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Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

With 2018 now well in the rear view mirror and 2019 well on its way, it's time for us to jump into our annual fan project contest. We took nominations over the last couple months and have come up with this list of noteworthy endeavors to recognize. Of course, the standard disclaimer applies: this is by no means an exhaustive list of super cool things that Wingnuts have been up to lately. There were some

jaw dropping

one-off items that didn't make the cut. This list is somewhat weighted towards the longer running projects that have demonstrate an enduring commitment from their creators and a steady communications clip so fellow fans stay engaged and know what's going on. For more variety, do check out our

year in review

. And now on to the nominees! (And don't forget to scroll to the bottom and vote!)

• Adm_Maverick's Papercraft Adventures started off with humble beginnings. We initially got to

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

During Star Trek Online’s 9th Anniversary event you will be able to obtain 9th Anniversary Prize Vouchers by participating in the event. These 9th Anniversary Prize Vouchers can be spent on an Event Reputation project to obtain the Tier 6 Vulcan T'Pau Scout Ship! This project requires 1000 9th Anniversary Prize Vouchers. 200 of these Prize Vouchers can be earned by completing the new episode “Para Pacem” for the first time, and an additional 200 can be earned by completing the new episode “Illusion of Communication” for the first time. Once this starship is obtained by any character on your account, all of the characters on your account will be able to claim the Vulcan T'Pau Scout Ship [T6] from the Account Claim tab within the Event Store (in the Event Reputation window). We are also excited to announce that this starship will be available January 23rd on PC, and Xbox One and

Quote from Star Citizen News-Bot

http://

Hello everyone,

Happy Monday! A few members of the CIG team spent their weekend exploring PAX South and attending the annual Bar Citizen event on the River Walk. We had an absolute blast, as usual, and want to thank everyone who came out and said hello.

Now, let’s see what’s going on this week:

Tuesday welcomes another detailed lore piece with Brothers in Arms Part 1, where we follow two brothers as they struggle to go legit by opening a private security outfit.

Thursday will welcome another episode of Around the Verse where we’ll take a look at the latest Star Citizen news.

Friday will see a Roadmap update and the RSI Newsletter delivered right to your inbox. Haven’t subscribed yet? Head to your Account Settings right away and never miss one of our newsletters again!

We’ve also got some fun activities planned for this weekend! First, we’ll be kicking off another commercial contest on

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Pix

and

Dennis Mull

have both recently found an interesting compilation by Empire Interactive. The set bundles together Wing Commander, Civilization, War in the Gulf and Frontier: Elite II all in one pack. Two of them are space sims, plus there's a tank sim and a classic turn-based 4X - not unlike hundreds of various '90s packs. However, this one is titled "Strategy 4 in one." In fact, the back of the box claims you can

"build an empire on earth or fly across the galaxy, you can do it all with this pack - 4 of the greatest strategy games of all time."

Now you know!

WING COMMANDER puts you in the middle of the most intense starship action you've ever experienced outside of a movie theatre. But in WING COMMANDER you're the star! "WING COMMANDER changed the way that other developers thought about designing games. This is more than ever an essential addition to any self-respecting PC gamer's

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

We’re making some changes to the character art in STO, which you might notice in our upcoming Mirror of Discovery update. We spoke with Robert Quinn, one of the FX Artists for STO, about the details of these changes. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do for STO My name is Robert and I am one of the FX artists on STO. However, I do a bit of technical art and shader work on the side. What are the changes we’ve made to player characters for this update? Our graphics team made a new shader for soft alpha that does not use Multi-sample anti-aliasing (MSAA). MSAA is very computationally expensive and it does not work on low-end PCs or consoles. This made the Hair in STO look bad on low-end PCs or consoles. I updated all of the hair in STO to use the new soft alpha without MSAA. The result of this is that all the hair will now look the same on all platforms and will have better

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Hello once again from the Tardigrade Adoption Agency! We hope you’ve all had an excellent time reading all about your Tardigrade’s adventures over the holidays. We had a wonderful time sharing them with you. But now, it’s time for our little space babies to grow up and go out into the world. And who better to guide them than you? That’s right. Starting with the launch of Mirror of Discovery on PC (and coming soon on Console), you’ll be able to purchase your very own Tardigrade pet from the Lobi Store in game. Each one of our five unique Tardigrades will be available as a non-combat pet for any of your Captains. They’re eager to get to know you. So who will you be adventuring with – Smarty, Skipper, Party, Arty, or the Lieutenant? .share-footer a { margin: 20px 10px 10px 0; background: url(d7afaaa14e96d0d973f76157ae31ec5b1466398539.png) no-repeat 0 0; opacity: .5; display:

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

st3lt3k found a fun LifeHacker article with Origin founder Richard Garriott on work habits. His video game development studio,

Portalarium

, is based in Austin, Texas, but his family currently lives in New York. Yet he maintains a daily presence in the office thanks to his

Beam

telepresence robot. Mr. Garriott's actually been using robots to get around for quite some time - he showed us an older model when we visited the studio almost a decade ago. He used to use an

Anybots

model. The interview also talks about some of the other stuff he's been up to lately, which is always a hoot. Check out the full article

here

.

