News categories list

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Darkmage DMJC has some great news for WC4 fans on Linux. After years of steady progress, he reports that the latest build of Wine successfully runs GOG's DVD version of the game. There's a particular checkbox in the winecfg file that you need to make sure is unmarked, but after that, it should be fairly smooth sailing. As with anything like this, there's always the potential for unique hardware/software configurations to produce new hiccups, so hit up the CIC Forums or Discord if you encounter issues!

Wing Commander IV DVD edition works on Linux! Set this in winecfg. If that box is ticked it fails. Also run regsvr32 Mpeg2DecFilter.ax and regsvr32 ac3filter.ax to make sure the codecs are installed.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

A claim that the rogue signal sources form part of a potential Thargoid offensive has been disputed by many in the pro-peace movement.
A joint statement by respected xenologists Professor Alba Tesreau, Professor Ishmael Palin and Ram Tah concluded that the approaching anomalies are a reaction to events in HIP 22460, and may have dire consequences for humanity. The eight signal sources are projected to arrive in the core systems within weeks.
Advocates for the Thargoid Advocacy Project and similar xeno-peace groups have rejected the idea that increased hostilities with the Thargoids is inevitable. As community liaison Bernadette Wells said on the Joy Senne ICE-cast:
"Despite this ominous claim from three respected scientists, they have offered no hard evidence to support the assumption that the anomalies are hostile. I'm sorry, I know Seo Jin-ae has suffered enormously as part of Salvation's

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The human colonists in the Coalsack Nebula has raised the alarm after Thargoid forces appeared several systems.
Following recent attacks on systems and vessels in the California Nebula, it appears that the Thargoids have again sought to occupy systems where barnacle fields are present on planet surfaces.
Councillor Lewis Laychurch, representing the Alliance Expeditionary Pact in HIP 62154, provided the following to the Alliance Tribune:
"Our security craft regularly patrol between the populated systems in this region. We had the first reports of nonhuman signals this morning. Obviously we've seen Thargoid activity in the Coalsack Nebula several times before, but this time was different. It's not an attack as much as a presence."
"We witnessed a huge upsurge in these signals in multiple systems. Over a couple of hours, it felt like Thargoid activity was visible on scanners wherever our ships

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The announcement that the rogue signal sources heading towards the core systems are Thargoid in origin has caused unease within the general public.
Protests in systems on the edges of human space have taken place, demanding assurances from local governments about their safety. The failure to establish a collective human fleet to counter Thargoid incursions has left many concerned about what the future may hold.
Casey Kilpatrick provided this report from Castellan Station in Lave:
"Colleagues across multiple systems have confirmed that the impending arrival of the rogue signal sources – termed 'stargoids' by some in network media – has led to a shared sense of anxiety. ICE networks are seeing high interest in topics related to Thargoids, with negative sentiment aimed at politicians and military figures seen as responsible for the Proteus Wave event which perhaps attracted the anomalies.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Nightball06 has finally accomplished the lengthy mission to model his Hellcat fighter. As you might recall, he previously made an intricately detailed two dimensional sketch of the medium fighter from Wing Commander 3. It took him a while to find a partner with which to add the extra dimension, but he did manage to connect with such an artist and the results are below. The first image shows the new model, and the second is his original sketch (and Klavs' Wildcat, which was also an inspiration). Hit the discuss link to let him know what you think!

IT IS DONE!!! Ladies and gentlemen - May I present you:

The F-86E "Hellcat V refit". With the help of a very talented 3D-artist from Israel called "lexa6ix" I was able to finalize my vision.

It was a blast to work with him - especially because I was able to present and discuss my ideas, which he then knew how to make real. And because of that - I was even

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Inspired by Nightball's Hellcat model, L.I.F. is back with a neat plan to upgrade his Freelancer/Wing Commander conversion mod. His original program allows you to play through the regular Freelancer campaign, but with familiar WC ships! Now he's looking at addressing the open ended portion of the game. Some of the new features are described below.

I've gone back to the mod and am adding some further features. The release being targeted is an open-ended sandbox, so without the original game's campaign. I've added a small chance for military-grade equipment to drop from destroyed military fighters, with the understanding that the player will not be allowed to buy them in any circumstance whatsoever, thus providing a long-term end-game goal rather than quickly becoming utterly overpowered.

The other thing I am working on right now is capital ship patrols: destroyers and corvettes that will patrol core

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

This is part of a series analyzing newly discovered Wing Commander IV continuity photographs. You can find the previous posts collected here.

