News categories list

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

In 1994, Super Wing Commander reimagined the original Wing Commander for the new 3DO console. This included constructing over two dozen new 3D meshes for all of the ships in the game, some with radically different designs. We've shared comparisons over the years but we thought it would be informative to actually match up all of the sprites used in the two games. Viewed this way it's pretty interesting how similar some of the new ship designs actually seem! Ships in the 3Space games (Wing Commander I, II, Academy, Privateer and Super Wing Commander) store spacecraft as a collection of 38 different views that are angled and scaled in flight to appear 3D to the player. It's pretty interesting seeing them all laid out together at once!

You can access the 3Space Comparison page here. Where relevant we've also included ships from Privateer and Wing Commander II when some of their meshes were repurposed (or

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

In the SFF world there are few writers more beloved or missed than Sir Terry Pratchett, the British author of the Discworld series and a host of other classics. And he wasn't just a famously warm person and brilliant writer… he also had great taste. You see, Terry Pratchett loved Wing Commander! We've found several interviews where he talks about our favorite series. Here's one from the October 1993 issue of PC Gamer where he's promoting an upcoming game adaptation of Discworld:

Do you keep many games on your hard drive because you play them so much?

I don't actually keep many games permanently on hard drive. But I have got a fair number of games at home. I bring a couple with me whenever I come back from the states. I've flown my way through Wing Commander, X-wing and, well, most stuff I suppose.

...

Is there a Terry Pratchett top five?

Let me think, because I've played a lot of games of one sort or

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The wing Commander movie club gives The Dark Crystal a thumbs up! It's an impressive, elaborately made production with visuals that continue to impress throughout. And it's distinctive part of a vanguard group of 'dark fantasy' movies from the early 1980s that aren't so directly influenced by Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons like many films today. It seems like what is essentially a puppet show with no human actors would drag… but it's quick run time vanishes quickly and leaves you wanting more.

And The Dark Crystal is certainly full of Skeksises! The strange bird/lizard/dinosaur creatures are the story's major antagonist and they are perhaps one of its most distinctive elements. In their honor, we've done a deep dive into their pair of namesake ships from Privateer 2! To that end, the PL03 Skecis-class medium fighter is as middle of the road as you can get; truly the midpoint in Privateer

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 RoboCop (1987) 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

Have you ever noticed that Colonel Halcyon typically specifies in briefings whether you're encountering a "sport" (transport) or a tanker? That's because Wing Commander I originally had both. The idea was cut for disk space but the original design, heavily inspired by Traveller, was that there were both tanker and freighter versions of the Drayman and the Dorkir. So each briefing is written to tell you which one to expect! The variant graphics were reused in The Secret Missions as the Terran Diligent (originally the Drayman tanker) and the Kilrathi Lumbari (originally the Dorkir freighter).

We were curious what the original game might have looked like, so we poured through the original game (plus the addons and Super Wing Commander's extra campaign) and tried to identify the variant of all 41 transports that appear! You can access the inevitable spreadsheet here. As you can see, there's a lot of lore

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

October Consortium has confirmed that Radicoida unica, an enigmatic flora found exclusively within HIP 87621, has entered an active reproductive phase.
According to their scientific teams, the plant's dormant cycle has ended, triggering the growth of hardened 'seed pods' across its upper platforms. These pods hold rare biological material believed to be the main source of the species highly valued physiological effects.
Researchers say that this activation validates early theories about the plant's sensitivity to nearby life signatures, with its bloom phase perceived as a direct response to recent studies by Commanders of the Pilots' Federation. Sceptics noted that some Radicoida sites are yet to bloom, however.
Military and corporate restrictions are still in effect while oversight of the enclave is coordinated in line with the recent October Accords. October Consortium has therefore called

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Sometimes you find interesting things in small places! Case in point: this breakout from the March 15, 1991 issue of Japanese gaming magazine LOGIN covering Origin's presentation at the 1991 CES show. It looks like LOGIN sent their own photographer who snapped a rare image of Origin's booth setup... don't you wish you could get a better look at that poster? There's also a pretty great photograph of a young Chris Roberts; we expect this was taken at the show, too, given the beer cans on the table in the background.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We're hard at work on wingmen! This week, we've added new pages for all 26 NPC wingmen from Privateer 2. Remember them? You can hire them to escort you from place to place using the CCN booth and each one has a usually somewhat silly bio. From the guy that refuses to leave his ship so it smells terrible to the lady wingman with an enormous chest, they're all here! But this kind of color (and there's a LOT of color!) really helps build out the universe... as does the consistent through line of crazy characters attracted to the risky but profitable life of a mercenary escort pilot.

