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There's still a lot of the workweek ahead, so enjoy this spiffy new wallpaper from Mac! It features a whole squadron of Rapiers ready to get into trouble. If you like this, you can find more of his F-44 handiwork here.
Brb, me and the boys are going to the store to buy milk. #wingcommander And by "Buy Milk," I mean we're going to hit a Kilrathi capital ship.
Jun
…Speaking of pinball, today we have a peek at fantastic start to a custom Wing Commander pinball machine. The project was built by dotmos over at the FlipperMarkt Forums. It was designed with both Privateer and WC1/2 concept art influences in mind. There are traditional wood and electronics throughout, but he also fabricated 3D printed ramps and rocks to simulate navigating an asteroid field. Unfortunately he's been silent on the machine for a couple years, so we might not get to see the finished product, but this is so cool that we had to share what exists!
Ideas haunt my head from time to time to time, but I haven't really nailed it down yet. There are a few concrete ideas on some things... but this is not really recorded anywhere.I find it an interesting idea to choose the wingmen or anchor them in the game and have never really thought about it. Thank you for the mental impetus! So far, my ideas
Jun
Another neat discovery from AD: the pinball machine (very briefly) seen in the Tiger Claw's rec room is a 1991 Williams Hurricane machine. And you can buy a detailed recreation in Pinball FX3 to simulate playing pinball on a space carrier!
Jun
AD found a neat Wing Commander 3 television spot that aired in Germany in May of 1995. It was dug up by magermunson. Things like this were still pretty rare to see on TV in the early to mid '90s, but WC3 was definitely one of the most profiled games around. They cover the scope and technology with a heavy emphasis on the full motion video. A common Mark Hamill interview is interspersed in the middle, but the brief conversation with Chris Roberts at the end may be new to us. You can turn captions and auto-translate on to get an English translation to play along the bottom. Enjoy this tiny time capsule!
Interviews and behind the scenes with Mark Hamill and Chris Roberts from this very rare german TV report on May 1995.Enjoy!
Jun
…Rabenrecht has a new tech demo in work to recreate some of the early WC1 missions in the Freespace engine using Klavs' ships. He's experimenting with the look, feel and narrative in order to create something new and fun. There are still some early kinks to work out, but you can engage with some of the development discussion here. There's also a Knossos installer if you want to give it a try. Leave your feedback at the CIC Forum! Here's a small preview video captured by Admiral Nelson:
A couple of weeks ago I decided to try my hand at Freespace Open modding. Well, I have something to show for: a short demo of the campaign I've currently named "Vega Assault" consiting of the first two missions Enyo 1 & 2.What is Vega Assault?
Vega Assault is a reimagining of the first Wing Commander campaign. It aims to provide a cohesive narative of the Vega Campaign.The WC1 campaign tree will be the framework Vega
Jun
…Claims that Salvation was once a senior member of Azimuth Biochemicals who worked for INRA have led to a public outcry.
Political journalist Conrad Sterling reported on these developments for Vox Galactica:
"Information recently uncovered in the DG Canum Venaticorum system has been presented by Professor Alba Tesreau. It suggests that Salvation's real name is Dr Caleb Wycherley, former vice-president of research at Azimuth Biochemicals. According to Wycherley's personal logs, his team contributed to the development of the controversial mycoid bioweapon deployed by INRA during the First Thargoid War."
"Wycherley's logs also provide evidence that he gained the nickname of 'The Witch'. This figure has been implicated in the murderous attack on the Alexandria megaship in June 3307 and in Project Seraph recordings found in the HIP 26176 and HIP 22460 systems."
"Former Aegis leadership has demanded
Jun
John Nelson is back with his biggest and best Lego creation to date! Here we see the iconic Broadsword bomber, which is pretty amazing. He really managed to pull off the arc of the fuselage connection to the cockpit, the missile launchers and the wing structures. Even the turrets are fantastic. I love it!
Hello! I got it done!It took awhile but Confed's Flying Fortress, the Broadsword, was my next challenge. I pored over images constantly and did my best to match colors to get it down as close as I could and to its Concordia livery. The underside of the fuselage and turrets aren’t perfect but the port and starboard turrets move and mini figs ALL fit! I’m proud of this one.
Pliers (would) say, “The Broadsword is a big fat gunslinger that goes nowhere fast, but it’ll take forever to shoot down. Only the biggest Border Worlds installations can hold them and have the manpower to run them.”
