Category:Wing Commander: Academy: Difference between revisions

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|<CENTER>[[File:wc2dorkathi-vdu.gif|link=Kamekh]]</CENTER>
|<CENTER>[[File:wc2ralatha-vdu.gif|link=Ralatha]]</CENTER>
|<CENTER>[[File:wc2ralatha-vdu.gif|link=Ralatha]]</CENTER>
|<CENTER>[[File:wc2fralthra-vdu.gif|link=Fralthra]]</CENTER>
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|<CENTER>[[Dorkathi]]</CENTER>
|<CENTER>[[Dorkathi]]</CENTER>
|<CENTER>[[Kamekh]]</CENTER>
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|<CENTER>[[File:wc2kmang-vdu.gif|link=Star Base]]</CENTER>
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Revision as of 23:36, 13 October 2019

Wing Commander: Academy
Academyfronthigh.jpg
Platform MS-DOS
Engine Origin FX
Release Date August 27, 1993
Language English
Retail Price 49.95 USD"USD" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 49.95.



Wing Commander Academy is a 1993 space combat game developed by Origin Systems and published by Electronic Arts. Academy is primarily a mission builder based on technology and assets developed for Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi. The game allows players to populate up to four nav points with a variety of objects including enemy spacecraft, asteroids, mine fields, data pods, ejected pilots, random encounters or space stations which may be defended. Mission designers can choose the AI level for the opposing spacecraft and players may choose to fly missions using one of nine spacecraft and four wingmen. Missions may be saved as files and traded to be flown by others. The game also features a "Gauntlet" mode which pits the player against fifteen pre-constructed missions which each consist of three waves of increasingly difficult opponents.

Players are said to be students at the Terran Confederation Space Naval Academy who are using a new simulator to train for space combat missions. While the game itself does not have a specific story line, its manual includes lore which suggests that it takes place shortly after the events of Wing Commander II. Academy is the first spin-off of the Wing Commander series and was developed as a budget title which could expect to turn a reasonable profit and keep the Wing Commander IP in players' minds during the expected lengthy development of Wing Commander III. The game features a single, short cinematic as its introduction and the majority of its graphics, sounds, speech samples and gameplay mechanics are recycled from Wing Commander II. Academy adds two flyable fighters, the Wraith and Jrathek, as well as three new gun types and an additional missile.

Description

Box Back Cover

A Stand-Alone Game — No previous Wing Commander experience necessary.

As a student at the TCSN Academy, you custom-design and fly unique combat, rescue, and search and retrieval missions from the CyberSchool's holographic simulator. In the Wing Commander tradition, the game features a dynamic musical score, improved bit-mapped graphics, and a dazzling array of customizing options. But Wing Commander Academy is not another cinematic extravaganza — it's an intense dogfighting marathon.

  • Custom-design a variety of missions that match your skill level as you place fighters, capital ships, mine fields, asteroid fields, data pods and ejected pilots - up to 10 in each of the four action spheres.
  • Save up to 24 games to disk and trade with your friends or upload them to bulletin boards to challenge others.
  • Request random missions where each action sphere yields an unknown number of enemy ships with pilots of varying skill levels.
  • Climb into the cockpits of the new Confederation Wraith or Kilrathi Jrathek fighters for a new combat experience.
  • Select a cybernet wingman — from a frightened cadet to a hotshot veteran.
  • Fly from the cockpit or try the chase plane view for a new perspective on the intense dogfighting action.
  • Sharpen your combat skills as you compete for high-point honors.
  • Engage the "Gauntlet" - a dogfighting marathon with 15 progressively difficult levels of attacking ships - including three flights of fighters in each level.

System Requirements

Original Release (1993)

MS-DOS: 386SX, 386, Intel486™ or 100% compatible PC system
REQUIRED: 2 megs RAM, hard drive, MS-DOS 5.0 or higher
SUPPORTS: DOS 6.0 and DOUBLE SPACE
GRAPHICS: 256-color VGA
MUSIC/SOUND EFFECTS (optional): Ad Lib®, Sound Blaster®, Roland® LAPC-I/MT-32, or 100% compatible sound board
DIGITIZED SPEECH and SOUND EFFECTS (optional; limited speech and sound effects in game): Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound board

Digital Release (2013)

System: Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 / 10
Processor: 1.8 GHz
Memory: 512 MB RAM
Graphics: 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7 (compatible with DirectX 9 recommended)
Storage: 2GB HDD

Box Contents

Credits

Role Name Source
Production
Producer Thomas Blom Game, Documentation
Executive Producer Dallas Snell Documentation
Development
Programmer Jeff Everett Game, Documentation
Brent A Thale Game, Documentation
Artist Whitney Ayres Game, Documentation
Glen Johnson Game, Documentation
Music John Tipton Game, Documentation
Kirk Winterrowd Game, Documentation
Sound Effects Marc Schaefgen Game, Documentation
Quality Assurance
QA Project Leader Perry Stokes Game, Documentation
Playtester Marshall Andrews Game, Documentation
Charles Angel Game, Documentation
Russel Byrd Game, Documentation
Jerrold Harrington Game, Documentation
Andrew Hofmann Game, Documentation
Bill LaCoste Game, Documentation
Starr Long Game, Documentation
Rik Packham Game, Documentation
Scott Shelton Game, Documentation
Packaging
Documentation Kristen Vaughan Game, Documentation
Editing David Ladyman Documentation
Documentation Design Al Carnley Documentation
Cover Art Chris Douglas Documentation
Jake Rodgers Documentation
Box Design Jennifer Davis Documentation
Thanks
Special Thanks The Wing Commander I and II Teams Game

