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Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Darkwater Inc in the Summerland system has been declared a hostile military target for its role in abducting Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval.
The private military firm, led by Colonel Ronan Brock, was secretly hired by the Lords of Restoration to train and equip the NMLA. Darkwater troops also kept the Emperor imprisoned in a concealed bunker for over a year.
Once their involvement was revealed by ACT, Darkwater's forces regrouped around the megaship Pearl Mandate. Colonel Brock led an attempt to gain control of Summerland as a defensive measure but was unsuccessful. The mercenaries have now been branded as wanted criminals by the system authorities.
The order to strike against Darkwater came directly from Emperor Arissa:
"I call upon my loyal servants and all other warriors of honour to wipe out this nest of traitors. We remember the innocent victims of the NMLA by

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Princess Aisling Duval's call for the Empire to commit to a resumed Aegis project, alongside the Alliance and Federation, has received a harsh response.
Admiral Denton Patreus was approached for comment by the Eye on Achenar newsfeed:
"We all have our part to play in the Empire, but questioning military policy is hardly within a princess's remit. I would humbly suggest that Her Highness focuses on those areas where she excels: charity work, hosting parties, advocating the wellbeing of the citizens and so forth."
A similar viewpoint was expressed by Senator Zemina Torval, who simply remarked: "Perhaps I am old-fashioned, but there was a time when attempting to challenge the Emperor's decree was viewed as an insult to the throne."
Hadrian Augustus Duval's response was less confrontational but clear: "I firmly believe that non-collaboration is the best direction for the Empire, and respectfully

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Princess Aisling Duval met with Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval in person to discuss an Imperial contribution to the reformation of Aegis.
The Imperial Herald's political journalist Cassia Carvalho reported on events:
"Aisling Duval's arrival at the Imperial Palace was completely unexpected, according to several dignitaries whose appointed meetings with the Emperor were abruptly cancelled. One senatorial aide described how the princess 'burst into the throne room so suddenly that I'm surprised the Imperial Guard didn't shoot her'."
"Despite visible irritation, Emperor Arissa acceded to Princess Aisling's demand for urgent talks. The two royals held a private conversation behind closed doors for many hours. I heard claims of raised voices at one stage, but nobody was willing to go on record to confirm this."
"Eventually, Her Majesty call for the media to assemble, which we did eagerly. The Emperor

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Universal Cartographics has announced a two-week initiative to locate planets with ammonia atmospheres.
The survey was outlined by Cynthia Sideris, chairperson of Universal Cartographics:
"Aegis has urgently requested an update to our database of terrestrial planets with ammonia atmospheres. It is no coincidence that each Maelstrom is located in a system containing such worlds, given that Thargoid biochemistry is ammonia-based."
"We are therefore liaising with Aegis to chart as many ammonia worlds as possible. As well as contributing to xenological research, our intent is to identify potential staging grounds for Thargoid fleets and arrival points for additional Maelstroms."
"Over the next two weeks, pilots can obtain increased payouts for delivering cartographic survey data to Angus Manwaring starport in the Eta Cassiopeiae system. Only ammonia world data will be

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We're going to wind down this week with another set of Spanish Pcmania scans from Maxi de Sokar. These compromise their preview, review and advertisement for Wing Commander 4. I like how their blue formatting matches the game's Confed uniform tones, but overall it's a lot less flashy than some of the magazine layouts from earlier in the decade. We've added translations again for folks who are curious about what they say, which is generally pretty positive with a 91% final score. You can also compare these to their WC3 article here.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Dedicant has disappeared from Popontia, just a few hours after thousands of Far God cultists boarded the megaship with a Federal escort.
The cultists were due for transfer aboard the vessel from Federal to Allied space, where amnesty has been offered by Prime Minister Mahon. In exchange for their release, the True Chapters sect agreed to unlock access to its secretive databanks and sacred texts prior to departure. The Dedicant instead initiated a hyperspace jump ahead of schedule, failing to arrive in the Mullag system as planned.
The Federal Navy and the Allied Defence Force both deployed search parties along the route between systems. Their initial reports stated that no signals were detected, and have found no evidence that the Dedicant was intercepted or destroyed. The megaship's current location and status remain unknown.
Executive Agent Jalen Locke of the Federal Intelligence Agency

