News categories list

  • 04

    Dec

    For a limited time, Research and Development packs will be available to Captains for 20% off! From Thursday, December 4th at 8AM PT to Monday, December 10th at 10AM PT, both Research and Development packs as well as bundles will be discounted. During this sale, any R&D Packs purchased have a chance to open into a T6 Starship! Research and Development Pack – Normally 300 Zen, Now 240 ZEN This pack includes: 15 Common, Uncommon, Rare or Very Rare R&D Materials 15 Uncommon, Rare or Very Rare R&D Materials 6 Rare or Very Rare R&D Materials 4 Very Rare R&D Materials 3 Mk 2 or Better R&D Components 3 Mk 6 or Better R&D Components 2 Mk 10 or Better R&D Components 3 Random R&D Catalysts 4 Random Upgrade Accelerators Research and Development Pack Bundle – Normally 1000 Zen, Now 800 ZEN This pack includes: 4 Research and Development Packs (You will receive 4

  • 05

    Dec

    In the run up to Wing Commander 4's release, Electronic Arts kicked off a massive marketing blitz that included

    theatrical trailers

    before movies and a full court press in printed material. Highlights included its record setting budget, gorgeous live sets in the background of FMV and advanced integration with the gameplay. WC4 was popping up everywhere - even in the air! LOAF recently found this in the December 1995 of

    American Way

    , American Airlines' in flight magazine.

    "It's a movie. It's a space combat game. It's the most excitement you'll ever have on your PC."

    And they were right!

    wc4ad_americanway1t.jpgwc4ad_americanway2t.jpgwc4ad_americanway3t.jpg

    A few weeks ago I read an old article about marketing Wing Commander IV that mentioned they ran an ad in American Way, the in-flight magazine of American Airlines. It didn’t say what issue, so it took a bit of trial to find... December 1995! ... and if anyone wants a fat stack of old airline magazines from the eBay
  • 05

    Dec

  • 05

    Dec

    We’re pleased to announce the return of the Research and Development Weekend! This event will run from Thursday, December 6th at 8AM PT to Monday, December 10th 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

  • 06

    Dec

    Two eminent corporations have merged to form one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the galaxy.


    Allied Medical Industries, based in Alliance space, has united with Neosalve Inc., a conglomerate that supplies medicines to a great many independent systems.


    The new mega-corporation, Neomedical Industries, will sell a drugs, equipment and services to both Alliance and independent systems.


    The merger was closely monitored by the Interstellar Health Organisation (IHO), an official inter-superpower body that regulates developments in medical science.


    In the pharmaceutical arena, only the Vandermeer Corporation, which supplies medicines exclusively within Federal territory, is of a comparable size to the newly formed Neomedical Industries.

  • 06

    Dec

    Eagle-eyed Wingnut

    StarvingPilot

    spotted a Wing Commander prop reappear in a television commercial. A simple, but unique, console appeared near the Midway's hangar in Prophecy. The same unit popped up again in a Coca-Cola ad the following year. Both are visible just briefly, so this is a crazy catch!

    console_crossover1t.jpgconsole_crossover2t.jpg

    Here’s a background WC prop which can be found in another production. This futuristic console (although if you look closely, it looks like a solar panel attached to a battery box and lights) can be found on the hangar deck of the TCS Midway in WCP, as well as a later Coca Cola commercial from 1998. The commercial can be found at:
  • 06

    Dec

    Caching up with other plaforms, we've just released a new patch on Xbox, too. Here's the changelog: New Features

    • Added special "retro graphics" option that is unlocked after finishing a hardcore mode run

    Tweaks

    • Encounters: Nerfed Engine Booster MK2 and MK3 efficiency
    • Increased camera range in action freeze

    Bugfixes

    • Fixed Splitter glyph additional projectiles not homing in on targets anymore
    • Fixed blueprint drop probability for higher tiers being too low if no more tier one blueprints are available
    • Potential fix for Okkar Corvettes and Outlaw Drone Carriers occasionally bouncing away when destroyed
    • Fixed a bug where it was possible to accidentally overwrite normal mode perks with hardcore mode perks
    • Fixed Grey Goo damaging player from greater distance if player has a tractor beam installed
    • Fixed hardcore mode "Anti Consumerism" handicap carrying over from sector 6 to sector 7
    • Fixed
  • 06

    Dec

    Independent company Vitadyne Labs has developed an innovative new form of nanomedicine.


    Professor Katrien Rook published the following press release:


    "Nanomeds are sophisticated pharmaceuticals that use nanoscale materials to repair cell damage on a molecular level. They can heal any injury in a fraction of the normal time, and can potentially cure almost any disease and infection."


    "Furthermore, regular use of nanomeds affects cellular senescence, drastically slowing the ageing process. In theory, nanomed users will live between 30 and 50 years longer, and will enjoy near-perfect health during those extra decades."


    "After months of trials we are inviting medical authorities, including the Interstellar Health Organisation, to review our data. Pending approval, we hope to have Vitadyne nanomeds on the market soon."

