Fighters Swarm Solar Empire Mod Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

After several rounds of really big capships, Nomada_Firefox has zoomed in for a look at some impressive fighters added to his Wing Commander mod of Sins of a Solar Empire. On the Kilrathi front, the Strakha and Darket might both be pretty lightweight, but the elite Bloodfang more than makes up for that. The Confed additions all come from Prophecy by way of the Devastator bomber and Panther & Vampire space superiority fighters. Quite a hard hitting trio! These are it for now, but there's potential for some Border Worlds and even Privateer 2 designs to sneak their way in at a later date.

Return To The Frontier With New Privateer Enhanced Soundtrack Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Jason Walton has partially released his second enhanced Wing Commander soundtrack. In addition to Wing Commander 2, his repertoire now includes Privateer. His first eight Gemini Sector tracks are now available in this convenient playlist. There are already some really great ones here. Takeoff and landing brings back so many memories, and the agricultural base background music almost gives me goosebumps. Give them a listen and let him know what you'd like to hear next!
Originally composed by Laura Barrett, Marc Schaefgen, and Nenad Vugrinec

Fewer Colors, But It Still Sounds Great Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Mindwipe has put together a nifty tribute remix of the Amiga Wing Commander's title track. Listen below or download here. The Amiga version's unique music has a following just like the DOS edition's, and you can find additional recordings of it in another update here. The WC1 Surf Theme was even featured in an album of Amiga music!
If you don't know this, "What rock were you living under?" This remake is a rework using both an MT32 unit and the AMIGA. It's such an iconic piece it needs itself an real orchestra behind it.. However till then enjoy this version. :)

Super Heavy Fighter Bomber Uncloaks In Homeworld Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Now that DefianceIndustries has turned out his fearsome F-107 Lance, L.I.F. has been able to incorporate it into the Homeworld Remastered mod. The Dragon plays the role of master-of-all-trades at a proportionately high cost. Its shiny stock configuration has also been muddied by two different textures in the last couple shots to demonstrate wear and tear. Find more pictures and let him know which paint scheme is your favorite at the CIC Forums.

Those Shooting Stars Are Laser Blasts Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

NinjaLA is back with another take on the classic Dralthi. This time the ship has a more realistic gloss finish, and it's portrayed from a head-on angle that gives it an exotic elliptical shape. At first glance, the Kilrathi vessel might appear to just be cruising through the night, but some of the colorful background streaks are actually its guns blazing. The fighter's shields are also flaring under the assault of an unseen attacker. There's more action in the far background - it's part of a much larger battle!

Cruise Through The Border Worlds Carefree At 7692 Klicks Per Meganewton Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

DefianceIndustries is back from a well earned vacation with a gorgeous new model. He's hand crafted the imposing F-107 Black Lance fighter, commonly known as the Dragon. There's even a sell sheet that's similar to the famous Playstation advertisement that portrays it like a car ad. The model is destined to wind up in the Homeworld Remastered mod, but it would add a menacing heavy hitter to any project!
I'm back!!!! Run in fear, etc. What started as a "I need a two week break to recharge" turned into "OMG 2016, why?!? Not in the face!!!" But I come bearing gifts for @L.I.F. and the HW remastered mod. I finally finished the F-107. Here she is ready to assault your enemies at will, and as an added bonus while digging through Admiral Tolwyn's archival data, I found a relic of 2367 that I thought needed posting.

Sins Of A Solar Empire Mod Gets All Fired Up Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today's update to the Wing Commander mod for Sins of a Solar Empire is all about engines. Nomada_Firefox has carefully worked within the game's limitations to get the powerful flares looking just right. The results look pretty hot! In cases where the exact number of light sources exceeded what's possible, he spaced things out for best effect. Things like these might seem minor, but they add a lot to the atmosphere and contribute to the sense that things are off when they're missing.
The latest work is to normalize everything with the change of scale. For example, the engines. If you are curious, SOASE has a limit to the amount of engine lights added for each ship. For this reason, ships such as the Waterloo do not have lights in all their engines.

