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Today we've got an exciting update to Wing Loader to share! Destro is back with a major overhaul to the project. As you may recall, Wing Loader is a mod to The Kilrathi Saga to fully add original (Sega CD) speech to the PC version of WC1. As the years have gone by, the scope has expanded to add things like the new Secret Missions from SWC and the bonus SM1 intro from the SNES. A huge upcoming development will be the addition of enhanced WC3 video to a future release. In order to facilitate that update, Destro has significantly streamlined and improved the functional code of the existing material. You can download the latest update here (350 meg zip) and follow the latest at the CIC Forums. You can also find detailed installation instructions here.

Version 0.90 - (Engine Re-Write) Released!

Wing Loader aims to create the most definitive version of Wing Commander possible by supporting the most

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Chronocidal Guy's new Excalibur 3D print has come together nicely. We got a good status update on the component pieces last month, and now we can see how nearly everything has come together. Here he's put together a lengthy rundown of the latest updates. If you'd like a copy of his printing files to test build your own, let him know!

Progress update, all the parts are printed, and I think at least the digital part of the model is something I can call "done" after about 20 years.

The big upgrades for this were mainly the larger size and the cockpit, but the larger scale made a lot of smaller details possible that wouldn't have shown up on my smaller models if I had tried to print them. I do think the model will be better if using a liquid resin printer, but I'm very happy with how well the ABS turned out.

One of the biggest things I changed were all the greeblie panels. I did my best to estimate how

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A profile of Digital Anvil's swanky downtown office from... ugh... the March 2000 issue of PC Accelerator. Complete with full sized Kilrathi!

...ngl this double-page StarLancer ad is also fire.

You can see pics from our own March 1999 visit to the office here!

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The phenomenal expansion of the CIC Holovid video archive continues! Having recently vastly expanded what was available for Privateer 2, LOAF and AD have moved on to Wing Commander Prophecy. Their complete catalog of the game's cutscenes includes every clip in high quality, complete with transcripts, storyboards, alternate languages, variations and branching choices depicted. The game's ICIS mission briefings have also been digitized and transcribed, and THOUSANDS of in-flight audio communication clips have been added. This even applies to the 3Dfx Test and playable demo. Plus, a fun variety of behind-the-scenes and bonus videos are available as well. You don't want to miss it!

Here's LOAF with more detail:

• A page for every cutscene in Wing Commander Prophecy! Each page embeds the cutscene in question and collects all sorts of bonus materials:
  • The alternate, higher quality DVD footage
    • The German dub

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President Zachary Hudson has announced a raft of legislation he intends to push during his last few months in office.
Political journalists have noted that many of the points would benefit the Republican Party while in opposition to the president-elect Felicia Winters administration. A press release from the Office of the Federal President listed the key initiatives currently underway:
"First: A new media standards agency will be established to regulate independently operated newsfeeds in Federal systems, to ensure local issues are presented in a format which adheres to Federal values."
"Second: Corporations that have exclusive contracts with the Federal government will be granted significant tax rebates, on President Hudson's executive authority."
"Third: The Federal Navy Intelligence Office will establish a data-sharing strategy with the Proactive Detection Bureau. This will broaden the net

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THRILLING ART NEWS! It turns out that the amazing cover to Wing Commander: End Run was NOT painted by Paul Alexander (as credited)... but David Mattingly! And... HE SELLS PRINTS AT HIS WEBSITE! Cool kids will know David Mattingly for his Animorphs covers while extremely hip gentlemen will know him for his Honor Harrington ones.

