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Verman has been experimenting with some technology to bring some of Feng Zhu's unused Privateer Online concept ships to life! They write:

It's been a long time since I contributed anything to the news, I still visit the site often and have quite a few projects for Wing Commander going on at the moment (along with a million other projects too). Well I decided to do some tinkering with 2D image to 3D Modelling AI, using a site called Meshy. I always loved one of the ship concepts for Wing Commander Online so I thought I would test out how good the AI was just using that concept art to produce a 3D model and also the textures from the artwork. I attached some screenshots.

I also made it freely available on Sketchfab so people can download it and make it better or use it in any projects or just study it...

I have also done a couple of the other models but I haven't had time to get them uploaded to

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 Ishtar (1987) and you can find details on why we're watching it in the announcement post here. The movie will start about 7 PM PST/10 PM EST but feel free to drop by and hang any time!

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

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The Wing Commander movie club has kicked off October right with a spooky horror movie: the 1968 classic Rosemary's Baby. We found it to be a stunningly well made movie full of visual texture and nuance. The story is maybe more relevant than ever again, an allegory about society's belief in its right to control women. Now: the Wing Commander connection here was always slight, so we're going to lean right into it and try and collect everything we know about the character named after Rosemary's Baby's controversial director Roman Polanski.

In the 27th century, Lt. Adam "Bishop" Polanski is one of the veteran wingmen aboard the Tiger Claw in the Wing Commander movie. He was played by veteran British actor Mark Powley, best known for a long running role on television's The Bill. He is a Rapier pilot and flies ship number 35. He has been aboard the carrier for about seven months at this point in the

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! We'll enjoy two episodes of MST3k that have deep connections to Wing Commander III, specifically. 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!

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AD has come upon a pretty fascinating vintage article that had not been in our community consciousness. It's a preview of Origin's product lineup from the April 1991 issue of The One, an Amiga-focused computer outlet. It includes a very early description of Wing Commander II and some rendered images of ships in progress… including one we've never seen before!

We asked Wing Commander II director Siobhan Beeman about the unknown ship and she was kind enough to think back so far to figure it out:

Vaguely. Early drafts of the story had more capital ship engagements, which is why torpedoes were introduced and why the Concordia is a strike carrier with a spinal-mount weapon. I believe this art is for a frigate or destroyer class that would have shown up with multiple names.

Awesome! You can certainly see how a frigate with this design would fit right alongside the Gilgamesh destroyer and Waterloo cruiser in

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We aren't going to sugarcoat it for you: it turns out that Ishtar was not a good movie. Nevertheless, the Wing Commander movie club marches on! We decided to vote for a science fiction film specifically and after a big tie and a second round our choice for next week was Sphere (1998), one of the newest movies in the pool. You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

Sphere is the second of three movies we will be looking at that was explicitly referenced in the Wing Commander movie's famous introduction sequence. The first was 1492: Conquest of Paradise, which we watched earlier this month. The after action report contains a thorough look at the paintings used to create the introduction. Sphere had its own clear impact on the style of the intro and especially the flashes of Kilrathi art; we'll take a closer look on Friday!

Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?

Sphere is

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Back in 2023, we reported on a very cool 3D printed Tarsus made by Cpt. Streets. At the time he promised that a Hornet was up next... and here it is! This is truly spectacular work, complete with a cool base with a printed deck crew. This is one of the coolest printed Wing Commander ships I've seen so far!

It´s a 3D Print an about 9cm (3,5") long...Scale is 1:160 or "Spur N" (for miniature train builders)And it is resin. The file is a mash-up from several (I think 2) Hornets found somewhere in the web.Some parts are modified and other parts are added after print from several vintage spare plastic model kits (most of the details)I add the plastic parts und painted it. But I did not make or print the 3D resin model. This was done by a friend.

And here are some shots of it under construction, including what it looked like before painting and further customization. Actually, the transparent red is pretty

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

There's great news for fans of the Wing Commander III and IV enhancement patches: creator Mash has updated both of them! This version overhauls ship rotation and adds higher precision movement, which fixes some existing bugs. The default frame rate is now 60 fps and LODs are now locked to the highest level of detail. In our testing, it's the smoothest Wing Commander III and IV experience yet! You can download updated versions at the patches' respective Githubs:

• Wing Commander III Enhancement Patch
• Wing Commander IV Enhancement Patch

Wing Commander III:

Ship rotations upgrades:

• higher precision rotation.
• updated the precision of axis movement for joysticks from the original range of (-16 to 16) to (-256 to 256).
• enhanced rotation matrix calculations for all ships, player and non-player.
• added a separate matrix for the player for even greater precision. Enabled by default, this can be disabled in

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Independent observers have reported unusual activity in systems surrounding HIP 87621, intensifying rumours of covert operations in the region.
Multiple reports indicate that megaships have been spotted operating near the permit-locked system over the past week. Though no Power has formally acknowledged involvement, analysts believe this early mobilisation suggests a push for influence around HIP 87621.
Access to the system itself remains under permit lock. All independent colonisation requests for the surrounding area continue to be denied with no reasons cited. Conrad Sterling, a political correspondent for Vox Galactica, noted:
"Typically, when you see megaships mobilising on this scale it usually precedes territorial stakes being claimed. None of the Powers have formally announced such plans but pilots continue to report receiving private messages from their pledged Power representatives

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 Sphere (1998) and you can find details on why we're watching it in the announcement post here. The movie will start about 7 PM PST/10 PM EST but feel free to drop by and hang any time!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

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

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

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

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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!

• Privateer Wraith Daz

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

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

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

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

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

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

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

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

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

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!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

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

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

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: