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FRONTIER STEAM SUMMER SALE: Get up to 75% off Elite Dangerous products in the Frontier Summer Sale over on Steam until Thursday, July 13th - 18:00 BST!
ELITE DANGEROUS SUMMER LIVERY SALE: Get up to 40% off Livey prices, starts NOW (as of June 30, 12:30 BST) and ends July 10 2023, at 23:59 BST.
Jul
…Lady Florence Lavigny, the mother of Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval, has been placed under medical supervision following a sudden illness.
An official statement was released by the Imperial Palace:
"The Imperial Mother, Lady Florence Lavigny, has suffered an unexpected medical emergency. She is being cared for by a specialist team at her Lake Parisot estate on the planet Topaz . Details of her illness are not being shared at this time."
"Her Majesty the Emperor has cancelled all appointments and travelled to be at her mother's side. The latest report states that Lady Lavigny has undergone surgical treatment and is in a poor but stable condition. We know that all citizens will join us in wishing the best for this prominent member of the Imperial Family."
Royal correspondent Gudrun Vestergaard provided some background to the story:
"The Duvals always ensure that each Emperor's parents are afforded
Jul
…Speaking of Wing Commander Academy, AD found some exciting evidence that the show was also dubbed and broadcast in South Korea. We've previously reported that the television program was translated into Arabic, but that was the only localization we were aware of. It appears to have been broadcast on the KBS station on Wednesdays and Thursdays, at 6:40, from June 17 to July 29, 1998. The name was translated to be 'Space Battleship Tiger'. And while we can't seem to find any clips of the actual show, AD dug very deep and found a Capri Sun advertisement that ran during the episodes and had a little logo in the top right corner with the revised title. He's also located a list of voice actors for the different roles.
cast list 성우진 Sung Woo-jin김민석 - 매버릭 役Kim Min-seok - Maverick
유동현 - 매니악 役Yoo Dong-hyeon - Maniac
김 준 - 트라카 役Jun Kim - Thrakhath
온영삼 - 튤린함장 役Yeongsam On - Captain Tulin (Tolwyn?)
김익태
Jul
It appears that the pending removal of Wing Commander Academy wan't a false alarm. The show is no longer listed for streaming on the Peacock service. With the removal of great shows from a number of platforms and new paywalling/gatekeeping happening all over, it feels like the hits just keep coming. Fortunately you can still pick up the DVD for about $11. And never fear, the Wing Commander CIC remains free and there's no limit the number of forum posts you can view in a day. You can also always join us in Discord #Wingnut!
A peek back at better days:
Jul
AD, who is ever the finder of things, found an awesome Thai Wing Commander article today. We don't see many WC items in this language, so this is a nice treat! This issue is described as a "technique edition," and it includes strategy guide-style overviews of things like the game's guns. Very cool!
Jul
Benjamin over at BigBoxCollection has made one of his biggest updates yet! Thanks to a generous donation from Dominus of Exult, they were able to 3D scan in a whole bunch of new Wing Commander titles! The new additions even include a little peek at some of the internal contents, which is a great touch. Check them out here.
And here's a look at the shipment when it arrived:
Jun
…The latest report on the ongoing struggle against the Thargoids from Vox Galactica reporter Jade Sanderlyn.
"As the war reaches its eighth month, Thargoid invasion forces occupy over a thousand systems. Billions of people have been evacuated or lost as a result. Although this ongoing conflict has made little impact on everyday life for the other side of the bubble, it continues to dominate the media."
"The beginning of June saw the release of Aegis's latest development: the pulse wave xeno scanner. This module allows any pilots who dares approach the Titans to gather much-needed data, triggering what The Empirical referred to as a 'scientific gold rush'. We are a long way from fully comprehending the purpose of these gargantuan constructs, but the tools to do so are at least beginning to arrive."
"Unsurprisingly, Azimuth Biotech also declared its interest in the Titans. This led to the
Jun
Here's Mike Winterbauer's wonderful Wing Commander SNES painting as a pin-up in a French magazine called Super Power!
Jun
…*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
A campaign to attract deep space mining pilots has been launched by the Federal corporation Kokoller Limited.
With the Federation diverting considerable resources toward sustaining its anti-xeno countermeasures, some systems are looking to alternative options for sustaining stocks of raw materials. Kokoller Limited is seeking to take advantage of a strong position in its home system, by running a campaign to procure additional resources for the local economy.
Spokesperson Paul Dyson had the following to say:
"I believe that continued support of the Federal Navy's efforts to protect us is an obligation of all stellar factions. It would be in poor taste to complain or seek sympathy for the impact on our business operations while our brave military personnel risk their lives to keep us safe."
"That said, while the galactic economy continues to function, it falls on us
Jun
The Confederation Handbook’s index doubles as a review of the different classification levels (circa 2654).
The Secret Missions boxes are both labeled TOP SECRET.
And the card game's secret orders are just SECRET.
Jun
…Let's start the week off by DARKENING the day! Thanks to AD, we've extracted all of the background plates for Privateer 2's gameflow screens. Let's take a tour of the Tri-System. Here's the starting planet HERMES and the SINNERS INN tavern (home of Joe the Bartender)!