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Presidential candidate Zachary Rackham has denied allegations that he was a notorious pirate lord prior to becoming an entrepreneur.
Financial journalist Bryanna Blanco has long maintained that the business magnate gained his initial fortune by means of piracy. She recently announced that she was renewing efforts to prove his criminality, thereby invalidating him from holding the presidency under Federal electoral laws.
In an exclusive interview with Sol Today, Mr Rackham addressed the situation:
"I've always been highly amused by these stories, which make out that I was some kind of swashbuckling corsair in my youth. No doubt they've helped boost sales of The Federal Times."
"But in the Federation, we have laws to protect innocent people – just like me! – from libellous accusations. It's time for Ms Blanco to discard her poisonous obsession with me, or I'll be forced to defend my good

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here's a new technical update on the Confederation project by AllTinker. He was aiming to deliver a release in time for Wing Commander's birthday on September 26, but that's looking pretty sporty now. Wing Commander fans are nothing if not patient, so we're just happy to get the status update on all the latest progress!

Just thought I'd post a quick progress update, mostly probably-dull semi-technical stuff - sadly some contract work is kicking my butt at the moment, so the 26th is looking kind of dubious... But things are still progressing steadily!

I'm currently knee-deep in the revised audio system, which (amongst other things) I'm hoping will be able to render the OPL2 (Adlib) sound effects and music purely from the original data. Things seem positive, but I'm not finished with it yet. My previous effort involved using some external data to send to the OPL chip emulation code, but it was a little

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Rescue megaships now stock Aegis's modified mining tool, designed to extract bio-storage capsules from Thargoid Titans.
The sub-surface extraction missiles went into rapid production following a delivery initiative in the Senlu system. Aegis has confirmed that pilots who transported CMM composites, neofabric insulation and osmium to Springer Gateway can now collect their rewards. Bounty vouchers for all wanted ships destroyed during the past week will also be redeemed at the same location.
Aden Tanner discussed tactics for using the new module:
"These specialised devices are designed to be used alongside the pulse wave xeno scanner, which can now pinpoint human life signs beneath the hull of a Titan. If accurately targeted, an extraction missile should penetrate far enough into the outer hull to jettison the pod-like structures containing captives. Assuming the

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Today we have a neat "video review" for Wing Commander Privateer from Interactive Entertainment, a CD-ROM magazine. This is from the inaugural issue dated February 1994. The clip doesn't include rolling video, but it has a narrated overview presented on top of a large number of screenshots, which would have qualified as full fledged multimedia back in the day! In a similar vein, the author gushes about the vast universe, diverse planets and enormous freedom provided by the Gemini Sector. It's the same language you might hear in a modern review of Starfield today, which is interesting food for thought on how expectations evolve with the cutting edge of computer gaming over the decades. AD was able to piece together their proprietary image format and pair it with the appropriate audio to recreate this sequence, and now you can easily enjoy it on YouTube!

Interactive Entertainment (IE) was an

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

During Roberts Space Industries' October festivities for the anniversary of Star Citizen, they spent some time going through the features of "Star Engine." The material was embedded in larger streams at the time, but they have now released the clip as a standalone. A number of folks have written in to point out the similarities between the conductor that kicks things off in the new clip and the Origin conduct that kicked things off at the start of many classic WC games. Here is for anyone who missed it!

Of course, as LOAF reminds us, it didn't just appear in front of Wing Commander games!

I dunno maybe it’s a Martian Dreams reference. 😂 pic.twitter.com/FWqoaNckkV

— Ben Lesnick (@banditloaf) October 25, 2023

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

As the year draws to a close, Jade Sanderlyn reflects on humanity's ongoing conflict against the Thargoids in a summary for Vox Galactica.
"We began 3309 reeling under the colossal impact brought by the Maelstroms, which had arrived on the fringes of the core systems. Unleashed from within these corrosive clouds were Thargoid attacks on a scale never seen before. Hundreds of systems fell rapidly, with the current death toll over a billion. Billions more were forced to flee from their burning homes."
"It was months before the Thargoid motherships within the Maelstroms were revealed. The Titans remain in place to this day, seemingly indestructible. Their unearthly horror was enhanced when it became clear that they are also prisons for living humans abducted by the aliens."
"With a reformed Aegis in place, our resistance to these invasions grew stronger over the months. Many fallen systems were

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Have you ever wanted to study the gloriously 1993 3DS closeup background plates in Privateer but can't stand those damn characters getting in the way? Have I ever made the visual reference for you!

