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Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Senator Zemina Torval has relinquished her long-held position as Mastopolos Mining's majority shareholder.
Official reports confirmed that the board of directors passed a resolution to remove Zemina Torval from their number. Over half of her shares were then sold, thereby drastically reducing her personal influence on the corporation.
An anonymous insider gave a statement to The Imperial Herald:
"Gabriella Mastopolos made it crystal clear to the other shareholders that it was time to topple Zemina Torval from her perch. But what surprised them was Torval's lack of resistance to this pressure… almost as if she had been planning to step down all along."
"I've heard that every credit made by selling the shares went straight into the subsidiary that her daughter is running. So maybe all her eggs are going into that basket?"
In related news Constantia Torval, operations director for

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
A mining initiative is being held in the LHS 3872 system, as Torval Mining Ltd welcomes its new CEO.
Senator Zemina Torval, owner of the Imperial company until recently, has formally transferred her controlling shares to her eldest daughter. Constantia Torval was already director of operations, but will now oversee all corporate decision making from the highest chair.
From the press suite on Curbeam Hub starport, Ms Torval gave an announcement from the megaship Zetian's Recall:
"My mother's tireless efforts to build a corporation worthy of our family name have brought enormous success and esteem to the Torval portfolio. It is my honour to continue supplying vital resources to the great industries that drive our Empire."
"To mark the occasion, Torval Mining Ltd offers generous payments for newly mined quantities of lithium hydroxide, painite, praseodymium and tritium.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The company owned by Senator Zemina Torval is attempting to acquire a mining contract previously awarded to the Caine-Massey corporation.
The agreement affects multiple corporations on the fringes of Federal space around the Dulos system, who for the last decade have purchased mined ore and other raw materials directly from Caine-Massey. With the contract up for renewal, Torval Mining Ltd has made an official bid.
An announcement was made by Constantia Torval, the company's operations director and daughter of Zemina Torval:
"We have enjoyed enormous success in a short space of time by providing services to the Empire. This is an opportunity to reach a broader customer base, and convince them that they too can benefit from Torval Mining's expertise."
Johann Fleischer, the vice president of Caine-Massey, remarked:
"Our corporation is proud of its origins within the Federation, and we have

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
Senator Zemina Torval's new corporation requires deliveries of commodities to its megaship in the EGM 559 system.
Constantia Torval, the senator's daughter and operations director of the company, provided details of the initiative:
"Now that we are a fully independent business, additional resources are urgently needed to continue providing services to the Empire. My goal is to ensure that the Torval name remains synonymous with efficiency and dedication."
"Shipments of geological equipment, microbial furnaces and mineral extractors can be delivered to the megaship Pride of Bitterwood in the EGM 559 system. From there, they will be transferred to our headquarters at Torval Orbital in LTT 198."
The Pride of Bitterwood is part of a corporate fleet recently purchased by Torval Mining Ltd. Most are currently in the LTT 198 system being outfitted for mining and transport

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Fierce combat in the Tavgi system has resulted in Torval Mining Ltd overcoming Caine-Massey's partner Tavgi Blue Life Inc.
The conflict was triggered by the murder of Caine-Massey's former CEO Johann Fleischer. The assassin was tracked from Mars to the Torval Mining megaship Orchestral Falcon. Circumstantial evidence suggested he was an undercover Imperial agent.
Senator Zemina Torval, whose family owns the company, declared:
"Loyal defenders of the Empire have helped to bring hostilities to an end and can now collect their rewards from the Orchestral Falcon. This accusation from Caine-Massey is baseless – I am not in the habit of assassinating my business rivals. Our security teams have detained the interloper from Federal space who was using false ID as an Imperial mining prospector, and handed him over to the authorities."
Shortly after, a statement was released

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
A new starport has become operational in the LTT 198 system, following Senator Zemina Torval's mining initiative.
Torval Orbital will serve as the administrative headquarters for Torval-Mastopolos Mining. The company successfully competed against Wreaken Corporation to establish a presence within LTT 198.
Marlon Royce, business analyst for Vox Galactica, observed:
"Mastopolos Mining should be boasting about the positive start for its new subsidiary. Instead, its reaction has only confirmed the widening rift between the Mastopolos family and their corporation's majority shareholder, Zemina Torval."
"CEO Gabriella Mastopolos officially distanced herself from the offshoot company, claiming it 'hijacked our name with the intention of luring our clients'. And speaking to Imperial media, both Adrian and Elena Mastopolos criticised Constantia Torval's suitability to act as

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

As a special birthday treat, LOAF's wife Alexis made these custom ink prints based on WC2 Thrakhath. One is a framed portrait and the other is a nifty canvas tote. Very very cool!

