News categories list

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Many factions have seceded from the Federation in recent months, but recent polls suggest the likelihood of further withdrawals is waning.
The Federal Times published an update on the situation by political correspondent Sofia Trevino:
"Some negative reaction to the Proactive Detection Bureau was anticipated. But it's unlikely that Congress foresaw nearly forty systems abandoning the Federal Accord, as their governing factions declared independence."
"Fears that this would spiral into mass rebellion now seem misplaced, however. This is partly thanks to the PDB's recent role in preventing Jupiter's Wrath from committing terrorist acts. Although that group is hardly in the NMLA's league, evidence that communications surveillance can save lives seems to have convinced some Federal citizens to reconsider their opposition."
"President Hudson's efforts against the breakaway factions were hailed by

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The Washington Post (or more specifically, their Launcher video game section) has run an article about video game franchises they'd want raised from the dead. Wing Commander gets top billing as their first series on the list, which is always great to see! Since this is Halloween-themed, each game also gets a small piece of zombie artwork. In WC's case, there's a disembodied hand on a joystick with a familiar reticle superimposed on top. You can check out the full article here.

Wing Commander

We all know Mark Hamill once saved the universe while waving a lightsaber in a galaxy far, far away. But did you know he also saved Earth by dropping a tectonic bomb on the war-hungry planet of Kilrah? Then he followed up those heroics by staving off a civil war through exposing the plans of a warmongering admiral played by Malcolm McDowell, whose character’s motivations preceded those of Call of Duty’s

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

There's been a lot of discussion on the various Wing Commander forums and Discord chat rooms about tabletop games recently, so today we'd like to share the first glimpse at some of the exciting progress that's been made in this area over the last month. DefianceIndustries is working on a digital recreation of the popular Tactical Operations fan game. It was a big hit about ten years ago, so a new iteration would be very welcome. The early work on this looks like a ton of fun, and we're eager to see how things come together! Check out some gorgeous sample shots below:

I figured I'd catch folks up on all the WC stuff I've been doing. Aside from working on the WC4 remake which is still plugging along, I recently started doing a version of the fan hex-game Wing Commander TacOps using table top simulator.

I'm making custom figurines and tiles, as well as fighter punch cards to help keep your stats

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Empire has officially proclaimed Hadrian Augustus Duval and his wife Lady Astrid Minerva-Duval to be wards of the Senate.
The offer of senatorial protection was made following an NMLA attempt to assassinate them and their unborn child by bombing Dyson City starport.
Prior to being transported from the Paresa system to a secure location, Hadrian Duval sent this message:
"Lady Astrid and I accepted this offer with enormous reluctance. Neither of us wish to abandon our home or loyal followers. Yet we feel it is a matter of duty to protect our family and ensure future generations of the Duval bloodline."
"Nova Imperium will henceforth be known as Nova Paresa. It will continue to serve as a staunch ally of the Empire, as per the Treaty of Paresa. To all those who fought for our cause over the years, I assure you that history will never forget us. Memento Mordanticus!"
There has been public

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Scriveners Clan's legal ownership of their dredger has been supported by the civil rights organisation Advocacy.
The ancient Dredger-class bulk cruiser, currently located in the Oochost PC-C c29-0 system, is inhabited by a nomadic tribe descended from the vessel's original crew. Orion University claims that the cruiser is its commercial property, but has failed to make contact with its occupants.
Rhiannon Grady, director of Advocacy, explained:
"For centuries, there has been widespread legislation to protect remote communities from cultural contamination. These laws apply to micro-societies, such as those found aboard generation ships, that evolved in isolation."
"Therefore, Orion University should not presume to deprive over ten thousand people of the only home they have ever known. Unlike cases such as the Golconda, which requested emergency assistance, in this case we are legally and

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Spooky season is here which means it’s once again time to unleash the scariest spaceship of all time… Privateer 2’s Jincilla Skull!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

A collector in Spain has listed a Wing Commander Movie flight suit on eBay. A good number of these made it out via the various prop channels in the early 2000s, but you don't see very many for sale these days. This makes it a rare chance to grab one for yourself, but the price is steep at some $2100 USD equivalent. Adjusted for inflation, they used to go for about half that. You can try to make a lower offer, however.

Since most people reading this won't get a chance to see one up close, we can at least share the pics. The seller did a nice job photographing some of the detail. It's probably too late for this year, but this could make a fantastic costume for next Halloween. Let us know if you pick it up!

>

Original Flight Suit, production used from the movie Wing Commander (1999)

Good condition. Uniform a bit worn and darkened in some areas as requested for the production of the movie.

