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There's a joke in there about being old enough to need reading glasses these days, but these are the drinking kind! Back for our sixth birthday in 2004, we had a fun batch of clear tumblers with a Confed logo printed up as door prizes. They were a big hit, and we continue to get frequent questions about whether they are still available. Here's our second edition, which are now full pint size. And we'll be giving them out at the birthday party live on Discord! Our graphical skills are a bit rusty, so thanks to Defiance Industries for making sure our Confed star is on point.

We don't encourage anyone to buy these and we make no money whatsoever on them, but we are sharing the Zazzle link to anyone who might be interested in getting their own. It looks like they're about $15 normally, but there is a 20% off sale this weekend that brings the price down to about $12. If you do pick one up, send us a

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FekLeyrTarg has a second clip that shows off his modern video editing acumen! He's been experimenting with a variety of tools to enhance his ability to merge Wing Commander settings and live action. This is just the beginning of what he's got planned, but it's already pretty neat!

Happy 25th birthday Wing Commander CIC!

Some work-in-progress test shots combining low-quality live-action footage with renders of Perry Naval Base as seen in "Wing Commander Privateer".

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AD has been hard at work recovering and restoring some of the scenes cut from the final version of the Wing Commander movie. Enjoy this collection of work he's done so far!

Paladin Ejects - Paladin is forced to eject from his Broadsword after sinking a Kilrathi warship.

Blair Leaves the Diligent - Blair, originally the turret gunner, is lured aboard the Diligent in search of the NAVCOM AI.

Tattoo - Blair asks Paladin what his neck tattoo means.

Kilrathi Compilation - All the Kilrathi footage originally intended for the film.

Pilgrim Chat - Paladin reveals more details about the Pilgrims.

Alternate Intro - An alternate cut of the movie introduction featuring an opening narration from Blair. (As of publishing time this video is blocked because of an incorrect copyright claim; it should be available soon!)

FPS Experiment - An experimental sequence shot first person for the shipboard combat sequence.

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Our archivists have been hard at work! Earlier this year we acquired Wing Commander Prophecy producer Billy Caine's archive of production documents; this consisted of seven folders containing hundreds of pages of internal documentation covering Wing Commander Prophecy's development from March 1996 to November 1997.

These documents, divided into the seven topics below, include correspondence, internal documents and reference material that Billy felt it was important to preserve physically at the time. All aspects of the game's development are touched on, but one document that will be particularly exciting to fans finally explains the intent behind the Aligned People and how it would have played out in future games! There are several early pitches and a long term product plan that includes never-before-seen summaries of canceled projects like Wing Commander 6, 7, Maniac Missions and the first person

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It's a birthday party, so we've got cake! First up, some excellent brownies by Alexis!

And since it's an extra special birthday, we've got double cakes! Number two is a three layer wonder by Lacey!

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AllTinker has been hard at work making progress on his Confederation project to enhance the WC1 engine. He's put together this new status update with a handful of tantalizing new screenshots to share for the birthday. Enjoy!

Hi all, I was hoping to have a playable test ready for the CIC birthday, but a few too many things have gotten in the way sadly... I've made a lot of progress on my format-reading library; I have a fairly short list of things I want to wrap up before I put it (and the viewer) up on github - it may be after the first Confederation test release, I'm not sure.

Art-wise one silly thing I realised was that my old widescreen redraws hadn't taken into account the non-square pixels in WC1/2 (being 320x200), so I've also been redrawing those to be even wider, to match my original 21:9 widescreen goal - at the proper original aspect ratio this time. Here's a selection of those

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FekLeyrTarg has a beautiful remaster to share with fellow Wingnuts today. He's gone through the Wing Commander Academy game soundtrack and overhauled it with an SC-55 sound font. This is described as giving the game the "Kilrathi Saga treatment" based on the digital audio enhancements that those games received. He's matched up the new tracks with the appropriate in-game clips in a wonderful YouTube vid below. You can also separately download the new album in MP3 (18 meg zip) or WAV (131 meg zip).

