WC1 Hack Enables 'HD' Ships Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

UnnamedCharacter has pulled off a very neat trick! He's experimented with higher quality ship sprites in Wing Commander 1 and managed to get them to appear as a sharper looking vessel in the game. It's an exciting development, but there's a couple of caveats here: a higher resolution Tiger's Claw happens to exists for cutscene use, but it's not carved up in various sprite angles and it's only one ship. And this only seems producible in the Kilrathi Saga rather than DOS, so don't expect a full HD conversion of WC1 to be immediately forthcoming, but this shows there's certainly some very interesting potential for future digital exploration!
Ships are represented as a series of individual sprites which are scaled as needed. This becomes obvious as you get closer to a ship since they become very pixelated.

This first row of images is the standard ship sprites.

This second row uses ship sprites which have been scaled up to 200%. I have also substituted one image for a more detailed version (taken from TITLE.VGA); although the angle is different, close enough for a proof of concept.
Unfortunately, this only seems to work in Kilrathi Saga; I did not have any success in the original DOS version, the game locks-up.

Choose Your Own WC3 Review Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Pix recently managed to locate a really awesome review of Wing Commander 3 from the magazine PC Zone. In line with the game's branching paths and dialog choices during cutscenes, the article actually lets you read through and jump to individual subsections based on what you think. In the end, these choices lead to two different conclusions and review scores! That's pretty clever. And there's a bonus interview with Mark Hamill afterwards. For more awesome finds like this for Wing Commander and other Origin series, check out Pix's Origin Adventures website.
I love this Wing Commander 3 review from the February 96 issue. It’s written in the form of a choose your own adventure complete with a choice of final scores. As much as I like the game, the comments on performance on lower performance machines are fair enough.

Kilrathi Saga Tools Released - Use To Help Identify Music! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Stinger took a break from development of WCDX to package up some of the nifty sub-programs he's put together to help make his modding easier. He has a couple apps that extract and convert material embedded within Kilrathi Saga, and he's also put together a super cool music player that can access the tracks from WC1&2. If you'd like to give it a try, Stinger could also use some help naming and categorizing some of the audio files. Read up on the overview below, and find more details at the CIC Forums.
I have uploaded a new file: wctools.zip. This contains a few tools that I've been tinkering on as I develop wcdx. The tools were originally written as I was figuring out the data formats used by the games and have been extremely useful for figuring out what the game is doing. They were originally just hastily thrown-together programs designed to verify my assumptions and make my life a little easier, so I wasn't planning to release them, but I think they may be of interest to the kind of people who still hang around a community-run game forum twenty-two years after Kilrathi Saga was released. I've been spending some time lately getting these ready for broader consumption, and here they are! As always, the source code is available on GitHub.

So what are they?

  • wcres: A tool for extracting individual resources from the data files in the GAMEDAT directory. Others have written this tool, and probably better, but I was interested in working it out for myself, and WCToolbox didn't exist at the time.
  • wcimg: A tool for converting sprite images to PNG format. You can use this with wcres to view any sprite in WC1 or WC2. These are the tools I used to extract the images for this post.
Both wcres and wcimg can perform bulk operations, extracting one or all resources from a given resource file. For example, to extract all of the sprite images from COCKPIT.VGA, use the following commands from within the GAMEDAT directory. wcimg also has the ability to pack new images into a sprite resource, but I never got around to adding resource packing to wcres, so it's not very useful yet. I should probably work on that...

Last, but definitely not least:

  • wcjukebox: A music player for Kilrathi Saga! This tool can play back any music track from WC1 and WC2. Detailed instructions are in the tool; just run it with no arguments to read all about it.
wcjukebox plays back music from the STREAMS directory in exactly the same way that the games do. This includes support for looping playback and following transitions between tracks as indicated by the stream files. Tracks can be specified either by track number (which follows the numbering used internally by the game), or by providing "trigger" and "intensity" values to go with a specific stream file. These values are used by the game to control transitions between tracks without the game having to keep track of them too closely. (This is also the source of the infamous endlessly repeating victory music bug.) You can use the -show-tracks option to see how the games map track numbers to trigger and intensity values, or use the -show-triggers option for a complete list of triggers and intensities available for a given stream. With the -o option, you can save the music as a .wav file instead of listening to it.