Take us through a recent workday.

When I awake in NYC, I am an hour ahead of my Austin staff. This allows me to help get the kids off to school without a rush. I then log into my Beam and teleport to Austin from my home office desk in NYC. I then go about starting my dayâs work, while

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Second Officer’s Log, Supplemental My third night shift with the conn has been rather sedate thus far. Several members of the command staff are enjoying some off-duty entertainment in Holodeck Two; I believe it has something to do with a peculiar form of Terran mythology from the 20th century known as “super heroics.” The captain seemed amused by my tactical suggestions for the event, particularly regarding the inefficiency of capes in close combat situations. “All decks have reported in,” Ensign Chen said from the Operations station. “We’re ready to begin the system maintenance sweep at your command.” Second Officer Stoln nodded from the center chair while calling up a display to monitor the procedure. “Very well, Ensign. Begin the procedure, starting with deck 30.” The young Vulcan officer studied the holographic readout emitted from the command chair’s armrest and

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Happy New Year fellow Captains! On behalf of Star Trek Online, I am very proud to announce that our voyage has just reached its 9th Anniversary. Our continuing mission: to explore exciting new and familiar worlds, to create new stories and gameplay, to boldly go where no player has gone before. Welcome to the celebration! It’s been a wonderful journey. 2018 saw the acclaimed release of Star Trek Online’s 4th major expansion – Victory is Life! It was here Captains explored the Gamma Quadrant and encountered the Hur’q threat alongside our beloved DS9 characters, voiced by the original actors in the largest cast ever assembled for Star Trek Online. For the first time, players created Jem’Hadar Captains, battled heroically in one of our most ambitious Battlezones to date and walked the promenade on our faithfully recreated Deep Space Nine station. We are incredibly proud of

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Rule of Acquisition # 74: Knowledge equals profit. Any wise Captain knows that when a sale this good comes your way, it’s best to take advantage of it. We’re pleased to announce that Ferengi Merchants are putting a 15% sale on Keys from January 23rd at 8am PT to January 31st at 10am PT. Now is the best time for Captains to load up on your Keys and grab those ships you’ve been eyeing. Remember Captains, Rule of Acquisition # 22: A wise man can hear profit in the wind. Now is the time to act. For a limited time only starting today, players will be able to purchase the Key Ring Bundle! This special pack includes 20x Master Keys (used to open any Lock Box) for the price of 2250 Zen. As an additional special promotional offer when purchasing this bundle, every pack also includes a single Ultimate Tech Upgrade. Applying this item to any upgradeable piece of equipment will instantly set both its

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

New Features: 9th Annual Anniversary Celebration! Join Star Trek Online’s 9th Anniversary Celebration by visiting Q at Qo’Nos or Earth Space Dock. Earn rewards in the Omega Molecule Stabilization Game that will help you gain access to special crafting materials and Anniversary Prize Vouchers. 1000 Anniversary Prize Vouchers will earn the player a brand new T6 Starship: The Vulcan T’Pau Scout Ship as seen in Star Trek Discovery. Players can also earn 200 Anniversary Prize Vouchers on the first play of our 2 new episodes: “Para Pacem” and “Illusion of Communication” for a total of 400 Vouchers. For more information, please visit the Anniversary Events blog at: Celebrate our Ninth Anniversary! | Star Trek Online New Story Arc: Mirror of Discovery The new story arc “Mirror of Discovery” has been added to the missions list in the journal. Discover “Para

Quote from Star Citizen News-Bot

Writer’s Note: Brothers In Arms: Part One was published originally in Jump Point 3.5.

The heads-up display on Gavin Rhedd’s Cutlass dimmed at the edges. Green triangles representing the members of his security team distorted to form horizontal spikes of flickering static. He smacked the side of his helmet. It was a practiced move, and one that had snapped the HUD back into focus in the past. This time, the display flickered, faded and then died.

A heavy breath sent a thin veil of vapor climbing the visor of his helmet. Condensation obscured the view of black, empty space ahead.

Empty like the dead heads-up display.

Empty just like it had been for weeks.

There were brigands and marauders plaguing every planet in the ’verse and he couldn’t find one damned gang. Nothing was working out like he’d planned.

On the navsat, the other three members of Rhedd Alert Security fanned out to either side. His

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

A request for mined materials from the Omega Mining Corporation has concluded.