Today's polaroid led us to several interesting stories. Pictured here as "Confed Cap #3" is actor Charles "Chip" Esten. Since appearing as a featured extra in Wing Commander IV, Esten has gone on to a considerable amount of success including appearing as a series regular on ABC drama Nashville, playing Josh Porter on The Office and on multiple iterations of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. Mr. Esten is very active today and even retweeted our request to help identify his polaroid!

The polaroid gives you a good look at a Terran Confederation Navy jacket complete with a name and rank that aren't visible on screen (JARVIS and Lieutenant Commander, respectively). Wing Commander Prophecy would later establish a different canonical rank for Lieutenant Commander (three

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The long awaited Artemis mission has finally lifted off! If you were like all of us in #Wingnut, you were glued to your screens to watch the historic event. But since everything went down at nearly 2 am US Eastern time, here's a quick recap video if you haven't had the pleasure of watching the Space Launch System rocket launch. This marks the beginning of a 26 day mission to reach and circle the moon. Crewed missions will follow, and with steady progress, this could be a big step towards reaching Mars. Congrats to all of the many people who helped make this possible!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
The Kingfisher megaship has requested supplies for its planned journey to greet the first rogue signal source.
Shipments of basic medicines, fruit and vegetables are required for the Kingfisher's crew, who will be joined by over 3,000 supporters of the Thargoid Advocacy Project. Semiconductors and Muon Imagers have also been requested to establish the mission's communications arrays, which are being designed to initiate contact with the Thargoids.
Congressman Dalton Chase gave a press statement regarding the initiative:
"Now that we know the approaching anomalies are Thargoid, many are concerned that hostilities between our species will escalate. However, a brave group of volunteers see this as an opportunity to prove that diplomacy can work. An alien race has sent emissaries toward humanity's space, and it is our duty to meet them with words rather than weapons."

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

GOG is holding a special sale this weekend on games from the Electronic Arts catalog! This means you can get the Wing Commander series for 75% off. If you've already completed your WC collection, Bioforge, Crusader and the other Crusader are also on sale!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Today we've got a new scan previewing the release of The Secret Missions on the Super Nintendo. AD found it in the November 1993 issue of Super Action. I love how colorful and exciting everything looks. We get plenty of screenshots of spaceflight, life aboard the Claw and of the special new War Hammer XII cutscene added to the game. The images repeat film-reel style across to top to sell how cinematic something like this was considered at the time. As was also common back then, there are also some basic tips for how to approach the different types of missions. You heard it here first: "a lot more technical," "big improvements all around" and "a lot more depth than the original!"

The sequel appears a lot more technical than the original, basically because of all the options and choices on offer. The amount of onboard information you can punch up with a slight slap of your joy pad is staggering.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

As the rogue signal sources draw closer to human-occupied space, work is underway to initiate peaceful inter-species negotiations.
Dr Elias Pope is a graduate of Orion University with degrees in interstellar relations, political science and xenology. He has recently joined the Kingfisher megaship's crew to oversee the Thargoid Advocacy Project's diplomatic mission. In an interview with Vox Galactica, Dr Pope explained his role:
"Like most of the Kingfisher's crew, I volunteered to take part in this operation. It feels like my whole professional life has been leading to this opportunity. Many of the fine people here feel the same way I do. If there's even a chance that we might begin properly talking to the Thargoids, well… it'll be historic."
"Luria , my assistant, tells me there are some media-friendly names for these anomalies now. As a scientific purist, she's very unhappy about that! This

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Mac has another gorgeous wallpaper image ready to grace your desktops. It shows a pair of Sabres racing away after a successful strike on a Fralthra. In keeping with his recent Johnny Greene theme, he's dubbed this one "Ramona's Revenge" after the late Lt Cmdr Ramona Chekova. This one's pretty intense, but a beauty to look at all the same!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
The Kingfisher megaship has received commodities in advance of its mission to communicate with the first rogue signal source.
The Thargoid Advocacy Project reported that the shipments of semiconductors and Muon Imagers will contribute to the communications array aboard the megaship. The deliveries of basic medicines, fruit and vegetables will be made available to its crew and passengers, which include thousands of pro-peace supporters.
Deutsche Elite Piloten Interstellar has announced that contributors can now collect payment from Blenkinsop Hub in the Andavandul system. This includes bounty voucher reimbursements for all pilots who eliminated criminal vessels threatening deliveries during the initiative.
The Kingfisher will tomorrow make the journey from Andavandul to the permit-locked Hyades Sector YO-Q b5-1 system. The first of the rogue signal sources, which has

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Today we've got a pair of fabulous 3D printed bombers to show off. They're the latest creations by Adm_Maverick. These are some of the biggest pilotable craft out there, and at nearly a foot long, they've been built to an appropriately hefty scale. This allows for some of the detailed elements like turrets to really stand out. Mav has some quirks that they'd ideally like to correct, but I think the results are already pretty fantastic. Bravo!