Happy 25th Birthday Wing Commander CIC!

What if the PC game "Wing Commander Academy" (not to be confused with the animated TV-series) received a Windows port like the "Kilrathi Saga" version of "Wing Commander I" and "Wing Commander II - Vengeance of the Kilrathi" and George Oldziey re-orchestrated the music again? Find out in this video.

To render each music track with Patch93's Roland SC-55 soundfont in

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The WC4 Fan Remake team is back with a thoroughly exhaustive overview of their recent progress. If you have any questions at all about the latest and greatest happenings with the project, this new video below has the details! It's full of information and beautiful WIP content. You should check out the clip for the full experience, but there is also a new article at WCRespace too with a bit more info... including a target release date! You can also find the recently updated playable demo here!

Happy Birthday, Wing Commander CIC!

As we don't have a new demo to release for this year's celebration, we thought that instead we'd share an in-depth update on the current state of the project: where we are, where we're going and, crucially, when we plan to get there!

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The party has been rocking in #Wingnut on Discord, but we're taking it to the next level with a co-stream on YouTube! Check it out here!

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Welcome to the CIC's 25th Birthday Party! It's unbelievable that a quarter century has passed, but time flies when you're having fun! We've got a nice slate full of items to share today, but the best part of the event is being able to connect with so many friends and fellow fans. Today wouldn't be possible without the contributions of so many of you. And on that note, to kick things off, we've got an exciting clip by Scribbler to help set the stage for what's to come!

Congratulations to the Wing Commander Community on their 25th anniversary!

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To the Wing Commander Combat Information Center's 25th birthday celebration! TONIGHT at 7:00 PM Eastern US (4:00 PM Pacific and 11:00 PM GMT). Help us ring in a quarter century with fellow fans in #Wingnut on Discord!

Featuring...

• A long-anticipated return!
• Reams and reams of new material for the archive!
• Deleted scenes!
• Aural delights!
• Photographic wonders!
• Fan project updates!
• All new prizes!
• Cake... and more!

So join us in Discord, channel #WingNut! You can stop by any time to join the fun!

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Here, have a YouTube short of Happy Gaming House settling down to a nice game of Wing Commander 3 on the 3DO! It's a vertical vid, so you might want to go full screen for the complete effect!

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The CIC staff is frantically making preparations for tomorrow night's big birthday party, and now we've got a perfect set of ASMR music to help us focus! Scribbler has just released a pair of ambiance videos that skip ahead to Wing Commander 3. You can hear the hum, beeps and chirps of the TCS Victory's flight ops or gunnery control centers. Or find a complete list of his WC tracks here!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Lady Florence Lavigny is recuperating from a serious illness, but the experience has prompted her to call for changes within the Imperial Family.
Official sources confirmed that the Imperial Mother remains under constant medical supervision at her home on Topaz, following a successful surgical procedure. Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval has now returned to the Imperial Palace on Capitol, and is being regularly updated about her mother's condition.
Countess Guinevere Lavigny, cousin to the Emperor and niece of Lady Lavigny, also visited Topaz. She told a local reporter:
"My aunt is now able to communicate properly for short periods, and is dwelling on the past a great deal. She talks about wanting to bring together our entire family, and resolving minor disagreements which have lingered for too long. This is something that my brother Lucius and I have always felt is long overdue, so I hope she

