Hey all, Raptor hereHTL celebrates its third anniversary today, having started publishing chapters via the Aces Club mailing list on the 28th of January 1999. In that time, the project has involved two dozen writers who have written over 150 chapters between them. Naturally, as happens with any fan project, some writers have left along the way due to work and other real life commitments, but the overall story line has remained strong and gained some talented new writers along the way. At the moment, the writing team is working on the finale set in the Nifelhiem system, which will follow the Loki arc chapters now being published via the mailing list and on the CIC. If everything goes as planned, the writing effort will be wrapped up by this time next year, but HTL will continue publishing chapters for another year after that. The biggest and bloodiest battles are still to come, so stay tuned.
Best, Raptor
You've seen the ugly American poster... you've seen the nifty European poster... but have you seen... the most confusing Wing Commander Movie poster of all? It's from Japan -- and it has the best of both worlds! Take note, dyslexic FOX execs: they even got the movie's date right!
Shades (and then several other people) found another interesting bit at the Saab & Miller Productions site: while working for Digital Anvil they were responsible for the impressive Charybis Quasar sequence of the Wing Commander Movie.
As an aside, the company is run by Wing Commander veterans Kerry Miller & Pauline Saab (WCIV, WCP, SO, etc.) -- which gives us an excuse for trivia! Whoever can find the most 'Saab' references in Wing Commander games gets a virtually useless GOLD STAR... and bragging rights! E-mail your responses to LOAF.
Hey all, Raptor here.HTL continues with second half of Scraps of Honour 10, which follows the reserve pilots who will be backing up the main fleet in HTL's finale. As you saw in the last chapter, the Border Worlds reserves had launched a mock attack on their Confed counterparts, and the battle was in full swing. This story picks up from there. Please send any and all comments to the author, Nick "Chaeronea" Deane at chaeronea@bigpond.com.
Best, Raptor
Hey all, Raptor hereHTL continues with the first part of Scraps of Honour 10. While the Border Worlds carriers continue setting the trap for the enemy fleet in Loki, and the rest of the Combined Fleet closes in for the kill, we're going to take a break from the fighting for a while. Instead, we'll be looking at the reserve groups that are gathering to help the Combined Fleet finish off the enemy once and for all.
This chapter is called "Tempering The Mettle" and focuses on the Scrappers, a Border Worlds Militia unit that is with the reserve force. It also features the first ever appearance of Pokemon in a Wing Commander story. Be afraid. Be very afraid. *G* This story is written by Nick "Chaeronea" Deane, so please send any all comments to him at chaeronea@bigpond.com
Best, Raptor
Well we have some minor updates. Two Modelers have joined our team. We are coming underway :-) I've finished another two ships. There are some new screenshots at our site...It is also possible to extract Conquest DATA files. The splitter allows you to extract certain datatypes from Conquest: Frontier Wars, for now only waves and profiles. What it lacks: It does neither extract textures, models etc, nor does it reproduce the original filenames as stored in the data files. It also doesn't correctly interpret offsets in the files, you also can't insert new files.
Alot of progress. Well, these past three weeks have been slow, because of the hollidays and all, but it's now restarting.What's fascinating of UE, when you see everything that's being made on a day-to-day basis, is the incredible amount of research and reverse-engeneering it has generated. How to add new VDU screens, making event-dynamic MGIs (music), making new ships, splash screens, CIC room, sounds, comms, changing the simulator ships, changing the SAR ship, changing guns, finding new functions to code missions, capship making, guns patching to choose witch guns can affect capital ships. UE staff has also helped HCl and Thomas Bruckner to develop the Hi-Res patch and the WCPPascal mission editor respectively.
When UE goes out, I don't think the player will be aware of the huge amount of work that has been put into it. The best thing is - now that it has been done, there are people with huge experience in modding UE... anyone who wants to make his mod doesn't have to do the almost two-years reserch the UE people have done. When UE is finished, making new 'episodes' for it would be quick... if some people have spare times to make them.
Here's another amazing example of international Wing Commander artwork: a detailed view of the Super Famicom (SNES) Wing Commander boxart... it's got Dralthi, Gratha and an exploding Fralthi! Amazing!
Here is a small status update of our progress…Staff:
Ships:
- Wraith is administration.
- Evening is Web Development & Maitnence, news, & assist. admin.