Behind The Blue Screens Of The Scimitar Schematic Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Joe Garrity has uncovered another gem from his vast archives. This time he's managed to secure a copy of the original Scimitar master of the blueprints included with Wing Commander 1. You can see how each of the little elements is taped in place prior to mass production - that's how layout was done back in the day! It's neat how everything is all there, plus an extra "top view" floating near the logo. Check out all four original blueprints here.
Origin was well known for the extras in the box, that drew players into the story-line, and Wing Commander was no exception. The first game in the series included 4 blueprints of the fighters the player would fly (and would double for the copy protection). This artifact is the master 'overlay' for the Scimitar medium fighter, used to make these blueprints. With graphics and specs meticulously pasted to a transparency, the item is another unique relic of a classic game.

Righteous Playthrough of Privateer and Expansion Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

YouTuber Hercxena has wrapped up his playthrough of Wing Commander: Privateer and the Righteous Fire expansion pack. Many people have recorded Let's Play videos of various Wing Commander installments, but smaller titles like Righteous Fire don't get much coverage. If you skipped over Privateer or Righteous Fire back in the day, you can get a taste on Hercxena's channel. The easiest way to acquire and play the DOS classics is through their digital re-release on Good Old Games.

Happy Birthday Wing Commander Academy! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today marks 20 years since the premiere of the Academy television show on the USA Network! The animated series came at a prime time in Wing Commander history. It arrived just a few months after Wing Commander 4 & the CCG premiered and a couple months ahead of Kilrathi Saga & Privateer 2. Fans were treated to delightfully well researched story arcs as well as the familiar voices of Mark Hamill, Tom Wilson and Malcolm McDowell. As part of the Saturday morning action extreme team, it would be easy to dismiss as just another kids' cartoon, but the reality was far from it. Each episode featured themes such as the ethics of genocide, losing loved ones and debate on wartime strategy. Its art style was pretty snazzy too! The show earned significant critical acclaim and is regarded as one of the many highlights of the franchise that newcomers must experience.
Amazon lists the two-DVD set for an incredibly low $5.99. At this price, absolutely everyone should own a copy! When you get your discs, check out the viewers guide to see what order to what each episode in. They come on the disc in production order, but this differs slightly from both the way that they aired and the way that they fall in the timeline. Check back when it's time to make sense of the Warrior King or figure out which ships can be seen throughout space. You can even hit up Shapeways for a small 3D print of the Academy Tiger's Claw.

Fleet Action & Heart Of The Tiger Ebooks Partly Released! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Been has officially listed Wing Commanders Fleet Action and Heart of the Tiger in its ebook store! Expect to see them show up for Apple iBooks, Amazon Kindle and more on December 6, 2016. In the Baen tradition of releasing partial manuscripts ahead of time, the first half of each novel is already available for early purchasers. Additionally, there are several sample chapters for each book available for free. Check them out, and you'll definitely be anxious for more. News of their eventual arrival was hinted at several weeks ago during a panel at Dragon*Con, but it's nice to see how quickly that's turned into real products. As an extra bonus, they'll be included in the December 2016 Monthly Baen Bundle alongside "1635: A Parcel of Rogues," "Monster Hunter International, Second Edition" and several others for a combined price of $18. Thanks to Sailor Sixty Seven for spotting this one!
FLEET ACTION: The Kilrathi Empire is in a bind. For the last five years they have been constructing a secret fleet so powerful that it will slice straight through to Earth and destroy the Confederation. There is a problem, however: the Confederation has become increasingly successful with its behind-the-lines raids and the Prince fears that before the new fleet is ready, the Empire will be on the ropes.

At a Kilrathi council of war a simple solution is agreed upon: sue for peace, lull the humans into disarming and then when all is ready, launch a surprise offensive.

True to the tradition of democracies everywhere, the Confederation falls for it; the military stands down. Luckily for the human race, however, there are a few who don’t trust soft words from a Kilrathi mouth. Admiral Tolwyn and his veterans must fight a delaying action, buying time with their lives for humanity to make ready for the final battle…

HEART OF THE TIGER: Humans are truly against the wall! Terran forces are pushed to a last stand by the ever-encroaching Kilrathi hordes. The end seems very near. It is time for desperation measures. Against overwhelming odds, the humans try to launch a last offensive against the Kilrathi homeworld. Once again, humanity’s last best hope is embodied in her flyers. Never before has so much been asked of so few—and now humanity’s existence itself is on the line!

