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07
May
The Secret Ops
Model Upgrade Packhas a new Nephilim transport. Thanks to some graphical magic by Dark Sentinel and DefianceIndustries, the Triton goes from being an ugly gray
tubeto an exotic alien worm. It looks like a lot of fun to blow up!
Here's the explodey version!
Update time true believers! Today we are showcasing another great Nephilim ship brought to you by Dark Sentinel. The Triton (aka Leatherback) transport. Essentially a giant cigar case with guns, DS has done a great job making it look more like the original concept art, good and buggy! He's also bringing spines back. That's right spines! This ship is loaded with them! If you don't like spines, go home! Also I got the fun part of blowing it up, and so can you! Look for this and other exciting Nephilim additions in the next patch - Coming soon!
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07
May
To beat Kurasawa 2, you just have to believe...
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07
May
But let's just say he could hypothetically cruise at a cool 500 kilometers per second...
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07
May
Avid Wing Commander collector
Christian Kleinhas found another rare artifact. He managed to locate a British copy of the game on 5.25" low density disks that may be an earlier release than the mass produced copy most of us are familiar with. In it, Hunter is named "Dart," which we know was an original placeholder name for the character. The first screenshot below shows this, and the second is from the British 3.5" high density disk release. LOAF points out that the name change came late in development, and both Hunter and Maniac actually have "Dart" and "Joker" nameplates on their helmets in all versions of the final game!
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07
May
Welcome to the Vega Sector! Here's the original
star mapsketch that became a page of Wing Commander's Claw Marks manual. The map was redone for several ports and even included as a poster in the FM Towns release (the blue one). The only problem: it's supposed to be to scale but the distances change in each version! Note that "Hell's Kitchen" becomes "Apocalypse" in the SNES version because Nintendo.
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07
May
…This is the last in a series of interesting video features published in the mid '90s by the CD-ROM "magazine" Interactive Entertainment. Their Wing Commander 4 review appeared in issue 23. The CD-ROM interface displayed screenshots from the game and overlaid them with low resolution videos. That experience has been recreated here rather than displaying the videos full screen. Again, while it looks pretty dated today, the setup was really cool for the time. The vast majority of internet access out there was still dialup, so this was the only practical way to experience something like this!
Text article that accompanied the video review on the CD:
The Commander Returns to Battle
A rogue band of pilots from the border worlds descends upon an innocent civilian transport and its escorts and destroy them by unleashing a mysterious device. Cut to our hero, Christopher Blair, once again played by the
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07
May
That was a great scene
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07
May
…Several years ago we
reported ona video that just contained the previews attached to the front of Wing Commander on VHS. It was an oddity at the time, but apparently there's a market for everything. Fast forward to 2018 and that clip has nearly 15,000 views on YouTube. His similar segment for
Toy Storyhas more than 700,000 views and here's a
Lion King IIversion that's pushing a million. So apparently this is a real thing. As such, a competing YouTuber with a similar idea has just posted the WC VHS previews again. This time it's a shaky cam recording of a CRT television that blurs in and out of focus. This is even worse than the earlier version, so there's no need to watch it, but I'm just amazed it exists. Maybe check out the swanky flair involved as he slides the case into view right at the beginning. That's art. He has 1300 subscribers and 1.6 million total views, so while still an up and
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07
May
The prince doesn't like to be mocked
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07
May
…It's Friday, so listening to some grumpy gripes seems like a fitting end to a rough week.
Gray GhostsOld Grizzled Gamershas written a quasi-review of Wing Commander 3, and as you might expect, they have some strong thoughts about it. The author is actually harkening back to the 3DO version of WC3, which has some
exciting differencescompared to the PC and Playstation editions. He starts off making fun of all the repetitive transitions, and while most of us quickly turned these off, I don't actually recall off the top of my head if this option was readily available on consoles. Of course, even those transitions were jaw-dropping back in 1994. Despite a few other aspects that haven't aged particularly gracefully, it's clear that they have a soft spot for the game and all its everlasting charm. Check out the full article
here.
The space combat is what made the game engaging, but it isn’t what made the
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07
May
…Michael Dürr makes very cool science fiction and fantasy sculptures, and his latest design is a Wing Commander classic. He's crafted the Exeter destroyer in pewter and then painted it with acrylics. There's a lot of wonderful detail here in everything from the hull plating and gun turrets to the windows and lights. There's even a starry black stand. It would fit right in to any collection alongside some of the higher end 3D prints that people have had made. Fans in the EU can actually make this happen and order a kit for themselves from his website
here. Even if you're not located in the EU, check out his site for some of his other awesome designs!
