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General: Celebrate the anniversary of First Contact Day! Join in on this special re-enactment event from April 4th at 8am PT to April 11th at 10am PT. Captains of level 10 and above may participate in this event. Play the event to unlock the following rewards: When you complete the queue for the First Contact Day event, you will receive a special Zefram Cochrane Memorial Hologram Voucher (limit one per day, per character). 1x Captain Specialization Point Launch Toy Rocket Holo Emitter - Phoenix Shuttle (NEW!) Replica Thompson Submachine Gun Ships: You can now properly select between windows types for the Faeht Intel Warbird. Aft torpedos now fire correctly on the Europa Heavy Battlecruiser. Content: Enemies in Peril over Pahvo & Dranuur Gauntlet Task Force Operation now award Experience Points when they are defeated. Addressed an issue that could cause debug

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation Alert*
Titan Hadad is under siege. This is an urgent call to all independent pilots to aid in the complete defeat of the fourth Titan.
The key modules for the assault continue to be readily available at all Rescue Megaships:
• Thargoid Pulse Neutraliser – To break through the maelstrom defence wave.
• Caustic Sink Launchers – To protect your ship from caustic effects of the maelstrom.
• Guardian Nanite Torpedo Pylon – To hamper the Titan's vents and make it vulnerable to damage.
Rewards have been requisitioned for all Commanders able to participate in ending the Titan threat.
Good luck, Commanders.

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Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Yesterday we reported on Mash's spectacular patch to increase Wing Commander 3's resolution and integrate enhanced videos. As we also mentioned, this was something that Destro was working to incorporate into Wing Loader. With the success of Mash's program, Destro has officially stopped trying to integrate that into his mod. He's instead released a new version of Wing Loader that seamlessly supports both apps side-by-side. It's also packed with fixes and improvements for Wing Commanders 1&2! Grab version 0.92 here!

Wing Commander III HD Video playback via Wing Loader has been cancelled. I was planning to release this a couple of weeks from now but I ultimately cancelled the project... Why? Someone did it for me!!! And in my testing, theirs works better. :p

Mash has created an Enhancement Pack for Wing Commander III that includes adding in the HD Videos and this is what I'm going to recommend using

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Cybot078 has returned with several new environments for Privateer fans. He's recreated Perry, New Constantinople and Oxford. Each one has been filled out with more scenery and photographed from a wider point of view. They're pretty imaginative pieces of art and help you appreciate the original scenes even more. I never really noticed the cloud-like bulges in the Perry ceiling or thought about how large the Constantinople space might be. The first image in each set is the original. Take a look below!

Perry Naval Base:

New Constantinople:

Oxford:

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

ParadiseRegaind has posted an extremely cool and unique collectible. He worked with apesincaves to commission an awesome diorama cube of the key original Wing Commander art and Hornet cockpit. The artist also makes them for Tie Fighter, Doom and many other franchises. You can even pick one up for yourself for about $42!

Picked up these really cool diorama shadow boxes on eBay recently. The maker/seller is great and made the Wing Commander one at my request. I’m trying to get him to make a Descent one now!

He has a ton of these for various classic games and series. Well worth a shout out!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Shipments of Guardian relics and Unclassified relics have boosted hopes of developing a weapon against the Thargoid Titans.
The Aegis-led initiative gathered supplies of the crystalline relics left behind by the Guardian species, as well as the Unclassified relics that result when they interface with Thargoid surface sites.
These were requested to support a project based on new theories expounded by the engineer Ram Tah, considered the leading expert on Guardian history and technology.
Aden Tanner, who works as an anti-xeno strategist for Aegis, made a brief comment to Vox Galactica:
"As always, we're grateful to every pilot who took part to support Aegis. I don't mind sharing that Ram Tah is delighted, and is currently refining his theory with the aid of specialists from all three superpowers."
"We hope to reveal more details very soon, but at this point it's worth