Advertising

Key Art

Marketing Flyer

Print Advertising

Versions

Re-Releases

  • US release, 3.5" HD
  • InterTAN release (Canadian Radio Shack)
  • CD Select release (status unknown)
  • European release, 3.5" HD (English, French, German documentation variants)
  • CD-ROM Classics (original)
  • CD-ROM Classics (jewel case)
  • Mile High Pack (compilation)
  • Hit Squad - £14.99 PC Prime Contender
  • GOG release (digital)
  • DROSoft (Spanish)
  • SKC Soft Land (South Korea)

Screenshots

Pre-Release Screenshots

These three images were provided to press in 1993 and were made available through Origin's BBS. Several differences are visible between these captures and the release build of the game. In ACTION, the Wraith displays a Morningstar's VDU, "leech" is misspelled as "leach" and the target being communicated with is identified as "Enemy 2" instead of a ship type. ENTRY has a darker cursor than the finished game and red menu text instead of blue. It also lacks the buttons to the quick start buttons located to left and right of the simulator. SELECT shows an entirely different set of wingmen (Rusty, Dingo, Gauntlet and Harridan in place of Hobbes, Angel, Maniac and Lightspeed, respectively) and seems to use the identifier "Zealous" instead of "Excellent". The VDU face shown for Dingo does not match any that appear in the final game.

GOG Release Screenshots

These twelve images were captured by GOG from the release build for their Wing Commander Academy sale page.

Community Screenshots

Development

Team Shirt

The Wing Commander Academy team shirt features a school seal drawn by Origin System artist Paul Steed. The seal features planets, spacecraft, a book and an armored Kilrathi head. The text reads "established 1993" in reference to the release year of the game and gives the Latin slogan "fac ut gaudeam" which translates literally as "do it so I may be happy." The source of the slogan is the 1991 language book Latin for Even More Occasions by Henry Beard which gives "Age. Fac ut gaudeam." as a translation of Clint Eastwood's Sudden Impact catch phrase "Go ahead, make my day."

Patches / Addons

Fan Made

Miscellaneous Files

Press

Previews

Reviews

Index

Publication Issue Pages Score
Aktueller Software Markt December 1993 37 8/12
Computer Gaming World November 1993 162-163 None
Electronic Entertainment January 1994 108 6/10
PC Format October 1993 64 76%
PC Games October 1993 42-43 76%
PC Joker October 1993 64 70%
PC Player October 1993 40-42 68%
PC Review October 1993 72-73 5/10
PC Zone October 1993 52 60%
Power Play October 1993 44 76%
Tilt October 1993 114-116 71%

Aktueller Software Markt (Germany)

Computer Gaming World (USA)

Electronic Entertainment (USA)

PC Format (UK)

PC Games (Germany)

PC Joker (Germany)

PC Player (Germany)

PC Review (UK)

PC Zone (UK)

Power Play (Germany)

Tilt (France)

Other

Music

Manuals and Game Documentation

Controls

Afterburner		Tab
Fire guns		Space
Fire missile		Enter
Accelerate		+
Decelerate		-
Full stop		Backspace
Look left		F2
Look right		F3
Look forward		F1
Look behind		F4
Chase view		F5
Battle view		F6
Tactical view		F7
Missile view		F8
Tail view		F9
Cycle weapons		W
Cycle guns		G
Jump			J
Cycle targets		T
Lock target		L
Damage HUD		D
Autopilot		A
Comms select		C
Nav Map			N
Eject			Ctrl-E

Cheats

  • Start the game with "wca ERTS" at the command line to enter debug mode.
    Alt-Del destroys target. Alt-Insert destroys all enemies. Alt-I increases enemy intelligence. Ctrl-I decreases enemy intelligence.
  • Start the game with "wca ERTS -k".
    Same as above, plus invincibility.
  • Start the game with "wca ERTS -z".
    Same as above, plus invincibility, except for collisions.

Note that "ERTS" must be in ALL CAPS for the cheat to work.