Here's where I'd like your help:

I've put together this list of track names based on my vague recollection of where they turned up in the game. Some of these names are definitely wrong, while others are simply vague (such as "Combat 1" or "Mission 3"). If there's a canonical list of names somewhere, I'd love to update this list; otherwise, I'll happily take your best efforts at coming up with reasonable names for these!

Here's the list. Wing Commander 2 reused the same track numbers for all of the music that it had in common with Wing Commander 1, so there's only one list, which makes things easier. Additionally, there are four tracks in WC2 that don't have track numbers in the game (meaning you never heard them). One of these tracks is just a repetition of the jump music, but the others appear to be alternate orchestrations that George Oldziey was trying out before settling on the versions that actually appear in the game! I have listed them below as bonus tracks.

Three Weeks and Counting... Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The days keep ticking down to the CIC's 20th Birthday Party! The big event is now just three weeks away, and preparations are in full swing. Because this year we're moving to Discord to chat, you might want to come visit beforehand. Install the program and use this invite to visit the new #Wingnut channel. There's already lots of activity there, so you're more than welcome to join the fun now! Then you'll be all set when the party starts on Saturday, August 18, 2018 at 7:00 pm EDT (4:00 pm PDT and 11:00 pm GMT). See you there!

Prowler Screenshots Show Off Robot Battles Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Anatoly Shashkin posted some pretty nifty preview images of the canceled Origin game, Prowler. This was a mech combat game that some of the Super Wing Commander team worked on in the mid '90s. It never saw the light of day, so there's not much info out there, but the CIC has archived the game's box art, concept sketches and back story. It looks pretty dated today, and these are still pre-release shots from early in development, but this had the potential to be another neat Origin sci-fi series along the lines of MechWarrior. Thanks to Pelinal for the tip!
Promo shots from the cancelled ORIGIN #NotDOS game Prowler (Prawler/Storm Troop)

WCSO Model Upgrade Pack Shows Off Enhanced Cockpits & Missiles Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Here are a couple of different cool updates for the Secret Ops Model Upgrade Pack. The first shot shows off a more refined version of the new Piranha cockpit. DefianceIndustries has added emit mapping to all the gauges and buttons, but he's been careful to balance them so they don't overpower the actual HUD elements. There's also a sampling of the newly recreated missiles that Confed fighters will launch. Lots and lots of new ships have been introduced over the past couple years, but these enhancements will help increase immersion for the pilot whether or not they've got a target on screen. The next big release for the project is scheduled for August 18 - just in time for the CIC's 20th Birthday Party!
Welcome MUP-fans to the "Things You Rarely See" edition. Let me ask you a question: Do you hop into your shiny MUPetized Panther and head out ready to kick some high-poly thorax; you line up your shot, you get tone, and you fire off a missile only to say to yourself, "Hey! That isn't a missile, that's just a tapered rectangle!"? Well, we didn't either. But we here at the MUP are nothing if not completion-ists and fine purveyors of high(er) poly models. Our anal retentive nature is your gain true believers! Introducing the upgrade nobody asked for (but you'll appreciate, we know) - upgraded Confed missiles! TAH DAAAAAAH!!!

So sit back, relax, and fire at will knowing that the crawling AI is about to suck newly enhanced death! Torpedoes, mines, and ER missiles are forthcoming....

Spirit Tags In Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

tsstevens posted this video of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 in action. The game allows a wide range of clothing customization options, and he observed that this outfit results in the Asuka character bearing a striking resemblance to Spirit in her Wing Commander 1 duty uniform. This just makes us imagine how incredibly awesome a Wing Commander fighting game would be! Can you imagine beating up on Maniac? Or fighting a Kilrathi as a Firekkan? You could have stages like the flight deck or in the bar. That would be amazing...
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Asuka cosplays as Spirit from Wing Commander

Yes, this is Asuka playing as Mariko Tanaka. The idea actually stemmed from playing around as Anna and thinking that dressed in a fighter pilot outfit the similarities.

GOG Helps Preserve Gaming's Legacy Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Noclip has published an interesting documentary on the history of CD Projekt and its origins that led to the creation of Good Old Games, which turns ten years old next week. The video is highlighted by a number of interviews with GOG personnel and what they do to preserve and maintain classic games. It caught our attention thanks to a special shout out at 26:40 on the work to get Wing Commander on the service, but the whole thing is worth watching when you have the time!

