Trivia 3, Week 27

Welcome to Game Three, Week Twenty-Seven Trivia. We play each week. Every Monday two main questions and one bonus question are posted to alt.games.wing-commander and listed at the CIC. Please email answers to CReid1701@aol.com or ChrisReid@wcnews.com. Be sure to include a name you would like to be known under for the Scoreboard that will be up soon. Have your answers in before this coming Sunday (May 6, 2001) to ensure your answers are recorded. Answers submitted early may be returned and you may be able to fix incorrect answers, time permitting. Main questions answered correctly are good for 5 points, bonuses good for 3.

Also feel free to try our new auto trivia submission device that Kris cooked up for us at trivia.shtml

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Answers to Questions for Week 26 (starting April 16, 2001):

Question 51: Who is Vukar nar Caxki?
Answer: Admiral Vukar nar Caxki was commander of the Superdreadnought Shak'Ar'Roc fleet that darted all through Terran space on Pilgrim related crusades in '54.

Question 52: Who is Ukar dai Ragark lak Haka?
Answer: Ukar dai Ragark, was the governor of Hralgkrak. He tried to incite some serious aggressive activity involving the Confederation and post-war Kilrathi Empire.

Bonus 26: Who is Mr. Kat?
Answer: Who *isn't* Mr. Kat?

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New Questions for Week 27 (starting April 23, 2001):

Question 53: What is a Kilrathi capital ship or pilot that crash landed on a moon or planet?

Question 54: What is a Terran capital ship or pilot that crash landed on a moon or planet?

Bonus 27: What is a starbase or orbital structure that crash landed on a moon or planet?

Submissions are due by May 6, 2001.

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Please email answers to ChrisReid@wcnews.com and do not post directly to the Newsgroup. Thanks.

SWC Ship of the Day: Raptor

This Raptor is ready to Gladiate!

Drawl-thi

mIRC mArches On

SWC Ship of the Day: Hornet

Do I make you Hornet, baby? Do I? (Sorry, HotT)

Trivia Reminder

WCA Mirror, Episode 10

SubSpace: The Continuing Mission

You don't need to re-mod the game. Just use the "upgrade to continuum" thing at subspace.net and it keeps the WC ships, etc. You still have to add the WCZone, but that's all there is to it. It took me maybe two minutes to download it and start playing.

Personal Touches

Return of the Nephilim

Core has anounced a new Lara Croft game... and things are going to change. First of all, the game is going to have a more grown up (darker, bloodier, and sexier) gameplay and it's about time. Core is working on 6 diffrent storyllines at the moment (the cow milking begins again), which should turn out to be somewhat X-files style. Although each game has its own plot, one big subplot that will be added to all games base around a mythical race called the Nephelim.

Renders

2,000 and Counting!

SWC Ship of the Day: Salthi

If you take out the salt, it's really just saying hi. Get ready for Sunday, since we'll start showing off the Confed fighters...

Campaign Poster

Freelance Details

TLR: Can you tell us a bit of the Team behind the game? We heard that you hired renowned resources like Terry Borst, Craig Mullins and Harald Bilker. The team must be pretty first-class?

JN: A game that is as massive and vast as Freelancer requires a lot of people's hard work. We have brought in artists from all over the world (Texas, Great Britain, Los Angeles, Korea, and the Ukraine) to create the unique look and huge amount of detail of the game world – we had writers from Hollywood, musicians and sound designers from all over the US and we ended up creating an all-new department here in Austin for our real-time cinematics (RTC). Some of the industry's most experienced people have been assembled to make this game: we have a healthy mix of veterans (from Wing Commander I-V, Strike Commander, Privateer, Ultima VI, Bioforge, Crusader and many other games) and talented and excited new talents.

SWC Ship of the Day: Dralthi

Day four of Super Wing Commander Ship of the Day -- hey, that's just ripping off the... oh, right.

WCA Backup

SWC Ship of the Day: Jalthi

Day three of Super Wing Commander Ship of the Day... try saying that three times fast! Here's the Jalthi class heavy fighter...

Still Creating Worlds?

Mailbag #14

You've Been Carded

Petition Clarification

SWC Ship of the Day: Krant

Super Wing Commander Ship of the Day rolls into day two... today's picture: the Krant class medium fighter!

ANZAC Day

Today, Australia and New Zealand observe ANZAC day, honoring the soldiers who fought and died for us in wars throughout this century. For all you Antipodean Wingnuts out there, please take the time to remember the soldiers whose sacrifices gave us the freedom and privileges we take for granted today. And be sure to give generously to the Returned Services Association collectors. It's the least we can do for those who have given us so much. Lest we forget.

VS Update

I have made tremendous progress on a new model editor. The current version allows a very user friendly interface to texture a model, and just in: a very intuitive system to place weapons or logos or engines or anything for that matter on the surface of a given starship model! I just got it working this morning though I've been sick recently and unable to make much progress. I'm hoping to release the editor to the public shortly...though I am not sure when. Additionally, Lighting has been tweaked somewhat, but physics AI has remained more or less the same due to a leave of absence by ashieh. Things should resume in the AI category shortly.

Goodbye, Lanced.Net

SWC Ship of the Day: Gratha

Here's something new for y'all -- a new picture of a Super Wing Commander fighter each day, until we run out... so you can see how the other half lives! Today's ship is the Kilrathi Gratha class Heavy Fighter -- remind you of anything?

Music Petition Again

Make More Bugs!

$6.99 for a Limited Time!

Fleet Action Heats Up

Trivia 3, Week 26

Welcome to Game Three, Week Twenty-Six Trivia. We play each week. Every Monday two main questions and one bonus question are posted to alt.games.wing-commander and listed at the CIC. Please email answers to CReid1701@aol.com or ChrisReid@wcnews.com. Be sure to include a name you would like to be known under for the Scoreboard that will be up soon. Have your answers in before this coming Sunday (April 29, 2001) to ensure your answers are recorded. Answers submitted early may be returned and you may be able to fix incorrect answers, time permitting. Main questions answered correctly are good for 5 points, bonuses good for 3.

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Answers to Questions for Week 25 (starting April 16, 2001):

Question 49: What is a Confederation Cruiser that carries half as many antimatter guns as a Confederation Class Dreadnought?
Answer: Waterloo Class Cruiser

Question 50: What is a Confederation Cruiser that carries three times as many Heavy Plasma Cannons as a Hades Class Strike Cruiser?
Answer: Plunkett Class Cruiser

Bonus 25: What is a Confederation Cruiser that carries twice as many torpedo points as a Vindicator Class Medium Fighter?
Answer: Hades Class Cruiser

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New Questions for Week 26 (starting April 16, 2001):

Question 51: Who is Vukar nar Caxki?

Question 52: Who is Ukar dai Ragark lak Haka?

Bonus 26: Who is Mr. Kat?

Submissions are due by April 29, 2001.

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Please email answers to ChrisReid@wcnews.com and do not post directly to the Newsgroup. Thanks.

A UE Fralthi

You Should Be In Pictures

Poll-Vaulting Forward

Eve: The Second Genesis - 33.4%
Jumpgate - 31.8%
Hoping for another Wing Commander - 10.4%
3rd World - 6.2%
Earth and Beyond - 4.6%
FreeLancer - 4.0%
None - 3.2%
Hoping for another Privateer - 2.7%
Other - 1.3%
Independence War 2 - 1.1%
Battle Isle: DarkSpace - 0.5%
Cosmic Rift - 0.0%

Like Wing Commander... But Not!

Carry This

Trivia Reminder

Academy Mirror, Episode 9

Handles Like a Brick

Nephilim Invasion!

Who is Number One?

Sweet Music

StarLancer Lives On

The Arrow Points to Yes!

WC-U, WC-Me

Did You Miss Me?

• Arrow V Take-Off (418k)
• Hellcat V Take-Off (462k)
• Thunderbolt VII Take-Off (604k)
• Excalibur Take-Off (474k)
• Longbow Take-Off (578k)
• Bombing: Freya (2.8M)
• Bombing: Hyperion (2.6M)
• Bombing: Kilrah (3.6M)
• Hobbes Holomessage (3.2M)
• Newsbrief 2 (850k)
• Newsbrief 3 (1.2M)
• Newsbrief 4 (1.6M)
• Newsbrief 5 (958k)
• Newsbrief 7 (1.4M)
• Newsbrief 8 (1.0M)
• Newsbrief 9 (241k)
• Newsbrief 10 (460k)
• Newsbrief 11 (1.3M)
• Newsbrief 12 (912k)
• Newsbrief 13 (1.0M)
• Newsbrief 14 (676k)
• Newsbrief 15 (888k)
• Newsbrief 16 (1.2M)

Purple!

Warthog Star-Lances Editor

1.0 Mentality

Sweet Little Lies

In that time Derek worked on Wing Commander: Prophecy, writing an original script for the project entitled Wing Commander: Prophecies. He later helped to adapt some of its content into the final version of the game.

All Hail Garri-Ot

RPGDot: What kind of games can we expect from you in the future? Who owns the rights of the Ultima and Wing Commander series? If it is EA - will you consider to buy them back or have you even done this already?

Richard Garriott: EA owns Ultima and Wing Commander. I own Lord British. Lord British has left Britannia, and will be visiting new worlds soon. EA would not likely sell me anything that would help me compete with them.

RPGDot: And the unevitable question: Will there be an Ultima 10 (by you)? If so, will it be single player or MMORPG? Will it conclude the known storyline? And how about Underworld 3 or a new Wing Commander?

Richard Garriott: I seriously doubt that there will be another Ultima, Wing commander or even an Underworld. But, you never know what EA might do with those trademarks. On the other hand, the new team of expatriates and I do expect to continue in the stylistic vein which made those properties great!

The Assault Begins

Fantastic Music Update #6

• Engage (0:44, .7 mb)
• So, You Think You've Won (0:52, .8 mb)

Find a Penny

WCZone Blues?

Daily Bread

Happy Birthday LOAF!

Fantastic Music Update #5

• Fight to the Finish (0:49, 1.1 mb)
• Hazardous Duty (2:59, 4.3 mb)
• Mission to Alien Space (1:47, 2.5 mb)
• Intense Combat (0:57, 1.3 mb)

That's A-Polling

It's About the Music

What do tracks would you fans want if EA lets Oldziey do an Orchestral CD? I'm listing a few below, if you can't think of the name (if its one of the existing MP3s), then tell the SPECIFIC scene in either WC 3, 4, or Prophecy.

1.) Opening Credits to Wing Commander 3, straight through to the landing on the Victory
2.) Scene where Prince Thrakhath sends the Heart of the Tiger Message in Wing Commander 3
3.) A single track for all the inflight music from WC3, including the Launch theme, the scamble theme and the landing theme, all orchestrated as if it were a film score. (In other words, isnt 4 minutes of 30 second cues, 2 seconds of silence, music cue, etc...the music compeltely flows)
4.) Breifing Music with Tolwyn over Project: Behemoth
5.) The Bar Music from WC3
6.) Briefing with Eisen before the Final Mission
7.) Melody of all the Bridge / Gunnery Station / Flight Station theme
8.) The Final Mission Theme
9.) Destruction of Kilrah / Meeting Melek / Kilrathi Truce
10.) WC 3 End Title Credits
11.) Opening Credits to WC4
12.) A track of all the WC4 inflight music orchestrated in the same way as track 3
13.) "The Milk Run" - Combination of the tracks where Catscratch is attacked by Confed forces over a satalite extraction. It plays the in-flight, the succeed and the failure music and score during the chewing out of Catscratch and Maniac on the Deck of the Intrepid.
14.) The Death of Vagabond
15.) The Arrival of the St Helens
16.) Arrival at Telemon
17.) Confronting Tolwyn / War Averted / Tolwyn Dies
18.) End Titles from WC4
19.) Combination of all the In-Flight music from WC Prophecy

The final track is a special one. George has said its a good idea, but he's so busy, he's not sure if he could do it. I asked him if he does do a WC Orchestral CD, to write one or maybe two new peices to some of the WC novels. I'd like to hear his version of the Battle of Earth, the Final Battle in "End Run" or the Cloak Chase in "Fleet Action"

Choose Your Own Fan Project

As you may or may not know Wing Commander Marine Corps (one of the first fan project ipos) is barely progressing, this is due to lack of time and general bad leadership on my side. That is why I would like to step down as leader and hand the horn to someone else. Someone who can get the project back on the rails and lead it to success since I see that I won't be able to acheive that. I would still like to be a prt of the project but that can be discussed to anyone who cares to contact me. He who does will receive all the information and progress we have booked so far. So if you are intrested in leading the grandpa of all projects please contact me at ac.noordegraaf@quicknet.nl

Tanj!

