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Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Today we've got some new 3D print examples from L.I.F.. He's moved on from the Excalibur and is now testing out a Morningstar. There's some plastic scuzz that needs to be shaved down, but the spaceframe is one of Klavs' gorgeous designs. Here it is presented next to the universal unit of scale, a Nintendo Switch (non-OLED):

Still some issues getting the Rapier to work in the slicer, but in the meantime, here's a print of Klavs' gorgeous Morningstar (although nowhere even close from LYP's print of it), with a Switch for scale.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

A power struggle is raging within the Kumo Crew following a coordinated effort to overthrow the syndicate's leader, Archon Delaine.
The Pegasi Sentinel newsfeed delivered this exclusive report:
"What at first seemed to be merely another attempt to assassinate Delaine turned out to be a far greater threat. Simultaneous attacks across the organisation revealed that this was actually the first strike in a full-blown coup."
"The rebellion is being led by Arch-Corsair Vidar Trask, a senior member of the Kumo Council. He has declared that the syndicate is stagnating under Delaine's 'tired brand of barbarism', and that new leadership will bring greater glories and riches."
"Fierce combat has ignited in the Kumo Crew's key areas as both sides battle for resources. Trask's loyalists are being aided by a motley collection of pirate gangs as well as thousands of unidentified fighters, suggesting that he

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

I made two fun discoveries mucking about in Wing Commander III documentation! The first is that the Longbow bomber was originally named the IMPERATOR! This scan is actually from the published shooting script... which is fine, since the name never appears in any dialogue!

I also found some extracts from an earlier draft of the script attached to storyboards. This one from the intro has a very different set of names for the star systems Admiral Tolwyn mentions! They ended up being Gardel, Morpheus and Orsini in the final draft. Anyway I suspect someone was trying to impress their girlfriends Layla, Veronica and possibly Olympus.

On consideration: there are only four fighter types mentioned in the full motion video segments. The Excalibur (throughout), the Hellcat V ("prepped, primed..."), the Thunderbolt ("he took out a Thunderbolt and just kept going") and the Bloodfang (in a news segment).

ALSO: I think

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there in the WC community! To commemorate the occasion, LOAF took a stab at brainstorming all of the moms depicted in Wing Commander. Here's what we came up with! If you can think of any we missed, hit the comment link below!

Okay let's come up with a listicle for Mother's Day: moms in Wing Commander. Who do we have?

• Devi Sousing, Blair's mom who we see on Academy
• Elizabeth Norwood, Shadow from WC2
• Graham's Mom, who presumably packaged up Mr. Kat for the Lexington's Commander in Armada
• Graknala nar Kiranka, the Dowager Empress from Vukar Tag
• Kree'kai, Firekkan mother of Rikik
• Kylie Sarah Casey, Lance Casey's mother
• M’rathka, mate of Mar’buk, also from Voices of War
• Mingxing Chen, Bossman's wife and mother of their daughter born in March 2654
• Mrs. Rodriguez, recipient of Jason's notification letter in End Run
• Patricia Drake, the CAG from Prophecy
• Pris Santyana, from

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The personal fortune of entrepreneur Zachary Rackham has now surpassed one trillion credits, due to a new corporate acquisition.
A report in The Tau Ceti Journal highlighted the achievement:
"Rackham Capital Investments now officially owns the company Kavanagh Spaceframes Ltd, which constructs Orbis starports. The business deal had been in the pipeline for years with little sign of progress, but was unexpectedly agreed by both parties in the last few days."
"Susannah Haynes, CEO of the now-renamed Rackham Spaceframes, welcomed the arrangement. She remarked that 'improved financial stability can only benefit our efficiency at manufacturing orbital habitats'."
"Analysts estimate that the total value of Mr Rackham's estate is now approximately 1,012,000,000,000 credits. This makes him one of a handful of private citizens in the Federation who can claim to be trillionaires."
The Federal Times

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Today we've updated our front page poll to ask what kind of Wing Commander stories people like. A lot of common themes emerge from the main games, books, movie and TV show, and we've simplified them into six categories. "Covert missions" are like the expansion Secret Missions/Special Operations or portions of End Run/Fleet Action. "Epics" are life-or-death struggles for the fate of all civilization in games like WC3/4 or Fleet Action. Even Armada qualifies. Other games like WC1/2 could be described as "grinds" where you see some of the dog days of the war. At multiple points we get to explore the "mysterious threat" like the Nephilim or Steltek. "Rookies" are stories like the WC Movie or Academy TV show (or even games like WC1 or Prophecy) that show under-experienced pilots learning the ropes. Finally, there are special personal adventures. Very different types of things fit here from the

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Scribbler has posted the first in a series of Wing Commander ambiance videos. These have gotten more popular in recent years with examples such as this hour of Borg cube humming from Star Trek Lower Decks. In this case we get an hour of Shotglass' bar aboard the Tiger's Claw. Scribbler has looped things a bit, played with some low key sound effects and added some less repetitive music to get to the end result. Let him know what you think here!

