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This is a reminder that we have another fun #Wingnut movie night planned on Discord this evening! The ongoing theme will be movies that are referenced by Wing Commander in some way. Tonight's film is Casablanca (1942) and you can find details on why we're watching it in the announcement post here. The movie will start at 7 PM PST/10 PM EST but feel free to drop by and hang any time!
Nov
…*Pilots' Federation Alert*
The Pilots' Federation has confirmed that licensed Commanders will be granted access to the HIP 87621 system by October Consortium.
The unexpected move has followed weeks of speculation surrounding HIP 87621, with growing interest from all three superpowers piling pressure on the megacorp. A spokesperson from within the Pilots' Federation stated:
"The continued delay from October Consortium to relinquish permit control has only created further tension between political and scientific communities. To assuage concerns over the type of research taking place in HIP 87621, we have been invited to grant access to the system to licensed Pilots' Federation members."
However, Lexi October, head of the October Consortium, was less cordial in her statement to Vox Galactica:
"We have done nothing but preserve our discovery within HIP 87621 for security and scientific purposes.
Nov
…
This is the first in a series of irregular updates covering the musical artists of the 27th and 28th centuries. Wing Commander has surprisingly detailed backstories for several different groups despite the fact that we never actually got to hear any of their music! In each update we'll first offer the in-universe capsule biography and then share all the sources behind it.
tHE lOVE aNIMALS (sometimes stylzed as tHE lOVEaNIMALS and The LoveAnimals) are a retro-folk technotronic female trio that became popular in the late 2650s. The group was formed by guitarist Uil Yth, an enigmatic figure whose philosophy opposed violence in any form and referred to their output their "musical vision". Their music was said to have a "smooth, synthetic sound". The performers played modern instruments but dressed in distinct retro clothing.
In 2669, tHE lOVE aNIMALS released "let sleeping breezes lie," a record that would
Nov
…It looks like No Man Sky's free capital ship designing expansion is a hit! Last month we shared some shots of corvettes created by Shaggy and now he has another shot that shows off the interior of his Venture:
Here's a shot of the galley to the bridge on the Venture as well as a shot of it parked above CNS Alexandria, my floating base on my home planet. I have a shot of the cargo bay but it's not that interesting. The Venture is also a very narrow ship, compared to the Kamrani, so there wasn't a lot of space to work with room wise.Meanwhile, a BlueSky user named Redalgo has been recreating an entire fleet of ships! Starting with the Thunderbolt VII (skeet
Recently had some fun piecing together a corvette in homage to the Thunderbolt VII.
And now after some polishing and work on the nose...
Next up in No Man's Sky is an attempt at recreating the Kilrathi Paktahn, specifically the
Nov
…Brewer Corporation has announced plans to reassign its Trailblazer megaship fleet, citing the self-sufficiency of newly established colonies.
The Trailblazer vessels were deployed to provide logistical support and essential resources to independent colonisation initiatives at the edge of inhabited space. Their presence has been credited with accelerating the construction of ports and surface settlements throughout the past year.
Mark Rennik, Chief Operating Officer for Brewer Corporation, issued a statement of commendation:
"What began as an ambitious expansion effort has grown into a thriving network of independent colonies. The success of these initiatives proves that humanity's frontier is now strong enough to stand on its own."
"With these colonies self-sustaining and prospering, the Trailblazer fleet's mission is complete. Markets will close initially as we funnel Brewer Corporation
Nov
…
Despite the fact that it was longer than a Redstone missile, The Right Stuff stood the test of time! And if you can believe it, it was our 52nd film and it marked the end to the first YEAR of the Wing Commander movie club. To kick off year two, we're going back to 1942 for a genuine classic: Casablanca. It's one of those movies people in my generation maybe only they assume they've seen… it'll be interesting to see how it goes! You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.
Our connection to Wing Commander comes from Wing Commander II Special Operations 2 in which Minx references the movie's famous closing line, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship", while she is evil flirting with Jazz in the third 'second chance' mission.