Make a Cent, Part 2

I plan to publish a complete assembly manual and parts list, as well as draft assembly pages on each part that will need to be crafted from bulk material, such as some of the framing work will need to be crafted by the builder, unless a model company buys the idea and pre-manufactures the individual pieces. The frame itself will be quite a task to build since it must be able to withstand flight wind loads, and hold everything inside. Pictures and small documents will be posted at my web site and hopefully here at the CIC news pages. I have the wireframe file donated by one of the WCTC memebers (dreaddnott)and once I get this wireframe file to a format where I can print it out and blow up the print, I can begin to build the frame pieces. The frame may consist of both balsa wood parts and aluminum tubing, probably the aluminum tubing will be the "keel" and main hard points of the model.

Once completed, the hull will consist of the same thin plastic sheet material used on regular RC planes, lightweight and strechable, and of course, painted grey. Retractable landing gear with landing lights and navigation lights on the wingtips and belly. On board cameras will provide a "pilots point of view" from inside the cockpit complete with a cockpit pannel that will resemble the cockpit from the game.

A second camera, mounted just in front of the nose landing gear will provide an extra view during landings and take offs. The engine in consideration for this model will probably be a small "weedeater" type engine, a 2 cycle gas engine, since regular "cox" engines might not be powerfull enough.

Air will be pulled into the 4 engine nozzles and ducted out the same nozzels to the rear. The tail fins on top will be slightly larger in hight to allow for a rudder control surface, plus increased stabalization. The delta wing will keep its shape, except for a slight increase in thickness from the front edge of the wing and narrowing towards the back. Each wing will have a full length alieron control surface with two functions, one for roll and turn, the other function will serve as flaps and or elevator assistance during take offs and landings. All that will be wind tested using large industrial fans.

Just a small detail of what the project will require and I estimate that the framework alone will take a few months to complete, mostly due to drafting each part after test fitting, then draw up the part full size and document the process. By the time its all said and done, it will be like the assembly instructions found in other model kits, except for the model itself, but the book will have a complete listing of all the materials you will need, plus detailed instructions on cutting each part from those raw materials, radio and servo parts listings and where to find those parts, recommended engine types as well as complete wind test data.

Crius.Popular

The Universe Gets a Home

Taking on the Classics

First of all, I've chosen to do all the work by myself. I've been editing games since 97 and something I learned is that it's better to depend on others as little as you can. The downside to that is that this mod can take a really long time to be finished, but I don't really mind, after all, I'm doing this more for the kicks I get out of doing it than for the desire of seeing it finished.

Now for the mod itself. It'll take place along the frontier systems of Gemini and Vega, around the year 2663. I've got the plot pretty organized in my head (nothing too epic, I never liked that type of plot). I haven't decided for sure which engine I'm going to use, though I'm partial to the XWA engine for now. However, I still need to make 12 more craft, so by then, if there's a better engine out, I'll use it. (If someone has got any suggestions, let me know!!!) Depending on the engine chosen, I plan to include as most weapons from WC1-WC2 as I can. I've also got a list of the ships that will be in the mod. The list may change, but it probably won't. There's not many ships, I know, but I gotta be realistic about what I can do (so it's gonna be quality over quantity, I hope). Well here's the list:

Flyable craft: Ferret, Rapier G, Raptor
Other confed craft: Drayman, Gilgamesh, Bengal, Starbase
Enemy/civilian craft: Talon, Sartha, Dralthi, Krant, Jalthi, Drayman, Dorkir, Ralari, Fralthi
(That accounts for 16 craft total)

Now I've already wrote too much, so let me wrap it up. I'd like you guys to give me all the feedback you can, and also, if someone wants to help me perfect the storyline, or make textures, please let me know. Most of all, suggestions of which engine to use are appreciated.

I think that's all.... hope someone gets interested by all of this :-P

If anyone wants any of the models, I'm willing to send it to you, as long as I get credit (of course), and maybe some other model I'm in need of (I like to base my models on more primitive ones, just to have a 3D reference). Just email me at eder_hc@terra.com.br if you're interested.

Two potential problems, though...

The models are about 700-1000 faces (triangles and quadrangles (does that word even exist? english is not my forte )). Your engine better have some endurance (For instance I don't think SO has any ships with this number of faces)

The models are in Rhino 3D format. I can easily convert them to most formats, but you'll most likely have to re-do about all of the textures. They were applied to the models once they were already in XWA format, and therefore, the application of textures is done quite a bit differently from other formats I know (in truespace for instance it's done totally different).

To Jump or to Jump Differently?

Flight Commander Released!

I'm proud to announce the first public beta of Flight Commander. Flight Commander is a Wing Commander 3d combat game engine written by a fan. Features include

• OpenGl acceleration.
• Takeoff and landing cutscenes.
• Nebula and planets in the background.
• All fighters from Prophecy, Wc3, Wc4, Armada, WC1 and many capships.
• A graphical mission editor.
• Easy editing for ship stats, guns, and missiles.
• Music and sound effects.
• Explosions.
• Automatic detection of newly installed campaigns.
• An AI.

Get all the fun at http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~eddieb/fc/

Please email any questions, or campaigns :), to eddieb@ucla.edu.

What's really needed now is Wing Commander experts to help create stats for ships and weapons.