Large Cruiser's Engine Section Takes Shape Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Adm_Maverick has shared a few more images of his cool papercraft Tallahassee cruiser. His new version is significant bigger than the original, and these new photos provide a good comparison to show off the scale. It might not look like much yet, but the structure that exist has pretty good geometry. Some of his longer term plans to add engine glow and other effects sounds really neat too!
I think this shot makes a good effort at showing the size difference. The prior version is about 11" long (show on the left) while this large version will be abound 24" long. Seeing the fully assembled smaller verison, alongside the partly assembling engineering section for the large version I think helps show the difference really well. I've been including measurements in the parts as an element of planning so I can go back and develop new details, design new parts etc. As an example, I'm thinking about how I can build the engines so that they are A) lighted and B) have a distinct structure to the glow when I get around to building the finished model. Knowing that the smaller engines are 12mm by 12mm helps me keep track of sizes and area to work with.

This is an an example of something I should have thought about when I was laying out the parts for the flight deck, but sadly I did not. What I could have done is built up the internal structure of the flight deck to support the forward section of the engineering section. Oh well, this is why I'm doing this in cardboard. Try, screw up, understand, and develop.

It's Not Faith, It's Space Combat Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Fans of the Wing Commander Movie's large battles and CGI now have an easier way to cut straight to the highlights. hasan 15m has distilled the film down to just these sequences, and the result is an eight and a half minute action fest. The order has also been redone to create a new narrative, although some bits could be considered out of place and that's a wacky thumbnail graphic. Sorting out the fight scenes in movies is kind of hasan's thing - somehow he's been doing this for seven years with 130,000 subscribers and 56 million total views!
Wing Commander - Space Combat

More Secret Ops Updates Coming Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

DefianceIndustries has announced the release date for the next big update to the Secret Ops Model Upgrade Pack. The new version will make its debut at the CIC 20th Birthday Party on Saturday, August 18! This should include the grand revamp of the TCS Midway, which we're all anxious to see. Looking out further into the future, there's been good progress on cockpit graphics. A sneak peek at the Piranha and Panther are included below. There's lots of great things coming!
Greetings MUP fans! So we have a date for the next release for the MUP. August 18. If that date sounds familiar it's because it coincides with the birthday party. So we'll be giving everyone a birthday present. In the meantime I'm finishing the Midway but I wanted to post some updates on a "nice to have" we've been tinkering with. A while back we looked at the possibility of adding real cockpits to WCP and SO, now that the open GL supports glow mapping, we can finally start implementing them. It'll be a selectable option at install so if you want to keep the original cockpits which don't eat up as much real estate on the screen, you'll be able to.

Below you'll find the clays for the Piranha and a redone version of the Panther cockpits. Not sure if they'll be done in time for the birthday but I'll try. Stay tuned all.

Universe Map Origins Revealed in "Wing 5" Progression Map Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Here's a peek at an interesting prototype of the Wing Commander Universe Map included with Wing Commander Prophecy. We first caught a glimpse of this during our 2012 trip to the University of Texas archive. While the final map detailed many sectors where most of the main events happened in the series, this appears to be a little snippet that just traces through the events of WCP. Due to the number of differences, it appears to predate even the preview map that was released online during development, which is pretty cool! Extra bonus: Pix, ace and LOAF posing Texas-style with George Oldziey's CD!

One Month To Party Time! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we'd like to officially announce our annual Birthday Party for the CIC's 20th Anniversary! This year we'll be observing the event on Saturday, August 18, 2018 at 7:00 pm EDT (4:00 pm PDT and 11:00 pm GMT). We'll be celebrating two decades of Wing Commander community at wcnews.com, and we hope you join us! As usual, the day will be chock full of site updates, news stories, trivia and fun times! There'll also be one significant change this year. For the first time, we'll be transitioning the online party from IRC to Discord. A large group of Wingnuts has been testing out the program for over a year, and we'd like to invite you to join us there. Although the shift away from our trusty IRC server is bittersweet, there are some very cool advantages with Discord. The program makes it very easy to join on both PCs and via mobile devices, there's enhanced support for attachments and even voice/video features, although the baseline is still standard text chat. It's also easy to read up in the buffer, so people don't have stay logged in 24/7 to actively participate. Feel free to check it out early and get acquainted. And we'll see you there in just over a month!



