A Field Guide to the Weapons of the Wing Commander Movie Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

I recently stopped to think about how I had never really seen anyone criticize what has always been one of my least favorite parts of the Wing Commander movie: the 'broadside' scene where Paladin commands the Tiger Claw to defeat a Fralthi by firing a wave of missiles at them at close range as the ships pass each other. It has always seemed weirdly convenient to me as well as seeming to break the internal logic of the world to me; specifically, WHY does the Tiger's Claw have so many torpedo tubes that face to the side, especially if firing them is some sort of unusual trick that maverick Paladin has strategized for the first time. What are they usually for?!

Lately I've found that if I stop to think around things I don't like I often discover new things to consider. So I decided to start thinking about that scene with a simple task to start unraveling the thread: how many missiles does the Tiger Claw actually fire? Is it the thousand it seems like? I went frame by frame and then looked at the contrails on the shot above and was surprised to realize that it's a total of only twelve missiles.

From there I decided to look at the configuration of the missile launchers ("missile ports" I would learn from the Handbook). I realized that my impression that the tubes ran the length of the ship was also wrong, the "starboard battery" that Gerald refers to is actually a distinct section of the midship's superstructure with several distinct groupings of missile launchers. Then, I noticed something that happens too quickly to pick up: we actually see totally separate torpedoes and missiles on the Tiger Claw. In fact, there are two distinct sets for the torpedo room and the missile room! Because of how the movie was re-edited, they show up very close to each other instead of during separate battles. What that tells me is that there was actually something very intentional here that I had been missing all these years!

So what's the story? It turns out that all of the capital ship missiles fired by the Tiger Claw are intended to be anti-fighter batteries. They're arranged up and down the side of the ship's command center and in an ordinary battle they would be fired and maneuver under their own power to whatever they have been targeted at. Essentially, the movie posits that capital ship torpedoes (and skippers) are for long range fighting, missiles are for middle range battle and then point-defense flak is for close defense. The famous 'depth charge' scene is also a case of a capital ship that fired this sort of missile!

Similarly, I know that many people were not fans of the Rapier's large nose-mounted neutron gun. And it's interesting to me how many people remember it as a steampunk-esque slug-throwing weapon similar to Star Citizen's Hornet. When you actually stop to watch the weapons, specifically, the Rapier's big drums actually fire a single, centralized energy bolt that's actually colored after the game's neutron guns. Huh!

This all prompted me to put together the guide to the movie's weapons below. We all know how game developers put together a set of guns and weapons that will be used across all the ships in a given game and we all eagerly read about these systems in the manuals going in. Well, the exact same amount of thought went into making a system for the movie's world and the internal logic the film followed… it just passes by in an instant in the background and you never think about it. I hope this gives you a look at how much complexity went into building the world of the movie! Also, a very special thank you to AD for his research into the different Confederation missiles and then Powell and Whistler for their expertise in identifying the original military hardware used in their construction! We have cool conversations like this EVERY DAY in the Discord, folks!

Tiger Claw missile concept artwork provided to movie licensees.

PART ONE: GUNS

Laser Cannons
The laser cannon shoots a green bolt. It is seen used by the Dralthi and the Fralthi's turrets. The Confederation Handbook says that several other capital ships have turreted lasers but they are never seen being fired: the Thrakhra (2), Ralari (2), Sivar (6), Snakeir (6) and Bengal (8). The Handbook does not list turreted lasers on the Fralthi even though they are seen in the film. The Rapier has a pair of wing mounted lasers which are not fired.

Mass-Driver Cannons
The mass driver is never seen fired in the movie. The Broadsword carries three of them: one in the nose and the other two at the top of its vertical stabilizers.

Dual-Pulse Rotary Barrel Neutron Guns
The neutron gun is probably the most iconic weapon in the movie, forming the muzzle of the CF-117 Rapiers. It fires a blue-purple bolt not dissimilar to the one seen in the original game. The Broadsword has three turreted neutron guns, one amidship on top and two at the bottom of its vertical stabilizers. The Diligent also seems to have dual-pulse rotary barrel neutrons installed in its two gun hardpoints (at the tips of its 'wings').

Point-Defense Guns
Flak guns (also called point-defense missiles) are seen fired by the Sivar dreadnaught that Paladin torpedoes. We do not get a good look at the munition itself. The Confederation Handbook reports that every capital ship with the exception of the ConCom has point-defense guns: Ralari (15), Fralthi (18), Bengal (22), Sivar (23), Concordia (30), Snakeir (42), Pegasus (200).

Antimatter Guns
Like the neutron gun, the antimatter gun is very similar to the color seen in the game, a blue-white bolt. They are seen fired by the Concordia at the Kilrathi fleet. The Confederation Handbook says that several capital ships have antimatter guns: Ralari (2), Fralthi (3), Concordia (4) and Pegasus (200). The antimatter guns defending Pegasus are in turrets paired with point-defense missile launchers.

Tractor Beam
A tractor beam is seen used by a Broadsword to rescue Blair at the end of the movie. The Diligent also has a tractor beam mounted directly below its cockpit, though it is not used.

PART TWO: MISSILES

Confederation Fighter Missiles
A variety of missile types are seen aboard the Rapier and stored aboard the Tiger Claw's flight deck at various points. The specific missiles carried by the Rapiers seem to change from mission to mission, with common loadouts being two red (above) and two yellow-tipped (below) or four red-tipped missiles. In the movie, Rapiers seem to carry four visible missiles while the Confederation Handbook says they can carry as many as ten. The novelization notes that Blair is carrying Darts, Spiculums and Pilums at one point. The Broadsword also carries three missiles.

Missile #1: These are the missiles most commonly seen on the Rapiers. They have red tipped warheads with clear stripes. They are built from Soviet R-60 air-to-air missiles.

Missile #2: Variant of Missile #1 with a clear warhead with yellow stripes.These are occasionally mounted on the lower hardpoints on Rapiers.

Missile #3: Pointed missiles with black tips, two red stripes and one yellow. These were built from British Sea Wolf surface-to-air missiles. Seen on carts and racks on the Tiger Claw flight deck.

Missile #4: A finned missile with a red warhead. These were built from British Seacat surface-to-air missiles.

Missile #5: Gray launchers seen stacked on the deck in various places. These were built from Soviet UB-16 rocket launchers rocket pods but it is not clear whether they are definitely intended to be missile launchers in the movie.

Behind-the-scenes footage has also shown a rack of olive drab Firestreak missiles with their fins removed which are labeled "GAM-6C". These missiles have not been identified in the movie itself; it's possible they were present because they were removed from the English Electric Lightings.

