Simpsons Style Thrakhath Sketched Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we've got an absolutely phenomenal drawing by EmuMusicFan. It features Prince Thrakhath depicted in the style of The Simpsons. I'll let the image speak for itself at this point, because it's pretty perfect! Emu teases that Maniac is coming soon...
A Discord discussion a few weeks ago resulted in EmuMusicFan drawing a Simpsons version of Prince Thrakhath and I have to share it because it's just great.

Your Daily Infoburst on Barbara Miles Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Alright it's 1 AM and there's no action on Twitter so you're pretty much stuck with this post about the news mechanic that was from Wing Commander III. That's right, I've got... BARBARA MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP!

If you've played Wing Commander III you may remember Barbara Miles from the intro, where Mark Hamill's Colonel Blair watches a news story about doomsday evacuations on an enormous iPad. Now that's what I call a bezel! The script for this is neat and doesn't mention 2001: BLAIR IS SEATED AND LOOKING AT A SMALL “NEWS-SCREEN” (SIMILAR TO A SUBNOTEBOOK OR PDA) ON HIS LAP OR IMBEDDED IN THE SEAT IN FRONT OF HIM. (THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF HAVING BEEN GIVEN A NEWSPAPER BY A FLIGHT ATTENDANT.) This brief bit is a fun example of how folks writing novelization add themselves to a script. The scene plays the news story straight but Andrew Keith adds an inner monologue where Blair thinks the idea is stupid. There's a rumor Diane Carey was fired from writing Star Trek novels after she was caught doing this in an Enterprise novelization. But I don't think anyone was so self conscious about Wing Commander! The weirdo hologram bit is also a good example of how writers expand scripts. Anyway, newscaster Barbara Miles is played by actress Barbara Niven, who is best known (by all of our dads) for starring in a television series called Pensacola: Wings of Gold. She would appear as Miles in both Wing Commander III and IV! Note that her last name is absolutely not the first time Wing Commander quietly painted over a Niven. (I did not start this to make this joke; I lived my entire life to this point to make this joke.) What folks who played the PC or Macintosh versions of Wing Commander III might not know is that the intro news segment was just one of sixteen that were shot for the game! Here's an example:
These videos were supposed to be accessible by the 'screen' next to the bar in the Victory's rec room (just to the right of the escort ship's drive plume). Like the midgames in the original Wing Commander, the stories would differ depending on your performance. You can even see Barbara Miles' neck in the background of some of the rec room scenes... the big TV screen is just above the wall of Wing Commander III developers on the virtual set! Folks who have played the 3DO or Playstation ports are scratching their heads right now because these videos are included! So what happened?!

The short story is that late in development the number crunchers decided that WC3 needed to unofficially support first generation CD-ROM drives. These drives could only read 63-minute CDs instead of the now-standard (and I guess defunct) 74-minute ones. So a fair amount of intended material needed to be cut late in development, which included the infamous Hobbes explanation and these videos... since the entire newsbrief system could be dropped without really touching other parts of the game.

They were added back for the console ports which was great, although they didn't all get quite enough post production. This one, for example, was supposed to have a scroll of names including any of your KIA wingmen... but instead it's just weird!
I also like the mistake in this one, where she reads the 'X' in the planet name as a letter instead of a number. (She reads it correctly in the next clip)
Even here, though, you can see some of that Chris Roberts attention to detail. Barbara Niven gets three different costumes in a game that dresses all the leads up in hot glued garbage man outfits! Niven reprises the role in Wing Commander IV with a truly wonderful 1996 CG backdrop. The Lexington crew watches her interview Admiral Tolwyn on... uh, this high tech future... hologram machine. Hey wait, why did the news channel change? I guess TCN poached her after the war. Actually, she does seem to be at opposition with the government in WC3 and repeating propaganda in WC4... so maybe she switched from FOX to MSNBC or vice versa. Total aside, the political parties in Wing Commander are Federationist and Populist. Paladin is a Federationist. What was the point of all this? Oh yeah! I've been working on an absolutely inscrutable Wing Commander III timeline that combines the novel and the game and I had just gotten to placing the newsbriefs. Here's the draft if you love colorful sheets.

Origin's Official Guide to WC3 prints a bunch of the 'cut' scenes between missions and I used that for reference as part of the process (it also has the text of the Hobbes message).

But then I discovered something I had never noticed and which I think is pretty neat: four of them aren't from the script, they're original news stories added for the guide! And one of these (the Belle Dame one) goes on to show up on the Kilrathi Saga calendar! And the lesson tonight is: absolutely just cram lore everywhere you can. Someone will find it eventually and love it. GOODNIGHT!
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Improvements Made to Lego Tiger's Claw Workhorse Fighters Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we've got updates to John Nelson's Hornet and Scimitar. He's taken a closer look at the blueprints and incorporated various feedbacks to further tweak the lines on each fighter. There have also been some decorative elements added to more closely sync up with the in-game paint schemes. John's still cooking up new WC-based designs, so we're looking forward to the next reveal!
Hello. I switched out some parts on the Hornet and Scimitar. After looking closer at the blueprints I noticed the slanted “hood” of the back fuselage on the Hornet and going back and looking at the Scimitar I saw how far up front the canopy and cockpit should be. Moving the pilot up was a no-go so some new bricks, a new canopy which resulted in some ground up reconstruction and some dark green to add to the dark gray.

