Head Museum Super Sized Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The fantastic new CIC Head Museum is now even better! LOAF has just added the distinct look of the Super Nintendo characters to the database. These are, of course, very different than the portrayals from Super Wing Commander on the 3DO/Mac, which are also on display. Plus, you can find many other characters from Christopher Blair to Bruiser McDoozer, which are all neatly categorized according to the Wing Commander game they starred in. Check them out here.
I've added the Super Nintendo heads to the museum! A few interesting notes:
  • The heads look very 'thin' because the SNES renders an 8:7 image which your TV would then stretch somewhat to 4:3.
  • Hunter's cigar is removed, almost certainly a victim of Nintendo's then-very-strict content policy.
  • Angel's earrings are removed, likely because of the more limited number of colors available (presumably not a strange content cut as Spirit still has her more muted earrings).
  • The VDU images for Hunter and Maniac are CORRECTED! They read 'Dart' and 'Joker' respectively in the PC version which had been their names earlier in development.
  • The SNES cuts the space suit 'salute' arm so neither Blair nor Halcyon salute at the funeral.

Happy Black Friday! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

It's Black Friday today, and if the deals out there didn't help you check off your list, maybe your friends and family need Wing Commander gifts! Here's a roundup of actively sold WC products. Most are digital, but that makes things easier in certain situations. As we reported last year, the WC Movie is harder to find these days, but we are lucky to still have the Academy television show readily available for a whopping $8 still. The Baen ebooks series is also complete, and GOG is in the midst of a holiday sale that's slashed its already low prices by 75%.

Games ($1.49 each)
Movies & TV
Novels ($6.99)
Audio Albums

Happy Thanksgiving! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

It's Thanksgiving in the US today, so we here at the CIC hope you all have a great day and find some great deals online. Although there's really very little relation to the historical pilgrims and Pilgrims from Wing Commander, this is also a wonderful opportunity for us to remind you about an awesome relic in the archives. The CIC is proud to host the otherwise unreleased Wing Commander Pilgrim Truth, Peter Telep's third novel written to tie into the WC Movie. Come for the exciting Wing Commander story - stay for the rad chapter header art by NinjaLA! It's available in several formats: web browser, mobi (Kindle) or epub (iBooks or other). Give it a read and let us know your thoughts!

Syd Mead to Receive Major Award Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

LeHah tipped us off about the news that legendary visual futurist Syd Mead will be receiving a highly prestigious William Cameron Menzies Art Director's Guild at the organization's upcoming annual event. Mr. Mead is mostly known for his work on the original Star Trek movie, Blade Runner, Tron and Aliens, but he's actually had his hand in a wide range of products. These include Wing Commander Prophecy where he was responsible for a couple of the new ship designs as well as the Nephilim themselves!
Most recently, it's been reported that he's enamored with the new Tesla Cybertruck, saying it's "stylistically breathtaking" and "has completely changed the vocabulary of the personal truck market design."

MUP Project Prepares for Big Booms Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

DefianceIndustries has another progress report to share on the next iteration of the Prophecy and Secret Ops Model Upgrade Pack. Major WCSO capships like the Hades, Vesuvius and Cruise Liner models will be getting some love between now and the next release. Some of the underlying programming is also being enhanced with gr1mre4per's Prophecy Unlimited technology so that destroyed objects will come with a more satisfying end. We can't wait to see how it all goes down!
We've been working on a few unlimited updates as well as new Cerberus, Vesuvius, and some fixes to Midway. The new cerb and Vesuvius are making use of the dead capship code. It should punch up the cutscene where the St. Helens gets it. Also going to finish the cruise ship and Dula 7.