RFBurn's Two Cents

Hi CIC! This is RF Burns, I just wanted to inform the CIC about my project in the works regarding a Radio Controlled flyable model of the Centurion fighter from Privateer. I requested a wireframe drawing in the fan projects forum and got a response from one of the team members of the WCTC project. Once I get the wireframe drawing, I will begin construction of the Centurion fighter. I wanted to give the CIC a "heads up" notice since I will be taking pictures of the construction process and wind tests, as well as the maiden test flight (video). This model will feature on board CCD color cameras for front cockpit view as well as rear and belly views. The camera inside the cockpit will pivot to allow views from a pilots prospective. When viewed from the cockpit camera, the pannel will look just like the cockpit pannel in the game. This project will take quite some time to complete, since most of the time involved will be wind testing the control surfaces as well as testing the lift capabilities of the delta shape wing and slightly increased size of the vertical fins on the back of the Centurion (vertical stabalizers/rudders). Since the Centurion has a delta shape wing, there shouldnt be any need for elevator control surfaces, that will be handled by the alierons and helper fins mounted on the sides and just under and forward of the cockpit.

When the construction process starts, I will send the CIC notice and a series of pictures of that process.

Thank you for your time!

Taking on the Universe

I wish to create a Privateer 3 if you will, only it will be unlike any game you have ever played, or will ever play, it will be based entirely off of the Wing Commander Series, It will be set durinng the Terran-Kilrathi War. What makes this ambitious is that within the game, you will be able to go ANYWHERE IN THE ENTIRE WING COMMANDER UNIVERSE! It will have the entire universe map from Prophecy fully integrated into it. You will be able to buy almost anyship you were allowed to fly in the Wing Commander games as well as a few Kilrathi ships you weren't, I loved the Wing Commander cockpits (didn't we all), so I'm going to bring them back, I will also include the option to switch off the cockpits if you prefer that. The game will allow the player great freedom, yet it will adhere strictly to the Wing Commander timeline, there will be a dating system used, so if you were to visit say, the Goddard colony on a date before it was destroyed, you would find the Goddard colonists peacefully going about there business, you would even be able to land there, but if you visited Goddard after that terrible day in history, you would find it levelled! I will also make it so that if you visit Goddard on the exact date it was destroyed, you will get to see the colony get completely levelled! This sort of history in your face style, will be used throughout the game, If you happened to be in the system where the Behemoth is test firing, you will see it level a planet, at the same time you will told to leave the system immediately by Confed pilots patrolling the surrounding area. You will be able to purchase guns, and upgrades for your ship, you will even be able to go to the BLACK MARKET! where you will be able to purchase items deemed illegal by confed, There will be a bounty hunters, and merchants guilds as well as others when I've decided on them, there may even be a Pirate's guild. It will be based off of the privateer style game, but it will use a completely new engine with full 3d graphics and sound, I have yet to decide if I will include characters, You will be able to hire your services out to confed, private owners, pirates, even the Kilrathi, yes this game will take the privateer concept even further, you will be able to work for the Kilrathi against the rest of Humanity! I need lot's of help with this game, I need researchers, programmers, graphics artists, anyone who can donate stuff is welcome, I will continually work on this project, I will not let it die. It is my wish to see Wing Commander thrive, and with this game I hope to achieve that goal, I would like to make it multiplayer comatible, and maybe even in the far off future make it into a fully online game, I don't think it would be feasible but.... I am already designing artwork for the game, so if anyone can donate stuff........ I need cockpits people, lot's of cockpit's I have them for terran wing commander 2 ships, and I can get them for Wing Commander 1 it will take some time though, I would like to get some wing commander 3 cockpits as well as some Kilrathi ones, I would like to use the existing privateer 1 and wing commander 1&2 cockpit's, but I also need wing commander 3 cockpit's I want all the cockpit's to have the same detail level, which means I need to either downgrade the Wing commander 3 cockpit's or else upgrade the wing commander 1&2 cockpits. I have got all the planets ready, I have a mesh of earth and one of Kilrah, any other planets can be created with the Axion planet shader plugin for truespace 4.3 It generates planets quickly and easily. I think that's about it. Anyone who want's to help just e-mail me at Darkmage50@start.com.au

I am deadly serious about this project. If I can get ptogrammers and artists to help me I will go ahead with this. If you think you can help at all, then PLEASE CONTACT ME!

Happy Sixth!

Build a Better Raptor

Give me a Sign

Invasion Inspired

Modding the Mod

There is a tiny problem with the weapons pack, any ship that is listed as a heavy cruiser will crash the game if it is blown up -- so you have to go to HeavyCruiser.shp and look for shipclass and change it to CLASS_Destroyer or CLASS_Carrier so that it doesn't screw the game up. Do this in both R1 and R2 files. The Broadsword is still the non correct version where the side turrets don't fire correctly, but that is the way they appear in the mod, if you really want, within a few days I can attempt to correct the problem for you.

Trivia 3, Week 25

Welcome to Game Three, Week Twenty-Five Trivia. We play each week. Every Monday two main questions and one bonus question are posted to alt.games.wing-commander and listed at the CIC. Please email answers to CReid1701@aol.com or ChrisReid@wcnews.com. Be sure to include a name you would like to be known under for the Scoreboard that will be up soon. Have your answers in before this coming Sunday (April 22, 2001) to ensure your answers are recorded. Answers submitted early may be returned and you may be able to fix incorrect answers, time permitting. Main questions answered correctly are good for 5 points, bonuses good for 3.

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Answers to Questions for Week 24 (starting April 9, 2001):

Question 47: What was a Terran planet with research facilities that was infiltrated by the Kilrathi in the 2650's?
Answers Included: McAuliffe & Greenhouse

Question 48: What was a Kilrathi planet with research facilities that was screwed up by Kilrathi in the 2650's?
Answers Included: Ghorah Khar & Repleetah

Bonus 24: What was a Terran planet with research facilities that had information stolen and sold back for ransom in the 2660's?
Answer: Oxford

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New Questions for Week 25 (starting April 16, 2001):

Question 49: What is a Confederation Cruiser that carries half as many antimatter guns as a Confederation Class Dreadnought?

Question 50: What is a Confederation Cruiser that carries three times as many Heavy Plasma Cannons as a Hades Class Strike Cruiser?

Bonus 25: What is a Confederation Cruiser that carries twice as many torpedo points as a Vindicator Class Medium Fighter?

