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NightBall06 recently decided to try his hand a several new Hellcat angles. Since his design is essentially drawn 'by hand' rather than being a 3D model, this took some artistic skill rather than modeling wizardry. The result is similar to his previous concepts at first glance, but these represent his most ornate takes and elaborate angles yet.
Well - A little update in short. Had the feeling I needed a perspective bottom view.... So here it is.
Feb
Remember: the love arrow always loves you. Hope you have a happy day!
Jan
…”We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.” The assimilated comms array broadcasts the message on repeat, diligently following its last directive even as a tractor beam drags the debris toward an Alliance vessel. The mood there is tense, the crew well aware of the risks. Understanding Borg technology is key to understanding the Borg, the assimilated species themselves, and possibly even to freeing them. As a society grows, it must confront the dangers of its own technology. The industrial revolution brought global warming, the atomic age brought M.A.D., and today the services that connect us have splintered us into isolated tribes of alternative facts. The inconvenient truth is that we must adapt or perish. The Borg are a terrifying
Nov
…Starfleet Engineers, in conjunction with the finest minds in singularity technology of the Romulan Republic, have finally made a breakthrough in investigating the incursions from the Galaxy of Great Sales, which occasionally merges with our own to set off the anomaly known as the “Flash Sale.” This newfound research has allowed Starfleet to create not one, not two, but three major sales over the next week! For our third and final sale, it’s time to head back to tradition. From November 27th at 10am PT to December 2nd at Midnight PT, you can save 25% on every item in the Zen Store! That means ship slots, XP boosts, ships, costumes, and anything else your heart desires! Head there now, Captains! .share-footer a { margin: 20px 10px 10px 0; background: url(d7afaaa14e96d0d973f76157ae31ec5b1466398539.png) no-repeat 0 0; opacity: .5; display: inline-block; height: 60px;
Nov
…80s Baby recently posted their review of the Wing Commander movie in honor of the film's 20th birthday. Back in 1999, the author was fortunate enough to stumble on a double feature of Never Been Kissed and Wing Commander bundled together. She recounts her review as a memory of the events all those years ago. The recollections meander about as much as the reviewer did when the NBK credits rolled, but it's honestly not the worst WC Movie review I've ever read. At least there's no nerd complaining about sound in space! Check out the full article here.
Ah, memories. They can be hazy and hard to trust, but some of them — some of the lucky ones — stay trapped in your brain as crystal clear as the day the experience happened right before your eyes.In 1999, I was living it up in one of the best cinematic years of my generation. I feel like I was at the movie theater every weekend that year, with extra
Oct
…Sometimes exploration of new ideas and new technologies leads to dark places. In Star Trek, we’ve seen many a cautionary tale about omniscient supercomputers, time travel, genetic manipulation, and telepathic oppression. The pursuit of knowledge isn’t always safe or pretty. Hearts and Minds is a mini-mission that explores the consequences of some unconventional research gone awry. This mission is a “story in one act,” so you can easily finish it in a quick play session, and it’s easy to complete it with any additional characters that you may have on your account – which is handy, because the mission offers a special reward. Since Hearts and Minds is a horror story, it will only be around for Friday the 13th, whenever that may fall on the calendar – and perhaps another sufficiently horrifying day that we might choose! Fortunately for the squeamish, Hearts and Minds is creepy, but not
Oct
…Artist Alan Gutierrez has posted another one of his fabulous Wing Commander scenes commissioned for the Wing Commander Customizable Card Game. It was mirrored and used as the art for the Magnum Launch card. It's hard to tell if this was just due to image processing, but there are possibly some very slight differences between the two scenes: the ceiling structure is more pronounced in the recent posting while the light reflections on the deck appear slightly more distinct on the card. Mr. Gutierrez notes that this scene was likely the inspiration for a similar fighter launch scene he did a few years later for Steve Jackson Games titled X Wing Fighter Scramble. You can find links to some of his other Wing Commander items below and plenty of other nifty sci-fi scenes here.