326th Try's a Charm Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

LowBiasGaming is currently playing a new Super Nintendo game every day for a year, which sounds like an absolute blast. Wing Commander got Day 326, so it's the subject of the review video below. It's a short tight clip that mostly highlights the accolades the game received back in the day. Fans like you and me aren't usually watching these to learn about the game, so it's just a quick and easy way to revel in the praise of your favorite series.
6/5

New and Improved Head Museum Opens! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

I put together a little Wing Commander treat for folks today: the new Wing Commander CIC Head Museum! It collects all the portraits and VDU images from the early games. They’re all extracted from the games files and should be pixel perfect! And in some cases you’re seeing more than the games actually display! Compare the Pleasure Planet bartender’s portrait to a screenshot:
There are some neat rarities and b-sides, too... like the portraits from Super Wing Commander or the manga-style artwork from the Super Famicom port’s manual!
There's even the helmeted portraits from WC2 and all the crazy VDU images from Privateer 2! Plus a few bits of cut content like young Blair and Boba Catt here.
Now I’ll leave you with what we all came here to see: hardcore nudity.
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LOAF

Zathras' Ship's Familiar Shape Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

It's hard to capture a nice still, but Zathras' ship looks a LOT like Grandpa Mack's Tarsus. Someone on Compuserv pointed that out in 1996 and J. Michael Straczynski replied that he hadn’t played Privateer!
The new Wing Commander he’s referring to would have been Wing Commander IV which had come out in February. If he ever got to play he’d have found that he and Chris Roberts had similar tastes when casting space fighter pilots!
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LOAF

Annual Call For Award Nominations Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The year is racing by and it's already late November, so Wingnuts once again have a chance to pick their top fan projects and/or websites of the year. Before the voting gets going in the near future, everyone has a chance to nominate some of the undertakings that they think should be recognized. Send your recommendations to news@wcnews.com and let us know! Here's a rundown of the past winners to give you an idea of how much awesome stuff our fan community creates!
  Fan Projects of the Year Runners Up
2018 Flat Universe Secret Ops Model Upgrade Pack / WC1 Sprite Refresh
2017 Secret Ops Model Upgrade Pack Homeworld Remastered / Flat Universe
2016 Flat Universe Homeworld Remastered / Secret Ops MUP / Enhanced Soundtracks
2015 Homeworld Remastered Mod Flat Universe / Secret Ops MUP / Klavs' Model Archive
2014 Flat Universe Klavs' Models / Prophecy Fan Movie
2013 Collected Works of HCl / Klavs' Models Defiant Few
2012 WC Saga Klavs' Models
2011 OpenGL Patch for WCP & Secret Ops TacOps Online & Standoff
2010 Astro Commander's Mini Models DirectDrawHack
2009 Standoff Gemini Gold
2008 Ascii Sector Flight Commander
2007 Standoff & WC Saga Ascii Sector
2006 WC4 Homeworld 2 Mod Das Erwachen
2005 Standoff Privateer Gemini Gold
2004 Standoff WC Saga
2003 Standoff & WC Saga Holding the Line & Vega Strike
2002 Unknown Enemy Kilrathi Empire & WC Saga BS
2001 Unknown Enemy Holding the Line & Vega Strike

  Web Sites of the Year Runners Up
2016 WCSaga.org Daedalus Station
2015 Daedalus Station WCSaga.org
2014 Daedalus Station Wing Commander RPG Wiki
2013 Concordia Hangar Daedalus Station
2012 Pix's Origin Adventures Wing Commander RPG Wiki
2011 Shotglass' WC Saga
2010 Paper Commander Prelude to Darkness
2009 WC Saga Standoff & Paper Commander
2008 Paper Commander Standoff & WC Saga
2007 HCl's Wing Commander Editing Site Pericles' Paper Inside
2006 HCl's Wing Commander Editing Site Wedge's Wing Commander
2005 WC Saga Fleet Tactics
2004 Fleet Tactics Wedge's Wing Commander
2003 Wing Commander in Russia WC3D & Wedge's Wing Commander
2002 Wing Commander in Russia BlackLance HQ & WingCenter
2001 Wing Commander in Russia Acenet Central
2000 Acenet Central Wing Commander in Russia
1999 Wing Commander in Russia Acenet Central & HCl's WC Editing Site

