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A familiar favorite is still out on patrol. Klavs is plugging away at his Hornet when he has time, and it looks better than ever. This relatively recent iteration moves away from his previous unibody design in favor of a space frame that's a bit more skewed towards the original model. Since we last saw it, this version has more realistically textured hull plating and great little accents like warning labels and the Confed logo. It's a real joy to look at!

Slowly picking away at the details on this thing!

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This year is a year unlike any other, obviously, and everyone is making do with what they can. We might not have any Wing Commander-themed eggs to share this time, but here's a colorful next best thing. Hope you all are staying safe and healthy out there!

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There's another nifty release of the WC Toolbox for all of the tinkerers and modders out there. Today UnnamedCharacter took the wraps off some new extraction abilities. The package now lets you extract raw video footage from Wing Commander 3's game files. There's also enhanced support for the WC4 subfiles embedded in that game's archives as well. This adds on to the long list of incremental features that have been steadily added to a number of WC games. You can grab the latest update here and learn more at the CIC Forums.

More extraction support for WC3, this time adding the ability to extract movies. The result is in the AVI format using uncompressed frames; therefore the file sizes can be quite large, especially for the opening movie: about 1.5 GB.

This release also includes all the reversed hashes for WC4 tree file names. Thankfully, the hashing algorithm used for WC4 was improved, and therefore

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Senator Lorcan Scordato has visited the Marlinist Colonies on a fact-finding mission as part of the Empire's anti-terrorism operations.
The Imperial Herald was permitted to publish this summary of his preliminary report:
"Considering their recent refugee status, the Marlinist communities are remarkably well-organised. Their government works along republican lines but they have not abandoned Imperial culture, with many feeling homesick for their original worlds."
"However, their situation remains precarious, with three of their eight systems now under the control of external factions. Without increased support from the galactic community, further losses may be unavoidable."
"Regarding the NMLA, there is widespread anger that they have made all Marlinists look like monsters. Only rarely did I sense guarded approval, with the vast majority openly condemning the terrorists."
"The Marlinist

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Councillor Nakato Kaine has suggested that the Alliance's current electoral system should be replaced by direct public voting.
The proposal follows a recent election where Prime Minister Edmund Mahon was reinstated for a second six-year term.
Addressing the Alliance Assembly, Councillor Kaine said:
"Only allowing council members to choose the prime minister is a flawed system, vulnerable to corruption and outside influence. The people of the Alliance should have a direct mandate to determine their leader by casting individual votes."
Political journalist Vanya Driscoll reported for The Alliance Tribune:
"Although Kaine stopped short of claiming that Mahon's victory was achieved fraudulently, the Assembly took a dim view of this attempt at electoral overhaul. Some council members accused her of failing to accept that her policies received considerably less support than those of her rival."

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Last week we saw Maiden Ariana upgrade a vintage computer in order to get Wing Commander 3 running. That one was a big hit, so she's moved on now to Wing Commander 4. I personally really like going through the install menus. They evoke so much of the anticipation of opening and installing a brand new game for the first time. WC4 was the first game in the series to have a fully graphical in-universe interface to walk you through the setup, and you usually only ever see it one time for obvious reasons, so it's a nice throwback to see here. Thanks to all the upgrades put in place for The Heart of the Tiger, The Price of Freedom just works in this case. A good chunk of the middle is rewatching the intro, and if watching a video of it playing on a 15" monitor leaves you wanting more, check out ODVS' remaster of that cinematic here. You can also follow Ariana's Twitch for some WC3/4 streams in the

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Prime Minister Edmund Mahon has commented on the Aegis inquiry and his failed proposal to unify anti-xeno operations.
As part of an interview with The Alliance Tribune, he said:
"The greatest regret of my career is that I was unable to formalise the Sirius Treaty at the Galactic Summit. This would have revolutionised Aegis by providing the commitment and resources it deserves, sparing it the indignity of a public inquiry."
"The Nine Martyrs attacks prevented that historic occasion, of course, but the Sirius Treaty itself remains viable. I'd be happy to ratify it on behalf of the Alliance if we can convince the other signatories that defending humanity from the Thargoid threat should be our utmost priority."
Investigators continue to gather information regarding Aegis's operations. There have been further resignations of key staff, and financial records are being independently audited.
Dr Paul