From the card game "Wing Commander" commissioned and published by Tracy Hickman & Margaret Weis, 1995A "Luck" card, it was the
Oct
…It's been a little while since we've seen a new ship from DefianceIndustries, but that's for good reason. He's been busy on quite a bit of behind-the-scenes work for other mods, although he managed to find the time to put together this stealthy dark Arrow. It's intended to be the cloakable light fighter from WC4, which completes his Arrow trio. This one has an awesome hexagon skin on the hull and sports the potent quad gun pack we've come to love on the craft. Get a glimpse before it disappears!
The Stealth Arrow (or Cloaking Arrow if you prefer). I tried a few different purple paint schemes but honestly, it looks better without it (certainly better than the weird tribal tattoo angel wings it originally sported). I may keep tinkering but for now I think this looks good enough for the Black Lance. Paulson didn't seem to big on exotic paint schemes anyway - though Seether, I hear, was partial to
May
Tonight we have a serene Hornet flyby arranged and rendered by Mac. The fighter models themselves were originally designed by Klavs. I like this scene for today's news because the color palette seems to match the common tones of Star Trek Discovery, which will be flying off into the bluish purple sunset late tonight. Stop by the CIC Discord with us if you're planning to watch the finale too (we'll be up for the live stream)!
It's a #WingCommander kind of night.
Apr
…PhilsComputerLab has another novel video that looks at the WC series from a new angle. The focus of this episode is to emphasize the evolutionary leaps that each iteration in the series made. It's a great topic to discuss, because it's probably harder for later generations to appreciate. It's easy to look at the four year gap between WC1 and WC3 and say, "Wow," but there was a lot of technological advancement happening that drove all that. The expected conventions of game design were ever-changing as well. Check it out below, and thanks to thp for the tip!
The Wing Commander games are a great example to showcase how the PC has evolved in the short span of just 7 years from 1990 to 1997.One correction: WC3 was 1994 (on PC), not 1995, and I definitely would not have called its reception "mixed." At the time of its release, WC3 was tied for PC Gamer's highest rated game of all time, among many other
Apr
…Great news! The campaign to make a new album of Wing Commander music achieved a critical milestone last night. It's now at $16,000 and rising. This means composer George Oldziey will be able to move forward with a live orchestra and make this exciting project a reality. There is still quite a bit of leg work yet to complete, but George has already been taking preliminary steps to scout out possibilities and make preparations. Since there's still three weeks left in the Kickstarter, we're also in excellent shape to be able to hit the stretch goal of $24,000 to add in a live choir. Let your friends know or contribute if you can!
Woo hoo!!! We made it to the target of $16,000 in 10 days! You all are AMAZING!! Thank you SO MUCH from the bottom of my heart! ALLTinker put us over the top last night (after my bedtimeWhat a great way to wake up today!
So, you are all now guaranteed an orchestral
Apr
It's April 1! Since before we even opened at wcnews.com more than 25 years ago, the CIC Staff has had some strict rules about April Fool's Day: Never announce a new Wing Commander game. Don't do anything that would get people excited just to let them down. Mostly err on just being silly. We've had a few good jokes, and joked about a few things that came true. But with so much of the current discourse dominated by propaganda and conspiracy theories, we're not really in the mood to celebrate a holiday dedicated to fake news.
So anyhow, the regular news continus. There's two more days to get your discounted Wing Commander. Each game is 65-75% off. Hope you have a great day.
Apr
Happy Easter!
Dec
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Wingnuts everywhere! We hope you're able to enjoy a safe and comfortable day. We know that's not always possible, so if you're ready for a break from it all, feel free to drop by Discord #Wingnut. Whether it's discussion about the new Doctor Who special or Star Trek Prodigy dropping on Netflix, we're here to take your mind off all the holiday stress!