Bomber Torpedoes
The Broadsword bomber carries four external torpedoes slung around its fuselage. Paladin fires them at a Sivar dreadnought during the Kilrathi ambush. These torpedoes are visually distinct from the large ones used by the carrier itself. The Confederation Handbook incorrectly lists the Broadsword as carrying only two torpedoes.

Kilrathi Fighter Missiles
According to the script, the Dralthi 'dive bombing' Pegasus are firing missiles. We don't get a clear view of the munitions. The KF-100 Dralthi has hardpoints for four missiles.

Confederation Capital Ship Missile
The Tiger Claw has port and starboard missile batteries capable of firing an array of ranged defensive missiles; Paladin has twelve of them fired at once to destroy the Fralthi at the end of the movie. Except in the case of Pegasus (300), the Confederation Handbook does not distinguish between missile ports and torpedo tubes. As a result, the Bengal (40) and the Concordia (50) are both listed as having high numbers of torpedo tubes. While the more specific breakdown is unknown for the Concordia, the Tiger Claw deck plans suggest that each missile battery has 16 ports (arranged 3-2-2-3-3-3) for a total of 32. The movie features a unique missile room set on the Tiger Claw which is seen towards the end of the film.

Confederation NX-125 Torpedo
Torpedoes are a larger version of those fired by the Broadswords but instead of locking at close range they are the longest-ranged weapon, fired at the start of a battle. Torpedoes are seen fired from both the Tiger Claw (in both major battles) and the Concordia (in the final fleet ambush). The Tiger Claw has a torpedo room which is distinct from its missile room. The torpedo room is seen preparing weapons before both battles. Four torpedo tubes are mentioned during the movie aboard the Tiger Claw and it is believed it has eight total (though the diagram on the deck plans is not completely clear how they are configured).

Confederation Drone
Drones are seen twice in the movie: one is launched by Pegasus in the opening with a message to Admiral Tolwyn and the second is launched by the Tiger Claw to distract the Kilrathi from its hiding place in an asteroid.

Kilrathi Capital Ship Missile
According to the script, the famous 'depth charge' dropped by the Ralari is actually a missile. A close review of the scene confirms this: after being fired by the Ralari it activates its own thrusters and maneuvers independently to its target. The Confederation Handbook lists missile ports and torpedo tubes together as the latter but lists the Ralari as carrying eight.

Kilrathi Capital Ship Torpedo
Torpedoes are fired by the Sivar in the first battle and then the Fralthi during the finale. The Confederation Handbook lists missile ports and torpedo tubes together as the latter but assigns them to all of the Kilrathi capital ships: Ralari (8), Fralthi (8), Thrakhra (10), Sivar (12) and Snakeir (14).

K459-C Ultra-Long-Range Phased Photon-Cloak Torpedo aka "Skipper Missile"
The Skipper Missile plays a major role in the movie's climax as Angel sacrifices here fighter to destroy one and save the Tiger Claw. The Skipper was entirely computer generated.

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LOAF

Wing Leader Improves Explosions & Adds Neat Translation Effect Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Here's a couple of impressive videos that show off Howard Day's latest graphical wonders in Wing Leader. The first clip is a neat trick where the dashboard text translates from Kilrathi into English as you swap into the cockpit view. There are also some additional sparks and fire effects that accompany damage and destroyed objects. Pretty stuff!
Wing Leader update! Thanks to some goofy-ass string coding and the use of the "Circle Number" Unicode character set (⓪ ① ② ③), I've got auto-translate working in Kilrathi cockpits! Every time the camera angle switches, the text changes to English. It's pretty nifty. Enjoy!
Okay, so I spent some time on Friday to make some sparks for the explosions - I also set up the debris to have flickering fire on it when it first explodes! I'm locking the scale of the facing cards, and scaling/offsetting the UVs to do hardcoded scaled pre-made sprites!