Size
Top.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

I noticed today that no one ever bothered to measure the Wing Commander Armada afterburner speeds… ten short flights later, here they are! (Values in KPS)

Arrow	500	795	2090
Phantom	475	695	1790
Wraith	450	595	1590
Gladius	500	750	1690
Banshee	350	395	995
Dralthi	500	745	1990
Shok'lar	500	695	1890
Jrathek	450	595	1590
Kor-larh	500	695	1590
Goran	350	375	995

Does the Armada Arrow’s 2090 KPS top speed still make it the hottest ride in the Wing Commander universe? No, it dropped to third in 1997 because of the Squid’s travel mode (2400) and the Wasp’s booster mode (3000).

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

AD came across a sketchy but tantalizing Twitter rumor this week. We would normally just skip over it, but a few factors gave us pause, so let's talk about it.

Video game podcaster and streamer KMEGA 405 posted an image of original Xbox and 360 titles that were supposedly in the queue for future backwards compatibility support. People were quick to point out that there are some suspect titles on the list, such as games with complex licensing arrangements, but Wing Commander Arena jumps out near the top of the list. That alone is very unusual. Most of the games on the list are fairly popular, so Arena stands out as a relatively unknown. Not to mention: Microsoft stopped adding games to the backwards compatibility catalogue in back in June 2019. And without any further evidence, that's where we would have left it.

If the rumors are true about BC is making a return to Xbox then here is a list of

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Vox Galactica's culture correspondent Lishan Abara looks at the Colonia region, the largest enclave of humanity outside the core systems:
"Colonia. A place that few ever see, which exists following a computer malfunction. The famed Jaques Station suffered a mis-jump on its scheduled journey to Beagle Point, relocating some 22,000 light years from Sol. The subsequent rescue effort led to the establishment of the first permanent base in what is now considered a new frontier for humanity."
"Over the last five years, courageous explorers have struck out to inhabit several dozen local systems. This, in turn, invited a steady stream of colonists seeking a fresh start. Nearly 13 million souls now count this remote area as their home."
"This is a place beyond the influence of the superpowers and mega-corporations, and most residents prefer it that way. The Colonia Council works hard to maintain order,

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
Thirty megaships have been placed between the core systems and the Colonia region to serve as stationary ports.
Twenty-five dockable megaships were sent out from the Alcor system toward Colonia, taking position in systems approximately 400 to 500 light years apart. Five further megaships have been established from the direction of the Colonia system.
Each vessel serves as a permanent way station for travellers and businesses, designed to improve the journey to and from Colonia. A variety of services are provided, including tritium refuelling for Drake-class fleet carriers.
The Colonia Bridge is the product of Brewer Corporation, which ran a highly successful deliveries campaign to collect resources. The megacorp has confirmed that phase two of this project will commence next week.
During the creation of the Colonia Bridge, the crew aboard the stationary megaship

Quote from Mass Effect News-Bot

Though the Toy Stoy series reached its finale in 2019’s Toy Story 4, the Disney Pixar saga is now preparing to launch “to infinity and beyond” with a unique spin-off film by the name of Lightyear. Reimagining the toy character of Buzz Lightyear as if he were an actual intergalactic space ranger, the project has been shrouded in mystery since it was first announced. However, the first look at Pixar’s Lightyear was recently revealed in a particularly familiar new trailer.

As seen above, in contrast to the toy’s amusing “falling with style” demeanor, the flesh and blood Buzz Lightyear appears to be much more capable as he pilots a faster-than-light spacecraft, ventures into interstellar worlds, and forms bonds with his fellow members of Star Command. Of course, these particular set of skills are more than enough to draw comparisons to the Mass Effect games, which follows the very similar exploits of

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Reaperman4711 has posted a video of him playing Wing Commander 3 on "period hardware." To me, that sounds positively ancient and even older than "vintage hardware." With that being said, there's a certain nostalgic joy to watching the game running on a nearly thirty year old beige box. On one hand, it's mind blowing how easy it is in 2021 to do a one-click GOG Galaxy install on your M1 Mac and launch the game with no effort. That frictionless experience is critical for bringing new blood into the Wing Commander community today. But there's a sense of accomplishment that goes along with getting your sound card IRQ settings set and firing up the game from a DOS prompt. And watching someone else who's done that work is the next best thing - enjoy!

