Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Imperial news sources have confirmed that Prince Harold Duval was assassinated by NMLA terrorists while travelling incognito to the Cemiess system.
Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval broadcast this address:
"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Prince Harold. A state funeral at the Hall of Martyrs is being arranged and there will be a period of mourning, as is customary for esteemed members of the Imperial Family. There will be opportunities for all citizens to honour Harold's memory in an appropriate manner."
Princess Aisling Duval, Harold's daughter, appeared uncharacteristically distressed when she gave a brief statement to the media:
"It's a huge loss to us all that… I'm sorry… I can't believe this has happened. He can't be gone! I used to have some sympathy for the Marlinists, but now they… they took him from us. They took my daddy."
The NMLA also attacked

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The new Star Trek Picard series premiered last week, and the show is chock full of rich continuity. The crew putting it together have spared no detail, and that includes a number of connections with the last TNG movie, Star Trek Nemesis. Among them is that Romulans use a nifty knife with two blades. Star Trek fans have confirmed that this is the legendary Double Shadow knife designed by Gil Hibben in 1991. Wing Commander fans will also recognize it as Seether's iconic and deadly knife from 1996's Wing Commander 4. It's what he uses to threaten Blair on Nephele and also later kill Captain Paulsen.

LOAF profiled the prop in greater depth a couple years ago. It's certainly the go-to sci-fi exotic blade and shows up in a wide variety of productions, but it's cool to see it here too. And if you're not watching Picard, we can't recommend it highly enough! The first episode is streaming now - it's one

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We've solved a small Wing Commander mystery! This

unidentified ship

appeared in a single act of an episode of Wing Commander Academy ("Invisible Enemy.") It wasn't an obvious match for a fighter from the games and it was only seen the once. Well we’ve tracked down the original script for the episode and discovered that it was meant to be... a FERRET!

For reference, this is the P-64C Ferret (and P-64D Super Ferret!) patrol fighter as introduced in Wing Commander II:

Quote from Star Citizen News-Bot

December 2948 Subscriber Flair

Subscribers

http://

The final piece of your exclusive Venture Explorer Suit from RSI falls into place with this stylish and functional torso section. Now you can stay safely insulated from the ravages of space and complete this soon-to-be-legendary look.

Imperator Subscribers
http://

Imperator-level subscribers can complete their limited purple suit with the matching torso piece as well, and finally gain access to establishments that deny service to the shirtless.

If you’re an active subscriber, these items will be added to your account on December 17th.

If you aren’t a subscriber yet but want to sport this Chest Plate, make sure you subscribe no later than December 16th.

More information about subscriptions can be found here

Display More

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Back in 2016, the

Decipher SciFi

podcast devoted an entire

episode

to the Wing Commander movie. The show starts off with an overview of the Wing Commander computer game series with a focus on

Wing Commander 3

as a revolutionary interactive movie and the ever increasing production values and development budget up to Wing Commander 4. The show runners are all familiar with the franchise, having played the originals back in the 1990s on DOS PC or Amiga, and they even went to see the film when it was playing in theaters. The movie segment of the show touches on a wide range of topics, including unlikely fraternization, the traitor subplot getting axed, production challenges as a first time director with a limited budget, and Pilgrim pick-up lines. Check out the episode

here

.

As children of the 90s, we have to wax nostalgic over the Wing Commander video games. They were really, really important at the time.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Back in 2016, the

Decipher SciFi

podcast devoted an entire

episode

to the Wing Commander movie. The show starts off with an overview of the Wing Commander computer game series with a focus on

Wing Commander 3

as a revolutionary interactive movie and the ever increasing production values and development budget up to Wing Commander 4. The show runners are all familiar with the franchise, having played the originals back in the 1990s on DOS PC or Amiga, and they even went to see the film when it was playing in theaters. The movie segment of the show touches on a wide range of topics, including unlikely fraternization, the traitor subplot getting axed, production challenges as a first time director with a limited budget, and Pilgrim pick-up lines. Check out the episode

here

.

As children of the 90s, we have to wax nostalgic over the Wing Commander video games. They were really, really important at the time.

Quote from Star Trek Online News

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone for playing, and congrats to our winner! (We haven't gotten permission to reveal his name yet, so I won't be doing that here. ) In case you were curious how this particular one is solved: The spectrograph waveform of this audio file is shaped to look like letters. So if you downloaded the image and ran it through any audio processing software, and switched the waveform to "spectrograph," you would see something like this: Which, of course, was the answer, "Leah Brahms." Thanks to everyone who participated! During today's downtime, we're conducting a new giveaway every single hour, in a different location! This morning has already seen giveaways in progress on our Twitter and our Facebook, but now is the time to step up and win on the official STO blog! It's not going to be easy. We've received a coded message from Starfleet, concerning the personal logs of a

