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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

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

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

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

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

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
New Kuwembaa Labour has successfully seceded from the Federation and inspired other systems to declare independence.
The conflict in the Kuwembaa system ended with Federal loyalists Li Chotep for Equality being defeated. As a result, all systems controlled by New Kuwembaa Labour will remain independent.
This has inspired Selkana Labour, United HIP 108095 Values Party and Mutumu Future to also sever ties with the Federation, spreading the rebellion across a further 28 systems.
The victory was announced by Governor Sonal Mishra, the leader of New Kuwembaa Labour:
"We owe a huge debt to all pilots who helped us secure our freedom. It is regrettable that we were forced to secede, but this should be a warning to President Hudson that he is taking the Federation down a dangerous path."
The rebelling systems have now shut down links with the Proactive Detection Bureau, which

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots Federation ALERT*
Conflict has erupted in the Hyades Sector RO-P b6-2 system between two factions of the Marlinist Colonies.
The Exiled Marlinist Assembly of Baltah'Sine has declared war against the Marlinism Reformation Party, which acts as the political wing of the NMLA.
Political relations degenerated into open combat following the NMLA's recent attacks, with Acting First Minister Amrita Ross's efforts to negotiate a peaceful resolution proving unsuccessful.
A new megaship, Freedom's Voice, has entered service. It is acting as the operational base for the forces of the Exiled Marlinist Assembly of Baltah'Sine.
Supporters of the Marlinism Reformation Party are gathering at the Steel Majesty megaship. This was formerly used by the Neo-Marlinist Order of Mudhrid to flee from their home system.
Minister Octavia Volkov announced in parliament:
"Aaron Whyte and his collaborators are

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

An investigation into the tri-superpower organisation Aegis is seeking to establish the reasons for its failures.
Dr Paul Baumann, chair of the independent board of inquiry, outlined its scope:
"The initial phase is to fully understand the work of Aegis, before examining strategic and operational decisions. Interviews with senior staff have been scheduled, with Admiral Aden Tanner providing details on military activity."
"One specific area of attention is the lost megaship Alexandria. We are performing a thorough analysis, including background checks on its crew. Hyperspace physicists are theorising probable causes for its failure to arrive at HIP 30944."
"We will be raising issues of culpability, specifically whether the concentration of Guardian artefacts aboard the Alexandria directly led to systems coming under Thargoid attack. Other incidents will be reviewed to identify possible grounds

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Andrea Contato has another exciting update for backers who have a copy of Through the Moongate, from Wing Commander and Ultima VII to Portalarium coming to them. All of the various rewards - not to mention the books themselves - have steadily arrived over the past few months and Andrea is now in the process of boxing up packages to fans. There's a lot of nifty stuff in there for Origin fans! On top of a trove of Ultima-themed goodies, the cloth artwork includes Wing Commander themes and there is a collectible bookmark designed by WC1/2 chief artist Denis Loubet. Hopefully this means the wait will be coming to an end soon! You can find more pictures here.

I'm working on shipping the rewards with HC books. Since I'm alone and I have to package 230+ books, it will take all this week and probably a fair amount of next week to complete the process. I'll post an update as soon as shipping will be

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

On this day in 1998, we flipped the switch on WCNews.com and the Wing Commander CIC was born! It's been quite a ride full of fun, friends and fandom. Our first mission was to support the ongoing launch of Wing Commander Secret Ops, and then that transitioned over to lots of activity for the Wing Commander Movie. Although new products got more sparse in the 2000s, the community has filled the gap with all of their own incredible undertakings. The results have made the franchise better than ever. On our new platforms today (such as Discord) we're seeing record levels of activity and new Wingnuts are appearing all the time.

LOAF: Another birthday already?! That’s right, 23 years ago today ChrisReid and I started a fan site for our favorite game and it’s still running strong today thanks to an incredible team who are also my dearest friends. Hurray!