Who's the Boss(man)? Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

I posted the casualty report from the Confederation Handbook a few weeks ago and got this excellent observation! There are actually FOUR contradictory versions of the story and while Bossman dies on Angel's wing in the original, none of those details were mentioned in the movie.
Joshua Fair: Wait, I thought Bossman was flying with Angel when he bought it.
As you remember from Secret Missions 2, the original story is that you return to the Tiger's Claw and learn during the debriefing that Bossman was killed earlier that day in an ambush. In the bar afterwards, his wingman Angel is inconsolable.
After you fly another mission, she breaks down and explains that she has tried so hard to keep from making emotional connections but that deep down she cares too much about the other pilots.
Incidentally, if Angel has died dynamically at some point in your campaign Paladin instead just tells you Bossman is dead with no fanfare.
So that's version one! In 1992, Crusade was adapted as part of the first Wing Commander novel, Freedom Flight. Here, Hunter returns to the Tiger's Claw after his joyride in a captured Dralthi to learn that Bossman has died.
The story itself is similar, flying with Angel, but with more detail that is at least not directly contradictory (I'd argue that 'ambushed by Drakhai' isn't quite intended to mean what's described here, but who cares!). The problem is that the time no longer lines up because Freedom Flight changes the order of events from the game. In SM2, Ralgha defects immediately AFTER Bossman dies while here Bossman actually helps save the Fralthi (presumably to introduce the character inside the story).
It also specifies that Hunter flies the Dralthi a week after Ralgha defects, so it's not a case of all these things happening to happen on the same day.
Then there's Super Wing Commander! Version 3 drops Crusade in favor of a similar-but-anthropomorphic-bird-free story fans have dubbed "Secret Missions 1.5" which tells the story of a secret mission to attack the base where the Sivar was constructed.
In Super Wing Commander, the conversation is largely the same: your character (Armstrong!) lands and learns that Bossman was killed flying with Angel yesterday (instead of today). The bar conversations are very similar but the big difference is that you're in the Cairo System!
In the movie, we're never told what happened to Bossman beyond that he's dead and Blair has been assigned his Rapier. There's a special nod to his 26 kill markings in the script and then later Angel reveals that she cared too much and that's why she pretends the dead don't exist.
I've always thought this should get a little more criticism than things like the depth charge scene saying there's sound in space (it doesn't, Ebert!). How did the Tiger's Claw end up recovering a fighter plane but no pilot? At the very least there has to be a story! One thing that interests me about it was the process of deciding what defines the Wing Commander IP. If you ask consumers, it's Mark Hamill and space cats. So to decide oh, the Tiger's Claw matters and oh the Maniac-Blair relationship matters fascinates me.
Most of these things weren't intended to be core parts of the IP. The characters in WC1 were created by an artist and had a writer fill out their backstories later! Blair and Maniac's relationship, the focus of so many later stories, was fluff invented for the first hint book!
Looking back at how Bossman made it in. Kevin Droney's original script doesn't have him at all; instead, Angel's connection is her ex-boyfriend who has married while she's been in space. A hologram to her arrives with the Diligent featuring him as an older man with two children.
This is part of a 'Forever War' aspect in the original story where relativistic space travel means that the Tiger Claw crew knows that traveling to fight means letting your loved ones age and die without you. This is slowly cut in rewrites before being ALMOST entirely eliminated.
Somehow, one aspect of this made it all the way to the finished movie: Maniac and Rosie's postcoital conversation about 'the briefing' and how "by the time you return, everyone you know will be dead and buried". It just doesn't tie back to anything else discussed in the movie!
Mike Finch's third draft adds Bossman and the 'never existed' plot. The original version reveals the intention: he had been Angel's Wing Commander and he was ambushed by Salthi. The ship mystery is also explained with mention that he died in sickbay.
… and then much of that was cut for the shooting script, leaving the authors of the Confederation Handbook to determine their own story. And here it is, in the form of a letter from Angel to Bossman's wife!
So what's the point? Well, in every case Bossman's death is intended to impact Angel, making her vulnerable. In the games (and Freedom Flight) it's an intentional prelude to Spirit's death in Wing Commander II and in the movie it's what breaks the 'never existed' thing.
That said, there's also a very simple cosmological reason for killing Bossman in the game takes: Wing Commander can only have so many wingmen on the kill board and it needs slots for Jazz and Doomsday! (Paladin is the other, who retires.)
What was the relationship with Bossman and Angel intended to be? It's never clear and while he creatively replaces her high school boyfriend, Pilgrim Stars does eventually make it canon that their relationship was not romantic.
Oh and his death isn't the only thing we can't agree on. What's his NAME? WC1 says he's Chen Kien… his fighter in the movie says CHARLES CHEN… and then for some reason the tie-in material all chooses VINCE CHEN. But then we have trouble even agreeing on what he looks like, so!
Appendix: there are also contradictions about his family. Claw Marks says his daughter was born March '53, the guide says he hasn't seen his wife and daughter in a year as of November '54 and Super Wing Commander claims he's never met his 11-month-old daughter as of August '55! By the way, in the strategy guide Bossman doesn't even seem to know his own name (Chen is HIS surname!..).
To close, continuity is a lot more fascinating when you aren't so worried about making it all 'fit'. That's a fun exercise (we could even do it here!), but looking at how and why things were created the way they were is a lot more rewarding in the long run. Young Ben would NEVER!
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LOAF

"We Expand Universes" Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

This ad is fascinating; the show didn’t have a title logo yet so they used the one from the (narratively unrelated) 1993 Wing Commander Academy game complete with a ship screenshot!
Universal Cartoon Studios Shows: The Savage Dragon, Earthworm Jim, and Wing Commander Academy Advertisement as seen from Gamefan Volume 4 Issue 04 April 1996
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LOAF

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

Happy Birthday WC! Today is the series' 34th birthday, and it doesn't look a day over 33. That also means next year is a big round number, which is very exciting! We couldn't spend it with a better group of fans!

Origin Systems, Inc. made history when they shipped the original Wing Commander. On September 26, 1990, after ten months of development, the world's first interactive movie shipped to software stores and changed the world. At 5:00 PM CST on that day, during the release party outside Origin's old Wild Basin office, Richard Garriott announced that the game's creator, Chris Roberts, had been hired as Director of New Technologies.

The importance of the original Wing Commander can not ever be understated. For the industry it was a new way to make computer games, one that continues fully unabated today. For the fans - us fans - it was the most exciting adventure we ever experienced. Never before did a computer game offer such emotion and such interaction.

We have a lifetime of war stories from that simple computer game: we struggled to save the Ralari, we were thrilled to fly the new Rapiers and any wingnut worth his salt will chew your ear off about the time he lost both his guns and both his VDUs and still made it home in that Hornet, given the opportunity.

We loved the characters -- we followed Colonel Halcyon to hell, laughed at Maniac Marshall, had a not-so-subtle crush on Angel Devereaux and we hated the furballs for what they did to Iceman's family.

We pored over the blueprints and Joan's. We memorized Claw Marks. Show a Wing Commander fan a Scimitar or a Dralthi today, and he'll have true feelings about what flying them and fighting them were like.

Wing Commander was the greatest game ever made; it is entirely appropriate that to this day it has the greatest group of fans ever assembled.

Your Front Row Seat to All Things Ejection Pod Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Are you an ejection seat fellow or a space pod person? Per our recent conversation on the CIC Discord, here's a quick walk through Wing Commander ejection seats starting with Wing Commander I's guy in a leather jacket and jeans with a 2001 spacesuit backpack:
Wing Commander II keeps the outfit but has a modern ejection seat... and a cool silver version for the Kilrathi!
Privateer's take on the same idea; looks a bit like NASA's MMU. You can't actually eject in Privateer but certain enemies will... and when you tractor them in they become slaves that you can sell.
Wing Commander III has polygonal ejection pods for both humans and Kilrathi. And they're... pretty thicc!
And if you've ever shot a Kilrathi pod you've probably seen it fly off screen in a crazy direction. It actually explodes into three gorey pieces in the process but they flash by too quickly to readily notice:
There's a gross human destroyed seat model, too!
Wing Commander IV drops the exposed suit concept for a hard body ejection pod (despite using many of the same spacecraft models).
And Wing Commander Prophecy gives us something like the shuttle rescue balls from the 80s!
Super Wing Commander has a blink-and-you-miss it ejection mesh that seems to be a pod that comes out of your destroyed ship.
And Privateer 2 has... this! There's no way (or point to) ejecting yourself but you rescue these things all the time.
Wing Commander Academy has these Confederation ejection pods, which seem to be single person, two people (seen when a Broadsword has a pilot and co-pilot) and then a capital ship lifeboat.
The Kilrathi have a basic design with maybe some slight differences. That's the Dralthi, Grikath and then the one from the dreadnaught (which has two seats side by side instead of one).
The movie has Angel eject in what's basically the top part of her Rapier.
Last, but not least, there are a number of great ejection seats pictured in the Wing Commander card game. From both the Terran and Kilrathi perspective, we get the actual moment of ejection, capture of an enemy pilot and recovery of a friendly. Both sides geat a "seat" rather than a pod.
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LOAF

Exploring the Gemini Sector in Privateer Alpha... With Three Steltek Drones! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Zyxophoj continues to pull back the curtain and reveal more of what's going on in the Privateer Alpha! He's put together a new video to explain how to work through the last several systems of the game. As this build was mainly intended as a preview for reviewers and testing, it starts to burst at the seams the further along players get. All of these little quirks make for absolutely fascinating digital archeology, however. In fact, he's discovered the game doesn't fully know what to do when you destroy the Steltek Drone. Additional Drones appear to just keep spawning! Give the video a watch below:
If at first you don't succeed, cheat. If that doesn't work, cheat harder. It is possible to get through the whole game, and kill the Steltek drones. Note the plural form of the word.