I want to rework that Avenger a bit too. Don’t worry, I have at least two models I’m working on. Need to get back to one and a few more parts for the other. Please enjoy.

EA in Merger Talks With Various Tech Giants Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

It's been widely reported this week that Electronic Arts has been holding talks with various companies about a potential acquisition or merger. The possible partners that are mentioned include "Disney, Apple, Amazon, and Comcast - NBC Universal." That's quite a list of suitors, although conversations with Comcast/NBC seem to have gotten the farthest. This has come to the forefront with Microsoft's recent acquisition of Activision/Blizzard and Sony picking up Bungie. With so much consolidation in the industry this past year, EA is apparently feeling the squeeze of going it alone. As Wingnuts are well aware, EA is the primary rights holder for the Wing Commander franchise. What could this mean for the series? While it's an easy gut reaction to feel like WC could be further buried behind much more high profile IPs, I don't know that a shake up on this scale is necessarily a bad thing. Current EA leadership has been pretty content to let Wing Commander sit in the vault for such a long time that we could be better off with a new owner of the back catalog. Maybe a new company would even be open to spinning off or licensing out the series once again? It's all speculation at this point though.

The image comes from GOG's EA sale, which is still going for a couple more days! Grab the WC series for 75% off here.

French Conversion Translates Wing Commander 1 Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Greg14 has a new project to share today. Using the WC Toolbox, he's taken a run at making a French translation for the text of the original Wing Commander. He's got some refinement yet to do and is still trying to figure out how to add accent marks, but this initial pass looks great. And it's always wonderful to see fans tinkering like this after more than 31 years! A video of the translation in action is below. Let him know what you think at the CIC Forums.
You can also find a fan patch that translates WC2 into French here.

Xfinity Internet Ad Channels Spirit of the Tarsus Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

LOAF recently ran across this new advertisement for Xfinity internet service. It's a pretty mediocre 60 seconds, but the spacecraft in the beginning bears more than a passing resemblance to Privateer's Tarsus. From all angles, inside out and out, the forward cockpit section is a dead ringer for Grandpa Mack's ship! Maybe the Comcast digital artist was a Wingnut...
There’s a new Comcast commercial where it really seems like Ed Helms is flying a Tarsus. Huh, rear view door too! And his space armor is straight out of Super Wing Commander.
Side profile of the ship: And here's the full ad!

Superb Hellcat 3D Print Gives Off WCA Vibes Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Tom Roberts has posted some great photos of a Hellcat he recently 3D printed. The fighter looks fantastic and it even has a slick Confed star base. In the silvery metallic color, it also reminds me very much of the Hellcat statue we see in Wing Commander Academy. I don't own a 3D printer yet, but creations like this are seriously tempting me! The source files come from Astrofossil's collection. Check out the links to all his WC models below!

Ambiance Video Takes in the Flight Deck Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

If you thought Scribbler's WC1 ambiance series had come to an end, he's got a surprise! The flight deck has joined the bar, barracks and briefing room. He's incorporated a bit of feedback and hidden the cursor this time. Most of the sound effects revolve around the crew fixing up fighters on the deck: ratchets, sparks, carts, elevators and the like. Check it out below!
In this file we stay in the ambience of the flight deck of the TCS Tigers Claw. Intended for radio plays or playing in the background while working or falling asleep. Where you want to let your imagination run wild.

Show time. Time to start. Quickly onto the flight deck. The pilots are ready. The mission begins. And everyday life for the technicians on deck. After the pilots have started, the daily routine continues. Repair, prime and prepare the other fighters. Attention, another flight returns. Clear the deck...

Latest GOG Sale Celebrates EA's 40th Anniversary Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Good Old Games is always up for any opportunity to host a sale, and this week they are celebrating Electronic Arts' 40th birthday. The company was founded way back in 1982, and that means you get 75% off Wing Commander! There's a nice variety of other classic games being marked down too. Check them out here.

Super Nintendo History Book Profiles Wing Commander Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

AD came across a neat looking anthology that profiles some of the top games for the Super Nintendo called The SNES Pixel Book. The port of Wing Commander gets a full spread with some nice pictures and commentary. If I got a copy of this, I supposed I'd have to always casually leave it open to just this page, but it does look like there's plenty of other fun stuff in there too. You can see more sample pages and order a copy here.
Bitmap Books is proud to present The Unofficial SNES Pixel Book. Created in collaboration with German publisher Elektrospieler this lavish, 272-page volume celebrates the golden age of 16-bit gaming on Nintendo’s ultra-popular home console.

The book, which has been painstakingly translated from the original German text, features in-depth articles exploring the major genres to be found in the SNES’s huge portfolio of games. These are accompanied by tens of thousands of screenshots, specially taken, composed and selected for this volume, comprising a combination of single images, cut-outs, sprawling montages and gigantic level maps.