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Today we've got another tiny peek at the incredible Dralthi model under construction in elend's workshop. When we last saw the ship, it was evident how beautiful and faithfully accurate the design was to the original Claw Marks drawing. Now we can get a sense of what the fine panel detail looks like - we can even see within some of the structure down to the plumbing and piping within. I can't wait to see things come together even more!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
The GalNet editorial team expresses its sincere regret that further unscheduled messages have been recently published.
A second batch of riddles were unlawfully transmitted across GalNet public feeds on the 24th, 25th and 26th of December. As with the three previous broadcasts, they were designed to invite independent pilots to locate a series of concealed caches.
Our technical teams have identified the method by which the criminal known as the Winking Cat inserted unapproved articles into GalNet's publication network. Security protocols have been heavily reinforced and we are confident that no further intrusions will take place.
GalNet offers formal apologies to all members of the Pilots' Federation for this disruption.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Princess Aisling Duval marked the start of 3308 by introducing her cousin Hadrian Duval, his wife and their newborn son to Imperial high society.
Entertainment journalist Solomon Helios broadcast a report on the event:
"It's an annual tradition for Princess Aisling to invite the great and the good to her palace on Emerald, although the tragic loss of her father in 3306 meant that last year's gathering was cancelled. This year she made up for it with a sumptuous, glittering celebration of the kind that we Imperials are famed for."
"For the first time, Hadrian Duval and Lady Astrid Minerva-Duval were in attendance. This youthful couple were surprisingly charming for a pair who would once have been arrested on sight. They entertained guests with stories of trading and fighting aboard tiny ships, from the days when their only title was Commander."
"However, the real guest of honour spent most of

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Here’s an interesting find! Very, very early Privateer screenshots released at ECTS in 1992 and published in the November issue of PC Games. All gameflow, probably just renders…

In-game versions of these same assets. You can see nothing was close to final!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
The engineer Ram Tah requires urgent deliveries of Guardian relics and Unclassified relics to the Meene system.
Professor Alba Tesreau, head of Aegis, made an announcement to launch the initiative:
"Since the arrival of the Thargoid Titans, we have developed several new modules to bypass their defences. But these motherships remain a constant presence in our space, continuing to unleash never-ending swarms of Thargoid vessels."
"A recent theory presented by Ram Tah has the potential to change this situation. Although details of his research remain classified for the moment, the theory is derived from the Thargoids' inherent vulnerability to the technologies of their ancient enemy, the Guardians. Having witnessed Ram Tah's laboratory tests only yesterday, I was hugely encouraged that his work could lead to the end of this devastating war."
"Aegis is doing everything

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Not only does Bioforge reuse the shuttle model from Super Wing Commander but the opening shot of their respective intro cutscenes is very similar! Bioforge's art director, Bruce Lemons, had worked on SWC.

BioForge's Mondite dropship (left) vs. Super Wing Commander's shuttle to the Tiger's Claw (right)! BioForge uses it several times (and you see the interior at one point!) so I really need to go back and get some more reference shots.

AD noticed that the '05' on the front of the ship appears in a SINGLE FRAME of the Super Wing Commander intro. Neat!

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We're now just a bit more than three days away from the conclusion of George Oldziey's campaign to create a new Wing Commander album with a live orchestra. Just since this past weekend, the project has added another $1,000 to approach $19,500. With only a few more days left to go, is $22,000 possible? The project has already crossed the minimum $16K threshold, but we'd love to see it hit the $22K stretch target to add a live choir as well. Wing Commander fans have shown up in force many times before, so it's certainly possible!

