News categories list

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Various news outlets are reporting that Electronic Arts has patched a major security flaw in its Origin gaming storefront/launcher program. Apparently it was possible to execute remote code, which is a scary issue, but has fortunately been resolved. Be sure to update your launcher to remove the vulnerability. The appropriately named Origin service, along with GOG, is one of the easiest ways to buy and play Wing Commander games on modern systems today.

The story brings to mind another famous Origin security threat. Back during the August 1998 launch of Wing Commander Secret Ops, reports began to immediately surface of infected files on one of the download mirrors. This began to spread to other sites hosting a copy. Within hours, fans rallied to identify the CIH virus and provide countermeasures to remove the bug. Origin posted this statement on the issue and ultimately the damage was fairly

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

DigitalOrgami

has put together another gorgeous Wing Commander wallpaper. This one features a spirited chase through a dark asteroid belt. The stars are Klavs' gorgeous

Grikath

and its Confed pursuer. There's good usage of light and dark, and there's even a sense of anticipation thanks to the missile that's just launched. You can find more of his work at

DeviantArt

or his WC scenes

here

.

Thanks to GrahamTG for making this awesome background available. I ended up going way darker than I originally intended, but things kind of led me that way. Also thanks to Adam Burch for the great Wing Commander ships.

Got a little carried away with engine glows, but hey, there's the nebula gas and all the dust from the asteroids, so that's my excuse.

Unfortunately, my positioning of ships meant Graham's sun gets lost in the starboard engine glow of the Kilrathi ship, but.... Should probably have gone with some

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Summer Event: The Annual Lohlunat Festival returns with all your favorite activities! Earn Lohlunat Prize Vouchers (2019) and exchange them for the updated Risian corvette [T6] This year will see the introduction of four new uniforms: Bozeman Titans – Home Bozeman Titans – Away Deneb V Slime Devils – Home Deneb V Slime Devils – Away Bozeman Titans and Denebian Slime Devils themed Floaters and Powerboards. For the first time ever, Team-Themed Vanity Shields: Deep Space Niners Vulcan Logicians Caitian Claws Ferenginar Liquidators Bozeman Titans Deneb V Slime Devils New Baseball – Ground Device! Play catch with a friend. Spending time with a ball and glove can give you and your chosen partner a boost to morale that acts as a combat buff for some time. All new food and drink items! Blueberries Egg White Burrito Green Juice (Extra

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

been a long time since we did an update just about it. point out that ea url to draft2rgb still worksWe recently reported on the surprising find that wingcommander.gms.lu is still online (albeit in suspended '90s animation) after more than 21 years in operation.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT: For the attention of all Commanders*
Conflict between Keltim Empire League and Eurybia Blue Mafia in the Eurybia system.
Explosive devices used in recent terrorist attacks on four Imperial starports have been linked to Liz Ryder, an engineer based in the Eurybia system.
The Imperial Internal Security Service published this report:
"Analysis of station traffic revealed that the explosives were delivered on cargo transports linked to the Eurybia Blue Mafia, a notorious anarchist organisation that we have reason to believe is secretly supplying the NMLA."
"The Eurybia Blue Mafia is protecting demolitions expert Liz Ryder, who we strongly suspect designed the specialist weapons used in the starport bombings. As they have refused to cooperate, a state of war has been declared until she is surrendered to our custody."
"Our affiliate faction, the Keltim Empire League, has

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT: For the attention of all Commanders*
Conflict between Keltim Empire League and Eurybia Blue Mafia in Eurybia has ended.
The Eurybia Blue Mafia has successfully fought off an attempt by the Empire to take the Engineer Liz Ryder into custody.
Spokesperson Ana Westergard made this announcement on behalf of the anarchist faction:
"This is a victory against the Empire's arrogance! There was never any evidence that Liz Ryder or our organisation are involved with terrorists, and this invasion was based entirely on supposition."
"We are extremely grateful to everyone who helped us defend Liz Ryder and maintain our independence. Rewards to all those brave Commanders are available at Awyra Flirble starport, modules will be placed in storage by the 10th of October 3306".
Captain Rocco Gandara of the Keltim Empire League announced:
"Despite the anarchists having the upper hand

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Apparently 2021 is the year of the WC1 translation! Rehsin is making progress on a Polish version. He's running it through testing now to ensure everything is accurate, which is a great excuse to have to play through the game! Here are some examples of the game in action.

Hello WCNews staff and all wingnuts.