Taking a Closer Look at SWC/SM Ads Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

I woke up to a nice surprise from @XwingGameSeries: scans of ads for Super Wing Commander and Secret Missions SNES! I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a two page SM ad before. There’s some interesting stuff here... Look at the SWC cockpit: it doesn't look anything like any of the five in the game! It also appears non-functional, missing standardized VDUs and other displays needed. It's also obviously a bullshot, the space section is a frame pasted from the rendered intro cutscene. The final Super Wing Commander cockpits: This cutscene of a Dralthi taking off from a Snakeir doesn't appear in the finished game (it was likely cut from the intro). But I believe it the clip is still on the disc! If you're a PC veteran curious about this screenshot from the Secret Missions ad, it's from a new introduction cutscene Mindscape created especially for the port. You can watch it here. Also "Enter the dark world of the Kilrathi, where men are treated like animals!" is some real chef's kiss copywriting.

"New attack ships and weaponry are included with a new flight interface that makes it easier for novices" is some very heavy lifting. The attack ships are NPC capital ships, there's no new weaponry for the player and the new interface is just a mode lowering the damage NPCs take.

And if you like the look of that Secret Missions ad, be sure to follow @70sscifi’s ongoing yearlong thread of space helmet reflection art:

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Extremely Obscure TV Movie Features Unusual WC2 Reference Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Last week we reported about a custom arcade cabinet that appeared to be configurable with an emulated copy of Sega CD Wing Commander. That drudged up some deep memories in gr1mre4per of a 1994 Lifetime movie Children of the Dark. At the 57:50 point, it shows someone flying a WC2 Sabre in an a fake arcade box. Pretty wild! And I can't believe he was able to dig up such a deep reference...
Seeing this has reminded me of a film. It is a film from 1994 called Children Of The Dark. The story revolves around two girls who have a genetic condition that means exposure to the sun is fatal for them. They are forced to leave their town, but during their travels they can be seen playing on an arcade machine. Check out what they are playing!

Dragon and Banshee Leap off Drawing Board Into Physical World Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

We always like looking at little Wing Commander ships, and we thought you do too! Here's a couple of newbies that L.I.F. recently printed from DefianceIndustries' digital archive. These are deep cuts and date back to 2015 and 2016. These weren't originally meant to be printed, but they appear to have held up extremely well through the process. Super slick!
Since I feel the need to print all the coolest models from the community, here's how DI's Banshee and Lance look like, with minimal work done to make them printer-compatible. Thanks again, mate, for all the help you offered during these years working together!

Join Us On Discord! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The Wing Commander CIC Discord server has been a busy place lately! A lot of stories that end up here at WCNews.com start as discussions in our Discord channel #Wingnut. If you want to see how the sausage is made, this is the place to be! Of course, we don't just talk about the WC series, and most of the conversation is off topic or about other shows/movies/etc. There's also space to talk about WC mods, fan fiction and more. It's a happening place. Check it out via the invite link here!
Do you crave around-the-clock realtime Wing Commander chat? Sign up for the official WC:CIC Discord server where you’re welcome to join our chill squadron of wingmates!

This Academy Review Is More Than Ok Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Maxi de Sokar sent in this snippet of a wonderful OK PC magazine review for Wing Commander Academy. There's a lot to like in this article. First off, it's a Spanish magazine, so we get a slightly different take on early '90s Wing Commander compared to the standard fare. We got a peek at this version of Academy via DROSoft translation earlier this year. Secondly, it's a full four-page spread dedicated just to Academy. Without context, people today might blow WCA off as a simple mission builder, but at the time, this was a revolutionary way for fans to create their own missions. It was something fans were clamoring for and absolutely warranted being a standalone boxed product that people would run out and buy. At twelve years old, I put a lot of hours into mission building and loved the flexibility to pick ships and wingmen at will. Finally, from a magazine layout point of view, I like what they did by splicing up the interface into panels that highlight the customizable objects. The emphasize on the the Wraith and Jrathek is also awesome!

Feel Like You’re Back at the Office With Latest Tiger’s Claw Vid Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Part 3 of Scribbler's ambiance video series is here! This one, unsurprisingly, comes from the briefing room aboard the Tiger's Claw. While the bar has a bright fun tone and the barracks is calm and relaxing, this sequence is a bit more technically oriented. You can hear computers chirping, people typing, doors opening and occasional scribbling on a white board. It's not quite the aggressive stance that we're used to in this place, but that's not quite the intent - these are full of background white noise to help you pass the time with fewer distractions. I wouldn't mind an option to hear the original music though!
In this file we stay in the ambiance of the TCS Tigers Claw Briefing Room. Intended for radio plays or play in the background while working or falling asleep or even barbecue party. Where you want to let your imagination run wild.

Time to work Early in the morning and off to the briefing room. The Colonel is already waiting. Sit down quickly. The computer is operated and we see star charts and detailed enlargements of the targets. Uh really now...? The comrades are already whispering whether this isn't going to be too heavy.

Wing Commander Unboxing & Retrospectiv Vid Presented in Both English & Tagalog Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we've got a unique Wing Commander YouTube video. Pinoy Video Gamer titles this one as a WC3 unboxing, but it goes into much more. His copy of The Heart of the Tiger is obviously well loved, and he takes time to go through its contents. There's also a good discussion about the other major Wing Commander games as well. Even Wing Commander Arena gets a brief segment!

I like to occasionally highlight videos like this from other languages to share what WC appreciation is like around the world, but I've never personally run across one in Filipino Tagalog before. Even more, this one is narrated in a hybrid of both English and Tagalog so that speakers of either should be able to easily follow along. I would struggle to make this in just one language, so it's very impressive to see something like this presented bilingually!

