News Collection: On This Day in WC News

2023.304 (October 31, 2023)

Happy CIC Halloween!

BOO! From us to you!

2022.304 (October 31, 2022)

Happy CIC Halloween!

It's time for a new CIC Poll, and in the spirit of Halloween, we're asking what spooky-sounding Wing Commander fighters are the creepiest to you. Here's LOAF with a rundown!Now that it's Halloween, it's time for the spookiest Wing Commander ships! It's enough to make an Ultima Online ghost say oooOOooOoooOOOOooOo!

2021.304 (October 31, 2021)

Happy Halloween!

Spooky season is here which means it’s once again time to unleash the scariest spaceship of all time… Privateer 2’s Jincilla Skull!

2020.305 (October 31, 2020)

Happy Halloween!

Boo! 2020 style! We hope you stay safe tonight and every night. Remember, the real monsters are the ones out there not wearing face masks.

2019.304 (October 31, 2019)

All Wings Considered - Episode 29 - LIVE!

The latest episode of ALL WINGS CONSIDERED is live now! All Wings Considered is the CIC's first ever streaming variety show which features news, conversation and gameplay relating to our favorite series. This week's Nav Points include: SPOOKY special Halloween treats! Terrifying spaceships, bloody murders and more.

2018.304 (October 31, 2018)

Happy Halloween!

It's an especially Happy Halloween this year for CIC founder Bandit (LOAF) who finally found the Cinema Secrets Kilrathi mask after nearly 20 years of searching! When the WC Movie collectible was originally released back in early 1999, LOAF said, "...very cool, I can't wait to get mine" and now it's finally here! He's still looking for a set of shoulder armor, so if you have a lead, drop him a line!

2017.304 (October 31, 2017)

Arena Concept Art Inspires New Models

After recently refining his slick Excalibur model, DefianceIndustries took a crack at turning it into the futuristic variant proposed in the Wing Commander Arena concept art. Its main vertical stabilizers have been moved inwards over the engine housings, and extended downswept winglets have also been added. The redesign really makes you think what new missions it might be called upon that would warrant these tweaks. And while this is a relatively obscure design for someone to mock up, it's actually not the first time a fan has done it!

2016.305 (October 31, 2016)

Happy Halloween!

It's the creepiest day of the year, so here's the creepiest fighter in the known universe! The Skull is ostensibly the Jincilla Pirate Clan's lightest fighter, but it's way scarier than the Veldor or Tacon. It's not just feared because of its looks either - the highly maneuverable craft easily evades nearly everything but a well-aimed proximity missile! SUPER BONUS: Check out this awesome Kilrathi Skull faction concept art from the unreleased Privateer 3!

2015.304 (October 31, 2015)

Happy Halloween!

Here's a look back at a relatively obscure merchandise tie-in for the Wing Commander Movie. Along with items like books, action figures and the Pilgrim Cross, a company called Cinema Secrets licensed a Kilrathi mask and helmet to go along with the film. The mask featured a scowling Kilrathi face with full head for $44.99.

2014.304 (October 31, 2014)

Klavs' 3D Hangars Open For Business

Wing Commander modeler Klavs continues to break out of 2D with his latest effort. He has uploaded his WC1/2 fighter designs to p3d.in, a service for sharing 3D models through the browser. Users can easily zoom and rotate the models without the need for external plugins.

2013.304 (October 31, 2013)

New Bearcat Hits The Drawing Board

TurboTim hasn't been in the news for a while, but he's trying to get back into the Wing Commander groove. Tim's new at 3D modeling, but there's already a good start to a Bearcat here. The geometry is pretty accurate, and the wide gun spacing has been resolved with some inboard weapon mounts. Additional improvements are detailed further below.

2012.305 (October 31, 2012)

Chris Roberts Live Chat Tonight At 5 PM PST!

If you can, swing by the RSI site and jump in on the live chat with Chris Roberts. He's conducting another session tonight at 5 pm PST (8 pm EST). He was on for several hours last night answering questions. A brief overview of the chat can be found here.

Warren Spector on Choices and Consequences

Penny Arcade talked to Wing Commander veteran Warren Spector about player freedom in solving game puzzles. Check it out here.The way Spector looks at a problem is almost backwards, at least from the typical perspective. He works his way out from the center of the maze or erases walls to make his own way out.

2011.304 (October 31, 2011)

Fancy Equipment Remains in the Aftermath

Operation Serpent has gotten some assistance from Cybot in bringing some new (old) Black Lance hardware online. The designs below show off how the Axius Starbase, Black Lance Carrier and a new armed transport are coming together. The mod's campaign deals with chasing down the remnants of Tolwyn's forces after WC4, so these ships should play a major role. (The transport) replaces the Clarkson Class shortly after the Border Worlds Conflict.