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Councillor Nakato Kaine has announced that a delivery campaign in the Tionisla system has not reached its target.
Addressing the Alliance Assembly, she said:
"The purpose of this campaign was to demonstrate the core principles of the Alliance: independence, self-sufficiency and mutual support. While we received millions of units, our target quota was not filled. I believe there are important lessons to be learned here. We must not lose faith in the Alliance's ability to remain self-sustaining in military infrastructure."
The strategic defence pact between the Alliance and Sirius Corporation is being subjected to an independent inquiry. A vocal minority of councillors in the Assembly are critical of their corporate partner's inability to deliver anti-xeno ships or activities.
Sirius Corporation CEO Li Yong Rui offered this comment to reporters:
"Sirius Corporation's

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

It appears that the pending removal of Wing Commander Academy wan't a false alarm. The show is no longer listed for streaming on the Peacock service. With the removal of great shows from a number of platforms and new paywalling/gatekeeping happening all over, it feels like the hits just keep coming. Fortunately you can still pick up the DVD for about $11. And never fear, the Wing Commander CIC remains free and there's no limit the number of forum posts you can view in a day. You can also always join us in Discord #Wingnut!

A peek back at better days:

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Back in February, we reported on a teaser post from Supercade announcing an upcoming crowd funding campaign to release an LP (vinyl record) of George Oldziey's Wing Commander Orchestral Recording Project. The good news today is that the campaign is still happening and it sounds like it's launching soon. Supercade founder Van Burnahm tweeted in response to a question that it was launching in just four days, on May 1st!

It’s launching May 1st!!!

— Van Burnham (@supercade71) April 27, 2023

Obviously these sorts of things are never fully set in stone... and who knows more about slipping release dates than Wing Commander fans... but we're crossing our fingers and hoping to bring you more on Monday!

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I *NEVER* do these, but what the hey! 1 like = 1 answer

The ESK rating for the Dart DF missile is... 11,000 ESK! What is ESK? The blueprints list it as the 'strength' rating for the missile and the numbers roughly correspond to the game's explosive force stat. In Secret Missions 2, Maniac proposes (suicidally) arming missiles with "a double load of ESK-5 explosives". So maybe its like TNT?

The max range of the Mass Driver Cannon is 3,000 mrrs... later listed as simply 3,000 kilometers! *plonk* *plonk* *plonk*

The ESK rating for the Pilum FF is... 9,500! Note also the Duck Dodgers reference on all the blueprint missile breakouts!

The velocity of the Dart DF is... 900 kilometers per second! That means you'll need afterburners to outrun one... or you can just move out of the way.

Oh, here's the rest of the answers!

1. What is the ESK rating for the Dart DF missile? 11000
2. What is the max range of the mass driver

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

It's time for a new poll, and we've got a fun one here. LOAF recently put together a neat comparison of all the Wing Commander Academy ships alongside their game counterparts. It's a really stunning visual! Today's survey asks which one you think made the best transition from the PC to television. Make your pick below:

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The last poll was our annual evaluation of what people think the year ahead will be like. I think it's a surprisingly positive result! It's still early, and already we've got exciting things like the vinyl album on the horizon. Of course, the community is what we make it, and we can all help make the year great!

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What a nice way to start the weekend! Klavs has wrapped up the texturing on his updated Ferret model. There are two variants. One is a familiar paint scheme based on what you might find in WC2/In-System Security. There's also a more muted gray set in End Run/the TCS Tarawa. They make a potent pair!

Calling this done for now.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Wow, another year has come to an end! As we chase these final few hours before 2023, here's a look back at some of the noteworthy stories of the past year.

If you can remember far back enough, the year actually began with a new official WC product release! The MT-32 Archival Edition of the WC1 soundtrack was published by The Fat Man and Team Fat. Also in early 2022, people started to receive their Malcolm McDowell autographs printed on WC3 Playstation adverts. Fan projects also started to deliver in January, including the custom WC Challenge Coins that ZOmegaZ commissioned. It was a great way to kick off the year!

Wingnuts filled their collections with older vintage items as well. LOAF found this super rare Singaporean WC4 promotional shirt and Dennis Mull framed and mounted a variety of really awesome Wing Commander art pieces. And sometimes what Wingnuts are looking for just doesn't exist, so

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Merry Christmas and a happy CIC holidays to all of you Wingnuts out there! We would like to wish you peace and safety from our little corner of the internet. Join us in #Wingnut if you'd like to share in the holiday cheer. It helps keep us grounded in these crazy times!