I unbox my old copy of Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger. And I talk about other Wing Commander games.

Missing Fuel Truck Was Right Under Your Nose All Along Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

So we all know the story of the little fuel truck that was cut from the Oxford landing screen in Privateer…

… but now look at this two-page UK advertisement. What’s that there in the New Constantinople screenshot… IT’S THE TRUCK! Also having now noticed the truck there you will immediately see it… on the back of the box! The box has TWO MISSING TRUCKS! All hail the truck.
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Custom Emulated Cabinet Depicts Arcade Wing Commander Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Here's an unusual oddity. AD found an emulation cabinet that purports to play the Sega CD version of Wing Commander. Upon further investigation, it's not really clear if Wing Commander is actually included. Due to the dubious legality of these types of setups, the mix of games is always a little questionable. Nevertheless, the visual of WC in an arcade type box is pretty cool. The variable title header that displays the Wing Commander name is also a wonderful touch!

You can find the product listing here. At $1400, it may be cheaper (and more legit) to build you own! AD looked up the base cabinet hardware here and digital display upgrade here.

Go to Sleep, You Pilots Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we've got Scribbler's second ambiance video. This one takes place in the Tiger's Claw's barracks. As such, it's a little more peaceful than the bar scene. There's a more calming engine hum and an occasional water bucket drip. What do you think? You can help provide feedback at the CIC Forums and influence Scribbler's future projects here.
In this file we enjoy the ambiance of the TCS Tiger's Claw bunkroom.

A long flight? Rest yourselves. It's not a five-star hotel. A water pipe has been dripping for ages, and announcements from the bridge can still be heard in the corridors. Don't be disturbed that a comrade has just come out of the bar and is now going to bed. After all, you are on a carrier ship that has seen its best days and has no single berths. Enjoy your sleep.

New 3D Prints Highlight Sleek Morningstar Design Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we've got some new 3D print examples from L.I.F.. He's moved on from the Excalibur and is now testing out a Morningstar. There's some plastic scuzz that needs to be shaved down, but the spaceframe is one of Klavs' gorgeous designs. Here it is presented next to the universal unit of scale, a Nintendo Switch (non-OLED):
Still some issues getting the Rapier to work in the slicer, but in the meantime, here's a print of Klavs' gorgeous Morningstar (although nowhere even close from LYP's print of it), with a Switch for scale.

Script Exploration Reveals Early Longbow Name Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

I made two fun discoveries mucking about in Wing Commander III documentation! The first is that the Longbow bomber was originally named the IMPERATOR! This scan is actually from the published shooting script... which is fine, since the name never appears in any dialogue! I also found some extracts from an earlier draft of the script attached to storyboards. This one from the intro has a very different set of names for the star systems Admiral Tolwyn mentions! They ended up being Gardel, Morpheus and Orsini in the final draft. Anyway I suspect someone was trying to impress their girlfriends Layla, Veronica and possibly Olympus. On consideration: there are only four fighter types mentioned in the full motion video segments. The Excalibur (throughout), the Hellcat V ("prepped, primed..."), the Thunderbolt ("he took out a Thunderbolt and just kept going") and the Bloodfang (in a news segment). ALSO: I think Wing Commander III only passes the Bechdel test if you fail or choose not to rescue Flint when she goes rogue at Locanda?
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Happy Mother's Day! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there in the WC community! To commemorate the occasion, LOAF took a stab at brainstorming all of the moms depicted in Wing Commander. Here's what we came up with! If you can think of any we missed, hit the comment link below!
Okay let's come up with a listicle for Mother's Day: moms in Wing Commander. Who do we have?

New Poll Inquires About Story Preferences Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we've updated our front page poll to ask what kind of Wing Commander stories people like. A lot of common themes emerge from the main games, books, movie and TV show, and we've simplified them into six categories. "Covert missions" are like the expansion Secret Missions/Special Operations or portions of End Run/Fleet Action. "Epics" are life-or-death struggles for the fate of all civilization in games like WC3/4 or Fleet Action. Even Armada qualifies. Other games like WC1/2 could be described as "grinds" where you see some of the dog days of the war. At multiple points we get to explore the "mysterious threat" like the Nephilim or Steltek. "Rookies" are stories like the WC Movie or Academy TV show (or even games like WC1 or Prophecy) that show under-experienced pilots learning the ropes. Finally, there are special personal adventures. Very different types of things fit here from the Freedom Flight novel to Privateer 2. Pick your selection below!

Our old poll asked about fans' favorite mechanics. Rachel took the top spot, but Sparks and Pliers weren't far behind! The loser is decidedly Xilerks, who almost got beat by the repair power-up from WC Arena...

Ambiance Video Transmits Shotglass Vibes Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Scribbler has posted the first in a series of Wing Commander ambiance videos. These have gotten more popular in recent years with examples such as this hour of Borg cube humming from Star Trek Lower Decks. In this case we get an hour of Shotglass' bar aboard the Tiger's Claw. Scribbler has looped things a bit, played with some low key sound effects and added some less repetitive music to get to the end result. Let him know what you think here!
In this file we stay in the ambience of bartender Shotglass on board the TCS Tiger's Claw. Talk to other pilots, fly a lap in the simulator. What's the news today? Maybe a little snack? And how does the flight list look today? Rest because the next mission is coming soon

BRender Unto Caesar Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Two days ago, ETPC reported some interesting news to the WCCIC Discord: prolific retro tech tweeter Foone had successfully lobbied to open source BRender, a licensed 3D game engine used in the making of many titles including Privateer 2: The Darkening.

