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  • 22

    Jul

  • 22

    Jul

  • 22

    Jul

    Vox Galactica reporter Jade Sanderlyn has broadcast an update on the conflict taking place in the HIP 22460 system.
    "The fierce fighting in HIP 22460 has intensified over the past week. Swarms of Thargoid vessels can be encountered throughout the system, cutting down any ill-prepared ships within range. The combined human forces are battling furiously to diminish the alien fleet."
    "A total of seven capital ships, all armed with experimental weaponry, are now providing support for AX squadrons. I've been mesmerised by the intense volleys of energy beams that flash from these gigantic craft, seeking out the dark-hulled Thargoids as they swoop and spin with an eerie grace. Distance offers these sights a strange beauty, a distraction from the ugly fact that many lives are lost with each skirmish."
    "It appears the Alliance's military pact with Sirius Corporation is starting to gain traction. The

  • 23

    Jul

    It's been a few months since we last checked in with the crew of the TCS Majestic and the Gemini Sector RPG, but they've been very busy! The group has been involved in a whole host of missions ranging from hunting down a Kilrathi battlegroup to warding off an incoming strike force. They've also done escort duty and seen the famous Kilrathi defector Hajjnah. Everyone behind the game puts a ton of creative energy into it, and if you'd like the join the fun, hit up their Discord server. Events are held almost every Friday night! Here are a few of their recent mission briefings:

    The crew scramble trying to find the hidden colony base in the Ragnarok sector.
    The professor Hajjnah speaks to a new client. He will not need all his charisma and wits about him.
    The team must escort a shuttle to the Oxford system to allow their resident doctor to pass their quals and be allowed to practice.
  • 24

    Jul

    Today we have a short musical piece that was written as part of a film school project. The artist, Sean Sumwalt, used about a minute of footage from the end of the Wing Commander Movie right after Angel ejects and Blair is forced to keep moving. A new instrumental track accompanies the scene and attempts to set the tone. AD found it while looking for Overture covers, and it's definitely not that, but it's not bad.

  • 25

    Jul

    Guilherme Poggiali sent along this Ação Games scan of a vintage 3DO review of WC3 from Brazil. Look at that crazy header art! Classic '90s magazine formatting has such a distinctive style. It's always fascinating to see what they choose to point out, such as the detailed diagram of what each cockpit/HUD element is. That speckled starscape background doesn't help legibility, but again, it sure is a product of that era.

    acaogames89_wc3_reviewt.jpg

  • 25

    Jul

  • 25

    Jul

    As its anti-xeno initiative in HIP 22460 continues, Azimuth Biotech has been deliberately targeted by protestors in other systems.
    Director Torben Rademaker, head of strategic operations, made a public broadcast from the corporation's headquarters at Hind Mine starport:
    "Azimuth Biotech is dedicated to the vision of Salvation, whose expertise will soon quash the Thargoid blight once and for all. The Alliance, Empire and Federation have put aside their differences to turn this ambition into a reality. But a fractious minority are determined to prevent this, giving the Thargoids a window of opportunity to avoid their fate."
    "Almost immediately after our corporate rebrand from Taurus Mining Ventures, Azimuth came under attack. A rabble of buccaneers and political agitators forcibly expelled our assets from the Merope and Qarato systems. Only by extreme and costly means were we able to retain Hind

  • 26

    Jul

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    Jul

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    Jul

  • 27

    Jul

    A counter-statement regarding Azimuth Biotech has been published by Professor Alba Tesreau, former head of research at Aegis.
    "The recent declaration by Director Torben Rademaker paints a false picture of those pilots who are actively working against Azimuth Biotech. He frames them as criminals and alien sympathisers, betraying humanity to the Thargoids. This could not be any further from the truth. It is Azimuth's own inhumanity that they are fighting against."
    "It's unsurprising that Salvation's focus is now on HIP 22460, given this system has long been part of Azimuth's sinister legacy. On planet 7c is the abandoned settlement Fort Asch, where unlicensed scientists performed monstrous experiments to link human minds with Thargoid vessels. We know from Project Seraph's sole survivor, known as Subject D-2, how brutal the results were."
    "Alongside the Bright Sentinel above planet 10b is the

  • 28

    Jul

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    Jul

  • 29

    Jul

    We’d like to spend time in today’s news taking a moment to recognize Wing Commander Arena’s belated 15th birthday! We reached the milestone on Monday, but the unfortunate passing of the legendary David Warner preempted this story. Arena was released on July 25, 2007, which feels like a lifetime ago now. It was one of the few 2000s WC releases, including other notable titles like Prophecy for Gameboy Advance and EA Replay on the PlayStation Portable. Arena was made for Xbox Live Arcade, which was the platform for downloadable games on Microsoft’s Xbox system. As such, there were some major constraints. The size limit for DLC games at the time was a mere 50 megabytes and the selling price was just $10. So the game was built within some pretty major technical and budget limits. Despite these challenges, the team at Gaia Industries and EA Vancouver managed to pull off some impressive achievements worthy

  • 29

    Jul

    *Pilots' Federation ALERT*
    Work on the Proteus Wave in the HIP 22460 system has concluded, according to an announcement from Azimuth Biotech.
    "This is Salvation. The core mechanism of the Proteus Wave is now fully assembled. Under my guidance, specialists are performing checks at the selected site on HIP 22460 10 b. Additional power capacitors are also being installed to improve energy transfer management."
    "Over the next few days, the Proteus Wave will be calibrated within one of the Thargoid structures, the unique properties of which will greatly amplify the weapon's signal. This breakthrough was only made possible due to decades of xenological research conducted by Azimuth, alongside pioneering theories on cross-species interfaces."
    "Commodore Halloran reports that even greater numbers of Thargoid vessels have arrived within the Proteus Wave's effective range. But it is now absolutely

  • 30

    Jul

    AD noticed a new Hobby Lark article about the biggest space ships in sci-fi. Some franchises have absolutely ridiculous monsters that are the focus of the piece, but Wing Commander still got an honorable mention thanks to the 22,000 meter Hvar’kann class Kilrathi dreadnought. There’s really not much to the reference here, but it’s fun for sticklers like us to see people still bringing up this crazy 28 year old stat. While some have wondered if it’s a typo, the novel False Colors doubles down on the length and makes it part of the tactical landscape in its story. Likewise, the visuals in WC3’s losing endgame also imply a ship on the larger end of the scale.

    Hvar'kann Class Dreadnought (Wing Commander): This monstrous showpiece of the expansionistic Kilrathi Empire is 22 km long; expectedly, armed to the teeth too. The sizable starfighter fleet it carried is also capable of defending the dreadnought from
  • 31

    Jul

    Dennis Mull tipped us off about a Wing Commander-themed stream happening this weekend. The Sol Citizens show on Sunday will be about Chris Roberts' earlier games from Wing Commander to Freelancer. It'll be broadcasting starting at 5 pm US Eastern Time. Sounds like a good time!

    What was the name of the "Bengal-Class" carrier introduced in Chris Roberts' game "Wing Commander"? Watch the SOL Citizens Sunday, July 31st at 8:00pm ET to see if you're right? Twitch or http://youtube.com/solcitizens

    sol_citizen_streamt.jpgTo his credit, I don't think Dennis will have a problem tackling these trivia questions!

    Still unpacking boxes from my move but I already unpacked these.

    mull_collection47t.jpgmull_collection48t.jpg

  • 31

    Jul