News categories list

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

This is a reminder that we have another fun #Wingnut event happening on Discord this morning! Join us at noon EST/9 AM PST for a fun filled morning of television... that all connect to Wing Commander somehow! This month we're completing our two-part look at some of the many Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation stories that have inspired Wing Commander in some way! You can find details on the shows included as well as how to watch along with us in the announcement post here. Be sure to download the episodes so they're ready to play with the group!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here's one we can't explain. Take a close look at this establishing shot of Admiral Tolwyn's office from Wing Commander Academy's Invisible Enemy. Most of the details are consistent with it's appearance in other episodes: the clear desk, the hexagonal window, the circular ceiling lights, the door to the left, the sculpture by the window and even the green couch are all visible in the same places in other episodes. But what this particular shot adds is… a coffee table with something very unusual on it.

So now we put the question to you: what the heck is Commodore Tolwyn's stuffed animal? It looks so familiar but no one has been able to place it yet! As far as we can tell it appears only in this one background on the entire show…

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The Wing Commander movie club thought that Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure was a pretty solidly fun outing! It's not necessarily artful but every single aspect of it feels like it's in on a joke that you're also welcome to be part of. It tells jokes for no other reason than to be funny and it bends some surprisingly cool science fiction thinking into a movie that probably didn't need so much thought in the background.

There's not a lot to say about the Wing Commander connection, which was that Action Stations names a star system after George Carlin. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is maybe not the ideal vehicle for explaining who Carlin was but he's a delight in the film (which is one of his very rare movie appearances and maybe the only one valid for our series).

And speaking of elaborate sci-fi lore, it's a fun coincidence that the regularly revisited future sequences in Bill & Ted's Excellent

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

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 Pulp Fiction (1994) 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!

And don't forget our ninth Wing Commander Cartoon party is early tomorrow!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

I was recently working on a Privateer 2-related project and noticed that the component selection graphics from the booth look pretty great put together into a grid. Enjoy!

http://

Continuing with our blue theme, here's a previously unarchived Privateer 2 print ad variant. This one is a lot lighter than similar versions!

We also wanted to use this space to port over four Privateer 2 reviews already preserved by the wonderful Pix's Origin Adventures. We're not sure how we missed these when they were posted but they're pretty fascinating! Privateer 2 provided many outlets with a noticeably different alpha build so there are sometimes treasures to be found in magazine screenshots. First up is the November 19996 issue of PC Zone:

PC Review, December 1996:

PC Zone, January 1997:

PC Home, February 1997:

Display More

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

October Consortium has issued a call for help to recover Guardian artefacts from across the galaxy.
A statement by Lexi October to Vox Galactica confirmed that recovered artefacts will expand October Consortium's data archive and enhance research in exobiological fields. According to its scientists, the initiative is intended to support ongoing projects rather than any new technological applications.
Ram Tah, renowned Guardian expert and Engineer, commented on the request:
"My extensive knowledge of Guardian culture, technology and data already collected could prove extremely useful for the October Consortium. There is still much to learn from the Guardians' history, and a collaboration could mutually accelerate this work."
October issued a reply through social channels stating that "the offer is appreciated, and our scientists are willing to share data libraries once initial studies are

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

About two months ago we reported that Wing Commander composer George "The Fatman" Sanger was getting ready to release his first vinyl record, a jazz album with the music of Pajama Sam 3. The release is getting closer and now we have word that the music has been remixed by none other than his partner in crime for the Wing Commander score, the amazing Dave Govett! The final art for the album is available now too and it is spectacular. You can get your copy of either edition (while supplies last) at his Bandcamp Store.

Hi guys, Tim the Curator here! BIG VINYL UPDATE!

The audio on the vinyl was remixed by legendary Team Fat veteran, Masters of Orion, Putt-Putt Saves The Zoo, Pep's Birthday Surprise, Wing Commander composer DAVID GOVETT. These mixes—so warm and open—sound incredible and have breathed whole new life into the jazz music of Pajama Sam 3.

