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The Prophecy & Secret Ops Model Upgrade Pack is kicking 2020 off with a bang. There's a brand new Cerberus model churning the waters that's even more accurate to the original model while being more efficient at the same time. It's already humming along in the game's engine ready to headline the project's next release. The new update should be forthcoming soon after DefianceIndustries makes some upgrades to the Midway and other capships. You can try the latest version here.

Happy New Year Wingnuts! We we keep plugging away here at the MUP. Grim is finalizing a few additional engine tweaks for correcting issues with corvette impacts and a new mesh for the capship explosion shockwave. The old one was a bit angular so we're seeing if we can use a smoother mesh with some more triangles to make it look more better. We're also looking at possibly doing dynamically sized shield impacts on capships based on

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Garth Harmon has scanned and sent in a nice high quality scan of the Super Nintendo Wing Commander manual. Like many of the various iterations of the WC1 documentation, it's a derivative of Claw Marks, but there are some cool elements. It has some nice representations of the SNES controller (which later inspired a similar spread in the Arena Star*Soldier manual), and the initial pages with screenshots of the cockpits and Tiger's Claw are all in color. We previously had the Secret Missions manual in our archive, so it's nice to add this missing link. Grab a copy for yourself here!

Object of the Game

The game begins on your mother ship, the TCS Tiger's Claw. Onboard, you move from room to room to learn about your comrades-in-arms and your combat mission. Once you know your flight mission, you're off to fight the Kilrathi. If you fail, the dreaded Kilrathi will prevail as overlords on all human

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We’re pleased to announce the return of the Research and Development Weekend! This event will run from Thursday, March 5th at 8AM PT to Monday, March 9th at 10AM PST, and features several bonuses throughout STO that will give Captains of all levels a leg up advancing their rank in the Research and Development school(s) of their choice. For those Captains looking specifically for extra help with their projects, all R&D packs throughout the game will give out an extra 25% of the items they currently disperse for the duration of this event. Queue R&D Material Reward Packages (Normal, Advanced and Elite) will reward 25% more R&D Materials and have a chance to reward a Catalyst. Alternatively, Captains wanting to advance through Research and Development schools as fast as possible should seek out Harvest Nodes, located in mission maps throughout STO, which will not only disperse 2 extra R&D Materials

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
Explorers have catalogued many ammonia worlds for a Sirius Atmospherics terraforming project in the Coalsack Nebula.
The subsidiary of Sirius Corporation is one of several companies that are working in partnership with the Alliance to commercially exploit the region.
Project director Dr Maximilian North announced the successful completion of the initiative:
"The data provided on planets with ammonia-based atmospheres will be invaluable to our terraforming simulations. With our new environmental techniques, some of these poisonous worlds within the nebula may one day become habitable."
Sirius Atmospherics has confirmed that payouts for all contributing pilots are now available at Betancourt Base in the Musca Dark Region PJ-P b6-1 system.
As the expansion into the Coalsack Nebula progresses, Commodore Morag Halloran of the Alliance Defence Force commented on the

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
Large amounts of food commodities have been delivered to the Marlinist Colonies.
Multiple shipments of animal meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, and grain were transported to Stillman Hub. Messages of gratitude were broadcast from all the Marlinist factions, which have distributed these vital supplies across the eight colony systems.
The Free Marlinists of Carinae also issued bounty vouchers for wanted ships, in order to protect the deliveries. Contributing pilots can now collect their rewards from Stillman Hub in the HIP 22550 system.
In related news, the first Marlinist Parliament has been democratically elected. The respected community leader Dr Jenna Fairfax was chosen by a majority public vote to be First Minister. In a public address, she said:
"This path was not chosen by us, but our people have turned Marlin Duval's ideology into a functioning republican

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
The pharmaceutical megacorp has received sufficient materials to produce onionhead gamma strain as a medical treatment.
Pilots delivered shipments of H.E. suits, polymers and robotics to Crippen Port in the Haithis system. Payment for these deliveries is now available at the starport from the pharma giant's corporate partner, Haithis Purple Dynamic Group.
Bounty vouchers were also offered for all wanted ships, in expectation of pirate attacks coordinated by the Kumo Crew syndicate. Their megaship remains in the Haithis system, which has raised concerns about further retaliation from Archon Delaine.
An announcement was made by Olwyn Kendrick, CEO of Neomedical Industries:
"Thanks to the sterling contributions, it looks like we are on track to roll out the medically certified strain of onionhead to approximately 15% of all independent systems and Alliance systems for

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

This weekend was the big Dune premiere on HBO and in North American theaters, and it's been a hot topic on the Wing Commander Discord. Naturally, LOAF took a moment to run down all of the Dune reference and connections sprinkled throughout Wing Commander. Once you get sand in your Wing Commander, can you ever get it all out?