A couple of these are appearing for the first time; they're stored in the game's files but they're for places where a third angle is never used... like these fixer backgrounds for Oxford and the pleasure planets, respectively:

You'll also notice some are higher resolution and have more of 4:3 aspect ratio versus Privateer's usual 16:9 for the conversations. Some are designed to 'open' when you have to make a choice. Since many choices were cut, you're seeing some tops and bottoms for the first time!

Also: so, so much space booze.

You can also find all the Privateer 2 background plates here!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Knight26-77 is back with an impressive new set of 3D prints - plus the time lapse videos to go along with them! The first model is the fantastically large Midway class megacarrier compared to variety of other large capital ships. We also get to see his new Piranha side-by-side with a handful of light fighter favorites. It's very cool to see how everything comes together on the printing pad!

DefianceIndustries gave me permission to do some test prints of a couple of his WCP Model upgraded designs. We have started with the Piranha and the Midway. DI warned that they were but under-detailed, but I decided to give it a try anyway. We'll start with the Midway.

Flying alongside her Kilrathi War contemporaries, you can see just how much of an absolute unit the Midway is.

Next up the 1:72 F-106 Piranha alongside some of her Kilrathi War era precursor light fighters, most by the super talented Klavs and one

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

It's a good week to buy Wing Commander games thanks to GOG's Sci-Fi Sale! Each of the WC titles is marked down 75% to $1.49. Since the theme is science fiction, the discount doesn't extend to games like Strike Commander, but it does include Bioforge, Crusader, System Shock and others. The sale should last all week.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Aligned Peoples’ Manta-class heavy fighter. Initial concept by Mark Vearrier, finished concept sketch by Syd Mead...

Initial mesh blockout and then Alias "cinematic" model renders...

Final in-game assets for both the standard fighter and the deadly "red Manta" bomber variant!

Shout out to the OG.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

It's time once again for... SNACKS OF THE TERRAN CONFEDERATION!

The famed TCS Victory's rec room always has popcorn on the tables...

The Grey Ghost, TCS Lexington, has little bowls of peanuts all around the lounge.

... and finally the megacarrier Midway has a megasnack: big cheeze doodlepuff type things.

The Victory's bar has some other options, too: bowls of peanuts, cherries, orange slices (only around when Flint is drinking!) and what I think are Tootsie Pops?!

Does anyone ever actually eat the bar snacks? There's a scene in WC4 where Blair palms a peanut and then puts it back while he's talking to Maniac... but I think Captain Paulsen is the only one who ever eats anything!

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Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

AD spotted a phenomenal pair of art pieces by AEdwardBaker. He's just created a beautiful take on the TCS Victory. This test render is only available in 1080p, but there's already so much great detail in everything down to the laser turrets and weathering on the hull paint. It's really slick! You can give him feedback or check out his many other gorgeous space scenes here.

"She's a fine carrier with a long history of service to the Confederation."

"Yes sir. A very long history."

A test render of my model of TCS Victory from Wing Commander III.

Done in Blender

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The GamesBay has posted a bit from Prophecy Advance, and that's really got us thinking about this incredible game. We don't share enough about this pocket treasure, so I'm happy to repost it here.

It's definitely Wing Commander, complete with all its strength and flaws. The difference here is that instead of FMVs, you get text. A lot of text. And you don't have the option of a flight stick. That might be a dealbreaker for some.

While there is not a flight stick that you can just plug into the Gameboy Advance, you CAN play Prophecy on the Gameboy Player attachment for the Nintendo GameCube and then plug a GameCube flight stick into that! I'll also mention again that Apple has recently started allowing emulators and iPhones and iPads, and you can connect a flight stick or game controller to these devices when emulating your Wing Commander games.

It's Prophecy that really caught my eye, but GamesBay also

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Today we've got a couple of Wing Commander overview videos narrated in both Italian and German. Wing Commander unboxing videos come up from time to time, but it's less common to be able to sample so much of the series in one place at one time like this. You may or may not understand the language, but it's pretty easy to understand what they're saying in context. It's very cool to see them flip through the different language WC manuals and even box inserts. Some of packaging material is different as well. Because people get used to these mundane objects and don't realize they differ from region to region, we don't often get a glimpse at these fascinating differences, so it's wonderful to be able to see them here!