Cutscenes

Ships

Terran Confederation

  • Fighters
Wc2ferret-vdu.gif
Wc2epee-vdu.gif
Wc2rapier-vdu.gif
Wc2sabre-vdu.gif
Wc2broadsword-vdu.gif
Wc2crossbow-vdu.gif
Wc2morningstar-vdu.gif
Wcawraith-vdu.gif
P-64 Ferret
F-54 Epee
F-44 Rapier II
F-57 Sabre
A-17 Broadsword
A-18 Crossbow
F-95 Morningstar
F-97 Wraith
  • Installations
Wc2starbase-vdu.gif
Space Station

Empire of Kilrah

  • Fighters
Wc2sartha-vdu.gif
Wc2drakhri-vdu.gif
Wc2jalkehi-vdu.gif
Wc2grikath-vdu.gif
Wc2strakha-vdu.gif
Wcajrathek-vdu.gif
Sartha
Drakhri
Jalkehi
Grikath
Strakha
Jrathek
  • Capital Ships
Wc2dorkathi-vdu.gif
Wc2ralatha-vdu.gif
Dorkathi
Ralatha

Missions

The Gauntlet

The Gauntlet is a series of fifteen scripted levels each with three waves of enemy ships intended as a challenge for players. The Gauntlet increases in difficulty beginning with very simple encounters and becomes extraordinarily challenging as it progresses. Players may choose to fly any of the game's nine ships and with any one (or none) of the game's four wingmen. Progress through the Gauntlet is scored based on the enemies killed and the ship flown. The player's shields are automatically recharged after each wave and ships are repaired and rearmed between levels. Top Gauntlet scores are displayed in the game's main menu and completing the challenge rewards the player with a unique screen.

Scoring

The Gauntlet scores players per kill. Each type of enemy ship has a base value which is multiplied by a modifier determined by the type of ship the player has chosen to fly. As a result, a kill scored by a Ferret (125x the target value) is worth significantly more points than one scored while flying a Wraith (65x the target value). Wingman choice and enemy AI do not factor into the score and enemy spacecraft destroyed by wingmen or collisions do not count towards the player's total. Enemy bombers (Broadsword and Crossbow) have an additional scoring mechanic in which their value increases depending on the number killed in a given wave. The first is worth seven points, the second ten and any others are worth fifteen each. If the ERTS command line cheat is used to start the game then the player ship modifier is nullified resulting in a very low total score. The maximum potential score in the Gauntlet is 213,875 points for flying a Ferret and scoring every possible kill (if the three enemy ships scripted that do not spawn were available the maximum total would be 216,875.)

Kill Values
Type Base Score
Sartha 7 points
Ferret 7 points
Epee 7 points
Drakhri 10 points
Strakha 10 points
Jrathek 10 points
Rapier 10 points
Wraith 10 points
Jalkehi 15 points
Grikath 15 points
Dorkathi 15 points
Sabre 15 points
Morningstar 15 points
Broadsword 7 points (first), 10 points (second), 15 points (third+)
Crossbow 7 points (first), 10 points (second), 15 points (third+)
Ship Choice Modifier
Type Modifier
Ferret 125x
Epee 110x
Rapier 100x
Sabre 75x
Broadsword 95x
Crossbow 90x
Morningstar 80x
Wraith 65x
Jrathek 70x

Gauntlet Layout

This chart displays the types and AI levels of opponents scripted to appear in each wave of the Gauntlet. Two waves request more spacecraft than the eight simultaneous opponents game is capable of displaying. As a result, one of the Drakhri in Level 12, Wave 3 and two of the Sartha in Level 14, Wave 3 do not actually spawn.

Wave Opponents Skill Level
Level 1
Wave 1 1 Sartha 1
Wave 2 1 Drakhri 1
Wave 3 1 Jrathek 1
Level 2
Wave 1 2 Sartha 1
Wave 2 2 Drakhri 1
Wave 3 2 Jalkehi 1
Level 3
Wave 1 2 Grikath 1
Wave 2 2 Strakha 1
Wave 3 3 Ferret 1
Level 4
Wave 1 1 Wraith 1
Wave 2 2 Epee 1
Wave 3 3 Sabre 1
Level 5
Wave 1 3 Epee 1
Wave 2 1 Sabre 1
Wave 3 3 Broadsword 1
Level 6
Wave 1 1 Dorkathi 1
Wave 2 2 Crossbow 1
Wave 3 1 Morningstar 1
Level 7
Wave 1 1 Wraith 1
Wave 2 2 Jrathek 1
Wave 3 3 Drakhri 2
Level 8
Wave 1 3 Jalkehi 2
Wave 2 2 Morningstar 2
Wave 3 2 Sabre 2
Level 9
Wave 1 4 Grikath 3
Wave 2 4 Strakha 3
Wave 3 3 Crossbow 3
Level 10
Wave 1 4 Rapier 2
Wave 2 5 Epee 2
Wave 3 7 Ferret 2
Level 11
Wave 1 5 Grikhath 3
Wave 2 4 Wraith 2
Wave 3 4 Rapier 3
Level 12
Wave 1 6 Jrathek 2
Wave 2 2 Dorkathi 2
Wave 3 9 Drakhri 3
Level 13
Wave 1 5 Crossbow 2
Wave 2 4 Morningstar 4
Wave 3 6 Epee 2
Level 14
Wave 1 6 Jrathek 4
Wave 2 7 Ferret 4
Wave 3 10 Sartha 4
Level 15
Wave 1 7 Morningstar 4
Wave 2 8 Wraith 3
Wave 3 8 Jrathek 4

Weapons

Guns

Missiles

Wingmen

Subcategories

This category has the following 3 subcategories, out of 3 total.

Pages in category "Wing Commander: Academy"

The following 2 pages are in this category, out of 2 total.