The game is really fighting back now, as the final mission just seems.. unfinished.

Three New Fighter Sketches All Look Pretty Snappy Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The recent Hellcat sketch commission seemed to have kicked off a wonderful snowball effect. Countvonschnaps now has three more Wing Commander designs on deck. His Arrow is wonderfully detailed and I really like that red canopy glass. The Rapier is also really rugged and seems to have some anime influence in there somewhere. The Excalibur has the most liberties taken, but it looks a bit more like a spaceship now and less like a 20th Century fighter. Very cool designs all around!
Arrow mk V: A light fighter seen in Wing Commander III and IV. What can I say that I am having a blast with these designs and I can only say thanks to the people who voted and commissioned me. I was not planning to do Wing Commander designs but it seems it came my way anyway.
Showcasing the Rapier II medium fighter in the colors frequently seen in Wing Commander 1 and 2 (Green).

This one was also commissioned by Shoguneagle. What can I say then that I am relieved to see people enjoy the Wing Commander universe and its designs. Wing Commander was my first introduction into space simulators and still holds a special place in my memories.

The last in a series of 3 "redesigns" for Shoguneagle casing the F103 Excalibur. The fighter the stopped the Earth-Kilrathi War in 2669 and was ahead of its time with advanced weapon, shield (fast regenerate) and propulsion systems. This version is an after war unit so it was slimmed down to cope with the budget after the fleet was cut down as the war ended.
Thanks to Rattler for the tip off!

Belly On Up: ALL the Bartenders Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Species didn’t seem to matter; wherever there were fliers, there seemed to be a bar. - Captain Ian "Hunter" St. John (Wing Commander Freedom Flight)

We recently received a nice note from a reader:

Howdy!

Just wondering if there has ever been a post that spotlights all the bartenders featured in Wing Commander games. Of course we have Shotglass, but there are other bartenders in WC3 and Privateer. I just think it would be a fun deep dive to take.

Also, a question about bartenders in WC. Are they civilians or are they enlisted personnel aboard ships? I know Shotglass was a pilot back in the day, but is he a civilian now or is he technically still enlisted but working as a bartender?

Cheers,
Sebastian

This was a nice surprise as it's rare to hear anyone is interested in this kind of content! We haven't done a post like that… until now. Join us below for an all-new roundup of the Wing Commander universe's many bartenders. (With regards to the question of whether or not bartenders aboard warships are still in the service, we are going to say the answer is yes. The Wing Commander III novelization notes that the Victory's bartender, wounded in a manner similar to Shotglass, "loved the Service too much to really retire".)

Wing Commander

The most famous bartender in the Wing Commander universe is, of course, Shotglass from the original Wing Commander. He's an ever present storyteller, always available between missions for a friendly chat about tactics, wingmen or what's going on elsewhere in the war. Shotglass is a former Confederation fighter pilot, a contemporary of Paladin, who was wounded too badly to keep flying. Instead of return home, he opted to continue helping as best he could by manning the bar in the carrier's Rec Room. His first name is Sam but his last name is never given; his doomed cousin in The Secret Missions was named Zach Siegler, though, so that's our closest guess! He appears throughout Wing Commander and its expansions as well as adaptations like the Ultimate Strategy Guide and Freedom Flight. He even has a cameo appearance in the Wing Commander movie novelization! What's more, he may even still be alive: while he's listed as a Tiger's Claw casualty in various places, Voices of War mentions the player character being given a set of wings by Shotglass "after K'tithrak Mang"! Shotglass was voiced by Ev Lunning Jr. in Super Wing Commander.

There is another bartender mentioned in the original Wing Commander, introduced by Shotglass: during the Rostov series he tells you about a place called Rita's Cantina on Rostov III and that if you visit you should tell Rita that Shotglass sent you (but not to go in uniform!).

Wing Commander Privateer

The Privateer manual begins Grayson Burrows' story accurately enough: "Out in this part of the Confederation there are only three kinds of people in a bar: those looking for the kind of work that doesn’t get publicly advertised, those offering that kind of work, or anyone looking to blow a paycheck on some Mjolnarian Stout." The Gemini Sector is full of bartenders and they have a LOT to say, much of it oriented to move you along towards the game's ongoing storyline. There are a grand total of nine different bartenders in Privateer, five that appear at different base types and four that are exclusive to specific bases. All of the bartenders (bespoke and type) are voiced by the same actor (with the exception of the pleasure planet bartender) so that their base lines are interchangeable. Each one has a set of additional rumors that are specific to their base or base type.

Agricultural Planet

Mining Base

Pirate Base

Pleasure Planet

Refinery Base

New Constantinople

New Detroit

Oxford

Perry

The pleasure planet bartender makes a cameo apperance in Wing Commander Arena's Star*Soldier manual, too, apparently having gone on to become a mercenary fighter pilot.

Wing Commander III

Wing Commander III's bartender doesn't have any scripted lines but he does appear throughout the game in the background of scenes set in the Victory's officer's lounge! He's most clearly visible in the scenes that take place at the bar, like conversations with Rachel and Flint. According to the game's novelization, his name is Dmitry Rostov, called both "Rosty" and confusingly "Bear" by Blair. He's written like a goofy Russian stereotype, complete with a line where he addresses Colonel Blair as "comrade". Chekov would be proud! Like Shotglass, he was a sailor who was badly wounded but who wanted to keep assisting with the war effort. He had been aboard the TCS Leningrad when it was destroyed by Ralgha nar Hhallas and the Ras Nik'hra! (Despite his appearance in the game, the book claims he lost an arm and an eye to the Kilrathi… an odd decision from Andrew Keith!). Rostov was played by Jean Pierre Pereat, who was a production specialist and not a regular actor.

