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Form up, Wing Commander fans! Tonight we're taking a look at some spaceships that never were: the ones that were being built for Privateer 3 when it was cancelled in 1998. Thanks to years of game archaeology, we know quite a bit about them!

The CRUSADER (sometimes called FURY) was shaping up to be the big hero ship, equivalent to the Centurion:

Here's a shot of the Crusader in the game engine (a development of Prophecy's Vision technology):

The Crusader is actually 'canon' since EA reused its artwork for a recruiting ad in Star*Soldier. The concept artist, Ruben Garza, also submitted it to an art book called Spectrum 6 where it was printed as "Privateer--Black Star". (Available on Amazon!)

I should also mention the origin of the name! Privateer 3 was being developed by Origin's Loose Cannon team which had previously develoed the Crusader series of games.

Next up we have the VAKTOTH which is slotted here as

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Welcome to the CIC's 23rd Birthday Party! When we opened our doors here at WCNews.com in August 1998, we never imagined we'd still be here now. The pandemic still looms and did directly affect a few items we had planned. This has not been the year of recovery that we'd envisioned, but I'm happy that we managed to still pull together a few fun things to share. Like you all, we're still making the best of it and having a blast hanging out (digitally, per social distancing guidelines) with friends. If you're not already there, stop by Wingnut and join the party!

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To the Wing Commander Combat Information Center's 23rd birthday celebration! TONIGHT at 7:00 PM Eastern US (4:00 PM Pacific and 11:00 PM GMT) in #Wingnut on Discord!

Featuring...

• Lots of ships that don't exist!
• Some ships that sort of exist!
• Real-life never before seen giveaways!
• The latest and greatest hardware!
• Making the most of our second year in self isolation!
• Trivia - from Ayer's Rock to Zarmaks!
• Cake... and more!

So point your browser to Discord, channel #WingNut! You can stop by any time to join the fun!

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Just in time for our big celebration this Saturday, GOG.com has kicked off a new games festival that includes discounts on the entire Wing Commander series! At $1.49 per game, it's under $12 for the entire DOS and Windows lineup! That's 75% off their already decent pricing structure for the series. This extends to the Ultima titles, and don't forget that Underworld 1+2 and the Syndicate games are also free.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Independent journalist Flint 'Firemaker' Lafosse has announced that the Rewired network will broadcast Kit Fowler's conspiracy-laden show End Times.
Lafosse, notorious for his own sensationalist claims, announced:
"Finally, someone else who sees things as they really are! Kit Fowler's perceptive views match his technical genius. By retransmitting his End Times broadcasts, I'll be helping people resist the narrative conditioning being pumped into our minds by the faceless elite."
Kit Fowler provides specialised engineering services from his workshop in the Capoya system. He has used his show to make many outlandish claims over the years. These include labelling the shadowy figure 'Salvation' an AI construct, accusing Utopia of secretly creating a new species of human, and arguing that the universe's true shape is being concealed by superpower-sponsored holograms.
Lafosse advertised Fowler's

Patch 1.3 contains numerous fixes, game engine improvement and few small DLCs.

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Today we've got a spot-on Lego Minifig by JR. There guys are so much more detailed and varied than I remember from the '80s and '90s, so you can really get some accurate depictions of well known characters going. He's even got the oversized Confed C-244 handgun. It's a pretty great approximation given the options available!

I've seen some older posts on how to put together a Lego Rapier or other fighters from the Wing Commander series. But I don't think you've seen this before. It's simply a Lego pilot I made to resemble the pilots from the film. Body is from one of the two versions of the Lego Star Wars Skyhopper Pilot, and helmet is from the Lego Star Wars female Sandspeeder Pilot.

It's not an exact match but it's the closest outfit I could find from legit Lego products.

Jeff

This one's certainly up there with some of the best minifigs we've seen over the years!