THE ART has been provided by the amazing IAN MUTCHLER

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

New analysis of Radicoida unica has raised fresh questions about the true origins of the enigmatic flora found in HIP 87621.
Following the recent seed pod recovery initiative, researchers acting under the October Accords have begun detailed phylogenetic studies using the expanded sample pool.
Early findings suggest that certain evolutionary markers within the plant's DNA may not be entirely natural.
According to sources close to the project, specific sequences within the seed pods biochemical structure show evidence of non-environmental diversion. However, scientists were quick to stress that such changes were not recent.
One researcher, speaking anonymously, stated that the markers indicate intervention "on a timescale measured in eons rather than millennia," and theorised that if the plant was engineered, it was "by an unknown agent in the very distant past."
The implications of such a

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

April come she… did. Which means that it's just about time for the next Saturday television marathon! This will be the second part of our look at Star Trek and it will start by finishing off the cliffhanger from last month's Best of Both Worlds. Will Riker really fire on the Borg and kill Captain Picard?! We'll find out!

Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds II (s4e01): We kick off with the very last episode of Star Trek TNG that aired before Wing Commander I went gold. The Wing Commander I team stopped work only to watch new Star Treks together, so this must have been quite an event after a summer of hundred hour plus work weeks… and wondering what was going to happen to Captain Picard.

Star Trek: The Animated Series - The Slaver Weapon (s1e14): We didn't forget the Kzinti! The Slaver Weapon is an adaptation of one of Larry Niven's Known Space stories which originated the Kzinti…

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

And the verdict is… Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a perfectly pleasant film! This week, we've voted on a movie that's absolutely less pleasant but that had a significantly greater impact on moviemaking and the culture in general: Pulp Fiction (1994). You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

Pulp Fiction certainly helped establish the cultural zeitgeist at the height of the Wing Commander series… but why are we watching it, specifically? Believe it or not, it isn't because of director Quentin Tarantino's recent, unexpected row with Matthew Lillard! Instead, we're looking specifically at a reference in Wing Commander III's quotes file:

ADAM FOSHKO - Ad-man
The Man Who Knows Video, The Character Quentin Tarantino Wishes He Had

Who is Adam Foshko? He may be best known to fans as the director of Wing Commander Prophecy but he contributed greatly to all of the FMV games. In fact, he has ten

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Authorities are investigating a break-in at a fabrication plant in the LHS 1167 system, following the theft of hardware and components.
No group has yet claimed responsibility, but early evidence points toward an unfamiliar mercenary outfit operating across multiple regions of the Bubble.
Security footage recovered from the site shows coordinated ship movements and disciplined withdrawal patterns, prompting speculation that the perpetrators were neither opportunistic pirates nor local criminals. Reports of heavily modified vessels bearing unfamiliar insignia have since surfaced in neighbouring systems.
A spokesperson for the affected facility issued a blunt assessment to Vox Galactica:
"These weren't amateurs. The ships we encountered were exceptionally well-equipped and flown with precision. They absorbed punishment that would have crippled most raiders."
Local authorities have advised

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We've got a pretty cool discovery today: a YouTube account has uploaded a very early trailer for Wing Commander Prophecy! It has some spectacular footage of the game's engine much earlier in development, more than we've seen before. It's not clear where this was originally published but we suspect it dates to around E3 1997, possibly included in a press kit and released with an overseas magazine.

The resolution is low (it's from 1997!) but there are some good looks at Prophecy's early light including an early version of the Midway, early asteroids, a fascinating not-seen-before version of the UI and even an unreleased destroyer-style capital ship briefly visibile!

Thanks to some help from the original uploader we've learned the source of this trailer: the December 1997 cover disc for a Russian gaming magazine called Gameland. Gameland published extensive Prophecy previews in their November and January

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Wing Commander's pantheon of cheats is well known, from 'Origin -k' activating the finger of death to alswantsmoreships giving als more ships almost every game has had a hidden option used by the developers for testing but kept in for players to discover. That is, with the notable exception of Wing Commander Armada, 1994's wonderful multiplayer-and-strategy take on the series.

Until now! Thanks to some amazing research by--who else?--AllTinker, the process for accessing Wing Commander Armada's 'debug mode' is known! For the past few years we've known that an Armada 'cheat' existed but have had no idea how to access it or even what it really did. That's because one of the game's programmers mentioned in a Facebook comment that they were surprised that the team had kept their promise never to reveal it all these years (32 years and counting). But that was just an added challenge for AllTinker!

