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Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

It's probably only really interesting to me, but here's two minutes of the Dorkir VDU footage from the various insert shots done for the Wing Commander movie. I rotated, cropped, and did some minor stabilization on this clip to make it slightly more viewable. The best looking section is about a minute in, but the low quality and partially cut-off shots are due to how it was shot or the source tapes it came from. You can see that it's a bit more WC1 Dorkir-looking than we thought before, because you can't really get a good or clear shot of it from the Blu-ray edition.

LOAF added this image for context:

For comparison, here's the Wing Commander I Dorkir design. The movie version looks like they just elongated the 'cab'. But it's pretty neat to watch a movie so many times and still be able to see a new spaceship.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Do you remember Wing Commander Armada's Gauntlet mode? We do! It was essentially a 'Wing Commander lite' included with Armada that let you (and optionally a second player) battle through one of two fifteen mission campaigns. Instead of cutscenes or dialogue, the story is presented as text-based mission briefings aboard the TCS Lexington or the KIS Shiraak… but it's still packed with lore and there are some pretty interesting engagements that most players never had a chance to explore! Here are two favorites: a Kilrathi mission where you fight a renegade Admiral and a Confederation mission where you escort home a pair of new bombers in an Arrow:

… but it remains mostly unknown because it's very, very hard. The big Armada patch added a password system so players could jump to any mission but it takes dedicated and extreme patience to beat the Gauntlet itself. So we've made things easier by creating

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

DefianceIndustries

has completed the first large scale base for the Secret Ops

Model Upgrade Pack

. This is a cool design, and the tiny little flight deck is a nice touch. In addition to making it much more detailed and gorgeous to look at, he's also significantly amped up the destroyability. There's potential to take out individual components for a future project, which is pretty neat. Enjoy the pictures!

Further updates! Got the first of the major stations imported: the Confed Relay. It plays a larger role than the other stations, especially in WCP where Blair lands on one only to get subsequently captured because Blair and Decker's marines apparently missed the 8-foot tall bug hanging out in the landing bay sipping a Mai Tai - or the obviously alien fighter which launches from the station from one of the two landing bays which are currently full of Tigershark and/or Hercules LC...oh well, it's

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We've got several new updates to share on the Secret Ops

Model Upgrade Pack

today.

DefianceIndustries

is working hard to prep the next big update to the playable test package. In addition to a variety of incremental improvements and graphical refinements, it will also feature a cool lighting upgrade made in conjunction with Dark Sentinel. The Confed Superbase is also almost ready to go - check it out with both a Midway docked below! Stay tuned for more announcements as we approach the next MUP release.

So this thread has been quiet for a bit, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy. We're hard at work getting a new package ready as a holiday gift for loyal MUPpets. This new package addresses a number of defects identified in alpha 4.0 as well as adding some improvements to improve stability and a bunch of new graphical options that we intend to implement over the next few releases. One of the

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here are a couple of different cool updates for the Secret Ops

Model Upgrade Pack

. The first shot shows off a more refined version of the new Piranha cockpit.

DefianceIndustries

has added emit mapping to all the gauges and buttons, but he's been careful to balance them so they don't overpower the actual HUD elements. There's also a sampling of the newly recreated missiles that Confed fighters will launch. Lots and lots of new ships have been introduced over the past couple years, but these enhancements will help increase immersion for the pilot whether or not they've got a target on screen. The next big release for the project is scheduled for August 18 - just in time for the CIC's 20th Birthday Party!

Welcome MUP-fans to the "Things You Rarely See" edition. Let me ask you a question: Do you hop into your shiny MUPetized Panther and head out ready to kick some high-poly thorax; you line up your

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Last year, we reported about the discovery of the original stock photo behind Blair's pinup in the Wing Commander movie. Today, we've discovered another one: meet... "The Champion!". He's the figure who appears on one of the pinup posters in the Tiger's Claw's lounge in the Wing Commander movie, most visible behind Maniac just after the pulsar jump.

To create the prop they placed him in front of a Confederation logo along with text that reads CHAMPION with an additional text bock at the bottom. It's obscured but it looks like his name ends in 'PACHO' and then there's text that partially reads MARTIAL ARTS and 2653 below him. Most interesting of all, the graphics department seems to have added a Kilrathi text tattoo to the stock photo model's bicep!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Guybrush_SF posted some fun scans magazine reviews for Wing Commander 2. These appear to be from the French magazine Tilt circa December 1991 or so. They're at least partly written by Jean-Loup Javanovic, who's still a big fan of the game all these years later! I don't speak French, but I love seeing the colorful vintage spread. If anyone can explain the scoring to me though, I'd appreciate it. The game appears to have gotten 6 out of 6 stars in graphics, cutscenes and sound for a total score of 19.

j'ai encore le thème Kilrathi dans la tête. Comment ça vous marque à vie...