In this file we stay in the ambience of bartender Shotglass on board the TCS Tiger's Claw. Talk to other pilots, fly a lap in the simulator. What's the news today? Maybe a little snack? And how does the flight list look today? Rest because the next mission is coming soon

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Two new starports have been added to Marlinist systems, following a successful delivery initiative last month.
The use of pre-built infrastructures and mass-produced components has allowed the orbital stations to be assembled rapidly. The starport names and locations are Fairfax Legacy in the Hyades Sector SU-C a14-1 system, and Ackwada Monument in the Hyades Sector LX-T c3-30 system.
The Marlinist Parliament welcomed the new starports, stating that they "will lay strong foundations for increased commerce with the interstellar community".
As a result of a recent diplomatic arrangement, two million Marlinist refugees have been offered transport from the Alliance to the colony systems. They are being processed and granted citizenship at the new starports.
A campaign to rename the two existing starports, Stillman Hub and Tilman Point, was discouraged by Sirius Corporation. These stations were

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

It’s been a while since we’ve gotten an update from Destro on Wing Commander Loader, but he’s back with some exciting news to report! You may recall that this is the project to integrate the recorded Sega CD audio dialogue into DOS WC1.

There have been lots of tweaks under the hood lately. By recoding and enhancing the project’s debugging tools, significant memory overload issues have been mitigated and the mod is more stable than ever. There are just a couple star systems left to go before the main campaign audio is linked up. Although this is very exciting, there are still secondary items with things like comms and the script font that need to be worked through.

It’s possible that we could see a preliminary release in the next few months, which would be quite a treat! You can find a more detailed breakdown of the latest info here. Stay tuned for more updates as they come.

Loader:

More stable that

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Two days ago, ETPC reported some interesting news to the WCCIC Discord: prolific retro tech tweeter Foone had successfully lobbied to open source BRender, a licensed 3D game engine used in the making of many titles including Privateer 2: The Darkening.

So I have some really cool news:
I just got approval from Jez San, former CEO of Argonaut Games, to open source the BRender engine.

That's the engine used in Microsoft 3D Movie Maker, Argonaut's own Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, and the first two Carmageddon games. pic.twitter.com/3aKiuZkK5b

— foone (@Foone) May 3, 2022

What exactly is BRender? In the late 1990s, game developers began increasingly to license third party technologies to streamline their increasingly complex work. Instead of spending time developing a unique 3D engine, developers could purchase an 'off the shelf' solution that gave them a head start by providing common needed features and

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Commanders have been asked to collect meta-alloys from Thargoid barnacles as part of a wider xenological study.
The research project is being orchestrated by Professor Ishmael Palin, one of the most prominent experts in Thargoid technology:
"With escalating Thargoid activity in the core systems, it is increasingly important that we learn as much as possible about this species. Only through scientific study can we better comprehend their biomechanical nature and, where possible, enhance our defences against it."
"The initial phase requires fresh samples of meta-alloys, the unique material used in the construction of Thargoid vessels. These can be harvested from barnacles that the Thargoids have seeded on selected planets."
Pilots can deliver meta-alloys to the starport James Sneddon in the Morten-Marte system. As part of the Federal Reclamation Co's support for this

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Sirius Corporation has helped provide commodities to sustain the Didio system during the ongoing Thargoid assault.
Pilots transported multiple shipments of basic medicines, evacuation shelters and food cartridges to the megaship Chariot of Rhea in the Leesti system. These were then redirected to Didio and distributed wherever they were most urgently needed.
The campaign was orchestrated by Admiral Nikolas Glass, who announced:
"By replenishing key supplies during this time of great crisis, Sirius Corporation has again shown its dedication to the Alliance's military efforts. This will undoubtedly pave the way for the strategic defence pact to be accepted by the Assembly once the trial period has completed."
Sirius Corporation has confirmed that all pilots who contributed to the initiative can now collect payment from Chariot of Rhea in Leesti.
In related news, the

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Sol Today hosted an interview with the multi-billionaire Zachary Rackham, who is rumoured to be moving into politics.
From his villa at Lake Rackham, overlooking Homeland's famous Singing Geysers, the entrepreneur spoke at length on various topics.
On the rise of his business empire:
"The hard-working folk at Rackham Capital Investments have done me proud in recent years. We're currently holding financial talks to acquire a major starport company, so watch this space!"
On his role with the Beta Hydri Corporation:
"It's a privilege to support my people in Beta Hydri, by helping to run their government. Things are already running smoother after I streamlined a few departments."
On suggestions that he will take part in the Federal presidential election:
"I'm deeply flattered by calls to stand as an independent candidate. But really, an ordinary guy like me as president? I suppose it indicates

Quote from Mass Effect News-Bot

The medium of video games is full of franchises that appeal to passionate fanbases, with one of the most passionate being highly devoted to the Mass Effect franchise. The original Mass Effect trilogy has resonated with fans for more than a decade now, warranting a well-received remaster of the original adventures last year. The most fervent fans these days take great measures to represent their fandom, with highly-detailed statues by companies like Dark Horse being among the most premium merchandise these fans can purchase. Now, Dark Horse has revealed their new highly-detailed statue of the Mass Effect Reaper Sovereign starship.