Independent pilots delivered large quantities of Indite, Gallite, Praseodymium and Cobalt which will be used to build an Orbis starport in the Stuemeae FG-Y d7561 system. The starport will serve as a centre for scientific research, gathering data on the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's centre.

Erimus Kamzel, the Distant Worlds project leader, commented:

"It is with great pride that we announce the successful conclusion to this resource-extraction initiative. The fleet will now continue its journey, and is scheduled to reach the galactic core in several weeks' time."

Contributors to the campaign can now collect their rewards from Omega Mining Operation in the Omega Sector VE-Q b5-15 system.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Professor Katrien Rook of Vitadyne Labs has launched an initiative to establish a new pharmaceutical production facility.

In a statement, Professor Rook said:

"Vitadyne Labs lacks the infrastructure to mass-produce nanomedicines, so we have invited two pharmaceutical companies to bid for a distribution licence. The company that puts forward the most convincing proposal will secure the contract."

The companies in question are Neomedical Industries, which supplies Alliance and independent systems, and the Vandermeer Corporation, which operates exclusively within Federal space. Both have requested advanced medicines, computer components and auto fabricators for the construction of nanomed manufacturing plants.

Deliveries for Neomedical Industries should be made to Alignak Jet Legal and Co at Piserchia Port in Alignak while shipments for the Vandermeer Corporation should be delivered to the

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The mysterious disappearance of actor Consuela Knight and the crew of her yacht has affected confidence in commercial space travel.

Independent newsfeed The Sovereign reported:

"Consuela Knight's empty ship pulling into port has caused unease in consumer markets. Rumours of abductions and disintegrations while in hyperspace have negatively impacted many businesses."

"Ship manufacturer Saud Kruger has said that sales of customised luxury yachts, such as Ms Knight's, have plummeted. Cruise bookings with Astrogator Tours are being cancelled, while commercial operators have reported a drop in passenger numbers."

"Plans are underway for a memorial service to honour Consuela Knight's career. But her real legacy is the fear that her fate could befall any interstellar traveller."

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The

Eternall Newbie

has made a quirky retrospective video about Wing Commander 1. The author goes through the game's setting and physical box contents and highlights what made it so great at the time. Aside from some wonky input controls issues, he says it still holds up pretty well!

Join me as I look back at the granddaddy of all space combat sims, the game that launched a genre, Wing Commander 1.

Quote from Star Citizen News-Bot

In this week’s update we look at controls in the new flight model, get sneak peeks of ArcCorp and its moons, and learn how to pronounce Gladius.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Kaeso Mordanticus, the captured leader of isolationist group Nova Imperium, has been brought before the Imperial Senate, with unexpected results.

Political journalist Cassia Carvalho was at the scene:

"Imperator Mordanticus was led into Senate House in shackles but still defiant. All rose as Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval entered, attended by Senator Denton Patreus. The Emperor and Patreus approached Mordanticus silently, whereupon Patreus executed the Imperator with his personal sidearm."

"Suddenly, the Imperial Guard opened fire, gunning down senators Pal Vespasian and Eloise Winterstone, and others who had supported the isolationist cause."

"Once the initial shock had subsided, the Emperor stood over the Imperator's body. In a clear voice she announced: 'There is no Nova Imperium. There is only the Empire.'"

"I have since heard reports of mass arrests and further public executions across

Quote from Mass Effect News-Bot

Even all these years later, one of BioWare‘s most beloved RPG series continues to be Mass Effect, the sci-fi exploration series filled to the brim with engaging story and wonderfully relatable characters. Though the series’ most recent entry is widely-regarded as a misstep, fans’ hopes continue to hold the line for an eventual follow-up from BioWare sometime in the future.

It appears that fans may actually get their wish according to a new piece of speculation. “Skullzi TV” over on YouTube has put forth a pretty intriguing video suggesting Electronic Arts has big plans for Mass Effect, specifically that original trilogy protagonist Commander Shepard may be coming back for another space-faring adventure.

Seen above, the main source of the video is a newly-discovered trademark issued by EA, an unannounced project called “Project Apex.” It’s argued that the significance of the word “Apex” in Mass

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Iceblade

is looking at setting up a new dynamic WC RPG and is now polling for interest. He's got extensive experience in past role playing games including both

MUSH

and

Forums

based adventures. This time, he's looking at using Discord, which has surged in popularity these past few years (the CIC's

#Wingnut

chat room is also on Discord!), so he's keeping up with the times. If you have questions or would like to let him know you're game, stop by the

CIC Forums

.

I am looking into setting up a Discord-based text roleplaying game with a mixture of scheduled events and free-form roleplaying by players. The game would be wiki-supported for information and logs.

Set in Gemini Sector, players will primarily play pilots onboard a carrier caught behind the enemy lines of a massive Kilrathi offensive throughout the sector. The carrier must push back to the front lines, gathering and rescuing surviving vessels