This year EmuMusicFan put together this wonderful sketch. There are a couple of inspirations behind it. The art style is reminiscent of the classic blue and white scheme from Claw Marks. It's also a spiritual successor to Denis Loubet's Christmas card from a few years back where Hobbes receives endless balls of gift wrapped yarn. This time he gets a (timely because of the World Cup?) soccer ball instead!

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Happy Thanksgiving out there to Wingnuts who celebrate! We hope you are all able to have a safe and healthy day with your families. As a prime Pilgrim-themed holiday, it's a good opportunity for us to remind you that the third and final Wing Commander Movie novel, Pilgrim Truth, is available online. And of course, it's not all about the Pilgrims. Native partners, such as the Mopoks and Dolosians, were critical in the effort to defeat the Kilrathi!

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We're doing some back end testing today and needed a simple news post with four images. What four iconic images make for a perfect Wing Commander theme? The WC1 blueprints! These are 3K resolution samples, but if you need nice 5K copies for your ultra high res monitor, grab the blueprint pack (42 meg zip)!

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DefianceIndustries has added a nice big toy to the growing fleet of ships in his digital TacOps game. He's deployed a Clydesdale transport so you can see how a capship looks on the board. I love the scaling here. It just makes me wish the whole thing was a real physical game - but this is the next best thing! Playtesting is getting closer, so continue to watch this space if you'd like to try things out yourself soon.

It's no small feat to just "add a ship" to the project. First, Defiance has to rebuild and customize a given model to fit right in the engine. Here's some great work in process shots generated as he put the tanker together.

Here's a quick update to the TTS version of TACOPS. There is a version on Steam for playtesting though it is currently locked down for my Steam friends only. But I'm pretty close to being ready to release the starter pack to the public. Maybe next week or two. I

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

If you liked his Arena-era Midway last week, then you're going to love DefianceIndustries' Indomitable and Kiranka class battlecruisers. It's exciting to think about where we might see these pop up in future fan projects. I really like the broadside angles on the Confed version that show off the ship's ridiculous armament. The Kilrathi take isn't as far along, but it's a fun one too. This makes me want to fire Arena right up - along with fifteen friends - and have the fleets go at it (Achievement Unlocked)!

That's the Battlecruiser. Or as I call it, the Nope Brick. These are my current state WIP shots of the brick.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Erik Gunnarson of the Wallglass Investigations Agency discusses the secretive gambling circle attended by the galaxy's wealthiest players.
"Casinos and gaming hubs have always been popular, tempting people to risk their credits for the chance to score a lucrative win. But where do the billionaires and trillionaires go to enjoy that buzz?"
"Jokers' Deck is a highly exclusive gambling event attended only by the rich and powerful. Nobody knows who runs it, only that it's held in a different location each time. Its attendees are guaranteed – and can afford – total anonymity."
"There was one exception. In 3305, Wallglass was hired to find the heiress Lady Talitha Ambrose, after she vanished along with her family's fortune. I was part of the team that discovered she had gambled away 300 billion credits at Jokers' Deck in a high-stakes game of deadlock poker. Their security was so tight that we never

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The pharmaceutical giant Neomedical Industries aims to mass-produce onionhead gamma strain as a medicine.
The announcement follows a report from the Interstellar Health Organisation, which details how the new onionhead variant is an effective treatment for many psychological and musculoskeletal conditions.
Olwyn Kendrick, CEO of Neomedical Industries, told the media:
"The IHO has confirmed the findings of our research of onionhead gamma strain's use for specific medical purposes. Clinical trials prove that its psychedelic qualities are no more intense than the side effects of conventional neuroleptics."
"It is inappropriate that a crime syndicate should provide a product that can relieve the suffering of millions. Therefore, we aim to build our own stockpile to expedite its distribution to common markets."
This statement was viewed as controversial in some quarters, particularly within the