- Tolwyn is Web Layout/Updates/News and Modelling(Concordia and Destroyer Class)
- Magnum is 3d Modelling
- Messiah is well Inactive/Away
- Shogun is webactive right now and well other items that are being privately discussed
- beergod is well doing his job(making ideas) and Darkpetzi is working on textures for a few ships
- Dodgevpr has been removed from the staff list since he did nothing….
- Everyone welcome the new addition to the Wing Commander Saga Mod team, Sirex our new Modeller
Wing Commander 1 & 2
Wing Commander 4
- Sabre MK II by StarSaint (UNTEXTURED) -?
- Bengal Class by StarSaint (UNTEXTURED) -?
- Ferret by Sirex (UNTEXTURED) -?
In the moment I'm working on Wing Commander 4 Mod alone…
By the way. I've uploaded Wing Commander Saga Wallpaper. Check it out here (1024*768)
- Concordia Class (FINISHED) -missing turrets
- Destroyer Class (FINISHED) -missing turrets
- Tallahassee Class (FINISHED) -missing turrets
- Vesuvious Class (UNTEXTURED) -missing turrets
- Transport (UNTEXTURED) -missing turrets
- Laser Turret (FINISHED) -extracted from the Wing Commander IV
Hey all, Raptor here.HTL continues with the third and final part of FDTS 1. As you saw in the last chapter, there was trouble aplenty aboard the TCS Valley Forge as she hunts down a Nephilim dreadnaught. There is a conspiracy afoot, the crew are at each other's throats, and the WC had serious doubts about how her emotionally exhausted pilots would mesh with the Confed and Kilrathi 'reinforcements' who have just arrived. This chapter picks up from there. The story is jointly written by all the Valley Forge team, so please send any and all comments to them.
Best, Raptor
And that's all... for now! This Wing Commander Academy planetscape was the exterior of Daimon Karnes' base at Tortuga in episode 2. The original even has glittery glitter stars! Which would be a good name for an anime series...
Wing Commander in Windows XPWhen I considered switching to Windows XP Professional, the first question that came to mind was, naturally, whether or not the various Wing Commander games would work on it. So, I took the games I had with me, found a computer with XP installed, and conducted a little experiment. Here are the results:
The Kilrathi Saga: Wing Commander I - successful
Just install and run it like you normally would. The game plays perfectly, like it did with Windows 98.
The Kilrathi Saga: Wing Commander II - successful
Just install and run it like you normally would. The game plays like it did with Windows 98. Unfortunately, this does not correct the errors that were made in its original conversion.
The Kilrathi Saga: Wing Commander III - successful
Just install and run it like you normally would. The game plays perfectly, like it did with Windows 98.
Wing Commander IV - successful
Use a boot-disk to enter DOS mode and install the game from there. Be wary of having the install program detect your sound settings, as this may cause your computer to crash. Once the installation is finished, reboot into Windows XP and apply the Wing Commander IV for Windows 95 patch. This should make the game run perfectly.
Wing Commander: Prophecy - successful
Just install and run it like you normally would. The game plays perfectly, like it did with Windows 98.
Wing Commander: Secret Ops - successful
Just install and run it like you normally would. You may need to use one of Windows XP's compatibility modes. That should make the game run perfectly.
Academy - unsuccessful
Trying to run the game in Windows XP generated the following error message: "No Expanded Memory Detected"
Armada - unsuccessful
Trying to run the game in Windows XP generated the following error message: "Protected mode driver is not responding to EMS function calls. Make sure your EMS driver is not configured with the NOEMS option. If it is, replace the option "NOEMS" with "RAM".
Privateer - unsuccessful
Trying to run the game in Windows XP generated the following error message: "Protected mode driver is not responding to EMS function calls. Make sure your EMS driver is not configured with the NOEMS option. If it is, replace the option "NOEMS" with "RAM".
Righteous Fire - unsuccessful
Trying to run the game in Windows XP generated the following error message: "Protected mode driver is not responding to EMS function calls. Make sure your EMS driver is not configured with the NOEMS option. If it is, replace the option "NOEMS" with "RAM".
I didn't do much tinkering with Academy, Armada, Privateer, and Righteous Fire, but I do know that none of Windows XP's compatibility modes will make those games run. Further troubleshooting may, however, get them to work.