What exactly is BRender? In the late 1990s, game developers began increasingly to license third party technologies to streamline their increasingly complex work. Instead of spending time developing a unique 3D engine, developers could purchase an 'off the shelf' solution that gave them a head start by providing common needed features and support out of the box. The Privateer 2 team licensed Argonaut's BRender and toolkit and continued development from there, unlike earlier Wing Commander games which either premiered new engines or updated others developed in-house at Origin. BRender was used in many high profile games of the era including Carmageddon and I-War. Here's a review of Privateer 2 from the March 1997 issue of Boot magazine which includes a sidebar all about Brender:

The power behind Privateer 2

The 3D muscle behind Privateer 2 lies with a highly customized and optimized version of Argonaut’s Blazing Renderer (BRender) Power Rendering System. BRender provides game developers with 32-bit hand-optimized assembler code, and a host of developer-definable options that rival anything Microsoft promises with Direct3D— BRender’s ready to meet the challenge of real-time, software-based 3D polygon rendering.

Eighty-six thousand texture-mapped, perspec-tive-corrected, smoothly lit polygons per second; and up to 122,000 lit, flat-shaded polygons per second are among the published BRender specs; while 16-bit Z-buffers, hidden-surface removal, and fully-programmable colored light sourcing are among its other talents.

In this day of 3D accelerators, BRender may seem a bit dated, but fear not— the latest version (vl.2.1) supports hardware-accelerated BRender solutions and all the hot technologies (bilinear filtering, mip mapping, 16-bit color depths). Currently, the only consumer chipsets supported by BRender is S3’s ViRGE, and Yamaha’s RGV2. MMX support is forthcoming with newer drivers, so BRender will still live on after the MMX bomb drops.

If you expect to pick up Argonaut’s latest BRender tools and make the next kick-ass space sim, you’d better be ready to sweat, as Origin burnt many a candle customizing and optimizing the basic BRender engine to render those inter-galactic objects in The Darkening.

For more info: www.argonaut.com

If you look closely at the back of a Privateer 2 box you'll find the BRender logo in the bottom corner!

The version made available was 1.3.2 from November 18, 1998, sometime after Privateer 2's development. We reached out to Privateer 2 programmer Paul Hughes to find out if he knew how similar this version might be to the one used to create Privateer 2. He surprised everyone by not only remembering but revealing that he had an archived copy he could provide for release! He also noted that "IIRC it was completely standalone - we used it as a black box, just making a couple of bug fixes / tweaks specific to P2". True to his word, the version of BRender used in Privateer 2, 1.1.2 from September 1995, was released the next day:

This should be pretty exciting for anyone interested in learning some of how Privateer 2 works under the hood (and for game development historians in general). You can follow foone's entire, ongoing BRender thread here, which has already collected and released several other versions of BRender. We look forward to learning more!

Downloads:

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WC1 Voiceover Mod Nearly Complete with Dialogue Speech Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

It’s been a while since we’ve gotten an update from Destro on Wing Commander Loader, but he’s back with some exciting news to report! You may recall that this is the project to integrate the recorded Sega CD audio dialogue into DOS WC1.

There have been lots of tweaks under the hood lately. By recoding and enhancing the project’s debugging tools, significant memory overload issues have been mitigated and the mod is more stable than ever. There are just a couple star systems left to go before the main campaign audio is linked up. Although this is very exciting, there are still secondary items with things like comms and the script font that need to be worked through.

It’s possible that we could see a preliminary release in the next few months, which would be quite a treat! You can find a more detailed breakdown of the latest info here. Stay tuned for more updates as they come.

Loader:

More stable that ever! - With all the changes it now works very well and in my testing has not had any real issues with not linking to WC1 or anything like that.

Progress - I am half way through Venice and only Hell's Kitchen remains!!!!!!!

Com's - For enemy and confed ships they all use the same dialog but have different names. (Franthi, Ranthi, Tigers Claw, Transport etc...) I have tested a way to delete the Names off the com and just read the line itself but have yet to implement it. Plus the com's have a lot of audio editing to do so I'm going to hold off until Phase 2 for those.

Testing - I have stopped testing as much as it is getting hard to try and play the missions to get every line of dialog to test for every contingency, especially now that I'm in the endgame. Plan to just push through and update accordingly as people report issues.

A Comparative Look at the Manuals' SNES Jalthi Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

I went back to see how the sprite-less Jalthi was mentioned in the original SNES Wing Commander. You can see it wasn’t mentioned in the US/EU manuals at all! And that as with everything else, the Japanese version is much, much better. The SNES version doesn’t have enough memory for five ships, so it tints the Salthi green and calls it a Jalthi! The US manuals pretend it doesn’t exist while the Japanese one embraces the weird change. They also had to drop the Exeter to include the Venture, so the Gwenhyvar becomes a corvette.
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Rare Strike Commander Collectible up for Charity Auction Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

We have an interesting artifact to share today! Former Origin designer Billy Joe Cain sent along pictures of an awesome little collectible that was apparently made in small numbers for Chris Roberts' Strike Commander. It's a 4.5 inch long F-16 replica with custom Strike Commander decals on the wings. The fighter's currently listed on eBay for a pretty spendy starting price north of $2000, but the proceeds go to benefit the REEF program that combats human trafficking. If there's a wealthy benefactor out there who's also a big Strike Commander fan, now's your chance to do some good! Find the auction page here.
Have you ever seen one of these?

