21
Apr
Want to witness the gigantic Thargoid mothership end? ...
News categories list
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04
Apr
…The Titan known as Oya appears to have deployed a large fleet of Orthrus vessels into star systems farther from their own territory breaking expected behaviour.
Analysts noted that the locations in which Orthrus vessels have been tracked didn't appear to have any particular importance, instead suggesting that this may be a new tactic or possibly a simple panic response to the mounting pressure on its fleet.
Titan Oya has been steadily losing territory to large numbers of AX-equipped human forces. These forces, spearheaded by coalitions known as 'AXI' and 'XSF' have been reclaiming ground from the Titans successfully for some time and were pivotal in the recent successful campaigns against the now-destroyed Titans, Taranis and Leigong.
The Pilots' Federation have issued an alert to all independent pilots for each of the star systems where Orthrus vessels have been detected:
"If Oya can be -
07
Dec
…*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Councillor Nakato Kaine has announced that a delivery campaign in the Tionisla system has not reached its target.
Addressing the Alliance Assembly, she said:
"The purpose of this campaign was to demonstrate the core principles of the Alliance: independence, self-sufficiency and mutual support. While we received millions of units, our target quota was not filled. I believe there are important lessons to be learned here. We must not lose faith in the Alliance's ability to remain self-sustaining in military infrastructure."
The strategic defence pact between the Alliance and Sirius Corporation is being subjected to an independent inquiry. A vocal minority of councillors in the Assembly are critical of their corporate partner's inability to deliver anti-xeno ships or activities.
Sirius Corporation CEO Li Yong Rui offered this comment to reporters:
"Sirius Corporation's -
24
Aug
…The Alliance Festival of Culture has entered its fifth week, focusing on a wide variety of theatre and dance performances.
Crowds have flocked to New Caledonia in the Tionisla system to enjoy performance art from dozens of systems. Shows ranging from elaborate stage productions to amateur street recitals have offered classical operas, circus shows, theatrical plays and much more.
Art critic Bryony Lindholm published this review on Vox Galactica:
"While the entertainment on display has been nothing short of marvellous, a personal favourite has been the ballet 'Bones of Dreams'. It is performed by skeletal robot dancers made of scrap salvaged from the Tionisla orbital graveyard."
"It is a moving portrayal of inhumanity, and like most of the audience, I was left in tears despite – or perhaps because of – the absence of any sentient organisms depicting grand themes of grief and loss."
The Alliance
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19
Jul
…Today we've got a triple-pack of hardcore reviews from Hardcore Gaming 101. We reported on their WC1, WC2 and Strike Commander retrospectives back in the day, but we missed how these three prime spinoffs to the Wing Commander series also go their own proper articles.
First up is Academy. Taken in a modern context, some players may not understand how a mission builder could be its own fully boxed (and nearly full priced) standalone game, but that fails to capture the situation at the time. Fans were clamoring for the ability to do this. Fan mods were years away from being a thing, and Academy made it easy to craft your own WC games with zero learning curve. Plus, it packed in new ships as well as a really fun (and challenging) gauntlet mode.Armada also gets a lot of credit for doing something different in such a way as to expand the Wing Commander tapestry. There is a some discussion on how the
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20
Aug
We had some great live trivia on Saturday night, and some knowledgable Wingnuts won some cool prizes. To claim your items,
send an emailto news@wcnews.com with your Discord name, real name and address.
- WC Novel Ebook - Whistler
- GOG WC Games Collection - DefianceIndustries
- Academy on DVD - Music_Guru
- WC CCG Starter Deck Box - LeHah
- iTunes Wing Commander Soundtrack - DefianceIndustries
- WC4 OEM DVD - Pedro
- AWC Tote Bag - TheyCallMeGrim, PopsiclePete
- WC1 copy from LOAF - Music_Guru
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19
Feb
GBGames has been getting back into the original Wing Commander, and this has inspired him to create a pretty awesome piece of Wing Commander art. He's put together a pretty slick Bengal class blueprint poster in the style of WC1's fighter blueprints. It's very nice - and high res enough to print or make your wallpaper image!
I've been playing Wing Commander for the PC, which is very different from the SNES version I played when I was younger.
And I decided I wanted a poster of the Tiger's Claw, so I made one.