Solar Empire Mod Upgrades To 22K Ultra High Definition Dreadnought Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Nomada_Firefox has taken on the issue of scale in his Wing Commander mod for Sins of a Solar Empire. Tackling the enormous size of the 22,000 meter Kilrathi dreadnought is challenging for most modders, and it's interesting to see how each project addresses this. In order to prevent an issue with the ship conflicting with planets, he's had to downscale everything 20%, but the proportions are still right. If you're anxious to see this monster in action, there's also a video linked below. Fortunately the SOASE engine has really good zoom in/out features!
This is a example of the final scale. I have followed all the sources and when there was not information about one unit, I have used a good scale for the type of unit. If you want know, first I have made all the units with the same scale and after that, I have reduced them a 20%. Without this reduction, a ship such as the Hvar'kann would be bigger than a planet and it would give thousands of problems. This new scale is equal to the scale from my Star Wars mod and by this reason, I know how it can be used without problems.

Keep in mind that there are many things unfinished in the mod: weapons, particle effects, prices, balance, many things unfinished.

Enhanced Wing Commander 2 Soundtrack Almost Complete! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Jason Walton has nearly completed his project to redigitize the music of Wing Commander 2, and it sounds great! Give it a listen for a fantastic wrap up to our WC2 weekend. Compared to the previous clips he released last month, Jason has upgraded to Logix Pro X as his editor of choice and spent a lot of time ensuring the pacing, tone and synthesized notes were just right. The entire playlist is linked below. Hit start to listen to all 23 tracks, or click on the button in the upper left to jump around. After the Main Theme, I think Kilrathi Theme, Treachery and Strike Mission are my favorite. How about you? There are just a couple more tracks to go that will be added later - we can't wait!
Remastered game music soundtrack for Wing Commander 2. Originally composed by Dana Glover, George Sanger, Dave Govett, Martin Galway, and Nenad Vugrinec.

Listen To A New Take On Thrakhath & The Emperor Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

It's a Wing Commander 2 weekend! Voice actor David Lanzafame has recorded a pretty slick rendition of the Wing Commander 2 intro. How goes the war against the humans? Click play and find out!
A recreation of the classic opening dialogue from Wing Commander 2. Both characters are voiced myself.
Meanwhile, the Wing Commander 2 live stream is in full swing right now! Watch us play on Twitch all day!

Wing Commander 2 Live Stream Saturday! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

There's just one day to go until Wing Commander 2's 25th anniversary live stream! The fun gets going at noon Pacific US time (3 PM Eastern, 8 PM British Summer Time) on Twitch and continues until we successfully strike K'Tithrak Mang! Along the way, join in for trivia, commentary and guest interviews. To help get fellow fans excited, Music_Guru has dug up yet another cool classic review of WC2. This time it comes from the December 1991 issue of the German magazine Power Play. We know there's tons of hardcore Wingnuts in Germany, so this one's for you! It's a four piece spread with lots of nice screenshots. The cover even featured a preview of Strike Commander that month.

Art Display Spans Kilrathi Saga Years Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Vulpes-Sapien makes a lot of really cool line art from a variety of sci-fi series. Here's his take on the most common Confed fighters of Wing Commanders 1-3. As an extra bonus, WC2 gets a handful of Kilrathi ships as well. Although the designs look quite accurate overall, Vulpes mentions a few artistic liberties that he's taken with some of the designs. Some resizing has also occurred as he tries to normalize around a typical flight deck seat. I love the simplistic charm that this style brings!
The idea came about rather gradually. Originally, I started drawing the Jalkehi since it was next to impossible to find any clear pictures of it. The same was true of the Sartha, so I decided to include that as well. Eventually, things progressed until I found myself drawing all the fighters for WC2. At least the ones in the manual, the others in the add-ons and so forth will come at a later date.

There's also the chair in the middle. That is the chair I use to measure a more accurate (or realistic) size for the fighters than the ones given. If you try downloading this picture and moving the chair so it's superimposed on top of a cockpit, though, you might find that I gave a bit of extra room to each one. I don't believe in cramming guys into too-small cockpits, like in Star Wars.

They took a while to do, since I wanted to add more detail. I could've posted them looking exactly like the drawings from the manuals and/or blueprints, but you can find those anywhere. I also took some artistic liberties with some elements I found rather confusing (like the forward mini-wings or the bomb on the Raptor).

Thanks to Admiral Maverick for the tip!

Four Queens!!! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Joe Garrity came across a cool artifact in his massive Origin collection that he'd like to share. This is the set of Confed playing cards that were used during the filming of Wing Commander 4. Joe's pulled out the four-of-a-kind that Maniac ominously used to defeat Vagabond before his final mission. If you found yourself in the Origin Museum, would you play with these cards? Or are they too valuable to touch?
I sometimes stumble across some of the more insignificant items in the Origin Museum archives. Here we have a deck of Terran Confederation cards used in the production of "Wing Commander IV-The Price of Freedom". These are the actual cards you see being held by Maniac, aka, Tom Wilson. To those who are familiar with the storyline, Vagabond losing to Maniac in poker foreshadows his own death. Some folks may say that it's just a deck of cards. To game preservationists, it's a physical piece of gaming history!

Come For The RPG, Stay For The CCG! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

capi is back with another diligent report on the status of his ever growing Wing Commander RPG. Summer holidays and a side project to create a card game took up a chunk of the last month, but lots of work still got done on Kilrathi lexicon and translation. Here's his plan for what's coming up next:
My Plan for this week is to continue in Chapter 2.2. I plan to get the terms from this week's translations into the lexicon later today, and then I'll finish up the partials currently in progress before proceeding with any new work. As mentioned, I could stand to re-count the text blocks and see if my figures are correct; that's an administrative sort of thing, though. Chapter 2.3 is still on my horizon - and to remind myself, mainly, I need to finish building the Demon's Eye base statistics, begin mocking up battle maps, and slice the Chapter's plot some more. The packing process begins this week at my workplace, so I'm hoping I still have the necessary equipment (read: a workstation) long enough to get some significant work done on the campaign. I will also be continuing to make revisions to my side project; I don't anticipate that eating up too much of my time this coming week.
Speaking of card games, don't forget that capi already created a pretty awesome digital rendition of the Wing Commander CCG. A playable release is available for the vassal engine. I haven't heard about too many fans picking this up, but it looks fantastic. More people need to give it a try!

Solar Empire Mod Construction Yards In High Gear Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

We saw a variety of utility ships in the last update on the Wing Commander mod for Sins of a Solar Empire, and this time we're upsizing quite a bit. Nomada_Firefox has added a fleet of Kilrathi warships to the mix that's turned out very well. The first several shots show the assembled armada with a large number of potent vessels. Zooming in a little closer reveals a very nice looking Fralthi II cruiser. After that, there's even a heavily armed Snakeir superdreadnought from the Wing Commander Movie. Finally the real workhorse is revealed - a cute little Kilrathi shuttle.
The addition of Kilrathi starships goes well. However, I got a bit delayed with fighters. But I will make more of them when I finish the Kilrathi starships. My goal is to finish the addition of models the fastest I can and after it, I can work at other parts of the mod.

About the turrets added on the (Snakeir). Their purpose is only cosmetic since the turrets in SOASE do not have movement. There were some tries with it but nothing good. But one point for all the mod is to get massive battles and these easy models are great for it.

Just for the record, I haven't been developing the mod for one year (as mentioned in the news). I was just thinking about it. All the stuff shown has been added over the past month.

This Junkyard Dog Has A Serious Bite Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

VERTi60 is an ace starship commander in the new Galactic Junk League. The point of the game is to cobble together a cool ship from space debris and then battle it out with other players. Naturally, Wing Commander fans quickly started to make familiar designs from their favorite series! Even better: the ship kicks some serious butt! Combined with VERTi60's piloting skills, the Midway goes on to score the most kills and bring blue team to victory in the demonstration vid below. It's a really fun video with great intermixing of Prophecy cutscenes and music.
Galactic Junk League is a new sandbox build - action team game-play where you can build your own ships and then quickly battle with one another.