Wing Commander IV

Wing Commander IV features two distinct bartenders. The first is the much more visible one at the Nephele II Canteen who Blair speaks to at the start of the game (and again if you fail early and are sent home to drink!). He is played by actor Dylan Bruno, who went on to a long career including five years starring on "Numbers".

The second is the easier to miss Lexington bartender, who is present in the background of various scenes from the officer's lounge. The Intrepid does not have a bartender. He is a non-speaking extra and is not credited.

Privateer 2

Privateer 2 has five distinct bar sets and not quite as many distinct bartenders (three we've identified)! The most famous is Joe Kane, played by the famous John Hurt (and casually named after his Alien character in the CCN database). Joe runs the Sinner's Inn on Hermes and appears throughout both the game's story and in various interstitial scenes to share rumors and offer plot-directing clues for Lev. The game's lore developed quite a bit of backstory for both the bar and the man!

The Rampant Robot Bar on Hephaestus is run by a man named Ivan Verketsky. He shows up only briefly in a cutscene behind Melissa Banks wearing a tricorner hat!

The owner of the Surgeon's Blunder Bar on Crius is 'Stump' Gisburn. He seems to be the man in the red jacket who has a PAD similar to Lev's. You can occasionally see him behind Xavier Shondi washing glasses in the lip-shaped bar.

Like the TCS Midway, the Blessed Brew Bar on Bex seems to be a self service affair. Various fountains offer a steady supply of Bex beer that patrons seem to fill themselves.

Finally, we're including the Shadow Play Bar on Anhur in the list even though there doesn't seem to be a bartender visible in its lore or its limited appearance in the game.

Wing Commander Prophecy

Wing Commander Prophecy ends the series' proud bartending tradition by letting the Midway's pilots pour their own drinks. The job tends to fall to Maestro during most cutscenes set in the lounge!

Novel Notes

Finally, we've got a few mentions from the novels:

  • Freedom Flight sends Hunter to the Red Flower bar on Firekka where he discovers an establishment run by the bird people that's similar to those elsewhere… except that the bartenders wait on the ground and fly their drinks up to the customers!
  • Fleet Action introduces us to Gallagher, owner of the Vacuum Breather military bar on the moon. The pilot's bar offers a mug and a free first drink to anyone who has survived the hulling of their ship and then guilds the ones belonging to pilots who don't make it home. Gallagher himself actually isn't working in the scene seen in the book and instead an employee that does not recognize Kirha is tending bar.
  • Action Stations has not one, not two but three different bar scenes! The first is at McAuliffe just after Tolwyn and Richards meet and they go to a bar on the base to wait for Turner. The second is in the Landreich where an assassin attempts to kill Kruger and the bartender vouches for him as part of a somewhat odd libertarian fantasy we-don't-need-to-investigate-murder scenario. Finally, Tolwyn buys a drink for a Kilrathi spy from a bartender at Gar's Emporium midway through the story!

    • Can you think of any bartenders we missed? Let us know! And if you'd like to see a particular aspect of Wing Commander lore or the history of making the games covered we'd love to hear your suggestions via e-mail or on the forums.

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    LOAF

    Cool Cargo Cacluator Captivates Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Want to make the most out of your cargo runs in the Tri-System? Claude Tschepen has created the solution for you! He's built a very detailed, interactive Google Sheets project that helps you visualize your potential margins for any given cargo run. A great tool for checking between missions in case you just happen to be heading somewhere that especially wants human organs or furry rodents!

    He writes:
    I've spent a few dozen hours making a profit calculator in Google Sheets for trading in Privateer 2 which I use myself and have found very useful and therefore felt like sharing it with others.

    It works on mobile and on desktop. Usually I have it open on my phone while playing.

    Here's the link to my github repo with the file and usage info.

    And here's a pic of how it looks:

    It's pretty awesome that folks are still developing tools like this (and sharing them with the rest of the community). It should be an absolute life saver if you've been saving up credits for a Danrik or a Freij!

    author avatar
    LOAF

    German Music Video Adds a Dash of WC Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Evan Freyer has been an active CIC visitor for decades, but he's also a professional musician in Germany! He's got a new song release this week, and there's a few Wing Commander treats tossed into the associated visualization video. Give it a listen below and keep your eyes peeled for the WC easter eggs!

    Swanky Hellcat Graces the Canvas Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    There's a beautiful new sketch out by CountvonSchnaps, and this one has a cool origin story! Nightball06 was inspired by the count's previous work and collaborated with him to bring the Hellcat V to life. It's a pretty great rendition!
    After seeing CountvonSchnaps' renditions of the Thunderbolt and the Longbow, I took the chance and had a chat with him.

    I was especially impressed by his painting style and the way he interpreted or added new details to the existing ships. So I asked him if he - on commission - would do a take on my own Hellcat. And I have to say - I really do like the result:

    Deep Dive the Famous WC3 “Heart of the Tiger” Thrakhath Scene Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    I needed a distraction tonight so I took apart the Wing Commander III scene where Thrakhath hacks the Victory's comms. WC3 is actually a lot more dynamic than just 'play good scene/play bad scene'. Here four different scenes come from one video...
    Scenes 7, 12 and 15 are determined by whether or not Flash has joined the crew (and is still alive). Instead of closeups of Thrakhath you get funny reaction shots of Maniac and Flash goofing around, and then the last scenes are determined by whether or not you won the previous series (Ariel). If you didn't, the Kilrathi are approaching and Rollins gets in an I-told-you-so! So the Xanmovie file contains 41 shots but only 35 of them will play in any given game run. I decided to organize them into camera angles and found there are 14 distinct ones which means they did 14 different rendered background animation cycles for this scene!

    Next I decided to track where all the actors were and especially figure out the extras. This is one of the busiest scenes in WC3! Here are the first and last wide shots labeled:

    And I tracked all the extras, too. Several aren't visible at all but others are familiar. #5 is the woman Maniac was harassing in his intro and #6 appears in funerals. #7 seems to take the conn when Eisen leaves; maybe the XO?
    author avatar
    LOAF

    DOSBox Staging Adds New Features in 0.82 Update Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Master O reports that a big new update to DOSBox Staging has been released. For anyone trying to get the classic WC games working on modern computers (without patches or setups like GOG incorporates), this is a next-generation evolution beyond the traditional DOSBox emulation environment. The new 0.82 update has a ton of enhancements, including better handling of Windows 3.1, bug fixes for the MT-32 sound system and a better performing IPX server implementation, among dozens and dozens of other updates. I wonder if the IPX improvements would mean more fluid games of Wing Commander Armada!? You can learn more and grab the program here.
    Just six short months after our monstre 0.81.0 release, we’re back with another big one that adds Pentium MMX emulation, ESS Enhanced FM Audio, numerous audio related enhancements, a large number of game compatibility fixes, improved Windows 3.1x compatibility, experimental Windows ARM64 support, and a lot more!