CRIUS, the medical planet! It has a record-setting four plates: one for the landing area, one for the SURGEON'S BLUNDER BAR and then two related to the story (CRIUS HOSPITAL and SHERNIKOV MEDICAL EQUIPMENT).
ANHUR, the first planet in the system to be settled. We've got the spaceport and the SHADOW PLAY BAR plus INTERPLANETARY AID from the storyline.
BEX, the center of the system's beer-themed religion. These aren't cathedrals, it's a spaceport and the BLESSED BREW BAR!
Here's HEPHAESTUS with the RAMPANT ROBOT BAR *and* the GALACTIC GOURMET HOTEL/BAR. I bet one of these was originally intended for Janus IV!
Here are the three planets that
Jun
It's time for the annual GOG Summer Sale, and this time 5400+ games are being discounted. Wing Commander wasn't included in the Spring Sale a few months back, so it's nice to see the omission was short lived and the markdowns are back. Each game is 75% off or $1.49 each. Less than $12 for the whole DOS/Windows Wing Commander experience!
Jun
…Vice President Jerome Archer, Shadow President Felicia Winters, and entrepreneur Zachary Rackham have exchanged political views in a live debate.
The Republican, Liberal and independent candidates came together for an event that was broadcast across all Federal media networks. The event provided a platform to outline each candidate's manifestos for voters, and engage in discourse on key issues.
The debate began smoothly, but did not continue in that vein as the three strong personalities clashed just a few questions in. Shortly after the broadcast, ICE channels began circulating a particularly popular segment in response to a question about Federal policy on public safety:
Archer: "Vigilance will be our watchword, and I aim to continue President Hudson's excellent record on security."
Rackham: "Oh, is that a fact? Lost any megaships recently, Jerome?"
Archer: "It's hardly appropriate for me
Jun
…Rostov, huh? Guess they didn’t save the Ralari.
In a weird coincidence, the Wing Commander III novelization also names the TCS Victory’s bartender Rostov and makes him a shameless Space Russian in the grand tradition of Ensign Chekov.
There is a lot to talk about here. For one, isn't it odd that they just borrowed Shotglass' setup from Wing Commander I? Is every bartender in the fleet a wounded veteran?
I'll let folks with actual culture decide if "Dmitry Rostov" is a terrible made up Russian name but it certainly is an odd coincidence (?) that it's the same name as a system from WC1... which I can confirm was all over the series bible provided to Forstchen and Keith.
On the other hand, the TCS Leningrad reference is a very deep cut. It's from a brief mention in Freedom Flight where Hobbes reminisces about the time he destroyed it.
But just the implication that a ship named after a Russian city would
Jun
If you haven’t filmed an exhaustive retrospective of the Wing Commander series on a hillside while sitting on a giant boulder, are you even a Wing Commander fine? Yes, if you’re reading this, you definitely are, but this is still one of the most unique takes on the WC series rundown video I’ve seen in a while. Where will the next Wing Commander fan vid take place?
Jun
…The UK-based Centre for Computing History recently tweeted about this really cool collectible phone card made as a promotion for Wing Commander 2. I realized I actually have a couple of these laying around, but somehow we've never shared them in the news before! You can find their profile page on this item here. I really like their website and mission!
Just added to the collection: A promotional Wing Commander II Mercury telephone kiosk card!-----------------------------------------
Card for use in a Mercury telephone kiosk, with Wing Commander II design.
Mercury Communications was a national UK telephone company formed in the early 1980s, and was an early competitor of BT. Mercury's payphone kiosks were in use in the UK from 1986-1995.
The card states on the back that Mercurycards are available in £2, £4, and £10 values, however the card itself is a £1 value, so was likely given away as a promotion.
A
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
Jun
Today dczanik shared a very slick interpretation of young Angel. The design started as a 3D model, but he finally turned it into a more artsy graphic. Let him know what you think at the CIC Forums!
Hey guys! I did a paint over a 3D model I sculpted years ago. It's of a young Angel. Originally I was going to make a 3D model of her WC1 character, but liked the look of a younger Angel. I thought you would enjoy it. Hope you like it! Here's the original model:
It was used for Howard Day's Wing Leader characters. But I really wanted to finish it in the way I wanted it to look so I finally got around to finishing it. And I made a 16 bit look for those that prefer the old pixel graphics:
Here's a few original shots to compare: WC1, Claw Marks, Super Famicon Claw Marks and WC2.
Jun
…*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Aegis and Azimuth Biotech have concluded rival campaigns to deliver tissue samples harvested from the Thargoid Titans.
Titan tissue samples were obtained from the surfaces of the Thargoid capital ships using research limpets and brought back to human space by daring pilots.
Dr Maximo Fonseca, the Allied scientific liaison to Aegis, delivered a congratulatory message:
"It takes a special kind of pilot to travel through the Maelstroms and fly across the surfaces of these enormous motherships, but it seems such courage is not in short supply. The samples we received will undergo scientific testing by Allied, Federal and Imperial specialists. We are confident that they will shed light on the Titans' capabilities and the technologies used in their construction."
A parallel campaign by Azimuth Biotech also received deliveries of Titan-based materials, but the number of
Jun
I just noticed the Wing Commander IV PlayStation disc change screens all have different ship reflections. Cool as hell!
The first disc image with the Hellcats is also used as a splash screen for the DVD version of WC4.