After a long break I returned to WC1 for a while and took care of translating the game into Polish. At the moment I have translated graphics files, messages and the Vega campaign. Now I'm testing the game and if necessary I'll make corrections to the translation.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Howard Day has new some artwork to share, and it coincides nicely with our new CIC Poll. He's beautifully recreated a WC1-style briefing room - complete with red light, weathering and podium/lectern. It's not supposed to directly be from the Tiger's Claw, but it's a pretty sweet recreation from a ship of that era! There are also some nice updates to Maniac and Chef, two of his key pilots.

Here's the latest on the TCS Orszaga's briefing room - Supposed to be of a similar build/era to the TCS Tigers Claw, just smaller and a bit more battle-worn. Oh, and the latest on Chef and Maniac!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The galaxy's largest megacorporation is continuing to influence the political arena and affect billions of lives.
A review was published by Marlon Royce, business analyst for Vox Galactica:
"With its own government, laws and naval fleet, it's not surprising that Sirius Corporation is occasionally referred to as 'the fourth superpower'. That now seems to be its actual goal, as its impact upon interstellar politics increases."
"When Sirius Corporation resettled the Marlinist refugees in their own colony systems, it averted war between the Empire and the Federation. But this seemingly altruistic move enabled CEO Li Yong-Rui to claim political neutrality, gaining public support to host the Galactic Summit in the Sirius system."
"That success was undermined by the controversy of granting diplomatic status to pirate warlord Archon Delaine. Rumours of secret business dealings were reinforced when

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
Independent pilots have supported the Far God cult by delivering commodities to the Panjabell system.
The Pleiades Concordat paid for shipments of auto fabricators, emergency power cells and insulating membrane transported to Moore Hub station. These will be used to outfit megaships that will be populated by the Thargoid-worshipping cultists.
Local reporters spoke to one of the sect's newest converts, Leonard Yates from Agassiz Settlement, now known as the Eighty-Ninth Adherent of the Sixtieth Chapter:
"The beneficence of the galactic community is deeply appreciated. Our missionary megaship, the Testament, will help carry news of the oncoming apocalypse to every system."
"The other megaships – the Perdition and the Sacrosanct – will soon embark on a holy pilgrimage. They will carry thousands of us faithful worshippers into the void to commune with the Far God and

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Salvation has confirmed that his anti-xeno superweapons successfully routed Thargoids from the Delphi, Maia and Merope systems.
The following message was submitted to all newsfeeds:
"The Thargoid spearhead into human space has been severely blunted. Commodore Halloran coordinated the operation with military precision, and many loyal pilots acted swiftly to provide components for my unique technology."
"At present, I am not able to deploy these weapons in other systems suffering alien infestation. Next year, we will deliver a decisive blow in the war against the Thargoids."
"I urge the peoples of the galaxy to unite behind my crusade. Aegis is finished. I am the only remaining defence for humanity. I am Salvation."
Independent pilots and anti-xeno squadrons have been asked to continue combating the remaining Thargoid vessels in the Coalsack, Pleiades and Witch Head Nebula regions. Repair

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Today we've got a really awesome physical Wing Commander model that popped up on YouTube. capi spotted the Tarsus from Privateer in an episode of Me, Myself and Die! The ship becomes the centerpiece of a game of Five Parsecs From Home. We see the host, Trevor Devall, play around the table and get really into the action. The game itself looks cool, but I can't get enough of that gorgeous ship! capi asked about its origin, and apparently a viewer of the show sent it in previously. What an awesome find!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

This 27th century press release was made for the Kilrathi Saga manual. It used the original concept sketches of the Strakha made for Wing Commander II… and they forgot to edit out the artist’s note identifying “meaningless pods”!

Also what a baller non-explanation for why the design changes so significantly between Wing Commander II and III. Up there with Worf not discussing it with outsiders.

Does the press release match the mission in the game (K’tithrak Mang B)? Yes, nine Strakha. Does it match the official guide’s in universe history? No, you shoot down seven of the Strakha and not six there.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Alliance Assembly has voted to make a contribution to Aegis if the agency is reformed by the three superpowers.
Prime Minister Edmund Mahon made an official announcement:
"Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval's change of heart regarding anti-xeno collaboration has triggered swift action from Alliance systems. The Assembly has re-appraised a bill proposed last November by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Corcoran, seeking to approve Aegis's reformation. A majority vote has now passed that bill."
"The Alliance will therefore commit ships, resources and personnel to a collaborative anti-xeno agency. We will also share Thargoid-related intelligence and scientific data to a central database shared with the Empire and Federation."
"The strategic defence pact with Sirius Corporation remains in effect, and the company continues to work with us on protecting Allied systems."
It has been suggested that Li

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Yesterday's look at the supertitles was a big hit, so here's a closer look at how they evolved throughout production.