    Fandom Lore: The Mythical 7th CD Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Wing Commander IV shipped on an unprecedented six CD-ROMs... but there was a point in development where it seemed like it might take seven! To counter this possibility, the American CD case, a custom design, was made to include seven disc sleeves. As a result, shortly after the game was released the online community was full of players asking... am I missing a CD? On April 18, 1996, an alt.games.wing-commander user named Craig Lambert posted a reply to one of these questions with a tongue-in-cheek story about an incredible seventh disc that let you stay with the Confederation (joking about another frequent complaint about the game from online posters). We thought it would be good to archive the original post for posterity; it wouldn't do to let such a long-running joke slip into oblivion! (Though for future readers, we will note one more time that none of this was ever real; it all sprung from Mr. Lambert's fertile imagination.)

    What happens, you ask, if I don't WANT to defect from Confed? The apocryphal answer is below, in reality as virtually true as can be imagined. The legendary "7th CD" carried out this path: perhaps someone somewhere lucky enough to have this rare disk can upload it to the net for your retrieval: I saw it once on talk.bermuda.triangle, but my connection went down after I'd gotten only 457 meg of the file.

    Of course you must hunt down Eisen and the Intrepid. Having escaped you in Silenos, the Lexington follows the Intrepid through the jumppoint into Orestes. You must fight through Hawk and Panther, each of whom challenges you, the "Heart of the Tiger" over the comm, then as you approach the Intrepid Maniac switches sides again, helping you and Seether destroy the Intrepid as Eisen broadcasts desperate pleas for assistance. Back on the Lexington, Paulsen congratulates you with all his special charm, and remarks it looks like you'll soon have the chance to finish with an old foe. Seether, meanwhile, gives Maniac a thumping, coldly mocking the cringing double-turncoat for his cowardice. He tells Paulsen not to punish Maniac for his initial defection: "He'll be more useful out there as a target for the Border Worlds scum to waste their shots on" Afterwards a chastened, battered and bleeding Maniac tells you that as soon as he'd landed on the Intrepid with Eisen he realized he'd made a huge mistake. "The captain was dead, most of the crew was breathing vacuum, the ship was a total wreck. No way the Maniac wasn't gonna bail that scrap yard first chance!"

    Your next mission brief is to fly against the Kilrathi base in Pasqual: this time you get to hear Melek bitterly denouncing you for your treachery and inconstancy as you toast him and his furry comrades inside their exploding base, which was defended by a mix of Kilrathi Dralthi and BW fighters. Admiral Tolwyn comes aboard the Lexington, bringing you reinforcements in the form of the new Dragon fighters, and he praises you for your destruction of Eisen and Melek and urges you to work closely with Seether, saying 'unimaginable' rewards are available for loyal service. Its a bit unclear if he means service to Confed, or to him personally. He cuts short your qualms about flying in unmarked fighters (the Dragons): clearly you have blown it once again with the prickly Admiral, who tells you to "wise up, Colonel, you only get so many chances to play for the winning team"

    Next you fly in the Telamon system, defending the jumppoints from incoming BW forces as planet FT-957 is dusted with the Gen-Select weapon. From now on, all your missions will include an offer from BW forces for you to defect, doing so (after killing Seether & any other wingmen) will go to the losing endgame described below.

    You land amidst a scene of chaos and carnage, burning and bodies and wrecked equipment. A harried woman identifying herself as Lt. Sosa greets you. "We could have used your help, Colonel...when it would have made a difference"

    "The things I've seen..." you reply, "I have to stop those bastards! They don't care who they kill!"

    "It's too late," Sosa replies, "We just sent out our surrender. There's no-one left to fight for."

    There is a brief trial scene. You are shown nobly defending the values of freedom and the strength of the human spirit from the stand, vowing to "fight on until simple decency and the true honor of the warrior prevail." The final scene shows your corpse, entangled in barbed wire, dusty swirls of wind tugging at your hair as bored guards are heard discussing your fate, only their jackboots and the muzzles of their rifles visible. "Another worthless mutt trying to break out...saves us the trouble of feeding his useless mouth." "A flyer from the looks of those clothes." "Die in the sky, die in the dirt," the first guard replies, "the weak have to be taught their place sooner or later."

    However, its still possible to win on this path. Tolwyn arrives with the Vesuvius, announcing that the main BW fleet has been run to ground, and you will lead the assault on Vice-Admiral Wilford's "pathetic" force of criminal insurgents. Its clear though that the Admiral favors Seether over you, and you understand that Seether's job is to see that you carry out Tolwyn's orders to the letter. First you must open a jumppoint, destroying 3 cap ships and some 24 fighters in 6 waves. The next mission sees you through into Circe for the climactic battle, destroying the assembled BW cruisers and carriers: you fly with a loadout including two flashpaks. Afterwards, Seether orders you to destroy two fleeing transports, one of which has Sosa pleading for mercy over the comm, the other transport has Pliers cursing and reviling you. "Heart of the Tiger," he sneers, "at least the damn Pussys bothered to eat what they killed" Maniac goes crazy and begins firing wildly at all around him, shouting incoherently about murderers, and Seether quickly flames his ship, then deliberately blasts Maniac's escape pod, laughing and telling you he'll do the same to you if you don't follow his orders. Its possible to fight Seether at this point, and even kill him, but endless waves of fighters launch from the Vesuvius until you die, or eject, in which case you get an abbreviated version of the losing scenes. Should you go ahead and destroy the refugee transports, however, you go to this path's winning ending.

    A guard is reporting to you, "Commandant Blair, Re-education Camp 34 detainee Transport reporting as ordered, sir. 200 prisoners died in transit, 75 prisoners are too sick to work and require "special" treatment." "Acknowledged" you reply, signing off on a proffered form. You watch the two files of dejected, slumping prisoners in torn and filthy clothing slowly shuffle through the gates of your camp. You see some faces...is that Rollins? Could that woman with the hacking cough be Rachel? Fadeout.

    Oh well. At least it beats blowing up planets-full of sentient beings.

    Copyright 1996, Craig A. Lambert
    All Rights reserved, revered and redundant
    author avatar
    LOAF

    Hawk Seen Hawking New Mazda Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    It's been almost 30 years since actor Chris Mulkey filmed his role in Wing Commander 4, but he continues to maintain a very busy working schedule. His resume includes hundreds of roles, many of which are secondary characters or in short films. He seems to gravitate towards this type of professional work. And we might have just found one of his shortest jobs yet! Mr. Mulkey can be seen (and heard, in two words) in the new Mazda CX-30 ad below. "Mazda."