What

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Everybody loves RoboCop! It might have an earnest claim for the perfect all around movie. It can be light and fun or endlessly deep in the same viewing. Whether you're looking for spectacular action and endless gore or a meditation on the human condition, they're both perfectly formed right there… and neither diminishes or even begs for the other. Hurrah!

We already discussed the interesting history of the Righteous Fire "Enforcer" in our RoboCop 3 post but we thought it would be important to compare it to the original... especially RoboCop's unmasked face to the face texture used to create the Enforcer. What do you think, did RoboCop influence this fellow (if he is a fellow)?

Here are further comparisons with the different shots and animations used in the Righteous Fire introduction:

The wonderful ED-209 also brought to mind something hidden inside Wing Commander III's files: untextured meshes of two

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

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 Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) 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!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The last time we checked in with 3D printer modeler Tyrel Lohr they were putting together an impressive fleet of ships from Wing Commander Armada. Now they're back with more Wing Commander ships and are getting a little carried away... or should we say carrier'd away? Lohr has created printable 3D versions of the original Snakeir design from The Secret Missions 2 and, most exciting of all, the Hakaga carrier from the cover of Fleet Action! Doing the Hakaga in the original game's style makes so much sense... after all, they're clearly artist Paul Alexander's interpretation of the Ralari as a heavy carrier! You can buy Lohr's wonderful models and print themselves for yourself through Cults.

Kilrathi Hakaga supercarrier based on the artwork from the Wing Commander 'Fleet Action' novel cover. Not a perfect rendition, but it captures the basic feel of the ship, while trying to blend in a bit more with the

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Wing Commander III is unique in the series in many ways... and one you may not know is that it was popular enough that they actually dubbed the entire game in Korean! Dubbing games--especially in languages other than French, German and Japanese--was a rare and expensive thing at the time. Unfortunately, the actors that dubbed the full motion video are not credited in the game itself. AD recently found a very low resolution image that purports to show them and we've been attempting to use it to find the correct credits.

Here's what we've found so far! As you can see, we are still missing Tolwyn and the actor who did both Vagabond/Flash. If you can make out the image or you know more about accessing the Korean portion of the internet we'd love to know who they are! Our closest possibility for Vagabond/Flash is 황윤걸 (Hwang Yun-geol)... but we aren't confident enough to be sure.

• Blair - 박일 (Park Il)
• Paladin

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We'll just come right out and say it: RoboCop is great! This week's movie will be another classic from our youth: the classic time travel/not-quite-stoner comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989). You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

We're watching this one as part of a recently added rule for movie selections: we will pick one film to represent a real world actor… and that movie has to have been made before the reference. So Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is the movie for legendary comedian George Carlin, referenced in Action Stations! Here's the brief mention where he gets a star system named after him… the closest base to McAuliffe with a working FTL communications system.

"Target Vikyah?" he whispered, already sensing what the answer was.
"McAuliffe," Speedwell replied.
"How do we know that?"
"Because it reports our translight burst transmitter is down due to intense solar

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Far from Home (2634)

Repleetah is a small habitable planet located in an eponymous star system in the Isaac Quadrant of the Enigma Sector. Isolated from more traveled spacelanes, Repleetah is a bitterly cold world covered with ridged terrain and packed with snow and ice. At the outset of the Terran-Kilrathi War, Repleetah was occupied by research outposts from a variety of worlds including Terrans and Kilrathi. When news of the declaration of war reached the Repleetah, the Terran scientists voted to visit a Kilrathi research facility to establish their neutrality in the hopes that both groups could continue their research. The Kilrathi responded with a surprise biological attack which exterminated the human scientists. In response to the assault, the Terran Confederation and the Empire of Kilrah both quickly deploy marines to the distant system. The battle is soon joined with both forces fighting in

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

October Consortium has announced that the research initiative to collect Radicoida unica bloom samples was a resounding success.
According to results reported from Exogene Sciences in HIP 87621, the number of Unica seed pods collected by Commanders has meant that research efforts will be helped significantly due to the increased availability of biological material.
The collected seed pods will now undergo detailed, multi-faceted analysis to further understand their unique properties in the hope of reproducing the pharmacological effects seen in recent studies.
A legal representative at October Consortium added:
"Our research and development projections will be greatly fortified thanks to the thousands of Commanders who took part in this initiative. All members of the October Accords will benefit from this outcome."
Contributing Commanders can now collect their rewards at Exogene Sciences.