It's being listed on eBay to raise money to end human trafficking through REEF

I think there were only a few of these custom made for the team, but I don't have confirmation yet.

The price is insane, but it's to raise funds for our anti-human trafficking nonprofit. We start high and drop down. The opposite of an auction, but the price usually gets to the right place! And people can make offers! :)

One, Two, Three, Four, I Declare a Cat War Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

After the Intrepid captures Admiral Tolwyn in Wing Commander IV's Peleus series, Blair tells him that he hasn't defected because the Union of Border Worlds isn't officially at war with the Confederation. Tolwyn replies: "We weren’t ‘officially’ at war with the Kilrathi either, but there were two sides. And defection was the only possible movement between them." But… is that true? Let's look at all the references to how the Terran-Kilrathi Wars were 'officially' declared.

What is a Declaration of War?

A declaration of war is a formal statement from the government of a nation that a state of war exists between it and another party. Depending on the government, declarations of war typically give a leadership greater emergency powers, especially dealing with how they are allowed to use their military forces. In the United States, declarations of war must be approved by Congress in order to grant the President such powers. There have been very few formal declarations of war since World War II, largely a result of changes in the legalities of war.

The process by which the Terran Confederation Senate votes on a declaration of war was seen in some detail in Wing Commander IV, where whether or not they choose to declare war on the newly-formed Union of Border Worlds is a major part of the game's story. The novel Fleet Action also shows some of the limitations of not having a state of war declared: during the 'false peace' period in the novel the Confederation is unable to legally launch any offensive operations, preventing them from striking the inbound Kilrathi fleet before it reaches Confederation space.

Wing Commander (1990)

Claw Marks is the first source to mention that the Confederation declared war on the Kilrathi. The short timeline breakouts explain that war was formally declared by the Terran Conferation on the Empire of Kilrah on July 5, 2634. It's interesting to note that the declaration of war precedes the Kilrathi attack on McAuliffe by about two months; the Confederation has declared war because of ongoing piracy rather than a Pearl Harbor style attack.

On 2634.186, war is formally declared by the Terran Confederation on the Empire of Kilrah for countless acts of piracy and unwarranted assault.

A nearly identical entry is included in the timeline in Wing Commander Armada's Voices of War (1994).

On 2634.186, the Terran Confederation officially declares war on the Empire of Kilrah for committing countless acts of piracy and unwarranted assault.

Wing Commander III (1994)

Wing Commander III's Victory Streak manual continues the story introduced in Claw Marks and adds a fair amount of detail about the attacks that led to the July 5, 2634 declaration of war including the specific attack that finally moved the Confederation to act, the destruction of the Anna Magdelena. It also mentions some of the diplomacy that preceded the war, including failed attempts to meet with the Kilrathi government.

2630-2634
The Terran Confederation receives numerous reports of unwarranted assault, space piracy, kidnapping and interplanetary plundering, all taking place at an increasingly expanding distance from the planet Kilrah. Frequent attempts to meet with Kilrathi High Command are rejected without explanation. In retaliation, the Terran Confederation Congress votes unanimously to enforce a strict nonaggression policy by the Kilrathi. The leaders of Kilrah are warned that their next transgression could lead to military reprisals.

2634.186
The Anna Magdelena, a refitted transport ship ferrying orphans to their new homes on Dieno, is openly attacked by a pair of Kilrathi fighters. No one survives. In retaliation for this and the five-year string of equally heinous abuses of all known laws of civility, the Terran Confederation officially declares war on the Empire of Kilrah.

Wing Commander Prophecy (1997)

Origin's Official Guide to Wing Commander Prophecy offers a similar take on the beginning of the war, although it adds some small details about the lack of diplomacy between the Confederation and the Kilrathi leading up to the war.

The Kilrathi were first encountered by the Terran Confederation scout ship Iason in 2629. About 20 minutes after first contact, and without previous communication, a Kilrathi ship destroyed the Iason. For the next four years the Kilrathi refused -- violently -- all offers of trade (other than the occasional ransom) or diplomacy, while steadily expanding their piratical operations into Confed Space. In 2634, after the unprovoked destruction of an unarmed transport filled with children, Confed formally declared war on Kilrah.

Wing Commander Action Stations (1998)

The novel Action Stations, which tells the story of the first days of the war, includes a news release announcing that war has been declared. The Action Stations story follows the original Claw Marks timeline exactly but in order to make the McAuliffe Ambush, which is the centerpiece of the novel, more equivalent to Pearl Harbor, Dr. Forstchen significantly downplays the initial declaration of war as a limited action targeting only those responsible for piracy in frontier sectors. We are also told when the announcement was made, at 6 PM GMT.