The Mass Effect: Reaper Sovereign can now join your Normandy SR-1 and other replicas! @DarkHorseDirect and @bioware have teamed up for another exquisitely detailed collectible. Details: https://t.co/v8wtzel9jg

The 14″-tall polyresin replica is crafted by @GentleGiantLTD

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

I went back to see how the sprite-less Jalthi was mentioned in the original SNES Wing Commander. You can see it wasn’t mentioned in the US/EU manuals at all! And that as with everything else, the Japanese version is much, much better.The SNES version doesn’t have enough memory for five ships, so it tints the Salthi green and calls it a Jalthi! The US manuals pretend it doesn’t exist while the Japanese one embraces the weird change.They also had to drop the Exeter to include the Venture, so the Gwenhyvar becomes a corvette.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We have an interesting artifact to share today! Former Origin designer Billy Joe Cain sent along pictures of an awesome little collectible that was apparently made in small numbers for Chris Roberts' Strike Commander. It's a 4.5 inch long F-16 replica with custom Strike Commander decals on the wings. The fighter's currently listed on eBay for a pretty spendy starting price north of $2000, but the proceeds go to benefit the REEF program that combats human trafficking. If there's a wealthy benefactor out there who's also a big Strike Commander fan, now's your chance to do some good! Find the auction page here.

Have you ever seen one of these?

It's being listed on eBay to raise money to end human trafficking through REEF

I think there were only a few of these custom made for the team, but I don't have confirmation yet.

The price is insane, but it's to raise funds for our anti-human trafficking

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The journalist Jade Sanderlyn of Vox Galactica was recently invited to conduct rare public interviews with admirals of the three superpowers.
This excerpt is from a conversation with Admiral Maxton Price of the Federation.
Jade Sanderlyn: My name is Jade Sanderlyn, reporting for Vox Galactica. I'm here with Admiral Maxton Price, onboard the FNS Amphion in the Sosong system. I was very impressed with the tour of the ship prior to our interview, Admiral.
Maxton Price: I can't say I'm surprised, Miss Sanderlyn. Is this your first time on a Farragut-class battle cruiser?
JS: Yes. It's one the reasons I was so excited that my interview request had been granted. The Amphion is just as impressive as I'd hoped.
MP: That's gracious of you to say. Of course, the Farragut-class vessels value performance over aesthetics. It's a lesson our Imperial friends would do well to learn one day.
JS: I take it,

Quote from No Man

Hello everyone,

Thank you to everyone playing the Outlaws Update, 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 3.89, which will be live on all platforms soon.

Bug fixes

• Fixed an issue that could leave some players unable to construct the first map fragment as part of the Blighted expedition.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent the Liberation milestone from unlocking when declining a freighter acquisition during the Blighted expedition.
• Fixed an issue where Gravitino Balls collected from Sentient Plants would not count towards the Coveted Suns milestone in the Blighted expedition.
• Fixed an issue that could cause a blocker during the Last Piece milestone in the Blighted expedition.
• Fixed an issue that could occur if players opened the

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Voices in the Senate have argued that the Marlinist Colonies should have become an Imperial protectorate to shield them against the Thargoids.
Senator Arturo Durant was quoted by The Imperial Herald:
"The region containing the Marlinist Colonies sits relatively close to what is commonly regarded as Thargoid territory. A strike by the aliens would rapidly overwhelm the paltry security forces of a handful of under-developed systems."
"Naturally we respect Her Majesty's decision to acknowledge their autonomy, but many feel that the Marlinists may regret the decision to sit outside our protective sphere. After all, these were once Imperial citizens. It's our duty to defend them, whether or not they grant us permission."
First Minister Octavia Volkov published a response via The Marlin Standard:
"The proximity of the Thargoids is an ever-present concern, and it's true that we do lack a dedicated

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

GOG really likes having sales, and Wing Commander is no stranger to their special promotions. Their new Timeless Classics Sale is a little bit different than the typical fare because it doesn't reduce the price on the whole series. In this case, only Wing Commanders 1 through 4, Prophecy / Secret Ops and Privateer are marked 75% off. This leaves Academy, Armada and Privateer at full price. It's still a good chance to jump on the 'main' games. If you're trying to save a few credits on the others, we expect the rest of the lineup will probably see a markdown at some point in the next few months.