2010.304 (October 31, 2010)

Original Wing Commander Logo Vectorized

elend has created two beautiful sets of artwork based on the logos used for the original Wing Commander. One is based more on the digitized design that appears in game and the other is more similar to the header font used on the game's box. Did you know that they were (slightly) different? Download both as high-res capable vector files here (3.

Wing Commander IV Storyboards - Scene 57

Scene 57 - Maniac, seemingly oblivious to Eisen's problems, brags to Blair about how attractive Dr. Brody is. You know, the woman he helped kidnap. Future filmmakers wondering how you animate 'Tom Wilson makes a kissing motion' on a storyboard would do well to take note!

2009.304 (October 31, 2009)

CSIS Close to First Alpha Test

|BoH_Havoc| and Germanunkol continue to make progress on their CSiS space sim. They are currently working on a feature that lets players put custom decals on their ship's hull. The team also reports that there will be a closed test this weekend and that gameplay footage will be made available.No beautiful Screens atm, but this shows that file sending finally works.

Stiletto on The Forgotten

Iceblade noticed that Heather Stephens currently has a recurring role on the ABC TV series The Forgotten, a show about amateur homicide detectives. Although she has been away from games and movies for some time, Stephens has had several other television appearances on shows such as Desperate Housewives, CSI and Saved.

2008.305 (October 31, 2008)

THE SPORE, EAT THE SPORE

How is a galactic penis monster like a tricked-out Centurion fighter? On second thought, don't answer that question... or even think about it. Nevertheless, 1Up has a review of Spore which suggests just that comparison:This era-spanning scope allows for Spore to feel like a different game at any particular moment, depending on what stage you're in.

Making the Games: Odds and Ends

Today we finish the first disc of Captain Johnny's latest contribution to Wing Commander history -- but don't worry, there's a huge second set of images and documents which we will begin presenting tomorrow! For now we have several odds and ends -- two unidentified sketches and a Wing Commander IV promotional image. I have no idea where the sketches come from (there's no good context in their original file structure), save that it clearly features human skeletons and a Kilrathi base of some kind. There's a 'Privateer' feel to this.

2007.304 (October 31, 2007)

New Model Is Super

Kevin Caccamo has released pictures of a new Drayman model. If it doesn't look familiar to you, that's because this Drayman comes from Super Wing Commander. It's not yet complete, but the basic structure is all there. The model comes in at 1206 polygons and is set to be included in a future update to Kevin's WC1 Remake for Flight Commander.

Point of Origin: Vol. II, No. 18

June 5, 1992 - Origin returns from a successful CES show in Chicago! Buzz and sales of Ultima VII and Underworld are good and a series of important pre-orders for Strike Commander have been made. Now the game just needs to make it out. Wing Commander references are limited in this one, but the overall mood is good - Origin's purchase of a new building sounds more and more certain!

2006.304 (October 31, 2006)

Nexus Mod Bounces Back

Several attempts to create fan mods for Nexus failed to hold their momentum earlier this year, but Exarch is attempting to get things back together with his project. He's been working on integrating the Plunkett class heavy artillery cruiser and perfecting capship engine glow recently. The Hornet shot pictured below is actually Travis Baldree's model from earlier this month. Exarch stuck into Nexus for fun, and it ended up looking pretty neat.

Replay Someday

As we expected, it appears that EA Replay was not released today. Unfortunately, Electronic Arts' official press site has not been changed to reflect a new date... so, for the time being we're going to go with the date currently listed at all major online stores. As such, the countdown timer has been changed to November 14th.

2005.304 (October 31, 2005)

Waterloos Back In Fashion

There has been a sudden resurgence in the popularity of Waterloo class cruisers with both Bob McDob and Marc working on 3D models. Bob is working on a complete model of the cruiser. The blue parts are where windows will go further on in the development. Obviously the ship still lacks textures, since Bob is still working on playing with the actual dimensions of the design.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody! We hope you all have a great time tonight. Try not to get too scared, particularly if you happen to meet Chris wearing his Kilrathi masks in a dark alley.

2004.305 (October 31, 2004)

Reckoning Freelancer Mod Nearing Release

We haven't heard anything from the people behind the Freelancer based mod, Privateer: The Reckoning, for quite some time now, but behind the scenes the team has been very busy. So much so that Warzog reports that the mod is now being tested for a release next month.Privateer: The Reckoning OpenSp Beta v4.0 mod for Freelancer is in Alpha testing and is expected to be released early next month.

Universe Maps Get Updated

LOAF's Wing Commander Universe Maps is one of lesser known sections at the CIC, but it's very cool. It builds on the universe map which was included with Prophecy by adding systems featured in the novels and other canon sources. LOAF recently made a few fixes to the maps, so now is a good time to have another look at the section. Edit: Note that the large map, not the smaller sector maps, was the one that was updated.