CONFEDERATION NEWS NETWORK

DATELINE: OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

OF THE CONFEDERATION

DATE: 2634.186

This evening at 6:00 p.m., GMT Earth, the President announced that a state of war now exists between the Confederation and the Kilrathi Empire. Elements of Task Force Twenty-three have crossed into Kilrathi territory in the Facin Sector on a punitive expedition against supposed centers from which Kilrathi raids had been launched into Confederation territory.

When asked about the scope of the war the President declared that the war is limited in scope and that it is not the intention of the Confederation to seek what he called "a battle of annihilation which can only serve to destroy both sides." When asked to clarify this point, the President stated that it is believed that the attacks along our border were not necessarily actions directed by the Emperor but rather might very well be the activities of rival clan or family leaders seeking to provoke a general war. Our actions, therefore, will be directed solely against those sectors from which verified attacks have previously been launched. Due to the limited nature of this conflict the President made it clear that he does not wish to bring about a general war and has conveyed such sentiments to the Emperor in an open message on a frequency known to be monitored by the Kilrathi. He closed by declaring that the war can be ended at any time when the Kilrathi make a clear effort to bring these provocative factions under control.

Wing Commander (1999)

The opening credits to the Wing Commander movie tell the story of the series' future from the 1960s to the start of the movie in 2654 through a series of stills and audio clips. One of these clips seems to be a news story adapting the original war declaration story: the Confederation is attempting to end Kilrathi attacks diplomatically but ultimately announces the declaration of war instead. The only thing that stands out is that it specifies the war begins at 6 AM instead of the 6 PM stated in Action Stations, though this is easily either a different time zone (New Zealand if it's on Earth!) or a case of the war having formally started at 6 AM but not having been announced by the president until after Task Force 23 began their maneuvers in the Facin Sector.

With escalating tension in the Vega sector... the whole Confederation is on a knife edge. Will these unprovoked attacks continue? Will the diplomatic probes be successful? We can only hope...

I regret to report... that all diplomatic avenues with the Kilrathi... have been exhausted. It is now clear they have no interest... in coexisting with us or any other race. It is my sad duty to inform you... that as of Six A.M. this morning... we are formally at war with the Kilrathi. God help us all.

Wing Commander Confederation Handbook (1999)

Things become somewhat more confused in the media associated with the movie. The Wing Commander Confederation Handbook includes an excerpt from an in-universe encyclopedia on the history of the Terran-Kilrathi War which claims two other dates for the start of the war: January 7, 2639, following attacks on two human colonies, and January 9, 2641 in the introduction. Which might make you say… huh?! First of all, it's extremely likely the fact that there are two dates is simply a copyediting mistake that missed that the two dates on different pages needed to be the same. But in either event, that's one or two declarations of war that are half a decade or more removed from what was already established.

On the surface, that is because the Confederation Handbook decided to shift the Kilrathi conflict several years to make room for the Pilgrim War in the early 2630s. Many have wondered why this 'change' was made to Wing Commander's well-established history when nothing in the movie itself seems to necessitate such a reset. The answer has to do with when the Confederation Handbook went to press. One major element of Wing Commander's post production were the introductory credits, which Chris Roberts wanted to use to set the scene, explaining the background of the Confederation, Pilgrims and Kilrathi. But developing that idea took quite a while, with attempts that ranged from a Star Wars style opening crawl, a monologue from Freddie Prinze Jr.'s Blair introducing the setting and then ultimately the more subtle collection of quotes and sketches played over a map of the galaxy that appeared in the final film. Development of the credits was still continuing when HarperEntertainment needed the book to be finalized and printed (some months before the release of the movie). At the time, the plan was for the movie to begin with this introduction read by Blair:

The Pilgrim wars ended 20 years ago. Nobody knows how they started. The history books describe it as the civil war to end all wars. 3 Billion dead and the destruction of the Pilgrim home worlds. All that was left was hate. I should know. My mother was a Pilgrim. My name is Lieutenant Christopher Blair and today I'm off to fight in a new war. This time it's not about territory or independence. It's about survival, for finally we've encountered a race that makes our ability to wage war seem primitive: the Kilrathi, two thousand years of uninterrupted conquest until they met us. Because we have something they don't - The Navcom A.I. a computer with the capacity to chart and navigate black holes and quasars. It's the equalizer - the tool that allows us to travel through deep space, keep the Kilrathi off balance and away from the Confederation homeworlds.

Ironically, this was soon after replaced by an updated version in which twenty was changed to forty, which would've made it very easy to keep the original timeline intact.

History of the Terran-Kilrathi War

The Terran Confederation and the Kilrathi Empire first came into contact on 2638.229, and conflict ensued immediately. On 2641.009, Confed formally declared war. From that day to the present, conflict has continued unabated, and the Kilrathi have uniformly refused any offers of cease-fire, truce or negotiation. At present, neither side possesses any clear-cut strategic advantage, and there are no signs of any abatement of aggression.

...

Following the Iason incident, Confed interdicted all non-military exploratory, trade and colonization activity beyond the Vega sector frontier. At the same time they began a coordinated covert scouting operation to determine the extent of Kilrathi dominion. By the end of '38, Confed analysts had determined that the Kilrathi sphere of influence was at least equal to, and possibly greater than, that of humanity. Four separate envoys (under heavy escort) were sent into Kilrathi space in an attempt to at least open up lines of communication, but all such efforts were met by armed aggression. (All four missions were able to retreat under fire back to Confed space.)