I still have the Kilrathi theme in my head. How does it mark you for life ...

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

A rumor recently circulated that mostly-dormant and totally disgraced movie news site Ain't It Cool News was set to shut down and delete forever their two plus decade archive of movie reporting and reviews. For those too young to remember the 90s, Ain't It Cool News was a massively popular movie news site that proliferated during the early days of the web. They defined a sort of quasi-gonzo entertainment reporting whose long tail still defines how movies are reported on today. They were proudly unprofessional enfants terrible, printing rumor, fact and outrageous opinion as if all were one and the same. In the process, they became the darlings of the new digital Hollywood and by the late 90s had direct and personal access to filmmakers that skipped the traditional boundaries of PR. The result was a crude mess of a website with a lot of screaming... but one which tied itself to the history of the

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

It's a great week for never-before-seen Wing Commander imagery: AD has discovered the official website and social media presence of Wing Commander III, IV and Prophecy set photographer Mike Kubeisy. A fair amount of Wing Commander III set photography has been made available over the year but almost none from Wing Commander IV and Prophecy was ever released... it's pretty neat seeing some of the sets and costumes in high resolution! We've reached out to Mr. Kubeisy to see if he has any other Wing Commander photographs available.

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

We’re teaming up with the fine folks at Tribble Toys, and you can win an STO Tribble of your very own! These makers of fine Tribbles for companionship are making an STO set of Tribbles, including the Triolic Tribble, the Gamma Quadrant Tribble, the Radan Tribble, and the Winter Tribble. You’ll be able to take these adorable pets home with you starting right now, as long as you can follow these very simple rules: Do not leave them alone with food. Do not leave them ever. At all. Be considerate, and let any visiting Klingons know there are Tribbles in your home before they get there. When you purchase a large size version of these adorable, prolific creatures, you’ll also receive a code for an in-game Black Alert tribble on PC. Petting this furry guy will get you 2% extra run speed, and 3% extra manimum health. And that’s not all! We’re adding a new food item, the Sauteed Shitaake,

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here's a scan to brighten your day: a newly aquired VidPro card for the SNES port of Wing Commander. These were the 'cards' that you would pick up to purchase a video game at stores like Toys R Us. They're a minor collectible today and we're hoping to complete the set of Wing Commander ones!

We previously shared this earlier type of SNES VidPro card. There may also be a 'horizontal' version... if we find more, we'll share them!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Just kidding. Today actually marks fifteen years of continuous daily WC news updates. The last day we missed was May 25, 2003, short of the occasional technical issue that may have slightly delayed the daily news a bit. Back in the spring of 2003, we were all eagerly awaiting the imminent release of Wing Commander Prophecy for the Gameboy Advance.

Not every day features major breaking stories or unearths startling revelations, but there's always something happening in the Wing Commander community. That's thanks to how engaged and dedicated you all are every day. Where will we be in another five, ten or fifteen years? Probably looking back and wondering what the heck the headline on this post meant.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The rarely seen 2006 film Visual Futurist: The Art and Life of Syd Mead is back! The group responsible for preserving Mead's legacy has remastered the film and made it available for sale and rent on streaming services:

• AppleTV
• Amazon
• Google Play
• YouTube

I watched Visual Futurist in advance of this update and found it very compelling! I went in knowing that Mead was both an incredible talent and someone loved by their peers... and the documentary quickly confirmed both of those things. The film doesn't cover his work on Wing Commander Prophecy's Nephilim but it does showcase a lot of incredible art from his storied career, with extended sections covering fan favorites like Blade Runner, TRON, 2010 (topical!) and Aliens. Learning about his thought process about industrial design was fascinating and there was plenty I'd never heard before. I had no idea that he had designed a luxury yacht for Donald Trump and

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

You know, everybody always complains about the hairless Kilrathi in the Wing Commander movie...

... but nobody ever talks about this guy from Walking Wounded, a Kilrathi that clearly has a receding hairline!

According to the episode's script he is the WEAPONS OFFICER of the Kamekh-class corvette Nir'Runinh. And here's something you might not have noticed in a regular watch: he's also the leading kil in the boarding party that tries to capture the Pleiku. He's the one that stops at the window and is then sucked out into space by the explosion!