Look what Ali made for me!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Our thoughts are with Salman Rushdie this afternoon. Did you know that he was the basis for the character Hunter Toth in Wing Commander: Privateer? Toth’s VDU image was even taken directly from the dust jacket of The Satanic Verses!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Artist Alan Gutierrez has posted two more of the paintings that he created for the 1995 Wing Commander Collectible Trading Card Game. These two 'Luck' cards represent two of the fifteen paintings Mr. Gutierrez created for the game. You can learn more about his fantastic work on the card game here.

First up is Kilrathi Capture Pilot which was a Confederation Luck card that allowed the human player to take an enemy pilot from a destroyed fighter.

From the card game "Wing Commander", commissioned and published by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, 1995

This Kilrathi is none too happy at being captured, and is one of 4 "Luck" cards I did, showing 2 of each adversary.

Gouache on masonite.

The second painting is its counterpart, Kilrathi Recovery Pilot, which was a Kilrathi card that allowed the alien player to recover a pilot from a destroyed ship.

From the card game "Wing Commander" commissioned and published

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Well folks, it looks like like 100% of people are eager for some tractor content... which I assume is representative of all 200 million Twitter users! Let's talk Wing Commander's tractors... and other deck vehicles!

First of all: what's a tractor? We aren't talking about farming here but instead the specialized vehicles carried aboard aircraft carriers that help with deck operations: towing aircraft and munitions, fighting fires, clearing wreckage, etc. Here are some real ones:

Our very first utility tractor is seen driving around in the original Wing Commander pulling a cart of missiles. It shows up during takeoff and landing:

The game stores this little guy as two separate sprites which allows it to be 'driven' heading either left or right!

Wing Commander II has a 3D rendered yellow trailer which appears in the Concordia Flight Deck and Repair Deck establishing shots. Multiple tractors really gives you

Quote from EVERSPACE News

Hey folks, watch me doing the trader mission for IGN at GDC:

Definitely need more practice on gamepad controls

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

ODVS is always on the forefront of video editing technology, and his latest explorations have enabled a new level of visual fidelity here. Except this time, he's given version 6.0 a more modern cinematic flair...

I'm very excited to reveal this sneak preview of the upcoming Wing Commander IV HD Pack V6.0 - Cinematic Edition.

I've reconfigured the aspect ratio to cinematic widescreen and painstakingly recreated all the visual improvements that come from shooting with expensive, high-end anamorphic lenses. This is how WCIV would look if it were a modern day Hollywood blockbuster!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Man-Jimaru posted some neat pics of the French version of Privateer. The box clearly showed that it's the "Français" edition, but we get both English and German translations on the box. The manuals seem to be purely in French, however. These were made and distributed out of England for the European market. It's great that such a wonderful game got such a wide release!

Here is my #CIBSunday with the great Wing Commander Privateer big box for PC. Always been a fan of Space Sim games as Star Wars but Wing Commander is certainly my favorite one with Elite. This one combines space trading & combat as a merchant, pirate or mercenary.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Crazy find on the Internet Archive: an article from Soft World that's the 1992 Trade Commander press releases translated to Chinese... and the pen-and-ink art has been recolored in pastels! COOL!

Here's the original art. This was the first announcement of what would become Privateer and it features a lot of details about a much earlier version of the game's storyline. It's also the (only) source of 'Grayson Burrows' as the player character's name. I found the Chinese text by searching for "Tolnidan," the original name for the Gemini Sector and a word that's very close to being a googlenope.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We've got a new poll up today that asks about your favorite communications options to send while in flight. There's a few tried and true ones that have been around since WC1, and some of the later games introduce a couple more that are less well known. The Comm VDU isn't generally considered a central element of Wing Commander, but I would argue it's a critical aspect to the immersion that we all feel in the game. So now we're giving you a chance to think about what comm selection you rely on or enjoy the most - vote below!