Next week we'll be officially celebrating our 23rd

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

A new independent branch of Mastopolos Mining has been established by its controlling shareholder, Senator Zemina Torval.
The megacorp is owned by the powerful Mastopolos family, and operates throughout the Empire and beyond. However, Torval's position as a majority shareholder has allowed her to exert a strong influence on its activities.
Senator Torval confirmed her plans in a statement to The Imperial Herald:
"Diversification is an effective strategy in the current business climate. Torval-Mastopolos Mining will have corporate autonomy, while offering the same mining and transportation services to an emergent client base."
Marlon Royce, business analyst for Vox Galactica, reported:
"The persistent rumours of a rift between Zemina Torval and her cousin, CEO Gabriella Mastopolos, may now be validated. Insiders report that after decades of working behind the scenes, Torval wishes to provide a

Quote from No Man

Hello,

Five years ago this week, we launched No Man’s Sky. For the first time we watched players all over the world begin to explore the universe we had created. It was a nerve wracking moment and the culmination of five years of very hard work for our tiny team (the average team size was just 6, and at launch was just 15).

We knew this was the start of a journey, but never expected what a wild ride it would be. Today we’d like to take a moment to appreciate this milestone together. It hasn’t always been easy, but the thing that has been our guiding star throughout has been the players and the community. Behind every update, every video, every feature and line in a patch note is a team that cares so deeply for this game.

We’re so proud of what we’ve built and the major advances that the game has received. Multiplayer, base-building, VR, cross-play, next-gen updates, pets, expeditions, mechs, living ships… it’s a

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The bombing of two Marlinist starports by the NMLA has caused political rifts and public protests across the colony systems.
Local newsfeed The Marlin Standard reported on current events:
"Our entire society is still reeling in shock after last week's attacks against Stillman Hub and Tilman Point stations. There has been mass panic in fear of further terrorist strikes, with unprecedented scenes of violence against known Neo-Marlinist supporters."
"Without the respected leadership of First Minister Jenna Fairfax, angry exchanges and recriminations have divided the Marlinist Parliament. Minister Aaron Whyte claimed that 'we invited this tragedy upon ourselves' by not voting for a Neo-Marlinist prime consul. In response, Minister Octavia Volkov called for Whyte's arrest as 'an accessory to mass murder'."
"Some community leaders expressed sorrow at a lost opportunity to establish a Marlinist

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

In an interesting reversal of fortunes, GOG has added back Ultima Underworld 1+2 and the Syndicate games to their catalog. These packages were delisted back on June 28, at the "publisher's request." The games reappeared yesterday, and as a bonus to celebrate their return, they're being made available for free until September 3. If you missed them earlier, now's your chance! The price is right too.

This isn't the first time that there were puzzling contractual misunderstandings between Electronic Arts and GOG. When Privateer was added in June 2011 and WC1+2 in August of that year, they were missing the expansions. Despite conversations to add them looking promising in the summer of 2011, they didn't actually appear on the service until December 2012.

Syndicate and Ultima Underworld are back on https://t.co/timfdacy7z! 💜

Join our celebrations and grab them for FREE during the next four weeks 🔥

👉

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Arcade Attack has conducted an extensive interview with Wing Commander composer and video game music legend George Sanger (The Fat Man). They initially reached out for a text Q&A, but George replied in a full hourlong video. As we've seen time and again, he loves to talk about his nearly-forty years in game audio and he's a very engaging speaker. At one point he talks about his sci-fi inspirations and working with Chris Roberts (at the 13:00 point) - with plenty of credit to Dave Govett. You may have heard aspects of the story before, but it's still fun to hear about what went into development during the Wild West days of game development!

I asked the VGM legend George Sanger for a text interview for Arcade Attack. George went above and beyond and recorded his answers in video form. George is a really funny guy and gave some great answers! Enjoy.

George Sanger is an American musician who has

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Yesterday we got a peek at the awesome French lobby cards designed to promote the Wing Commander Movie, and I mentioned that there were several also available in North America. I looked a bit through our archives, and pics of these cards are few and far between. We didn't want to deprive anyone of our heroes' retinal signatures or flight (school) records, so here are updated photos of each one! You also get bonus pilot nose art and shots of the back this time. The backs differ by calling out the actor shown on the front. I wonder if anyone has ever mailed one before?

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Dennis Mull is having a fantastic year collecting Wing Commander memorabilia, and he's had especially good luck hunting down European-centric items. Today's haul is a set of artifacts meant to promote the movie. I've got the North American equivalent of these items, but not the awesome French editions! They got more "lobby cards" to choose from, and the poster is just great. Another awesome find!

Today some cool Wing Commander stuff arrived from France: A set of cinema Lobby Cards including the envelope, a brochure and 3 cinema posters.