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27
Oct
Aubi-Nation has completed an overhaul of his Tiger's Claw model built in Space Engineers. It's got lots of nice upgrades now. The basic geometry of the landing bay and engine nacelles has been tightened up to look sharper on the outside. Indoors, the flight deck has been spruced up with some new things, including access to an updated pilot's lounge - that even has a static TrainSim and killboard! Towards the end of the clip, Aubi fires up the engines and shows off how maneuverable the carrier is. It's quite impressive in the asteroid fields! Check out the video below:
#ThisDadPlays Space Engineers! I take one of my favourite ships from Wing Commander and I recreate it in Space Engineers! Here is the updated version of the Tiger's Claw! Almost finished!
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21
Nov
…The Wing Commander movie wasn’t the first time we got a terrible approach to mourning! Super Wing Commander had characters with stripes shaved in their heads to honor their dead. Naturally this needed to be explained in the manual, lest anyone assume it was just sci-fi hair:
Does the lore match up? Maybe! Knight and Bossman have two and one stripe respectively but none of their stories are known.
Iceman has two, presumably for his wife and youngest daughter killed in a Kilrathi attack. A second daughter, Julia, was enslaved and later rescued. Iceman would go on to remarry and have a son… Lance Casey, the eventual protagonist of Wing Commander Prophecy.
… and then I have to believe that Angel and Maniac are both for Rosie Forbes, to whom they were both very close.
By the way: the distinctive portraits in Super Wing Commander were by Texas artist Sam Yeates, who also painted the Wing Commander III and IV -
18
Apr
John Nelson is back to building out the Confed fleet with his latest WC3 Lego creation, the Thunderbolt heavy fighter. It has some particularly distinctive angles that were hard to duplicate, but he's done a great job given the limitation of parts to work with. And check out that heck of a turret gun on the aft!
Finally got it done. After a few months of gathering pieces and accounting for slopes, angles and colors and proportions, Confed's "lead sled" is done. I didn’t use purple for its TCS Victory or Hurricane Squadron markings since purple parts are more rare, and I like the yellow and blue of its post war design more. I also changed the front where the gun batteries are to give the look a bit more pizazz.
Pliers (would) say, "The Thunderbolt is Confed's big ugly battering ram to knock down whatever is in its way, and with that blaster load out and a torpedo it can."
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13
Sep
…After BioWare’s decision to put the future of Mass Effect on hiatus, the series’ direction is looking pretty uncertain despite its assured continuation. Split-reception of the most recent entry aside, the planet-hopping, alien-bedding, and Reaper-fighting exploits of the original trilogy nonetheless remains in the majority of fans’ hearts. Each title notably opens with an epic showcase to catch players up to speed with Commander Shepard and crew, but Mass Effect 2 accomplished this in a way players likely wouldn’t have expected: it killed the main character.
Of course, the space-faring sequel didn’t lead with that ominous revelation, as it actually began by introducing one of the series most memorable and enigmatic characters, the Illusive Man. In between cigarette drags and observing a nearby supergiant, the mysterious figure convenes with his right-hand Miranda to discuss the destructive events of the
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24
Nov
…On November 20, 2007, Mass Effect was released for the Xbox 360. Presenting the premise of a cinematic space epic, the sprawling action RPG put players on a galaxy-saving quest across the cosmos, making alien friends and difficult plot-altering decisions along the way. The game’s interactive story and vivid design has received wide acclaim from critics, also kicking off the formation of a massive fan collective.
Background
During Mass Effect‘s three-year development cycle, nearly one fourth of that time was spent achieving a distinct sci-fi look, BioWare taking influence from iconic film properties such as Star Wars, Star Trek, and Blade Runner. Much of the remaining months laid the foundation of the project’s core gameplay of tactical shooter combat, space exploration, and advanced “digital actors”. Envisioned as a trilogy, this heavy initial workload was to ensure minimal development time between any
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25
Feb
Here's a neat option for fans thinking about another playthrough of the console ports. Matt Harmon has put together an elaborate achievement slate for WC1 and Secret Missions on the SNES as well as Wing Commander 3 on the Playstation. He hopes to do WC4 in the future as well. Although I'm not quite clear on the exact details, RetroAchievements seems to have emulators available that can measure and record these milestones. Emulation might not be for everyone, but players on the original hardware might also find these fun. It's easy enough to just consider them a nice set of goals to accomplish and check off each one you hit. You can find all the games that Matt's built achievements for here.