End Run credits its cover art to Paul Anderson - the same as Freedom Flight, Fleet Action and Action Stations (which was commissioned for the WC3 novel). Those other three look like Paul Anderson paintings, though, and End Run kind of sticks out in its style. The painting was certainly sold years ago as a Paul Anderson original, but now that we have this super high res photography:

His wizard art is also worthy of song:

I don't know if there's a story behind the incorrect credit... but it's worth remembering that this is the same series that also credited a whole book to the

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Today we have a truly incredible find! VGDensetsu shared this piece of art by Greg Winters. It's the source sketch for what eventually became the phenomenal box art for Wing Commander: The Secret Missions on the Super Nintendo. We absolutely love finding stuff like this under any circumstances, but there are some extra quirky elements here. One, it reveals that the first cut of the drawing depicts a more typical brown Salthi. In the final piece, the ship is tinted green, which is an excellent nod to the fact that the SNES version of the game replaces its Jalthi art with a green Salthi model. That's such a cool info bit. And two, this sketch is on the opposite side of a piece of paper with the SNES Wizard of Oz game. Wild! The original piece is up for auction throughout this month.

Greg Winters The Wizard of Oz & Wing Commander: The Secret Missions SNES Original Preliminary Box Art (Seta,

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Little discovery: the firefighting truck seen fleetingly in the Wing Commander movie is a rented Saracen tank. Now I have an excuse to own a tank.

More of the truck from AD!

AD: Don't forget to ask for the spray foam kit when you order yours! Off-camera, this vehicle is shoring up the breached bulkhead. It was shot at least twice with multi-cam setups to only show us the tires.

And its cousin, the fuel truck:

AD: I think this also settles that they used the same truck as the fuel truck in the movie, but dressed it differently with extra panels, wheel covers, and more tanks. You can spot it very briefly and a handful of flight deck scenes. You get a decent look at the back of it in an unused angle of Maniac's reckless landing, which apparently almost crashed into the fuel truck.

Concept art from the movie's set folks! You can see it's supposed to be an unmanned repair truck that sprays self-sealing goo

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People who have been rescued from Thargoid Titans remain in quarantine, but can soon expect family visits and access to comms networks.
Aegis reported that bio-storage capsules are still being successfully extracted from the Thargoid motherships, albeit at high risk to pilots. Each revived individual has been placed in medical isolation, as per guidance from Aegis specialists.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Corcoran, who coordinates the Alliance's involvement with Aegis, discussed the situation in a session of the Assembly:
"All abductees are being monitored for signs of Thargoid physical or mental influence. So far, I'm pleased to say, these test results remain negative. Therefore, those from Allied systems are now permitted to receive visitors, while remaining under strict quarantine conditions. They are also being granted direct access to comms and public media. I understand that Federal,

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Here's a neat article on the making of The Darkening from a 1996 DK book on multimedia!

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BOO! From us to you!

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*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Crazed pilots that were killing civilians in the Shamash system have been eliminated.
The local security force vessels participating in Fleet Exercise Grey Swan were exposed to an anomalous signal, which then circulated through the fleet's networked comms. This apparently triggered a violent mania that caused them to attack passing traffic.
Captain Ulrich Maurer of the megaship Khonsu Gleam announced that an operation to eliminate the threat had concluded:
"All Grey Swan ships have now been targeted and destroyed. Though tragic, this action undoubtedly saved many thousands of lives and has brought peace to the system once more. San Tu State Network, in agreement with Shamash Future, has agreed to reimburse all independent pilots who took part. Payments are available for collection at the Khonsu Gleam."
Shamash Future confirmed that Garrett Orbital, which was locked

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The rapid evolution of Thargoid barnacle matrix sites into colossal spires has sparked intense scientific scrutiny and concern as to their purpose.
Dr Maximo Fonseca, the Allied scientific liaison to Aegis, discussed recent developments in an article for The Empirical:
"There's no doubt that these twisting, biomechanical towers are important to the Thargoids. Each site is defended by highly aggressive drones, including a new type designated the 'Banshee'. Larger Thargoid vessels also routinely come and go, in a manner similar to ships docking with an outpost."
"Some believe that each site is an alien city – a xenopolis, if you will – and that this marks the start of a colonisation programme. But I believe the Thargoids remain on a war footing. Either way, we are bringing together our finest xenologists to decipher their function as rapidly as possible."
One of these scientists is Professor

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As we mentioned last month, LOAF, AD and team are working through an exhaustive overhaul to the CIC's original video archive. Our Holovids video index was pretty great for its time, but this takes the concept to an entirely different level. Right off the bat, you can see how branching plot choices work along with alternate video clips and dialogue script. With that text, you can understand exactly what was being said, even through the muffled parts. Alternate language French, German and Spanish editions are also included as are alternate quality sources where available. Plus, there are an enormous number of behind-the-scenes clips, deleted scenes, reviews and more. Want an extensive array of print reviews? That's included too! If that wasn't enough, a complete rundown of in-flight comms from both the story and gameplay are now available. Incredible! Today's update is all about Privateer 2,

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Vox Galactica's Jade Sanderlyn discusses the successful recovery of people from the Titans and developments at the new Thargoid spire sites.
"When Aegis announced its plans to free abductees from the Thargoid motherships, I wasn't the only one expecting the worst outcome. Turning a core mining missile into a way to extract life-support capsules from the Titans sounded extremely risky. And even if it worked, what state would these poor people be in after such a horrific experience?"
"Much to my relief, the scheme is working. Many thousands have now been brought back to civilisation, and seem to have suffered few ill-effects. Wisely, all are being kept under strict quarantine while a battery of medical tests are run on them. But I understand that, in most cases, abductees are permitted to communicate with their friends and families - most of whom never expected to hear from them again."
"Another

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Mac's highly anticipated lore video on the TCS Concordia has been released! The clip has been teased in a variety of forms over the past month, and now you can enjoy the entire episode. It details the extensive history of the vessel from its commissioning in the wake of The Secret Missions 2 through the exploits of WC2 and the Special Operations and finally with her heroic efforts from the WC novels. The thorough narration is complemented by more than twenty minutes of gorgeous fleet footage. It's very informative and visually striking. Don't miss it!

The Rockstar of Confed's Carrier Fleet.

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Fun Privateer 2 background element: Angus Santana has a model of a Bexian public transport balloon on his desk.

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Pretty neat discovery by AD: the German dub of Wing Commander Prophecy includes two post-mission attaboys that aren’t present in the English release!

They are both included in the shooting script and the schedule! It’s not some giant missing piece but it’s pretty neat to see more of Ginger’s Rachel… even if she’s speaking German! Yes we are adding the entire German dub to Holovids! You can learn more here and here.

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The results of an evening of hex editing! This is how Privateer figures the cost of repairs (and the prices for selling damaged components, which is never worth it!).

Every component has a damage rating from 0 (destroyed) to 100 (no damage). Repairs are a percent of the total item value times the damage rating.

The armor is the exception: it has four values (one for each side) and the total amount varies by armor type. It’s also super broken and rolls over so will charge you more for a tiny amount of damage. But the range is so small you never notice while playing!

The one component you can’t buy are the hated maneuvering jets. But from their repair costs we can see they seem to have a total value of 75,000 credits!

The maneuvering jets graphic was actually initially created to be an EMP shield. This was part of a cut game loop that would've let you disable enemy ships (and need such a shield to protect

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*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Commanders have been asked to help destroy the rogue Grey Swan pilots killing civilians in the Shamash system.
Military squadrons taking part in Fleet Exercise Grey Swan became irrationally violent following an unexplained mass hysteria that swept through Garrett Orbital during a fleet training exercise. Captain Ulrich Maurer, commanding officer of the San Tu State Network megaship Khonsu Gleam, broadcast the following message:
"Shamash Future's security forces have asked us to help stop the carnage taking place throughout this system. No medical or technological solution has been found for affected pilots, who seem reluctant to leave Shamash. Therefore, to prevent the loss of more innocent lives, there is regrettably no choice but to eliminate every ship in the Grey Swan fleet."
"We are urgently seeking to recruit independent pilots with combat experience. Financial