06
Jul
My 4th of July contribution is a quick resource with the extracted fireworks graphics from Wing Commander I. The first three are VGA, and EGA is below. You can also find the sprite sheets here.
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My 4th of July contribution is a quick resource with the extracted fireworks graphics from Wing Commander I. The first three are VGA, and EGA is below. You can also find the sprite sheets here.
Jul
…*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
A mining campaign organised by Kokoller Limited has drawn to a close, with the organisers declaring it a success.
The Federal corporation requested deliveries of bertrandite, coltan and praseodymium to supply the Kokoller system's refinery base, ostensibly to manufacture supplies for the Federal Navy's anti-xeno war efforts.
Spokesperson Paul Dyson provided a message to participants:
"It is genuinely a pleasure to see so many pilots respond to our call for raw materials. Harvesting those asteroid belts is no easy task, but the performance has been remarkable. I can promise all those involved in the campaign that the profits raised from refining and distributing these resources will go to a very worthy cause. Those credits are in good hands."
Kokoller Limited has confirmed that all contributors to the campaign can now collect their rewards from Utley Hub in the
Jul
Tonight's rabbit hole: I noticed that Privateer has two different internal sets of names for its commodities, one used in the exchange (and on your PPC) and one used on the in flight manifest. Some are the same but others are different. "Movies" becomes... "Moviechips"!
Games become Gamechips, Books become Bookchips. And PlayThing (tm) becomes...!
So I ended up extracting everything and making a Spreadsheet of different commodity names across six sources (three in-game, three from the Playtesters' Guide). It also shows what type of container displays for each:
Found some cut content, too: traces of the ability to eject passengers and a list of additional story-specific items that were cut when the plot was shortened: Alien Crystal, Alien Device, Ancient Gun, Alien Machinery and Alien Metal!
Jul
It’s a Shrike! Thank you to GeekToyLove for selling me this orphan torpedo bomber (and Thunder_Owl for sharing that it was available). Murphy Labs’ TB-81A Shrike was a four-person torpedo bomber (class B) developed for use aboard escort carriers during the post-war fleet modernization. They served with distinction during the first Nephilim incursions.
GeekToyLove also made this fabulous Arrow!
Jul
Display MoreWow, look who is trending! Mothers, lock up your ejected pilots.
To be clear: there are two Deathstrokes. They are similar but they are different kils. Dakhath nar Sihkag is the Wing Commander I ace, Dakhath nar Caxki is the WC3/CCG/Arena ace.
The original Deathstroke flew a Dralthi during the Vega Campaign. He was ultimately shot down at Gimle by Spirit! Color art from the SFC manual:The later Deathstroke flew a Dralthi IV (and later a Dralthi Striker). The red livery is from WC3 but never actually appears since he isn’t really in the PC version!
Some clever and handsome fellow did think to lampshade the similarities in their backgrounds:
Jul
…Azimuth Biotech has announced an invitation-only event for prospective business partners and military liaisons.
CEO Torben Rademaker provided a statement to the media:
"New opportunities have emerged for Azimuth to resume the lead in anti-xeno operations. With Thargoid fleets rampaging through the core systems, and Aegis's questionable policy of providing utility modules over increased firepower, humanity's defence once again falls to us. But our organisation will no longer work in solitude."
"I have extended the hand of partnership to selected financiers, military figures, research groups and manufacturing companies. They are invited to convene and discuss methods of helping us to resist the evil of the Thargoids."
Business analyst Marlon Royce published this report via Vox Galactica:
"Ostensibly, this appears to be a public relations exercise for Azimuth Biotech. However, the company's
Jul
Cybot has returned with a variety of exotic renders. This set is based on familiar WC2 and Privateer-centric scenes with a little bit of creative flair. Cybot's also made a handful of model files available to download, including the Drayman cockpit and some of the guns. You can grab those at the CIC Forums!
A Drayman cockpit. I think it works.