All Wings Considered - Episode 32 - LIVE! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The latest episode of ALL WINGS CONSIDERED is live now! All Wings Considered is the CIC's first ever streaming variety show which features news, conversation and gameplay relating to our favorite series. This week's Nav Points include:

  • Wing Commander III - Caliban & Delius
  • Book Club - Heart of the Tiger Chapters 20 & 21
  • The long, lost Wing Commander III 3DO demo!
  • Privateer portrait madness

Missed the stream? The replay will be available below once it has been processed by YouTube. You can subscribe to the AWC channel for future notifications here.

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LOAF

Sci-Fi Throwback Highlights '90s FMV WC Games Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Back with SyFy was just Sci-Fi, the channel played around with a variety of content formats. Sci-Fi Buzz was a mid '90s show that featured games long before video game material was commonplace and readily available. Fortunately, the Wing Commander series had enough clout to break out on to the occasional television spot like this. AD was able to track each piece down on Denny Ayala's YouTube channel. As first seen on All Wings Considered, here are the clips for WC3, WC4 and Privateer 2. Heart of the Tiger got an especially big segment due to the novelty and uniqueness of its bid budget FMV. As far as we can tell, WC4 was only mentioned indirectly due to Malcolm McDowell's association with Dr. Bashir. P2 also just gets a quick look.
Jump to 3:00 for the WC4 bit if it doesn't autostart in the right place.
Jump to 15:15 as necessary to see the P2 coverage.

Editor Enjoys Creating Music Videos By Himself Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

About ten years ago, it was briefly popular for Wingnuts to splice up clips from various Wing Commanders and pair them with popular music. You don't see this much these days, since the overall novelty of casual video editing has worn off and it takes significantly more effort to create a slick production that stands out in the crowd. Nevertheless, Abbat Faria recently paired up cuts from the Wing Commander movie with Linkin Park's "By Myself." I'm still slightly baffled as to why it exists, but it's not the craziest Wing Commander creation I've stumbled across lately. I can only imagine that this version is superior to the original video though. Perhaps it resonates a bit more with people who are fans of the music...

Deadly Kilrathi Pilot Takes a Stand Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

randomthefox tipped us off about an absolutely stellar sketch of a Kilrathi and her Dralthi drawn by Heresy. The pilot's armor is exquisite with a wonderful mix of futuristic claws, ornamental plates and even a tail. The helmet is also reminiscent of Bhurak Starkiller's famous visage. A blur effect on the Dralthi and rest of the background complete the package nicely. You can find more of Heresey's work on DeviantArt or Patreon.
A female Kilrathi pilot from the Wing Commander computer game series.

Playstation Reviews Highlight Popular WC Ports Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

In the run up to Wing Commander 3's 25th birthday, All Wings Considered has been playing through both the PC and 3DO versions of the game. The classic DOS edition is the gold standard we all know and love while the 3DO is an exotic animal with slightly different features, graphics, weapons and even missions. It's been fascinating to compare the two side by side, but there is another major console port for the Sony Playstation. It's not part of the playthrough because it's decidedly the least advanced of the three, but that doesn't mean it's not without its own unique charms. Here's a new review by TTBurger88 to give you a rundown of what it's like. As you can see, he's a huge fan of this version and has plenty of praise to share. As an extra bonus, he also covered WC4 for the Playstation as well.
Today we continue our review of more FMV Games, by looking at one of the most popular FMV game series out there, the Wing Commander Series. For Part 1, we take a look at Wing Commander III: Heart Of The Tiger for the PlayStation. Enjoy.
Other ports did exist for Windows (Kilrathi Saga) and Mac as well, but those are for another time!