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
The missing megaship Dedicant is close to being located after fragments of its distress call were tracked down.
The scrambled messages were discovered on comms beacons in the LP 714-58, Wuniez, Olurung and Kwakimo systems. Combined decryption efforts eventually led to another beacon in the HIP 19912 system, where the Dedicant's original transmission was revealed:
FEDERAL ESCORT TEAM ALPHA
ASSIGNED TO ORDER OF THE FAR GOD MEGASHIP 'DEDICANT'
PRISONER TRANSFER MISSION HAS FAILED
SIGNIFICANT NON-LETHAL DEFENSIVE MEASURES ENCOUNTERED
MAJORITY OF ORDER OF THE FAR GOD PRISONERS ESCAPED
PRISONERS INITIATED DEDICANT HYPERDRIVE
ESCORT TEAMS ALPHA, BRAVO, CHARLIE AND CULTISTS REMAIN ON BOARD
'DEDICANT' CURRENT LOCATION UNKNOWN
ADVISE TRACING METADATA COORDINATES TO THIS MESSAGE
REQUEST IMMEDIATE FEDERAL NAVY ASSISTANCE
Vice Admiral Amir Rafiq of the Imperial Navy provided an

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

As part of our ongoing attempts to streamline the process of playing events in Star Trek Online, we are going to be making some changes to the Weekend Event Store on PC, and later on Xbox One and Playstation 4, giving you access to everything in the store for the price of one Weekend Event Token each. Like the changes to previously slotted events, these changes are designed to get you access to the items you’ve worked for, while also freeing up inventory space and moving towards how events will be working in the future. Starting on June 13th 2019 on PC, and August 8th 2019 on Xbox One and Playstation 4, every item and reward in the Weekend Event Store will be reduced in cost to a single Weekend Event Token. If you have any tokens remaining in your inventory, you may use them to your hearts’ content to buy whatever items you’d like. After this date, we will no longer be running Weekend Events,

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Inexplicable visual phenomena located in deep space have caused extensive speculation and media interest.
There is no official terminology for the signals but they are referred to by many names, most popular of which is 'the anomalies'. Appearing as a bright flare with spiralling radial arms, they emit electromagnetic feedback that can be detected using full spectrum system (FSS) scanners.
The first anomaly was discovered beyond the permit-locked Col 70 sector, with additional signals now observed. Multiple calculations have verified that the objects are moving, supposedly at faster-than-light speeds. Various estimates as to their trajectory have been made, but the great distances involved defy accurate measurement.
The appearance of the anomalies so soon after the Battle of HIP 22460 has led many to assume that they are somehow related to the Thargoids. These fears

Quote from Star Trek Online News

Hoo Boy! This has been a long time coming, but man, is it ever exciting! So. . . how do you guys feel about a tough, little station near the Wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant? Yeah, we love it too, and we thought it was time to give her a little love. We’ve had a Deep Space Nine map in the game for ages now, but like other things from those days, DS9 has been showing its age. There are a lot of issues with the old map that we don’t need to get into, so let’s talk about what we’ve done on the new map instead. We’ve rebuilt the entirety of the Promenade ring to match the show. That means all of your favorite spots are there, including one you’ve already got a sneak peek at in the recent episode “The Renegade’s Regret”- the Security Office and its Holding Cells. In addition, we’ve updated or added the Infirmary, the Bajoran Temple, the Klingon Deli, the Jumja Stand, the Replimat,

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

When we took a look at the update to Deep Space Nine we did for Victory is Life, we decided we wanted to go a step further. While DS9 now looked amazing on the inside, it was time to make the exterior match the interior. Luckily, we knew just the man for the job. We’ve partnered with Tobias Richter, modeler extraordinaire, and the man made the 3D model of the Enterprise D when Star Trek: The Next Generation was remastered into HD. We sat down with Tobias to talk about his work. Star Trek Online: Hey Tobias! Thanks so much for joining us. Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and your relationship with Star Trek? Tobias: My name is Tobias Richter and I am a life-long SciFi - and especially Star Trek addict. When I was a child the original Star Trek ran on TV and I tried to see every episode of it. I was drawing Trek starships, making blueprints, wrote stories. Once I got my

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
A battle in the Popontia system has ended with Federal forces overwhelming defenders of the True Chapters sect.
The newly risen sect of the Order of the Far God was being protected by the Workers of Popontia Free, which was ultimately defeated. Governor Nadia Machado of the Popontia Incorporated announced:
"With the welcome support of auxiliaries and independent pilots, armed resistance in this system has been quelled. As per President Hudson's orders, the Thargoid worshippers will be detained and the megaship Dedicant seized for Federal investigation."
Governor Machado added that all pilots who took part in the operation can now collect their rewards from Ryman Market. Despite its failure, the Workers of Popontia Free is also offering payments from Ryman Market.
The two remaining Far God megaships, the Testament and the Perdition, have abandoned their scheduled

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
The Empire is aiding Sirius Corporation by offering bounty hunting and trade opportunities to support the Galactic Summit.
The diplomatic conference is now entering its second week, with superpower and independent leaders gathered at Patterson Enterprise in the Sirius system.
Sirius Corporation's CEO Li Yong-Rui announced:
"Our thanks to the Federation for organising additional security against unexpected numbers of vessels this past week. Anarchic extremists, political enemies and opportunistic criminals all attempted to disrupt the conference to no avail. Pilots who helped maintain the peace can collect their rewards at the Spirit of Laelaps."
"For the coming week, we are working with the Empire to maintain the security operation by offering bounties on all wanted ships. The Empire will also pay generously for extra supplies of animal meat, coffee, fish, fruit and

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The weapons manufacturer Prax Incorporated has dismissed accusations of poor safety measures in its development and testing programs. Concerns were originally raised by Adley King of The Federal Times, as part of an investigation into weapons testing within inhabited sectors.