Jun
…*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Traders and combat pilots are required in the Upaniklis system to assist the Golconda in resuming its voyage.
The ancient generation ship, which originated from Earth in the 22nd century, has been retrofitted by the Artificers Clan into a functional modern vessel. The majority of its former population have decided to leave the outpost Forester's Choice and return to their traditional nomadic lifestyle.
Captain Jonathon Forester, leader of the Golconda Union, announced:
"In 3305 the galactic community provided us with the chance to end our original journey, so it will be fitting if they can help us start a new chapter among the stars. The Golconda now has a frame shift drive that requires tritium fuel, and shipments of medical diagnostic equipment and power generators are also needed."
Upaniklis Vision Incorporated has agreed to organise the initiative. Pilots are
Jun
Today we've got an absolutely phenomenal drawing by EmuMusicFan. It features Prince Thrakhath depicted in the style of The Simpsons. I'll let the image speak for itself at this point, because it's pretty perfect! Emu teases that Maniac is coming soon...
A Discord discussion a few weeks ago resulted in EmuMusicFan drawing a Simpsons version of Prince Thrakhath and I have to share it because it's just great.
Jun
…Further information has emerged regarding Vidar Trask's failed attempt to take control of the Kumo Crew syndicate.
The latest findings were reported by The Pegasi Sentinel:
"The few survivors from Trask's shattered army have revealed that over a thousand fighters were supplied by the Blue Viper Club dredger clan. Kay Volantyne, one of its leaders, is now confirmed to have masterminded the coup alongside Trask."
"Their motivations were as different as their backgrounds. Trask rose to power beside Archon Delaine but became frustrated under his rule, believing that he could reorganise the Kumo Crew along more efficient lines. Volantyne aimed to provide her nomadic tribe with permanent homes, to be financed by trafficking onionhead gamma strain and protected by the syndicate's might."
"We have also learned that the standard of living on the Blue Viper Club dredger has markedly improved in recent
Jun
…Alright it's 1 AM and there's no action on Twitter so you're pretty much stuck with this post about the news mechanic that was from Wing Commander III. That's right, I've got... BARBARA MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP!
If you've played Wing Commander III you may remember Barbara Miles from the intro, where Mark Hamill's Colonel Blair watches a news story about doomsday evacuations on an enormous iPad. Now that's what I call a bezel!
The script for this is neat and doesn't mention 2001: BLAIR IS SEATED AND LOOKING AT A SMALL “NEWS-SCREEN” (SIMILAR TO A SUBNOTEBOOK OR PDA) ON HIS LAP OR IMBEDDED IN THE SEAT IN FRONT OF HIM. (THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF HAVING BEEN GIVEN A NEWSPAPER BY A FLIGHT ATTENDANT.)
This brief bit is a fun example of how folks writing novelization add themselves to a script. The scene plays the news story straight but Andrew Keith adds an inner monologue where Blair thinks the idea is
May
…With the generation ship Golconda being repaired by the Artificers Clan, its former population are considering resuming their journey.
Commander Javi Alvarado, a local trader who befriended the Golcondans, offered this insight for Vox Galactica:
"Following a prompt from the Artificers Clan, I transported Captain Forester and other community leaders from Forester's Choice to the Golconda. They were visibly awed at the changes made to their ancient home, with modern interface panels and machinery expertly entwined with thousand-year-old technology."
"The newly installed frame shift drive was powered up, which brought Forester close to tears. We also visited the habitation rings, now sustained by updated environmental systems but otherwise unchanged."
"There were Artificers Clan members bustling back and forth. Each wore grime-stained overalls, criss-crossed with belts and bandoliers dangling
May
…Hello everyone,
Thank you to everyone playing the Leviathan Expedition, especially those taking the time to report any issues they encounter via Zendesk or console crash reporting.
We are listening closely to your feedback, and have identified and resolved a number of issues. These fixes are included in patch 3.91, which will be live on all platforms soon.
Bug fixes
- Fixed an issue that could cause the player to load inside their ship in the Space Station.
- Fixed an issue that could cause the player to be unable to progress the time loop during the Leviathan expedition if they were not connected to the discovery servers.
- During the Leviathan expedition, players who fall into space will no longer die, but instead be placed in a safe location (as in creative or permadeath modes).
- Fixed an issue that could cause Memory Fragments to be consumed but fail to award any items, if the player’s inventory was full.