Submissions are due by April 22, 2001.

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Please email answers to ChrisReid@wcnews.com and do not post directly to the Newsgroup. Thanks.

Jolly Bengal

High-Res Carriers

Invasion Plus?

Fun Fiction

Background Characters

Happy Easter

Trivia Reminder

Unknown Enemy Shot!(s)

Academy Mirror, Episode 8

SubSpace Sounds

All Your Moon-Base Are Belong to Garriott

Do you think that when Chris Roberts' Wing Commander games were released, that an overly-inflated budget standard was introduced?

No. They were already going up. Chris just led the pack!

Fantastic Music Update #4

• Track 2 - General Music (1:57, 2.3 mb)
• Track 3 - Winning Endgame (0:36, .7 mb)
• Track 4 - Losing Endgame (0:28, .5 mb)
• Track 5 - Carrier Destroyed (0:34, .7 mb)
• Track 6 - General Music (2:49, 3.4 mb)

Invasion Special Edition

Right, because I know there will be alot of true hardcore Wing Commander players who may very well try the mod, I think I'll let manic work his magic and create a completely seperate patch which will bring a more authentic canon feeling to the game. The patch won't be a huge file (at least not as large as the main project anyway), and you'll still need to download the original mod anyway, but it will give you the choice of playing with either style. I'm also tempted to include two types of AI profile, as well. One will be the normal AI which I'll try to make as good as possible but the other will be an advanced cheating AI which will try to give a more pressured game. Although, this won't be done until the final version of the mod, it will most liekly be included.

Hopes for Music

After this whole send up of the WC4 cut scene score, I'd like to point out something...

There is a fanproject going on called Project Majestic Mix. It's pretty much a few guys taking the fan's favorites from the Final Fantasy series and putting the songs to different arrangements, from Orchestral to Techno.

The Majestic Mix site is http://www.kfssstudios.com/music.php3

I think we, as fans, need to get a few things. Possibly bother Oldziey into giving us sheet music to his WC music.
I think we need to grab one or two people in the WC fandom that can read sheet music and have them arrange it...maybe we could get someone's high school band to play it? Even the scramble theme from WC3 would be easy...all it is is percussion and brass which is practically all HS bands are.

If we fans want an orchestrated peice, we need to obther Origin and see if they'll give us the rights and maybe 2% of money. Of course this'll cost money, you fool! Everything these days costs money, and the bill might be high, but we'll never know unless we give it a shot...

Get Into the Zone

Still can't connect to WCZone's SubSpace server? You can manually add it to favorites.lst by editing in these two lines...

ExS Wing Commander,64.39.31.224,5800
#Wing Commander Zone

Pretty (Slow) Little Fighter

Instructing the Masses

In the spirit of seeing some _glorious_ lego models up, I scanned in my age old lego designs that I still have sitting in my room...

These are step-by-step lego instructions for all you Lego maniacs (note the relation to Todd Marshall) to build all your favorite ships from Epees to Excals...from Hellcats to Hornets from Arrows to Stilettos (I'm very proud of the Hornet... considering it is such a hard ship to make of Lego)... Hope you enjoy and post 'em... and anyone who has trouble fabricating them IRL should E-mail me...I'd take digicam pix, but I don't have physical access to anything but the plans I drew up right now--maybe in the future...

• Ferret & Hellcat
• Tigershark & Panther
• Arrow & Stiletto
• Hornet & Excalibur
• Hellcat & Rapier

Invasion Progress Report

After finally getting my hands on Manics rather impressive weapons, I've added them to the project (Appologies Kosh, but this was discussed previously with other parties). I've not added the ODF's which Manic included though as theres a few things which some people may not like (I assume that Evil will most likely have a go at me about this), and before anyone whinges at me, about me making this decision, it can always be changed, or a second version of the mod (which would use these figures and be more realistic), can be created. The current tech research is fully working but I won't give details as to what they are though. Also the final structure that the Confederation will be using is a Battle Station which is being kept completely secret and only the team will know what it is before everyone else. Suffice as to say it should be able to take out a large fleet on its own. Furthermore, the missile turret now works better, and although its not 100% how I would like it, it'll do. Problem is, is the missile weapons for the fighters/capital ships will have to wait, as I don't think the actual missile weapon won't work due to game restrictions, and I've contacted Westworld1 concerning this. Finally, I've recently received three of the 8 capital ships I require to finish of the Confeds capital ship list. Please be advised that its unlikely there will be more than three carriers, unless Wildcat wants otherwise.

WC in Passing

"Gameplay is still sketchy, but AQUANOX seems to be shaping up like a deep-sea WING COMMANDER/PRIVATEER, with players cast as a mercentary earning cash to purchase a variety of upgrades for their zippy submarines." (Hot Shots, p. 25)

"Because Volition is making [SUMMONER]. The same team who helped create DESCENT when the world was enamored with the 2D-ness of DOOM. The same people who crafted FREESPACE 2 and showed that you didn't need X-Wings or Kilrathi in order to have a great space sim." (Previews, p. 54)

"I'm only 21, and have been computer gaming for, what - 12, 14 years now? I could revel in the nostalgia, through many of the older games (ZORK, WING COMMANDER, and others) I had not played until years after their respective release dates." (Letters, p. 15)

Fantastic Music Update #3

• Wing Commander IV - Main Title, Space Ambush and Combat (4:15, 4.1 mb)
• Wing Commander IV - The Borderworlds (1:46, 1,7 mb)
• Telamon, The Dead Planet (1:14, 1.2 mb)
• Blair and Tolwyn Prepare for Battle (1:08, 1.1 mb)
• Confronting Tolwyn, War Averted, Tolwyn's Death (5:01, 4.8 mb)

Reset Your Zone!

Armadables

Lego My Bengal

Freelancer on the Rebound

A Whole New Frontier

Giving the Tiger Its Claws

A Game to Try

SMUGGLERS is a strategy-trading game for PC Windows. Play as a smuggler, pirate, trader or soldier in a science-fiction universe.