JAZZ: You've done well, Minx. And now that my plan has succeeded--- ---and you've brought the Morningstar prototype to the Mandarins--- ---I'm
Nov
…The research for one of our recent posts required that we determine what starbases appeared in Wing Commander Prophecy's simulator. Just one problem: there's no guide to the simulator missions online! We decided to create our own and have added a super detailed page for all ten missions to the WCPedia:
- Level 0: Basic Flight Training
- Level 1: Basic Offensive Strategies
- Level 2: Defensive Strategies and Escorting
- Level 3: Heavy Weapons Training
- Level 4: Kilrathi Fighter Gauntlet
- Level 5: Timed Fighter Sweep
- Level 6: Capital Ship Sweep
- Level 7: Carrier Defense
- Level 8 Alien Fighter Gauntlet
- Level 9: Advanced Alien Fighter Gauntlet
We've done a lot of research into how Wing Commander Prophecy works to figure out things like how the gauntlet spawns work... and in the process we've learned some very interesting new things about these oft-ignored missions! Here are some of the high points:
- If you approach within 6,500
Nov
…We have terrible news to share today: veteran actor Tchéky Karyo passed away on Friday from cancer at age 72. Karyo was an extremely talented veteran Turkish and French actor who was known for crossing between roles in French cinema and Hollywood. Americans will know him in La Femme Nikita, Goldeneye and The Patriot to name only a few, and space fans in particular will remember his appearance as Georges Méliès in the grand finale of From the Earth to the Moon. Our own Wing Commander movie club recently spotted him in 1492: Conquest of Paradise and immediately declared him to be the only bright spot of the film! I myself knew him for The Bear and Eric Rohmer's Full Moon in Paris well before he ever graced our franchise with his talents. We want to send our strongest condolences to his family, friends, fans and everyone else that loved him. You can read a more complete account of his passing and career
Nov
…The Wing Commander movie club has nothing to fear but Sphere itself! The general consensus is that while there's some material of interest in Sphere it doesn't really come together in the end… and it spends a lot of time not quite getting there! In the week before the screening, a lot of people told me that Sphere was a guilty pleasure because they had seen it in theaters when it came out. And there's an argument that that's actually the best kind of movie: one you can enjoy in spite of itself.
... while Sphere may not be a timeless classic, we immediately saw that it had a pretty tangible impact on the Wing Commander movie. We knew going in that this was one of three movies referenced by Digital Anvil's spectacular opening titles… and just like 1492, the influence was obvious in the first seconds of the film. Like 1492, Sphere uses historical drawings as part of the backdrop for the titles… but it
Nov
This is a reminder that we have another fun #Wingnut movie night planned on Discord this evening! The ongoing theme will be movies that are referenced by Wing Commander in some way. Tonight's film is The Right Stuff (1983) and you can find details on why we're watching it in the announcement post here. The movie will start about 6 PM PST/9 PM EST but feel free to drop by and hang any time! Please note that the movie is starting one hour earlier than usual to accommodate its run time.
Oct
We recently posted about the Wing Commander material included in the Keyboard And Terminal Technology (KATT) Game Master Matt, which I was thrilled to see for the very first time. That was all thanks to LigMatrix who has done some truly incredible work preserving the history of this very odd device. And now they've made available a massive archive that includes not only the Wing Commander artwork but everything they managed to collect about the KATT... including a preserved copy of the actual upgrade ROM that adds support for games like Privateer and Academy! You can read all about it at Games That Weren't and you can download the material from the Internet Archive. There's even a well produced 45-minute video unboxing a KATT! Check it out:
Oct
…Zorgon Peterson has confirmed that the Panther Clipper has entered full production, with deliveries now commencing to shipyards across the core systems.
Previously available through limited release, the Panther Clipper is widely regarded as the largest and most capable civilian freighter in history and has already become a fixture of the galaxy's expanding trade and colonisation efforts.
A Zorgon Peterson spokesperson remarked:
"The Panther Clipper represents the pinnacle of large-scale transport engineering, meeting the demanding standards of long-range hauliers, corporate logistics and colonisation."
"The vessel's hallmark feature remains its immense cargo capacity, exceeding 1,200 tonnes when fully optimised, along with compatibility with the advanced Mk II cargo rack system. We're delighted to make the Panther Clipper available to all."
The Panther Clipper is now available for purchase at
Oct
I don't know about where you are, but here, the weather has shifted and it most definitely feels like fall. In order to help cure some of that seasonal depression, GOG has arrived with its autumn sale. This means the Wing Commander series is 50% off across the board. Fill out your digital collection from the links below!
Oct
…
The long-teased Creative Labs Sound Blaster Re:Imagine Kickstarter has launched (and already met its goal)! So what the heck is this thing? it's a physical 'hub' that you can reconfigure with different components including switches, sliders, dials and a tiny screen. It runs Linux and can operate apps like the SoundBlaster parrot and a DOS emulator without needing to connect to your PC. They say:
Re:Imagine is a modular audio hub that brings all your audio devices together in one place. Switch connections instantly across any input, and any output.