- Fixed an issue that
May
…Today we've got updates to John Nelson's Hornet and Scimitar. He's taken a closer look at the blueprints and incorporated various feedbacks to further tweak the lines on each fighter. There have also been some decorative elements added to more closely sync up with the in-game paint schemes. John's still cooking up new WC-based designs, so we're looking forward to the next reveal!
Hello. I switched out some parts on the Hornet and Scimitar. After looking closer at the blueprints I noticed the slanted “hood” of the back fuselage on the Hornet and going back and looking at the Scimitar I saw how far up front the canopy and cockpit should be. Moving the pilot up was a no-go so some new bricks, a new canopy which resulted in some ground up reconstruction and some dark green to add to the dark gray.I want to rework that Avenger a bit too. Don’t worry, I have at least two models I’m working on. Need
May
…*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
An abandoned outpost in the DG Canum Venaticorum system could reveal the true identity of the anonymous figure Salvation.
Professor Alba Tesreau, former head of research at Aegis, made a public announcement:
"An untraceable source pointed me to the DG Canum Venaticorum system with the question: Who is Salvation? A unique detail caught my attention, so I requested verification from pilots who had supported Aegis. We found a previously undiscovered research outpost once controlled by the Intergalactic Naval Reserve Arm."
"The site contains logs which directly connect Azimuth Biochemicals to INRA's development of the mycoid virus. As is now known, this bioweapon was used covertly against the Thargoids and drove them away from human space for decades."
"Most significantly, I believe these logs may finally reveal Salvation's real name and background. I urge the
May
…It's been widely reported this week that Electronic Arts has been holding talks with various companies about a potential acquisition or merger. The possible partners that are mentioned include "Disney, Apple, Amazon, and Comcast - NBC Universal." That's quite a list of suitors, although conversations with Comcast/NBC seem to have gotten the farthest. This has come to the forefront with Microsoft's recent acquisition of Activision/Blizzard and Sony picking up Bungie. With so much consolidation in the industry this past year, EA is apparently feeling the squeeze of going it alone.
As Wingnuts are well aware, EA is the primary rights holder for the Wing Commander franchise. What could this mean for the series? While it's an easy gut reaction to feel like WC could be further buried behind much more high profile IPs, I don't know that a shake up on this scale is necessarily a bad thing. Current EA
May
Greg14 has a new project to share today. Using the WC Toolbox, he's taken a run at making a French translation for the text of the original Wing Commander. He's got some refinement yet to do and is still trying to figure out how to add accent marks, but this initial pass looks great. And it's always wonderful to see fans tinkering like this after more than 31 years! A video of the translation in action is below. Let him know what you think at the CIC Forums.
You can also find a fan patch that translates WC2 into French here.
May
Display MoreLOAF recently ran across this new advertisement for Xfinity internet service. It's a pretty mediocre 60 seconds, but the spacecraft in the beginning bears more than a passing resemblance to Privateer's Tarsus. From all angles, inside out and out, the forward cockpit section is a dead ringer for Grandpa Mack's ship! Maybe the Comcast digital artist was a Wingnut...
There’s a new Comcast commercial where it really seems like Ed Helms is flying a Tarsus.Huh, rear view door too!
And his space armor is straight out of Super Wing Commander.
Side profile of the ship:
And here's the full ad!
May
…The trillionaire entrepreneur Zachary Rackham has officially confirmed that he will stand as a candidate in the 3309 Federal election.
Mr Rackham finally stated his intentions following several weeks of speculation. At a press conference, he said:
"I know what you're all thinking. That guy as president? Isn't he just a common businessman, who used to survive on scraps by trading trinkets in a rusty old Sidewinder?"
"But despite my humble origins, many good people have convinced me that my experience with running corporations would prove useful to the Federation. I feel like everyone's tired of the same empty words from the two big political parties. It's time to hear from the little guy!"
Mr Rackham added that it will take several weeks to prepare his manifesto and campaign team. It is unknown whether he intends to form a new political party or stand as an independent candidate.
There has been
May
Tom Roberts has posted some great photos of a Hellcat he recently 3D printed. The fighter looks fantastic and it even has a slick Confed star base. In the silvery metallic color, it also reminds me very much of the Hellcat statue we see in Wing Commander Academy. I don't own a 3D printer yet, but creations like this are seriously tempting me!
The source files come from Astrofossil's collection. Check out the links to all his WC models below!