Someone had to do it and let’s face it, it was always going to be me. Here are some (very minor) nods to Dune in Wing Commander!

Privateer let’s you send ‘joke’ one-liner comms to bases. You can tell New Constantinople that “my name is a killing word”, a quote from the David Lynch Dune film.

Wing Commander IV has a scene where Maniac compares the sensor blackout at Peleus to “groping around like some pathetic sandworm on Isis VII!”

Wing Commander Arena’s Star*Soldier manual has a casual mention that the Rigel system has “massive sandworms and powerful dust storms.”

One of the three

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Admiral Aden Tanner has called for Aegis to reject the public inquiry's shutdown and take direct action against Salvation.
The Musashi, an Aegis Defense megaship under his command, has entered the T Tauri system to challenge Taurus Mining Ventures. The corporation has performed activities on Salvation's behalf, including preparation for the anti-xeno weapon used to eliminate all Thargoids from the Cornsar system.
Admiral Tanner transmitted this message to media outlets:
"Salvation's unlicensed weapons technology is deliberately designed to provoke the Thargoids, risking millions of lives. My sources tell me that Hind Mine asteroid base contains evidence of this. I therefore demand that Taurus Mining Ventures allows us access so we can determine the truth."
Patience Middleton of Taurus Mining Ventures responded:
"We are a legitimate business under contract to a private citizen, whose activities

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Mac is back with another lovely Rapier wallpaper. This one is a crossover with a new Homeworld mothership model he's been working with. It's a lovely swirl of blues and purples. Enjoy!

"So I say it looks like a Croissant."
"No I think it's more like a banana."
"I think it's a ship sir."
"Ok Mav, you're out of the betting pool for being a smartass."

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Vox Galactica has published an on-site account from the HIP 22460 system, where a coalition fleet is engaged in combat with the Thargoids.
"This is Jade Sanderlyn reporting for Vox Galactica. I've been in HIP 22460 over the past two weeks, and during this time the system has been transformed into a ferocious battleground."
"Naval and independent craft are fighting side by side against the biomechanical nightmares that are Thargoid vessels. Many brave pilots have lost their lives to the aliens' firepower, several of whom I spoke to only hours before. The official casualty numbers are climbing rapidly. But so far the coalition is holding the line."
"The Bright Sentinel is at the eye of the storm, aboard which high concentrations of Guardian devices are being prepared for integration with the Proteus Wave device on HIP 22460 10b. We know little about this superweapon's properties, considering its

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We're entering the home stretch here in the lead up to the CIC's 24th Birthday Party. Next Saturday we'll all be gathering in Discord #Wingnut to celebrate with everyone. I'm excited for the cool things that we've got teed up to share, and it'll be wonderful to catch up with so many people again. Stop by on August 13 at 7:00 pm EDT (4:00 pm PDT and 11:00 pm GMT) - or join in any time beforehand to hang out! See you there!

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Mac has another gorgeous wallpaper image ready to grace your desktops. It shows a pair of Sabres racing away after a successful strike on a Fralthra. In keeping with his recent Johnny Greene theme, he's dubbed this one "Ramona's Revenge" after the late Lt Cmdr Ramona Chekova. This one's pretty intense, but a beauty to look at all the same!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The corporation Azimuth Biotech has outlined its plans to support the war effort against the Thargoids by improving ship anti-xeno firepower.
CEO Torben Rademaker was interviewed on The Tau Ceti Journal's official ICE-cast, where he explained:
"As you may recall, one of the many reasons Aegis became redundant was its poor record in improving AX armaments past the initial rush of designs. Azimuth Biotech has established a research and development division specifically designed to correct their failings at a steady, sustainable pace."
"One of the inherent limitations with Aegis's designs is the maximum number of AX weapons that a ship can be outfitted with. The enhanced versions based on Ryder and Nemo's designs share this limitation. We seek to increase the upper limit of AX weapons a ship can utilise, and our research teams are already reporting promising results."
One of the ICE-cast's

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Mac is back with his biggest, baddest and most epic Lore Video yet! In recent months he's covered several adjacent topics such as the Broadsword Bomber and TCS Johnny Greene, which have helped set the stage for the main event: Wing Commander End Run. If you've read the novel, you know the story. The video starts out as the mother of all book reports, but it's much more than that! Mac uses a variety of WC2 talking head models and backdrops to convey the character interaction. He's also built a huge library of animations to visualize the story's fleet actions and fighter combat. It's quite a tremendous package. Block out some time and watch below!