Smuggling is a tough business. You have to be careful not to run up too huge depts to the loan sharks, evade the planets military and make still a profit - fast! SMUGGLERS takes you to a fascinating tour into a growing science fiction world. Which role you choose is up to you. You can be a true smuggler, a common trader, a bounty-hunter, a pirate or even join the military.

"You maybe won't believe me, but I am addicted to this game" Avatar, one of our betatesters.

SMUGGLERS is a strategy-trading game for PC Windows. Its featuring a game of ultimate freedom of choice. Nobody is telling you how to play the game. You decide which challenges to face. Nothing is impossible in SMUGGLERS. Its action ranges from peaceful trading to attacking whole planets with large battleships.

Awards and top ten ratings:
On 3th April 2001:
Filemine.com: Smugglers got the JEWEL award and is listed on the front page. "Smugglers is a very fun game that calls for a bit of skill and ingenuity on your part." - Matt Tribe (tribbe@fuse.net) in the official filemine review.
FileTransit.com: Smugglers rated 5 of 5 stars. On spot 6 of the top 10 downloads and on spot 9 of the top 10 rated.
SuperShareware.com: Smugglers on spot 7 in the top 10 (from 11293 applications)

Vega Strike Lights Up

I finished a really complex lighting system (in addition to the multitexturing) that can support arbitrary numbers of point source and directional lights using an optimal number of hardware lights...the lighting effects should be top of the line and accelerated!

Additionally I finished adding Triangle Strips and Traingle fans (as well as quad strips) to the model format, so a model optimizer and tesselator are both pending. (expect curved surfaces also!)

ashieh has put tremendous work on the game physics and multiplayer expandability. and has almost completed a preliminary AI that will almost do what you click it to... He uses quaternion rotations, etc to compute physics between physics frames. So all is certainly not lost, and expect a really cool demo out as soon as I get help compiling it in windows with VC++!

Bengal RTS Redux

More Free Space

Another Academy Mirror

• Episode 1 - Red & Blue (66,466k)
• Episode 2 - The Last One Left (64,092k)
• Episode 3 - The Most Delicate Instrument (62,812k)
• Episode 4 - Word of Honor (68,996k)
• Episode 5 - Lords of the Sky (60,432k)
• Episode 6 - Chain of Command (64,846k)
• Episode 7 - Expendable (75,868k)
• Episode 8 - Recreation (66,698k)
• Episode 9 - Walking Wounded (70,538k)
• Episode 10 - On Both Your Houses (67,298k)
• Episode 11 - Invisible Enemy (58,880k)
• Episode 12 - The Price of Victory (63,248k)
• Episode 13 - Glory of Sivar (67,618k)

Hail to the King

GS: For years, Origin has been known as a spring board into the industry. How do you feel about having been a part of "seeding" the industry with extremely talented people like Harvey Smith, Warren Spector and Chris Roberts?

RG: Very proud to help them learn and grow and yet also often sad to see them leave the fold.

Invasion Makes a Big Bang

Even a Militant Poet Could Do It

Welcome to the TCS Mountain Dew, Cadet...

''We started in-game advertising for the first time in December, and we generated a couple million dollars of revenue with that,'' EA president John Riccitiello told a crowd at a European multimedia conference in February. ''Our expectation is, we'll cover the cost of the games where we do the in-game advertising, partly because of the large audience we're able to realize.'' (EA declined to clarify the comment or provide more details of its in-game advertising strategy.)

Video Free Europe

Trivia 3 Week 24

Trivia is played each week. Every Monday two main questions and one bonus question are posted to alt.games.wing-commander and listed at the CIC. Please email answers to ChrisReid@wcnews.com. Be sure to include a name you would like to be known under for the Scoreboard that will be up soon. Have your answers in *before* this coming Sunday (April 15, 2001) to ensure your answers are recorded. Answers submitted early may be returned and you may be able to fix incorrect answers, time permitting. Main questions answered correctly are good for 5 points, bonuses good for 3. And get ahold of me as soon as possible if your Week 22 submission was lost in our email troubles so we can work something out.

Answers to Questions for Week 23 (starting April 2, 2001):

Question 45: What was something that K'Kai did to save a great many lives?
Most Popular Answer Topic: She joined Hunter, Paladin and others to rescue a large group of important Firekkan hostages shortly after the 2655 Sivar Eshrad ceremony.

Question 46: What was something that Grayson Burrows did to save a great many lives?
Most Popular Answer Topic: He was able to destroy the Steltek Drone that was actively rampaging behind him across Gemini Sector in 2669.

Bonus 23: What was something that Duke Grecko did to save a great many lives?
Most Popular Answer Topic: He stayed behind to guard and initiate an antimatter mine in the center of a Hakaga Supercarrier in Sol System that was part of a massive assault.

The Questions

New Questions for Week 24 (starting April 9, 2001):

Question 47: What was a Terran planet with research facilities that was infiltrated by the Kilrathi in the 2650's?

Question 48: What was a Kilrathi planet with research facilities that was screwed up by Kilrathi in the 2650's?

Bonus 24: What was a Terran planet with research facilities that had information stolen and sold back for ransom in the 2660's?

Please email answers to ChrisReid@wcnews.com by April 15, 2001.

The Zone Today

Big Green Gun

Crazy Pictures

Missed The Last Mission?

Flight Commanded

Line Held

New UE Shots

We're Big Fans

You begged and you pleaded... and we finally updated our fan projects section! It's got an all new look... and an all new URL! www.wcnews.com/fanprojects... with the latest information on the greatest Wing Commander fan projects. Each one now has its own page -- and we ask project heads to e-mail us any requested changes.

Trivia Reminder

WCA Mirror - All

• Episode 1 - Red & Blue (66,466k)
• Episode 2 - The Last One Left (64,092k)
• Episode 3 - The Most Delicate Instrument (62,812k)
• Episode 4 - Word of Honor (68,996k)
• Episode 5 - Lords of the Sky (60,432k)
• Episode 6 - Chain of Command (64,846k)
• Episode 7 - Expendable (75,868k)
• Episode 8 - Recreation (66,698k)
• Episode 9 - Walking Wounded (70,538k)
• Episode 10 - On Both Your Houses (67,298k)
• Episode 11 - Invisible Enemy (58,880k)
• Episode 12 - The Price of Victory (63,248k)
• Episode 13 - Glory of Sivar (67,618k)

Not Something to Miss...ion

Invasion Rolls out the Big Guns

Fleet Action Rolls out the Big Guns

I have decided that I will work on the MSs later when I get a turrets person and pay more attention to the fighter side of things. Yes, there is a Behemoth in the works, but it will be released near the end of the mod.