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Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News

Here are this week's major stories.

Simguru Pranav Antal, leader of Utopia, has addressed the possibility that humanity may lose the conflict against the Thargoids. In a public statement, he suggested that the Sim-Archive – a digital repository of human memories – could be the key to humanity's survival, should the Thargoids overwhelm the human race.

Meanwhile, the murder of Imperial Senator Nestor Cartesius has led to widespread public speculation. One commentator speculated that the killer was "motivated by the discovery of John Jameson's ship, and the logs that prove he was manipulated and sacrificed by the INRA". A member of the Imperial Internal Security Service confirmed that the organisation was pursuing forensic leads from the crime scene.

In other news, the Vadimo Patrons of Law have announced plans to host an elaborate soirée in the Vadimo system. A spokesperson for the organisation

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News

Here are this week's major stories.

Imperial Senator Nestor Cartesius has been found dead at his home on Capitol. His death is being treated as a homicide. A note found at the crime scene and believed to have been written by the murderer read: 'For Jameson'. It has been confirmed that Cartesius was descended from a senior member of the INRA and it is assumed that the motive for the killing was revenge, driven by perceived misconduct on the part of both the INRA and the senator's ancestor.

Independent journalist Chukwuma Grant has published an article on peace activist and former Federal President Jasmina Halsey. In the article, Grant is open minded about Halsey's claims of encountering super-intelligent beings, while suggesting that her statements might be designed to cultivate a following among the disenfranchised. Grant concludes by saying: "Whether she is a visionary, a lunatic or a brilliant

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Here are this week's major stories.

There has been widespread disquiet over recent reports that Thargoid ships have been encountered in the core systems. Admiral Aden Tanner, chief military liaison for Aegis, addressed these concerns, saying, "Reports that the Thargoids are encroaching upon the core systems en masse are grossly overstated. The enemy is contained."

Meanwhile, a multi-agency taskforce investigating the League of Reparation, the organisation responsible for the murder of Senator Nestor Cartesius, has made significant progress. Captain Niamh Seutonia of the IISS confirmed that the League is better organised and more widely spread than first suspected, and that all evidence points to an extremely committed group.

The Empire has announced plans to construct a new Riker-Class Prison Ship in the Veroklist system. Once complete, the ship will house criminals who accepted a period of

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Here are this week's major stories.

A member of the Council of Admirals, which commands the Alliance Defence Force, has been murdered. The League of Reparation has claimed responsibility. It has been confirmed that an ancestor of the victim, Fleet Admiral Buchanan, was a senior commander in the INRA. It has also been suggested that the League's assassins are being aided by sympathetic individuals in positions of influence.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of religious movements in the core systems are proclaiming that humanity is on the verge of destruction. The return of the Thargoids has led to the emergence of dozens of radical groups, and although their nature varies, the message is the same: the apocalypse is coming. Authorities have responded by restating that the Thargoid threat is being controlled.

Scientists in Colonia are investigating the region's potential to support larger

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Here are this week's major stories.

Terrorist group the League of Reparation has committed three further murders in Federation space.

The victims include two members of the Pilots Federation. In both cases, the Commanders' ships were laser-branded with the words 'FOR JAMESON'.

Commodore Riri McAllister of the Alliance Defence Force has been appointed to the Council of Admirals, filling the vacancy left by the late Tulimaq Buchanan, who was killed by the League of Reparation. McAllister has pledged to support efforts against the terrorist group responsible for her predecessor's death.

Meanwhile, entertainment journalist Solomon Helios has been speculating about the romantic life of Princess Aisling Duval, who is understood to have spurned the advances of Admiral Denton Patreus. Three potential suitors have been identified: Senator Caspian Leopold, anti-slavery campaigner Jarl Toredo, and

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Here are this week's major stories.

The Socho system, headquarters of Aegis Core, has been overtaken by the Socho Gold Raiders, a criminal faction. The system is now in a state of anarchy. Aegis personnel, including Dr Mia Valencourt and Professor Alba Tesreau, have appealed to the galactic community to help free Socho from the criminals.

In related news, Aegis has announced that its Eagle Eye initiative has helped to repel Thargoid forces from systems in the Pleiades Nebula. Admiral Aden Tanner, Aegis's chief military liaison, said that Thargoid incursions in the Lwalama and Lalande 4141 systems had been resisted due to the early warnings provided by Eagle Eye.

The Pilots Federation has reported that five independent ships have been attacked by terrorist organisation the League of Reparation, with the loss of all crewmembers. But the taskforce investigating the League made a breakthrough when