Wing Commander Jazz Album Marches On Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Following up on his recent release of the jazz and bar music digital recordings, veteran video game composer George Oldziey has sent out three more updates to his backers. George has exported the sheet music for several tracks from volume 2 of the orchestral project to video format. You can follow the score as the music notation is played back through the Sibelious sound fonts. The second update shows a preview of the artwork for the physical copy of the jazz album. It was made by community member SabreAce, who you may remember from his work on those awesome squadron patches a few years ago. And finally there was a response to a frequently asked question regarding the recommended listening order. If you backed this project, be sure to keep an eye on your e-mail or the Kickstarter page for the latest updates. Kickstarter e-mail updates always end up in my spam folder for some reason. The Victory bar music track has been released as a teaser, so check it out below if you didn't back the project!

Greetings! I was asked by several backers what my preferred, or recommended order would be for listening to the recent WC bar music files. I never really gave it much thought, until just now.

You all can obviously play them in whatever order you'd like, but MY preferred sequence would be..

  1. WC Victory Bar Music
  2. WC Bar Funk Music
  3. WC Bar Samba
  4. WC Bar Ballad
  5. Kilrathi Cha Cha (which I'm sure you already figured out was an adaptation of the theme from WC 3; Heart of the Tiger).

I've had lots of positive comments about the music, and I REALLY appreciate them!

All the best,

George

Origin Veteran's Postmortems Book Now Available on Paperback Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Former Origin veteran Raph Koster recently published a new book titled Postmortems: Selected Essays Volume One. Available first in digital formats, you can now also get the hefty, 702 page paperback edition. Mr. Koster was lead designer for Ultima Online and went on to develop the ill-fated Privateer Online before moving on to Star Wars Galaxies, Everquest and many others. The postmortems book contains critical analyses and after-action reports on many of the games that he worked on throughout his long career. We've previously highlighted a few snippets on the proposed commerce system in Privateer Online meant to tease the various sections of the book. It promises to provide some fascinating insight behind the scenes of game development. The B&N Nook digital download is priced considerably cheaper than the Kindle version, while Amazon seems to have better pricing on the paperback version.

Few game designers have shared as many lessons learned as Raph Koster. In a quarter-century of writings and talks, he has offered up game design lessons, online community theories, and candid self-evaluation.

This first volume of a three-book set of selected essays collects previously written postmortems and many brand new pieces. They are accompanied by historical material such as posts written for players, chat logs, speeches, design sketches, and more. The result is an inspiring historical look back at the development of virtual worlds.

Decipher SciFi Discusses Wing Commander Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Back in 2016, the Decipher SciFi podcast devoted an entire episode to the Wing Commander movie. The show starts off with an overview of the Wing Commander computer game series with a focus on Wing Commander 3 as a revolutionary interactive movie and the ever increasing production values and development budget up to Wing Commander 4. The show runners are all familiar with the franchise, having played the originals back in the 1990s on DOS PC or Amiga, and they even went to see the film when it was playing in theaters. The movie segment of the show touches on a wide range of topics, including unlikely fraternization, the traitor subplot getting axed, production challenges as a first time director with a limited budget, and Pilgrim pick-up lines. Check out the episode here.
As children of the 90s, we have to wax nostalgic over the Wing Commander video games. They were really, really important at the time. Ground-breaking, even. PC games pre-windows. FMV.

PC Zone Reviews Wing Commander: Armada Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

While flipping through the October 1994 issue of British gaming magazine PC Zone, noted retro gamer Pix spotted a vintage Armada review. The reviewer praises the graphics (a low resolution preview of the still upcoming Wing Commander 3) and was especially impressed with the hybrid turn-based/split-screen multiplayer feature, in which two players can go head-to-head on a single computer. The user friendliness of the menu system for setting up modem or netBIOS sessions also received a nod of approval. The five page spread contains ample screenshots of Armada's different game modes, although some space is reserved for a large inset preview of Wing Commander 3. Shortly after the game's release, the free Proving Grounds expansion would add support for IPX networking and six player sessions. A decade later, a fan patch by HCl enabled internet play. Scans below courtesy of Pix's Origin Adventures!