WC Movie Review Twenty Years in the Making Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

80s Baby recently posted their review of the Wing Commander movie in honor of the film's 20th birthday. Back in 1999, the author was fortunate enough to stumble on a double feature of Never Been Kissed and Wing Commander bundled together. She recounts her review as a memory of the events all those years ago. The recollections meander about as much as the reviewer did when the NBK credits rolled, but it's honestly not the worst WC Movie review I've ever read. At least there's no nerd complaining about sound in space! Check out the full article here.
Ah, memories. They can be hazy and hard to trust, but some of them — some of the lucky ones — stay trapped in your brain as crystal clear as the day the experience happened right before your eyes.

In 1999, I was living it up in one of the best cinematic years of my generation. I feel like I was at the movie theater every weekend that year, with extra trips to our “dollar movie” theater tacked on during the summer. I saw everything marketed to my exact demographic: She’s All That (3 times), 10 Things I Hate About You (6 times), American Pie (once, and I had to sneak in), among others.

My friends and I saw so many movies we even got invited to an advanced screening of the film Never Been Kissed — which was to be a FREE DOUBLE FEATURE with the Freddie Prinze Jr. and Matthew Lillard space vehicle, Wing Commander.

All Wings Considered - Episode 31 - LIVE! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The latest episode of ALL WINGS CONSIDERED is live now! All Wings Considered is the CIC's first ever streaming variety show which features news, conversation and gameplay relating to our favorite series. This week's Nav Points include:

  • Wing Commander III 3DO - Ariel System
  • Lynn Murphy's Righteous Fire missions
  • Behind the Scenes of Wing Commander III

Missed the stream? The replay will be available below once it has been processed by YouTube. You can subscribe to the AWC channel for future notifications here.

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LOAF

Compare & Contrast 'Cat Cockpits Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Hellcat V cockpits from left to right: computer generated (Wing Commander III), physical set (Wing Commander IV) and hand drawn (Wing Commander Academy). They each have their own special charm, but hats off to the Academy show artists who did a wonderful job trying to emulate the look and feel of artifacts from WC3 and other games wherever possible! What's your favorite and why?

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CIC

Gemini Sector About to Heat Up Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The long running Gemini Sector RPG is about to kick off a new campaign, so Rear Admiral Tarsus whipped up these spiffy propaganda posters to help drum up interest. The RPG has existed in various forms for nearly a decade, so Iceblade and team are sure to put together some fun events. You can get a little taste at the CIC Forums or head over to the project website for a full rundown. They've also recently added a Discord server for the real Wing Commander action!
Hi all, I've been making some WW2-style recruitment posters to celebrate the start of a new campaign in the Gemini Sector RPG. I just wanted to share them. Oh, and we have a great opportunity to join soon as we catching up may be easier. :)
  • Inspired by the "Victory of the United Nations is certain" poster and Privateer art
  • Inspired by Wing Commander Academy's Kilrathi, Bhurak's helm and the "He's watching you" poster

Unremarkable Package Includes Origin Favorites Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Dennis Mull recently came across a wonderfully nondescript "3 Title Pack" by Philips. Wing Commander games were bundled into dozens of special sets over the years. Most were sci-fi themed, but a small handful were oddball collections like this. These were all certainly... Titles, I suppose. The other two items were "The Software Toolworks World Atlas" and "Time Table of History." WC was decidedly the winner here. Although I can clearly read the product label, this was arguably a 4 Title Pack as the third game was the combo disc with Wing Commander 1 and Ultima VI bundled together. It even came with Claw Marks and an Ultima map! Boy, that shipboard magazine got around!
Mail Day #1: Philips 3 Title Pack which was a bundle with a CD-ROM in the UK. It contains amongst other things Wing Commander from Chris Roberts and Ultima VI from Richard Garriott

WC Movie Added to Digital Redbox Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

LeHah reports that his Roku is now advertising the Wing Commander Movie as a $2.99 Redbox rental. This is an interesting development as new deals appeared frozen after 2016 as the rights reverted from Fox to Chris Roberts. Hard copies of the film went out of print and it got relatively harder to find. Hopefully this means that the wheels of commerce are starting to thaw and we'll see Wing Commander start to pop up in more places again soon!