We've created a main page about the job and mechanics of wingmen in the game and then we've crafted a comprehensive biography for each one! In every case we've included their in-game screenshots, their in-game text and their biographies from Origin's Official Guide. You can even listen to all of their in-flight comms!

• Vicksen

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Democracy has fallen! And by that we mean there was no movie vote for the second week in a row… because this time around, LeHah had birthday boy privileges! And he has chosen to break the gridlock that has made so many recent elections dramatic: he's gone and and selected next week's movie to be RoboCop (1987). You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

You may recall that after we watched RoboCop 3 we reviewed a great deal of evidence as to whether or not the 'enforcer' in the Righteous Fire introduction was intended to reference RoboCop… and we ultimately decided that he was! So we're finally following up that discussion by watching the original film. Pay particular attention to Murphy's exposed face after he's been Robocopized to compare to the Privateer character's face texture...

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

RoboCop is available for rent or purchase on all

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced the Borg, a race of horrifying cyborgs, during its second season. The series used the Borg sparingly, but always with spectacular effect. Their enormous, seemingly impossible to defeat cube-shaped spacecraft quickly became a familiar element of the pop culture of the early 1990s.

In 1995, tensions between the developers at Origin Systems and their parent company at Electronic Arts began to increase. Though Electronic Arts' deep pockets were now funding some of the most expensive and cutting edge work in the industry, they were also drawing back on the independence that Origin had enjoyed under the first years of their stewardship. Structurally and creatively, the studio was being absorbed into the corporation. One of Origin's artists captured the mood in a single image: a parody of the original Electronic Arts logo rendered as though it was made up of

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here's a little nod--you might call it an Easter egg!--in the Wing Commander movie that I had never put together before: the final shot before Rosie's Rapier is hit by a Dralthi is... the Wing Commander I box art! Too bad they couldn't get the hand on the flight stick into the shot...

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Kagemusha is a beautiful film! It's the sort of movie you don't actively seek out but are glad to have added to your canon after you've seen it. It's long and covers history that you likely aren't intimately familiar with… but it's so lush and beautifully put together that each new shot is worth pouring over. The Wing Commander movie club says check it out!

One thing's for sure: we learned what a "kagemusha" is! The term literally translates to 'shadow warrior' and here it is someone who is hired to impersonate a military commander (the lead character, in this film). It seems appropriate for End Run's Kagimasha, which ultimately dies taking a hit for the Tarawa and the marines.

This all prompts us to wonder: what IS a corvette, anyway? A corvette is the smallest type of warship in the traditional naval order of battle. They typically serve as pickets, patrol ships and fast attacking missile boats.

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 The Dark Crystal (1982) 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 Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The exploration initiative supporting the new Rainbow's End deep-space port has concluded, with commanders delivering a substantial volume of exploration data to the facility.
Organisers confirmed that the target for stellar survey submissions was exceeded well ahead of expectations, allowing scientific teams to begin large-scale modelling of galactic regions around the starport's home system of Roefoo ZE-H d10-0.
Deep Space Surveys Operations Executive Hermine Delarue released a statement following the conclusion of the initiative:
"The response from the exploration community has been exceptional. Databanks at Rainbow's End are now filled with quality survey data gathered from some of the most remote areas of the galaxy. Our modelling teams can begin analysing the information to produce new stellar maps of this region. We will issue further mission priorities to our explorers via our internal

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Wing Commander Prophecy GBA is an incredible technical achievement and an extremely fun game in its own right… but there's not a lot of information out there about the ins and outs of the port itself compared to its larger PC ancestor. The team at Raylight did an incredible job turning three CDs of full motion video and elaborate game mechanics into a Game Boy game… and now we're going to start cataloging it! Mission layouts, mechanics, cutscenes and everything else in the game are significantly different and we will aim to provide a complete guide.