    WC4 Remaster Previews Enhanced Ground Effects Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    We've got an amazing week on tap if you are someone who is fascinated with the ground textures of Wing Commander 4! Yesterday LOAF showed off the different landscapes featured in both WC3/4, including how WC4 differentiates itself by no longer just being a collection of monochrome planes. The WC4 Remastered team is now working to build on this in a major way with both geometry and texture getting an enormous boost. Read all about it in their new article here!
    Wing Commander IV’s original terrain—there wasn’t much to work with. I won’t go into too much detail as wcnews has already covered it! Each “mountain” was just a single height value, and as you can see from the example image, sometimes lakes defied gravity, or terrain appeared under buildings. Modernizing this aspect of the game was a task.

    The first step was to add tessellation support (scaling polygon density based on camera distance). Even without modifying the heightmap, this improved the geometry: instead of a sharp, pyramid-like peak, the use of linear texture sampling produced smoother, curved hills. Still, the results weren’t acceptable—too many equally sized smooth hills were conspicuous.

    A Quick Guide to Planets Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Ground missions! Is there any more thrilling expression in the English language? We don't think so. Unfortunately, they're a rare commodity: across Wing Commander III and IV there are a total of only nine ground missions... and they were cut out entirely from multiple console ports! We thought it would be fun to post a quick visual guide that walks through the six planets seen in these special missions.

    Building on Strike Commander's terrain technology, Wing Commander III included four ground missions connected to the campaign to build the Temblor Bomb (and culminating in the game's firey finale at Kilrah). Unlike Strike Commander and Wing Commander IV, the WC3 planets were left untextured to improve performance... though they did have somewhat more detailed maps available in the game's nav screen (included below). The game has three distinct planet designs, although it's difficult to notice the differences in a single playthrough since you rarely have cause to compare them.

    Alcor V & Hyperion - Alcor is the planet where you rescue Dr. Severin and Hyperion is the first test site for his bomb. Wing Commander III uses the same assets for both planets.

    Freya II - The mission at Freya has you attack and destroy an impressive shield generator which is protecting a jump point needed for the final campaign.

    Kilrah - At Kilrah, you end the game by flying your fighter through a lava-laden trench that's not at all like the kind of trench you find on a space station.

    Wing Commander IV reintroduced textured surfaces for its planets but only had two different ones total: Tyr VII at the start and the optional Circe V in a later campaign. These were all removed from the PlayStation version. We've included the textures used for the surface below; there is also a third set found in the game's files that don't appear in the finished product.

    Tyr VII - You first fly a photo recon mission on Tyr followed by alternate rescue missions depending on whether or not you captured all the shots needed.

    Circe V - Circe V appears twice in the 'save civilians' series midway through the game. First you shut down a tank battle between mecenaries and Border Worlders and then you later have the option to land troops at a climate control complex (or, if you decide not to help Catscratch, no option at all).

    "F" - These planet textures, labeled F, seem to be unused:

    author avatar
    LOAF

    Lost Mech Discovered in Wing Commander III! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    AD recently found something interesting while exploring Wing Commander III: a pair of unused, untextured models of mechs! They're labeled STMECH1 and STMECH2 and it's not at all clear what they were intended for. Could they have been additional targets for the ground battles? Or weapons loaders that could've appeared on human or Kilrathi capital ship interiors? We also checked Bioforge (1995) and Prowler (cancelled, 1996) and while the art style is understandably similar, they aren't the same mech designs from Origin's contemporary games.

    The second Wing Commander novel, End Run, had already established that Confederation marines use 'walkers' during their planetary assaults, though this was almost certainly just a case of author William Forstchen referencing The Empire Strikes Back.

    He pulled up to a hundred meters above the plateau and swept over it. Mongol and Chamberlain were lower down, weaving S-turns back and forth, waiting for targets to crop up. In the dust and confusion, he saw the grunts clambering out of their ships, racing through the wreckage, ground fighting vehicles pouring out the forward hatches, hovering up, and then skimming away. The heavy weapons landers touched down, disgorging their massive “walkers” which could traverse any terrain and earned as much armaments as a light corvette. There was a flurry of laser rifle fire, more secondary explosions, one of the landing craft, now serving as a medevac, already taking off and heading back out to space.
    author avatar
    LOAF

    GOG Wing Commander IV DOS Fix Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    The good people at GOG include a download of the original DOS version of Wing Commander IV as a bonus feature when you purchase their digital release (which is based on the Windows 95 DVD release). That's great news for anyone who wants to play Wing Commander IV the same way they did back in February 1996... except that the copy on GOG is broken! Several of the MUSIC files are corrupt which results in an inevitable, game-breaking crash on loading a mission once you arrive at later CDs.

    To correct the issue, we've put correct versions of the bad files online here. Simply use this archive to replace MUSIC1 through MUSIC4 in your /Wing Commander IV - DOS Version/CD1 folder and the game will work correctly going forward. If you've already experienced the crash be sure and first load a mission from CD1 in order to clear the corrupt MUSIC file from the game's cache.

    (Very cool WC4 disc loading screens courtesy of WC4 on the Playstation) - Chris
    author avatar
    LOAF

    Save Archives: Wing Commanders Prophecy and Secret Ops Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Earlier this year we posted an archive of Wing Commander IV saved games for pilots who want to quickly access any mission as easy as possible (either for research or fun). Part two is finally here! We've gone through and created characters for Wing Commander Prophecy and Wing Commander Secret Ops with full flight histories and player-created saved games. Have fun exploring some of the missions you may never have gotten to play before!

    author avatar
    LOAF

    Wing Leader Adds Lumbari & Exquisite Cockpit Lighting Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    We've got a couple different types of items to share from Wing Leader this weekend. First up, Howard Day has finished the Lumbari transport, which is an awesome derivative of his recent Dorkir model. He's also in the process of implementing advanced lighting effects within the various fighter cockpits. This is a really nice finishing touch!
    Okay, got the Wing Leader Hornet cockpit lit properly with all the damage and broken bits properly responding to the light angle.
    Got the Wing Leader Dralthi cockpit lit and normal mapped! It's way more complex than the Hornet was, with the exterior stuff. I also set up the controls to work with the lighting as well, since they were previously ignored. Enjoy!
    2 more Wing Leader cockpits set up for lighting! The Salthi Light fighter and the Strakha Stealth fighter! I had to modify the shader slightly to support the cloaking effect for the stealth fighter, dang, this is really coming together!
    Okay, lighting on the Wing Leader Firekkan Valtar cockpit guns added! Subtle, but worth it, I think. :D

    Box Flap Appreciation Post Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Today in #Wingnut we were admiring the box designs of the blue stripe era.
    LETS. OPEN. THE. FLAPS!!!!!!!
    Impress your loved one with this Fun Fact Flap(tm): the Prophecy Gold box incorrectly identifies the alien cruiser as MARLIN-class. There was a renaming pass on most of the Nephilim ships late in development and Marlin became HYDRA in the final game.
    The artwork for this callout is repurposed (and mirrored) from this Wing Commander Prophecy print ad!