Our annual new year's poll has been running neck-and-neck over the past week, so we decided to call it today with a tie. Overall, the optimistic responses got more votes than the pessimistic ones, and the results were generally typical for the last few years' results. Although there's a fair number of fans who have doubts about what 2020 holds, there's some tremendous potential

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The Blair character bio Universal included with the press kit it so strange. His dad is a space hippie? And his grandma is a senator? He idolizes a World War I fighter pilot? Most of this is never referenced anywhere.

"WING COMMANDER ACADEMY"

FLIGHT MEMBER DOSSIER

Name: Christopher Blair

Callsign: Maverick

Callsign Origination: Maverick received his callsign as a joke from Maniac. When after months as the "perfect" cadet at the Academy, Blair actually bent a rule, and Maniac sarcastically told him, "You're a real maverick, aren't you?"

Rank: 2nd Lieutenant

Pedigree: Since the time of the American Civil War, the Blair family has maintained a tradition of wealth and influence combined with public service. Maverick's grandmother is a member of the Confederation Council, while his father is the chairman of StarPeace, an organization dedicated to promoting understanding among the inhabited worlds of the galaxy.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

AD was doing some digital deep diving into Privateer 2's code and managed to extract this tantalizing menu image. It's a lot different than the game's own menus, PAD interface or anything else in the game, so he set out to learn more. P2 developer Paul Hughes explained that this was actually from a separate tool that allowed for fast travel and easy debugging of the game during development. That app may be lost to time, but it's neat to see this remnant that survived!

AD: I pulled this pic out of Privateer 2. There's some minor references readable in the code, but what nobody has been able to figure out is if there's actually a way to access this in the actual shipped game. Any insight?

Paul Hughes: Gosh, that takes me back, I had to trawl back through the code to remember what I did. That was actually a standalone app written by Tony S that tested different sub-sections of the game - the PAD, the

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Federal High Court on Mars has opened the trial of Fleet Admiral Lucas Vincent, who is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and treason.
Vincent stands accused of organising the sabotage of Starship One in 3301, resulting in hundreds of deaths.
The Federal Times's crime correspondent Ethan Takahashi reported:
"The trial began with the prosecution counsel outlining the case. Material evidence obtained from Chief Technician Rory Webster, whose testimony led to Vincent's arrest, was presented before the jury."
"Vincent was questioned about a secure transmission from his office to the presidential vessel on the 24th of May 3301, ordering an unscheduled diversion to the Azaleach system for routine maintenance. This is where Webster's engineering team followed Vincent's orders to install the sabotaged hyperdrive component that caused the misjump."
"Evading the questions, Vincent claimed that

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Alliance and Sirius Corporation have negotiated a three-month probationary period for its proposed anti-xeno defence agreement.
In response to a summons by Councillor Nakato Kaine, CEO Li Yong-Rui appeared in person before the Assembly. As part of a longer speech he stated:
"I fully understand that, in order to be effective, the strategic defence pact requires broader political support. But to share its details before the Alliance can experience its benefits may lead to hasty decisions."
"Instead, we propose that Sirius Corporation is provided with an opportunity to demonstrate how we can enhance Allied security against the Thargoids. At the end of a contractually defined period of time, the Assembly can review the pact and decide whether or not to continue with our partnership."
Following further discussions, Yong-Rui accepted that the probationary period would be reduced to three months

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
The birth of Hadrian Duval's son has been celebrated in grand fashion in the Paresa system.
Praetor Leo Magnus, the new leader of Nova Paresa, publicly thanked pilots for delivering Chateau De Aegaeon, HR 7221 Wheat, Indi Bourbon and Yaso Kondi Leaf to support these highly exclusive proceedings. Payment is now available from Dyson City starport.
Political journalist Cassia Carvalho discussed the arrival of Hector Mordanticus Duval in The Imperial Herald:
"As Emperor Hengist's illegitimate grandson and former enemy of the state, Hadrian Duval has always been the outsider. Indeed, his newborn son's middle name seems deliberately chosen to remind the Emperor that she ordered Hadrian's mentor, Imperator Mordanticus, to be shot in cold blood."
"But over the last two years, Hadrian's position has gradually shifted from isolationist rebel to legitimised ally. He appeals to