Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here’s why weird eBay listings are so much fun. I took a chance on this “NEC PowerPlayer CD Collection” which claimed to include Mechwarrior 2, Command and Conquer, Descent 2... and Wing Commander IV! I had never heard of this bundle and thought it might be a case of a PC owner storing his game discs in a random booklet. But worth a look for a few bucks. Then I saw the WCIV discs: “not for resale” with a unique EA number! It’s an OEM WC4. By searching for the included games, I discovered that it's a software bundle included with two models of computer in late 1996: the NEC PowerPlayer 2010 and the PowerPlayer 2020!

Here

are some very old stats for the 2020.

As I write about this, the postman delivered two more neat pickups! Here’s a German Wing Commander IV promotional mousepad with a second design I’d never seen before. And here’s the original painting for the Kilrathi “Ram” maneuver card

Quote from Mass Effect News-Bot

Regardless of one’s opinion on Anthem, the game continues to circulate the news after its release in February. Less than 3 months since launch, much of the ins and outs of the internal operations surrounding the game were revealed in a recent report. It called into question the health of the work environment in terms of creating a triple-A game. From Jason Schreier’s written presentation, the voices of various BioWare developers were highlighted and it garnered waves of attention.

Following said report, BioWare’s Casey Hudson swiftly issued a response where he emphasized the support of every team member who takes part in creating and developing their video games. He defended BioWare’s livelihood against the journalist’s magnified lens, but there were still concerns left unanswered. Based on a recent Twitter post from Schreier, it looks as though internal operations are working toward promoting change.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Here are this week's main stories.

The Children of Tothos cult has been forcibly disbanded following its attempt to destroy Archambault Terminal with a nuclear weapon. Federal Intelligence Agency agent Rochelle Karim was praised for exploiting the cult's acceptance of new followers, giving her tactical team an opportunity to infiltrate the cult's ranks.

The Federal Intelligence Agency has denied that it is conducting a criminal investigation of Rackham Capital Investments. In a statement, the FIA said it had not contacted the journalist Bryanna Blanco to ask for access to her files. Blanco has since queried if the agents who took her data were in fact part of the FIA.

Finally, news of a meeting between Princess Aisling Duval and Imperator Hadrian Augustus Duval has caused controversy throughout the Empire, with Zemina Torval branding the princess 'an ideological traitor'. Commentators have

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Dardael

has created another YouTube video, and this one is highlights a number of similarities between Wing Commander and the classic Battlestar Galactica. This isn't necessarily to say that WC copied BSG - rather, WC plays on a lot of classic themes from Star Wars, anime, famous sci-fi novels and more. A few noteworthy ones here include the look of the initial intro logo, the fighter launch sequence and even Dralthi/Cylon Raider similarity. It's a fun comparison to see them side by side like this!

Comparative video between the famous 1978 series and the Origin Systems Space Game from 1990

In 2007, Auran Games and Sierra published a

Battlestar Galactica game

for Xbox Live Arcade, and numerous

reviews

noted how close it was to Wing Commander Arena.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Klavs

is back to tinkering with his iconic

Hornet

design. In the progression shots below, you can see how he's got the overall spaceframe super solid, there's some neat engine nozzle action happening, and he's even got a new take on the fighter's familiar long bore laser cannons. Looking good!

Starting over!

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Captain, as you requested, here is a fact sheet about Priors World from the Federation Planetary Database. Please let us know if you require anything further. .share-footer a { margin: 20px 10px 10px 0; background: url(d7afaaa14e96d0d973f76157ae31ec5b1466398539.png) no-repeat 0 0; opacity: .5; display: inline-block; height: 60px; width: 60px; padding: 0; border: 1px solid transparent; -webkit-transition: opacity .3s; transition: opacity .3s; } .share-footer .TI { background-position: 0 20%; } .share-footer .YT { background-position: 0 40%; } .share-footer .YT { background-position: 0 40%; } .share-footer .TW { background-position: 0 60%; } .share-footer .FO { background-position: 0 80%; } .FB:hover { background-position: 100% 0%; } .TI:hover { background-position: 100% 20%; } .YT:hover { background-position: 100% 40%; } .TW:hover { background-position:

Quote from Star Citizen News-Bot

http://

Hello everyone,

Last week, we published the Monthly Report for March, helping you stay up-to-date with what our teams around the globe have been working on over the past month.

Also last week, we had developers from our Frankfurt Studio attend the Asus ROG Convention in Germany. They had loads of fun on the live stream, talking to players and showing Star Citizen to the crowd.

Finally, Gamescom 2949 is right around the corner, and we’re looking forward to meeting all the Star Citizen fans making the trip to Cologne. Members of the community team will be on hand at Bar Citizen events in the evenings, with Friday’s meetup including special guests Erin Roberts and Brian Chambers. Find out more!