2003.304 (October 31, 2003)

A Bonus WCA Episode For You Today

It's the last day of the month, so we're going to use up the last bit of our bandwidth with a Wing Commander Academy episode. The last one this month is "E10 - On Both Your Houses. It's 65 megs and requires Divx. Have fun.

Never Say Lev-Arr(is) Again

Wedge007 reports that Clive Owen is apparently no longer in the running to play the next James Bond. A widely repeated wire report cites a 'credible source' which claims that "Owen lacks the necessary lightness of touch to make Bond a box-office success." The current front-runner is X-Men star Hugh Jackman. Too bad, as Clive Owen taking the role would have lead to literally thousands of Bond-related news headline puns ('Lev' alone!

That's No Casey... It's a DANE!

Here's the man Casey was... two drafts and a shooting script before he became Iceman's son:2ND LIEUTENANT TOM DANECadet Pilot. Early twenties. And our new PLAYER.

Happy Halloween

Today is another happy day in the US and other countries where you can get away with walking around absolutely anywhere in a Wing Commander flight suit or Kilrathi armor. That's what I'll be doing. If you don't have either, I suggest painting your face like a cat and calling it good.

2002.304 (October 31, 2002)

Unknown Enemy Released!

The full version of Unknown Enemy has finally been released (a lite version is said to be in the works)! Head over to their downloads page to get your copy. Unknown Enemy is the first total conversion for Wing Commander: Secret Ops and requires that the downloadable SO be installed. Congrats to all involved!

WCPolaroids: Casey (2/24)

Apparently, Casey made a boo-boo. His incorrect rank insignia is actually noticeable at points throughout the first half or so of Prophecy.

2000.305 (October 31, 2000)

Boo!

Happy Halloween, everybody! Here's something truly terrifying from your pals at the CIC...

More Projects

Once again the CIC's Fan Projects section, the most fan project-y place on Earth, has been updated -- it's now chock full of delicious fan project information. And beef!

Jump in the Polls

TyeDyeBoy brings us the results from that Planet Jump Gate poll from a while back:46.79% of you think it´s a fine flight model which shouldn´t be changed at all, 29.36% would prefer a more Newtonian (realistic) model, and only 23.85% want a more arcade-like model a la Wing Commander.

Misplaced Ferret

The WCDC brings to attention this, which was posted to X-Wing: Legacy a few days ago... along with three pretty screenshots.The Wing Commander Total Conversion project is stepping up the pace, with several newly completed ConFed and Kilrathi fighters, including the Hhriss, Grikath, Epee, Darket, Rapier G (was complete; but not scaled or glowed properly), WC4 Banshee, and Gorthrakh (I made this one up). Already done were the Gothri, Jalthi, Dralthi, Salthi, Ralari, Centurion, Ferret, Raptor, Hellcat, Arrow, Longbow, Thunderbolt, Excalibur, Drayman Mk.

A Frightening Update

Want to be just like Billy, Harry and Flip? Want to have a vaguely Wing Commander related item you can carry around with you? Go search for 'silver florin' on eBay. It'll be even more fun than the Ultima VIII pentagram coin!

1999.304 (October 31, 1999)

Get the Script

Weasel reports that Script Shop is selling the Wing Commander script. No word on what version it is, but I would assume it has the 'missing' scenes. It's only $15... naturally, they also have a great selection of seaQuest episodes.

Add Some To Texture Their Universe

Pedro of Unknown Enemy is looking for someone to create textures for their new ship models -- including the Bengal, Kilrathi Super Carrier, Dragon II and two Kilrathi fighters. You can find pictures of the unfinished models at their web site -- which now features a flash trailer.

Happy Halloween

Hope everybody has fun on this most important day of the year -- the one where you get an extra hour of sleep. Happy Halloween from the CIC!

Hacker Hunger Horror on Hermes

By Jim Polo, our Hermes correspondent. An evil computer genius has brought suffering to millions through his deviant ways. The cunning coder hacked into the source files for all food processing plants and drones, causing the prearation of all foodstuffs to be suspended in favour of the manufacture of outsize custard pies. Chaos has ensued as hungry citizens keep on getting hit in the face by pies when they ask for food at service points.

1998.304 (October 31, 1998)

The CIC Wants YOU!

One of the coolest non-computer games has got to be the Wing Commander CCG. We aim to change all that... the CIC is looking for anybody with programming experience and way too much time on their hands to work on an online version of the Wing Commander Customizable Card Game. Anyone interested in lending a hand should contact Cpl Hades for more information.

Happy Halloween

The staff here at the CIC would like to wish everyone who celebrates a happy Halloween today. One final reminder, today is also the last day of the internet episodic release of Secret Ops. The next big projects to look forward to are the movie and upcoming nov els. Stay tuned here for the news as it breaks.