Content Changes

Wing Commander Prophecy GBA replaces dozens of cutscenes with 'talking head' style conversations. It does retain three cutscenes that it animates in engine: the introduction, the losing endgame where the Nephilim overrun the Midway and then the winning endgame. Mission layouts are largely reworked to match the gameplay of the port and many

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Ever wanted to have your very own copy of Blair's MiniDisc from the Wing Commander movie? Then we've got great news: one of our favorite Discord regulars, Juniper, has discovered the specific make and model of MiniDisc used to create the prop! It's a Maxell MD-74RM... and they're still readily available for only a couple dollars today!

Here are some reference shots of the prop in the film.

You see the sides and the reverse only very briefly.

The prop was created using a stock the MD-74RM and then adding stickers with additional Wing Commander graphics. The center graphic is adapted from the 'movie logo'. It's difficult to read in the film but the text on the red portion reads CONFED MARINES MMDCLIV. Here's the source graphic if you'd like to make your own:

The other sticker uses the same sort of military 'code' that appears on a lot of Wing Commander movie props including the dogtags and Maniac's orders

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The original Wing Commander famously starts with an animated orchestra which starts playing as the camera pans up to show a giant planet. If you aren't familiar with other Origin games of the era you may not know that that isn't specific to Wing Commander; in fact, it's intended to be the vanity card for the Origin FX graphics system. Origin FX is the engine behind Wing Commander I's "talking heads" and it was used in a number of projects from 1990 to 1995.

A total of five releases use the planet intro: the Wing Commander I demo, Wing Commander, Ultima: The Savage Empire, the Wing Commander II demo, Ultima: Martian Dreams and Wing Commander II! There are four versions in total. The Wing Commander I demo has the planet slightly off center, MArtian Dreams replaces it with Mars and Wing Commander II trades things out for a new starfield.

Do we know what planet it's supposed to be? It isn't labeled in Wing

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Kagemusha was beautifully made and an interesting story… but boy was it ever long. For our next screening, the movie selection went to Chris Reid in honor of his birthday… and his choice was The Dark Crystal (1982). That's right, folks: next week we're going full puppet. You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

Children of the 80s will remember The Dark Crystal as being a serious fantasy from Jim Henson, creator of the muppets. But what's the Wing Commander connection? It's another ship name! The Dark Crystal's antagonist is the sinister Skeksis, a race of sort of lizard bird monsters. Privateer 2: The Darkening pays tribute to them with a pair of player-flyable ships: the PL03 Skecis and the PL3A Skecis Mk II!

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

The Dark Crystal is available for rent or purchase on all of the standard streaming services. It is currently streaming on

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Caspian Explorer has received the green light for full distribution, having previously been available via limited release only.
As shipments of Zorgon Peterson's latest design arrive at markets, an accompanying press states the Caspian Explorer has been developed as a highly capable, dedicated exploration ship.
A Zorgon Peterson spokesperson remarked:
"The Caspian was intended to explore the furthest reaches of the galaxy with its extended jump range, optimised orbital glides, and a remarkable FSD supercharge capacity."
"With plenty of room for internal outfitting and integration with newer Mk II modules, there really is no other exploration vessel like it."
The Caspian Explorer is now available for purchase at shipyards throughout the core systems.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

An uncatalogued Wing Commander II SNES screenshot has been discovered! This screenshot was hidden on the review index page of the April 1995 issue of Electronic Games. It shows the game's double-VDU'd Ferret and a never-before-seen look at its newly created VDU art for the Kilrathi Sartha fighter. Wing Commander II SNES is a tragic story, the game was completed but never released… and no prototype has surfaced in the decades since that poor decision was made!

The issue also included a short hands-on review. It doesn't tell us much but it's a reminder that FCI DID send copies of the game to news outlets… and they may still exist out there, somewhere.

Wing Commander Il: Vengeance of the Kilrathi (FCI/SNES) Wing Commander II reproduces all of the major features of the popular space combat game. SNES players will find the cinematics and fast action they expect, as well as the multiple plot lines and variety