  • 07

    Dec

    PhilsComputerLab

    has a new video on a program that slows down older machines. As early as 66 MHz started to come on the market, fans had to use programs like

    moslo

    to get the original Wing Commander smoothly playable. This presented an issue whereby a system powerful enough to run WC3/4 was too powerful to run WC1. In comes the 'setmul' app that specifically works with higher speed original Pentiums for some very granular adjustment. Wing Commander fans are able to do some amazing things today thanks to utilities like DOSBox that emulate DOS environments, but sometimes it's nice to get things going on the original '90s hardware. This could be useful for classic hardware collectors that don't have space for multiple machines tailored to each game. You can find also Phil's videos on tweaking GOG WC1-3 and Privateer

    here

    and

    here

    .

    PhilsComputerLab had an interesting video today on how you can take a
  • 07

    Dec

    It’s your final week to get your hands on a Swarm lock box, and all of the technology of the Hur’q! This lockbox will be returning to the vault (to be placed in the Infinity Lock Box at a later date), and will be replaced with an opportunity at a brand new ship, which we’ll talk more about next week. In the meantime, grab those lock boxes as they drop throughout the game, and get your hands on the Ravager Destroyer, all of the amazing Kit Modules, and much much more! .share-footer a { margin: 20px 10px 10px 0; background: url(d7afaaa14e96d0d973f76157ae31ec5b1466398539.png) no-repeat 0 0; opacity: .5; display: inline-block; height: 60px; width: 60px; padding: 0; border: 1px solid transparent; -webkit-transition: opacity .3s; transition: opacity .3s; } .share-footer .TI { background-position: 0 20%; } .share-footer .YT { background-position: 0 40%;

  • 07

    Dec

  • 07

    Dec

  • 07

    Dec

    An obscure cult based in the Zlota system has requested a range of rare items for an arcane ceremony.


    A handwritten statement from Barnabas Cole, leader of a group named the Children of Tothos, was submitted to the media:


    "This is the rite that will unmask us and allow us to see the path – the path we will all take, together, toward freedom."


    Zlota Federal Holdings, which is thought to have some connection to the cult, has requested Aganippe Rush, Motrona Experience Jelly and Onion Head to be delivered to Nusslein-Volhard Settlement in the Zlota system. It has also placed a kill order on all ships on its wanted list, to protect those delivering these rare commodities.


    The initiative begins on the 6th of December 3304 and will run for one week. If the final target is met earlier than planned, the campaign will end immediately.

  • 07

    Dec

    A goodwill initiative from the Achilles Corporation has now concluded.


    Chairman Gus Weaver of the Sol division of Achilles Corp announced:


    "Thanks to the dedication of many independent traders, we have now acquired enough commodities to manufacture replacements for all robots destroyed in the wake of the spy robot scandal."


    "I'd also like to remind our customers that the illegal surveillance program was safely deleted by our latest coreware update. Remember, you can always trust Achilles."


    The deliveries were organised by the Adenets Pro-Alliance Bond, which also arranged to protect traders from attack. Pilots who contributed to the initiative can now collect their rewards from Henslow Market in the Adenets system.

  • 07

    Dec

    Independent company Vitadyne Labs has developed an innovative new form of nanomedicine.


    Professor Katrien Rook published the following press release:


    "Nanomeds are sophisticated pharmaceuticals that use nanoscale materials to repair cell damage on a molecular level. They can heal any injury in a fraction of the normal time, and can potentially cure almost any disease and infection."


    "Furthermore, regular use of nanomeds affects cellular senescence, drastically slowing the ageing process. In theory, nanomed users will live between 30 and 50 years longer, and will enjoy near-perfect health during those extra decades."


    "After months of trials we are inviting medical authorities, including the Interstellar Health Organisation, to review our data. Pending approval, we hope to have Vitadyne nanomeds on the market soon."

  • 08

    Dec

    Wing Commander fans have dressed up as their favorite pilots and

    paraded around

    at a number of conventions over the years, but most have been associated with a CIC-sponsored activity. That makes st3lt3k's recent find a fun surprise. He spotted this image taken by

    foxpaws

    at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con. Even more unusual is the actual outfit depicted here: a flight suit from the Wing Commander Movie. You don't see too many fans wearing these in the wild - especially a dozen years after the film came out! I don't think I've worn mine in public since

    2002

    . It looks to be an actual prop from the production due to all the small details that seem spot on. High five, dude!

    comiccon2011_flightsuit1t.jpgdanms18t.jpg

    This was a fairly obscure costume. My initial guess was Kaneda from "Akira" until the person clarified.
  • 08

    Dec

  • 08

    Dec

    Journalist Gethin Okonkwo has discussed the abandoned Far God cult outposts in the Etain system:


    "During my months undercover as a Far God worshipper, I heard only whispered rumours about secret outposts. So the existence of two such settlements, on Etain 4a and 4c, proves that much remained hidden from me."


    "The personal logs recovered from the outposts illustrate how the faith attracted people from varied backgrounds. I was astonished to hear the voice of a man with whom I once eagerly discussed the Far God's arrival, never realising that he was a Federal agent whose devotion was as fake as my own."


    "The book I am co-writing with Dr Alfred Ulyanov will reveal much about the Far God religion, but it's clear that many of its mysteries are yet to be uncovered."