I don't need any more models for the Dralthi Mk1/2 as the proximity sensors wont fire if weapons are added, however, I MIGHT use the Hornet and Dralthi, but without weapons, which is unfortunate. I, for one, would like to have a scout ship which can do combat.

I still need turret people. Also a Sivar model, Dreadnaught model, Saber, etc. Head to the site for ship details. (NOTE: Ship list will change.) Contact me if you can help.

View shiplist

Newcommanderondablock

Help a Role Playing Game

Currently working on a conversion of the Wing Commander Universe to the ALTERNITY Roleplaying game, to eventually be placed in www.alternity.net. Could anyone who could give me a hand (timelines, extra info, theories, *especially* drawings of the ships and aliens!!!) mail me at this address?

It should be fraggin' cool, and roleplayers will love it, *especially* the part I've got down for the future... *grins*

All At Once!

• Episode 1 - Red & Blue (66,466k)
• Episode 2 - The Last One Left (64,092k)
• Episode 3 - The Most Delicate Instrument (62,812k)
• Episode 4 - Word of Honor (68,996k)
• Episode 5 - Lords of the Sky (60,432k)
• Episode 6 - Chain of Command (64,846k)
• Episode 7 - Expendable (75,868k)
• Episode 8 - Recreation (66,698k)
• Episode 9 - Walking Wounded (70,538k)
• Episode 10 - On Both Your Houses (67,298k)
• Episode 11 - Invisible Enemy (58,880k)
• Episode 12 - The Price of Victory (63,248k)
• Episode 13 - Glory of Sivar (67,618k)

WCDC Returns

Fralthi 2 Bengal

Action Problems

I am currently working on the Confed MS and am having probs.
1. When ships dock, they go in on an angle.
2. When ships launch, 2 things happen.
- They dont finish launching (stop in one spot)
- They become phantom ships (invisible)
3. The MS doesnt fire. I might have 2 get rid of the phase cannon (there will still be a mesh for it)
4. Cap ships will, unfortunantly, have to appear below the MS and carrier. What would it be like if you saw a huge capship appear out of its hull?

I have decided about the connie/dreadnaught sizes. I will 1/2 the dreadnaught size and make the Connie about the same size as the new dreadnaught. 1 km long ship against a 22 km long ship? I doubt it.

I am reviewing the shiplist and are still having trouble with some ships (eg, Behemoth/Sivar and defence/drone frig). am looking for ideas.

I have started work on the Confed prox sensor and it is now the Hornet fighter. I need a model of a Dralthi Mk I. If anyone has one, send it to Newcommanderondablock@hotmail.com

Chat SubSpace in Style

Derek Chester Update

Thank you for your interest in Star Trek Bridge Commander. Unfortunately, all the information I have is what he included this text as part of his "biography." Derek has been working with D.C. Fontana on spicing up our script and characters for Bridge Commander. Both were hired directly by Activision and were referred by Paramount.

I don't lay claim to any other information about his part or present but have forwarded your concerns to our producer at Activision.

Thank you again for your interest in Bridge Commander,

Peter Leahy
Totally Games

Cover Your Rips

Carly Gone

LumtheMad's reports that Carly "LadyMOI" Staehlin is leaving Origin -- possibly for another job elsewhere with Electronic Arts. Some may remember Carly as Origin's online rep several years ago -- she helped us through quite a few problems here at the CIC -- so we wish her the best of luck. She's replaced as produced by Rick Hall. Well, that's one less reason to go to the next Worlds Faire.

SubSpace Finds Home

Trivia 3 Week 23

Welcome to Game Three, Week Twenty-Three Trivia. We play each week. Every Monday two main questions and one bonus question are posted to alt.games.wing-commander and listed at the CIC. Please email answers to CReid1701@aol.com or ChrisReid@wcnews.com. Be sure to include a name you would like to be known under for the Scoreboard that will be up soon. Have your answers in before this coming Sunday (April 8, 2001) to ensure your answers are recorded. Answers submitted early may be returned and you may be able to fix incorrect answers, time permitting. Main questions answered correctly are good for 5 points, bonuses good for 3.

-------
Answers to Questions from Week 22 (starting March 26, 2001):

Question 43: What is a major warship that participated in a joint operation with the TCS Tiger's Claw?
Answers Included: TCS Austin & TCS Kyoto

Question 44: What is a major warship that participated in a joint operation with the TCS Gettysburg?
Answers Included: TCS Concordia & TCS Wolfhound

Bonus 22: What is a major warship that participated in a joint operation with the TCS Cerberus?
Answers Included: TCS Tereshkova & TCS Midway

------
New Questions for Week 23 (starting April 2, 2001):

Question 45: What was something that K'Kai did to save a great many lives?

Question 46: What was something that Grayson Burrows did to save a great many lives?

Bonus 23: What was something that Duke Grecko did to save a great many lives?

Submissions are due by April 8, 2001.

Get ahold of me as soon as possible if your Week 22 submission was lost in our email troubles so we can work something out.

------
Please email answers to ChrisReid@wcnews.com and do not post directly to the Newsgroup. Thanks.

Fantastic Musical Update #1

Track 1 - Wing Commander 2 (26:03) - 21,492k

• Main Theme (Cloak & Dagger) - The Fatman
• The Flight Deck - Dana Glover
• Angel Devereaux - Dana Glover
• Tolwyn's Office - The Fatman
• Poker - Floyd Domino & David Sanger
• Midgame - Dana Glover & Martin Galaway
• Jazz's Escape - The Fatman
• Off Duty - Dana Glover
• The Bridge - Dana Glover
• Jazz's Storm Clouds - Nenad Vugrimed
• Prince Thrakhath's Theme - Dana Glover & Martin Galway

• Fanfare - The Main Theme - Dave Govet
• Swing Commander - The Fatman
• Briefing - The Fatman
• Scramble - The Fatman
• Flying to Dogfight - The Fatman
• Regular Combat - Dave Govet
• Heroes Funeral - Dave Govet

Fantastic Musical Update #2

Wing Commander: Prophecy Mp3's!
-------------------------------

Wing Commander Prophecy, although breaking with some of the story traditions of the previous Wing Commander series, had a unique feel of music and mood that none of the other games captured. This pack allows you to listen to the Prophecy music files from Winamp or any other Mp3 player.