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05
Sep
Andrea ContatoDisplay Morehas
releasedthe cover image for the second part of his Origin history book series,
Through the Moongate. The first volume included an
extra chapterwith some interesting Wing Commander 2 material from Siobhan Beeman & Ellen Guon Beeman, but the new publication will include even more history
"from Wing Commander and Ultima VII to Portalarium."A new Kickstarter for Volume Two is scheduled to launch on September 16. We're anxious to see what Andrea has in store! If you're curious about his original work, you can still pick up copies
here.
Through the Moongate part 2 is coming soon.
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30
Sep
…
After a stellar launch, the Kickstarter campaign for the Through the Moongate sequel has been fully funded and is well on its way towards a set of new stretch goals. First things first, we're (at the €50 and up level) getting a Wing Commander bookmark by Denis Loubet! The new secondary goals are exciting, but not necessarily as directly tied to Wing Commander. For people interested in the full story of Origin, they're still cool additions, however, and some Wing Commander anecdotes may certainly find their way into the new appendix. The project is nearing €35,000 now, and for various milestones along the way to €45,000, there will be new additions in the form of a 'forward' and 'last words' add-on, additional photographs will be available in certain versions, a development patch will be created and there could even be a new edit of the original volume made.Let me just say...wow! 100% funded in
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18
Sep
…Andrea Contato and team have launched the Kickstarter for the Through the Moongate sequel. Part 2 is titled "From Wing Commander and Ultima VII to Portalarium" and promises to capture the historic significance of Origin's Wing Commander development in the '90s and beyond. Some 40+ former Origin employees were interviewed for this work, so it looks to be a very well rounded effort.
As an extra bonus, fans who opt to pledge for a hard cover copy of the book will also receive a special Wing Commander bookmark with new art by Denis Loubet, the senior Origin artist who led art direction on the first few WC games. That tier costs €50 plus an additional €24 shipping to many places, so it's not cheap, but who can resist an exclusive Wing Commander bookmark?! I'm sure the in-depth Origin story will be a fun read as well! Digital and soft cover editions start at €15 and €25 (but do not include the
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09
Oct
…The Through the Moongate Kickstarter campaign is funded which means we'll be getting a thoroughly researched book that tells the history of the development of Origin Systems' Ultima series. There's even better news, though: the first stretch goal is in sight and it will add a chapter with new details about the making of Wing Commander II! Here's the official word:
Once we reach 25,000 Euros, which is currently only 3,000 Euros away, every backer at the “Honesty” tier or above will receive an ebook containing an extra chapter from Through the Moongate Part 2. This chapter covers the development of Wing Commander 2, and includes in-depth interviews with the Director and Assistant Director of the project, Siobhan Beeman and Ellen Guon Beeman. Siobhan and other team members are interested in sharing their viewpoints of the Wing Commander story, and presenting some new insights that haven’t been
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07
Sep
Even though interminable 2020 has seemed like a good twenty months or so long already, August zipped by fast and we are now already into September. That means the CIC Birthday Party is quickly approaching! As previously announced, we've combined our 22nd website birthday with the 30th anniversary of Wing Commander itself on September 26 this year. We'll have twice as many reasons to celebrate as normal, so we hope you can join in on the fun! The festivities will take place in #Wingnut on Discord at 7:00 pm EDT (4:00 pm PDT and 11:00 pm GMT). Stay tuned for more details as we get closer. It's likely that we will go live earlier than this official time so people will be able to drop in throughout the day and night. Mark your calendars - see you there!
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30
Apr
We're rounding out the third week of Origin composer George Oldziey's campaign to create a new album of Wing Commander music. The current tally is very nearly at $17,000. That's enough to ensure the project moves forward, which is great! As we previously reported, George has already scheduled time with the orchestra in Europe to record in August. However, it would be amazing if the live choral addition were added in as well. For that, we would need about $5,000 additional over what's been contributed so far. I still think it's very doable with all of your help! You can learn more about the project and pledge for a copy of the music when it's released here.
Here's a sample of reorchestrated WC4 track that George has already recreated on paper. The sound you hear is a digital recreation below, so the final result with live musicians will be even better!
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30
Jul
The days keep ticking down to the CIC's 20th Birthday Party! The big event is now just three weeks away, and preparations are in full swing. Because this year we're moving to
Discordto chat, you might want to come visit beforehand. Install the
programand use
this inviteto visit the new #Wingnut channel. There's already lots of activity there, so you're more than welcome to join the fun now! Then you'll be all set when the party starts on Saturday, August 18, 2018 at 7:00 pm EDT (4:00 pm PDT and 11:00 pm GMT). See you there!