WC Series were one my favorite back then, even though I watched it more for the story than play for the game-play. :) I've recreated the TCS Midway, Heavy Carrier Class from the Wing Commander V - it's one of the most astonishing carriers in the whole saga, perhaps iconic throughout the whole genre. Now as she travel to the Galactic Junk Universe, she must struggle for survival as many alien ships are "hungry" for more junk parts. Will the Midway and her crew survive the ambush?

Wing Commander 2 Articles Abound Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

To further commemorate this past week's WC2 anniversary, Music_Guru has unearthed a second trove of articles that explore the period just before and after the game's release. There's a whole lot of reading ahead, so let's get to it! First up is a a single page from the May 1991 issue of Zero based in the UK. It's a brief preview that showcases Thrakhath's Bloodfang from the WC2 demo from a head on angle. Once the game is released, the December 1991 issue of Zero gets the full review. It's full of polished screenshots and praise, but it gets a few points off for being skewed more towards being an interactive movie rather than a game (just wait until they see WC3/4!). In the middle of the pack is a German review of WC2 from the December 1991 issue of Aktueller Software Markt. The ratings are on a very interesting scale - to 12 points rather than a more conventional 5 or 10. Fortunately, Vengeance of the Kilrathi scores a 10 or 11 on every mark.
After that are several smaller mentions. The July 1991 issue of Questbusters seems to be covering this space sim because of its relationship to Ultima. There's some fun mentions of the games being played on a large screen as well as a tease about a future role playing and Wing Commandery space hybrid game. The June 1992 issue of PC Review acknowledges all of the recent wins at the Golden Joystick Awards in London. WC2 took best graphics, best soundtrack, and PC game of the year! There's a dated reference to all of the awards that Silence of the Lambs had recently taken home itself. A second PC Review from August 1992 suggests WC2 as a better sim buy than another contemporary title, Epic. Finally, the May 1991 issue of Advanced Computer Entertainment has another mention of Ground Commander, an early working title of Strike Commander. Whew, that's a lot of different print sources in one post!
Don't forget that WC2's 25th anniversary live stream will be next Saturday, September 17! Tune in at noon on Twitch to watch me watch over LOAF's shoulder as he expertly cuts a swath through the Enigma Sector. Disco Lando will be running the elaborate AV setup, and he created a second kickass overlay for the event. This time it's a Sabre!

1999 Chris Roberts Interview Resurfaces Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Forums member NuAngel was going through our news archives when he noticed a broken link to a 1999 interview with Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts. Gamespot UK had scored the interview in the months leading up to the release of the Wing Commander movie, so that was the main topic of conversation. Fortunately NuAngel found a working copy on the Wayback Machine, so everyone can enjoy this throwback to the 90's internet. You can check out the classic interview here. Younger visitors may wonder if the Wayback Machine's copy of the web page is missing large sections. Website layouts really were that simple and straightforward in the '90s, but splitting up content into many small chunks to increase page views and ad impressions was already a thing.
I'd directed live action for Wing III and IV. In some ways PC development is tougher than film because you're always trying to work with unproven technology. Something games development also teaches you that film school can't, is the multitasking to cope with a project of this size. Plus there's the technology. If I ask a Hollywood effects team if they can do a sequence, of course they're going to say yes. But they're not going to say how long it will take, cost or how good it will look. We are doing all the effects, we know what can be done and what it will cost us.

George Oldziey Wraps Another Wing Commander Track Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Details on how a second symphony recording session will be funded are still being worked out, but that hasn't stopped Origin composer George Oldziey from continuing to make progress on the orchestrations for his next Wing Commander album. His latest track comes from the conclusion of WCP. This will be the third track after the WC3 surrender scene and one of the early mission medleys from WC4.
Just finished orchestrating Blair's alien abduction scene from Wing Commander Prophecy for upcoming orchestra volume 2! Keep you posted!
He's also found himself composing the music to go along with a promotional video for the US Air Force's Global Strike Command. They found a great guy to do it - George happens to know a thing or two about the right music to set the mood for planetary annihilation!
Boy, what an interesting way to make a living! In the last couple of months I've scored music for a presentation to the Global Environmental Fund at the Smithsonian, a video that Robert Rodriguez presented at the DNC, and now this! A trailer for the US Air Force about how awesome our nuclear arsenal is! They kept telling me "we need bigger drums! They need to sound like explosions!" So it's either saving the world or destroying it! Phew!

Solar Empire Mod Adds Workhorses To The Fleet Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Nomada_Firefox has added a wide variety of support ships to round out the roles in his Wing Commander mod for Sins of a Solar Empire. The marine shuttle looks pretty slick, and just like in Wing Commander 4, it has a special boarding & capture ability in the game. The Belleau Wood transport from Armada makes its appearance as the refinery transport here, and the Privateer 2 ship is back as a trade transport. Even the WC Movie's Kilrathi ConCom performs as a utility ship. We've seen the Clarkson class transport before, but this new image fits in with the set. Lastly, there's an Excalibur. It's not a support ship, but it's too awesome not to share!

More Baen Wing Commander Ebook Rereleases Confirmed! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

There's great news coming out of Dragon*Con, which was held once again in Atlanta this past weekend. ^Death_ reports that Baen has confirmed the remainder of their Wing Commander novels will be published as ebooks! The distribution schedule could be on the slow side, as WC titles will be parsed out where space allows between conventional new releases, but this is fantastic news! Fans can now look forward to End Run, Fleet Action, Heart of the Tiger, The Price of Freedom, Action Stations and False Colors direct from Baen, Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble or Kobo. Hit up any of those links to get Freedom Flight now for $6.99!

Peer Into The WC2 Development Process Circa Spring 1991 Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The Wing Commander 2 celebration continues with a pair of great articles found by Music_Guru. First up is a really cool Origin profile written for the April 1991 issue of The One. Wing Commander was barely six months old at this time, but the team was already well on their way with advanced WC2 character modeling, high resolution ship images and even early murmurings of Wing Commander 3. They also introduce "Ground Commander," which was an early working title for Strike Commander. Chris Roberts remained focused on Strike into early 1993, so it's no surprised the suggested WC3 release date that year actually ended up being late 1994. It all sounds like a terribly exciting time!


The final scan below is from the May 1991 issue of Advanced Computer Entertainment. This article talks about the introduction of autodesk 3D Studio at Origin and the fantastic designs they got as a result. As the state of technology was changing very rapidly in the early '90s, the tools game developers used to take advantage of all this quickly evolved too. We're glad they didn't cut corners on this and managed to put together such a beautiful game!

Wing Commander 2 is set six years after the Tiger's Claw victory in the Vega Sector. In the game, you'll pilot six new Terran starfighters in a variety of missions. You might be sent to retrieve refugee life pods with your tractor beam, defend against the undetectable enemy stealth fighters or fly a jump-capable straighter against a Kilrathi starbase. "In Wing Commander 2, we'll take the Wing Commander technology beyond the imaginable - with Dynamic Intelligence, digitized art and speech, new and unusual ship and weapons technology, an intensely dramatic storyline and characters, and more of the non-stop action that made the original Wing Commander into a bestselling game," says Origin in its sales-pitch. Wing Commander 2 will be released on the PC in late summer.
You can also find The One's coverage of Wing Commander's Amiga development in our archives here.

Happy Birthday Wing Commander 2! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi, shipped to stores 25 years ago today, on September 4, 1991. It followed the original game by less than one year and just five months after fans enjoyed The Secret Missions 2 - a very good time for Wing Commander fans! Amid the flurry of major releases and expansions packs, I'm one of the Wingnuts that actually stumbled into the early games somewhat out of order. Picking a favorite Wing Commander title is excruciating decision, but for me, I always end up back at WC2. It was my first PC Wing Commander, and it represented a certain gaming ideal. The importance of WC1's revolutionary spaceflight engine or the incredible set pieces of WC4 can't be disputed, but WC2 just exuded charm and atmosphere from every seam. WC3's introduction is technically superior on every level, but the Emperor's speech to Prince Thrakhath still gives me goosebumps and can't be topped in my mind. Everything from the Emperor's red eye piece to the sway of Thrakhath's cape is just exquisite. With some presaging from SM2, the intro introduced many of the major characters that would go on to define the series for the next five years.