Printed up, and assembled the parts for a Longbow heavy bomber. There is something I really like about of the Longbow. Sadly the printing process was somewhat uneven resulting in some warping and deformations. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do about it. I could make new parts, reprint the original parts with different settings, or maybe create new files to be printed. On a side note, I need to do some number crunching but I think this might actually be

Quote from No Man

Hello Everyone,

In 2021, to close out the year, we re-ran the year’s expeditions in a reduxed format over the holiday season to give people another chance to experience these events and reap the rewards when time is perhaps a little more available. That proved to be very popular so we are pleased to announce that we are doing it again.

Here are the dates:

• 

  Expedition 5 (Exobiology): 24th Nov – 8th Dec

• 

  Expedition 6 (Blighted): 8th Dec – 22nd Dec

• 

  Expedition 7 (Leviathan): 22nd Dec – 5th Jan

• 

  Expedition 8 (Polestar): 5th Jan – 18th Jan

Rewards for these expeditions include the Exotic Wingpack customisation, the Helios and Quad Companions, and the legendary Leviathan Frigate – along with much more!

2022 marks our sixth year in the life of No Man’s Sky and it has been one of the busiest yet.

In February, we released our first ever handheld version of No Man’s Sky day and date with Steam Deck. It has been amazing to us

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Congressman Dalton Chase has applauded the increased public support for the goal of opening diplomatic channels with the Thargoids.
During an exclusive interview with ICE-caster Joy Senne, he said:
"Not so long ago, the idea of communicating with the Thargoids seemed absurd. But look at what's happening in Andavandul right now! There's so much support from the galactic community. People are placing their faith in a better future than just endless warfare."
"My only regret is that I won't be joining my fellow campaigners aboard the Kingfisher after all. The duties of my new congressional position mean that my diary has become full extremely quickly, with many commitments to uphold. But I'll be travelling with them in spirit as they journey out to meet Taranis, and prove to its Thargoid controllers that humanity is ready to co-exist peacefully."
Joy Senne revealed that she had planned to

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Andrea Contato is back with a new series of retro gaming history books. He's planned out everything from the 1970s through today in five volumes. The first couple are already researched and written, and he's now in the process of translating them from Italian to English. These earlier issues won't quite get to Wing Commander's timeframe, but his previous books on the History of Origin Systems were interesting and insightful looks back at the company's history. You can still order these at his website - the hardcover version is currently on sale, although it looks like the WC-themed extra (bookmarks and cloth art) are probably out. You can also learn more about his new project here.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The crew of the TCS Majestic is gearing up for their final battle and conclusion of a two year campaign. Everything culminates this weekend in the Gemini Sector RPG. This won't be the end of the group's online roleplay adventures, but it does mark the end of a major story arc. Even if it feels like an odd time to join in, the group welcomes all to join and watch at their Discord server! It sounds like they'll have a great time. Check out a few associated vids to set the scene below:

The crew ready for a final strike on the Zhelnar tactical carrier. This is the final mission of the Nitir Campaign. If the pilots manage to destroy the carrier, the kilrathi presence in Ragnarok will be destabilized to a point where ISS can safely protect the colonies.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Contact has been lost with the Kingfisher megaship in the Hyades Sector YO-Q b5-1 system, just over a day since its arrival.
The Kingfisher was equipped to transmit signals to the interstellar anomaly named Taranis, with the goal of opening communications with it should such a possibility exist. Over 3,000 supporters of the xeno-peace movement were aboard the megaship when it departed the Andavandul system.
Rani Zaman , a spokesperson for the Thargoid Advocacy Project team monitoring long-range comms with the megaship, issued a statement to the media:
"I regret to say that all attempts to raise the Kingfisher on any frequency have failed. The last message we received was highly distorted, but seemed to be a distress call. We are asking for immediate assistance to locate the megaship and provide whatever support may be needed."
The Federation responded by cancelling