Here is Wing Commander 3 gameplay, from an old MSDOS computer. There are some "immersive" ship-wandering cutscene conversations, followed by two early

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
Vital materials have been delivered to the EGM 559 system to sustain Senator Zemina Torval's new corporation.
The megaship Pride of Bitterwood received multiple shipments of geological equipment, microbial furnaces and mineral extractors. These will be transferred to Torval Orbital in the LTT 198 system, supplying the starport acting as the primary base of operations for Torval's new venture.
Operations director Constantia Torval announced the campaign's conclusion:
"All of us here at Torval Mining Ltd are pleased with the contributions. These supplies will ensure that we meet our first year's targets and continue providing high-quality services to our customers in the Empire."
Torval Mining Ltd was originally a subsidiary of Mastopolos Mining, but became autonomous following a rift between Zemina Torval and her cousins in the Mastopolos family. The two corporations

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
Several inhabited systems in the Pleiades and Witch Head Nebulas have come under attack by large numbers of Thargoid ships.
An emergency has been declared by the authorities in multiple systems including Asterope, Shenve and Onoros. Thargoid vessels have again targeted starports, with casualties estimated in the many thousands.
Increased Thargoid activity has also been reported in the California and Coalsack Nebulas. Independent pilots and anti-xeno squadrons are moving to defend the invaded systems and evacuate survivors from damaged starports.
Aegis is not currently able to assist, as the operational shutdown enforced by the public inquiry has led to many ships and pilots being withdrawn from service. Admiral Aden Tanner, chief military liaison to Aegis, commented:
"Many of us in Aegis are frustrated that the Baumann Report has tied our hands. I am also convinced

Quote from No Man

Hello everyone,

Thank you to everyone playing the Frontiers Update, especially those taking the time to report any issues they encounter via Zendesk or console crash reporting.

We are listening closely to your feedback, and have identified and resolved a number of issues. These fixes are included in patch 3.71, which will be live on all platforms soon.

Bug fixes

• Fixed a number of rare instances where settlement buildings were not properly constructed.
• Fixed a rare issue where a construction terminal would not be placed on a settlement building site.
• Fixed an issue that could cause grass to spawn within settlement buildings.
• Fixed an issue that could allow players to edit terrain within settlements in rare circumstances.
• Fixed an issue that could cause settlements not to align correctly with the terrain (for example, after the terrain had been edited).

• Fixed a number of base parts that were incorrectly set as able to

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Today we have a very sleek Heretic model built by AdamKop. As you can see from the comparison shots beneath, the design stays close to the in-game model. It's a little bit less weathered than most versions we encounter, which comes across as nice and clean. The motion blur and engine effects are also a nice bonus!

From left to right: the in-game model, the front box cover and a 1995 promo shot.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Justice has kicked off a live-streaming playthrough of Wing Commander Standoff. Standoff is a spectacular fan mod based on the Secret Ops engine. It takes place during the events of the Fleet Action novel, which were exciting times ripe for further exploration. The game was largely released in the 2004-2009 timeframe across five main chapters. While it was one of the most popular mods at the time, there's probably a lot of people these days that either missed it or just weren't into fan games back then. The two videos below get about halfway through the story, which is pretty good progress. Now's your chance to get a taste of what you might have missed!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Marlinist Colonies have offered to provide help for political refugees who sought sanctuary in Alliance space.
In 3306, the Empire's security forces began arresting followers of Marlinism, suspecting them of being linked to the NMLA. Many pro-republican Imperial citizens fled to the Federation, but some set course for the Alliance instead.
The situation has been highlighted by Prime Consul Kayode Tau of the Marlinist Consulate:
"Having made a desperate journey for survival, over a million Marlinists are now dispersed across Alliance territory. Most are clustered in small groups, lacking basic supplies and facing extreme deprivation. Some Alliance systems have offered citizenship, but others are attempting to expel them as illegal immigrants."
"The Empire wishes to repatriate these people, which means harsh interrogation for some and lifelong persecution for others. I hope to negotiate with

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

This weekend was the big Dune premiere on HBO and in North American theaters, and it's been a hot topic on the Wing Commander Discord. Naturally, LOAF took a moment to run down all of the Dune reference and connections sprinkled throughout Wing Commander. Once you get sand in your Wing Commander, can you ever get it all out?

Someone had to do it and let’s face it, it was always going to be me. Here are some (very minor) nods to Dune in Wing Commander!

Privateer let’s you send ‘joke’ one-liner comms to bases. You can tell New Constantinople that “my name is a killing word”, a quote from the David Lynch Dune film.

Wing Commander IV has a scene where Maniac compares the sensor blackout at Peleus to “groping around like some pathetic sandworm on Isis VII!”

Wing Commander Arena’s Star*Soldier manual has a casual mention that the Rigel system has “massive sandworms and powerful dust storms.”

One of the three