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

Keep a weather eye on your email inbox later today, as we’ll be sending out the latest covert Squadron 42 development intel, reporting details from the

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Adm_Maverick

has mocked up a neat 'pilot console' for his Wing Commander

tabletop

game. He's built a template for the variety of fighter status that a ship would want to track, and it's been paired with a simple peg counter system so everything is neatly tracked. In the future, it could even be modified to hold the

miniature ship

and any associated cards. Something like this would even be pretty neat for the official

WC CCG

too!

I had posted a design idea for the pilot console the other day. Well I spent a decent amount of time cutting and drilling and came up with a sort of prototype of the pilot console. It's not perfect, and still nowhere near what I envision when I try to market the game, but then again at this point I'm nowhere near that stage anyway. This is just for alpha testing of gameplay mechanics.

The design is such that it's intended to allow you to track the information on each fighter

Quote from No Man

Hello everyone,

We were thrilled by the response to the announcement of Beyond and the news that the game will be coming to VR. Bringing a game like No Man’s Sky to VR is a colossal technical undertaking, requiring major improvements to and optimisation of our engine. Your enthusiasm and excitement means so much to us as push on with this difficult task, and we will share more as soon as we are able.

In the meantime, we have some news for players on PC. As part of our optimisation work, we have added Vulkan support to the game. We have been able to do this not only for Beyond, but for the current live version of the game. As such, we wanted to release this to you as soon as possible.

Final Vulkan support will bring many PC players an immediate performance improvement, but it also helps us increase our options as we continue to make significant engine changes. It is only one portion of a large body of work that will

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Admiral Kensington glanced across the room full of flag officers, to Vice Admiral Katrina Cornwell. The Vice Admiral was sitting opposite from Kensington, and after a moment, Kensington caught her attention. Both women nodded to one another, not saying a word but speaking volumes. The last four hours had consisted of presentations by the collective admiralty involving increasingly more complex and impossible defense strategies, whose intended purpose was to slow or stop the Klingon offensive against the Federation. None of them could be assembled in time to stave off invasion, but the two women, days before the meeting, had settled upon a simple, bold, and effective plan. Cornwell cleared her throat at a precisely optimal time, between sentiments from her colleagues, and leaned in to the table, resting her elbows on the edge in a classic dominant behavioral display. She steeped her hands and

Quote from Mass Effect News-Bot

There was once an Aliens RPG in development at Obsidian Entertainment, but the game was unfortunately cancelled some time ago. That said, we’ve recently learned more about the title, including the fact that it was essentially going to be “Mass Effect, but more terrifying.”

Speaking with VG247 at Reboot Develop, writer Chris Avellone touched on Aliens: Crucible, the cancelled Obsidian RPG. “Aliens: Crucible was really sad to see cancelled, but I don’t blame Sega for it,” he said. “It would be like – this is going to be really rough comparison – basically Mass Effect but more terrifying.”

According to Avellone, the studio really wanted to make the Aliens RPG happen, but everything was cut short by Sega. “We wanted to make it,” he continued. “But by that point Sega, I think, was… the publisher/management relations had gotten to a point where they were just tired of dealing with [Obsidian]. Everyone

Quote from Star Citizen News-Bot

Send Your Tips to StarWatch!

Time to set your sights on the stars and let me, Callie C, shine a light on everything you need to know about today’s hottest socialites and celebrities. Turns out they’re just like the rest of us, only attired in more fetching threads. Welcome to StarWatch!

Let’s begin with the hot topic currently setting spectrum aflame. Boyce Baudin is back! But don’t you dare call him “Babyface” anymore. The beloved comedic actor with the cherubic visage disappeared from the public eye for months, canceling several spectrum appearances without warning. Rumors swirled that the notoriously hard partying prankster might’ve finally allowed his cravings to control him. Now we know, thankfully, that wasn’t the case. But many of Boyce’s longtime fans are less than pleased with the real reason for his self-imposed sabbatical…

Turns out that Baudin couldn’t deny the call of the Calliope. The

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

It’s time for a Bonus Coupon Progress Token weekend! Playing the Featured Task Force Operation, ‘Operation Riposte’, from April 18th at 8am PT to April 22nd at 10am PT, will earn you 100 Coupon Progress Tokens per day! You can apply these Tokens to your progress towards unlocking a Tier 6 ship of your choice! For more details on this new system, read below. We’re debuting a brand new system for Star Trek Online. Earn progress toward a Free Ship by participating each day in the Featured TFO Events that will be running from now until Fall of 2019. By playing these three Events, you can earn Coupon Progress Tokens each day, allowing you to eventually claim a '100% Discount Coupon: Tier 6 Ship' that will allow you claim a free Tier 6 Starship of your choice from the Zen Store. When you play the 'Operation Riposte' Featured TFO Event, once per day, you will receive 50 Coupon Progress Tokens.