This is my take on a model of a Exeter-Class-Destroyer. I sculpted it from green-stuff and casted it from pewter. It is made in the scale 1:5000 giving the model a length of 7,2 cm. The model consists of eleven parts. Once assambled I coloured it with
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07
May
…We’re adding two brand new items to the Gamma Vanguard Pack, which launches with Victory is Life in June on PC! Preorder the pack now, and you will also receive the T5 Cardassian Galor Cruiser, and the T6 Jem’Hadar Vanguard Carrier! And the best news is, the price of the pack hasn’t changed at all, and anyone who already preordered will also receive these items. Check out the details: T5 Cardassian Galor Cruiser During The Dominion War, a small surplus of Galor-class starships were given to the Federation and Klingon Empire to aid in the defeat of the Jem’Hadar. This ship was once only available in the Cardassian Lock Box but is now included in this pack for every character on an account. This ship comes with a free upgrade to T5-U when owned by a Level 50+ character. T6 Jem'Hadar Vanguard Carrier This enormous vessel supports the Vanguard Fleet by acting as a mobile assault base for
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07
May
…The Mirror Invasion will be returning to Star Trek Online as part of a limited time event starting on May 10th at 8am PT and ending on May 31st at 10am PT.This event map will only be playable during this three week event timeframe. Once a day, players will be awarded a Multidimensional Transporter for playing this event. By turning in 14 Transporters through a new project available in the Event Reputation System, players can receive 50,000 Dilithium Ore, 500 Fleet Marks, 250 Marks of their choice, and a brand new unique weapon – the Agony Phaser Energy Torpedo Launcher! Based on the well-known weaponry typically fired in the form of directed energy weapons, this projectile is specially equipped to encase itself in the harmful power of agony rays, afflicting the crews and subsystems of enemy starships with a deadly overload of painful power. Upon hitting a foe, this torpedo has a chance to disable
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07
May
…The Gamma Task Force represents a coalition of forces formed to curb new threats pouring out of the Gamma Quadrant. The combination of top scientific organizations and military forces around the galaxy, this Task Force exists to ensure that the galaxy will survive these new threats intact and together. This new reputation will be available with Victory is Life’s release and will feature all new traits, kit modules, space equipment sets and a ground equipment set, as well as new ground armor and space visuals. Progression Submitting Gamma Marks will increase your standing with the Gamma Task Force. These can be earned by participating in “Swarm”, a brand-new queue, as well as participating in the Gamma Quadrant Sector Battlezone. These sources of marks have scaling rewards, increasing the number of Gamma Marks received by performing above expectations or completing bonus objectives. Germanium
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04
May
…On Stardate 95935.68, the Star Trek Online Away Team returned from its mission to establish first contact with players and Star Trek fans at Destination Star Trek Germany in Dortmund, Germany. It was an amazing weekend and the entire crew is glad that they got the chance to meet all of you. We had three panels during the event, showing off Star Trek Online to newcomers, and revealing more details of our upcoming expansion, Victory is Life. Thanks to Aron Eisenberg, and Robert Duncan McNeil, who joined us on Friday, and Chase Masterson, who joined us on Sunday, to speak about the work they’ve done on Victory is Life. You guys made our panels a heck of a good time for everyone involved. During the weekend we challenged players to compete in the Hodos System Shuttle Race, in the Delta Quadrant. Little did we know what talent we were going to meet during the convention. While Tom Paris challenges
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03
May
…We are excited to announce the return of the Phoenix Prize Pack, which return to Star Trek Online on PC from May 3rd at 8AM PT til May 10th at 10am PT. Just like Zefram Cochrane’s experimental vessel, the Phoenix Prize Pack blazes a trail into new frontiers! And, following in the model of its mythological namesake, the Phoenix Prize Pack also represents the return from the ashes of items, ships and other rewards that have been retired from Star Trek Online, and are no longer accessible by any other means. Purchasing and opening this promotional prize pack will offer players the unique opportunity of obtaining many otherwise inaccessible items, ships and equipment, which were previously available from events or promotions, or as other limited-availability rewards. (Check further below for complete prize information!) How it works is simple: Players may visit the Dilithium Store to purchase a Phoenix
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03
May
…From May 3rd at 8am PT to May 7th at 10am PT, we are having a 20% ship sale. Enjoy not just a discount on our ships, but fleet modules, dry dock slots and ship upgrade tokens as well! Have you been eyeing a new ship or ship bundle in the C-store? Now is the time to grab the ship you've always dreamt of commanding! All ships and dry dock slots in the C-Store are 20% off. This includes bundles which are comprised only of ships. This does not include bundles that have items other than ships in them. The ship upgrade token, ship upgrade token bundle, and the fleet module are all 20% off as well. Each time a player buys a Tier 5 ship, they will receive a free ship upgrade token. This only occurs when the Tier 5 ship is bought for the first time on an account. The Claim for this token will appear in the Promotions tab of the C-Store. When the player clicks claim, they will receive a
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03
May
…Greetings, Captains. We’re making a change to how subscriptions work in Star Trek Online. The Lifetime Subscription will still be available and unchanged, but we’re shifting away from monthly subscriptions. As of right now, those subscriptions will not longer be available on our website. Instead, we’re replacing them with a brand new purchasable pack, The Elite Starter Pack. When you purchase the Elite Starter Pack, the following will unlock for your whole account: One new Character Slot 20 Shared Bank Slots 5 Captain Retrain Tokens An Increase on your Energy Credit Cap to 2 billion Energy Credits Once the initial product is purchased, a new product will appear called Elite Starter Pack Reclaim. This can be claimed once per character and unlocks: 30 Inventory Slots 60 Bank Slots 2 Bridge Officer Slots This pack is available right now in the C-store for 1500 zen. What happens