The approach to the Claw doesn't really change much at all, except that nearly every cut save for the final calls it the C.S.S. Tiger Claw. Most of the preliminary titles are also green instead of blue.

The Pegasus attack at the beginning of the movie probably morphs the most in some ways. Some of the early edits start with a flyover of a destroyed Pegasus and then flash back in time to the attack. The final cut of the film is linear and so does away with a lot of the supertitles. There were at least two alternate cuts of the opening, both opened on the Pegasus debris field after the attack.

The more straight forward version has a flyby over the debris and then jumps back in time to show the attack:

The second is a more condensed version that intercuts the debris fly-over with flashbacks

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

An anonymous source has leaked information regarding Seo Jin-ae suggesting that she may be in serious jeopardy.
Seo Jin-ae, the individual once known as Subject D-2, voluntarily departed from a private medical facility in January, where she was under the care of former Aegis members. She left a message stating: "I have unfinished business with Salvation."
The engineer Kit Fowler discussed the recent rumours during his End Times broadcast:
"Something is definitely going on, people. The interstellar grapevine is buzzing with gossip about Seo Jin-ae. That cortical implant in her head, which provides some weird insight into Thargoid behaviour, makes her pretty much most valuable person in the galaxy right now."
"Some say that a black ops teams have either kidnapped or assassinated her. Maybe it's Azimuth. Maybe it's a dead man's switch group belonging to Salvation. One pilot tells me he spotted an

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here are the flick backgrounds for the Righteous Fire intro. The Origin FX system works just like an old cartoon with transparent cells animated over plates like these.

Did you ever wonder why the RF intro feels a little out of place? It’s so BIG compared to the rest of the campaign. It’s because it was originally a scene cut from Privateer that was given totally new dialog! It was made as a losing endgame on the case where you go bankrupt.

They solved the need for it by simply having the game not charge you a landing fee if there’s a chance it will take you below 0 credits. Space welfare! (Of course bankruptcy was already a rare case... compared to, like, just exploding.)

It’s a little crazy that Privateer, part of the interactive movie craze, has only three cutscenes: the intro, the ending and this.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Today we've got a new test render to show off what Mac is doing with Klavs' Concordia model. Everything about this scene is impressively intense: the model geometry, the textures, the lighting. Look closely and you'll even catch a couple bonus Sabres taking off!

The Concordia is a pretty slick model still, well worth learning how to texture 3d models for lmao. I've actually been slowly going back to texturing her lately, since I made a lot of mistakes with how I went about things the first time out. Especially in terms of how well it was optimized.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval has responded to criticism from Hadrian Duval regarding her decision to contribute to Aegis.
During a public address at the opening of a naval research and development complex on Achenar, the Emperor stated:
"For the avoidance of doubt, my decree to halt interaction with the Alliance and the Federation remains in effect. Whatever advancements in weaponry or defence are made at these impressive facilities, they will be used exclusively by the Imperial Navy to protect Imperial citizens."
"Aegis's status as an independent agency makes it a legal exception under the Cornelius-Lasky Convention. Only a small fraction of the Empire's military expenditure is being devoted to Aegis's anti-xeno forces."
"As for Hadrian Duval, some may recall when his Nova Imperium extremists once threatened to trigger widescale civil unrest. I chose to spare him from the fate of his

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The latest report on the ongoing struggle against the Thargoids from Vox Galactica reporter Jade Sanderlyn.
"As the war reaches its eighth month, Thargoid invasion forces occupy over a thousand systems. Billions of people have been evacuated or lost as a result. Although this ongoing conflict has made little impact on everyday life for the other side of the bubble, it continues to dominate the media."
"The beginning of June saw the release of Aegis's latest development: the pulse wave xeno scanner. This module allows any pilots who dares approach the Titans to gather much-needed data, triggering what The Empirical referred to as a 'scientific gold rush'. We are a long way from fully comprehending the purpose of these gargantuan constructs, but the tools to do so are at least beginning to arrive."
"Unsurprisingly, Azimuth Biotech also declared its interest in the Titans. This led to the