Jul
…Destro has returned with a spectacular announcement for the future of Wing Loader, which is a program he built to add audio speech to the Kilrathi Saga's WC1. The next evolution seeks to add high resolution video to KS WC3. The videos already exist. ODVS massively upscaled and enhanced the footage from WC3, WC4 and Prophecy a few years back, but at the time, it was only possibly to integrate these cutscenes into the latter two game. Destro's patch will finally close the loop and make it possible to enjoy the improved video in the game. There are many challenges to overcome still, but his success with WC1 shows that he has what it takes to make this happen! You can download the latest working version of Wing Loader here.
Hey everyone! I hope you are all having a great summer so far! This is my busy time of year but I'm keeping my head up and messing around with the next big feature of Wing
Jul
…The WCRespace team is back with a new update on the WC4 Fan Remake. There's a whole new article by Pedro that goes into great detail about the game's user interface. He says it's not the most glamorous subject, and it might be tedious to design and program, but I love these liminal console screens. They're critical glue that helps sell the total experience. An especially big deal this time around is the adjustment to accommodate 16:9 widescreen settings. It takes some finesse to make them look authentic compared to the original 4:3 shape. The fourth and fifth images below are especially stark - they compare the original loading screen with today's update!
Now brute forcing in new UI wouldn’t be impossible but that removes some of the nostalgia. No problem, we’ll just upscale them like we do the rooms… except we optionally support 16:9 by zooming in on the gameflow rooms, and there is no way
Jul
…*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Azimuth Biotech has requested shipments of rare commodities to Xi Wangda, as luxury supplies for its business convention.
Torben Rademaker, CEO of the anti-xeno corporation, announced the initiative via public channels:
"We expect this prestigious gathering to be attended by many representatives from research groups, manufacturing companies and military forces. To ensure that our esteemed guests are made welcome, we will pay handsomely for shipments of Albino Quechua Mammoth Meat, Gilya Signature Weapons and Harma Silver Sea Rum."
"The cornerstone of this event will be the commercial launch of Azimuth's newly modified ship-mounted weapon: the pre-engineered Overcharged Gimballed AX Multi-Cannon with Auto Loader. Our proprietary redesign will make a significant contribution when engaging Thargoid vessels in combat. Those who contribute the greatest number of rare
Jul
Display MoreWing Commander II has some excellent tuckerizations! This is from Special Operations 1. Denis Loubet is the famous Origin artist, and the Miller is Craig Miller, who designed the Wing Commander II box.
General Snell of Niven Colony was Wing Commander II's executive producer Dallas Snell (who is likely well known to many Origin Systems fans)!
Lady Blue, CO of the Concordia's Ferret wing, is writer/assistant diretor Ellen Guon (who you probably know first as the co-author of Freedom Flight).
Ghorah Khar Sabre pilot "Ladyman" is the man behind the manuals, David Ladyman.
Blair's gunner Lieutenant Haley is programmer Richard Haley.
Ghorah Khar rookie pilot "Cafrelli" is programmer Charles Cafrelli (who also voiced a Kilrathi admiral!).
Jul
EmuMusicFan's super artsy take on the famous interrogation scene from Freedom Flight has been greatly expanded. Pages 8 through 12 now detail Prince Thrakhath and Lord Ralgha's interaction - and it's quite intense now with the visual. I've included the whole scene below so you can enjoy it as one! Let Emu know what you think at the CIC Forums!
Jul
…Here at the CIC, we used to keep pretty close tabs on Ultima Online. As a product that was developed alongside contemporaries such as Wing Commander Prophecy at the famous Austin studio, it was a big deal to see EA continue the MMO long after Origin's closure. When Electronic Arts finally did decide that they were done with it in 2014, that could have very easily been the end, but the game has somehow continued to thrive for another decade under Broadsword. So I was really happy to see this recent PC Gamer blurb about high turnout for the game's summer barbecue event. The game has been continuously running for more than 25 years now, so the fact that it exists at all is impressive - but all the more so that they're still having fun events in their tight knit community! You can skim through a few recorded streams below to see what the game's like in 2023:
Ultima Online still boasts an active
Jul
We're quickly cruising through the year here, so it's time for us to officially announce the next CIC Birthday Party! It's a big one this time as it will commemorate 25 years at wcnews.com! Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 19. The official event kicks off at 7:00 pm EDT (4:00 pm PDT and 11:00 pm GMT) on that night, but there will be plenty of people hanging out well before and after. You can join the fun in Discord #Wingnut. Feel free to stop by any time beforehand to get acquainted with how everything works. We'll see you there!