Here's some samples of George's wonderful 2019 jazz album full of Wing Commandar bar music. A handful of reprinted copies are up for grabs as part of the new album campaign:

George Oldziey · Wing Commander Bar Music!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We're entering the last day of the Wing Commander album campaign. After yesterday's surge in contributions, the project is currently sitting at more than $22,500 in donations to make a new record of classic WC3-Prophecy music with both a live orchestra and choir. Thanks to all of the very generous fans, the stretch goal has already been met and all aspects of the project should be able to be accomplished. With any remaining proceeds from a last minute bump, Origin composer George Oldziey will attempt to squeeze out a bit more music to fill out the album even further. If you'd like to spend the final hours with fellow fans, Kevin Caccamo will be hosting a Prophecy-themed livestream from noon to 2pm Eastern US time. Then you can also join us in Discord #Wingnut as the minutes tick down to the campaign's conclusion at 5 pm Eastern US time. I'm very excited to see where things end up. Check back

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After any dismal event, it's hard to shake off, pick yourself up again and continue. It doesn't feel right to just go on about your lives. The silver lining has been that it's nice to hear your thoughts about Klavs though, so please keep that coming. We're also always on Discord for anyone that would like to talk. Without trying to lean too hard into an obvious cliche, I also know that you all would want us to continue reporting Wing Commander news even if you weren't here to read it, so that's what we'll do.

I thought a simple and engaging news post today would be this terrific graphic that LOAF recently extracted. It's the targeting VDU images for Wing Commander. But there's a few mixed in that you may not have seen before!

The Wing Commander III target images! Do you know which three don't appear in the final game?

If you think you know which three don't appear in-game, hit the Comments link to

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Today we're sharing the Official Oscarinas "nominations video" for Wing Commander 2. There's lots of retro reviews and playthroughs of games on the internet, but this one stands out in a crowded field. This clip is technically part of an elaborate award season that they put together to recognize various retro games for their accomplishments, but I actually like it just because it's a couple of guys really geeking out about how great the game is for over an hour. I'm not sure why it only has 50 views (as of this writing). That seems criminally low - give it a watch!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Rackham Capital Investments has appointed a new CFO following the death of its former financial officer.

Business analyst Marlon Royce reported on the situation:

"Aaron Salazar was CFO at Rackham Capital Investments from its inception. After a sudden cardiac arrest at the Ivystone Spa proved terminal, the board of directors voted to install Taja Gavaris as his replacement. Little is known of Gavaris outside of her meteoric rise up the corporate ladder."

"CEO Zachary Rackham was not present at the vote, the CEO has taken a leave of absence to cope with his grief. "The multi-billionaire businessman, also known as 'Calico Zack', established the company following a lucrative career as an independent trader, although rumours persist that he actually operated as a pirate."

"Insiders have speculated that Gavaris's appointment may be part of a scheme to oust Rackham from the top spot."

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Federal Times has been asked to assist with a criminal investigation into Rackham Capital Investments.

Journalist Bryanna Blanco reported on the details:

"Operatives from the Federal Intelligence Agency have contacted our offices regarding the recent deaths at Zachary Rackham's company. We are cooperating with their inquiry and have agreed to share all relevant documentation."

"The Federal Times has been monitoring the suspicious activities of 'Calico Zack' for years, so we're relieved that the authorities are at last taking these allegations seriously. Our discoveries about Taja Gavaris – who seems to be clearing the path up the corporate ladder by any means necessary – are of particular concern."

"We expect Rackham, Gavaris and many other ex-pirates masquerading as businessmen to answer all charges brought against them."

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DefianceIndustries

took a break from recreating well known ships from Wing Commander to do a concept sketch. The Wildcat fighter is introduced in Action Stations, and the implication is that it was a precursor to the Hellcat just like their

WW2

ancestors

. The result draws some clear parallels to well known designs while simultaneously introducing multiple unique design elements that could be considered throwback retro cues. And with its four guns and twin engines, it looks like a potent little fighter!

Oodles of Doodles. One of the advantages of having all day mandatory training is that you have time to do some doodling... not that I'd ever recommend anyone do that of course, your full attentions should always be on your course work...

Anyway I started noodling on what a Wildcat might look like, as a predecessor to the Hellcat it should share some design similarities but would look a bit more anime