Japanese Wing Commander 3 Boxes Compared Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Noted DOS aficionado Christian Klein has posted some interesting comparison shots of the Japanese editions of Wing Commander III. We've covered these a couple of times in the past, but it's worth pointing out again that the game received a full audio dub (check out the intro here), and that Japan is the only market where a Windows 95 port of WC3 was released as a standalone product! The front box art for DOS/V machines (a version of IBM DOS with better support for the Japanese language) was pretty much identical to the Western release with some Japanese text thrown in, while the Windows 95 edition featured a more unique design (though certainly not as "out there" as some other Japanese box art). The same design is featured on the cover of the Japanese guide to WC3 for PlayStation. Christian also provides us with a look at the reverse side box art and the CD-ROM disc labels, which are more bland than the etchings on the Western PC and 3DO discs.

Lexington Stands Down From Silent Running Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Forums member pahandav noticed a minor glitch with the DVD port of Wing Commander IV. The game provides transition scenes of Blair navigating the ship's passageways en route to hotspots like the lounge or flight control. Seasoned players usually skip these scenes to save time, so you may not have noticed that, on the DVD version, a few of these clips are lacking audio:

I was getting ready to do a stream of Wing Commander 4 and noticed that the walking videos on the Lexington had no sound. So, I extracted the audio from those videos from the CD version, and reencoded them to AC3.

To use these, you'll need to load SC_5150A.VOB through SC_5150G.VOB in AviDemux, go to Select Track under the audio menu, click on the box that says Track 0 from audio, and then click add audio track. Select the .ac3 file for the VOB file. Then make sure that the output format on the main window is set to MPEG-PS Muxer, and that the video and audio are set to copy. Do that for all seven of the files. Then, rename them to .VOB files and copy them to where you have your VOB files stored.

AD had already fixed up our Holovids entries with a similar method some time ago. Until we get a chance to patch the DVD Upgrade package itself you can follow the instructions above to restore the audio track on your copy of the game.

Kilrathi Saga's Wing Commander 3 Music Preserved Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

When the Kilrathi Saga bundle was released, it was met with a mixed reception. While it provided an accessible method for playing the classic trilogy on faster Windows 95 computers, it also contained a few technical glitches and oddities. One notable change is that the Wing Commander III port had its MIDI soundtrack swapped out for WAV audio recordings of the same, and not particularly high quality ones at that. Today, playing the originals through DOSBox provides a much better overall gameplay experience on modern hardware. But just as the Kilrathi Saga remains a must-buy item for collectors, we do want to preserve the KS WC3 music for posterity. Forums member Darkmage kindly exported the raw WAV music from the game's data files, and Whistler converted them to MP3 format for your convenience. You can listen to a sample track below and download the entire package here (9.1MB). It's a far cry from the MIDI originals on a good soundcard, not to mention George Oldziey's recent orchestral and jazz live recordings!

Tallahassee Model Supersizing in Progress Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Adm_Maverick has posted a status update for his scratch-built papercraft Tallahassee model. He showed off a few images to demonstrate what he's done lately, and this includes a nice resizing up to a significantly larger scale model. The blueprints for his new design are displayed right next to his previous generation cruiser. We can't wait to see the larger results! He's also previously used different color materials to show contrast during the construction phase, which are clearly very different than any scheme we'd ever seen in game, but I kind of like the funky colors. There's some potential for some very creative artistic license there!
So what am I doing? Well, I'm sort of starting over... kind of. As I mentioned previously I lost the file that had all the notes for scaling so I couldn't finish the last version of the model I was working on. Well, I decided to take the first steps and go big or go home! I went back to the drawing board and re-scaled all of the parts. How big did I make them? Well... here's an example:

Here you can see the previous model laid on top of the page that has the part for the left side of the forward prow. You can see the prow itself is nearly as long as the entire previous model. If my numbers are correct, this should turn out to be about 24 1/4" long when it's built. I'm going for a large model to push myself and to give myself a good canvas for 'developing' details and materials for it. My ultimate end goal is to have a ship on a base with lights. Going for this large of a model gives me space to work with.

Wing Commander Jazz Album Complete! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Great news for Wing Commander music fans! George Oldziey has finished processing the Wing Commander jazz and bar music recorded earlier this year by his awesome Latin jazz band, and the digital version is now available. If you backed his Kickstarter last year, you should have received a message with download links and a password, so log in and check it out! If you didn't back the project but still want to hear an awesome sample, the Victory's famous tune has been released as a teaser here. It's my favorite - I just love it! More goodies are still in the works, which George details below.
Greetings all. I'm terribly sorry for the LONG delay, but I just sent links to the digital media versions of the Wing Commander Bar Music recording to those that contributed at $20 and more to phase 1 of volume 2, so check your inboxes. The CDs and PDFs of the orchestral music will follow soon. The PDF's are all ready, and if you'd like to receive yours (if you pledged at the appropriate level) before the audio CDs of the bar music are ready I'll be happy to send you those.