The Terran Confederation is losing the war against their long time enemies, the Kilrathi Empire. What follows becomes the tale of "The Little Escort Carrier that Could", aka The "End Run".

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Doubles is best! Or at least so says the April 1996 issue of GamesMaster, a UK-based gaming magazine that ran from 1993 to 2018. It features a cover story promoting not one but two big Wing Commander reviews: the PlayStation port of Wing Commander III and the original PC release of Wing Commander IV. But the biggest story here is surely the stunning 1990s magazine layouts seen throughout which are sort of like a mesmerizing surrealist landscape that you can't stop from staring it:

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Aegis's initiative in the Duamta system has kick-started production of a ship module designed for caustic environments.
Shipments of advanced catalysers, heatsink interlinks and palladium were delivered following a request from Professor Alba Tesreau. Pilots also provided tissue samples extracted from the caustic generators inside each Maelstrom, which are a vital component of these modules. Manufacturing bases have now been established, allowing stocks of the caustic sink launcher to reach the public market.
Dr Maximo Fonseca, head of xenological research at Gateway Laboratories, published a statement on behalf of Aegis:
"The Thargoids have developed powerful defences to prevent their enemies reaching the heart of the Maelstroms. The dangerously caustic gas clouds are an effective deterrent, and have sadly claimed the lives of many intrepid pilots."
"So, the

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

John Nelson has another built another classy custom Lego fighter. Like his exquisite Longbow, this one also comes from Wing Commander 3. I like the bubble canopy and especially the lines of the aft fuselage. There's some forced scaling necessary for the gun pod, but that's a nice touch too.

While I gather parts to complete another project, here is the Arrow. This one is far from perfect. The canopy should be down further and the fuselage should end with a point and the back wings aren’t great but this is as close as it’s getting.

Plier (would) say, “The Arrow is a fine dog fighter that runs circles around anything in space but ConFed cheaped out on the missile racks. Give me the Banshee anyday.”

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The aptly named Tiger Claw TV YouTube channel has done a review of an interesting bootleg "100 in 1" SNES cartridge from AliExpress. It contains the ROMS of a hundred Super Nintendo games, including Wing Commander: The Secret Missions. It looks like this dates back to 2021 and just includes the standalone expansion sequel. We don't necessarily encourage piracy, but we do like finding Wing Commander in crazy places! You can jump to 4:35 for the SM part.

SNES Multicart from AliExpress

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

President Zachary Hudson has accused the Order of the Far God of being directly responsible for the fate of the Dedicant megaship.
"Our assessment of these Thargoid-worshipping extremists has been proved correct," he told The Federal Times. "Hijacking the Dedicant to deliver it to their alien gods is an act of treason and mass murder."
"I have ordered the Proactive Detection Bureau to root out every deluded individual with sympathies for this twisted cult. Automatic life sentences will ensure that these traitors never again put innocent people at risk."
The declaration brought political pressure on all three presidential candidates to state their intentions for the Far God cult should they be elected.
Vice President Jerome Archer: "I will be pleased to continue President Hudson's policy on dealing with these religious fanatics: stricter controls, increased surveillance and tougher sentences."

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Federation has voted to elect Felicia Winters as its next president, with a four per cent vote majority over her rival Jerome Archer.
The current shadow president of the Liberal Party will be officially inaugurated in the new year, entering an eight-year term of office. Congressman Isolde Rochester will also be sworn in as vice president in Winters's administration.
President Zachary Hudson will remain in power during the transition period, but will not be expected to implement any major policy changes. The Liberal Party will replace the Republican Party as the superpower's governing authority in 3310, with Jerome Archer assuming the role of shadow president.
President-elect Winters addressed her supporters during a celebratory rally in Olympus Village on Mars:
"The people of the Federation have spoken! I thank you all for turning my party's vision into a reality. My aim is to govern