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Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
Torval-Mastopolos Mining and Wreaken Construction have requested deliveries of mined resources to the LTT 198 system.
LTT 198 State Ltd, its controlling faction, will only allow one of the rival corporations to remain permanently. The company with the most successful campaign will establish a new starport in the permit-controlled system.
Senator Zemina Torval, who has sole control of the Mastopolos Mining subsidiary, announced:
"My company is working on an experimental mining laser with increased range. To achieve this, shipments of mined resources must be delivered in sufficient numbers to the Pride of Bitterwood megaship in LTT 198."
Emmerich Koenig, CEO of Wreaken Construction, outlined a counter-initiative:
"We will pay handsomely for deliveries of mined resources to the megaship Tobias's Gift in the LTT 198 system."
Both factions have requested units of coltan,

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
The conflict in the Hyades Sector RO-P b6-2 system has been won by the Exiled Marlinist Assembly of Baltah'Sine.
Support from independent pilots played a key role in defeating the Marlinism Reformation Party. The faction's entire leadership has been arrested, with their replacements vowing to reshape it along politically moderate lines.
Minister Octavia Volkov made a declaration of victory to the Marlinist Parliament:
"The Neo-Marlinists have been crushed and Aaron Whyte is dead – a casualty of the war his terrorist paymasters began. I deeply regret that our society has suffered this, but have no regrets at destroying the NMLA's political wing once and for all."
Prime Consul Kayode Tau sent assurances to the Alliance, Empire and Federation that they should view this as "confirmation that the Marlinist Colonies are your steadfast allies in the fight against the NMLA".

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I heard something about boosters being needed soon. We've got your boosters right here! #CombatInformationCenterforDiseaseControl

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The Taliban have unfortunately been all over the news this past week, and it's our duty to bring you the Wing Commander angle on all topics. Today's connection links to the G'wriss System in Wing Commander Prophecy. As the crew of the TCS Midway escapes from their initial encounters with the Nephilim in the H'rekkah System, they escape to G'wriss and find themselves low on supplies. The solution is to rendezvous with a Confed convoy en route to "the Taliban colony." Of course, the line carried no significance when it was first written back in '96/'97, but it seemed increasingly anachronistic when they were overthrown in the early 2000s. And now? Maybe not so much.

That's not where the story ends, though! When Prophecy was ported to the Gameboy Advance by Daylight back in 2003, the line really stood out! "Taliban" was replaced by "Eielitian" at the time.

LOAF: There’s a throwaway line in Wing

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Aegis board of inquiry's initial findings have been leaked to journalists, with several problems within the anti-xeno organisation detailed in the files.
Vox Galactica journalist Alexei Keel reported on its contents:
"The independent inquiry into Aegis is in its early stages, making this disclosure of delicate information all the more embarrassing. Although only a summary, it highlights shortcomings that were immediately apparent to the investigators."
"The leaked files outline a pattern of poor internal organisation and negligence. One claim is that Aegis accepted its heavy reliance on independent pilots entering combat situations against the Thargoids."
"A lack of technological breakthroughs since the first generation of AX weaponry is also criticised. Professor Tesreau, who has since resigned, is singled out for prioritising communication with the Thargoids rather than developing

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

LOAF stumbled across an interesting album cover here. It's the 1978 Voyage (A Journey Into Discoid Funk) by Brian Bennett and it features a pretty stellar - and familiar - space ship. Something about the six nacelles, narrow central neck and orange/red/silver color scheme makes me think Prince Thrakhath would have found this to be a perfectly adequate flagship in the 2660s.

I can’t speak to the music but this is an EXTREMELY handsome spaceship.

Here's a handful of other Rigakh sightings to compare: from WC2, Last Line of Defense, Klavs' Models and Standoff.

