Missile Identification Charts

Quick, what's that missile? I was studying Wing Commander Prophecy recently and realized I had never taken a good look at the alien missile graphics. Missiles are visible for perhaps a few frames at most so it's hard to get an idea of how they look in the game… but it turns out there was a lot of effort put into distinct missile textures, especially in Wing Commander Prophecy! Not only do the unusual alien weapons all have unique, organic graphics but almost every single Confederation missile and torpedo has a unique design. More, even, than were included in the high resolution renders in the manual and official guide!

From there I decided to look at the other games where I found lots of interesting missiles! I put together the following charts so that everyone can enjoy taking a longer look at the different objects than is usually possible. It also includes several cut weapons that you can't see in the game including Prophecy's leech missile, the null-g bomblets and the two torpedoes intended for use in Wing Commander Armada. Check back in the future, we are hoping to add the console ports (where different) to another iteration of these charts.

This effort also got me curious about the guns in Wing Commander Prophecy; by Wing Commander III, my brain starts blanking on what the different color bolts mean… so I made a quick and dirty chart to help! Then I checked Secret Ops, which adds a number of new guns and replaces the bolts for several of the alien guns.

Official Wing Commander Magazine Scanned

The magazine also included a double-sided centerfold with some pretty interesting Wing Commander concept art (and a chart of guns that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the movie). Here they are arranged as they appeared:

You can also download an archive of the scanned pages here (1G). Previously:

• Sci-Fi Teen #5 (March 1999)
• Starlog #260 (March 1999)
• Starlog #262 (May 1999)

Sci-Fi Teenage Daydream

In the lead-up to the Wing Commander movie, Starlog magazine covered the film extensively. After Starlog shut down in 2009, the powers that be offered scans of the entire run of their flagship magazine. This included a Wing Commander cover story and three feature articles which we reported at the time. What they did not include in their archival efforts, however, were two spinoffs that covered Wing Commander: a cover story in Sci-Fi Teen (#5, March 1999) and their dedicated Wing Commander Movie Official Magazine. Today we're adding the former to the collection! Sci-Fi Teen was a short-lived spinoff of Starlog aimed at a younger audience that was starting to take an interest in increasingly popular science fiction media like X-Files and Star Trek Voyager. Here's the Wing Commander material:

We have also scanned the individual pages of the centerfold 'pin-up' poster. Perfect for your locker!

Save Archive: Wing Commander Armada

More reference saves for the collection! We've played through both Armada campaigns and saved a game at the start of each sector. Want to explore unfamiliar regions of the Wing Commander universe or maybe see the ending cutscenes without playing a full evening of Armada? Here's your ticket! Drop these in your Armada folder (but be sure to make a backup copy of your saves first as these will replace them). Because Armada only has eight save 'slots' per game mode, we've divided this archive into three sets. Pick the one you want and go save the galaxy!

• Wing Commander Armada Saved Games (24kb .ZIP)

Stay tuned for additional packages! Privateer and Privateer 2 are coming soon. Previous releases:

• Wing Commander III
• Wing Commander IV
• Prophecy and Secret Ops

Save Archive: Wing Commander III

The promised Wing Commander III saved game reference pack is here! As with our previous releases we've tried to include a saved game after each mission with multiple variants wherever alternate cutscenes are available. It's a great excuse to explode some of the game that you may never have seen before... or a nice quick way to track down a screenshot in a hurry! If you are playing the GOG version, drop these in the "cloud_saves/WC3" folder (but be sure to make a backup copy of your saves first as these will replace them).

One that we know is missing is a version of Hyperion 2 where cutscene N0BARFHS plays with the 'low morale' version. The scene requires that Flash be alive to discuss the Kilrah mission and theoretically has a 'bad' version where he isn't hopeful. As far as we can tell there's no way to have Flash's morale actually be low at this point in the game! Let us know if you've encountered this one and we'll keep experimenting.

• Wing Commander III Saved Games (45kb .ZIP)

Stay tuned for additional packages; we're working on Privateer, Privateer 2 and Armada right now! Previous releases:

• Wing Commander IV
• Prophecy and Secret Ops

Wing Commander II SNES Box Art Simulated

Yesterday's shocking Wing Commander II SNES painting news wasn't just of interest to the Wing Commander community. Hardcore fans of Nintendo history were also all over the reveal! John Rairdin of Nintendo World Report even went right to work creating an image that simulates what the game's box likely would've looked like:

This is a case where the artist is the bigger expert to begin with but it looks pretty accurate to us! The real game probably would've had a different tagline but since we have no idea what it would've been reusing the original is a smart choice. Nintendo World Report also published an article on the find as did Go Nintendo. It's great to see coverage from the serious Nintendo community; when the game is someday located, I suspect they will be prime movers! For those unfamiliar with SNES branding and who would like a point of comparison, here are box scans for FCI's other Origin ports from SNES Central:

We're also thinking about the artwork itself! One question I always ask myself about paintings like this is: what material was the artist provided as reference. Michael Winterbauer's Wing Commander SNES painting is based on the PC game's box art while Greg Winters' Secret Missions piece famously referenced the Super Famicom manual's ship artwork (hence the green Salthi). This one is a little harder to determine: the Scimitar and the Star Post are extremely on model while the Kilrathi capital ship and the Dralthi are not. But what reference available for an artist in 1994 would've had artwork of the Star Post and the Dralthi? Our Discord's own DeerGazer came up with a pretty good answer: Mike Harrison's Secrets of the Wing Commander Universe, which features artwork that matches the Scimitar and the base very closely but only has a single side view of the Fralthi. Again, seems pretty likely to us!

BREAKING NEWS: Lost Box Art Surfaces

Heritage Auctions has posted a preview of a November video game art auction and their slate includes a stunning, almost-never-seen-before piece of Wing Commander art:

Here's how they describe it:

Steve Lang

Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger Unpublished Video Game Original Box Art (Electronic Arts 1994).

Although the publisher ultimately selected a different image for the cover of Wing Commander III, this breathtaking painting offers a rare glimpse into an alternate vision for the game's box art. It depicts a colorful, action-packed outer space battle scene, showcasing the grandeur of the Wing Commander universe. Rendered in acrylics on Crescent all-media board measuring 20" x 17," it is signed and dated by the artist along the bottom border. Debuting on home computers in 1994 and ported to the 3DO in 1995 and the PlayStation in 1996, Wing Commander III is a landmark title, notable for its full-motion video cutscenes starring actors like Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell, and its groundbreaking blend of space combat and cinematic storytelling. This unique piece of art is a stunning tribute to the franchise's legacy.

That description, however, is wrong: this painting is the cover art commissioned for FCI's unreleased Wing Commander II port for the Super Nintendo! Eagle-eyed wingnuts will notice that the piece is dated weeks after Wing Commander III shipped, making it unlikely that this was in competition with Sam Yeates' Wing Commander III painting (additionally, all of the vehicles are from Wing Commander I and the faces do not match the live action characters at all). We've also seen (much lower resolution) clippings from this composition used as a header for Game Pro's review of the game:

Really Digging These RetroAchievements

Be Safe, Floridians!