30
Dec
Here's a magazine ad for the version of QEMM that came bundled with Privateer and Shadowcaster... and look, there was an Ultima Underworld version, too! Neat.
News categories list
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31
Dec
The Wing Commander
Mod for Sins of a Solar Empirehas gotten a nice update. The base game received a handful of tweaks this year, and the upgraded fan project takes these into account in order to provide a fully functioning experience again.
Nomada_Firefoxcertifies this one to work with version 1.93 of the game. If you have SOASE and missed out on this game earlier, give it a try! Here's some screenshots to show off all of the nifty fleet action packed in there.
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01
Jan
…The long awaited next release of the WCP & SO
Model Upgrade Packis here! Note that while the project started out as a Secret Ops enhancement, it has recently grown to include compatibility with Prophecy. Today's update adds the Ella Superbase, Leviathan carrier and revamped Tigershark fighter. The engine has also been overhauled to add normal & emit mapping and an awesome iridescence effect on the Nephilim ships. Grab it
here(105 meg exe) and blast some high quality bugs!
Happy belated Christmas and early new year's Wing Nuts - MUP alpha .41 is packaged and ready! GO HERE to get it! The readme is attached as well for all the ins and outs. As always, this wouldn't be possible without the tireless efforts of the whole MUP team: Dark Sentinel, Pedro, PopsiclePete, Whistler, and gr1mre4per.
Note that if Windows Defender displays a virus warning, it's a false positive. Download the latest
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02
Jan
Display MoreThe theft of a spectacular work of art has soured New Year festivities for thousands of Federal citizens.
Kioko McGrath, culture correspondent for The Federal Times, reported:
"A colossal holo-sculpture was due to be unveiled at midnight to mark the start of 3305. Inspired by the Federal insignia, the intention was for the sculpture to be visible above Olympus Village, and seen by millions of people."
"But upon activation, the image that materialised was a gigantic cat's face, winking repeatedly. The original holo-sculpture code was later discovered to have vanished."
The Federal Security Service believes the culprit to be the same art thief who stole valuable works on Alioth and Eotienses A 3, both of which were marked with an identical 'winking cat' motif.
There are no leads at present.
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02
Jan
Lights, Camera, GAME OVER!: How Video Game Movies Get Made is a 2017 book by film reporter Luke Owen. The book is a fascinating look at how movies like Mortal Kombat, Mario Brothers and Wing Commander were made with a particular focus on the behind the screens wheeling and dealing that both allowed them to exist and that often altered them so drastically from the source material. The book includes a thorough chapter on Wing Commander which interviews both director Chris Roberts and producer Todd Moyer for a fascinating warts-and-all look at what went on behind the scenes. We've scanned the Wing Commander chapter for the archive (PDF here) and you can purchase your own copy of the book here. The book also has an animated trailer which explains what it's about and includes some Wing Commander material:
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01
Jan
…Happy Earth New Year, Captains! In honor of the Alliance, the entire known galaxy is celebrating this day of renewal. We’re pleased to announce that today, January 1st, from 12pm to 12am on January 2nd, all items in the C-store will be 30% off, on all three platforms! That means ships, inventory slots, duty officers and more will all be yours for the taking, Captains. Get out there and get those items you’ve always dreamed of. .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%; } .share-footer .YT { background-position: 0
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03
Jan
Another year is here! As we go back through the archives and see all of the amazing things that happened over the past year, it gives us great optimism about the future ahead. You can chime in with your own predictions about 2019 in our new poll below.
The old poll centered on all of the impressive modding happening recently. It asked which games and engines people were more excited about having enhanced. WC1/2 took the lead with nearly a third of the vote, but Prophecy/Secret Ops were a close second with more than a quarter of the tally. Privateer also had a good showing!
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02
Jan
…We’re pleased to announce the return of the Research and Development Weekend! This event will run from Thursday, January 3rd at 8AM PT to Monday, January 7th 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
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03
Jan
An initiative run by Herculean Machines, manufacturer of Duradrive personal computers, has now concluded.
Multiple shipments of consumer technology, hardware diagnostic sensors and computer components were delivered to the Blatrimpe system, which will be used to fulfil a large order from the Federal Navy.
Maddox Hurd, the company's CEO, made this statement:
"Once again, I offer my thanks to the galactic community for its support. We're very pleased to become a supplier to the Federal Navy, and we hope that the Duradrive remains in production for a long, long time."
Pilots who took part in the initiative can now collect their rewards from Boltzmann Hub in the Blatrimpe system.
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03
Jan
An open order for military supplies has been placed on behalf of the Federal Navy by the League of Zearla. A spokesperson for the organisation gave the following statement:
"The Federal Navy urgently requires shipments of Battle Weapons, Landmines and Performance Enhancers to be delivered to Payson Hub in the Zearla system."
A parallel operation is being run by Imperial faction the Sirsir Co, which announced:
"The Imperial Navy's logistics division has authorised us to process deliveries of Battle Weapons, Reactive Armour and Imperial Slaves. The drop-off point is Mitchell Hangar in the Sirsir system."
Both initiatives begin on the 3rd of January 3305 and will run for one week. If either initiative meets its targets earlier than planned, that campaign will end immediately.
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03
Jan
…Display MoreProfessor Katrien Rook has responded to Pranav Antal's claim that her company's nanomedicines are of Utopian origin:
"I confess that Vitadyne Labs did not invent the nanomeds, but neither did we steal them. We were approached by independent pilots who discovered a crashed Utopian transport ship. The recovered cargo canisters were clearly medical in nature, so the foragers sold them to us as legitimate salvage."