...

The conflict escalated on 2639.006, when a Kilrathi carrier group attacked and destroyed the agricultural colony on Hellespont, an unarmed settlement of assimilated Pilgrims. 82,000 humans were either killed or enslaved in that attack. About 12 hours later, a similar force attacked the shipping port of Tartarus, but that colony was able to hold out until reinforcements arrived from Brimstone Naval Station, and the Kilrathi withdrew after 48 hours of heavy fighting. On 2639.007 less than eight hours after news of the attacks reached Terra the Confederation Senate passed a formal declaration of war against Kilrah.

A Separate Peace, Then Additional War

As mentioned in the introduction, the novel Wing Commander Fleet Action technically does introduce an additional declaration of war against the Kilrathi. The book centers around the Kilrathi asking for an armistice and then secretly dispatching a powerful new fleet to attack Earth during the peace. Towards the end of the book, as the Kilrathi carriers enter Confederation space, the Senate approves a new declaration of war.

Continuity Considerations

The changes in the Handbook have always been one of my least favorite things introduced around the movie, which is a shame on the surface because the book is a wealth of amazing Wing Commander background lore. So is it possible to reconcile these disparate declarations in a single continuity (note 'possible' rather than 'necessary')? Yes! Consider that a simple American history of World War II might say that the war began with Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, or possibly that the war was declared the next day by Congress on December 8. But that's not the whole of it at all: in fact, the United States issued three separate declarations of war over the course of more than six months: Japan on December 8, Germany and Italy on December 11 and then Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary on June 5 of the next year. This last set of countries were allies of Nazi Germany and it was considered wrong at the time to engage in fighting in their territory without a formal declaration of war. And that's just declarations BY the United States.

Could the same be true of Wing Commander? Multiple declarations of war, potentially against multiple definitions of the Empire? Yes, but it might require a reconsideration of the history of the early war. Action Stations very clearly specifies the original July 5, 2634 declaration is "limited in scope" and is aimed not at the Emperor but at the raiders bordering the Confederation. Since the Kilrathi are divided into clans which control different regions, that might mean that the initial declaration of war that we're familiar with was specifically against only, perhaps, the Caxki who are known to control space adjacent to the Confederation. Additionally, it has been established that the Terran Confederation is just one of several allies in the war against the Kilrathi; the others may all have their own declarations.

Instead of throwing out the Confederation Handbook article, it could be seen instead as detailing the early days of the war in a way we had not previously assumed. Very little has ever been specified save the McAuliffe Ambush in 2634 and the Enyo Engagement in 2639. What if the first five years of the war differed from later engagements in some way? The Wing Commander Prophecy guide suggests exactly this:

The first five years of the war were perhaps the most hellish, with the Kilrathi unleashing massive blitzkriegs of suicide fighters at Confed fleets, and indiscrimnately employing weapons of mass destruction against civilian targets. Strategically, the first five years centered around the struggle for the Kilrathi-occupied world of McAuliffe, which was finally retaken by Confed in 2639, in a massive strategic ambush engineered by Captain Geoffrey Tolwyn.

There's a fair amount of history mentioned here that isn't repeatead elsewhere, especially the focus on McAuliffe for the first half-decade of the war. It's possible the battle centered around McAuliffe and random raids and strikes against frontier worlds while the Confederation attempted to establish diplomatic relations (as discussed in the Handbook). Perhaps the Empire waited until Enyo to launch another true invasion, which prompted the 2639 declaration. A functional timeline might work like this:

  • 2634.186 - The Terran Confederation declares war on the regions along its borders.
  • 2634.228-239 - The McAuliffe Ambush ends in a nominal Confederation victory but with severe damage to both fleets.
  • 2634-2639 - Fighting continues; the Confederation, reeling from the losses at McAuliffe and the occupation of territory on the frontier, seeks a diplomatic solution. The Kilrathi launch violent attacks on human colonies but do not make another significant push towards the homeworlds. At some point, McAuliffe falls.
  • 2639.006 - The Kilrathi attack a former Pilgrim Alliance agricultural colony causing heavy casualties.
  • 2639.007 - The Senate declares war "on Kilrah" as a result of attacks on civilians at Brimstone and Tartarus.
  • 2639.033-.042 - The Enyo Engagement widens the scope of the war.
  • 2641.009 - The Senate finally declares war on the Kiranka or the entire Empire.

Is this interpretation necessary? No, but there are so few stories of the early war that it actually teeths together from known sources fairly well (there's also a date added to the Claw Marks timeline in the Super Famicom booklet which talks about a lengthy stalemate that starts in 2642). One added knock-on from this interpretation is that it explains both why different sources have different lengths for the war (generally ranging from thirty to thirty five years) and why some sources set later in the timeline, like the Wing Commander I & II Ultimate Strategy Guide, refer to 'Kilrathi Wars' rather than a singular Kilrathi War (though just the fact that Fleet Action involves an additional declaration of war in late 2668 alone could explain this).

More War?

If you know of another interesting reference to the Confederation's declarations of war against the Kilrathi be sure and let us know in the comments. Otherwise, the next time someone asks you how many times the Terran Confederation declared war on the Kilrathi you can decisively say between zero (Tolwyn in Wing Commander IV) and four (our count)!

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