    The renaming; the original names are still used internally-

    Skate cluster - Tri-Ray
    Lamprey shield killer - Siren
    Barracuda corvette - Skate
    Triton transport - Leatherback
    Hydra cruiser - Marlin
    Leviathan carrier - Osprey
    Kraken ship killer - Narwhal
    Tiamat dreadnought - Tsunami
    When I did Star*Soldier for Wing Commander Arena I snuck in a little joke about this on the World War I-style spotters guide poster. See how there are two cruisers but one is upside down! This is the kind of joke only I find funny and no one else ever notices. Next to this is the original poster we were trying to reference; I wanted it to be this but with a Wing Commander Prophecy in-game text feel.
    Three blue strip boxes for Ultima Online!
    ParadiseRegaind pointed out that the Ultima Collection had a marble box too.
    And Sergorn Dragon points out that the regular Ultima Ascension doesn't have the stripe but it does have a pretty elaborate multi-page flap! I never realized this, I'd only ever owned the Dragon Edition.
    author avatar
    LOAF

    Originator Adds Extraction Features for Arena, WC4, Secret Ops and More Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Today we've got another exciting update to AllTinker's Originator tool! It includes a number of welcome additions from around the franchise. The program will now be able to peer into the code of the magazine-distributed version of Wing Commander Arena, adds new abilities for reading files from Wing Commander 4 on PC/Playstation, plus gets enhanced image support for Secret Ops - to name a few items. Grab it at the CIC Forums here!
    First release in quite a while; version 0.3.06 is mainly a bugfix release, but does add a couple of new things:
    • Support for the "demo" version of Wing Commander Arena, which can be extracted from the Official Xbox Magazine Game Disc 76 (the content seems identical; the demo differences are all in how the executable is set up to run on the 360 without a full game license present).
    • Support for Playstation's VAG audio format, used by Wing Commander 4 PSX.
    • Fixed terrain heightmap export for Wing Commander 4.
    • Some improvements to Shape parsing, fixing at least one regression with Wing Commander 3.
    • Hooked up texture / image / image set loading for Wing Commander: Secret Ops.

    Heavy Sabre Profiled in Impressive New Lore Video Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Mac has a very exciting new fighter history video to share! The Sabre is up on deck this time. As hinted about last month, the clip is full of exciting action shots and fancy animation. Give it a watch below!
    Blender 4.2s EEVEE Next renderer is some powerful stuff, and this will be the first video to take advantage of it. The Downside? It's a much bigger performance hog then before.

    With that being said, the next video: Wing Commander - F-57 Sabre, is now up.

    Not your father's F-86 Sabre from the Korean War. This Sabre is much more of a beast.

    Action Heating up Again in Gemini Sector RPG Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Iceblade flew in to announce that a brand new campaign in the Wing Commander Gemini Sector RPG is in the process of kicking off. If you've been in the mood for an interactive WC role playing experience, now's a perfect time to get involved. Most of the action takes place in real time on their Discord server. They've also got some nifty animated cutscenes to help set the stage. If this sounds like your jam, reach out now - events are scheduled for this weekend!
    Wing Commander Gemini Sector is still kicking. If fact, we are at the start of a new campaign. WC GS is a Discord Server Multi User Simulation with a custom built combat engine for engaging in text-based combat. Similar to a Tabletop game designed for Wing Commander. —Iceblade

    Star Trek Logo Reimagined with Wing Commander Vibes Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Starfleet Design recently posted this wonderful Star Trek logo on Twitter. He's done a fantastic job marrying the text with little Starfleet deltas as a tribute to the classic Wing Commander logo. It also makes me think of the way that Wing Commander Arena repurposes the afterburning craft again with its own Rapier fighters.
    Many but not all recognised this as a homage to the Wing Commander (1990) logo. It's not a game I know much about, but I do appreciate the classic sci-fi typeface STOP, designed by Aldo Novarese in 1971.
    If you're looking for more Wing Commander logos, check out the gorgeous collection that elend made a few year ago. They cover a huge swath of the franchise and are vectorized to scale up as big as you need!

    Two Preview Sample Tracks Released to Kickstarter Album Backers Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    Former Origin composer George Oldziey is back home after his work in Europe last month to record the new Wing Commander album. There's still a lot more work yet to do, including the choral recording next month, but he's put together two samples of WC3 and Prophecy tracks to give fans an idea what to look forward to. It's just an early preview, but the music is already sounding great! If you pledged for the album during the initial Kickstarter campaign, log in for download links to the samples.
    Greetings all! I just recently received the session files from the recording in Budapest and thought I'd "tinker around" with a couple of them. I've done a lot of mixing over the years but this time around I might have someone who actually does that for a living do that for the project. Actually, I'm having discussions with the recording and mixing engineer for a very iconic film score composer (will reveal later if it happens) about doing the mix for me!

    In the mean time, I thought I would share two VERY rough mixes that I did from what we recorded, the opening from Wing Commander Prophecy as well as a mission piece from WC3. Please bear in mind that both will have major choir parts added next month so all the elements aren't there, but I thought especially the mission piece should be intriguing because the playback on that back in 1994 was, well, what it was for the time. BTW, THIS was the very first piece I composed for the entire series that got approved by Chris Roberts early in the production of WC3, and ushered in, at least for me, the Wing Commander sound. After this piece I RARELY had to do a version 2 of any gameplay or cinematic music.

    The Prophecy intro music , IMHO, was barely audible in the original mix, so much that super fan Matt Hiltner, who was there in Budapest, never knew that the Kilrathi theme was in the intro. I put it in the score because the narration was about a Kilrathi prophecy so it seemed logical.

    Anyway, please understand that these are NOT finished mixes. Once the choir is added and everything is mixed together it will sound fantastic.

    Love to all,

    George

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