Jul
It's been several years since our All Wings Considered live Wing Commander show has been in production, but LOAF is trying to get his space legs under him again. He's messing around on YouTube this evening in a totally unstructured stream about the WC Movie's Confederation Handbook. Check it out below!
In 1999, HarperEntertainment published the Wing Commander Confederation Handbook. Was it the greatest book ever written in the history of the world? Yes. Let's talk about it!
Jul
…The three candidates in the Federal presidential election have taken part in a second live debate to discuss policies.
The event was more closely moderated than the first debate in June. The candidates discussed their campaigns in detail, with minimal interruption from their rivals.
Republican Party candidate Jerome Archer is the current vice president and a former director of the Federal Intelligence Agency. He explained his intentions to tighten security and increase military spending:
"Shielding citizens from external threats, whether human or alien, is always my top priority. Ms Winters lacks any significant achievements in her political career, if we're honest. Whereas I can refer to many successes – such as the Proactive Detection Bureau – which prove I am a man of my word."
Shadow President Felicia Winters, leader of the Liberal Party, was previously the secretary of state in Jasmina
Jul
…Today we've got a triple-pack of hardcore reviews from Hardcore Gaming 101. We reported on their WC1, WC2 and Strike Commander retrospectives back in the day, but we missed how these three prime spinoffs to the Wing Commander series also go their own proper articles.
First up is Academy. Taken in a modern context, some players may not understand how a mission builder could be its own fully boxed (and nearly full priced) standalone game, but that fails to capture the situation at the time. Fans were clamoring for the ability to do this. Fan mods were years away from being a thing, and Academy made it easy to craft your own WC games with zero learning curve. Plus, it packed in new ships as well as a really fun (and challenging) gauntlet mode.
Armada also gets a lot of credit for doing something different in such a way as to expand the Wing Commander tapestry. There is a some discussion on how the
Jul
If you were hooked by LOAF's deep analysis of the Confederation Handbook over the weekend and can't wait for more, the time is now! Part two of the stream is live! Check it out below:
In 1999, HarperEntertainment published the Wing Commander Confederation Handbook. Was it the greatest book ever written in the history of the world? Yes. Let's talk about it! AGAIN.
Jul
…*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Traces of a distress call from the Dedicant megaship have been detected in the LP 714-58 system.
Vice Admiral Amir Rafiq, a spokesperson for the Imperial Navy, broadcast an announcement on all public channels:
"An Imperial scout ship travelling through LP 714-58 has intercepted several fragmentary signals. Their identifying markers confirmed that they originated from the Dedicant. We believe there has been an encryption error in the system's communication beacons, which prevented the distress call from being rerouted to its intended destination in the Federation."
"Officially, the Imperial Navy no longer performs joint operations with our Federal counterparts. Nor do we involve ourselves in the activities of the illegal Far God cult. Nevertheless, we are sharing this information as a humanitarian gesture. Our hope is that this may aid a rescue mission for those
Jul
…*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Rare goods delivered to Xi Wangda helped ensure that Azimuth Biotech's arms convention was a success.
CEO Torben Rademaker confirmed the initiative's completion:
"From today, the Overcharged Gimballed AX Multi-Cannon with Auto Loader is available at all rescue megaships, as well as Azimuth Biotech's core markets. I am confident that this will prove useful those brave pilots who enter combat with Thargoid ships. Once again, my company has proved that its ingenuity and experience in developing anti-xeno weaponry cannot be surpassed."
"I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to all of the corporate, financial and military representatives who attended the convention. Many fascinating proposals were discussed, most of which must remain commercially confidential for now. Suffice to say, the future for Azimuth Biotech and our partners looks bright."
"Finally, the event