Oh, and what did A Discoid Funk sound like? Here's a sample! I could totally imagine this playing in the Concordia rec room.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Torval-Mastopolos Mining and Wreaken Construction have both established a presence in the LTT 198 system.
Marlon Royce, business analyst for Vox Galactica, reviewed the situation:
"It is highly unusual for two megacorps to set up new headquarters in the same place. But Mastopolos Mining and Wreaken Construction have always competed aggressively for mining and transportation contracts, so it seems a new chapter in their rivalry has begun."
"This permit-locked system is controlled by the independent faction LTT 198 State Ltd. Insiders claim that it demanded a fortune from both corporations in return for granting passage to its ships and allowing construction of industrial complexes on the planet Dini."
"This is the first significant move from Senator Zemina Torval's new company, an autonomous offshoot of Mastopolos Mining. It may be that Wreaken Construction's presence is an effort to crush

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We didn't give folks a lot of lead time this year, so this is another reminder that the 23rd CIC Birthday Party will be held next weekend! Plans are starting to come together, and I'm really looking forward to our big annual gathering. We'll have a few cool Wing Commander things to share, and it'll be wonderful to catch up with everyone after yet another challenging year in the world. Discord #Wingnut is the place. Formal festivities kick off Saturday evening at 7:00 pm EDT (4:00 pm PDT and 11:00 pm GMT), but we expect things will be happening all day. The channel is a bustling place - stop by any time and join the fun!

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The Gemini Sector RPG has had a fun summer adventuring through the Nitir Sector. We've previously highlighted their exciting space battles and ground combat. Rear Admiral Tarsus has done an excellent job spicing things up with things like ship animations and mission briefings to add a visual component to the RPG action. Check a few of them out below! You can find out more and join the fun at their website or Discord too.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here's a fun drawing that includes a little Wing Commander treat. A Brazilian magazine published this collage of characters from a wide range of famous '90s-'00s video game series. Admiral Tolwyn is poking through in the bottom right. It comes from the Brazilian comic Monica's Gang by cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa. LOAF did some digging and zeroed in on its exact origin dating to a July 2012 "Cinema Classics" spinoff issue. That's a pretty fantastic reference, because even at that point WC4 was a 16 year old game. Thanks to Romy for highlighting this!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The introduction of onionhead gamma strain by the Kumo Crew has reignited long-running arguments around the popular psychedelic drug.
An interview with Zander Lachance, spokesperson for the Coalition for Legalisation, was published by Vox Galactica:
"I have yet to see evidence that onionhead is more harmful than common recreational substances. Open-minded people in independent systems are now discovering this for themselves."
In response, other newsfeeds featured a range of opinions.
Eye on Achenar: "Foppish rogues of the Federation such as Zachary Rackham and Sir Randolph Plaskett may feel comfortable wooing trade tycoons with the outlawed weed, but legalising low-cost onionhead would risk the whole Empire collapsing into a stupor!"
The Pegasi Sentinel: "The popularity of 'helix' is steadily growing, and the revenue it generates will undoubtedly benefit those fortunate to live within Archon

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Coffeehound RetroSharka has a new mag scan today that highlights an interesting piece of Amiga history. Rather than just a review of Wing Commander, the magazine Amiga Power reviewed a compilation called 'Space Legends' in August 1993. This includes Wing Commander, Megatraveller 1 and Elite Plus. It's a pretty hilarious review because the author is just not a fan of any of these games and never was. Maybe he wasn't the best choice to put on this assignment - even his editor appeared incredulous. Despite high marks for each when they were reviewed individually, these three legends of space eeked out a 79% combined. At least it makes for some amusing reading today!

The AmigaMini has been announced, so that feels like a fine time to sneak in some more Amiga themed #GameMagNibbles.

Wot, only 79% for one of the best compilations on Amiga? A scandal! This compi was my gateway to classic Elite, Wing

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Today we're sharing a fairly rare budget release of Wing Commander. LOAF picked this one up a while back and we're finally getting around to sharing it with you! Most of the WC series was repackaged into numerous rereleases, compilations and bundles, but it's not that often that we come across new and unknown variants - especially in English-speaking regions. This one appears to be from a small 1993 run in the US cross-published by GT Interactive. It comes in a smaller box with a different form factor than most. While it's outwardly quite similar to the original WC1 design, the back features several differences such as more round corners on the screenshots and the removal of several lower images. Speaking as someone who owns at least 15 or so variations of WC1, you can never have too many!

Here’s a eBay mystery! This copy of Wing Commander I came in a smaller, single piece box... a budget edition