Stinger has provided a hypothetical roadmap for the future of wcdx. The program is a massive compatibility patch for Wing Commander Kilrathi Saga, but it doesn't just make the game playable on modern iterations of Windows. The patch fixes a variety of bugs and goes back and adds in features that were present in the original DOS version but broken in Windows 95. While GOG and DOSBox emulation have allowed a new generation of fans easy access to the classic WC games, wcdx is gradually shaping Kilrathi Saga into a definitive way to play. Fans of the program have asked what's next, and Stinger's response is below. Note that he's only one man, so some of the ideas below have a very long time horizon. If something on the list sounds like something you might be able to help with, let him know that you can lend a hand! You can grab the current version 2.2 here. It was recently updated to help improve play in everything from WC1 through Special Operations 2.
Well, there are a few options here:
I really would like to get cockpit damage fixed, as that's really the final missing feature for WC1.
I also need to go back through this thread looking for any reported unaddressed bugs (I really should be tracking this in GitHub).
WC2 has some input issues (clicking during cutscenes sometimes counts as two clicks, for instance), and also appears to stall whenever entering autopilot. It also doesn't play well with non-QWERTY keyboard layouts (I use Dvorak).
Those I think are the most immediate issues to deal with. Looking farther ahead to larger projects:
I would like to spend some time investigating cutscene timing in WC2.
People have asked for graphics filters such as pixel smoothing, and I agree that would be a neat feature. This is something simple that others could reasonably handle if they were inclined to contribute to the project.
Throttle support in WC1 and WC2 would be awesome.
I could start work on WC3, with the specific goal of supporting ODVS's work on enhanced cutscenes.
There's certainly plenty of work here to stay busy, but time is certainly at a premium and I can't promise that any of these things will happen soon. If there's anyone out there who would like to collaborate, please let me know!
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