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Earlier in the summer, we reported on a WC1 retrospective review that was especially comprehensive. At the time, we noted that it was well researched, covered a vast range of topics and was surprisingly entertaining for a lengthy two hour episode. My favorite thing was how earnest the author was about helping new audiences discover Wing Commander. And many people agreed! It's since gone out to rack up 115,000 views. It's been so successful that others have taken notice. In this new clip, vidIQ dissects what made it so popular, which is an interesting meta analysis. I think both creators underestimate how many Wing Commander fans are out there eager for more content! I've relinked the original vid below as well if you missed it in June.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Wreckage from a past conflict between the Guardian and Thargoid races has been found in the Wregoe BU-Y b2-0 system.
The crashed remains of Thargoid vessels, alongside structures of Guardian origin, are located on Wregoe BU-Y b2-0 1 c. Conflict between the two species occurred millions of years ago, but physical evidence of this is extremely rare. The only comparable site, in the Trapezium Sector YU-X c1-2 system, was initially found two centuries ago by the Azimuth Biochemicals ship Proteus and rediscovered in 3307.
Wregoe BU-Y b2-0 was one of several systems under investigation following a report by Commander Renia Rakowski, who encountered a Thargoid interceptor in nearby Wregoe GA-X B3-0.
The Holloway Bioscience Institute has sent teams into the area to explore the possibility of xenoarchaeological research. Dr Jeong-Hui Shin gave a statement to The Sovereign

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We highlight a variety of Wing Commander streaming playthroughs from time to time, but I get really excited when fans are showcasing one of the less common entries in the franchise. Mufasa recently kicked off a new series that is going through Privateer 2. And he doesn't just play the games - he's reading portions of the game's unique documentation with each show as well. The first two episodes are linked below, and the next is scheduled for Wednesday evening, 8/17 at 7 PM Pacific time. Give them a watch!

I haven't played Privateer 2 in decades, so I started playing through it again on Twitch on Wednesday evenings. I start each stream reading some of the manual because it's so unique, different and includes some really interesting backstory and design choices.

Also, I forgot the days when there was zero in game tutorial. It just starts, and you have to know everything right out of the gate.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Newsfeeds and ICE-casts have reacted to Aegis's theory that the Thargoids have purposefully captured tens of millions of living humans.
Eyewitness testimonies provided by independent pilots have given credence to this theory. Citizens' Chronicle featured the following account from Imperial auxiliary Commander Luca Redondo:
"It was a sickening sight, watching Scythes hunt down survivors. A part of me wanted to start blasting the escape pods rather than let those poor people be eaten, or experimented on, or whatever the hell the Thargoids want them for. There was nothing my squadron could do to save them, not without risking the refugees we were carrying. I don't think I'll be sleeping well for a long time."
Many reporters have interviewed people still waiting to hear from those who once lived in Thargoid-occupied systems. Vox Galactica has published several such stories:
"My ex-husband took our

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Some wonderful soul uploaded an entire beautifully preserved Computer Shopper to the Internet Archive! Shall we take a moment to... shop for Origin games like it's 1994?! Let's see what we can find...

Hi-Tech USA has a Wing Commander / Ultima VI CD-ROM for just $18! This would've be an OEM copy published by Software Toolworks, which worked out a deal with pre-EA Origin to offset development costs on three CD-ROM games in exchange for rights to release OEM versions.

Hardware bundler Media Vision has a bespoke multmedia kit that comes with Ultima Underworld and Wing Commander II. EA developed this release and licensed it to a LOT of early PC and addon manufacturers. It doesn't include the Wing Commander II expansions!

Treasure Chest Peripherals is taking first generation OEM CD-ROMs and bundling them together for big bucks! $89 will get you the Software Toolworks Wing Commander Deluxe CD-ROM and a couple

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

An independent explorer has reported an unusual incident involving a Thargoid vessel, hundreds of light years away from the ongoing invasion.
Commander Renia Rakowski told her story to Vox Galactica:
"I'd been gathering exploration data for weeks without seeing another soul. Boring, I know, but I like a quiet life. As I jumped out of the Wregoe GA-X B3-0 system, my ship rocked violently and I panicked, thinking the hyperdrive had failed. I barely saw it at first, black against the black of space, until its outline glowed. A Thargoid interceptor. Just like on the newsfeeds, but right outside my canopy."
"I've never been in combat before, and my ship carries no weapons anyway, so I thought this was the end of me. My heart was drumming as I stared at the alien, and it stared back like some giant lidless eye. A writhing light lashed out, this rasping howl came over the comms, and then… it left.