I'll also be following up with video formats of the PDFs (generated by Sibelius) playing the mockups of the pieces that will be recorded by the orchestra.

Thank you SO much for your patience and wonderful support!

Musically yours,

George

Happy Fourth! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today a larger than normal percentage of Wing Commander fans are outside lighting off explosives and various rocketry. If you're among them, please stay safe! Might want to keep a Super Soaker handy... or leave the pyrotechnics to the professionals. It's also Origin founder Richard Garriott's 57th birthday - Happy Birthday!

End Run Ebook Released! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

We've very happy to announce that Wing Commander End Run is finally released! We've come a long way to reach this milestone as this completes the Baen set of Wing Commander novels - all are finally available to purchase digitally. The CIC has been lobbying the publisher for these for some fifteen years at conventions, on social media and through direct communications. We were extremely happy when it was announced in early 2016 that Freedom Flight was coming. Other books in the series followed, but not End Run. This was disappointing since End Run had a bit of a history as a slightly harder to find book in the later '90s. One even sold at auction for $85 during peak demand. So we got to the bottom of this and helped Baen realize their omission. It took a year for them to find a slot in their publishing schedule, but we're finally there! Pick it up at any of the major storefronts or direct from Baen. Google Play even seems to have all the WC novels that they carry (including ER but not FF) temporarily on sale for $5.38 each DRM free, which is awesome. Happy reading!


Freedom Flight
 - Baen Ebook
 - Amazon Kindle
 - Apple iBooks
 - B&N Nook
 - Kobo
 - Google Play
End Run
 - Baen Ebook
 - Amazon Kindle
 - Apple iBooks
 - B&N Nook
 - Kobo
 - Google Play
Fleet Action
 - Baen Ebook
 - Amazon Kindle
 - Apple iBooks
 - B&N Nook
 - Kobo
 - Google Play
Heart of the Tiger
 - Baen Ebook
 - Amazon Kindle
 - Apple iBooks
 - B&N Nook
 - Kobo
 - Google Play
The Price of Freedom
 - Baen Ebook
 - Amazon Kindle
 - Apple iBooks
 - B&N Nook
 - Kobo
 - Google Play
Action Stations
 - Baen Ebook
 - Amazon Kindle
 - Apple iBooks
 - B&N Nook
 - Kobo
 - Google Play
False Colors
 - Baen Ebook
 - Amazon Kindle
 - Apple iBooks
 - B&N Nook
 - Kobo
 - Google Play

WCDX Update Improves Kilrathi Saga Compatibility Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Stinger has released a long-awaited update to his WCDX patch for Kilrathi Saga. The program makes a number of critical updates to the game's DirectX implementation in order to improve compatibility on modern computers. WC1 has been the primary focus, but the last couple updates provide initial support for Wing Commander 2. This update refines that and improves stability and smoothness of your WC2 game in Windows. Grab the files here and give it a try!

General changes:

  • Patcher internals have been completely overhauled. Ideally, you won't notice any difference, but you should now get better error messages when things go wrong.
  • Due to implementation divergence in the underlying platform, wcdx now handles scaling of the game's graphics internally instead of relying on the operating system.
  • Restored mouse cursor positioning for all games.
  • Much better multi-monitor support.
WC2:
  • Fixed a couple of crashes in WC2.
  • WC2 saved games are now saved in the user's Saved Games directory, alongside wcdx WC1 saves.
  • Characters can now be transferred from wcdx WC1.
WC1:
  • Volume settings persist between games.

Indulge Yourself in New CIC Poll Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

A new poll is up, and this time it asks what your guilty pleasures are in Wing Commander. Everyone knows what the fun things are to do in the most popular games, but there are plenty of fringe activities that fans also enjoy. A sampling has been provided for you to vote on, but if we missed anything good, let us know!

The previous poll asked about the best years in franchise history. There was pretty solid support throughout the '90s, but both 1994 and 1996 came out ahead. Wing Commanders 3 and 4 were major heavy hitters in these years, but it helped that they were bolstered by a wide variety of new products.

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