CEO Lucina Prax gave this press statement:

"I can assure Ms King that my company takes every precaution when evaluating its products. We have never – and will never – ignore safety protocols."

"Regarding these accusations, I am aware of the claims being made but have yet to see a single shred of evidence to support them. We act in full compliance with the most stringent industry regulations."

"3304 was a record year for Prax Incorporated. The latest version of our proprietary threat-recognition firmware propelled our stock to new heights, and we are developing a new system that I believe will be considered revolutionary."

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Star Trek Online is pleased to once again invite you to join us for the First Contact Day Celebration starting on PC on April 2nd, 2020 and continuing until April 23rd, 2020. This Event will also run on console platforms delayed by only one week. Join the celebration there, starting on April 9th, 2020 and running until April 30th, 2020. Just as we did for the Anniversary Event, the First Contact Day Celebration has migrated over to the Events Tab. The usual activity of competing with four other players to build and launch your very own Phoenix Rocket will contribute toward your Daily Progress in the Event, but alongside it is the opportunity to travel back to April 4th, 2063, and participate in a brand new patrol surrounding the titular event. Participating in either of these two activities each day will earn you progress toward the Grand Prize – a Temporal Vortex Probe (Universal

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

This is the Kobayashi Maru... nineteen periods out of Altair Six. We have struck a gravitic mine and have lost all power...our hull is penetrated and we have sustained many casualties. Prepare to face the most infamous Starfleet challenge! The Kobayashi Maru, the “original no-win scenario,” returns to Star Trek Online as a limited-time test of character. How long can you hold out against ambushing enemy ships? Can you keep cool under pressure as you place yourself between the Kobayashi Maru and death? What would Spock do? The Kobayashi Maru event will come in two forms: timed and untimed. In each case, you fight to keep the freighter intact while destroying successive rounds of enemies who will become more and more dangerous as the simulation continues. The longer you last, the greater your rewards! Once everyone on your team is defeated at the same time – or when the timer runs out, if

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News

The Utopia commune has launched a project to build a military installation in its home system to defend the Sim-Archive from potential Thargoid attack.

Dr Leigh Constantinides, a spokesperson for Utopia, made this announcement:

"Following recent observations by the respected strategist Marquis Novantico, we accept that the Sim-Archive requires increased protection to prevent its knowledge from falling into the wrong hands. Our partner organisation, the Narri Justice Party, is therefore overseeing the construction of a new security installation. We beseech the galactic community to support this worthy endeavour."

Independent pilots are requested to deliver construction materials to Bobko City in the Narri system. To protect traders, the Narri Justice Party has also placed a kill order on all ships on its wanted list operating in the system.

The campaign begins on the 3rd of May 3304 and will run

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

DefianceIndustries is still doing what he does best: creating and updating high quality models of clasic Wing Commander ship designs! Today he shares his Vindicator and Raptor...

I started looking over some of my older stuff and found a few issues with my original Vindicator model. There were some scaling issues and a few misses from a modeling perspective (not tapering the fuselage into the cockpit section being the most egregious) So I set about making a new one. This version is closer to the FMV model, has a more accurate texture and paint scheme, and is alot lighter on the polygons.\

Next I started on a WC1 favorite of mine - the good ol' A-14 Raptor. Of all the WC1 ships this one gets the least love I suppose. but who doesn't love a X-wing/Gunstar hybrid? Besides, the combination of neutron and mass drivers makes it especially lethal in my book. I know most of you are Rapier fans, which is

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
The Kumo Crew syndicate has rallied in the California Nebula to repel the region's Thargoid invasion forces.
In recent weeks Thargoid fleets swarmed through several local systems. The Kumo Council, the enclave's authority for the notorious organisation, rapidly called in reinforcements in three systems it governs. Local security forces are now organising counter-attacks against Thargoid vessels.
Archon Delaine, warlord of the Kumo Crew, announced:
"Already the war has reached the California Nebula. But are any superpower navies racing to its defence? Of course not – the Alliance considers this colony expendable. It's down to us to protect the nebula's citizens, and will do whatever it takes to succeed."
The Pegasi Sentinel newsfeed published a request for populations not to impede Kumo Crew activity, suggesting that fleet mobilisation is 'a temporary measure to