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Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Forbes magazine has published an interesting

article

on the ongoing development of Star Citizen. As this also appears in the May 2019 print, the article spends some time initially to catch the reader up on the concept of crowdfunding, the history of Star Citizen and Chris Roberts' background as a game developer and movie producer. There's an update on the game's haul so far. It's taken in some $242 million from players and another $46 million in private investment, so they'll soon cross the $300 million milestone. We noted just

six months ago

that they hit $200 million, which suggests their revenue intake is still surging ahead at a very strong pace and may have actually accelerated in 2019. Per the game's

roadmap

, the Squadron 42 campaign beta is still a good year away, and there's significant work yet to go on building out the game's universe.

The piece also delves into some of the more

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here's a first look at one of the new fighters being prepped for the next update to the Prophecy & Secret Ops

Model Upgrade Pack

. The Panther will be a welcome addition since it appears so often in the game - especially Secret Ops. New images below show off

DefianceIndustries

' original render, some peeks at the ship viewer and finally some in-game views. A shot of the original is also includes so you can see just how advanced the update is!

First of the new batch is ready - The revised Panther is now completed and in the game - and in the next update she'll be yours to fly...

Quote from EVERSPACE News-Bot

We've just released a new patch with some bug fixes and one small quality of life improvement - you can now increase the HUD marker size. Here's the complete list of changes:

Features

• Added an option to adjust the HUD marker size

Bugfixes

• Fixed time speedup bug that occured when having Time Extender activated and either destroying Okkar frigate turrets or Outlaw Snipers or scrapping a Shock Rifle Pro that is floating in space
• Make sure Okkar Corvettes don't flee outside of level area
• Fixed a handful of hardcore mode handicaps carrying over from sector 6 to sector 7
• Fixed that disabling TrackIR without changing anything else in the game options would break freelook until restarting the game
• Fixed nano injectors not working while emergency shield is active
• Fixed black holes not being framerate independent
• Fixed enemy sentinel sometimes still firing discharger while dying/already dead
• Fixed

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here's a fascinating look at Origin's product plan as of 1989, just before Wing Commander changed things. It's amazing what could have been (a Star Wars RPG by Richard Garriott!) and also how far in advance they planned for projects like Ultima Underworld.

• Bad Blood: released
• Ultima 6: released
• Dinosaur Valley: became Ultima Savage Empire
• Squadron: became Wing Commander
• Time Travel: became Ultima Martian Dreams (?)
• Super Heroes: didn't happen
• Ultima 5 NES: released
• Ultima Gameboy: became Runes of Virtue
• Ultima 7: released
• Car Wars: didn't happen
• Ultima 6: became Ultima 6 SNES
• Star Wars: didn't happen
• The Underground: became Ultima Underworld
• Ultima adventure game: didn't happen
• Ultima 7 Spinoff: became Serpent Isle
• Ultima 8: happened (two years later)
• Blood & Fog: didn't happen
• Ultima 7 Spinoff: went into development as Arthurian Legends, ultimately cancelled

After we initially

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

DigitalOrgami

has put together another gorgeous Wing Commander wallpaper. This one features a spirited chase through a dark asteroid belt. The stars are Klavs' gorgeous

Grikath

and its Confed pursuer. There's good usage of light and dark, and there's even a sense of anticipation thanks to the missile that's just launched. You can find more of his work at

DeviantArt

or his WC scenes

here

.

Thanks to GrahamTG for making this awesome background available. I ended up going way darker than I originally intended, but things kind of led me that way. Also thanks to Adam Burch for the great Wing Commander ships.

Got a little carried away with engine glows, but hey, there's the nebula gas and all the dust from the asteroids, so that's my excuse.

Unfortunately, my positioning of ships meant Graham's sun gets lost in the starboard engine glow of the Kilrathi ship, but.... Should probably have gone with some

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

AD recently found a music-related podcast that's profiled Wing Commander 1. They listen to the Sound Blaster basic music and then compare it to the deluxe Roland MT32. The hosts seem to be more versed in music history rather than video game history, which provides for kind of an interesting analysis. They also profile the movie

Creed

's score in this episode, and they jump back and forth between that and Wing Commander repeatedly, which is certainly an unusual format choice. The whole bit is more than an hour and forty minutes long, but it's always neat to hear some great WC tunes and some fresh admiration thereof as well. Give it a listen

here

. Afterwards, if this gave you a hankering for Team Fat's masterpiece work, you can buy their Wing One album at

Amazon

($7.99) or

iTunes

($9.99).