Keep in mind that these are the results from trying the games on my system. You may not get the same results when trying them on your own. Should any of the games not work properly, I'd advise you to try the various compatibility modes that Windows XP offers before you try anything else. Do to this, simply right-click on the shortcut or executable and select Properties. From there, go to the Compatibility tab, check the appropriate checkbox, and use the dropdown box below it to select a mode. Then try running the game again. Good luck!
WildWeasel
TyeDyeBoy reports that GameSpy has run an article on the downfall of Electronic Arts' EA.Com. Although it sports a horrifyingly sappy title ("When Kings Fall") and that it doesn't know that 'dateline' means location and not place, it proves a good rundown of what the heck happened to the Origin we knew and loved...
The plus side that the article doesn't get into is that EA may have learned their lesson. They've taken the financial whipping involved thinking everyone wants to play cheap online games, and they've cancelled many of the projects they killed Origin to support. Maybe they'll try and go back to what's tried and true...
Hey all, Raptor hereHTL continues with the second part of FDTS 1. As you saw in the first part of the story, the crew of the TCS Valley Forge were hunting for a Nephilim Tiamat class dreadnaught, one of the targets in the tiger hunt planned by Admiral Hanton. However, as the last chapter showed, the Valley Forge was far from a happy ship. Doubts are rife about the captain, and some of the crew are on the verge of mutiny. This chapter picks up from there, and focuses on the many different factions among the Forge crew. This chapter is jointly written by all the Forge writers, so please send any and all comments to them.
Best, Raptor
Today's art shows the underside docking port of Prince Thrakhath's dreadnought, the KIS Agon Ra Sivar. The ship appears in Expendable, Chain of Command and Glory of Sivar (from which the second picture was taken). The difference in color scheme is interesting...
Star Giants is a 3D space combat simulator, this is the first game of this genre to appear on the GBA and it will set the standard for all other games of this genre on a handheld console. The game will feature massive use of special effects and gorgeous sound. The playability will offer options similar to a pc based title. All the basic commands for the ship will be there including speed, banking, missiles, flare, and different visuals from the cockpit….just like a 3D game on powerful hardware. The most important characteristic of Star Giants is the multipath story. In other words, the story changes according to what the user does and achieves in the game. It will feature different endings. The other important aspect of the game is the multiplayer mode. Thanks to the link-up capabilities of the GBA Star Giants allows up to 4 players to enjoy the game's challenging 3D space fighting. Players can play against each other, combat as a Team (player 1,2 vs player 3,4), or engage in cooperation mode in which the 4 players must work together in order to accomplish their mission. The cooperation mode will have a completely new set of missions to involve all players in the action.Unique Selling Points
- gorgeous and attractive graphics with massive use of special effects such as lens flare, smoke trails, wave effects for explosions and more. Really good looking!
- Dynamic sound according to the in game situation and 3D sound fx! You've got to try Star Giants with headphones to learn how good it sounds!
- Involving story with multiple paths. It changes according to the in game progression. This means more longevity for the game as the user will return to see how the story changes as they improve!
- Complex ai routines assure the maximum challenge for the user, requiring him to learn step by step how to control his ship in order to destroy his enemy.
- Multiplayer mode. Up to 4 players can join the action with different modes of play: all vs all, team game and cooperative game modes.
- No similar games have been announced, this would be the first of its genre on the GBA and it will surely be a hit thanks to its gorgeous realization, attention to detail, graphics and playability. The press and gamers will be enthusiastic for the game, creating demand for Star Giants and for a possible sequel.
And here's the URL:
http://flightcommander.solsector.net/confederation.zipContaining:
To run, change to the directory where you extracted the files and type
- Java source code
- Class files
- Some data files for
- random name generation
- some planet pictures
- a few ship pictures
java GameFrame
You must put the java executable in your path.
you'll need to get the Java Runtime Environment version 1.3 or greater
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/jre/
and the JAXP java XML parser.
http://java.sun.com/xml/downloads/javaxmlpack.html
You'll need to put the .jar files from the xml pack in your java ext directory.This is really in hopes of finding a java developer willing to take over. Java is a great language for beginning programmers, so I hope someone will become inspired enough to fly with this, I'd be happy to answer questions about the source. It's primarily uses java's swing gui library, and RMI to deal with multiplayer issues, in case any programmers out there are interested.
It's nowhere near finished, but is enough for anyone interested in working on a multiplayer WC strategy game to get a good jump start.
Follow or Contact Us