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Star Trek Online is running a special weekend event where you can earn bonus Dilithium Ore by playing content throughout the game! It’s time to hit the drills, Captains! The Dilithium Ore event runs from 8AM PT Thursday, April 18th to 10AM PT Monday, April 22nd. During the event, bonus Dilithium Ore will be provided for the following content: Vlugta Asteroid Field: 100% Bonus Dilithium Ore for Daily Mining Missions 100% Bonus to all Rich Dilithium Claims Fleet Dilithium Mine: 100% Bonus Dilithium Ore for Daily Mining Missions Everywhere else in the game 50% Bonus Dilithium Ore Dilithium rewards from completing Event Reputation Projects no longer receive a bonus. This excludes Event Reputation Projects Please note: The Dilithium Weekend does not effect rewards from the Endeavor system. We hope you enjoy this special event and we’ll see you in-game!

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Aegis has entered into a partnership with the engineer Ram Tah to manufacture Guardian-related technology.

Senior Engineer Lilith Galloway made the following statement on behalf of Aegis:

"We believe that Ram Tah's accomplishments, while impressive, represent only a fraction of what can be accomplished. We have therefore entered into an agreement that will allow Aegis to bring its considerable resources to bear in the manufacture of Guardian-related technology, both now and in the future."

Galloway confirmed that technology brokers would remain licensed distributors of the Trident, Javelin and Lance XG fighters.

Ram Tah also gave a short statement to the media:

"To me, Aegis represents what can be achieved when humanity pulls together, and I am delighted to be entering into this partnership."

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Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Episode 9 of

All Wings Considered

is almost here! This week the team reviews another ship from the Tri-System and then heads over to the Deneb Quadrant to fawn over the Morningstar. It's also the second iteration of the Wing Commander book club - we'll be reading chapters 2 and 3 of Fleet Action. Join us this Thursday, April 18, at 7 PM Eastern US Time (4 PM Pacific) on

YouTube

and

Discord

.

Join us Thursday, April 18 on or about 7 PM Eastern for another thrilling episode of All Wings Considered!

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Event: Operation Riposte Task Force Operation Operation Riposte is the first major Federation offensive of the Klingon-Federation War of 2256-57. Coordinate your attacks against the captured orbital defenses around Priors World and retake them. This event will last for 3 weeks and Captains can earn an all new reward! Complete the TFO on 14 different days to earn the Console - Universal - Priors World Elite Defense Satellite in addition to marks, dilithium, and three Featured TFO Reward Boxes. This box gives your choice of an Enhanced Universal Tech Upgrade or a Captain Specialization Point Box. Console - Universal - Priors World Elite Defense Satellite The Console - Universal - Priors World Elite Defense Satellite is a new reward for completing Operation Riposte on 14 different days. The Console - Universal - Priors World Elite

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

It has now been more than two months since the Thargoids began a concentrated assault on the core systems, and in that time they have attacked dozens of starports, resulting in thousands of casualties.

As authorities in the affected systems continue to appeal for aid, Admiral Aden Tanner, Aegis's chief military liaison, has offered the following assessment:

"What's surprising is that the Thargoids aren't targeting our most important social or military centres, such as the superpowers' home systems. There's no doubt that they're trying to weaken us, but evidently they're guided by different principles than those that typically govern human martial strategy."

"What we can say is this: with capital ships of limited use against Thargoid craft, independent combat pilots remain our best defence against the Thargoids."

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We've got some sad news to report today. Noted astronaut Owen Garriott passed away on Monday at age 88. Mr. Garriott was one of the early pioneers of long-duration space travel with a 60-day stint aboard Skylab in 1973. He also flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1983. Early on in his career, he served in the US Navy before going on to teach physics at Stanford and hold a variety of positions at NASA.

The elder Garriott also served as one half of the first American father-son astronaut duo when Richard Garriott went to the International Space Station in 2008. And while we often refer to Richard as "Origin founder" in our news stories, Origin Systems was actually co-founded by Richard and Robert along with their father, Owen, and programmer Chuck Bueche. In various interviews, Richard credits being sent to a programming camp that Owen picked out as a major influence that set him on the path

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The latest episode of ALL WINGS CONSIDERED is live now! All Wings Considered is the CIC's first ever streaming variety show which features news, conversation and gameplay relating to our favorite series. This week's Nav Points include:

• Special Operations 1, Series 2: Testing the Morningstar!
• Privateer 2 ship of the week: the Velacia
• Book Club: Fleet Action, Chapters 2 & 3

We encourage anyone interested to sign in to the Discord Live Chat to talk about Fleet Action... or ask questions live via Discord or YouTube during the show!

Missed the stream? The replay will be available below once it has been processed by YouTube. You can subscribe to the AWC channel for future notifications here.