Roku has informed me the WC movie is now available on Redbox

All Wings Considered - Episode 30 - LIVE! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The latest episode of ALL WINGS CONSIDERED is live now! All Wings Considered is the CIC's first ever streaming variety show which features news, conversation and gameplay relating to our favorite series. This week's Nav Points include:

  • We take the fight to the Kilrathi in the Ariel System
  • Heathen taste... (more) Righteous Fire!
  • Wing Commander Book Club - Heart of the Tiger, Chapters 17-19

Missed the stream? The replay will be available below once it has been processed by YouTube. You can subscribe to the AWC channel for future notifications here.

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LOAF

Catch Up On Strike Commander's History Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Hardcore Gaming 101 has produced the third chapter in its in-depth exploration of the Wing Commander series. After diving into the history of WC1&2, this time they're focusing on 1992 when Strike Commander development was in high gear. Author AB Silvera describes Strike as a "missing link" that bridges the gap from WC2 to WC3, which is an interesting take. It pioneered the 3D RealSpace engine, which Heart of the Tiger pushed to the extreme (although Armada used it first!). If you haven't paid much mind to Strike Commander over the years because it wasn't quite a Wing Commander game, this is a good overview. At first I was going to call it a close cousin to the WC games, but a direct sibling is probably more accurate. You can check out the full article here, and if that's got you excited to give the game a go, you can pick it up on GOG.
As mentioned earlier, Chris Roberts’s attention was elsewhere during the development of WCII and its expansion packs. His new permanent position as Director of New Technologies meant he had to pursue projects that pushed the envelope for, well, technology. Strike Commander was that project.

In Strike Commander, you take the role of another nameless pilot who is part of the mercenary Wildcats squadron. Taking place in the then-near-future year of 2011, the more realistic dogfights and fighter jets give texture to a vastly different political landscape. As well as succeeding in missions you’re hired for, you must also keep the books of the squadron balanced, so that weapons can be purchased and maintenance paid for. A failure to keep up with this part of the game can result in a Game Over, which contributes to Strike’s more realistic, present-day setting.

Freelancer Mod Adds Enhanced Customizability Options Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The new playable update has been released for the WC Freelancer port. This version 2.0 beta has the first test economy with the new design model that normalizes each faction's ships in order to keep them relevant throughout the game. It will take quite a bit of balancing to get the feel just right, so feedback from fans at this point is very helpful. L.I.F. is working on coming up with a good deployment of the missile system next, which should make it both useful for the dynamic economy and more of a fit with the Wing Commander universe. You can grab the new beta here (294 meg zip) or here.
OK, so here is the link to the Beta of the new version of the mod with equipment rework. Right now, I do not make ironclad guarantees, but a few tests show that it seems to work as intended, though values for thrust, power, volume, etc., are not set in stone since I did not test all combinations. Therefore, I'd appreciate it if you people could find ways of getting totally broken ships. Also, the thrusters are not working as intended, not producing the kind of thrust/energy consumption I'd want for a final version. For this reason, the current stable version of the mod, with FL vanilla equipment, is still available at the usual link.

I've managed to get all the in-game shops to sell the goods according to my logic: 33 thousand lines of shop references. I'd be dead without scripting. Experimenting now with flight dynamics, and balance. I'm probably going to buff the storage volume of the fighters to allow more freedom of experimentation as well as carrying acceptable amounts of cargo, but at the moment, it seems kinda nice. If this holds, I'll go with the next step, to change the loadout of the various NPCs. If it works, I'll add some more diversity to the random missions - I want to add capship attack ones. Though I guess it's coming close to a new release.

I'm taking out various gameplay bugs, but it really looks increasingly good now. Combat during the early game is likely to be a tad frustrating and will rely on you making trade rather than killing all pirates within five parsecs (you really, really aren't going to best a flight of Lance with your busted Tarsus and its two civilian-grade laser cannons), but since you get gifted a Tarsus and a pretty decent shield at start... and are already friendly with the Liberty authorities, there's a pretty good base upon which to build - though I might reduce the level of appreciation you get at the beginning for the Liberty Police and Security Force, because the game puts you on an absurdly high relation with them.