For their time, the graphics are absolutely stunning, and I can't say enough about the color balance. All of the rich blues and greens with red and yellow highlights contrast wonderfully against the blackness of space. Moreso than just about any game, players can pick up and play Wing Commander 2 from anywhere at any time and feel absolutely immersed. My entire middle school career consisted of coming home each day, clicking "Resume Current Game," and losing countless hours to the Enigma Sector. All of the various people, locations and drama in the story are so memorable. Nobody liked to lose a wingman in WC1, but when they go in WC2, it's especially heart breaking. And for a game titled "vengeance," the sense of vindication players feel after clawing their way back onto the flight roster and then clearing their name just feels great. It's hard to believe 25 years have gone by. Happy Birthday Wing Commander 2!
For those who'd like to celebrate further, we'll be playing through and live streaming the entire game on Saturday, September 17! The action gets going at noon Pacific US time on Twitch. I'll be joining LOAF as he once again displays his stunning pilot skills against the Empire of Kilrah. And check out this awesome Rapier overlay frame by Disco Lando!

Medium Resolution Wing Commander Owners Getting 1080p Vudu Upgrade Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Jacob, the master of all things Vudu, reports that the company has phased out its 720p resolution category. There is still a standard definition 480p version, and anyone who owned an "HD" copy of Wing Commander on the service will see it upgraded to the 1080p "HDX" tier. This streamlines their catalog as they begin to introduce 4K "UHD" resolution movies. Although no such iteration of Wing Commander exists today, if Chris Roberts ever gets to do his upgraded director's cut of the WC Movie, we'd really love to see it in ultra high res! Surprisingly, it was only four short years ago that digital 1280x720 copies first became available to purchase, and Vudu was actually the first to sell a 1920x1080 version several months later.
Based on the best selling video game, Wing Commander is a science fiction-war movie spectacle.

Tombstone Examination Unearths Easter Eggs Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

AD made a fun discovery while trying to find out the full name of Prophecy's gloomy Lieutenant Dallas. In the video of his funeral, the tombstone that reveals his name also contains references to Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts and to former EA executive and current venture capitalist Bing Gordon.
The last line on the plaque is Rich "T Dog" Strobers, which is clearly a lazy anagram of Chris Roberts. Rich is Chris minus the S and Strobers has the extra S from Chris, and moves it's T forward. I'm not sure I get the T Dog reference, but I'm sure there's a story behind it.

Kerbal Raptor Not Just A Hangar Queen Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Kerbal Space Program is a space flight simulator that lets players build their ships from scratch and see how they perform off the launch pad. It can be a challenge to get an air or space worthy design, but Shaggy managed to get WC1's Raptor heavy fighter flying in the game. Much like yesterday's Lego designs, it's not easy to get a good approximation going when you're working with generic parts, which is what makes this so impressive. And the "R.A.P.I.E.R." engines are a nice bonus!
So yeah, I built an A-14 Raptor in Kerbal Space Program just to see if I could get it to fly and it does. I don't know if anyone has tried this yet, but I built it all with stock parts, no mods, and it seems to work alright. I had to stick the R.A.P.I.E.R. Engines on it to give it enough speed to actually fly so it might be able to make it into orbit, I haven't tried yet. Consequently, this makes it extremely fast but its turning radius is roughly the size of Texas. :) Okay, it's not quite that bad, a little ruddering helps.

Follow or Contact Us
Discord YouTube Twitter Facebook Bluesky E-mail

All Wings Considered
Episode 37 - Back to Gemini!
Archived video streams

Forums: Recent Posts
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

Current Poll
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Where to Buy

WCPedia: Recent Contributions
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

Site Staff