This is episode 18 which is basically our glorious comeback (again) into a more constant rhythm. Let's see how

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

The central, identifying concept of space was that it was quiet. Space, after all, was a vacuum. With no air to carry sound, you’d never hear an atomic bomb going off directly behind you. Still, in Lieutenant Rautert’s time in space, she had never found that kind of quiet. Space was loud, filled with voices screaming commands, consoles exploding at the slightest provocation, endless beeps and whistles from endless readouts – it was why she had moved away from active duty on a starship, and joined Starfleet Intelligence when the opportunity was presented to her. Numbers, facts, analysis – she was more comfortable with those concepts than the loudness of space. Now, for the first time, as the boots of her environment suit clicked across the metal gantry, space was quiet at last. Certainly, her surroundings couldn’t be considered ideal. The lights were flickering in a way that made it most

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Still striving to get the greatest performance out of your equipment? This weekend will be the perfect time to apply Tech Upgrades to your gear, as we’re doubling the amount of Technology Points earned from each one applied! From Thursday, May 9th at 8AM PST to May 13th at 10AM PST, every Tech Upgrade used will apply twice as many Technology Points toward your next Upgrade! This in turn reduces the amount of Dilithium that must be spent to reach each Upgrade threshold, allowing Captains additional chances to attain both Mark and Rarity increases on their favored load outs. .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

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

A megaship service offering transport to Guardian space from Zende is now in operation.

The CEO of Zende Partners, Freya Taine, announced:

"Following the recommendation of the galactic community, my company has established an outpost in Synuefe EN-H d11-96 that will serve as the termination point for this new ferry service. Our two megaships, Sadler's Song and The Conduit, will make weekly trips to the selected location."

"This first step of our initiative should encourage activity at nearby Guardian ruins. In addition, we have now finalised the design of an advanced military module based on Guardian technology, and we hope to begin manufacture of this design very soon."

Among the feedback from the technology industry was a statement by Cedrik Stone, CEO of rival arms manufacturer Segnen Exchange:

"While Zende Partners' recent efforts to promote Guardian-human research are admirable, I would

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Section 31. The Tal Shiar. The Obsidian Order. Intelligence services like ours have always been shrouded in mystery and the allure of power. One day, it will likely be known that the Romulan Star Empire was manipulated into war with the Dominion. When that day comes, it will brush aside the other legacies of Captain Benjamin Sisko like footnotes for all but Bajor’s faithful. Stories of secret intelligence service have resonated with us throughout the ages. The means they use (and the ends which justify them) cast a long and deadly shadow, shrouding the victors in a heavy moral gray. Folk scarcely notice the extra wrinkles on their leader’s face as they stand among the ruins of a town sacrificed to keep a secret. From the tiny spec that listens in the right room to the ultimate prize of a compromised head of state, intelligence services are a heavy burden and powerful tool for any nation. Star

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

President Gibson Kincaid has refuted allegations of illegal campaign funding and is refusing to cooperate with the official inquiry.

He gave this statement to The Alliance Tribune:

"The claims are nothing more than an attempt to besmirch my reputation. Councillor Elijah Beck has fabricated this wild mudlark chase as revenge for his loss to me in the presidential vote last year."

"If the Assembly wants to entertain conspiracies, they could review the assassination of Fazia Silva, the third presidential candidate. It's interesting that Beck's own campaign gained a lot of support after Silva was murdered."

The Bank of Zaonce has also declined the inquiry's requests for information. A spokesperson insisted that all campaign funds it handles adhere to strict financial guidelines. They added that Beck's evidence was deemed insufficient until a verified source could be provided.

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:

• The start of our epic play through of PRIVATEER!
• Concept art from big name artists
• Privateer 2 ship of the week: the Kalrechi
• Never before seen Privateer and WCM material

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.

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Coming to you soon - in a very roundabout way, from places unknown, via means best left unspoken - are two long-forgotten ships, restored and retrofitted for the modern era. The first is a ship never spoken of, originating from an organization that doesn’t exist, and belonging to a time that history has forgotten. The other is the spearhead of a conflict that never happened, which arrived just in time to save the allies it never had. Thanks to parties best left unnamed, and methods many would rather forget, these ships have been recovered, upgraded, and can be yours now! The Section 31 Intel Science Destroyer [T6] and the Na’Qjej Intel Battlecruiser [T6] will be available within the Section 31 Lock Box, coming soon to Star Trek Online! These new starships can be used as soon as you’ve completed the tutorial, and will scale with you as you level up all the way to max level! For the details on

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Mystery continues to surround Gan Romero, the starship technician who single-handedly stole a docked vessel in the Vega system.