International WC Series Unboxings Reveal Fun Regional Differences Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we've got a couple of Wing Commander overview videos narrated in both Italian and German. Wing Commander unboxing videos come up from time to time, but it's less common to be able to sample so much of the series in one place at one time like this. You may or may not understand the language, but it's pretty easy to understand what they're saying in context. It's very cool to see them flip through the different language WC manuals and even box inserts. Some of packaging material is different as well. Because people get used to these mundane objects and don't realize they differ from region to region, we don't often get a glimpse at these fascinating differences, so it's wonderful to be able to see them here!

More Info Surfaces on Canceled CCG Box Set Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The image of an unreleased Wing Commander CCG box set has intrigued us for more than two decades, but we've got a slightly better idea of what happened now. Thunder Castle Games was a company that bought CCG developer Mag Force 7 shortly after the WC game was produced, and this boxed set of the series was proposed but never produced. AD reached out to the original artist, Brad Kelly, and he added this background:
I mocked up a number of gift set box designs for TCG including this one for Wing Commander. To my knowledge it never got published. TCG mostly imploded in 1996, hemorrhaging employees, including myself.

I don't recall details of any plans, beyond the obvious expectation of releasing a two-player gift box. I knew at the time that relations soured between TCG and MF7, but didn't know details. TCG had/has a reputation for burning bridges, so it was not unexpected.

I spoke to Margaret Weis years later at a conference, mentioned who I was, and that I had worked on this a bit. Asked in general terms what had happened and she just said that it was a bad experience.

Space Sim First Look: Everspace 2 Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Gunstar One tipped us off about the sequel to Everspace, Everspace 2. Like its predecessor, it's a slick looking single player space sim in an open world universe full of loot. Players upgrade their ship as they explore the sprawling universe and story. This has been a fairly winning combo these last few years, and it's great to see a resurgence of games like this again. From what we can tell, sales have been decent on most recent space sims, but they're by no means guaranteed blockbusters. In fact, this game is in its final weekend on Kickstarter and is currently sitting at about 90% funded. It's got a real good shot at making it, but if this is the kind of game you'd definitely like to see happen, you can head over and back the project here. If you happen to have the Xbox Game Pass, the original title is available to play on PC or Xbox free. If it's green lit, Part 2 is scheduled to come out in about late next year on PC and 2021 for Playstation and Xbox.
EVERSPACE 2 is a fast-paced single-player space shooter with deep exploration, tons of loot, classic RPG elements for PC (Windows, Mac, Linux) and console (PS4 and XB1). Set in a persistent open world, it is driven by a captivating sci-fi story, picking up shortly after the events of the predecessor. An approximately 20-hour-long campaign and various side missions will lead you into the endgame. Prepare yourself to beat the most vicious encounters, and master difficult challenges which will reward you with that juicy epic loot!

Imagine a Hack & Slash Action-RPG with all the bells and whistles: classes, random loot, skills, talents, and more... but in space. Your ship is the hero in this adventure. Expand your private ship collection from a virtually endless supply of vessels composed of three main classes with several sub-classes and optimize your build to perfection. Cleverly combine modules, weapons, devices, and perks to fit your individual playstyle and the current objective.

German Novel Covers in All Their Original Glory Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

At long last: the original sources for all four alternate German Wing Commander novel covers! Baen didn't own the Sam Yeates' cover paintings for Wing Commander III and IV so they couldn't license them to the German publisher directly. So instead they used 'slush' art that they already had the rights to reprint starting with Heart of the Tiger!
The Stars at War is by David Weber and Steve White. No author names on the front though?
I was curious about that too; it turns out its an pen-and-paper game sourcebook based on the novel!
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