All 3 CD's worth of music is here. The quality is low because they were recorded into the game with roughly the same quality.

Thanks to HCI for his Mgi2Wav Utility and to Popsicle Pete for keeping HCI's utilities on the internet!

All music credit goes to the composer of Wing Commander Prophecies music. All copyrights are copyrighted to their respective owners.

I take credit only for the intense work of pasting together hundreds of wave files into a single file.

• CD1 - Credits (1:04) (1,008k)
• CD1 - Victory (0:07) (112k)
• CD1 - Background Music #1 (1:34) (1,480k)
• CD1 - Background Music #2 (0:46) (722k)
• CD1 - Battle #1 (0:45) (704k)
• CD1 - Battle #2 (0:46) (725k)
• CD1 - Enemies Arrive (0:04) (75k)
• CD1 - Mission Failed (1:12) (1,126k)
• CD1 - Friendly Down (0:07) (122k)
• CD1 - Victory (0:52) (825k)
• CD2 - Background Music (1:29) (1,395k)
• CD2 - Battle #1 (0:40) (634k)
• CD2 - Battle #2 (0:43) (684k)
• CD3 - Background Music (1:13) (1,149k)
• CD3 - Battle #1 (0:49) (772k)
• CD3 - Battle #2 (0:58) (909k)
• CD3 - Victory (0:56) (872k)

Starring Brack

One day as I was driving home, I spotted a familiar logo: "We Create Worlds." On a whim I applied for a QA job, never thinking I'd be lucky enough to be employed in the game industry. Imagine my surprise when two weeks later I was an Origin employee! A gamer's dream come true - well, sort of.

Four grueling months later, working seven days a week without a break, sleeping at work, and playing more Doom then I could have ever imagined possible, I helped ship my first game, Wing Commander III. Starring none other than the great Mark Hamill himself!

Invasion Review

"On April 1st 2001 the team over at Wing Commander Invasion released a Beta version of their Invasion for Star Trek Armada. They released 4 fighters, the piranha, wasp, devestator, and excalibur. The wasp has great weapons graphics. The excalibur is the only one of the four fighters that can normally survive more than 1 second in combat. The fighters are well made and look great. On their forum the team states that they are currently working to produce non-standard st:armada weapons for their fighters.

They also released 4 capitol ships. A Murphy Class Destroyer which is very very well done. As well as a Hades Class that cannot build fighters but unfortunatly has the problem of being mis-named Cerberus Class. The next is a Plunkett in design but again has been mis-named Hyperion Class, unless I am missing something and they are variants of the original ships. Their is also an amazing looking Midway class ship that is capable of building all 4 fighters and the construction ship. All laser turrets and lasers are currently represented with defiant style pulse phasers.

Also released are a series of buildings. First is a starbase capable of building the construction ship, the dilithium miner/frieghter and also the Piranah fighter, which is a big help early on in a game. Next is the mining station, which serves the same purpose of the one in the original Armada. They also have a fighter shipyard which builds, yes you guessed it, fighters. The fighteryard resemballs the many shipyards seen in WC. Next comes a recon sensor which allows about 1/4 of a map to be shown, and looks like a big sensor dish. Then their is the Laser Sat which doesn't look like the laser sat from WCIV at all, and I can't think of another laser mine in the games. Their is also a capship shipyard which resembals the shipyard used to make the Vesuvius in WCIV. Finally they have an "outpost" which builds the fighters, the murphy, and the construction ship. It is also armed with some pulse phasers.

Overall the Mod is quite well done with only the few naming errors that I mentioned. I hold high hopes for the future releases that have been promised. This is Napoleon Signing off"

Slip SLediting Away

Some Guy Who Didn't Write Prophecy

Derek has been writing in the television and computer game industries for the last six years. In that time Derek has worked on the famed Wing Commander series, writing the original script for Wing Commander: Prophecy, as well as partaking in the mission design of the game. Derek also worked on a potential Battlestar Galactica title that was later discontinued but may some day see the light of day.

Trivia Reminder/Alert

Invasion Beta Released

L33t Action

WCA Mirror - Episode 7

WCNews Announces Cutbacks

Today, WCNEWS.com announced staff reductions to our online website that will put us on a quicker path to further non-profitability. I want to make sure that everyone understands the scope and the context of these actions.

The acquisition of Crius.net put us two years ahead of our goal of never being able to apply for a home-loan. Crius.net is a free e-mail service that has been judged by The New Crius Examiner to be a free e-mail service. Integrating that content and expertise into our site resulted in some duplication in our Cpl Hades, ChrisReid, Hadrian, ace and KrisV positions. The headcount reductions announced today for those people reflect that consolidation.

Secondly, we've decided to dedicate more focus on the Chat Zone. After pioneering the Wing Commander dedicated Chat Zone in 1996, the CZ continues to amaze us by generating stupider and stupider threads about how dumb Tolwyn's cape looks in Wing 2. Rather than create any content that might compete with the CZ, we'll dedicate our resources to improving the core page. This is best displayed with our all new "Pretty Pink" CZ layout.

WCNews.com/Crius is now one of the most popular space-sim sites on the internet -- not just among Wing Commander sites, but among giants like ATFW and that StarLancer site whose name nobody can remember. When we introduce richly entertaining offerings like pictures of Kerri-Lee, the ChrisReid Dance and cheap ads for ace's music, the result is going to impress a lot of people.

In the next few weeks, I'll continue to do things that will make you wonder how the hell I got this job.

Ben

WCA Mirror - Episode 7

Supreme Court Rules on Privateer 2 Issue

Akkbar Still Sucks