Oct
People have been loving the recent glimpse of Mac's massive Concordia fleet, but the scene we've gotten has featured the ship and its many escorts majestically cruising through space. Now it's time for a peek at the action! He's posted this teaser that shows the dreadnought's powerful phase transit cannon warm up, take aim and blast a Fralthra to bits. The encounter is inspired by this famous scene!
This is what all y'all wanted from the Concordia video wasnt it.
— Mac's Lore (@MacsLore) October 19, 2023
So here's the first pass of the Phase Transit Cannon in action.#wingcommander pic.twitter.com/jJb2bDtorKWay back in 2010 I wondered if perhaps by 2020 it would be appropriate to post the full 250 kilobyte animated gif directly on the front page. Dear readers, I believe that day has come. Brace yourselves:
Oct
…The Imperial Senate has formally raised the issue that Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval has not yet produced any direct heirs.
The debate was instigated by Senator Lysandra Courcelle :
"The continuation of the Duval bloodline has formed the linchpin of our society for over a thousand years. But it has been eight years since Arissa Lavigny-Duval became our ruler. In that time there has been no spouse or consort, no indications of marriage, and no biological heir to the throne. We politely remind the Emperor of her duty to ensure the line of succession."
Following a highly spirited exchange among senators, Chancellor Anders Blaine proclaimed:
"Her Majesty has sacrificed much for the Empire. It is not our place to question her personal choices, but rather to support her vision for our prosperity and security."
Gudrun Vestergaard, royal correspondent for The Imperial Herald, analysed the situation:
Oct
This weekend is the last chance to grab the Wing Commander games on sale via GOG's 15th Anniversary Sale. Coincidentally, this timed perfectly to overlap with the Wing Commander series' birthday earlier this week. It's also a slightly higher discount than we've seen recently with a full 75% off each title in the franchise. Grab them below!
Jun
…The Order of the Far God has reached out to Seo Jin-ae, offering information on the possible fate of the Dedicant.
The megaship was due to transport members of the True Chapters sect from the Popontia system to the Alliance-governed Mullag system, but made a hyperspace jump ahead of schedule and disappeared. The Federal Intelligence Agency has interrogated cult members still waiting in Federal prison cells, but reportedly obtained no useful information.
Days later, Aegis was directly contacted by chapters of the Order within independent space. They volunteered to discuss the Dedicant but only with Seo Jin-ae, whom they refer to as 'the Preceptor' for her ability to interpret to the Thargoid hive mind.
After meeting Far God representatives at a secure location, Seo Jin-ae made a public statement:
"The meeting wasn't as productive as the FIA hoped. I asked the cultists for information, but they
Apr
…Aegis's prototype Thargoid pulse neutralisers have succeeded in allowing transit through the energy surge at the centre of a Maelstrom.
Professor Alba Tesreau made the official statement:
"Several remote-controlled probes outfitted with Thargoid pulse neutralisers were launched into the Taranis Maelstrom. The colossal electromagnetic pulse generated within the clouds should have repulsed them, but feedback confirms the probes were insulated from its effects."
"The method used to protect the probes was discovered through research on unclassified relics recovered from Thargoid surface sites. These alien artefacts were vital to the devices' development. Initial research conducted by Ram Tah and Professor Palin proved that when receiving a modulated electrical charge, the unclassified relics emitted an energy field on similar frequencies to the Maelstrom's pulse."
"Unfortunately, broadcasts from
Apr
…We've got great news to share today. Destro's fan project to add complete voiceovers to the original Wing Commander is complete and ready to release! He's managed to carefully map the speech files from the fully voiced Mega/Sega CD edition of the game and patch them over top of the familiar PC edition. While this fully voiced version of the game has existed for three decades, relatively few people have heard it due to the semi-obscurity of this console port. That's what makes this project so special!
The mod is specifically designed to work with the WCDX enhanced version of WC1 in Windows, and detailed instructions on how to get all that set up are available at the CIC Forums. We've mirrored the version 0.81 main file (342 meg zip) to make sure a permanent archive is available. All other necessary files are linked from this post. The reviews from fans so far have been fantastic, and what I've
