're Saying...

The Space Game Spectacular

One jacket went to a member of the CIC community. Much of the content wasn't new at the time, but it was great as an introduction to the movie. It's also great to flip through nearly ten years later. I remember placing a special order with Borders for four times the actual sales price!

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Twenty

Try this one on for size! It's a much earlier set of textures for the Dralthi IX. Not only are the guns missing entirely, but the texture itself is a Privateer style tan rather than a Wing Commander III copper color. It also seems to have a slightly rounded quality absent in the finished product.

Vote For Best Official Guide

Our latest poll asked which games fans most wanted to see on GameTap next. Wing Commander 3 took the top spot. With WC1, WC2 & WC4 already available to play, Wingnuts seem eager to get the main games out of the way. Privateer came in with a strong second place vote. Although no date has been attached to that one, P1 was actually the first WC game announced for the GameTap service.

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 20

It had to happen sooner or later - a Point of Origin newsletter that doesn't mention Wing Commander! We've included it for posterity... and because it answers another important question: why is mozzarella cheese so stretchy when heated? It's that kind of an issue - a short "holiday" edition (July 4th is Independence Day and Richard Garriott's birthday) which focuses on a recent New York trade show.

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 20 - July 2, 1992 Contents Bytes from the Big Apple
Dear Point Man
Where Are They Now?
Who Are They Now?
On the Spike
PC Research Hits List

Standoff Swats Away Bugs

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Nineteen

New Gamer Kicks Sport XBox Theme

The Gamer is a fusion of design and function that combines an ultra lightweight construction, washable microfiber upper and advanced sublimated graphics to produce a one-of-a-kind visual and tactile experience.

The Gamer... Inspired by Gamers and the Games They Play!!

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 19

Surprise - Special Ops 2 has shipped! You wouldn't even know the game was in development, from the last bunch of Point of Origin updates... but on June 19, 1992 it takes center stage. Well, not entirely - check out the 'Dear Point Man' segment, which mentions rumors of some involvement with Electronic Arts...

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• Special Ops 2 Taking Off has good news for sales of the second (third?) Wing Commander addon: "So far, so good for Special Ops 2. Sales have been very active. In fact, Babbages just turned (put in a second order) for 900 units. Software Etc and Electronic Boutique are pulling out their checkbooks again, too. With the re-orders, a total of about 19,000 units have moved into the channel. Congrats to the Special Ops 2 team!"
• Notes from La-La Land has a new marketing idea for the original Wing Commander (and others): "This Fall, Wing Commander and Ultima VI will hit a new low: $29.95. It's part of a master plan to get into the mass-market, places like Montgomery Ward, Best Buy, etc."
• Press Here has some choice media quotes about Wing Commander II and Wing Commander II/French: "'Not only does this game demonstrate the capabilities of multimedia PC's, it's helping to drive sales of them.' Computer Shopper" and "'Thanks to an extremely faithful translation (thumbs up to the translator who perfectly masters French insults!), we're finally able to fully enjoy this super-sublime game.' Joystick (France)", respectively.

Point of Origin
Vol. II, No. 19 - June 19, 1992 Contents Special Ops 2 Taking Off
Notes from La-La Land
Potpourri
Press Here
Check it Out
Dear Point Man
Donut Count Update

Fan Authors Keep Busy

The Lead Dralthi continued to hammer the Sabre with everything it had to offer, sending a stream of Meson Gun bolts into the Sabre just behind the cockpit. Lieutenant Lysenko screamed in pain and utter shock. Hale swore loudly as the radar, left VDU, and Armour readout blew out. He pulled out the throttle and flipped his wounded Sabre onto his back. Now the Kilrathi fighter was facing him headon, where the fighter still presumably had shields and armor left. Ignoring the various alarms, he fired off a pair of DF's and sprayed out a solid line of Mass Driver and Particle cannon fire into the Dralthi. The Kilrathi Fighter spun out of control and exploded dramatically. Hale could make out the Pilot getting blow out of the cockpit as his fighter exploded.

Keith Hale looked over the shattered cockpit of his Sabre, it was time to head home as soon as possible. "Lieutenant Ryan Report Status!"

"I'm okay sir, got a couple burn marks on my ship, how about you?"

"I wish I had it that good. My ship is shot to all hell and my WSOs hurt. The Nav Computer's shot so I'll need you to lead the way back to the Saratoga." He looked back over at Lysenko, she was still moving, but moaning in pain. He couldn't quite make it out, but it appeared as if she took some shrapnel from the explosion in the back of the fighter. God only knew what kind of shape Sergeant Keller was in, but the ship's internal comms were offline and the passage way to the turret was blocked with a massive amount of wires and debris.

"Yeah, I have your ship in visual range now, I'll see what I can do." Ryan took his Sabre and stopped it directly in front of Hale's. "Just follow me sir, and this will be over." (More)

Deacan's Das Erwachen continues to be posted too. The 85th German segment went up earlier today. Last, but not least, Dahan is still updating a whopping three running series. Sins of the Father, Confed Vengeance and An Officer's Beginning all have new chapters online. If you've been toying around with a story, feel free to post it to the Forum and get some feedback. There's a ton of fans out there eager to read your material, and you never know when your creative mind might be tapped to assist with the next comic, game mod or fan project.

The Art of Wing Commander Arena - Part Eighteen

Here are sketches of all six in-game fighters... plus the two heavy fighters. The other one? The Gothri, first introduced in Special Operations 1. Like the Centurion, a fully textured Gothri model was built... and it's beautiful - a cross between the classic fighter and something from H.R. Giger.