Romero's wife, Lara, agreed to an interview with Vox Galactica:

"I haven't the faintest idea why Gan took that ship, or how he managed it. It's totally out of character for him. He's not impulsive or even ambitious really. Always been the practical type, which is why I married him. I can't believe that he would do anything like this."

"Had he been acting strangely? Well, something was on Gan's mind…I guess you could say he's been distracted recently. I've caught him staring out into space a few times. And his sleep was disturbed by intense dreams, although he never wanted to talk about them."

"The kids keep asking when their dad is coming home. I just hope the Fort Dixon security services can find some explanation for all this, and bring Gan home to us."

Latest update to Elite Dangerous aims to help new players with easier start in the game ...

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Here are this week's main stories.

A megaship service offering transport to Guardian space has been established by Zende Partners. The service will ferry pilots and ships between Zende and Synuefe EN-H d11-96, with the latter system selected as the termination point by the galactic community.

President Gibson Kincaid has denied claims of illegal funding during his presidential campaign last year, accusing Councillor Elijah Beck of seeking revenge for defeat in those elections. Kincaid also suggested that the assassination of rival presidential candidate Fazia Silva had benefited Beck's campaign.

In other news, the wife of ship thief Gan Romero has given an interview to Vox Galactica. Lara Romero stated that she had no idea why her husband would steal a docked craft. She also indicated that Gan's sleep had been disturbed by vivid dreams prior to the theft.

And those are the main stories this

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

There's exciting news about the next phase of composer George Oldziey's musical works! He's now working through the bidding process to price out what it would take to create a second album of live orchestral recordings. To recap: way back in early 2014, Mr. Oldziey kicked off his

first campaign

to record a live album of his tremendous tracks from Wing Commander 3, 4 and Prophecy. The campaign was successful and the

performance

was recorded in October of 2014. Fast forward to July 2017 and

phase two

was kicked off. The second endeavor digitally reorchestrated another round of classical tracks and also conducted a

live recording of jazz music

from throughout the WC series. Now that those projects have all successfully concluded, he's looking at going back to the full orchestra for another live album. As an extra bonus, he's considering putting a book together that documents this exciting ride - all

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

There’s good news for fans of ridiculous space vikings: Amazon’s streaming service now has the Street Fighter animated series! What they have listed as episode 22 is the start of the insane crossover that ends in Wing Commander Academy. It's free for Prime subscribers. Check it out

here

. The metadata is lazy though! It’s actually season 2, episode 9 and the real air date was November 16, 1996. You can read all about this bizarre and unique crossover between Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Savage Dragon and Wing Commander

here

.

22. The Warrior King - For many years a powerful keeper of the peace, the Warrior King finds himself vulnerable - trapped in a vortex.

Wing Commander Academy is still readily available on Amazon for

just $8

. While there's been a cheap plentiful supply for some time, it's also only a matter of time before it goes out of print. Don't regret skipping out on this, and make sure

Quote from Mass Effect News-Bot

Us folks here at DFTG have always had a huge appreciation for cosplay, and as such it’s difficult for us not to share some of the favorites we come by every now and then, especially if it has anything to do with the Mass Effect Trilogy. One fan cosplay in particular has begun to make some serious waves on the internet, a cosplay of none other than Tali’Zora Vas Normandy. The cosplay itself has skyrocketed all over the place thanks in part to the folks at BioWare sharing it over on their Twitter, which should give you an inkling as to how impressive it is. Check it out below:

“Give me a hunk of metal, some element zero, a circuit board, and I’ll have it making precision jumps.”
Tali by Duo Queue Cosplay https://t.co/2tm9xy1rry
? https://t.co/l46nkebzwo pic.twitter.com/PzTPHQnXDu

— BioWare (@bioware) May 9, 2019

Brought to you by the folks over at Duo Queue Cosplay, their take on Tali is absolutely

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

A trio of chirps stole Lieutenant Commander Amna Patel’s attention away from a pair of senior security officers and her own data pad. She excused herself and stepped out of the busy shuttle bay where hundreds of Starfleet Security personnel were mustered and boarding shuttlecraft bound for the Conestoga-class transports. Patel removed her communicator and, with a flick of the wrist, initiated contact with the person on the other end of the transmission. “Buran to Lieutenant Commander Patel, situation report.” Her communicator crackled noisily; there was always so much cross traffic during a major operation like this, and it usually took its toll on the comms network. Despite this, Amna smiled at the voice of Commander Ellen Landry on the other end. For a moment her thoughts drifted to happier futures than the one looming in the immediate. The communicator crackled again. “Patel, this is