Customize your setup with programmable modular controls. Enjoy high resolution audio playback via a powerful DAC and amp. And you have superuser access to hardware, to create and run your own apps on it.
More than a sound card, it is your hub, your control deck, and your creative playground.There are plenty of additional details on the pledge page and a
Oct
…Brewer Corporation has confirmed the success of its recent campaign to acquire construction materials, with independent pilots delivering vast quantities of resources to meet its clients' order.
CEO Madelyn Teague released a statement from Brewer's Minerva headquarters:
"Our sincere thanks go to the many pilots who supported this campaign. The required stocks have been secured in record time, enabling us to meet the terms of this urgent order."
Independent observers believe that the concentration of megaship traffic and the secrecy surrounding the order, together with the reported direct messages to pilots pledged to one of the twelve Powers, are strong indicators of an intention to rapidly construct a science and security enclave around HIP 87621.
Analysts have concluded that given the sheer scale of Brewer Corporation's logistical operations deployed for this project, the enclave could be
Oct
…We've been working on a more expansive atlas of the Wing Commander universe and part of that involves finding all the space stations we've seen throughout the series. I recently went through Wing Commanders Prophecy and Secret Ops and thought I'd share some of my notes here! Here are all the bases we see in the game, plus an extra screenshot of the high poly model if they appear in a cutscene.
Terran Confederation
Ella Starbase
Class: Ella-type
Location: Ella System
Visited by the Cerberus crew in the Ella series. Behind the scenes material refers to it as 'new Ella' indicating it may be distinct from the Ella superbase from Wing Commander IV. The base type has eight targetable bridges, four on top and four on the bottom.
Wing Commander Prophecy includes two different in-engine base meshes: the more familiar relay station and a unique TCS Callisto variant seen only in the game's losing path. Callisto has a
Oct
…
We have traveled to the bottom of the sea and released the Sphere sphere! Sphere wasn't a classic but it was interesting enough… and you could certainly see the Wing Commander movie intro in its opening titles. For Halloween, we've voted to dress up as astronauts… and watch The Right Stuff (1983), a true classic. You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along. Please note that the movie will begin one hour early (at 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific) to accommodate the run time.
Our Wing Commander connection for this one is a cutscene from Wing Commander Prophecy. Prophecy selects a landing cutscene where Rachel reacts to your mission depending on your performance. Missions can be immaculate, A, B, C, D or F with F representing a total failure. This is one of the 'A' options where Rachel tells you you've got 'the right stuff'.
So what is the 'right stuff'? It's a term adopted in the 1950s to refer to an
Oct
Forum user and 3D hero Cybot recently introduced us to Uncle Bilbop... and now they already have developed more for us to play with!
- ANCLYDE LW Daz cockpit 00A
- ANCLYDE LW Daz cockpit 00B
- Privateer Clydesdale LW Daz 01
- Privateer Clydesdale LW Daz 02
- Privateer Clydesdale TEX
They've also built a new model of Wing Commander Academy's Wraith and posted it for anyone to use! How cool!
Oct
…Last month, we reported that Creative Labs has been using Wing Commander in marketing for an upcoming crowd fund project which aims to... do something. Last night, they sent out a 'first look' email that is still fairly inscrutable. But what IS certain is that the Sound Blaster Re:Imagined... seems to be playing Wing Commander I on some kind of tiny modular screen?
Here are the details from the e-mail. The most interesting part for Wing Commander fans is probably the promise that "many fun apps" are included. It specifically mentions the Sound Blaster Parrot and Dr. Sbaitso, which are the other things they've been using in the marketing. Could they have licensed the original Wing Commander to include with this hardware?
Insider Access Note #1
Meet Sound Blaster Re:Imagine — a modular audio hub that brings all your audio devices together in one place. Switch connections instantly across any input, and
Oct
…There's a contemporary claim that Ishtar is a movie that didn't deserve its reputation as one of the worst films of all time; that separated from time and temperament, it holds up as an entertaining film. Well: we have determined that this is not true. Ishtar is a bad movie and it's one whose existence remains mystifying. Sometimes a million strange, well intended pieces can come together just right to make something special. That did not happen here.
… but it did happen in Privateer 2: The Darkening! Which is why we were very interested to learn that the two productions actually share a casting director. The Zimmerman of the agency listed in the Ishtar credits, Davis-Zimmerman, is none other than Jeremy Zimmerman who would go on to not only cast but also APPEAR in Privateer 2! He appears as the half-masked Blessed Brew Bidder #1 during the Uncle Kashumai 'auction' mission.
But he's not the only Ishtar