"I would be happy to return the original cargo to Utopia with our apologies. The new nanomeds that we have created are our property, however, and I insist that we be allowed to continue their manufacture."
Pranav Antal swiftly issued a reply:
"Any derivative nanomedicines must also be returned to us, and production must cease. Our technology cannot be used outside Utopia."
The Interstellar Health Organisation has said that it will review the case and make a decision.
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04
Jan
We have an exciting new addition to the archives today: a script for the third episode of Wing Commander Academy, "The Most Delicate Instrument." Over the years we've preserved shooting scripts (and a number of drafts) for all of the Wing Commander games and the 1999 film... but tracking down Wing Commander Academy teleplays has proven much more difficult. Until today, only two of the thirteen episodes were represented in the archive. These documents are especially fascinating for hardcore Wing Commander fans as they include not only scenes cut for time but also names of characters, places and ships in stage directions which were never spoken in the aired episode. You can download the The Most Delicate Instrument script in PDF form here. Stay tuned, two more episode scripts and several treatments will be added in the coming days.
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03
Jan
Happy New Year! ATV thunders into 2949.
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04
Jan
…Preparations are underway for the second Distant Worlds expedition, which will see a community of explorers cross the galaxy.
Science correspondent Leon Banerjee provided an overview for the Vox Galactica media outlet:
"The first Distant Worlds mission, in 3302, was the largest fleet expedition in history, and saw over a thousand ships travel to Beagle Point and back."
"Distant Worlds II has even loftier ambitions, involving an impressive voyage through the heart of the galaxy, mapping unexplored regions and making new scientific discoveries. It will also involve the construction of a starport dedicated to the study of Sagittarius A*."
"Project leaders Erimus Kamzel and Dr Kaii report that nearly four thousand courageous Commanders will take part, despite the risks involved, in a journey of over 200,000 light years."
Distant Worlds II is scheduled to launch in January 3305, with the complete
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05
Jan
…As the calendar crosses over into another new year, we took a look back and were once again amazed at all of the happenings in the world of Wing Commander. You guys were busy! And so were we - here's a look back at some of the highlights of 2018.
WC Toolbox
One of the more surprising things to me was how much happened with WC1/2. UnnamedCharacter'sopened the door to some pretty fun stuff. In conjunction with Goliath and Howard Day, they're working on amazing
model upgrade tests. Sheppard developed
Wing Hardto adjust game difficulty. Rehsin is
adding charactersand creating
campaigns. Some of this is bleeding into WC2 and Privateer 2, and it was pretty neat to see a WC2
arcade cabinetat Britizencon. We continue to learn a lot about these games even after 28+ years, including the recent discovery of multiple
easter eggsburied in WC1. And it's neat to still see WC easter eggs pop up elsewhere in
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05
Jan
…Here are this week's main stories.
The theft of a spectacular work of art has soured New Year festivities for thousands of Federal citizens. A colossal holo-sculpture, inspired by the Federal insignia, was due to be unveiled to mark the start of 3305. But upon activation, the image that materialised was a gigantic cat's face, winking repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Professor Katrien Rook has admitted that her company's nanomedicines are of Utopian origin, and revealed that the original material was sold to Vitadyne Labs by independent pilots. She offered to return the original cargo to Utopia while insisting that Vitadyne be allowed to continue the manufacture of its derived nanomedicines. Simguru Pranav Antal has insisted that production cease, however.
In other news, preparations are underway for the second Distant Worlds expedition, which will see a community of explorers cross the galaxy. The
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05
Jan
Display MoreThe isolationist group Nova Imperium is reported to be assembling its forces in the Paresa system.
Senator Denton Patreus made this statement:
"We have evidence that this seditious organisation is amassing an armada in its home system. It consists of ships crewed by Imperator Mordanticus's ex-Navy followers, as well as the private vessels of many misguided citizens."
"As Admiral of the Fleet, I order Nova Imperium to disperse its forces immediately or face the consequences."
The Imperial Herald's Cassia Carvalho commented:
"Widespread support for Hadrian Duval has led to Nova Imperium amassing its fleet in a very short time. The challenge for the Imperial Navy is to quash this threat without it being seen as a massacre of Imperial citizens, which can only fuel further rebellion."
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06
Jan
Here's a crazy Spanish article that LOAF recently found. It comes from the now-defunct magazine PC Manía. On the surface it looks fairly typical - like hundreds of other printed reviews of WC3 at the time. But boy is that box art weird looking! They've
photoshoppedit to change the look of the characters and even the ships. Maybe this was intended to Spanish-ize the cast? What an odd thing to do!
What the heck is going on with the Wing Commander III cover art in this Spanish magazine article?
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07
Jan
There are many members of the Wing Commander community that are talented artists, but this one comes from even closer to home! Check out this nifty Thrakhath sketch drawn by none other than LOAF's wife, Alexis!
* Prince of Kilrah
* Fang of Sivar
* Destroyer of Worlds! -
08
Jan
…AircPirateNinseiis building a real life flying Hornet model! He scaled and hand built the fighter with lightweight foamboard, and the design is pretty spot on. There's a six inch propeller in the rear and all of the associated battery and electronics are contained in the cockpit area. At this point, the version you see here is pretty much ready for its first test flight. After the basic aerodynamics are validated, AircPirateNinsei is planning to add the ship's iconic laser cannons. You can follow along for updates at the
Flite Test Forum. Thanks to st3lt3k for the tip!
The Hornet is a light fighter for the Terran Confederation during the Terran-Kilrathi War in the game "Wing Commander". Maybe some of you played this game in the nineties. Wing Commander is the eponymous first game in Chris Roberts' science fiction space flight simulation. The game was first released for MS-DOS in the year 1990.
